Twitter finds itself again at the center of a security alert. As reported on Mashable, the social Networking site pushed some users to change their passwords, which sent the press digging for answers. Twitter answered those questions with reports of yet another phishing attack directed at the site.
The difference?
This time around the site found the offending accounts via heuristics, and proactively sought to protect their users. This is a big step for a company who practically handed the keys to the corporate headquarters to hackers last year. Twitter has handled it’s growing pains, and it trying to hits its stride again. Attacks are a reality for even the largest sites on the network, and Twitter isn’t going to see them drop when celebrities can deliver a willing audience to click on malicious links.
The attacks were tied to BitTorrent forums, where users trade movies, games, etc. These sites were sold to their web masters turnkey style, though the seller neglected to mention the backdoor with the data collection scheme. This teaches us two things. First, do not use the same password on every site. Two, don’t spend time in the fringes of the internet, and especially beware of good deals. The internet is full of the same schemes that people have fallen for since the dawn of time. You won’t get conned if you don’t try to get something for nothing. Better security can only work if you’re leery of who gets your passwords to begin with.
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