Joe Biden’s among numerous prominent Twitter accounts hacked in ransom attack
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Twitter accounts of numerous well-known figures and companies have apparently been compromised by an unknown hacker asking users to send funds to a Bitcoin account.
Among those apparently attacked were presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama. Apple also was apparently targeted.
Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Kanye West, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, Mike Bloomberg and more are also among the victims of the hack.
Twitter Support tweeted, "We are aware of a security incident impacting accounts on Twitter. We are investigating and taking steps to fix it. We will update everyone shortly."
The sheer number of prominent accounts impacted made it arguably the biggest security incident in Twitter's history. A hack like this is particularly concerning not just because of any financial scam that can be run, but because so many world leaders use Twitter -- and some, like President Donald Trump, use it to announce major policy decisions. A hack that took over an account belonging to one of those leaders could have devastating consequences.
Last year, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's account was hacked, raising concerns about whether any account on the platform can truly avoid being compromised. The mechanism by which that hack occurred was fixed by Twitter after Dorsey's hack and there's no reason to believe it is to blame here.
