A hacker has gained access to a Twitter ‘admin’ tool on the company’s network that allowed them to hijack high-profile Twitter accounts to spread a cryptocurrency scam.
The account hijacks hit some of the most prominent users on the social media platform, according to TechCrunch, including leading cryptocurrency sites, but also several celebrity accounts, notably Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden.
The attack was launched via social engineering activities conducted by people who successfully targeted Twitter’s employees with access to internal systems and tools. A person involved in the underground hacking scene told TechCrunch that a hacker, who goes by the handle ‘Kirk’ generated over USD 100,000 in the matter of hours by gaining access to an internal Twitter tool, which they used to take control of popular Twitter accounts.
Moreover, the negative actor used the tool to reset the associated email addresses of affected accounts to make it more difficult for the owner to regain control. The hacker then pushed a cryptocurrency scam that claimed whatever funds a victim sent ‘will be sent back doubled’.
To gain control of the platform, Twitter briefly suspended some account actions in an apparent effort to stem the account hijacks.
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