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Twitter asks users to change passwords after plain text log is discovered

Twitter is asking some of its users to change their passwords after it discovered a log – only accessible to Twitter employees – containing unmasked passwords.

The log appears to have been created by a bug that stored passwords in plain text before Twitter’s hashing process could be completed. Hashing is standard industry practice whereby the password is replaced by numbers and letters before being transmitted.

Twitter assured users that the log was not accessed by anybody outside of the organisation nor was it misused by a Twitter staffer.

“We have fixed the bug, and our investigation shows no indication of breach or misuse by anyone,” chief technology officer at Twitter Parag Agrawal wrote in a blog post.

Despite this assurance that data never left Twitter’s servers, the firm has advised that any users it alerted change their passwords, and if the password they used previously has been reused on another site that password should be changed as well.

Twitter also suggests turning on two-factor authentication for an extra layer of protection.

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