NEWS

Mark Zuckerberg's social media accounts hacked

Brett Molina
USA TODAY

Having your social media accounts hacked can happen to any one. Just ask Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

The Facebook CEO's accounts on Twitter and Pinterest were compromised by hackers, according to screen shots of the pages published by tech website Engadget. Zuckerberg has regained access to both accounts, and any messages posted have been removed.

"No Facebook systems or accounts were accessed," said Facebook spokeswoman Melanie Ensign in an emailed statement. "The affected accounts have been re-secured."

A team of hackers called OurMine is claiming credit for the hack, saying Zuckerberg's credentials were discovered in a database of compromised LinkedIn accounts. The professional social network told millions of its users last month to change passwords after login information from as many as 100 million users swiped in 2012 surfaced on the internet.

The Twitter account for OurMine has been suspended. Although Zuckerberg's accounts have since deleted all messages related to the hack, screenshots are available on Twitter:

Hacks like the incident involving Zuckerberg are a reminder to use stronger passwords or enable features including two-factor authentication to secure accounts. Security experts suggest creating different passwords for each online account you use. Web users can also use password manager apps that will create different, random passwords for multiple sites.

Study finds we're still terrible with passwords

Two-factor authentication requires users to type in a special code sent to their smartphone after they've logged in to a service to verify their identity. Services including Facebook, Google and Twitter are among several that use two-factor authentication.

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.