Experts say Twitter breach troubling, undermines trust

(AP) — Experts say a breach in Twitter’s security that allowed hackers to break into the accounts of leaders and technology moguls is one of the worst attacks in recent years and may shake trust in a platform politicians and CEOs use to communicate with the public.

The ruse discovered Wednesday included bogus tweets from Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg and a number of tech billionaires. Hackers used social engineering to target some of Twitter’s employees and then gained access to the high-profile accounts, sending out tweets in an apparent Bitcoin scam.

Cybersecurity experts say such a breach could have dire consequences since the attackers were tweeting from verified, globally influential accounts with millions of followers.