For dissidents around the globe,??? ?????? ??? ?????? ??????? ???????? Twitter remains the tool of choice for speaking out against their repressive governments.
With that in mind, it's easy to see why today's announcement from the social media company is so troubling. Twitter, in a Monday blog post and corresponding statement, announced it had discovered that "bad actors" with possible state-sponsored connections had found a way to tie phone numbers to Twitter accounts en masse.
In other words, a hacker using this exploit could potentially reveal the identity of a person tweeting under a pseudonym who has their account tied to a phone number. Or, alternatively, it's worth remembering that determining the phone number connected to an account is often a crucial step in hacking it.
"On December 24, 2019 we became aware that someone was using a large network of fake accounts to exploit our API and match usernames to phone numbers," reads the Twitter blog post. "While we identified accounts located in a wide range of countries engaging in these behaviors, we observed a particularly high volume of requests coming from individual IP addresses located within Iran, Israel, and Malaysia."
With Saudi Arabia's documented real-world harassment of dissidents, for example, it's easy to see how such exploits could lead to real-world harm.
"It is possible that some of these IP addresses may have ties to state-sponsored actors," continued the blog post.
We've reached out to Twitter to determine how many users were affected and if the company planned to notify users whose phone numbers were tied to accounts in the manner described. We've received no immediate response at present.
Uncheck these. Credit: screenshot / twitter Importantly, not everyone was vulnerable to this specific exploit. According to Twitter, the bad actors in question could only tie your account to a phone number ifyour account met two specific criteria.
SEE ALSO: Jeff Bezos tweets reminder that Saudi government murdered a journalist
First, you had to have added a phone number to your account. However, with many people doing that very thing to enable two-factor authentication, a lot of folks fall into that bucket. Secondly, and this should narrow things down a bit, you must have selected the "Let people who have your phone number find you on Twitter" option.
Now would be a good time to make sure you don'thave that setting enabled. It would also be a great time for Twitter to consider removing it altogether.
UPDATE: Feb. 3, 2020, 2:27 p.m. PST: A Twitter spokesperson responded to our request for comment with the following statement:
As explained in our Privacy Center blog, we recently became aware that someone was using a large network of fake accounts to exploit our API and match usernames to phone numbers. After our investigation, we immediately fixed the issue by making a number of changes to the specific API endpoint that was being exploited. We also suspended any account we believe to have been engaged in this behaviour. Protecting the privacy and safety of the people who use Twitter is a top priority and we remain focused on stopping any abuse of Twitter’s features as quickly as possible.
Topics Cybersecurity Privacy X/Twitter
‘The Waiting Room’ at Santa Monica Playhouse
Best robot vacuum deal: Save $100 on the iRobot Roomba Q0120
Temporary Autonomous Taco Zones
The Right to Radiance
Digital and Media Content Conference This Weekend
'The White Lotus' Season 3, episode 7: Did Jim Hollinger kill Rick's dad?
Today's Hurdle hints and answers for March 31, 2025
Amazon Big Spring Sale Levoit vacuum deal: Save $100
‘I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story’ Opens at JANM Sept. 14
Amazon Spring Sale 2025: Best self
Saori Yuki at Hollywood Bowl with Pink Martini
Faster, Higher, Stronger, More Harmonious
'The White Lotus' Season 3: I have a theory about Jim Hollinger
'The White Lotus' Season 3, episode 7: Did Jim Hollinger kill Rick's dad?
ECSTATIC lock in spot at IEM Rio Europe RMR
Best comedy movies on Amazon Prime Video
Stand on the surface of an alien planet with NASA
Facebook is making it easier to connect with friends again
A Pioneer Remembered: Dr. Kanji Sahara
Facebook is making it easier to connect with friends again
Judge tosses out another climate suit in NYC. What comes next?Best streaming deal: Save $30 on Hulu + Live TV todayThe Queer OtherHow to preCarob TreeWordle today: The answer and hints for September 11The sun bubbles. Astronomers just saw a distant star do it, too.Hackers steal nearly 1.7 million credit card numbers in breachThird Way to NowhereiPhone 16 deal: Save almost $100 at Walmart Blood banks in El Paso 'overwhelmed' by donations after mass shooting 'Jane the Virgin' forsakes an epic, dramatic finale – and that's just fine What Intel's 10th Accused Capital One hacker 'had no malicious intent,' insists friend How and why 'Frankenstein's Monster's Monster, Frankenstein' exists Comcast lets parents automatically boot kids off WiFi after daily max What bartenders think about the 'A.I. Bar' Why you should and shouldn't consider getting a 5G hotspot What 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' gets right about Charles Manson 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' is rom
0.1764s , 10013.8671875 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【??? ?????? ??? ?????? ??????? ????????】Twitter exploit let 'bad actors' match phone numbers to accounts,Global Hot Topic Analysis
