Twitter Hack: Uncovering the (Potential) Impact of a 200 Million User Breach

The recent Twitter hack predates Elon Musk’s take over as Twitter’s CEO. But it wasn't until recently that its effects were revealed to be even more severe, impacting up to 200 million users! That's a significant number and it proves just how important it is to stay protected against these malicious attacks.

The theft of the email addresses of over 200 million Twitter users and their subsequent posting on an online hacking forum is a sobering reminder of the potential risks of cyberattacks. Unfortunately, this breach is likely to fuel further malicious activities such as hacking, targeted phishing, and doxing.

IF YOU ARE NOT A TWITTER USER, YOU MAY THINK HOW DOES THIS IMPACT ME?

Twitter’s hack has ramifications for all its users. However, businesses with Twitter accounts should take note. If they or their employees use the same email address and password combination for other accounts besides Twitter, a bad actor can (potentially) use that information to gain access to its network or obtain enough information that would facilitate a phishing or ransomware attack. 

Even if businesses have a strong IT infrastructure, companies should ensure their employees are trained in good password hygiene. By properly implementing the following steps, companies will be better equipped to defend against cyberattacks or data breaches:

• Always use a strong password with combinations of characters, numbers, and upper- and lower-case letters
• Do not use the same password or follow a similar password pattern from one account to the next
• Track log in credentials and close inactive accounts
• Require routine password changes

THE YEAR OF DATA BREACHES

2021 saw an unprecedented number of data breaches in the US, according to a report published by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). The 1,862 breaches shattered the previous record of 1,506 set in 2017—a 68% increase from the 1,108 breaches of 2020. Vulnerable sectors such as healthcare, finance, business, and retail were hit hardest, leading to major repercussions for millions of people around the country.

During the Yahoo cyberattack that occurred from 2013-2016, which was one of the worst cases in known history, a business owner suffered a ransomware attack. He didn’t use Yahoo for business. He was the only one with administrative access and unfortunately, he used the same password for his business’ network that he had used for a personal Yahoo email account he had abandoned years ago. He did not carry Cyber Insurance at the time and was unable to get back into his system and subsequently went out of business. 

NONE OF THIS IS NEW!

In the movie WarGames from 1983, a high school student accessed the school computer by finding where the secretary kept her passwords and got into the NORAD computers by guessing the admin used his son’s name as the password. And yet 30 years later, we are all still making these same mistakes!

Luckily, multi-factor authentication (MFA), password hygiene, and employee training are easy and effective ways for businesses to safeguard their networks. But for those times when even the best of systems succumbs to the realities of human nature, Cyber Insurance is a critical tool in preserving business continuity.