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RE: Fox News Twitter account hacked, reports Obama shot dead
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X (formerly Twitter) News & Updates
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ssparikshya
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RE: Fox News Twitter account hacked, reports Obama shot dead
don't repeat
don't repeat
ssparikshya
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Twitter is not a safe site: Experts
The fast-growing microblogging site Twitter has fallen behind some other Internet services in introducing tools to help secure the accounts of users, security experts say.
Weaknesses in Twitter's security became apparent on the US July 4 Independence holiday as an unknown hacker took control of a Fox News Twitter account and sent out messages falsely claiming that US President Barack Obama was dead.
While the hijacking of Twitter accounts is not new, the false Tweets about Obama generated headlines around the world.
The Secret Service is investigating the matter. Fox News has said it is unsure how the attacker gained control of its account, but complained that it took Twitter more than five hours to return control of the account to Fox.
"What Twitter needs to do now is to commit to a thorough review of their security practices," said Daniel Diermeier, a professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. "For Twitter this is a very serious problem."
Security experts said the attack might have been prevented if Twitter had offered two-factor authentication technology to secure its accounts.
In two-factor authentication systems, a user must enter a second code in addition to a fixed password to access its account. The code changes every minute or so and is sent to a cellphone or other electronic device.
Google, Facebook offer two-factor authentication
Google Inc and Facebook already offer two-factor authentication to confirm the identity of users.
Security experts said Twitter could soon come under pressure to do so as well, particularly from influential users such as politicians, major corporations or news outlets.
"They won't have a choice. I think if they want to stay viable they'll have to," said San Diego State University professor Murray Jennex, who teaches information security.
He warned that Twitter would be "flirting with disaster" if it did not proactively add two-factor authentication, and that more high-profile attacks could harm the company's reputation.
In addition to the Fox News heist, PayPal's Twitter account in the United Kingdom was also hijacked this week and followers urged to visit the website www.paypalsucks.com.
Scrambling passwords
Twitter allows its users to communicate with the site using an ordinary, unscrambled connection, which makes it easier for potential hackers to steal passwords.
The site does offer the option of scrambling that traffic, but users must type "https" before entering the Twitter URL into the Web browser to call up an encrypted connection, or change their options to request https as a default.
Chris Palmer, technology director for the privacy-promoting Electronic Frontier Foundation, said Twitter should use https by default because not all users are aware of the option or care to use it. Google uses https encryption by default for many of its services.
"Basically, if nothing bad happens, it's because no attacker cared to attack," Palmer said of Twitter.
Twitter spokeswoman Lynn Fox declined to say whether the company intended to add two-factor authentication. The company has said in a blog that it hopes to make https encryption the default for all users.
"We take security very seriously and we're always looking for ways to help users make their accounts more secure," she said.
Yet she added that Twitter's users are responsible for securing their own passwords.
"We can't anticipate compromises that occur offsite," she said. "That's one of the reasons we very clearly recommend to users that they be extremely careful with the security of their passwords."
toi
The fast-growing microblogging site Twitter has fallen behind some other Internet services in introducing tools to help secure the accounts of users, security experts say.
Weaknesses in Twitter's security became apparent on the US July 4 Independence holiday as an unknown hacker took control of a Fox News Twitter account and sent out messages falsely claiming that US President Barack Obama was dead.
While the hijacking of Twitter accounts is not new, the false Tweets about Obama generated headlines around the world.
The Secret Service is investigating the matter. Fox News has said it is unsure how the attacker gained control of its account, but complained that it took Twitter more than five hours to return control of the account to Fox.
"What Twitter needs to do now is to commit to a thorough review of their security practices," said Daniel Diermeier, a professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. "For Twitter this is a very serious problem."
Security experts said the attack might have been prevented if Twitter had offered two-factor authentication technology to secure its accounts.
In two-factor authentication systems, a user must enter a second code in addition to a fixed password to access its account. The code changes every minute or so and is sent to a cellphone or other electronic device.
Google, Facebook offer two-factor authentication
Google Inc and Facebook already offer two-factor authentication to confirm the identity of users.
Security experts said Twitter could soon come under pressure to do so as well, particularly from influential users such as politicians, major corporations or news outlets.
"They won't have a choice. I think if they want to stay viable they'll have to," said San Diego State University professor Murray Jennex, who teaches information security.
He warned that Twitter would be "flirting with disaster" if it did not proactively add two-factor authentication, and that more high-profile attacks could harm the company's reputation.
In addition to the Fox News heist, PayPal's Twitter account in the United Kingdom was also hijacked this week and followers urged to visit the website www.paypalsucks.com.
Scrambling passwords
Twitter allows its users to communicate with the site using an ordinary, unscrambled connection, which makes it easier for potential hackers to steal passwords.
The site does offer the option of scrambling that traffic, but users must type "https" before entering the Twitter URL into the Web browser to call up an encrypted connection, or change their options to request https as a default.
Chris Palmer, technology director for the privacy-promoting Electronic Frontier Foundation, said Twitter should use https by default because not all users are aware of the option or care to use it. Google uses https encryption by default for many of its services.
