Today, several high-profile Twitter accounts were compromised, displaying messages featuring swastikas.
According to a tweet from Twitter support, the company identified an issue caused by a third-party app affecting some users, but wouldn’t specify whether this was directly related to the hack.
We identified an issue affecting a small number of users. Source was a 3rd party app and it has been resolved. No action needed by users.
— Twitter Support (@Support) March 15, 2017
BBC North America, Amnesty International and the European Parliament were among the Twitter accounts impacted by the hack.
The hack is a good reminder to check your Twitter account and determine which third-party apps have access. To do this from a web browser, click on your profile picture in the top right corner, and go to “Settings and Privacy.”
Scroll down along the left navigation menu until you get to Apps. Clicking on that will show you what apps have access to your Twitter feed. Now’s a good time to start cleaning up.
If you see an app you haven’t used for a while or just aren’t comfortable using any longer, you can revoke access. For example, my account still allowed access to TwitPic, which shut down in 2014. Oops.
Also, before you allow any service third-party access to your Twitter account, make sure to confirm it’s legit. When in doubt, deny access.
Our services have been temporarily disabled. The #twitterhack should be contained from our side. Report any other activity to #Twitter.
— TheCounter (@thecounter) March 15, 2017
Hi everyone – we temporarily lost control of this account, but normal service has resumed. Thanks.
— BBC North America (@BBCNorthAmerica) March 15, 2017
Good morning. We briefly lost control of this account earlier, but everything is now back to normal.
— European Parliament (@Europarl_EN) March 15, 2017
