Security News > 2020 > July > Hackers Accessed, Downloaded Twitter User Data in Recent Attack

Social media platform Twitter has confirmed that attackers downloaded user data from some of the accounts compromised in last week's security incident.

In a blog post published over the weekend, Twitter revealed that the attackers launched a password reset operation for 45 of the 130 targeted user accounts, which allowed them to seize control of the accounts and post tweets.

"For up to eight of the Twitter accounts involved, the attackers took the additional step of downloading the account's information through our 'Your Twitter Data' tool. This is a tool that is meant to provide an account owner with a summary of their Twitter account details and activity. We are reaching out directly to any account owner where we know this to be true," the company noted.

These young hackers target early Twitter accounts or those with one letter or number usernames, which are referred to as "Original Gangster" or "OG" accounts.

"The reality of the situation is that this attack can happen to anyone. Everyone is paying attention because the Twitter attack played out in the public eye, but insiders cause damage all the time. Every time an employee leaves a company, data and IP are removed, and no one catches it in real-time nor understand how to control it," Ayes said.

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