Over 1,000 Twitter Employees Could Have Facilitated Cyberattack

As of early 2020, more than a thousand Twitter employees and contractors had access to internal tools that allowed them to change user account settings and transfer control to others, significantly weakening the social network’s cybersecurity.

Twitter representatives stated that attackers “manipulated a small number of employees and used their credentials” to access these tools, ultimately taking control of 45 accounts. Hackers also gained access to the private messages of 36 account holders.

According to former Twitter employees familiar with the company’s security policies, who spoke to Reuters, around 1,000 people could have helped carry out such a cyberattack, including some contractors from companies like Cognizant.

Cybersecurity experts warn that insider threats, especially from low-paid third-party support staff, are a constant risk for companies serving large numbers of users.

As a reminder, Twitter and the FBI are investigating a cyberattack in which hackers gained access to the accounts of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and others. The criminals posted fraudulent messages on behalf of these celebrities, reportedly earning about $180,000 as a result.

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