Exclusive: U.S. FBI is leading an inquiry into the Twitter hack, sources say

[July 17, 2020]    By Joseph Menn and Mark Hosenball

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading a federal inquiry into the Twitter hacking, two sources familiar with the situation said, after hackers seized control of accounts belonging to Joe Biden, Kim Kardashian and others in what appeared to be a bitcoin scam.

The Twitter logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Earlier the FBI had said: "We are aware of today's security incident involving several Twitter accounts belonging to high profile individuals. The accounts appear to have been compromised in order to perpetuate cryptocurrency fraud."

Shares of Twitter added to losses on the news and traded down 1.3 percent.

(Reporting by Joseph Menn; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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