San Jose mayor’s Twitter hack raises broader security concerns

29/04/2022

Public officials are being advised by cybersecurity professionals to audit their online security practices in the wake of the San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo’s Twitter account hacking. Last week, Mayor Liccardo’s personal Twitter account was briefly hacked and used to promote non-fungible tokens (NFT’s) by an unknown group or individual under the name “Sam Sneaker Heads”. Experts are concerned this may expose the vulnerability of other government workers’ social media accounts.

“This kind of attack has a real potential to undermine people’s trust in democracy and democratic institutions,” Leigh Honeywell, CEO of Tall Poppy, an organization that assists companies in defending their employees from online harassment, told San José Spotlight. “They should be taking the steps needed to keep things safe.” At the time of press, it was not clear exactly how the mayor’s information was breached.

Experts are leaning on public officials to show greater caution with their personal information. In recent months, major companies like Dropbox and LinkedIn have experienced massive hacks and leaks, leading to the personal information of millions of users being spread on the internet. San Jose’s deputy city manager and chief information officer, Rob Lloyd, vowed to beef up the city’s security protocols. “In general, there are security controls in place and training provided, as well as updates if a specific tactic is detected that shows success,” he told San José Spotlight. He hopes that the city’s provided cybersecurity training and guidelines will prevent further leaks.