Mark Zuckerberg's social media accounts restored after 'hack'

Published June 6, 2016
Zuckerberg's Twitter and Pinterest accounts were compromised over the weekend, according to a report. ─Zuckerberg official Facebook page
Zuckerberg's Twitter and Pinterest accounts were compromised over the weekend, according to a report. ─Zuckerberg official Facebook page

NEW YORK: Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's Twitter and Pinterest accounts have been re-secured, a spokesman from the social media platform said on Monday, responding to questions about weekend media reports that the founder's sites had been hacked.

Zuckerberg's Twitter and Pinterest accounts were compromised over the weekend, according to a report on Sunday from technology news website VentureBeat.

Those accounts have since been “re-secured using best practices,” a Facebook spokesman told Reuters, adding, “no Facebook systems or accounts were accessed.”

Zuckerberg's Twitter account, @finkd, last used in January 2012, posted a tweet on Sunday with the message, “Hey, @finkd You were in Linkedin Datatbase with the password 'dadada' ! DM (direct message) for proof,” according to a screenshot posted to Twitter by Ben Hall (@Ben_Hall), founder of Katacoda, an interactive learning platform for software developers.

The tweet appeared to ask Zuckerberg to contact the sender, who claimed to have accessed his account. Zuckerberg's Pinterest page, meanwhile, was defaced with the headline “Hacked By OurMine Team” according to a screengrab of the page posted by VentureBeat.

“Hey , we are just testing your security, please dm (direct message) us for contact! twitter: https://twitter.com/_OurMine_, ” the compromised page said in a message that seemingly identified the hackers as being associated with the linked Twitter account.

The Twitter page associated with that account, @OurMine, has since been suspended.

Pinterest did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“A number of other online services have seen millions of passwords stolen in the past several weeks,” a Twitter spokesperson said.

“We recommend people use a unique, strong password for Twitter.”

The nature of the tweet sent from Zuckerberg's account on Sunday suggested the alleged hackers may have gained access to the account by using the same password associated with his LinkedIn profile.

“We've invalidated all accounts believed to be at risk here,” a LinkedIn spokesperson said.

Last month, LinkedIn acknowledged that a 2012 data theft may have affected far more users than originally thought.

The professional networking site said on May 18 that it was working to invalidate the passwords of some 100 million accounts after it “became aware of an additional set of data that had just been released that claims to be email and hashed password combinations of more than 100 million LinkedIn members from that same theft in 2012.”

Opinion

Editorial

Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.
Concerning measures
Updated 03 Nov, 2024

Concerning measures

The govt must seek political input and consensus on the changes it is seeking to make and be open about its intentions.
Short-lived relief?
03 Nov, 2024

Short-lived relief?

POLICYMAKERS must be jumping with joy. At the close of the first quarter of FY25, the budget posted a consolidated...
Brisk spread
03 Nov, 2024

Brisk spread

THE surge in polio cases has reached distressing levels with a tally of 45 last reported, after two cases emerged in...