Mark Zuckerberg's social media accounts hacked
Facebook chief's Twitter and Pinterest accounts attacked after group finds his "dadada" password
Mark Zuckerberg has fallen foul of hackers who claim to have gained access to some of his social media accounts.
The Facebook founder's Twitter and Pinterest accounts appeared to have been hit. A group calling itself OurMine has claimed responsibility, saying it had also accessed Zuckerberg's Instagram page, although Facebook, which owns the photo-sharing site, has denied this.
"No Facebook systems or accounts were accessed," it told Venturebeat in a statement.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The group appeared to have accessed Zuckerberg's details via a database of 117 million Linkedin passwords which were hacked in 2012, although the full scale of the security breach has only recently come to light.
He used the same password - "dadada" - for Twitter and Pinterest, allowing the hackers to access them.
Once in, OurMine tweeted messages and "bragged about the alleged hacks", says the BBC. However, Sky reports the group posted it was "just testing" the account for security purposes.
Zuckerberg's Pinterest account had its name changed to "Hacked By OurMine Team".
Business Insider says the Facebook boss made a "basic security mistake" by using the same password for multiple accounts, while the Guardian adds: "It is perhaps relaxing to know that, despite running one of the biggest websites in the world, Zuckerberg appears to have the same security weaknesses as the rest of us."
The paper warns there could be more high-profile hacks to come, given the huge scale of the Linkedin security breach and a more recent hack of around 360 million MySpace accounts.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - November 2, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - anti-fascism, early voter turnout, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
The Internet Archive is under attack
Under the Radar The non-profit behind open access digital library was hit with both a data breach and a stream of DDoS attacks in one week
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Is the AI bubble deflating?
Today's Big Question Growing skepticism and high costs prompt reconsideration
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How social media is limiting political content
The Explainer Critics say Meta's 'extraordinary move' to have less politics in users' feeds could be 'actively muzzling civic action'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Twitter's year of Elon Musk: what happens next?
Why Everyone's Talking About 'Your platform is dying', says one commentator, but new CEO is aiming for profitability next year
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Turns out Facebook isn't as polarizing as previously thought
Talking Point New studies show that, contrary to prior belief, the algorithm has little effect on driving polarization
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Threads: will privacy fears scupper Meta’s Twitter ‘killer’?
Under the Radar Mark Zuckerberg’s new Threads app has launched but data protection rules mean it isn’t yet available in the EU
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet Published
-
Mark Zuckerberg vs. Elon Musk: a tale of the tech tape
Under the Radar The two men challenged each other to a fight after years of sniping
By Justin Klawans Published
-
How greater online regulation is prompting fears of a ‘splinternet’
feature Government pressure worldwide means the internet is not as open as it once was
By Sorcha Bradley Published