Inside the Matt Walsh Hack

Updated April 22 2023:  Hello, this is TheTechBoy with 

Inside the Matt Walsh Hack. 

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/security-logo-60504/

  This week, YouTuber Matt Walsh Twitter got hacked. However, according to a Daily Wire report his email was hacked as well. 

   The attacker allegedly used a Sim Swapping attack per Ben Shapiro which allowed the hackers to bypass the 2-factor authentication or reset the password by getting the code sent to Mr. Walsh's phone.

   I theorized that there was an insider that helped with the hack, and that appears to be true. This means that they could have had Mr. Walsh's personal information or access to his iPhone (to get the SIM).

  A SIM swapping attack is an attack where someone switched a SIM into another phone to get any new texts sent to the attacker. Or the attack could be carried off by calling the cellphone company and trucking them into swapping your SIM to another device. 

   This can be done by having an attacker have access to personal information to tell the carrier representative the answers to the security questions such as, "Your dog's name," or birthplace etc.

    A way to prevent this is to use security software that locks your SIM card if it is removed from a phone and make the answers to the security questions wrong. For example if your dog's name is Bob then make the answer to the security question Rufus etc. You can also lock your SIM card on Android (article coming out soon).

  If course make sure you have a good password on your phone, and make sure that you use a good 2 factor authentication application such as Microsoft Authenticator for accounts you care about instead if using SMS 2FA. (SMS 2FA is useful if your phone gets wiped.) A SIM swap attack will not work with app based 2FA.

  Also make sure you keep your browser safe and secure by not having too many extensions, not getting it hooked in Beef, and be wary of any emails that come in. 

God bless and Tech Talk To You Later!!!