Varney on Twitter hack: Mr. Dorsey has a problem
'His platform could be manipulated to hurt us all'
FOX Business’ Stuart Varney, in his latest “My Take,” shares his concerns over the massive Twitter hack and calls on CEO Jack Dorsey to fix the issue before it gets out of hand.
“The Twitter hack is very troubling,” he said. “Whomsoever did it pulled off something remarkable. They took over the Twitter accounts of more than a dozen major-league celebrities. They demonstrated their ability to create havoc.”
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The hackers put out fake tweets Wednesday night on the accounts of prominent leaders like Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Barack Obama. The tweet on Obama’s account read:
"I am giving back to my community due to COVID-19. All Bitcoin sent to my address below will be sent back doubled. If you send $1,000, I will send back $2,000."
The hackers reportedly used a technique called social engineering, Varney said, which is the process of sending out fake messages from people known and trusted by the public.
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“Now, suppose the fake message concerned the stock market or politics,” he said. “It pops up on your screen and you have very limited time to assess whether it’s fake or real. You can see the opportunity for malicious manipulation. This attack was about bitcoin. No serious damage done. But it could obviously have been so much worse and so much more damaging.”
Dorsey released a statement on the matter saying “…tough day for us at Twitter. We all feel terrible this happened.”
“Fair enough,” Varney said. “But Mr. Dorsey has a problem. His platform can be manipulated to hurt us all. Better fix it."