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How Did It Happen? – Widespread Twitter Hack And Bitcoin Scam Raises Questions

Late on Wednesday, 15th July 2020, unknown hackers compromised the Twitter of accounts of Bill Gates and Elon Musk, using them to perpetrate a major Bitcoin scam. However, as the night wore on, other high-profile Twitter accounts became victims of the hack.

 

Some of the popular Twitter accounts that were hacked in the Bitcoin scam include; Apple, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Kanye West, Uber, Jeff Bezos, Cashapp, and many others.

 

The scale of the cyberattack and the fact that these are all important accounts, with combined hundreds of millions of followers, raised concerns.

 

Many Twitter users were found asking how the attack was happening and how guaranteed the safety of other users were. As of when this article was published there has been no official statement from Twitter on the issue.

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How Did It Happen? – Widespread Twitter Hack And Bitcoin Scam Raises Questions
Tweet from Bill Gates’hacked Twitter account. Photo: Twitter.

 

However, the hacker(s) were not holding the accounts ransom; instead, they used the compromised accounts to direct people to send Bitcoin to an account. “All Bitcoin sent to my address below will be sent back doubled”, the Tweet said.

 

The Tweets from Elon Musk and Bill Gates’ accounts came earliest and many people allegedly fell victim to it. A Twitter user claimed that the hacker(s) had made over $55,000+ in Bitcoin from the hack.

 

While warnings about the Tweets being false came early, many people ignored it. The Bitcoin account got over 212+ transactions within half an hour. Many people also want to know how the hacker(s) running the Bitcoin scam compromised such Twitter accounts.

 

The most informed guess is that it likely came from a Twitter hack that granted administrative access. This is as against a compromised third-party app. If this turns out to be true, it would be a major slap to Twitter’s security team.

 

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Onwuasoanya Obinna

A reader of books and stringer of words. Passionate about Science and Tech. When not writing or reading he is surfing the web and Tweeting.

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