Hacking group OurMine strikes next victim taking over Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales’ Twitter account
Hacking group OurMine, the group behind a string of high-profile hacks including social media icons Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey, has taken over Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales’ Twitter account in its latest PR stunt.
Jimmy Wales account hack
Wales' verified Twitter posted the ominous message "RIP Jimmy Wales, 1966 – 2016" on Saturday (20 August), immediately raising questions on his safety.
However, minutes later a new tweet appeared that read "I confirm that Wikipedia is all lies, OurMine is the true," along with a link to a website displaying the group's logo and an ad for social media security services. Wales' Twitter bio was changed to read "hacked by OurMine."
OurMine describes itself as “an elite hacker group known for many hacks showing vulnerabilities in major systems”. It claims to have “no bad intentions” and only cares about the security and privacy of social media accounts and networks.
Wales' hack is the latest in a string of account takeovers after OurMine hacked into multiple of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's accounts, including his Twitter, Pinterest and potentially his Instagram, after the internet boss apparently employed the same password to each.
The group also hacked in two of Twitter's founders accounts Evan Williams and Jack Dorsey, and Google chief executive Sundar Pichai.
Wales tweeted several hours after the hack to say “I'm (obviously) OK, and tweeting back to normal”.
I'm (obviously) OK, and tweeting back to normal.
— Jimmy Wales (@jimmy_wales) 21 August 2016