14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday, a few Twitter users tweeted out an email they got from the social network's security staff, in which they were warned of cyber-attacks on their account from what the team suspected to be a state-sponsored group.
The news wasn't surprising because nations would try to hack Twitter accounts for adversaries or political dissidents, but it was shocking because Twitter had never sent out this kind of messages before.
Until now, Google and more recently Facebook have been the only two companies that have warned users of possible state-sponsored attacks.
Twitter said it was investigating the attack but did not provide details of the origin. If we know our cyber-security landscape, then we'd point the finger towards China, Russia, and the US, but there are smaller nations that employ this kind of tactics as well, usually the ones with an oppressive government, such as some Middle Eastern, African, and South American regimes.
Most of the people targeted by the attack are known activists and security researchers, and most are living in western countries.
In its message, Twitter recommended users to stay safe by using Tor for most of their online activities, but also consulting the Electronic Frontier Foundation's "Protecting Yourself on Social Networks" guidelines.
The notices sent out by Twitter can be seen in the tweets embedded below and as images attached to this article.
Just received this email from Twitter suggesting my account may have been targeted by state-sponsored actors. pic.twitter.com/QLcCzsHphw
— Runa A. Sandvik (@runasand) December 11, 2015
We received a warning from @twitter today stating we may be "targeted by state-sponsored actors" pic.twitter.com/oZm83eVFC5
— coldhak (@coldhakca) December 11, 2015
