Twitter is trying to assure its 59 million users that they are doing everything in their power to keep the site, and their users information safe.
Twitter issued this statement on its blog :
As a precautionary security measure, we have reset passwords and revoked session tokens for these accounts. If your account was one of them, you will have recently received (or will shortly) an email from us at the address associated with your Twitter account notifying you that you will need to create a new password. Your old password will not work when you try to log in to Twitter.
Twitter revealed on Friday that anonymous hackers had attacked some 250,000 user accounts, accessing passwords and email address as well as other information. The microblogging website Twitter has fallen victim to a cyber-attack, according to a company security official.
Earlier in the week, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported similar attacks by hackers.
The attacks are difficult to detect, as customized pieces of malware frequently escape detection by security software.
The New York Times reported the passwords of every one of its employees had been stolen. Mandiant, the security firm hired by The Times to investigate the attack, said that the hackers used tactics similar to previous attacks traced back to China. The newspaper reported the attacks started after they began investigating the wealth reportedly accumulated by relatives of the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao.
The Wall Street Journal said Thursday it had been targeted by hackers trying to monitor the newspaper's coverage of China, less than a day after a similar revelation from its competitor The New York Times.
"Evidence shows that infiltration efforts target the monitoring of the Journal's coverage of China, and are not an attempt to gain commercial advantage or to misappropriate customer information," the statement read, according to The Journal.
One hint that experts give to consumers is to never open email or even Twitter direct messages that look suspicious, such as the DMs that have been going around on Twitter, which tells you to click on the link to go look at pictures of yourself. Twitter also suggests using a strong password – at least 10 (but more is better) characters and a mixture of upper- and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols – that you are not using for any other accounts or sites.
No word yet on any connection between the Twitter hack and the The Wallstreet Journal and The New York Times attacks.
If you found liked this article, you may also enjoy:
Future of the internet: YouTube charging for channel subscriptions
Twitter Chats: How does that work?
Starting from Scratch in programming
via Examiner National Edition Gadgets & Tech Channel Articles http://www.examiner.com/article/twitter-gives-assurances-to-users-about-hack-attacks?cid=roadrunner