Saudi hacker group OurMine successfully hacked into Mark Zuckerberg's Twitter and Pinterest accounts last night.
OurMine Tweeted from Zuckerberg's own account with this hilariously straightforward explanation of how they did it:
Hey, @finkd You were in LinkedIn Database with the password "dadada"! DM for proof..
Now, I'm not exactly sure why "proof" would be needed here, seeing that they literally Tweeted the message out from his account, but maybe I'm missing something.
The "LinkedIn Database" they refer to here is a giant leak of 160 million LinkedIn usernames and passwords that happened four years ago. Apparently, Zuckerberg's password had been among those leaked, but he didn't change it.
Then again, considering that the password itself was just "dadada" (which, we can all agree, is just code for "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS AT ALL") it's not exactly surprising that he did not make sure to change his Twitter or Pinterest passwords after the leak.
Still, you'd think celebrities would learn their lessons after everyone from Kylie Jenner to Keith Richards has had their social media accounts hacked (Richards' hackers tweeted "I love killing people," for some reason).
But no. Because -- and this finally proves it -- celebrities are just like us: they think password security is extremely boring.
It's time to grow up though, guys.
It's time to let go of "goldeneye007" and give yourself the social media protection that you deserve.
I've listed some password security tips that will make sure you don't get Zuckerberged like that big dumb nerd in the future.
And, don't worry, these are the official tips from Microsoft. I'm not just talking out of my butt. I don't do that anymore.
1. Make sure your password is at least eight characters long.
And, for the love of Christ almighty and all the angels in heaven, do not just make it: "12345678." You are not your grandmother.
2. Make sure your password doesn't use your name, your pet's name or your kid's name.
Basically, just don't make your password anything that an 11-year-old Russian kid could find on your Facebook page's about section, unless it's: "Religious views: Dumbledore."
3. Make sure your password does not contain a complete word.
So if your password is "Hammerman69" change it to "Hamman69." Also, if your password is either of those things, I like you a lot.
4. Make sure all your passwords are not the same.
Don't be like I used to be and have the same password for literally every single thing on the internet, from Facebook to a tiny Japanese website I went to once 10 years ago to get bootleg Pokémon (e.g. "Charman"and "Squirtgun").
5. Make sure your password has a capital letter, a lowercase letter, a number and a symbol.
Yeah, this is boring but it really just makes your password so much harder to hack. If you need help, here: if your password is "sexchampion420," go ahead and make it "5exCh4mp420blaze." It's that easy! (I added the "blaze" there because I like making things better.)
