Around the Net
AP Twitter Hack Stemmed From Sophisticated Email Spam
- Consumerist, Thursday, April 25, 2013 11:49 PM
Earlier this week, the Associated Press's Twitter account and used to send out false messages about a supposed attack on The White House. The hack came after an AP employee opened what is known as a "spear-fishing" spam message. The way it works is that a spammer sends an email that appears to be coming from someone you know with a link that seems legitimate. In the case of the AP, the email appeared to be from a colleague and the link was to The Washington Post, so it sounded legitimate. But it was a phishing email and compromised the computer, giving hackers access the AP Twitter account.
