Newport councillor claims Twitter account was hacked

10:32am Thursday 28th February 2013 in Gwent news

Cllr Debbie Harvey Cllr Debbie Harvey

A POLITICIAN claimed her Twitter account was hacked when it sent a message saying she wanted to rip another councillor's head off.

A message was posted from the Twitter account of Newport councillor Debbie Harvey during Tuesday's full council meeting that said: "Newport budget I want to rip fouweather's head off[sic]".

The message, sent at 6.06pm on Tuesday evening during a full council meeting, was thought to refer to senior Tory councillor David Fouweather.

Cllr Harvey, who was elected to the Alway ward in May, said Twitter confirmed her account was compromised.

The tweet was deleted shortly after it was posted on Tuesday night. Her account has since been protected to stop people who don't already follow her from seeing it, and the accounts of some Argus journalists have been blocked from following her.

Cllr Harvey, who battled for victims following the collapse of Farepak, said the tweet did not come from her and was not a direct message meant for someone else.

She said Twitter are looking into it for her: "I've already had contact from Twitter saying the account has been breached. That's why my account was blocked. If I have got something to say I say it. I don't tweet it."

Asked why she blocked an Argus journalist, she said: "That's my choice."

Cllr Fouweather said he had no comment on the issue and was seeking advice, but has raised the matter with a legal officer at Newport council.

A council spokeswoman said its code of conduct does not stop councillors from tweeting during meetings, adding: "The security of personal accounts is the responsibility of the individuals and we understand that on this occasion the councillor believes their account was compromised."

Carl Morris of Cardiff social media consultancy NativeHQ said he couldn't comment on this case but said it is important to be mindful of the security of an account.

Mr Morris said a weak password can make an account vulnerable, while fake websites can gather login details.

"It's important to be wary of this, and mindful of the security of your account," he said, adding that it is also worth checking applications authorised to access your account.

Comments(44)

pinpong says...
10:52am Thu 28 Feb 13

Just like saying i havent done my homework because my pen ran out of ink. Come on. This is really naughty. She is an elected councillor and should know better. She was probably losing the argument and wroye this in temper

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PaulHalliday says...
11:04am Thu 28 Feb 13

I have to say Debbie Harvey's story does not stack up. Twitter wouldn't know if you were hacked unless it was because of a data breach on their end that had been discovered.

This is appalling behaviour by a council and Debbie would do good to stand down from her position as councillor, or at the very least admit it was her and offer an apology.

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whatintheworld says...
11:11am Thu 28 Feb 13

Our representatives seem to be more interested in bickering over Twitter during meetings/debates than actually listening and doing their job.

What's worse is we the public lap it up.

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UpsetResident says...
11:13am Thu 28 Feb 13

Frankley, if she's stupid enough to fall for a simplistic fake website, or use a weak password, it shows she isn't bright enough to be in public office

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Llanmartinangel says...
11:41am Thu 28 Feb 13

UpsetResident wrote:
Frankley, if she's stupid enough to fall for a simplistic fake website, or use a weak password, it shows she isn't bright enough to be in public office
When did 'not being bright enough for public office' stop anybody? There are plenty more where she came from.

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Severn40 says...
11:52am Thu 28 Feb 13

This story doesn't make sense. Twitter cannot confirm whether it has been hacked or not.

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33daverave says...
11:59am Thu 28 Feb 13

It's okay, we believe you.

NOT.

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P C Neilson says...
12:39pm Thu 28 Feb 13

"The message, sent at 6.06pm on Tuesday evening during a full council meeting"

"her account has since been protected"

"I've already had contact from Twitter saying the account has been breached. That's why my account was blocked. If I have got something to say I say it. I don't tweet it."

"Asked why she blocked an Argus journalist, she said: "That's my choice"

Not going to work sorry. Maybe take their phones off them for the duration of the meeting if they can't play nice.

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Howie' says...
1:15pm Thu 28 Feb 13

Why are Councillors allowed to keep their phones on during meetings? They can't be dealing properly with the matters that they were elected to consider if they are being distracted by their mobiles. I thought it was pretty standard procedure now to turn of all phones prior to any meeting commencing. How does it work, do they leave the room to take a call/text/twitter and miss part of the meeting leaving them less informed to take a decision or participate in the discussion or do they do it whilst in the meeting so disturbing every one else? No wonder a lot of their decisions are so questionable!

