Celebrity Accounts Hacked "Send Bitcoin Within 30 Minutes and Get Double Back"
Twitter Appears to Have Suffered Organized Social Engineering Attack
Internal System Administrator Employee Believed to Have Been Hacked
[Asia Economy Reporters Kwon Jae-hee and Naju-seok] A major hacking incident occurred in which the Twitter accounts of famous figures such as former U.S. President Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk were compromised and exploited for financial fraud. This unprecedented simultaneous hacking of multiple celebrity Twitter accounts in a single day has raised serious concerns about Twitter’s lax security policies, and it is expected to have significant repercussions, including a sharp drop in stock prices.
According to CNBC on the 15th (local time), a post appeared on Musk’s Twitter account promising to double Bitcoin if users sent $1,000 (approximately 1.2 million KRW) worth of Bitcoin to a specific address within 30 minutes. Although the post was deleted within minutes, similar posts reportedly continued to appear.
The compromised accounts included not only Musk’s but also those of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, rapper Kanye West, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett. Similar posts were also found on the official Twitter accounts of Uber and Apple.
According to Bloomberg, more than 11 Bitcoins, worth about $100,000 (approximately 120 million KRW), were transferred to the Bitcoin address posted by the hackers.
Twitter stated that it immediately deleted the posts and would correct the situation, but the impact of the security breach is expected to be substantial. Twitter acknowledged the security incident through a post, stating, "We recognize this as a security breach," and added, "We will investigate to identify the cause and take corrective measures." Twitter also deactivated all hacked accounts and urged users to reset their passwords.
CNN described the incident as "the largest and worst security breach in Twitter’s history," expressing concern that the hack involved financial fraud and targeted globally famous individuals.
Theresa Payton, former White House Chief Information Officer (CIO), said, "Twitter must clearly disclose how and why these accounts were hacked," and added, "Twitter should apologize not only to the users of the hacked accounts but also to the hackers who exploited its weak security policies."
Twitter, which has been embroiled in a series of setbacks this year, is once again under scrutiny due to this unprecedented security breach. Previously, Twitter faced controversy over its 'fact-check' labels, becoming a target of social media regulations signed by the Donald Trump administration. Internationally, Twitter has resisted requests to provide user information under the Hong Kong National Security Law, exposing it to pressure from Chinese authorities. Coupled with this critical security breach, Twitter’s stock price fell 5% in after-hours trading on the day of the incident.
Regarding the hack, Twitter announced that it appears to have targeted employees with access to internal systems. Through its official Twitter Support account, Twitter stated, "We detected activity consistent with a coordinated social engineering attack." Twitter plans to implement measures to restrict access to internal systems and tools in response.
Social engineering attacks refer to hacking techniques that exploit the human vulnerabilities of system operators rather than the system itself.
Twitter is currently investigating whether other malicious activities or information exposures occurred in connection with this hack and has pledged to disclose additional information as it becomes available.
Warnings have also been raised that this security breach could lead to a mass exodus of Twitter users. In 2018, Facebook suffered a hacking attack that exposed the personal information of about 50 million users, which led to a wave of celebrities announcing their departure from Facebook and a significant drop in users in their 20s and 30s. At that time, Musk also deleted his Facebook page and announced he would stop advertising on Facebook.
Experts advise setting up stringent security procedures such as two-factor authentication to prevent hacking incidents like this. Mel Shakir, Executive Director of Dremit Ventures in the IT security industry, recommended, "Users should use as many security options as possible, such as biometric authentication like fingerprints or hardware keys for two-factor authentication instead of text messages."
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey expressed regret over the incident, saying, "I am sorry that this hacking incident occurred," and promised, "We will share everything possible regarding the investigation into the cause of this hack."
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