Twitter Warns Of Government Hacking Jobs; Coldhak Received The Notice!
Twitter Inc. is warning users that they have been victim of government sponsored hacking jobs, according to the Independent.
The site warned of "State-sponsored actors" breaking into a "small group of accounts" and taking information such as phone numbers and email addresses.
Twitter told its users that it appears that they have been hacked before. The company did not mention any specific country with regard to the hacks but it seems this is the first time that the company has specifically blamed governments.
This announcement followed similar warnings made by Google in 2012 and Facebook's own in October, last year. These companies have added a feature where a pop-up warning will appear when suspected government hackers attempt to break into accounts.
State-sponsored hackers are the most well-resourced and sophisticated hackers. They often use cyber attacks to conduct espionage or steal intellectual property, revealed CNBC.
A Winnipeg-based nonprofit called Coldhak said it received the notice. The organization said the warning from Twitter came on Friday. The notice said the attackers may have been trying to obtain information such as "email addresses, IP addresses, and/or phone numbers."
We received a warning from @twitter today stating we may be "targeted by state-sponsored actors" pic.twitter.com/oZm83eVFC5
— coldhak (@coldhakca) December 11, 2015
Coldhak has retweeted reports from a number of other users who said they received the notice. Coldhak and other users did not indicate why they may have been singled out.
Colin Childs, one of the founding directors of Coldhak, told Reuters his organization has seen "no noticeable impact of this attack."
On the other hand, Twitter's specific warning has sparked criticism from those who received it.
The company advises users to use the anonymous browser Tor. This allows them to keep their identity secret in the face of hacks but Tor users say the firm blocks accounts that log in using the service, because it thinks they are spammers.
Users whose accounts are blocked in this way can get them back by verifying with a phone number; However, phone numbers are one of the pieces of information that Twitter has warned may have been stolen in the attacks, revealed The Guardian.