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P C Neilson says...
1:37pm Thu 28 Feb 13

Howie' wrote:
Why are Councillors allowed to keep their phones on during meetings? They can't be dealing properly with the matters that they were elected to consider if they are being distracted by their mobiles. I thought it was pretty standard procedure now to turn of all phones prior to any meeting commencing. How does it work, do they leave the room to take a call/text/twitter and miss part of the meeting leaving them less informed to take a decision or participate in the discussion or do they do it whilst in the meeting so disturbing every one else? No wonder a lot of their decisions are so questionable!
I wonder if there may have been an intermission (ciggie break or similar) around 6:00 pm.

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Serpent_terror says...
2:06pm Thu 28 Feb 13

good for her if she did say it.....! I for one am fed up with NCC past and present leaderships and the way they are playing at government they are turning our Newport into a ghost town, cutting back all sorts of services and yet not once have I heard them say that they will cut there allowances or take pay cuts themselves.
All they do is fight one another and then not talk to each other or not co-operate there like children, as for the other councilor would this be the same bloke who spent all that money when they where in charge trying too make all the taxis in Newport have black cabs and lost the case for example? that was our taxes being used to good effect (NOT) there all as bad as one another up there.
All I can say is GOD help us.

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On the inside says...
2:19pm Thu 28 Feb 13

Twitter is for self promoting fools. All journalists are self promoting fools. Play with fire, get burnt. Simples.

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Serpent_terror says...
2:24pm Thu 28 Feb 13

On the inside wrote:
Twitter is for self promoting fools. All journalists are self promoting fools. Play with fire, get burnt. Simples.
Totally agree :-)

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P C Neilson says...
2:58pm Thu 28 Feb 13

For all we know Cllr fouweather is the biggest douche ever, and bad news for Newport, but we should expect a little decorum and something more effective in opposition from our Councillors.

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Cantankerous says...
3:07pm Thu 28 Feb 13

Time for the Delightful Debbie to go?

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blackandamber says...
4:02pm Thu 28 Feb 13

Momma always said "If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all. Not very ladylike.

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Magicmarvo says...
7:05pm Thu 28 Feb 13

Rather than be a left whinger :-

Go to your ward councillor and tell them face to face you are not happy with them or their colleagues. See if it works

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Magicmarvo says...
7:20pm Thu 28 Feb 13

Serpent_terror wrote:
On the inside wrote:
Twitter is for self promoting fools. All journalists are self promoting fools. Play with fire, get burnt. Simples.
Totally agree :-)
Replace 'twitter' with 'argus comments'. Still agree?

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blackandamber says...
7:37pm Thu 28 Feb 13

Magicmarvo wrote:
Rather than be a left whinger :-

Go to your ward councillor and tell them face to face you are not happy with them or their colleagues. See if it works
Erm she is my councillor.

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Votefornoneoftheabove says...
11:56pm Thu 28 Feb 13

Councillor Harvey does like the limelight, she was on the ferret last week too. The bigger issue has and always will be to admit to the truth. We have to take her word, this way she can keep her £15000 per year salary. The issue with Newport Councillors is that they say what you want to hear but do what they want. At least she lives in Alway one of the other councillors who represnts Alway lives in the run down part of that area... Langstone.

Do I believe her.. no.

Debbie and the Labour gang in less than a year in power you have really dragged Newport down to the pits, cuts gipsy sites, and now a tax increase.

In 2017 Vote for none of the above. It will make sense .

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merlin the silure says...
7:47am Fri 1 Mar 13

what a load of bullstuff from Harvey!-hacked my a**e !
honestly officer I only fell out of my car after half a pint of shandy!!

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jups says...
8:39am Fri 1 Mar 13

did she didnt she ???...does it really matter in the grand scheme of things , NO...there are more important things to worry about like families struggling to live..the poor getting poorer...violence and crime rates increasing, education slipping than this gargage !

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username2 says...
1:33pm Fri 1 Mar 13

Seems like she's not telling the truth but I for one don't mind a bit of political bickering. At least there's a bit of debate going on. She's only human.

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pinpong says...
4:45pm Fri 1 Mar 13

Liar, Liar pants on fire.

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pinpong says...
4:45pm Fri 1 Mar 13

Liar, Liar pants on fire.

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unfairpak says...
8:21pm Fri 1 Mar 13

Course she tweeted it. This is certainly not the first time she tweeted offensive tweets or made offensive comments on Facebook or other forums.

We are in possession of numerous screen shots of defamatory statements made by Councillor Harvey. Perhaps we should send them to Councillor Fouweather!!!

At least this time, she managed to tweet without any obscenities. Although we do wonder whether it was all in CAPITALS?

