Twitter hack: Social media firm still can’t say how many accounts were compromised in social-engineering bitcoin scam

No evidence hackers accessed passwords, company says

Hackers were able to access Twitter’s internal systems to hijack several high-profile accounts (AFP via Getty)

Twitter bosses are still unsure how many accounts were compromised in Wednesday night’s bitcoin scam hack, they have said.

The company’s support team said on Thursday evening: “If your account was locked, this does not necessarily mean we have evidence that the account was compromised or accessed.

“So far, we believe only a small subset of these locked accounts were compromised, but are still investigating and will inform those who were affected.”

It said there was no evidence that the hackers were able to access passwords during the attack.

“Currently, we don’t believe resetting your password is necessary,” the company said in a string of tweets.

It said that for those with accounts that are still locked, they should be able to reset their password now.

It comes as the FBI announced it would launch an investigation into the hacking.

Hackers were able to access Twitter’s internal systems to hijack several high-profile accounts, such as those belonging to former US president Barack Obama, billionaire Elon Musk, US presidential candidate Joe Biden and reality TV star Kim Kardashian – before using them to ask for bitcoin.

“At this time, the accounts appear to have been compromised in order to perpetuate cryptocurrency fraud,” the FBI said in its statement.

“We advise the public not to fall victim to this scam by sending cryptocurrency or money in relation to this incident. As this investigation is ongoing, we will not be making further comment at this time.