Have 32 Million Twitter Accounts Really Been Compromised?
Similar to the hacking of 100 million LinkedIn profiles several months back, LeakedSource recently reported that they have a cache of approximately 32 million compromised Twitter accounts.
The anti-hacking website said that these login credentials were possibly accumulated over a period of time through compromised browsers. These infected web browsers would then send the information collected to the hackers overseeing the operation.
Twitter, however, stated that their network had not been breached, and that they were taking this issue seriously.
In a published statement, Twitter said, “We’ve been working to help keep accounts protected by checking our data against what’s been share from recent other password leaks.”
Security experts believe that 32 million might be a huge number for compromised accounts, but it is not a reason to panic. A majority of the database of stolen accounts are associated with Russian emails, leading experts to believe that malware was widespread among them. A good portion of the 32 million accounts are old and non-active ones.
Online security experts recommend to not use identical passwords across accounts – doing so could mean a break-in on your Twitter could put your banking profile in danger.
LeakedSource allows users to check if their login credentials are part of the 32 million account database.
Having old passwords or non-active accounts could still lead to similar issues, though. Just last month, a number of Mark Zuckerberg’s non-active social media accounts were hacked. One of the main reasons this happened was because Zuckerberg reused passwords across different accounts.
Online security experts recommend to not use identical passwords across several accounts, since doing so would mean that a break-in done on your Twitter account could put your online banking profile in danger. Changing passwords periodically will also be helpful to maintaining your online privacy and security.
LeakedSource, for their part, never released the identity of the source of the hacked Twitter accounts – only saying they received it from an anonymous tipper. Their own identity and credibility cannot be relied upon as well as the do not really provide information about themselves. Also, while they do provide some free services, they charge a minimal amount for a full-service subscription.
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