Twitter Hackers View Private Messages in 36 Targeted Accounts
Hackers behind the massive Twitter bitcoin scam access the direct messages of 36 accounts, including a Dutch politician. Federal and state investigators probe the breach.
Hackers who breached Twitter's systems access private messages belonging to 36 of the 130 targeted accounts, the company confirms. The intruders view the direct message inboxes of these affected users, though Twitter only publicly identifies one victim as an elected leader in the Netherlands. The company states it finds no indication that any other current or former elected officials experience this specific message access.
This direct message disclosure follows a massive July 15 attack where hijackers take over prominent accounts like those of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Elon Musk. The attackers use these high-profile profiles to promote a bitcoin scam that ultimately nets approximately $110,000 from unsuspecting followers. Previously, Twitter reveals the hackers send tweets from 45 verified accounts and download full data archives from eight accounts.
The revelation validates earlier speculation from cybersecurity researchers who suspected the attackers compromised the usually protected direct messages. Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York State Department of Financial Services actively probe the breach to determine the full scope of the incident. This update marks a significant escalation in the severity of the attack, exposing private conversations of some of the most famous people on the platform.