<p>The suspected teenage mastermind of a huge Twitter hack pled not guilty Tuesday to allegations he hijacked celebrity accounts to swindle people out of more than $100,000 in a cryptocurrency scheme.</p>.<p>The 17-year-old Tampa, Florida resident pled not guilty before a state court, during a short hearing conducted via videoconference, according to the <em>Tampa Bay Times</em> newspaper.</p>.<p>He was arrested Friday along with two others, aged 19 and 22, one of whom lives in Britain, and was charged with cyber fraud.</p>.<p>Investigators viewed the 17-year-old as the mastermind behind the mid-July cyberattack that rocked Twitter.</p>.<p>Hackers who accessed dozens of high-profile Twitter accounts gained access to the system with an attack that tricked a handful of employees into giving up their credentials, according to a company update.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/video/news/twitter-accounts-of-joe-biden-musk-bill-gates-hacked-861855.html" target="_blank">Watch: Twitter Accounts of Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Bill Gates hacked</a></strong></p>.<p>The hackers "targeted a small number of employees through a phone spear phishing attack," according to a Twitter Support statement.</p>.<p>The massive hack of users from Elon Musk to Joe Biden affected at least 130 accounts, with tweets posted by the usurpers duping people into sending $100,000 in Bitcoin, supposedly in exchange for double the amount sent.</p>.<p>The official accounts of Apple, Uber, Kanye West, Bill Gates, Barack Obama and others were also affected.</p>.<p>The incident has raised concerns about the security of the platform increasingly used for conversations on politics and public affairs, particularly as the US presidential election in November approaches.</p>
<p>The suspected teenage mastermind of a huge Twitter hack pled not guilty Tuesday to allegations he hijacked celebrity accounts to swindle people out of more than $100,000 in a cryptocurrency scheme.</p>.<p>The 17-year-old Tampa, Florida resident pled not guilty before a state court, during a short hearing conducted via videoconference, according to the <em>Tampa Bay Times</em> newspaper.</p>.<p>He was arrested Friday along with two others, aged 19 and 22, one of whom lives in Britain, and was charged with cyber fraud.</p>.<p>Investigators viewed the 17-year-old as the mastermind behind the mid-July cyberattack that rocked Twitter.</p>.<p>Hackers who accessed dozens of high-profile Twitter accounts gained access to the system with an attack that tricked a handful of employees into giving up their credentials, according to a company update.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/video/news/twitter-accounts-of-joe-biden-musk-bill-gates-hacked-861855.html" target="_blank">Watch: Twitter Accounts of Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Bill Gates hacked</a></strong></p>.<p>The hackers "targeted a small number of employees through a phone spear phishing attack," according to a Twitter Support statement.</p>.<p>The massive hack of users from Elon Musk to Joe Biden affected at least 130 accounts, with tweets posted by the usurpers duping people into sending $100,000 in Bitcoin, supposedly in exchange for double the amount sent.</p>.<p>The official accounts of Apple, Uber, Kanye West, Bill Gates, Barack Obama and others were also affected.</p>.<p>The incident has raised concerns about the security of the platform increasingly used for conversations on politics and public affairs, particularly as the US presidential election in November approaches.</p>