Breaking into Twitter accounts with a dictionary password attack

Graham Cluley
Graham Cluley
@

 @grahamcluley.com
 / grahamcluley

Last week we discussed how a hacker was able to break into the Twitter accounts of celebrities. It turned out that a Twitter employee, who had administrative access to members’ accounts, had her account broken into because she chose a dictionary word for her own password.

What password had she chosen? “Happiness”.

We’ve discussed before that it’s not a good idea at all to use a dictionary word for any password you have.

Below you’ll find a video I made last night, making the serious point in a lighthearted way. :)

Sign up to our free newsletter.
Security news, advice, and tips.

Graham Cluley is an award-winning keynote speaker who has given presentations around the world about cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. A veteran of the computer security industry since the early 1990s, he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows, makes regular media appearances, and hosts the popular "Smashing Security" podcast. Follow him on LinkedIn, Bluesky and Mastodon, or drop him an email.

What do you think? Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.