This archive report was first published on 16 July 2020.
On July 16, 2020, a coordinated attack on Twitter's internal systems and tools compromised the accounts of several high-profile US individuals.
Verified Twitter accounts belonging to billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates, as well as those of former US President Barack Obama, current US President Joe Biden, and musician Kanye West, were hacked and used to request donations in Bitcoin.
Twitter acknowledged the breach, stating that the hackers targeted its employees with access to internal systems and tools.
"We know they used this access to take control of many highly-visible (including verified) accounts and Tweet on their behalf," the company said in a series of tweets.
Twitter has since taken measures to limit access to its internal systems and tools, and investigations are underway to determine the full extent of the breach.
