DKart/iStockBy CATHERINE THORBECKE, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Twitter revealed new details on the massive cyberattack the platform suffered last week, saying hackers were able to access the direct message inboxes of dozens of the compromised accounts.
“We believe that for up to 36 of the 130 targeted accounts, the attackers accessed the DM inbox, including 1 elected official in the Netherlands,” the company said in an updated statement on its website Wednesday. “To date, we have no indication that any other former or current elected official had their DMs accessed.”
The social media giant previously acknowledged that 130 accounts had been targeted by hackers, who sent out tweets on 45 of those.
Moreover, eight accounts had an archive of “Your Twitter Data” downloaded, meaning hackers accessed a summary of that Twitter user’s details and activity. None of these eight, however, were of verified users, according to the company.
The company also shared the latest updates on the investigation on its verified Twitter Support account, where updates have been posted since the hack on July 15.
36 is the number of accounts where the attacker took control of the account and viewed the DM inbox on https://t.co/gp7v7rSXyX.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 23, 2020
The hack compromised the accounts of a handful of prominent Twitter users including Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Kanye West. Several tweets posted from these accounts asked users to send funds to a Bitcoin account.
The highly publicized cyberattack has become the subject of an FBI probe.
On Wednesday, Republican lawmakers in the House also called on Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to join several other tech executives who are testifying at a subcommittee hearing next week.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent a letter on Wednesday to Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., arguing there is “bipartisan interest” to hear from Dorsey about, among other things, “the causes for its recent highly publicized security breaches.”
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