Breaking into Twitter accounts with a dictionary password attack

Filed Under: Social networks, Video

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. :)

(Enjoy this video? You can check out more on the SophosLabs YouTube channel and subscribe if you like)

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About the author

Graham Cluley is senior technology consultant at Sophos. The readers of Computer Weekly voted him security blogger of the year in 2009 and 2010, and he pipped Stephen Fry to the title of "Twitter user of the year" too. Which was nice. He was also named "Best Security Blogger" by the readers of SC Magazine in 2011. You can subscribe to Graham's updates on Facebook, follow him on Twitter and circle him on Google Plus for regular updates.