Massive Twitter hack could have been a lot worse: experts

Experts warn scammers who infiltrated some of the most influential Twitter accounts in the world could have used their power to swing the stock market – or the presidential election. Caryn Ceolin on how safe the platform is in the run-up to November.

By Caryn Ceolin

Hackers who targeted some of the most influential tweeters on the planet could have triggered stock market havoc or swung the presidential election.

Instead, they took over accounts with millions of followers – like those of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Kanye West, Elon Musk and Bill Gates – to ask people for Bitcoin.

But the breach is concerning enough to experts, who warn having such a powerful platform vulnerable to hackers is asking for trouble.

“It really shows how insecure social media is in general,” said Jeffrey Dvorkin, the director of the University of Toronto’s Scarborough Campus journalism program.

The scam tweet went something like this: Send Bitcoin and the biggest names in politics, Hollywood and tech will send back double your money.

Twitter blamed the hijack on a “coordinated social engineering attack” that tricked several employees into giving up their credentials.

Dvorkin said that is especially concerning in a world where national leaders use Twitter as a direct link to the public, or in the case of President Donald Trump, to announce major policy decisions.

“For politics, Twitter has become indispensable, certainly in the United States and increasingly in Canada,” said Dvorkin. “The problem is compounded because politicians like the idea of speaking directly to the public.”

The White House said President Trump’s account was not compromised and he will not stop using Twitter.

While scammers didn’t use their power to tweet anything that could be seriously destabilizing, one global security expert told Reuters the breach could have been a lot worse.

“They could have used this access to announce a merger and acquisition in the name of Bill Gates or Elon Musk, which would have immediately affected stock prices,” said Mikko Hyppönen. “Or they could have waited for November until presidential elections in the United States. And then on Election Day, they could tweet something awful from one of the presidential candidate’s [accounts].”

Wednesday’s hack draws serious questions about just how safe the platform is in the run up to the American presidential election. “It’s not safe at all,” Dvorkin said.

But the advice remains the same: Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.

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