If Elon Musk doesn’t see this as an extinction level event, then he’s either delusional or just plain stupid. The Washington Post is reporting that a hacker who dumped the records for 235 million Twitter users associated with email addresses onto a hacking forum:
That poses threats of exposure, arrest or violence against people who used Twitter to criticize governments or powerful individuals, and it could open up others to extortion, security experts said. Hackers could also use the email addresses to attempt to reset passwords and take control of accounts, especially those not protected by two-factor authentication.
“This database is going to be used by hackers, political hacktivists and of course governments to harm our privacy even further,” said Alon Gal, co-founder of the Israeli security company Hudson Rock, who spotted the posting on a popular underground marketplace.
The records were probably compiled in late 2021, using a flaw in Twitter’s system that allowed outsiders who already had an email address or phone number to find any account that had shared that information with Twitter. Those lookups could be automated to check an unlimited list of emails or phone numbers.
Now it is true that Twitter is being investigated by the EU over this hack, and yes this didn’t happen under Elon’s watch. But he own Twitter so this is his problem. And it’s a big problem. Right when he has so many other Twitter related problems to deal with. And the thing is, this is one of the largest data leaks that I can recall. That means that there will be a lot of eyes on this, and a lot of uncomfortable questions that Elon will have to answer. Let’s face it, he’s in very deep trouble here. And I don’t think he has the ability to get himself out of it. And as a result he’s likely rethinking his life choices. Starting with wanting to buy Twitter. .
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This entry was posted on January 5, 2023 at 7:14 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Twitter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Elon Is In Big Trouble As Hackers Do A Dump Of 235 Million Email Addresses Connected To Twitter Accounts
If Elon Musk doesn’t see this as an extinction level event, then he’s either delusional or just plain stupid. The Washington Post is reporting that a hacker who dumped the records for 235 million Twitter users associated with email addresses onto a hacking forum:
That poses threats of exposure, arrest or violence against people who used Twitter to criticize governments or powerful individuals, and it could open up others to extortion, security experts said. Hackers could also use the email addresses to attempt to reset passwords and take control of accounts, especially those not protected by two-factor authentication.
“This database is going to be used by hackers, political hacktivists and of course governments to harm our privacy even further,” said Alon Gal, co-founder of the Israeli security company Hudson Rock, who spotted the posting on a popular underground marketplace.
The records were probably compiled in late 2021, using a flaw in Twitter’s system that allowed outsiders who already had an email address or phone number to find any account that had shared that information with Twitter. Those lookups could be automated to check an unlimited list of emails or phone numbers.
Now it is true that Twitter is being investigated by the EU over this hack, and yes this didn’t happen under Elon’s watch. But he own Twitter so this is his problem. And it’s a big problem. Right when he has so many other Twitter related problems to deal with. And the thing is, this is one of the largest data leaks that I can recall. That means that there will be a lot of eyes on this, and a lot of uncomfortable questions that Elon will have to answer. Let’s face it, he’s in very deep trouble here. And I don’t think he has the ability to get himself out of it. And as a result he’s likely rethinking his life choices. Starting with wanting to buy Twitter. .
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This entry was posted on January 5, 2023 at 7:14 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Twitter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.