Hackers broke into journalist's Twitter account, posted fake news

Hackers broke into Twitter accounts of a local journalist and a Member of Parliament in Venezuela and used these accounts to spread fake news on the platform, a media report said on Saturday.

The spread of fake news via social media platforms has been particularly problematic in Venezuela because of the political unrest there, including a government crackdown that involves surveillance and censorship, Fortune reported.

The journalist and the politician, who is also a human rights activist, later got in touch with a digital help-line that Access Now operates in a several countries and asked for help.

According to Access Now, the victims worked with Twitter to regain access to their accounts.

The accounts were hacked using a procedure called "the Double Switch".

"The Double Switch" begins when a hacker gets access to the login credentials for an account.

"The hacker then resets the login name and password, as well as the recovery email so that the original user can't get access. Then the 'double switch' begins," the report said.

--IANS

sku/na