Pop star Britney Spears has had her Twitter account hacked. A message claiming that the star had died was posted after Britney’s Twitter account was compromised by an attack who used the third party website, TwitPic.
“Britney has passed today. It is a sad day for everyone. More news to come,” the message read.
The stunt was seen by Spears’ two million followers earlier today. The picture on Britney Spears’s TwitPic account and the fake post to Twitter have since been deleted.
“Britney’s Twitter was just hacked,” the message now reads. “The last message is obviously not true. She is fine and dandy spending a quiet day at home relaxing.”
“The millions of people who follow celebrities on Twitter have to be grateful that all they witnessed this time was a sick prank by hackers,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at IT security and control firm Sophos.
“But this kind of vulnerability goes to show how simple it can be for hackers to break into accounts.”
Cluley said that users should be careful when clicking on links in tweets, especially ones that have been hidden by link shortening services.
“This attack has demonstrated that services like TwitPic need to be doing more to protect their users,” he added.
TwitPic automatically forwards messages to the associated Twitter account and it is thought that hackers sent a message to the unique email address Britney uses to post her images. That would have involved cracking a four digit PIN code.
Following the attack on Spears’ account, TwitPic announced that it has fixed a vulnerability with its email posting functionality.
Amazon Kindle Case, Thin and Lightweight, Foldable Protective Cover - Fabric
£31.99 (as of 13/01/2025 16:42 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
INIU USB C Charger Cable 2m 3.1A Type C Cable Fast Charging, Braided USB A to USB-C Phone Charger Cable USBC for iPhone 16 15 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S24 S23 Ultra, Pixel 9, iPad Air, Switch, Steam etc.
£4.49 (as of 13/01/2025 17:16 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Oral-B Pro 3 Electric Toothbrush For Adults, 1 3D White Toothbrush Head & Travel Case, 3 Modes with Teeth Whitening, 2 Pin UK Plug, 3500, Pink.
£44.34 (as of 13/01/2025 17:16 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
ARVO Packing Tape - Parcel Tape - Tape - 3 Rolls (48mm x 60m) - Brown Tape for Packing Boxes, Secure Sticky Sealing Packaging Tape for Moving House
£3.45 (as of 13/01/2025 16:42 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
