Israeli cybersecurity firm Hudson Rock has reported that the email addresses of more than 235 million Twitter users have been stolen and posted by more than one hacker on an online hacking forum. According to the security researcher’s Twitter posts, the compromise “is real and has an impact on almost every Twitter user. The database is likely circulating pretty heavily and will unfortunately likely leak in the near future.”
The original offering was posted by threat actor “Ryushi.” The offering was expanded by other threat actors to include telephone numbers of some users as well. According to Hudson Rock’s LinkedIn post, the compromise “will unfortunately lead to a lot of hacking, targeted phishing, and doxxing.”
In response to Hudson Rock’s report, Twitter issued a statement on January 11, 2023, that “based on information and intel analyzed to investigate the issue, there is no evidence that the data being sold online was obtained by exploiting a vulnerability of Twitter systems.” Twitter suggests that users enable two-factor authentication and “remain extra vigilant when receiving any kind of communications over email, as threat actors may leverage the leaked information to create very effective phishing campaigns.”
Twitter users should be aware of the report of this compromise and be on high alert for spearphishing and doxxing. (Doxxing explained.)