Arrest Made in Florida in Hack of High-Profile Twitter Handles Earlier This Month

More details emerged Friday on the breach of high-profile Twitter accounts earlier this month, including how it was done and who may have been behind it.

Ryan Hughes of WFLA in Tampa, Fla., reported Friday that 17-year-old Graham Clark of Tampa was arrested early Friday morning and accused of being the mastermind behind the attack.

On July 15, accounts belonging to high-profile users including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, former Vice President and current presidential candidate Joe Biden, Bloomberg co-founder and former presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg, Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, entrepreneur Elon Musk, former President Barack Obama and hip-hop superstar Kanye West were compromised, with many sharing tweets promising double the amount if people sent Bitcoin to a specific wallet mentioned within the tweets.

Hughes reported that Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren filed 30 felony charges against Clark this week: one count of organized fraud; 17 counts of communications fraud; one count of fraudulent use of personal information with over $100,000 or 30 or more victims; 10 counts of fraudulent use of personal information; and one count of access to computer or electronic device without authority.

Warren said the scheme netted over $100,000 in Bitcoin in just one day, adding in a statement, “These crimes were perpetrated using the names of famous people and celebrities, but they’re not the primary victims here. This ‘Bit-Con’ was designed to steal money from regular Americans from all over the country, including here in Florida. This massive fraud was orchestrated right here in our backyard, and we will not stand for that.”

The state attorney added, “I want to congratulate our federal law enforcement partners—the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, the FBI, the IRS and the Secret Service—as well as the Florida Department of Law enforcement. They worked quickly to investigate and identify the perpetrator of a sophisticated and extensive fraud.”

Twitter sent its plaudits, as well, tweeting, “We appreciate the swift actions of law enforcement in this investigation and will continue to cooperate as the case progresses. For our part, we are focused on being transparent and providing updates regularly.”

As for the “how it was done” part, Twitter updated its blog post on the incident late Thursday, saying that a “small number of employees” were targeted through a “phone spear-fishing attack.”

The social network explained that not all employees who were initially targeted had permissions to use its account management tools, which were used to carry out the attack, but credentials from the initial group were used to access internal systems and gain information about Twitter’s processes, which enabled them to target additional employees who did have access.

As previous reported, a total of 130 Twitter accounts were targeted, with 45 being used to tweet. Direct message inboxes of 36 accounts were accessed, and Twitter data was downloaded from seven accounts.

Twitter wrote, “This attack relied on a significant and concerted attempt to mislead certain employees and exploit human vulnerabilities to gain access to our internal systems. This was a striking reminder of how important each person on our team is in protecting our service. We take that responsibility seriously, and everyone at Twitter is committed to keeping your information safe.”

The social network added that access to its internal tools and systems has been significantly limited, impacting some features, calling it “a necessary precaution … We will gradually resume our normal response times when we’re confident that it’s safe to do so.”

https://www.adweek.com/digital/arrest-made-in-florida-in-hack-of-high-profile-twitter-handles-earlier-this-month/




Some Lucky MLS Fans Will Soon Unpack the Heineken 0.0 Stadium in a Box

Major League Soccer fans still can’t go to the stadium to root on their clubs, so the league and partner Heineken are bringing the stadium to them.

Fans 21 and older have through Aug. 11 at 11:59 p.m. ET to tweet about how they cheer from home, and they must tag @Heineken_US and use the #CheersFromHome and #Promo hashtags.

One winner will be chosen from each market to receive a Heineken 0.0 Stadium in a Box, which includes an authentic stadium chair from their favorite MLS club, iconic stadium food and a custom Heineken 0.0 beverage fridge.

Major League Soccer/Heineken

Major League Soccer/Heineken

Major League Soccer/Heineken

Fans in select ZIP codes in the following markets will also have the chance to claim a free six-pack of Heineken 0.0: Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/some-lucky-mls-fans-will-soon-unpack-the-heineken-0-0-stadium-in-a-box/




Twitter Adds Hateful Conduct, Violence to List of Link Types It May Block

[unable to retrieve full-text content] https://www.adweek.com/digital/twitter-adds-hateful-conduct-violence-to-list-of-link-types-it-may-block/




Facebook NPE Team Goes Back to ‘the Early Interwebz’ with E.gg

[unable to retrieve full-text content] https://www.adweek.com/digital/facebook-npe-team-goes-back-to-the-early-interwebz-with-e-gg/




Which Tech CEOs Are Rated the Best By People of Color and Women?

