The FBI has launched an investigation after hackers were able to attack several high-profile Twitter accounts earlier this week, including those belonging to Apple, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, and more.
According to the BBC, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into how hackers were able to compromise the accounts that were secured with two factor authentication.
Twitter said the hackers had targeted its employees “with access to internal systems and tools”, saying “We know they [the hackers] used this access to take control of many highly-visible (including verified) accounts and Tweet on their behalf,” adding that “significant steps” had been taken to limit access to such internal systems and tools while the company’s investigation continues.
The hackers shared tweets claiming to offer a double return on Bitcoin when unsuspecting followers transferred money to the scammers, with the hack also seeing Apple’s Twitter profile picture changed.
It is believed the crooks netted well over $100,000 worth of Bitcoin.