Security Expert: Twitter Hack Leaked Data on 200M Users

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Facts

  • According to Alon Gal, the co-founder of the Israeli cybersecurity-monitoring firm Hudson Rock, hackers have allegedly stolen the email address of more than 200M Twitter users and shared them with an online hacking forum. Twitter hasn't respond to the claim.
  • Gal called the leak "one of the most significant" he had seen. Screenshots of the hacker forum — where the data allegedly appeared Wednesday — have circulated online, although the authenticity couldn't be independently verified.
  • Some reports claim the data was actually collected in 2021 via a bug, which Twitter fixed after a similar event involving 5.4M Twitter accounts in July 2022.
  • Gal said the breach would lead to hacking, targeted phishing, and doxxing. He first posted the report on social media on Dec. 24, and it's not clear if Twitter has taken any action.

Sources: Reuters, Guardian, CNN, and BBC News.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Politico. This serious risk of a breach is a result of Elon Musk's mismanagement of Twitter. He undercut key cyber security defenses and introduced new vulnerabilities. Users are now at serious risk for Musk's reckless and whimsical actions.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Axios. Twitter may have cybersecurity issues, but it's unfair to blame Musk. Prior to his purchase of the social media giant, a whistleblower set forth in great detail nightmare and "Black Swan" cyber security issues. No CEO would have wanted to inherit this level of risk.