Recent events have brought diversity and inclusion to the top of the priority list for most businesses, and workplace culture and compensation monitoring site Comparably released its reports on which CEOs of large companies are doing it the best.

Comparably analyzed anonymous survey feedback from non-White employees working across 60,000 U.S. companies for its Best CEOs for Diversity list, saying that 11 CEOs of color made the 2020 list, up from nine in 2019 and four in 2018.

This year also marks the first time a CEO of color took the top spot (Microsoft’s Satya Nadella), and Comparably mentioned five CEOs that have made every list since its inception in 2018: Accenture’s Julie Sweet, Apple’s Tim Cook, Fanatics’ Doug Mack, Google’s Sundar Pichai and Nadella.

Tech CEOs to crack the top 25 included:

Comparably said in its introduction to the Best CEOs for Women list, “The #TimesUp movement of 2018 shined a spotlight on gender inequality in the workplace, encompassing not only pay inequity, but also barriers to advancement and representation of women in leadership.”

The company analyzed anonymous survey feedback from women working across 60,000 U.S. companies, saying that 2020 marks the first time a women topped the list: Annette Brüls of Medela.

Comparably also noted 13 CEOs that have made the list every year since its inception in 2018: ADP’s Carlos Rodriguez, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Dynatrace’s John Van Siclen, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Mack, Pichai, HubSpot’s Brian Halligan, Insight Global’s Bert Bean, LinkedIn’s Jeff Weiner (stepped down in June), LogMeIn’s William Wagner, Nadella, Qualtrics’ Ryan Smith and Vertafore’s Amy Zupon.

Tech CEOs to crack the top 50 included:

  • Yuan, No. 2
  • Halligan, No. 3
  • Zuckerberg, No. 4
  • Bezos, No. 5
  • Nadella, No. 9
  • Pichai, No. 13
  • Weiner, No. 21
  • Wagner, No. 50

https://www.adweek.com/digital/which-tech-ceos-are-rated-the-best-by-people-of-color-and-women/




Dollar Shave Club Details a Ballsy Twitter Contest to Promote Its New Ball Spray

Twitter users: Dollar Shave Club wants to remind you that your balls are in your court, and the right set could earn you $25,000.

The direct-to-consumer personal grooming products retailer introduced a new product earlier this month, Ball Spray, which it described as “the solution to that swampy feeling in your shorts that comes along with the warm summer weather.”

Ball Spray turned out to be one of the fastest products in the company’s history to sell out, doing so in less than two weeks and spurring the creation of a wait list

In addition to the benefits provided by the no talc and no zinc formula, which absorbs moisture and reduces chafing, Dollar Shave Club wants to give a pair of lucky Twitter users $25,000 and the honor of having their balls turned into “fine art” by artist Serge Gay Jr.

People have until Aug. 3 to reply to this @DollarShaveClub tweet with the hashtags #paintmyballs and #contest, as well as describing “how their testicles make them resilient, confident and vulnerable.”

Dollar Shave Club’s advice to contestants is: “Don’t go for the easy laugh—dig a little deeper. Use poetry, write song lyrics, or tell us a story—all in 280 characters or less. Written submissions only—DO NOT use your cameras. Remember, this is art.”

Dollar Shave Club

The company said it has already received over 370 entries in the contest’s first 72 hours, sharing some of the early leaders in the clubhouse:

https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/dollar-shave-club-details-a-ballsy-twitter-contest-to-promote-its-new-ball-spray/




Facebook NPE Team’s Venue App Hits the Links With the PGA Tour

The PGA Tour is teeing up Venue, the Facebook NPE Team application that enables commentators and fans to experience live events together in a new, interactive way.

