S. Korea's CPI 2.2% up YoY in June '25    Egypt, UNCTAD discuss investment, economic cooperation in Spain    EGP nudges lower against USD in early July 2 trading    Gaza under Israeli siege as death toll mounts, famine looms    New accords on trade, security strengthen Egypt-Oman Relations    Egypt launches public-private partnership to curb c-sections, improve maternal, child health    Egypt Post discusses enhanced cooperation with Ivorian counterpart    EMRA, Elsewedy sign partnership to explore, develop phosphate reserves in Sebaiya    Opella becomes first global consumer healthcare firm to gain B Corp status    Philip Morris Misr announces new price list effective 1 July    Egypt's FM backs IAEA role, urges de-escalation on Iran nuclear issue    Egypt's Environment Minister calls for stronger action on desertification, climate resilience in Africa    Egypt in diplomatic push for Gaza truce, Iran-Israel de-escalation    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger    Egypt, Tunisia discuss boosting healthcare cooperation        Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt's GAH, Spain's Konecta discuss digital health partnership    Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed to Q4    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Egypt discovers three New Kingdom tombs in Luxor's Dra' Abu El-Naga    Egypt launches "Memory of the City" app to document urban history    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Twitter employee briefly shuts Trump account, putting controls in question
Published in Amwal Al Ghad on 04 - 11 - 2017

Twitter Inc faced questions on Friday about its approach to internal security after a company employee briefly deactivated U.S. President Donald Trump's account.
The 11-minute blackout of the @realDonaldTrump account late on Thursday drew widespread attention to the microblogging site.
Trump frequently uses Twitter to announce policy, assail his adversaries and to tangle with countries, including North Korea, over world affairs. Some users voiced fears that future employee interference or technology glitches involving Trump's account could threaten national security.
The incident also came as Twitter grapples with overall criticism of its handling of account suspensions, user abuse and ever-changing terms of service.
Twitter said in a tweet on Friday: "We have implemented safeguards to prevent this from happening again. We won't be able to share all details about our internal investigation or updates to our security measures, but we take this seriously and our teams are on it."
A company representative declined to answer questions including how many employees can suspend an account or what special protections there are for high-profile users like Trump.
Trump was back on Twitter soon after the account was restored, and the employee did not send or alter any tweets.
Cyber security experts had previously speculated Twitter could have installed special protections on Trump's account, such as the ability to only access it from certain devices. "We have learned that this was done by a Twitter customer-support employee who did this on the employee's last day. We are conducting a full internal review," Twitter said in a tweet late on Thursday.
"We are continuing to investigate and are taking steps to prevent this from happening again," the company said in an earlier tweet.
Reuters could not determine how many Twitter employees had the authority to delete accounts or if any had the ability to tamper with them in other ways, such as by sending bogus tweets.
"In all seriousness: We need accountability for social media sites," Ken Meyer, who served as digital director for former Vice President Joe Biden, tweeted. "Lone employees shouldn't be able to change statements from the President."
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a former Twitter employee said it was unlikely a worker with suspension privileges would also be able to hijack an account to send out messages.
"Different types of access," the former employee said. "I‘m not sure anyone at Twitter can tweet from someone else's account."
Another person familiar with Twitter operations, speaking on condition of anonymity, said employees currently cannot post from a user's account, change or even view a user's password, which is encrypted.
Joseph Lorenzo Hall, chief technologist at the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology, said the suspension reflected a need for Twitter to be more transparent about its ability to control accounts but also demonstrated the perils of a head of state relying on digital technology as a primary mode of communication.
"It would be nice to rely on older forms of policy communication with solid foundations," he said, adding that Twitter should require two-person controls for certain high-profile accounts.
The New York Times on Friday reported the rogue employee was in fact a contractor, citing two anonymous sources familiar with the incident.
Twitter and other tech companies have ramped up their reliance on contractors due to pressure to respond more quickly and thoroughly to content violations.
While the companies "are desperately reliant upon human nuance and sophistication for decision making, human will is quite a risk," Sarah Roberts, a UCLA professor who studies such contractors, said in a tweet. "Ain't that a bind?"
The company on Friday separately announced minor updates to its rules, including more clarity on what actions could result in an account suspension. It was the latest in a string of iterative changes amid criticism the platform too slowly and inconsistently responds to abuse.
Twitter shares were up 1.9 percent in afternoon trading.
Trump, who has nearly 42 million Twitter followers, responded to the temporary loss of his account by boasting about his wide reach on the service.
"My Twitter account was taken down for 11 minutes by a rogue employee," Trump said on Twitter early on Friday. "I guess the word must finally be getting out-and having an impact."
He has used Twitter to attack opponents and promote his policies, both during the 2016 presidential campaign and since taking office in January.
Thursday's incident also raised questions about how Twitter secures the official @potus presidential account and other accounts that could potentially influence world events.
Technology companies including Twitter are, meanwhile, under attack from U.S. lawmakers for failing to stem the spread of Russian propaganda and misinformation on their platforms.
Twitter in particular has long been criticized for not doing enough to police its platform and respond to complaints of harassment.
Though the temporary deletion of the Trump account sparked a flood of criticism from Twitter users, many of the president's critics also said they were happy to see the account disabled.
In 2013, hackers took control of the main account for the Associated Press and tweeted that explosions at the White House had injured then-President Barack Obama, causing stocks to briefly plunge.
Source: Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.