"Basically, if nothing bad happens, it's because no attacker cared to attack," Palmer said of Twitter.
Twitter spokeswoman Lynn Fox declined to say whether the company intended to add two-factor authentication. The company has said in a blog that it hopes to make https encryption the default for all users.
"We take security very seriously and we're always looking for ways to help users make their accounts more secure," she said.
Yet she added that Twitter's users are responsible for securing their own passwords.
"We can't anticipate compromises that occur offsite," she said. "That's one of the reasons we very clearly recommend to users that they be extremely careful with the security of their passwords."
toi
ssparikshya
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Google wants cooperation from Facebook, Twitter
Google Inc is leaving open the door to more cooperation with social-media giants Facebook and Twitter, and believes there is room for multiple social networks as it rolls out its own, executive chairman Eric Schmidt said.
He also said the company will cooperate fully with US antitrust regulators but will not let the formal probe launched last month distract or disrupt its strategy. He was speaking to journalists at the Allen & Co media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Schmidt, who vacated his CEO seat to co-founder Larry Page in April and now oversees government affairs, said it was too early to say how its new social network, Google Plus, was faring -- but one key indication of success is the number of people clamouring to be part of the limited group currently using Plus, which launched in trial mode last week.
One of the more popular features on Plus, especially with younger users, was online video chat, he said.
Singling out two services where Google Plus can now be viewed as a competitor, Schmidt said he would "love to have deeper integration with Twitter and Facebook."
Google's search deal with Twitter recently expired, and despite "a substantive and lengthy discussion," the companies couldn't agree on terms, he said.
And Google's overtures to Facebook to discuss letting Plus users import Facebook friends also went nowhere, Schmidt said.
Schmidt laid out a future with multiple sources of online identity and multiple social networks, even as detractors say Facebook's service, with millions of users around the world, is too entrenched to allow for serious competition.
Schmidt also said Google executives -- though not he himself -- had discussed the recent hacking of email accounts with Chinese officials.
Google last month revealed a major hacker attack that it said originated within China. It said hackers tried to steal the passwords of hundreds of Google email account-holders, including those of senior government officials, Chinese activists and journalists.
"We tell the Chinese what we know ... and then they publicly deny their role. That's all I have to say about that," Schmidt said.
Closer to home, the US Federal Trade Commission has started a formal review of Google's business, raising concerns among investors about a lengthy, distracting probe and potential legal action.
The FTC is expected to address complaints from Google's rivals that its search results favour the company's own services. Google, which runs an estimated 69 per cent of Web searches worldwide, can make or break a company depending on its search ranking.
Some worry that Google's desire to stand firm against government intrusion -- as with its protests against Chinese censorship of search results -- will trigger a long battle that ultimately does more damage than a quick settlement.
"We've had some meetings internally, (but) we haven't changed anything," Schmidt said.
toi
Google Inc is leaving open the door to more cooperation with social-media giants Facebook and Twitter, and believes there is room for multiple social networks as it rolls out its own, executive chairman Eric Schmidt said.
He also said the company will cooperate fully with US antitrust regulators but will not let the formal probe launched last month distract or disrupt its strategy. He was speaking to journalists at the Allen & Co media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Schmidt, who vacated his CEO seat to co-founder Larry Page in April and now oversees government affairs, said it was too early to say how its new social network, Google Plus, was faring -- but one key indication of success is the number of people clamouring to be part of the limited group currently using Plus, which launched in trial mode last week.
One of the more popular features on Plus, especially with younger users, was online video chat, he said.
Singling out two services where Google Plus can now be viewed as a competitor, Schmidt said he would "love to have deeper integration with Twitter and Facebook."
Google's search deal with Twitter recently expired, and despite "a substantive and lengthy discussion," the companies couldn't agree on terms, he said.
And Google's overtures to Facebook to discuss letting Plus users import Facebook friends also went nowhere, Schmidt said.
Schmidt laid out a future with multiple sources of online identity and multiple social networks, even as detractors say Facebook's service, with millions of users around the world, is too entrenched to allow for serious competition.
Schmidt also said Google executives -- though not he himself -- had discussed the recent hacking of email accounts with Chinese officials.
Google last month revealed a major hacker attack that it said originated within China. It said hackers tried to steal the passwords of hundreds of Google email account-holders, including those of senior government officials, Chinese activists and journalists.
"We tell the Chinese what we know ... and then they publicly deny their role. That's all I have to say about that," Schmidt said.
Closer to home, the US Federal Trade Commission has started a formal review of Google's business, raising concerns among investors about a lengthy, distracting probe and potential legal action.
The FTC is expected to address complaints from Google's rivals that its search results favour the company's own services. Google, which runs an estimated 69 per cent of Web searches worldwide, can make or break a company depending on its search ranking.
Some worry that Google's desire to stand firm against government intrusion -- as with its protests against Chinese censorship of search results -- will trigger a long battle that ultimately does more damage than a quick settlement.
"We've had some meetings internally, (but) we haven't changed anything," Schmidt said.
toi
ssparikshya
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RE: Twitter is not a safe site: Experts
ya, that is why twitter is not so popular:u:u:s
ya, that is why twitter is not so popular:u:u:s