The Facebook NPE Team—the NPE stands for New Product Experimentation—rolled out Venue in late May with Nascar as a partner, kicking things off with the Supermarket Heroes 500 race from Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn., May 31.

The app was designed to enable fans to split their attention between the event and their phones, and Product lead Manish Gaudi said when introducing it in May that this is done with Moments, or short-lived digital opportunities for them to connect when something memorable or interesting occurs during the event.

Shane Bacon from Fox Sports and Ben Everill from PGATour.com will co-host their first Venue Sunday (July 26) at 3 p.m. ET for the final round of the 3M Open, where they will share their live takes on final round play, kick off interactive polls and participate in a dedicated fan chat in the app.

PGA Tour senior vice president of digital operations Scott Gutterman said in a Facebook NPE Team blog post, “The PGA Tour is excited to engage with our fans on Venue, as it creates a new and exciting way to interact with our tournaments. We have a similar interest with Facebook that revolves around using innovation to reach fans directly and interact with them during our events.”

https://www.adweek.com/digital/facebook-npe-teams-venue-app-hits-the-links-with-the-pga-tour/




Spotify Looks to Get Advertisers in the Christmas Spirit

Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas? Not for brands advertising on audio-streaming platform Spotify.

The company released its Christmas in Summer: Hear the Cheer invite-only digital hub for advertisers, giving them access to key Christmas trends and audience data.

Spotify shared some of those insights:

  • November marks the global start of Christmas listening, but the lengths of listening sessions begin creeping up 10% per month from October through January.
  • There was a 76% jump in smart speaker streams worldwide from October through December 2019.
  • The coronavirus pandemic took its toll, as fewer people streamed from their cars due to not having to make their daily commutes.
  • With people working from home and remaining in quarantine, more users are streaming across devices including computers, televisions, smart speakers and gaming consoles, with Spotify saying, “This offers a robust opportunity for advertisers looking to connect with their audiences thoughtfully and reach consumers as they stream across multiple devices throughout their day.”
  • During the Christmas season, streams of dinner and cooking moments rose 24%.
  • Streams of classical music were up 16% during that period.
  • Rock and hip-hop were the most common genres among non-Christmas listeners.
  • Oldies’ share of streams rose 29.7% from October through December, surging 65.1% on Christmas Day.

Spotify regional head of sales for the U.K. and pan-EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Rakesh Patel said in a statement, “At Spotify, we know how critical the Christmas period is for brands, both from a business perspective, but also creatively, as it offers an opportunity to lean into the cultural moment to win the hearts of consumers. Given the breadth and depth of our data and insights, advertising on Spotify offers a level of targeting that is unparalleled in any other audio format, and it puts us in a unique position to support brands in really reaching the audiences where it’s important to them, during the critical Christmas period. While the industry is in planning mode, we wanted to open up our insights to support advertisers looking to get the most from their Christmas campaigns.”

https://www.adweek.com/digital/spotify-looks-to-get-advertisers-in-the-christmas-spirit/




MLS’ Charlotte Expansion Team Will Reveal Its Name, Colors on Social Channels Wednesday

[unable to retrieve full-text content] https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/mls-charlotte-expansion-team-will-reveal-its-name-colors-on-social-channels-wednesday/




Snap Inc. Snags Ad Agency Veteran Leo Macias

Ad-agency veteran Leo Macias will join Snap Inc. later this month as head of global creative, a newly created position.

Macias most recently served as chief creative officer for Laundry Service covering the U.S. and Latin America, including Brazil.

He has also worked with DDB, Publicis Groupe, Havas and Ogilvy.

At Snap, Macias will be based at the company’s headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., and report to chief marketing officer Kenny Mitchell. He will be responsible for leading the creative team and supporting Snap’s brand, consumer and business marketing efforts worldwide.

Mitchell said in a statement, “Leo is a world-class creative and talent in our industry. We’re thrilled to welcome Leo on board to help us showcase the creativity of Snapchat and our platform.”

https://www.adweek.com/digital/snap-inc-snags-ad-agency-veteran-leo-macias/