Why Should You Worry About 200 Million Twitter Emails Leaking?
Anyone can download the huge data file stolen from Twitter by hackers. It links usernames to email addresses, and that's very important.
An enormous amount of Twitter user data linking account names to email addresses has been released by hackers for free.
Not many people worry about their email addresses falling into the hands of criminals. But here's why you should be worried.
How Private Twitter Data Was Available Online
On December 23, 2022, a user on a popular hacking forum announced that he had exploited a vulnerability in the Twitter API to steal the private data of 400 million users. They provided a data sample that included email addresses, names, usernames, account creation dates, follower counts, and in some cases, phone numbers.
While the information was made available to the general public, the hacker also offered Twitter the opportunity to purchase the data privately to avoid fines for infringement.
On January 3, 2023, as reported by Gizmodo , another forum user, StayMad, announced that the sale was actually "only" 200 million user accounts and did not include phone numbers; other users, the data that was originally for sale was populated, and phone numbers were added to the sample to increase the price.
StayMad also posted a link where the data can be downloaded for free as a 67GB archive.
Although personal data is limited to your email address, this can still cause some major headaches.
Data Is Available to Anyone, Not Just Criminals
Under normal circumstances, data obtained through a data breach is traded on the dark web and used by criminals to target you for ultimate financial gain. Because Twitter data is available for free, it can be used by anyone who is curious, doesn't like what you say on the platform, or simply really likes your profile picture.
Rather than being part of a relatively small community of junkies, your email address can be used and abused by anyone with an internet connection and patiently sitting through the download process all day.
Your Email Address Facilitates Harassment
You can post your life on Twitter and other platforms, but there are details you might want to keep off the site and some people you really don't want to interact with or hear from. We've already shown how easy it is to find someone's username across multiple platforms, but on most platforms you can either block someone or, in the worst-case scenario, leave them out altogether. Your email address connects your life and changing it is a big deal; If you blocked someone on Twitter, they can now email you instead.
Your Email Security is in Danger
Chances are, if you Google your email address, it won't come up. This means hackers and criminals are unlikely to know about it, and accounts where you use this email address are likely not targeted. Now that your email address is known to the world, it can be hacked. Criminals can use the details in your Twitter feed to increase the likelihood of cracking your password or tailor targeted phishing attacks to have a greater chance of success.
You Are More Vulnerable To Doxxing
Even if you have an anonymous Twitter account or try to keep some parts of your life private, your email address can provide a valuable clue about your true identity. It may seem like a minor detail, but it's probably a detail that attackers didn't have before. Maybe it includes your full name or location. It may depend on your school or the company you work for. These bits of information can be added together until you are doxxing, that is, enough to identify you as an individual.
Twitter Data Breach Is More Dangerous Than It Seems While
other recent data breaches have revealed more information, the Twitter data leak offers attackers and amateurs the opportunity to associate your email address with the private details of your life. To prevent this from happening to you in the future, use the email alias when registering an account on any platform or service.
