The internet has become invariably tied into the daily functions of most peoples’ life and as technology develops more and more of nearly every activity involves the web.  If it can be done online, it is, and if it can’t it’s only a matter of time till you can.  But when has the fingers of the virtual world reached too far into our privacy?  Twitter may have recently discovered that point when confidential financial and product information was stolen by a hacker and posted on a number of techblogs.  Oh the irony of it all…

In the past year, Twitter has gone from a little-known social networking service to one of the most popular online applications that is now being utilized by individuals and organizations alike.  It takes the instantaneous dissemination of information on blogs to the next level, creating a constant feed of “micro-blog” updates that can be “tweeted” from a computer or phone.  Many cite authentic celebrity “tweeters” as the ones responsible for the sudden explosion of Twitter’s popularity.  Whatever the case, Twitter has produced an even larger window into the private lives of people.  It seems fitting therefore, in an twisted sort of way, that Twitter’s own information would be stolen through another internet tool that has become a mainstay of everyday life.

Apparently a French hacker who goes by the moniker “Hacker Croll” managed to hack into one of Twitter’s administrative employee’s personal Google email, from which he was able to obtain Google documents, calenders, and other applications that contained the company’s financial information, projections, and product development info which was leaked to multiple sources.  The controversy which has now prompted Twitter to seek legal action erupted when several blogs, including TechCrunch, a respected techblog, began publishing this information on their websites.  When many readers TechCrunch started to criticize the action, founder and editor Michael Arrington responded, ”…many users say this is “stolen” information and therefore shouldn’t be published. We disagree.  We publish confidential information almost every day on TechCrunch. This is stuff that is also “stolen,” usually leaked by an employee or someone else close to the company.”  Unfortunately Twitter does not agree with Arrington.

Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, claims that though the leak is embarrassing, it’s nothing really damaging to the company’s operations or image.  He went to also emphasize that “the attack had nothing to do with any vulnerability in Google Apps.”

Sidebar: A hacker managed to obtain hundreds of documents and private financial information just by breaking into a personal email.  With thousands–if not millions–of companies currently utilizing Google documents and Excel sheets to share/store financial information and do business, I’d say that’s due cause to be a little bit worried about vulnerability in Google Apps.  Perhaps one could argue Google Apps was not designed for confidentiality; online forms that can be accessed anywhere at the click of a button probably aren’t the best place to store sensitive information.  But with more and more of daily activities and work being digitized and performed through the web (or Google specifically) it may be hard to go back and do things a different way again.  It could be time for Google to tighten a few screws or maybe offer a premium service with higher security.

Better think twice before tossing those file cabinets.  Maybe some things really are better the old fashioned way…

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For more detailed information on the hacking, read BBC’s article:

“Twitter Calls Lawyer Over Hacking”

via Caleb, 16 July 2009 10:00am | 2 |