Twitter: Verdict lists five of the most popular tweets on cybersecurity in Q4 2021 based on data from GlobalData’s Technology Influencer Platform.

The top tweets are based on total engagements (likes and retweets) received on tweets from more than 150 cybersecurity experts tracked by GlobalData’s Technology Influencer platform during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021.

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The most popular tweets on cybersecurity in Q4 2021: Top five

1. Edward Snowden’s tweet on Apple suing the NSO Group for surveillance and targeting Apple users

Edward Snowden, president of the non-profit organisation Freedom of the Press Foundation, shared an article on technology company Apple suing the Israel-based technology company NSO Group for using its Pegasus spyware to exploit devices of Apple users. Citizen Lab, a research group from the University of Toronto, first detected an exploit called FORCEDENTRY, which was used to hack into Apple devices and install NSO’s latest version of the Pegasus spyware.

The article detailed that the NSO Group creates sophisticated technology that allows its spyware to break into users’ devices and steal information. The spyware was previously used to target small groups of people such as journalists, government officials, and activists across several devices. Apple is looking to ban the NSO Group from accessing its devices, software, or services to protect its users from harmful malware and spyware. The company also announced that it is contributing $10m towards cyber surveillance research and support, the article noted.

Username: Edward Snowden

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Twitter handle: @Snowden

Likes: 2,625

Retweets: 716

2. Zack Whittaker’s tweet on GoDaddy’s data breach

Zack Whittaker, security editor at TechCrunch, an online news platform for tech and start-up news, shared an article on web hosting company GoDaddy reporting a data breach that impacted 1.2 million clients who use WordPress to create websites and blogs. The company announced that the incident occurred when an unauthorised user accessed GoDaddy’s WordPress servers through a compromised password.

The data breach exposed several email addresses and customer identities in addition to customer database passwords and secure sockets layer (SSL) private keys, GoDaddy stated. The hack took place in September 2021 and was detected in November 2021, while the company was not sure if the compromised password used two-factor authentication. The article noted that GoDaddy, which has more than 20 million users worldwide, had reset the keys and passwords, and allocated new SSL certificates.

Username: Zack Whittaker

Twitter handle: @zackwhittaker

Likes: 1,285

Retweets: 1,139

3. Mikko Hypponen’s tweet on live video streaming service Twitch being hacked

Mikko Hypponen, a security and privacy expert, shared an article on Twitch, owned by e-commerce giant Amazon, being hacked. An anonymous hacker posted a 125GB torrent link to the 4chan imageboard website containing Twitch’s user payout information and source codes. The exposed data is considered to be genuine and comprised the complete source code of Twitch, the company’s 2019 payout reports, as well as its internal red team tools.

The leaked information also revealed the list of top streamers, including Nickmercs, Shroud, and DrLupo that have earned millions from the platform, the article noted. Additionally, the documents found that Twitch had paid 81 streamers more than $1m since August 2019.

Username: mikko

Twitter handle: @mikko

Likes: 590

Retweets: 1,111

4. Robert M. Lee’s tweet on Dragos raising $200m in a Series D funding round to accelerate its global expansion plans

Robert M. Lee, CEO and co-founder of the industrial cyber security company Dragos, shared an article on the company raising $200m in a Series D funding round at a valuation of $1.7bn, which is the highest valuation achieved by any operational technology (OT) cybersecurity firm. The funding round was led by Koch Disruptive Technologies, the investment division of US-based conglomerate Koch Industries. The company plans to use the funds towards its global expansion plans across key markets and industries, such as power, oil and gas, chemical, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, water, and manufacturing, the article detailed.

The article further highlighted that the funding occurred at a time when industrial cybersecurity was experiencing rapid growth. The strategic investment is expected to transform industrial and manufacturing operations through cloud and other technologies, according to Rachael Conrad, vice president and general manager at Rockwell Automation, one of the investors in the funding round.

Username: Robert M. Lee

Twitter handle: @RobertMLee

Likes: 848

Retweets: 84

5. Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai’s tweet on hackers stealing cryptocurrencies worth $119m

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, a senior staff writer at VICE Media, a publishing and media firm, shared an article on hackers stealing about $119m in cryptocurrency from the blockchain-based decentralised finance (DeFi) platform BadgerDAO. The hackers took over the platform and deceived users into giving them control. The decentralised autonomous organisation reported that some unauthorised withdrawals occurred from the user funds including 2,100 bitcoin (BTC) (worth $118.5m) and 151 ether (worth $679,000).

The hack, however, did not include complex smart contract exploits and was limited to BadgerDAO’s Cloudflare account, which is a content delivery network. Hackers used a Metamask wallet to ask users for certain permission requests, after which their wallets were emptied. BadgerDAO immediately paused all the smart contracts following the hack, the article noted.

Username: Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai

Twitter handle: @lorenzofb

Likes: 360

Retweets: 134