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Cybercriminals recently hijacked the Twitter account of Mandiant, a threat intelligence and incident response firm owned by Google. The attackers attempted to steal cryptocurrency and renamed the account to resemble a legitimate crypto wallet service. They then encouraged users to visit a fraudulent website to claim free tokens, which was a scam. Mandiant regained control of the account and restored it, but the incident raises concerns about the security and incident response capabilities of the company.
This is not the first time that high-profile individuals and organizations have had their Twitter accounts compromised for cryptocurrency-related scams. In 2020, the accounts of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, former US president Barack Obama, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk were hacked to promote a Bitcoin scam. In September 2023, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin had his account hacked, resulting in his followers losing $691,000 in digital assets.
The incident also highlights the ongoing credibility issues facing Twitter, which has been in a downward spiral since Elon Musk took over as CEO in April 2022. The platform has been struggling with security breaches, credibility problems, and financial challenges. The hijacking of Mandiant’s Twitter account further tarnishes the image of both Twitter and Mandiant, a leading cybersecurity firm.
In addition to the hijacking of Mandiant’s Twitter account, security firm CloudSEK has warned about a surge in criminals taking over and selling “Gold” Twitter accounts for as much as $2,500. Hacked or compromised Twitter accounts can be used to spread phishing campaigns, damaging the reputation and brand of the affected company.
The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of stringent security policies and a strong incident response plan for organizations. Cyberattacks on high-profile accounts can have serious consequences for both the targeted individual or organization and their followers.
