Online accounts of U.S. intelligence chief hacked

Motherboard said a teenager, who identified himself as Cracka, contacted them saying he had hacked several internet accounts belonging to Clapper, including his profile on telephone operator Verizon's website.

The hacker changed settings on the account, rerouting calls made to Clapper's home phone to a number registered in the name of the Free Palestine Movement.

Besides his phone user account, the teenager also hacked Clapper and his wife's personal email accounts.

Department spokesman Brian Hale confirmed to NBC some of the chief's accounts had been hacked and added "appropriate authorities" were alerted on the matter.

The hacker is believed to be part of the same group responsible for earlier cyberattacks against CIA chief John Brennan and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson.

Motherboard, in fact, says it would be the very same teenager, who in October had hacked Brennan's personal email and published its contents on WikiLeaks.

The emails made public contained sensitive information, including security clearance forms containing personal data of Brennan and his family, as also memos and letters on U.S. espionage and intelligence policies.