Twitter has announced that it’s temporarily turning off the ability to Tweet via SMS, to protect people’s accounts from vulnerabilities with mobile carriers.
In case you missed it, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account was hacked last week. Hackers were able to use a SIM swap attack to give them access to his phone number, and by doing so they were then able to tweet out racial slurs via SMS.
While Dorsey got his account back, he now admits he still doesn’t have a phone number as a result of the hack. In response to this hack, Twitter is now temporarily disabling the ability to send tweets via SMS.
In an announcement earlier this week, the company explained that this was to protect people’s accounts:
We’re temporarily turning off the ability to Tweet via SMS, or text message, to protect people’s accounts.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) September 4, 2019
However, the other reason is “because of vulnerabilities that need to be addressed by mobile carriers.” Part of the problem is the “reliance on having a linked phone number for two-factor authentication.”
Twitter now promises it’s now “working on improving this.”
It’s not clear how long the feature will be disabled, but Twitter did say that it’s working to reactivate it “in markets that depend on SMS for reliable communication soon.” The company is also working on a more long-term strategy to deal with the problem.
You might also like
More from Twitter
Twitter Spaces Will Bring Live Audio Conversations To The Platform
Twitter announced it will start testing Twitter Spaces – Clubhouse-like audio conversation rooms – to its platform later this year.
Twitter Hires Famous Hacker As Its New Head Of Security
Twitter has named famed hacker Peiter Zatko, aka 'Mudge,' as its new head of security.
Twitter Expands Fleets To Users In Japan
As part of the next stage of a worldwide rollout, Twitter has announced the expansion of its Stories-like Fleets feature …
It’s Official, Donald Trump Is The Biggest Loser On Twitter
Joe Biden won the US Presidential election, and Donald Trump has become the biggest loser on Twitter. For real.
Can You Guess Trump’s Twitter Password? This Hacker Did.
A Dutch hacker claims he successfully accessed Donald Trump's Twitter account, simply by guessing his password (and you would have …
You Can Now Turn Your WordPress.com Blog Posts Into Tweetstorms
WordPress.com announced a new feature that lets you share entire blog posts as Twitter threads, helping you amplify your content …
Twitter Announces New Measures To Protect The 2020 US Election
In its effort to protect critical dialogue on its platform, Twitter is announcing several new product and enforcement updates.
How To Prepare For Cyber Monday During COVID-19
Twitter gives brands five tips to prepare for Cyber Monday's shopping madness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Twitter Turns Tweets About Wearing Masks Into Billboards
New Twitter billboards are taking over the streets of seven US cities to promote wearing masks to combat the …
