Chinese Hackers

[GURPS]

Twitter Hacked; Company Says 250K Users May Have Been Affected


Following a string of revelations this week from several media companies who announced they had been recently hacked, Twitter announced on Friday that it had also been the target of a sophisticated attack.

The company wrote in a blog post ironically titled “Keeping our users secure” that it detected unusual patterns this week that led it to identify attempts to access user data.

“We discovered one live attack and were able to shut it down in process moments later,” wrote Bob Lord, Twitter’s director of information security. “However, our investigation has thus far indicated that the attackers may have had access to limited user information — usernames, email addresses, session tokens and encrypted/salted versions of passwords — for approximately 250,000 users.”

As a result, the company said it had reset passwords and revoked session tokens for the accounts suspected of being affected. The company also sent an e-mail to affected users informing them that their old password was no longer valid and that they would need to create a new one.

The email, forwarded to Wired by one reader who received one, reads:

I guess the followup with Spear Phishing Attacks claiming your Twitter Account has been hacked

Chinese Hackers Hit U.S. Media
Wall Street Journal, New York Times Are Breached in Campaign That Stretches Back Several Years

WASHINGTON—Chinese hackers believed to have government links have been conducting wide-ranging electronic surveillance of media companies including The Wall Street Journal, apparently to spy on reporters covering China and other issues, people familiar with the incidents said.

Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. said Thursday that the paper's computer systems had been infiltrated by Chinese hackers, apparently to monitor its China coverage. New York Times Co. NYT +0.11% disclosed Wednesday night that its flagship newspaper also had been the victim of cyberspying.

Chinese hackers for years have targeted major U.S. media companies with hacking that has penetrated inside newsgathering systems, several people familiar with the response to the cyberattacks said. Tapping reporters' computers could allow Beijing to identify sources on articles and information about pending stories. Chinese authorities in the past have penalized Chinese nationals who have passed information to foreign reporters.

Journal sources on occasion have become hard to reach after information identifying them was included in emails. However, Western reporters in China long have assumed that authorities are monitoring their communications and act accordingly in sensitive cases.

 

[stew77]

I think the Chineese "hacked" the Power Grid for the Super Bowl, and caused the lights to go out, just to show they can do it?? We wil never know, as Obamie will keep it under wraps.. "another Terrorist attack" not on his watch..!

 

[migtig]

I have a Twitter account to follow certain things only. I rarely post. Anywho, a few months back I was a prolific poster...I had been hacked. Thing is, my hacked account wasn't posting anything "bad" or links or anything, so nobody noticed and let me know there was a problem. I never got reported so I didn't get any notices from Twitter. Once I discovered the issue, it was a simple matter to reset my account.