As reported by Variety, Adam Sandler’s Twitter account has been hacked, with hackers retweeting posts from several accounts.
The ‘Chuckling Squad’ group, who are responsible for the attack, have also previously been linked to the hacking of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account. The attack on Dorsey was reportedly carried out using SIM-swapping, where hackers trick a wireless provider like T-Mobile or Verizon into giving control of a phone number.
I think we are going to see a huge increase in SIM swap attacks in 2020. As well as network providers needing to up their in-house training in order to spot social engineering, people need to understand the risks of not using Two Factor Authentication at all, or using it via SMS.
Celebrities will naturally be a target as it makes the headlines when they are hacked, but this doesn’t mean they are the only people attacked. For a New Year’s resolution, why not increase your own personal cyber protection by downloading an authenticator app, such as Google Authenticator. This can be connected to all of your online accounts, and adds an excellent layer of security.