Cyber Incident Victim: Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office
Date:
Feb 2022
Location:
United States of America
Summary
The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office experienced a compromise of its official Twitter account, resulting in unauthorized posts before control was regained the following day. The office publicly acknowledged the breach, apologized for the erratic content, and confirmed reporting the incident to Twitter while promoting cybersecurity best practices like strong passwords and two-factor authentication. This incident occurred against a backdrop of prior disruptive cyberattacks affecting local government systems and schools in preceding years.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On February 24, 2022, the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office announced that its official Twitter account had been compromised the previous day (February 23). The unauthorized access resulted in the publication of unspecified "crazy tweets" from the account. Office personnel discovered the breach on February 23 when they found themselves unable to access the Twitter account. Officials promptly reported the incident to Twitter’s support team to initiate recovery procedures. By February 24, the office regained control of the account and publicly confirmed the security incident, issuing an apology for the anomalous posts. No technical details regarding the intrusion method were disclosed by the office.
The incident prompted the State’s Attorney’s Office to publicly emphasize basic cybersecurity practices, including password protection for devices, implementation of two-factor authentication, and vigilance against suspicious online content. Spokesperson Zy Richardson expressed relief over the account’s restoration but confirmed investigators had not determined how the breach occurred. The hack occurred against a backdrop of significant prior cyber incidents affecting Baltimore-area government entities, including dual ransomware attacks in 2019 that disrupted city operations and incurred millions in costs, followed by a November 2020 ransomware attack that forced Baltimore County Public Schools to cancel classes for multiple days. No operational disruptions or financial impacts beyond the temporary Twitter account compromise were reported in connection with this 2022 incident.