Twitter vows 'ironclad defense' against hacking, strengthens security during US presidential election

July Bill Gates and Obama Accounts Hacked in Unprecedented Cyberattack
Security Strengthened Amid Rising Fake News Concerns Ahead of Election

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Twitter, a social media platform used by over 300 million people worldwide, announced that it will significantly strengthen security measures ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election to prevent hacking of prominent figures.

The reason Twitter is emphasizing security is due to a large-scale hacking incident targeting U.S. political and business figures. The targets included Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. Fake messages appeared on these accounts asking for cryptocurrency transfers, resulting in damages exceeding approximately $100,000 (about 120 million KRW).

According to IT media The Verge on the 18th, Twitter recently announced via a blog post that it will enhance account security related to U.S. administrative officials, members of Congress, and major news organizations. Measures include resetting passwords, implementing two-factor authentication, and strengthening its own anti-hacking systems.

Twitter stated, "We will focus on keeping the accounts of celebrities on Twitter safe during the U.S. election period," adding, "Since voters, political candidates, elected officials, and journalists trust Twitter, we will responsibly pay close attention to account security." Twitter also mentioned that, especially during the election period, if fake news spreads, user confusion could increase, so in the event of hacking attempts, accounts will be promptly restored and internal security measures will be implemented.

Meanwhile, the main culprit behind the hacking of prominent figures’ Twitter accounts, including former President Obama, was identified as 17-year-old Graham Ivan Clark. Clark is known to have hacked Twitter employees’ internal login systems to access Twitter’s system and committed the crime by resetting the passwords of various accounts.