Hackers Launch Wave of Celebrity Death Scares on Twitter

Posted 06/30/2009 at 12:00pm | by Paul Lilly

3

Comments

Print

Celebrities have been dropping like flies in recent weeks, with Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, and Billy Mays all having parted ways with the living. If you follow feeds on Twitter, you may have thought a lot more passed on, making you wonder if there really is something unsanitary flowing in Hollywood's water. That's because hackers have been gaining access to celebrity accounts and sending out bogus death notices for the likes of Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Goldblum, and P. Diddy.

"Britney has passed today," the fake tweet announced on Sunday. "It is a sad day for everyone. More news to come."

After learning of the message, Spears' staff tweeted that the pop singer's account had been compromised and that "She is fine and dandy spending a quiet day at home relaxing."

To gain access to celebrity accounts, hackers took advantage of a vulnerability allowing them to try every pin combination possible until one worked. Twitter claims a "fix has been put in place to prevent ths from happening."