SEC account hack renews spotlight on X's security concerns

Accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, can be hijacked by stealing passwords or tricking targets into giving up their login credentials, just like on any other social media platform. Accounts can also be taken over by breaching X's security - as happened in 2020, when a teenager masterminded a break-in of Twitter's internal computer network and seized control of dozens of high-profile accounts, including those of former President Barack Obama and Musk, well before he bought Twitter.

An SEC spokesperson on Tuesday said the "unauthorized access" of its account by an "unknown party" had been revoked and the agency was working with law enforcement and others in the government to investigate the matter.

X didn't respond to a series of questions for this story, but in a statement issued earlier Tuesday, the company said that the SEC's account was secure and the company was investigating the "root cause" of the account compromise.

Even before it was acquired by Musk and changed its name to X, however, Twitter was the subject of persistent security problems.

The 2019 arrest of a Saudi agent who had secretly combed the site's backend for personal information about the kingdom's dissidents raised concerns about Twitter's internal safeguards. The mass hijacking of top accounts the following year by the Florida teen heightened the concerns, with New York state's Department of Financial Services scolding the firm for falling prey to a "simple" hack. In 2022 Twitter's former security chief Peiter Zatko publicly turned on the company, before it was acquired by Musk, accusing it of a litany of security failings that he said jeopardized national security.

Musk has touted the company's security since buying Twitter in October 2022, but former staff say it has worsened since then. Musk ordered a 50% cut in X's physical security budget after buying the social media platform, and wanted to scrap programs aimed at helping it find and fix digital vulnerabilities, according to a lawsuit filed last month by Alan Rosa, former IT security chief at X. Rosa alleges he was fired when he objected to the measures.

A former Twitter executive, who declined to be named, said the protection of prominent accounts such as those of government officials was a major focus there prior to Musk's acquisition, and included alerts for suspected hacks with rapid response measures, but staffers who worked on that effort were part of an "election integrity" team that suffered layoffs last year.

Early last year, X limited the ability of non-paying users to implement two-factor authentication -- a key security measure. X's website says the firm "proactively" protects and secures the accounts of government officials and political candidates that "may be particularly vulnerable during certain civic processes."

It is unclear if the SEC site had such security in place. If not, hackers could have taken over the account using an old leaked password, said Berglas.

"Anytime you're reducing a security function in a platform that does what X does, it is incredibly concerning," he added.