Hackers could target Twitter during FIFA World Cup 2022

SAN FRANCISCO: Hackers could target social media website Twitter during the FIFA World Cup 2022, which starts in Qatar today, according to experts in the technology industry.

The biggest sporting event in the world is likely to result in a significant increase in Twitter traffic during the coming weeks.

It must be noted that the 2014 World Cup in Brazil holds the world record for the 'Most discussed sports event on Twitter' with around 672 million tweets.

According to Radio New Zealand, Paul Haskell-Dowland, a professor of cyber security at Edith Cowan University, has stated that the World Cup is "a natural opportunity" for hackers to target Twitter.

"The absence of people to look after it could result in impacts on service availability," he said.

"Cybercriminals around the world will be well aware of the challenges that the Twitter platform is currently facing."

Staff exodus aggravate security concerns

However, Twitter´s owner Elon Musk has pledged the platform will not become a "hellscape," but experts fear a staff exodus following mass layoffs may have devastated its ability to combat misinformation, impersonation and data theft.

Twitter devolved into what campaigners described as a cesspit of falsehoods and hate speech after recent layoffs cut half the company´s 7,500 staff and fake accounts proliferated following its botched rollout of a paid verification system.

Further throwing the influential platform into disarray — and raising doubt about its very existence — reports said hundreds of employees chose to depart the company Thursday in defiance of an ultimatum from Musk.

"The huge number of layoffs and resignations raises serious questions about content moderation and the security of user data," Cheyenne Hunt-Majer, from the nonprofit Public Citizen, told AFP.

"It is imperative that (US regulators) act with urgency as users could have their sensitive data exploited or even stolen given the lack of sufficient staff that remain to adequately protect it."

The hashtag #RIPTwitter gained huge traction on the site after resignations poured in from employees who chose "no" to Musk´s demand that they either be "extremely hardcore" or exit the company.

Twitter has plunged into turmoil as Musk, a self-professed free speech absolutist, seeks to shake up the money-losing company after his blockbuster $44 billion buyout late last month.

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