Twitter CEO account hacked, offensive tweets posted
San Francisco, Aug 31: Twitter said Friday the account of chief executive Jack Dorsey had been "compromised" after a series of erratic and offensive messages were posted.
The tweets containing racial slurs and suggestions about a bomb showed up around 2000 GMT on the @jack account of the founder of the short messaging service before being deleted.
Some of the tweets contained the hashtag #ChucklingSquad which was believed to indicate the identity of the hacker group.
The messages contained racial epithets, and included a retweet of a message supporting Nazi Germany.
"We're aware that @jack was compromised and investigating what happened," a Twitter spokesperson said.
A barrage of comments fired off on the platform questioned why the Twitter co-founder didn't secure his account with two-factor authentication, and how disturbing a sign it was that the service wasn't to keep its own chief safe on the platform.
"If you can't protect Jack, you can't protect... jack," one Twitter user quipped.
The news comes with Dorsey and Twitter moving aggressively to clean up offensive and inappropriate content as part of a focus on "safety." "This might be the only way to get rid of racist tweets on this platform," a Twitter user commented.
Twitter recently announced they would meet with Manchester United representatives regarding calls for more to be done in preventing racist abuse of footballers on social media platforms.
British-based security consultant Graham Cluley said the incident highlighted the importance of two-factor authentication, where a user must confirm the account via an external service.
"Everyone should ensure they have 2FA enabled, use unique password, and double check what apps they've linked to their accounts," Cluley tweeted.
"Hard to say at moment how he was compromised, but one of those reasons most likely."
Cybersecurity researcher Kevin Beaumont said the account appeared to have been hijacked "via a third party called Cloudhopper, which Twitter acquired about 10 years ago and had access to his account." Cloudhopper enables users to send tweets on their phones via SMS.
The incident raised fresh concerns about how social media users -- even prominent ones -- can have their accounts compromised and used for misinformation, a point highlighted by Canadian member of parliament Michelle Rempel Garner.
"Between bots, trolls and abuse, I've been skeptical about @Twitter as a viable platform for some time now," Rempel Garner wrote.
"But the fact it took the platform's owner (@jack) about 30 min to get his hacked account under control is deeply problematic, and makes me worry as an elected official."
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IndiGo Crisis: DGCA suspends 4 Flight Operations Inspectors
Mumbai (PTI): Aviation safety regulator DGCA has suspended four Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) over massive disruptions in IndiGo’s operations, which resulted in the cancellation of thousands of flights and lakhs of people getting stranded across airports.
The airline cancelled over 50 flights from Bengaluru Airport on Friday.
FOIs are senior officials within the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, working as part of its regulatory and safety oversight functions, often deployed to monitor airline operations.
"Four Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) at the DGCA have been suspended in connection with the recent large-scale disruptions in IndiGo’s flights," a source said.
These officials ensure aviation safety by inspecting, auditing, and certifying airlines and personnel, such as pilots, dispatchers,and cabin crew, to meet strict regulatory standards, verifying various regulations and overseeing training, flight standards, and accident prevention measures in India.
"IndiGo has cancelled 54 flights -- 31 arrivals and 23 departures -- from Bengaluru Airport on Friday," a source said.
The crisis-hit airline had cancelled over 200 flights from Delhi and Bengaluru on Thursday.
Meanwhile, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidre Porqueras will appear again before the DGCA's investigation panel at 2 PM on Friday.
The DGCA on Thursday stepped up scrutiny of the crisis-hit IndiGo, with officials stationing themselves at the carrier's headquarters to monitor operations, and an inquiry panel grilled CEO Pieter Elbers.
Elbers, who appeared before the DGCA-constituted inquiry panel on Thursday, has been asked to appear again on Friday.
The four-member panel comprises Joint Director General Sanjay Brahamane, Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, senior Flight Operations Inspector Kapil Manglik, and FOI Lokesh Rampal, with a mandate to identify the root causes of widespread operational disruptions at the leading domestic carrier.
The committee's mandate includes assessing manpower planning, fluctuating rostering systems, and the airline's preparedness to implement the latest duty period and rest norms for pilots, which came into effect from November 1 this year.
