Twitter lost control of its internal systems to Bitcoin-scamming hackers

Enlarge / A Twitter logo displayed on a smartphone. (credit: Rafael Henrique | SOPA Images/LightRocket | Getty Images)

Twitter lost control of its internal systems to attackers who hijacked almost a dozen high-profile accounts, in a breach that raises serious concerns about the security of a platform that's growing increasingly influential.

The first signs of compromise occurred around 1pm California time when hijacked accounts-belonging to former Vice President Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and other people with millions or tens of millions of followers-started pumping out messages that tried to scam people into transferring cryptocurrency to attacker-controlled wallets.

In a tweet issued about seven hours after the mass takeover spree began, Twitter officials said the attackers appeared to take control by tricking or otherwise convincing employees to hand over credentials.

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