Twitter has highlighted the importance of maintaining strong password security, as reports of high-profile Twitter account hacks escalate and the social integrity of the site is questioned.
Firstly, users are advised to choose a password of at least 10 characters, mixing upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols, with users urged to apply different passwords for each website. “That way, if one account gets compromised, the rest are safe,” Twitter advised.
The security advice also warns against phishing websites, noting that the log-in page may look identical to Twitter’s own log-in. Users are asked to ensure they are on the Twitter.com website before entering any log-in information.
Finally, Twitter asks users to ensure their computers and operating systems are fully updated, adding that patches are often released for particular security threats.
The warning comes following revelations earlier this month that 250,000 Twitter accounts had been hacked by cybercriminals, with passwords, usernames, email addresses and other data having been stolen from users’ accounts.
On Tuesday Chrysler’s Jeep also announced its Twitter account had been hacked, with followers being sent a string of Tweets.
