Why Twitter is asking you to change your password

Twitter is asking users to change their account passwords after an internal error posed a potential threat to password security.

Account holders logging on to the social media platform last night or this morning may have noticed a prompt to update their current password.

So what happened?

According to a tweet from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, the company recently discovered a fault that was causing account passwords to be unnecessarily recorded in an internal log.

We recently discovered a bug where account passwords were being written to an internal log before completing a masking/hashing process. We’ve fixed, see no indication of breach or misuse, and believe it’s important for us to be open about this internal defect. https://t.co/BJezo7Gk00

— jack (@jack) May 3, 2018

The issue has now been fixed and the information does not appear to have been misused in any way, but Twitter say they are keen to be open about the error.

Was my Twitter password compromised?

According to Twitter's official statement, it is highly unlikely that anyone's password was compromised as a result of this fault.

Should I change my password?

Twitter are recommending that everyone change their account password as a precaution.

Provided you can remember your current password, it is quick and easy to update it, and you can be safe in the knowledge that your account is secure should your original password information fall into the wrong hands.

Why did Twitter report this if nothing bad happened?

In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, many social media companies and other online-based organisations are making an effort to maintain transparency and honesty with their customers and users.

Being open about mistakes like this as well as successes means that users are more likely to trust Twitter in the future.

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