Twitter data breach
From Breaches, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the January 2022 breach of Twitter. For every breach, see Breaches.
The Twitter data breach exposed 6,682,453 accounts from twitter.com in January 2022. The data taken includes usernames, names, email addresses and phone numbers and 3 more kinds of data.[1]
Have I Been Pwned verified it and added it to its search on 13 Aug 2022, 7 months later. It is the 165th largest of the 618 breaches in HARD’s list.
What was exposed
Twitter’s breach included 7 kinds of data. What each lets criminals do:
| Data | What it’s used for |
|---|---|
| Usernames | Half of a login. With a reused password, it opens other accounts. |
| Names | Makes scam messages personal enough to believe. |
| Email addresses | Expect scam emails that name the company to look genuine. |
| Phone numbers | Expect scam texts and calls, and a higher risk of someone moving your number to their SIM. |
| Bios | Personal details that make scam messages more convincing. |
| Geographic locations | Roughly where you live. |
| Profile photos | Personal details that make scam messages more convincing. |
What to do
- Check whether you’re in it.Search your email address on Have I Been Pwned. It tells you which breaches it appears in, Twitter among them, without showing the data.
- Turn on two-step sign-in.On Twitter (twitter.com) and your email, so leaked sign-in details aren’t enough on their own.
- Distrust messages that mention Twitter.Scammers use breach data to sound genuine. Don’t click links in emails or texts about the breach; go to the site yourself.
- Put a PIN on your phone account.Ask your mobile provider for a port-out PIN, so no one can move your number to their SIM.
Timeline
- : the breach, as best it can be dated.
- : Have I Been Pwned verifies the data and adds it to its search, 7 months later.
Similar breaches
Breaches that leaked the same kinds of data, closest in time:
- Imavex, August 2021, 878,209 accounts
- Liker, March 2021, 465,141 accounts
- The Post Millennial, May 2024, 57 million accounts
- Zacks (2024), June 2024, 12 million accounts
- Wishbone (2020), January 2020, 9.7 million accounts
- 123RF, March 2020, 8.7 million accounts
See Breaches for all 618, and Updates for keeping your devices patched.
References
External links
- Have I Been Pwned, to check your email address
- twitter.com, Twitter’s website