This Tuesday, The Associated Press’s Twitter feed was hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army, who posted a short, 71 character tweet with major consequences. The tweet read, “Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured.” Shortly after the hack, The Associated Press (A.P.) feed was suspended from Twitter and The A.P. tweeted from their corporate account explaining, “That is a bogus @AP tweet.”
The correction, however, did not come in time. The A.P.’s Twitter feed has 1,921,451 followers and the hacked post had been retweeted just under 5,000 times within a minute. Automated computer programs that buy and sell stocks based on breaking news started a sudden selling frenzy. In under three minutes, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped by 143.5 points, according to an April 23 NBC “Nightly News” broadcast. The nation was struck with fear.
This was the third attack on a major news organization’s Twitter feed in a week (CBS broadcast programs “60 Minutes” and “48 Hours” were also hacked last weekend), and many are beginning to question the security of Twitter. These hacks are evidence of the ease with which one can gain access to a Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or any other internet account. Unfortunately, it seems as though today’s passwords are more of a security blanket and less of a security measure.
With the rise of social media, it is easy to be careless on the internet. But even on accounts that don’t have The A.P.’s nearly two million followers, the risks of misrepresentation or mistakes exist. Posting Facebook statuses, sharing Instagram photos or tweeting—actions, thoughts and opinions are all permanently stored away in the dark recesses of the internet. The instant a post goes live, it stays live. There are no “take-backs.”
In the case of The A.P. hack, the consequences were detrimental to the entire nation. In under five minutes, millions of people saw and reacted to the hacked tweet. Remembering these consequences—the economic crash, the threat to national security and the damaging effects on The A.P.’s reputation—is essential to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.
In the end, users retain responsibility for filtering their own information before posting. Users must adapt to an environment where their contributions are accessible to anyone. The idea of an internet where privacy is guaranteed is simply not a reality.
This Editorial represents the views of The Phillipian Editorial Board CXXXVI.
