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.”

Editorial

Ominous demands
Updated 18 May, 2024

Ominous demands

The federal government needs to boost its revenues to reduce future borrowing and pay back its existing debt.
Property leaks
18 May, 2024

Property leaks

THE leaked Dubai property data reported on by media organisations around the world earlier this week seems to have...
Heat warnings
18 May, 2024

Heat warnings

STARTING next week, the country must brace for brutal heatwaves. The NDMA warns of severe conditions with...
Dangerous law
Updated 17 May, 2024

Dangerous law

It must remember that the same law can be weaponised against it one day, just as Peca was when the PTI took power.
Uncalled for pressure
17 May, 2024

Uncalled for pressure

THE recent press conferences by Senators Faisal Vawda and Talal Chaudhry, where they demanded evidence from judges...
KP tussle
17 May, 2024

KP tussle

THE growing war of words between KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Governor Faisal Karim Kundi is affecting...