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unfairpak says...
8:23pm Fri 1 Mar 13

South Wales Argus, if you are blocked from her account, please contact info@unfairpak.co.uk and we will be willing to assist you!

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Strider says...
12:40am Sat 2 Mar 13

I'm sure 1000's of people enjoy Twitter like Facebook without it becoming the focal point of their existence but it does seem to have the insidious ability to turn otherwise rational people into Twitter addicted clowns. I suppose you'll never go wrong marketing a product that allows people to snoop in people's lives..

I can think off another website where everybody posts personal insults and state there opinion as fact!!!

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county mad says...
12:23pm Sat 2 Mar 13

Perhaps she should face the dis ipline council that handles naughty public representatives like her

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county mad says...
12:26pm Sat 2 Mar 13

Just a thought bring all this up at re-election time and don't vote her back in

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FAREPAK VICTIMS COMMITTEE says...
3:21pm Sat 2 Mar 13

Nasty attack on Deborah here - tells me one thing, she must be effective and having an impact because I know the accusation is untrue.

Deborah has played a very significant role at a national level campaigning for Farepak victims and also against the pecuniary interests of some very powerful financial organisations that rip off millions of working class people on a daily basis. This story seems as if it could be a devious and covert attempt at discrediting Deborah and the campaign for financial fairness. See Safeguard All Savings website or My Legal Forum website for details of Deborah's tireless campaigning. We need more courageous elected representatives like Deborah prepared to stand up for the interests of ordinary people against vested interests.

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Cantankerous says...
4:50pm Sat 2 Mar 13

FAREPAK VICTIMS COMMITTEE wrote:
Nasty attack on Deborah here - tells me one thing, she must be effective and having an impact because I know the accusation is untrue.

Deborah has played a very significant role at a national level campaigning for Farepak victims and also against the pecuniary interests of some very powerful financial organisations that rip off millions of working class people on a daily basis. This story seems as if it could be a devious and covert attempt at discrediting Deborah and the campaign for financial fairness. See Safeguard All Savings website or My Legal Forum website for details of Deborah's tireless campaigning. We need more courageous elected representatives like Deborah prepared to stand up for the interests of ordinary people against vested interests.
Wonder if Deb "Tweeter" Harvey, former Farepak agent, wrote this?

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FAREPAK VICTIMS COMMITTEE says...
4:54pm Sat 2 Mar 13

No it was actually Louise McDaid Chair of the Farepak Victims Committee.

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Cantankerous says...
6:34pm Sat 2 Mar 13

The group not aligned with Unfairpak - that figures!

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unfairpak says...
9:33pm Sat 2 Mar 13

Cantankerous wrote:
The group not aligned with Unfairpak - that figures!
We distanced ourselves very quickly from the Farepak Victims Committee in 2006.

Deborah Harvey was not part of Farepak Victims Committee then and her name did not appear with Farepak Victims Committee until they set up a Facebook account approximately 18 to 24 months ago.

We have sent screen shot of the various attacks she has made against Unfairpak and our National Campaign Co-ordinator to Councillor Fouweather.

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Cantankerous says...
7:09pm Sun 3 Mar 13

unfairpak wrote:
Cantankerous wrote:
The group not aligned with Unfairpak - that figures!
We distanced ourselves very quickly from the Farepak Victims Committee in 2006.

Deborah Harvey was not part of Farepak Victims Committee then and her name did not appear with Farepak Victims Committee until they set up a Facebook account approximately 18 to 24 months ago.

We have sent screen shot of the various attacks she has made against Unfairpak and our National Campaign Co-ordinator to Councillor Fouweather.
The Cllr continues to protest her innocence!

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willow181 says...
8:25am Wed 6 Mar 13

Rubbish Cllr no one believes a word you say! resign immediately oh but its easy money for sitting at meetings playing with your phone.

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DEBS1 says...
8:30pm Sun 10 Mar 13

Just thought this may clear things up a little:


>>> Twitter Help 10/03/2013 13:10 >>>
Twitter Help saw this story on the BBC News website and thought you
should see it.
Deborah it is clear that you have had an issue with your account, for that we apologise. As you will see from the link we have sent you unfortunately you are not alone. Twitter understands why you were so upset by this and we take all breaches very seriously. Please be assured we are working to stop this kind of issue from happening again.

