KT edit: Twitter must set its house in order to prevent cyber attacks

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This appears to be a hit-and-run case when the hackers profited in a flash and without much effort

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Published: Sun 19 Jul 2020, 9:45 AM

Last updated: Sun 19 Jul 2020, 11:47 AM


The Twitter hack that occurred over the weekend may not be as trivial as it sounds just because the number of accounts were less. It still raises concerns about the security of the network. What's worrying is that the incident may have been an inside job and not the work of a large cyber syndicate or state actor. Luckily for the big names like Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Joe Biden, no reputational damage was done but it puts into question safeguards at Twitter. However, the institutional reputation of Twitter, if one can call the site that, is at stake and CEO Jack Dorsey is obliged to explain to the site's users that he is on top of things at the social media platform when it comes to security. Twitter makes a conscious effort to be a meaningful platform for discussions and opinions, and has been scrambling to contain the fallout since Thursday. Big names with blue ticks were the targets of the attacker(s) and site administrators quickly moved to shut them out of the system. Yet, the hacker managed to publish fake Bitcoin messages from 130 accounts. Interestingly, US President Donald Trump, the site's biggest draw, was unaffected in the attack. Others like Warren Buffet and Kanye West were not so lucky. Trump, it has been reported earlier, has added protections to his account, but that doesn't excuse Twitter from the security breach that happened right under its nose and that of its users. The FBI is investigating the hack as Dorsey is busy initiating damage control while putting in place additional security measures.
The Bitcoin scam was clear to social media experts but the perpetrators still managed to pocket $100,000 in a couple of hours that it went online. Tracing the criminals will be a gargantuan task and law enforcement agencies in various countries would have to be activated to pursue the case that could have international ramifications. Social media gives a sense of anonymity to criminals who often leave no trail behind. Will the criminals try again and spread the net wider? Is the hack attack over? Maybe. This appears to be a hit-and-run case when the hackers profited in a flash and without much effort. The financial damage may be negligible but Twitter has a problem on its hands as celebrities will be wary of using the site after the incident. Twitter has to restore confidence among its 330 million users and not just its elite crowd. The origin of the attack needs to be traced. If the hack is indeed an inside job as some reports suggest, the San Francisco-based site should start by cleaning up its stables.
 


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