Twitter has started to disseminate its warning to users regarding the attacks from state-sponsored hackers attempting to get personal information from their accounts.
The Twitter notice distributed to security researchers, journalists, and activists over the past few days, stated that only small numbers of accounts were targeted, and there was no evidence that any data had been stolen in the process.
Company’s officials said they are actively investigating the possibility that the accounts were breached. Dozens of users have reported receiving the advisory, with this list showing 36 people and this one listing 32 users. It did not provide additional information about the attack or possible suspects in its investigation, Reuters reported.
A Winnipeg-based non-profit organization called Coldhak said the warning from Twitter came last week. The notice said the attackers may have been trying to obtain information like email addresses, IP addresses, and phone numbers.
The popular microblogging site went on to say that users should take necessary precautions to steer clear their accounts from possible security breaches. It even recommended using Tor Project, allowing for anonymous communication over the web.
Twitter's notice is the latest amid concern about cyber attacks by state-sponsored organizations. This is not the first time that Twitter has issued a hacker warning. However, this might be the first that warns against state-sponsored hackers.
In addition, Twitter is not also the first to issue such warnings. Both Facebook and Google have also notified users of potential state-sponsored attacks in the past, according to Ars Technica. Google unveiled its notification service in 2012, while Facebook announced a similar service in October of this year.