John McAfee, cyber-security pioneer and ace computer programmer's Twitter account hacked

McAfee had activated the two-step verification that Twitter has in place as a security feature but the hacker is said to have intercepted the authentication code.

| Updated: Saturday, December 30, 2017, 12:37 [IST]

Ace computer programmer and businessman John McAfee has just revealed that his Twitter account was hacked and was used to run 'coin of the day' series recommending and promoting lesser-known cryptocurrencies.

John McAfee, popular cyber-security pioneer's Twitter account hacked

"Though I am a security expert, I have no control over Twitter's security. I have haters. I am a target. People make fake accounts, fake screenshots, fake claims," he tweeted.

"I am a target for hackers who lost money and blame me. Please take responsibility for yourselves. Adults only please," he posted this message with a screenshot of his device which showed his calls and texts were hijacked by a hacker.

According to BBC, McAfee had activated the two-step verification that Twitter has in place as a security feature but "he believed the hacker had intercepted the authentication code."

"The first indication that I had been hacked was turning on my cell phone and seeing the attached image," he was quoted as saying. "I knew at that point that my phone had been compromised. I was on a boat at the time and could not go to my carrier (AT&T) to have the issue corrected. All that the hacker did was compromise my Twitter account. It could have been worse," McAfee added.

The security pioneer and McAfee creator is currently working on plans to sell the world's most "hack-proof" smartphone due for release in February.

The alleged smartphone is said to feature hardware switches, which will allow users to disconnect the battery, the antennas for Wi-Fi, the camera, Bluetooth, the geo-location and the microphone. The device will be priced at $1,100 (roughly Rs. 70,700). Further, "The base phone will be procured as an OEM model using the Android operating system, and then modified using the skills of MGT's cybersecurity team," MGT said on its announcement blog post earlier this year.

"It also will not allow the phone to connect to a Stingray or any other IMSI catcher device. In addition, it contains a Web search anonymiser," John McAfee was quoted as saying in the Newsweek report.