It is common for security flaws to appear that affect operating systems, applications and devices in general. Sometimes they can also compromise the data of many users who use an online service and data of all kinds can be leaked. In this case,  a zero-day error that affects Twitter and has left millions of accounts exposed. We are going to explain what it is and how it can affect your security.

Data from millions of Twitter accounts leaked

Whenever such an error appears, user data can end up in the wrong hands. This includes names and surnames, email account, mobile number.. We must bear in mind that we can put very varied information on social networks, so all of this could end up on the Dark Web.

Twitter has confirmed that there has been a zero-day vulnerability that has exposed data from 5.4 million accounts. This data includes phone numbers and emails linked to the account. However, there is no information on whether the access codes have been compromised.

But how did we get to this situation? The vulnerability appeared a year ago, after a code change was introduced. But it was not until a few months ago, in early 2022, that Twitter, through its bug bounty program, became aware of this security vulnerability.

Once they learned of the problem, Twitter quickly went to work to find a solution. Today this problem is solved. Although at first there was no evidence to indicate that someone could have exploited this vulnerability , it now seems that it did happen and several million accounts could have been compromised.

From the social network they indicate that they will contact each of the affected users. Therefore, if you do not receive anything from Twitter, it means that your account is not one of those that have been compromised, unless there is evidence of it.

Tips to avoid data breach in social networks

We have seen that the chaos of Twitter basically consists of a leak of personal data, such as the phone number or email account. It is a failure that does not depend so much on the users, although we can take general measures to reduce the probability of attacks and ensure that the accounts are more protected. This is something that you can apply on any platform you use.

An interesting piece of advice is to avoid making certain data public. For example, do not publish your phone number and even do not link it to social networks. In this way, in case there was a problem, it would not be exposed so that hackers could steal them and end up for sale on the Dark Web.

It’s also a good idea to avoid posting general information. For example, place of residence, where you work or study, etc. All this, although it may be harmless, could end up in the wrong hands and create campaigns aimed at stealing passwords or infecting you with malware. Therefore, the less information you give, the better.

Of course, one more piece of advice is to protect the accounts very well. For this you need to use a password that is strong and secure, but it is also a good idea to activate the two-factor authentication of Twitter and other platforms that you use. This will prevent a possible intruder from gaining access without your permission.