What Defenses Can Be Taken to Fight Social Media Hacking?

[image error]It has happened to major businesses, those not as well-known and even government installations. As some media outlets have discovered, they too can be the victims.

In a rash of publicized cases in recent months, victims of online hacking have come forward to detail exactly what happened to their Web sites.

None may have been more psychologically damaging than what took place just 48 hours before last weekend's 10th anniversary of 9/11.

 

A pre-9/11 Scare via NBC's Twitter Account

Hackers were able to gain entry to the NBC News Twitter account (approximately 134,000 followers) and post false correspondence regarding new attacks on New York's sacred ground zero. What makes the attack even more interesting is that reportedly only a trio of NBC News execs has the account password.

As reports indicate, a group labeling itself The Script Kiddies claimed responsibility for the intrusion on the NBC site, which included three messages regarding a hijacked plane striking the World Trade Center site just prior to 6 p.m. The Script Kiddies are reportedly a splinter group from the better-known "Anonymous" and "LulzSec' groups, both of whom have been targeted by authorities.

Quick to respond to the incident, NBC provided a statement Friday acknowledging the hacking, claiming it is "working with Twitter to correct the situation and sincerely apologize for the scare that could have been caused by such a reckless and irresponsible act." Both Twitter accounts for NBC News and The Script Kiddies were suspended not long after the tweets went live.

So, can you imagine the horror that would have hit New Yorkers and others across the country who came across the fake tweets last Friday on a momentous anniversary was about to take place nationwide?

 

Can Hackers Be Stopped or Not?

As authorities continue their investigation into this latest notable hacking, the big question is can such attacks be halted before doing significant damage? According to one government official quoted in a response to the attacks, "The truth is it's relatively easy to get into these accounts."

The messages, which were obviously tweeted to coincide with the 9/11 anniversary, included:

"Breaking News! Ground Zero has just been attacked. Flight 5736 has crashed into the site, suspected hijacking. more as the story develops," read the first message that appeared on the NBC News Twitter feed at 5:48 p.m. EDT.

A follow-up message four minutes later read: "Flight 4782 is not responding, suspected hijacking. One plane just hit Ground Zero site at 5:47."

Then, three minutes later: "This is not a joke. Ground Zero has just been attacked. We're attempting to get reporters on the scene."

A moment later another message appeared: "NBCNEWS hacked by The Script Kiddies."

 

Company Responses Coming Faster

Despite the trauma that could easily come out of last week's actions by the hacking, it does appear companies are more quickly responding to such incidents.

Ryan Osborn, the director of social media for NBC News, told reporters he viewed the hackers' Twitter message online less than a minute after it went live. He was already logged into the account and determined that the password had been altered. Reports indicate some NBC News employees and other Twitter users recognized what was going on and quickly informed the public of what was going on.

Given the fact that reports indicate more users are turning to Twitter each month for news and information, it is incumbent upon companies and Twitter for that matter to put as many firewalls as possible in place to prevent such attacks.

Otherwise, the news and information we receive may be taken with a grain of salt.

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