Coordinated Twitter Hack Targets High-Profile Accounts to Push Cryptocurrency Scam
Yesterday, a number of very influential, high-profile Twitter accounts were hacked by unknown actors. The message tweeted out from all hacked accounts was in essence a Bitcoin scam intended to convince people to willingly part with their Bitcoin.
The hacked accounts included some with massive outreach and millions of followers, including Apple, Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. The list goes on and includes all sorts of influencers, from corporate CEOs to rap stars, such as Jeff Bezos and Kanye West.
The gist of the fake messages posted once the accounts were hacked, as shown in the hacked Bill Gates tweet image below, was that the person or organization wanted to "give back to their community" and any Bitcoin sent back to the hacker’s account in the tweet would be returned double, but only if the victim acts "within the next 30 minutes". Some of the messages also chose to include a COVID-19 twist, as the hacked account of Elon Musk stated he was "feeling generous because of Covid-19".
Screenshot of Bill Gates Twitter Account Hacked to Push Cryptocurrency Scam
According to an ongoing Motherboard investigation, the hack was carried out using a Twitter employee to gain access to an internal Twitter tool and take control of the accounts. Motherboard claims to have contacted two separate sources that confirmed the involvement of a Twitter insider, one source claiming the insider was paid to assist them. Screenshots of the internal tool used were reportedly leaked and circulated among hacker circles online.
The hack was not a roaring success for the bad actors behind it, as just around $120,000 in Bitcoin was transferred to the hackers’ account shortly after the Twitter incident. There are concerns, however, that the cryptocurrency scam may have been just a facade and the hackers may have obtained access to other sensitive information, including private messages and other account details. This is a very big thing, considering who those accounts belonged to. Some sources have later claim that the hackers behind the attack have accumulated millions of dollars but such has not been verified as this time.
Twitter recently tweeted that "you may be unable to Tweet or reset your password while we review and address this incident," which gives insult to injury because "changing your password" is the first step people take when they suspect that their account has been hacked.
You may be unable to Tweet or reset your password while we review and address this incident.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 15, 2020
Furthermore, the Twitter Support account tweeted something along the same lines as the company is investigating what is going on and will have more updates to come.
Internally, we’ve taken significant steps to limit access to internal systems and tools while our investigation is ongoing. More updates to come as our investigation continues.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 16, 2020
The Bitcoin scam and hook was nothing new, this sort of approach has been used before, which makes the theory about more valuable data being targeted by the hack more plausible. The fact that Twitter is fundamentally failing to bring clear light to the situation is suspect at best. However, the countless other times that Twitter has been attacked by hackers, successfully, doesn't help the user experience and belief that Twitter has taken the proper precautions and security measures to protect their vast user base, which is said to be over 330 million in total active monthly users.
To counteract the hack, as mentioned the tweets above, Twitter has temporarily suspended the ability of all verified accounts to post new content across their platform. Currently, the social media giant hasn't updated users other than the statement of them limiting "access to internal systems and tools" as they are conducting their own internal investigation.