Kind Regards

Partners@Twitter Team


** Hackers target 250,000 Twitter users **
A quarter of a million Twitter users have had their accounts compromised in the latest of a string of high-profile internet security breaches.
< http://www.bbc.co.uk
/go/em/fr/-/news/tec
hnology-21304049 >


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k/1/hi/help/4162471.
stm

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Cantankerous says...
12:30am Mon 11 Mar 13

DEBS1 wrote:
Just thought this may clear things up a little:


&gt;&gt;&gt; Twitter Help 10/03/2013 13:10 &gt;&gt;&gt;
Twitter Help saw this story on the BBC News website and thought you
should see it.
Deborah it is clear that you have had an issue with your account, for that we apologise. As you will see from the link we have sent you unfortunately you are not alone. Twitter understands why you were so upset by this and we take all breaches very seriously. Please be assured we are working to stop this kind of issue from happening again.

Kind Regards

Partners@Twitter Team


** Hackers target 250,000 Twitter users **
A quarter of a million Twitter users have had their accounts compromised in the latest of a string of high-profile internet security breaches.
&lt; http://www.bbc.co.uk

/go/em/fr/-/news/tec

hnology-21304049 &gt;


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
&lt; http://www.bbc.co.uk

/email &gt;


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.u

k/1/hi/help/4162471.

stm
Does nothing for me.

Classic New Labour response (lies) disbelieved by an old fashioned traditional Socialist - shame on the woman for her apparent dishonesty!

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unfairpak says...
1:55pm Mon 11 Mar 13

Cantankerous wrote:
DEBS1 wrote:
Just thought this may clear things up a little:


&gt;&gt;&gt; Twitter Help 10/03/2013 13:10 &gt;&gt;&gt;
Twitter Help saw this story on the BBC News website and thought you
should see it.
Deborah it is clear that you have had an issue with your account, for that we apologise. As you will see from the link we have sent you unfortunately you are not alone. Twitter understands why you were so upset by this and we take all breaches very seriously. Please be assured we are working to stop this kind of issue from happening again.

Kind Regards

Partners@Twitter Team


** Hackers target 250,000 Twitter users **
A quarter of a million Twitter users have had their accounts compromised in the latest of a string of high-profile internet security breaches.
&lt; http://www.bbc.co.uk


/go/em/fr/-/news/tec


hnology-21304049 &gt;


** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail
&lt; http://www.bbc.co.uk


/email &gt;


** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have been verified.

If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.u


k/1/hi/help/4162471.


stm
Does nothing for me.

Classic New Labour response (lies) disbelieved by an old fashioned traditional Socialist - shame on the woman for her apparent dishonesty!
Does nothing for Unfairpak either!

How can a tweet such as :-

"Newport budget I want to rip fouweather's head off".

The message, sent at 6.06pm on Tuesday evening during a full council meeting, was thought to refer to senior Tory councillor David Fouweather.


Stating the above and being sent at 6.06pm during the actual meeting be the time that a 'hacker' would hack and post a tweet that actually refers to another person in the room?

We have forwarded our evidence to the Council Standards Commitee.

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Charlie1969 says...
4:31pm Tue 12 Mar 13

How could I possibly have missed this little beauty from Councillor Harvey?

"It was not me Sir. My account was hacked"!

Hacked at the precise moment she was in a meeting with Councillor Fouweather whom was apparently the subject of the attack.

I believe you Councillor Harvey. Just as much as I believe in flying pigs!

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Charlie1969 says...
6:33pm Tue 12 Mar 13

FAREPAK VICTIMS COMMITTEE wrote:
Nasty attack on Deborah here - tells me one thing, she must be effective and having an impact because I know the accusation is untrue.

Deborah has played a very significant role at a national level campaigning for Farepak victims and also against the pecuniary interests of some very powerful financial organisations that rip off millions of working class people on a daily basis. This story seems as if it could be a devious and covert attempt at discrediting Deborah and the campaign for financial fairness. See Safeguard All Savings website or My Legal Forum website for details of Deborah's tireless campaigning. We need more courageous elected representatives like Deborah prepared to stand up for the interests of ordinary people against vested interests.
Were you personally sitting beside her? I assume you were considering you state "I know the accusation is untrue"!

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Cantankerous says...
12:27am Wed 13 Mar 13

Methinks "Tweeter" Harvey is being a trifle dishonest - perhaps the Mayor and Deputy Leader ought to distance themselves?

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Charlie1969 says...
4:59pm Wed 13 Mar 13

Cantankerous wrote:
Methinks &quot;Tweeter" Harvey is being a trifle dishonest - perhaps the Mayor and Deputy Leader ought to distance themselves?
Not only being a trifle dishonest but conspicuously quiet!

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