Twitter – Mass Appeal But Vulnerable to Mass Attacks
Last Thursday, Twitter was rendered virtually inoperable for several hours by cyber attacks. Although other social media sites like Facebook were also affected, they were able to fend off the attacks without major interruption to their users. The New York Times reported that this attack was an extension of the ongoing conflict between Georgia and Russia, and may have been directed at a professor in Georgia. On Friday, Twitter acknowledged that the attacks "appear to have been geopolitical in motivation." But on Tuesday, another attack occurred, again causing major access problems for Twitter users. Given the popularity of Twitter, not just among individuals but also among a growing number of companies, one has to wonder if these attacks (and possible future attacks) will cause users to re-evaluate the usefulness of Twitter's services.