Twitter Hacked; 250.000 Accounts Affected - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Family Ties Forever! · 02-03-2013, 01:02 AM

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Twitter Hacked; 250,000 Accounts Affected
Attackers get access to user names, email addresses
Author: By Heather Kelly CNN
Posted: Feb 1, 2013 7:07 PM CST Updated: Feb 2, 2013 7:47 PM CST

(CNN) - Twitter is coming forward as the latest site to be hacked. The social network said in a blog post Friday afternoon that approximately 250,000 user accounts were compromised, with attackers gaining access to information including user names and email addresses. The company first detected signs of an attack earlier in the week, which led to an investigation and the discovery of a larger breach.

"This week, we detected unusual access patterns that led to us identifying unauthorized access attempts to Twitter user data. We discovered one live attack and were able to shut it down in process moments later," said Bob Lord, Twitter's director of information security, in a post. Twitter has reset the passwords and revoked session tokens, which allow you to stay logged into the service without reentering a password, for all of these accounts. Affected users will not be able to log in and will receive an e-mail instructing them to reset their password.

This attack follows major security breaches at the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, which were both attributed to Chinese hackers. The New York Times suspects it was in response to negative coverage of the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, and the Journal said evidence pointed to an attempt to "target the monitoring of the Journal's coverage of China." While the Twitter post does not mention China or blame the hacks on any specific country or group, it does mention the newspaper hacks.

"This attack was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident. The attackers were extremely sophisticated, and we believe other companies and organizations have also been recently similarly attacked," said Lord. A quarter-million accounts is a small segment of Twitter's 200 million monthly active users worldwide. However the company offers tips for all of its users going forward, including using strong passwords that mix numbers and symbols with upper- and lowercase letters, not using the same password for multiple accounts, and disabling Java in all browsers.

Copyright 2013 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved.

TVFactFan · 02-03-2013, 01:05 AM

I can less because Twitter is trash anyway lol

Family Ties Forever! · 02-03-2013, 01:13 AM

I've never used Twitter.

spunkygirl · 02-03-2013, 11:04 AM

no twitter is awesome, don't knock it unless you've tried it

robyrob · 02-03-2013, 12:38 PM

Twitter is a very efficient cat-picture-delivery-system.

yankeesrj12 · 02-03-2013, 03:25 PM

I thought Twitter was stupid before I got it. Now I can't get enough of it!

ZeldaGilroy · 02-03-2013, 04:37 PM

I like Twitter. No one in my family is on there so I can have a little privacy in my posts. LOL!

70s show watcher · 02-03-2013, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spunkygirl

no twitter is awesome, don't knock it unless you've tried it

i agree i have been there quite awhile and i really enjoy it i split my internet chatting between there and here at sitcoms online

70s show watcher · 02-03-2013, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yankeesrj12

I thought Twitter was stupid before I got it. Now I can't get enough of it!

me ether its alot of fun once you get the hang of it

JamesG · 02-03-2013, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeldaGilroy

I like Twitter. No one in my family is on there so I can have a little privacy in my posts. LOL!

You can privatize your account and allow only certain people to see your tweets (followers).

02-03-2013, 01:02 AM	#1
Family Ties Forever! Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 16, 2002 Location: Keaton residence Posts: 10,214	Twitter Hacked; 250.000 Accounts Affected link Twitter Hacked; 250,000 Accounts Affected Attackers get access to user names, email addresses Author: By Heather Kelly CNN Posted: Feb 1, 2013 7:07 PM CST Updated: Feb 2, 2013 7:47 PM CST (CNN) - Twitter is coming forward as the latest site to be hacked. The social network said in a blog post Friday afternoon that approximately 250,000 user accounts were compromised, with attackers gaining access to information including user names and email addresses. The company first detected signs of an attack earlier in the week, which led to an investigation and the discovery of a larger breach. "This week, we detected unusual access patterns that led to us identifying unauthorized access attempts to Twitter user data. We discovered one live attack and were able to shut it down in process moments later," said Bob Lord, Twitter's director of information security, in a post. Twitter has reset the passwords and revoked session tokens, which allow you to stay logged into the service without reentering a password, for all of these accounts. Affected users will not be able to log in and will receive an e-mail instructing them to reset their password. This attack follows major security breaches at the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, which were both attributed to Chinese hackers. The New York Times suspects it was in response to negative coverage of the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, and the Journal said evidence pointed to an attempt to "target the monitoring of the Journal's coverage of China." While the Twitter post does not mention China or blame the hacks on any specific country or group, it does mention the newspaper hacks. "This attack was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident. The attackers were extremely sophisticated, and we believe other companies and organizations have also been recently similarly attacked," said Lord. A quarter-million accounts is a small segment of Twitter's 200 million monthly active users worldwide. However the company offers tips for all of its users going forward, including using strong passwords that mix numbers and symbols with upper- and lowercase letters, not using the same password for multiple accounts, and disabling Java in all browsers. Copyright 2013 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved.
	__________________ Jenny

02-03-2013, 12:38 PM	#5
robyrob certified wackball#3 Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Aug 03, 2003 Location: hiding under the third booth at Arnold's Posts: 58,211	Twitter is a very efficient cat-picture-delivery-system.
	__________________ * firefox * AdAware * HiJackThis * CoolWebShredder * Spybot * SpywareBlaster * Spyware Terminator * * GeeksToGo * AntiVir * Avast antivirus * Housecall Online * Sysinternals Security Utilities * * ZoneAlarm * Agnitum-firewall * Comodo Firewall * AVG Anti-Rootkit * RootkitRevealer * ParasiteCheck * * Annoyances * FreeCodecs * Mikes-Hosts-File * GRC.com * MSAntispyware * DVD's * TradeList * myspace *

02-03-2013, 04:37 PM	#7
ZeldaGilroy Dobie and Zelda Forever!!! Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 14, 2000 Location: I don't know...I'm probably lost! Posts: 4,144	I like Twitter. No one in my family is on there so I can have a little privacy in my posts. LOL!
	__________________ *Formerly FactsFan* "I always carry a spare wedding ring. A single girl never knows when lightning may strike." ~Zelda Gilroy

02-03-2013, 01:05 AM	#2
TVFactFan Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Aug 17, 2002 Posts: 99,125	I can less because Twitter is trash anyway lol

02-03-2013, 01:13 AM	#3
Family Ties Forever! Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 16, 2002 Location: Keaton residence Posts: 10,214	I've never used Twitter.

02-03-2013, 11:04 AM	#4
spunkygirl Member Moderator Forum Celebrity Join Date: Apr 26, 2003 Posts: 21,563	no twitter is awesome, don't knock it unless you've tried it

02-03-2013, 03:25 PM	#6
yankeesrj12 Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 09, 2008 Posts: 4,335	I thought Twitter was stupid before I got it. Now I can't get enough of it!