Twitter’s Two Sides of the Coin

Recently, a reported phishing attack using Twitter unknowingly compromised user account information.  Users received tweets or direct messages using phrasing such as “This you?” or ” LOL is this you” which then sent the Twitter user to an account which asked for identification verification. Then the user is directed towards the Twitter fail whale. Most do not realize that their account has been compromised.

This is not the first…

Phishing for Tweets: Phishing Attack Hits Twitter

Over the weekend, Twitter users were subjected to a new wave of phishing attacks which allowed a mass wave of spam to be sent from compromised accounts. The malware was distributed by posting messages claiming to portray humorous updates, according to an article on The Register.

The links send unsuspecting users to a false Twitter account that is hosted in China. Twitter warned users of the attack on Sunday…

Infection by Social Networking

The past year has seen a sharp increase in cyber attacks against social networking users according to a report released by Sophos. Users of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have experienced a 70 percent increase in spam and malware attacks in the past year.

Within the past year, close to 60 percent of users of social networking sites have experienced spam attacks and close to 40 percent…

Chinese State-Run ‘Twitter’ Hacked at Launch

The Chinese state-run Twitter-style website was hacked at its launch and has gone offline, according to media reports.

The People’s Daily, a state-run newspaper in China, launched the micro-blogging service on Tuesday and it was down by Wednesday.

A hacker exploited the site and used it to send pop-up messages to users who visited the site. A number of the messages in the pop-ups pointed to the Internet restrictions in…

Phishing Worm on Twitter

A new phishing scam on popular networking site Twitter is spreading worms based on false links.

Users are invited by already hijacked Twitter accounts to click on a video link, where the worm then infects their computer.

Previously infected accounts are used to send an invitation to access a video to their friends. When the link is clicked, users are asked to submit login information on a falsified Twitter…

Massive DDoS Attack On Twitter: Russian and Georgia Suspicion

Twitter was briefly shut down Thursday morning due to a massive denial-of-service attack (DDoS). The hacker/hackers are unknown, suggested perpetrators  have ranged from tech savvy individuals to Russian or Georgian sympathizers. The attack on Thursday marks exactly one year since the Russian-Georgia conflict. 

Similar attacks were found in LiveJournal, another social networking site. Facebook is “looking into” the similarities between attacks it experienced on Thursday morning and Twitter attacks.  Thankfully, Twitter…

Marine Corps Bans Twitter, Facebook, MySpace

Popular social networking sites including Twitter, MySpace and Facebook are banned from the U.S. Marine Corps for the next year, effective immediately. Other military branches are considering a similar ban.

The Marine Corps cited potential security breaches of government computers and malware attacks for the ban. Popular social networking sites have an increased potential for phising and malware attacks, a risk Marine officials are unwilling to take. However, internal networking programs within the U.S….

Social Network Hacking: Who’s To Blame?

After the massive amount of Twitter hacking attempts earlier this week the question must be asked: is cyber hacking the fault of an individuals lack of password security, or is the social networking provider to blame?  Gartner analyst John Pescatore notes, ”Twitter and most of Google Apps until, say, 18 months ago, were built as consumer-grade services to share information very widely and easily, not to protect information and prevent information from…

Malware: Is Twitter Safe?

Earlier this year, it was widely reported that the Twitter accounts of prominent American figures ranging from Britney Spears to President Barack Obama were hacked, causing fake tweet’ to be displayed under the victims’ accounts.

With the recent hacking of Twitter account holder Guy Kawasaki, former Apple fellow and managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, The New New Internet asks, is Twitter safe?

The…

Twitter in Iran

Read about the ‘Twitter Revolution’ here,

Twitter’s role in Iran’s grass-root movement here,  

why Twitter delayed its upgrade here and here,

is Twitter really making an impact in Iran? here.

the State Department defending its Twitter Company intervention here,

how the Iranians are defeating government censorship here.