Hackers Attacked High Profile Twitter Accounts

Hackers accessed Twitter on Wednesday afternoon. Users of the social media site took notice of the unprecedented hack when accounts with massive followings started cranking out spam. Among the largest accounts hackers gained control over are those belonging to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, former President Barack Obama, Apple, and even Kanye West.

As of this writing, Twitter has apparently locked all accounts marked with a blue check. These are verified accounts, so designated because Twitter deems the accounts are of public interest. The company also says that users may not be able to tweet or change their passwords while they address the incident. So far, Twitter Support provided a boilerplate response to the incident, saying the company is aware of the problem and is “investigating and taking steps to fix it.”

It’s unclear when exactly hackers initiated the attack, but major accounts began spamming various inauthentic messages on the afternoon of July 15. As of this writing, both “#hacked” and “#Blue Checks” are trending on Twitter, as users look for details on the situation.

As of about 4:00PM PT, no official source has shared any explanation for the attack or who is behind it. Many of the messages spammed from the popular accounts related to Bitcoin, however. “Feeling greatful [sic], doubling all payments sent to my BTC address,” one of the spammed tweets from Elon Musk’s account read in part. Many of the other hacked accounts posted similar messages.

Speculations among users is, of course, running rampant, but it’s clear nobody knows what’s happening. Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO, hasn’t commented on the situation. He did, however, retweet the tweet from Twitter support noting that the company is aware of the incident.

Deepakgoyal0786 / David Whelan

What are your thoughts on this hacking incident? Has your account been affected? Let us know in the comments!

Featured Image: Deepakgoyal0786 / David Whelan