Twitter, security risk on the 235 million e-mail addresses hacked
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Another (old) headache for Elon Musk, whose first two months at the helm of Twitter were nothing short of chaotic. The hacking of personal emails linked to 235 million accounts occurred before the billionaire took control of Twitteragain to cause concern. According to Israeli security researcher Alon Gal, hacked emails some time ago left accounts vulnerable if users used the site anonymously to criticize, for example, oppressive governments.
The danger
Gal, who is cofounder and chief technology officer of cybersecurity firm Hudson Rock, wrote in a LinkedIn post this week that the leak “will unfortunately lead to a large number of hacking, targeted phishing and doxxing.”
Even if account passwords aren’t leaked, malicious hackers could use email addresses to try to reset people’s passwords or guess them if they’re commonly used or reused with other accounts. This is especially a risk if accounts aren’t protected by two-factor authentication, which adds a second layer of security to password-protected accounts by having users enter an automatically generated code to log in.
The precautions
According to experts, people who use Twitter anonymously should have a dedicated Twitter email address that does not reveal their identity and is used exclusively for Twitter. News of the breach could land the company in trouble with the Federal trade commission (FTC).
In 2011, the San Francisco-based company signed a consent agreement with the FTC that required it to close serious gaps in data security. Last May, months before Musk’s takeover, Twitter paid a $150 million fine for violating the deal.
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