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Zuckerberg’s Twitter and Pinterest accounts were hacked — Researchers believe passwords were stolen from leaked LinkedIn Data!
The 2012 LinkedIn database hack has affected many, and as the information keeps pouring in, we are getting to know how devastating the attack must have been for all those involved.
It is being reported that on Monday, Zuckerberg lost access to his Twitter and Pinterest accounts for a brief period and the reason explained by hacker group who use the online handle ”OurMine” is that Zuckerberg has a habit of re-using his old passwords. This is why they were able to break into his accounts because the same passwords were identified with his accounts during the LinkedIn hack.
Once his passwords were identified, the hackers gained access to Zuckerberg’s Twitter handle and then this message was posted:
“You were in LinkedIn Database … DM for proof.”
The Same password helped the hacker(s) access the social network owner’s Pinterest account and the profile ID was changed to this: “Hacked By OurMine Team”.
Ouch. Mark Zuckerberg's social media accounts have been hacked pic.twitter.com/KvVmXOIg5s
— Ben Hall (@Ben_Hall) June 5, 2016
Also, according to the hackers, they have gained access to the Instagram account of Zuckerberg but this has been denied by Facebook with this statement: “No Facebook systems or accounts were accessed,” as reported by VentureBeat.
It must be noted that the Twitter account hacked, this time, was not in use by Zuckerberg at all probably because there hasn’t been a single tweet posted by Zuckerberg in as long as four years’ time. The last tweet was about the American anti-piracy law SOPA while the majority of tweets were posted in 2009.
Yes, this is the real Mark Zuckerberg. Thanks for following me!
— Mark Zuckerberg (@finkd) March 7, 2009
We know that Twitter started using two-factor authentication since last year, which ensures that whoever tries to log in to the site much possess the same phone number that the user has been registered with. However, this sort of security is unavailable at Pinterest as of now.
Twitter has now suspended the account of those behind the hack but a cache version still shows tweets before suspension revealing that hackers also claimed to have access to some accounts of Bill Gates and Vine star Christian Collins.
So, the moral of the story is that one must never use same passwords and login information on different accounts. When the owner of a social networking giant can get hacked despite having access to the most advanced security measures then anyone can easily get victimized.
