Twitter Hacked in “Sophisticated Attack”
Twitter announced tonight that some of their systems were compromised, in what they described as “a sophisticated attack.”
Information for about 250,000 Twitter users was apparently stolen in the attack, including usernames, email addresses, and encrypted passwords. The post on the official Twitter blog has more details, including a warning about disabling Java in browsers. (Note: they’re not referring to Javascript, a totally different language.)
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. However, our investigation has thus far indicated that the attackers may have had access to limited user information - usernames, email addresses, session tokens and encrypted/salted versions of passwords - for approximately 250,000 users.
As a precautionary security measure, we have reset passwords and revoked session tokens for these accounts. If your account was one of them, you will have recently received (or will shortly) an email from us at the address associated with your Twitter account notifying you that you will need to create a new password. Your old password will not work when you try to log in to Twitter.
Though only a very small percentage of our users were potentially affected by this attack, we encourage all users to take this opportunity to ensure that they are following good password hygiene, on Twitter and elsewhere on the Internet. Make sure you use a strong password - at least 10 (but more is better) characters and a mixture of upper- and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols - that you are not using for any other accounts or sites. Using the same password for multiple online accounts significantly increases your odds of being compromised. If you are not using good password hygiene, take a moment now to change your Twitter passwords. For more information about making your Twitter and other Internet accounts more secure, read our Help Center documentation or the FTC’s guide on passwords.
We also echo the advisory from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and security experts to encourage users to disable Java
on their computersin their browsers. For instructions on how to disable Java, read this recent Slate article.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. For that reason we felt that it was important to publicize this attack while we still gather information, and we are helping government and federal law enforcement in their effort to find and prosecute these attackers to make the Internet safer for all users.
re: #411 Mich-again
When he was signing, i remember him stopping to ask something to the kids behind him. I think he asked if any of them were left-handed. One girl said yes to whatever he asked. I'm a lefty so I may be projecting :)
One wonders whether the Chinese systems are being hacked by the CIA.
If they're not then they should be.
What Charles has revealed demonstrates intelligence gathering of contributers to this blog!
The nosy bastards!
re: #51 dragonfire1981
And we all know that the hardcore leftists run the country!
/eyeroll
re: #230 Dark_Falcon Your odds of death or injury go up dramatically when you have a firearm or when there is one in the house. Those are the facts. For something to have a legitimate use in home safety, it would actually have to make things, you know, safer. The fantasy that firearms make you safer is nothing more than that - a dangerous ...
Jambox is great for portable music (we have one). However I've read repeated online reviews saying that the hands-free conversation/speakerphone setup is atrocious
More room for funny cat pictures and stories about how nutty wingnuts and moonbats are.
I've had one of these for a couple of years now and I love it because it's so small & flat. They're light because they're made of plastic, but are quite durable. I paid around $10 for mine at Amazon, so at $4.99 a pop it's a great deal. Makes a good stocking stuffer for anyone with a laptop or netbook.
re: #11 Gus
Four years of "lame duck" is going to get really old, what a pathetic excuse.
Frank says: