Hackers have stolen the e-mail addresses of greater than 200 million Twitter customers and posted them on a web based hacking discussion board, a safety researcher says.
The breach “will unfortunately lead to a lot of hacking, targeted phishing and doxxing”, Alon Gal, co-founder of Israeli cybersecurity-monitoring agency Hudson Rock, wrote on LinkedIn.
He known as it “one of the most significant leaks I’ve seen”.
Twitter has not commented on the report, which Gal first posted about on social media on December 24, nor responded to inquiries in regards to the breach since that date.
It was not clear what motion, if any, Twitter has taken to research or remediate the problem.
Reuters couldn’t independently confirm the info on the discussion board was genuine and got here from Twitter.
Screenshots of the hacker discussion board, the place the info appeared on Wednesday, have circulated on-line.
Troy Hunt, creator of breach-notification website Have I Been Pwned, considered the leaked information and stated on Twitter that it appeared “pretty much what it’s been described as”.
There had been no clues to the id or location of the hacker or hackers behind the breach.
It may have taken place as early as 2021, which was earlier than Elon Musk took over possession of the corporate final 12 months.
Claims in regards to the measurement and scope of the breach initially diverse with early accounts in December saying 400 million e mail addresses and cellphone numbers had been stolen.
A significant breach at Twitter would possibly curiosity regulators on either side of the Atlantic.
The Data Protection Commission in Ireland, the place Twitter has its European headquarters, and the United States Federal Trade Commission have been monitoring the corporate for compliance with European information safety guidelines and a US consent order respectively.
Messages left with the 2 regulators weren’t instantly returned on Thursday.
