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Twitter Hit with Second Worm in a Week, Spread Via 'WTF' Link

 & Chloe Albanesius Executive Editor, News

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Days after a site update unleashed a Twitter cross-scripting attack, the micro-blogging site was again hit with a bug that spread via questionable links.

"A malicious link is making the rounds that will post a tweet to your account when clicked on," Twitter wrote on its status blog Sunday afternoon.

The offending messages appeared on a user's Twitter feed with "WTF:" followed by a link. If you clicked on that link, you were taken to a blank page, but behind the scenes, the worm would post vulgar messages on your account that discussed, well, sex involving goats.

"Clicking on the WTF link would take you to a webpage which contained some trivial code which used a CSRF (cross-site request forgery) technique to automatically post from the visitor's Twitter account," according to a blog post from Sophos's Graham Cluley. "All the user sees if they visit the link is a blank page, but behind the scenes it has sent messages to Twitter to post from your account."

The message did not spread if you were not signed into your Twitter account at the time. Cluley suggested the attack spread so quickly because people were eager to find out what might warrant a "WTF" label.

Twitter said Sunday evening that it had fixed the exploit and was in the process of removing the offending tweets, but Cluley said that attack "highlighted an obvious security problem in Twitter which must be addressed as a matter of urgency - otherwise we can expect further (perhaps more dangerous) attacks."

About Our Expert

Chloe Albanesius

Chloe Albanesius

Executive Editor, News

My Experience

I started out covering tech policy in DC for The National Journal, where my beat included state-level tech news and all the congressional hearings and FCC meetings I could handle. I later covered Wall Street trading tech before switching gears to consumer tech. I now lead PCMag's news coverage.

My Areas of Expertise

Getting my start in DC means I still have a soft spot for tech policy; Congressional hearings can sometimes be as entertaining as a Bravo reality show, for better or worse. But PCMag is all about the technology we use every day, as well as keeping an eye out for the trends that will shape the industry in the years ahead (or flop on arrival). I've covered the rise of social media, the iOS vs. Android wars, the cord-cutting revolution that's now left us with hefty streaming bills, and the effort to stuff artificial intelligence into every product you could imagine. This job has taken me to CES in Vegas (one too many times), IFA in Berlin, and MWC in Barcelona. I also drove a Tesla 1,000 miles out west as part of our Best Mobile Networks project. Of late, my focus is on our hard-working team of reporters at PCMag, guiding and editing their robust coverage.

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