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If Twitter needed any more evidence that it has a serious security problem, this should do it: Stocks plunged sharply on Tuesday after a hacker accessed a newswire's account and tweeted about a false White House emergency.

The shocking tweet came from the Associated Press earlier this afternoon: 'Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured.'

The AP's communications team quickly tweeted from its own account that the main AP Twitter was compromised, but investors had already panicked. The Dow Jones industrial average(INDU) immediately plunged by more than 140 points.

And there it is: After years of hacks that typically involved little more than obscene language, Twitter's subpar security measures have now caused serious real-world consequences.

• 2 days ago  The web app powers the official Windows 10 Twitter app, so this means that Twitter Spaces will be accessible within this app as well. Twitter is working on @TwitterSpaces player for the web app.
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Many hacks happen when account owners use guessable passwords or access Twitter over public Wi-Fi and shared computers. If one person who tweets from a corporate account loses his or her phone, an entire corporation's Twitter account could be at risk.

The AP incident appears to be an example of social engineering. The news service posted a story Tuesday afternoon explaining that attackers gained access to the account after launching phishing attempts. When phishing, attackers pose as legitimate companies, such as Twitter, in an attempt for account holders to give up their passwords.

While Twitter can't control those issues, critics say the company could do more to prevent them.

Security pundits have called on Twitter for years to beef up its security using simple methods: Sharply limit the login attempts allowed from a single IP address. Let only one person access a Twitter account at a given time.

Ideally, Twitter would employ a 'two-factor authentication' login method. It's a basic security tool already used by Google(GOOG), Facebook(FB) and Dropbox that requires both a password and a piece of data, such as numbers sent via text message.

Twitter began posting job listings earlier this year for engineers to work on two-factor authentication. The posts came after Twitter's own systems were hacked, and the attackers gained access to usernames as well as encrypted and randomized passwords for about 250,000 users.

But job postings don't mean much until serious changes are implemented. Meanwhile, the hacks have continued. News organizations are a particularly attractive target thanks to their reach and influence.

The Twitter accounts of CBS'(CBS) 60 Minutes and 48 Hours were compromised over the weekend. In July 2011, News Corp.'s(NWS) Fox News account -- followed by more than 2 million people -- was hacked and tweeted that President Obama had been assassinated.

That same month, eBay's(EBAY) PayPal United Kingdom Twitter feed was hacked, and the profile photo was changed to a pile of excrement. Comcast's(CMCSA) NBC News account was also compromised two months later, falsely tweeting that a plane had crashed into the Ground Zero area of Manhattan.

In February of this year, both the Burger King(BKW) and Jeep Twitter accounts were hacked during the same week.

It's unclear what, if anything, Twitter plans to change. As always, a company spokesman said, 'We don't comment on individual accounts for privacy and security reasons.'

So far, Twitter has put the onus on brands to ensure they're being smart about choosing and sharing passwords. Following the Jeep account hack earlier this year, Twitter tweeted a link to a 'friendly reminder about password security.'

Twitter can tweet about best practices all it wants, but that approach clearly isn't working. When hacks do happen, the company does a good job of restoring compromised accounts typically within a few hours. But as the AP hack proves, these attacks can have damning real-world effects.

CHICAGO (AP) — Twitter announced Monday it will start alerting users when a tweet makes disputed or misleading claims about the coronavirus.

The new rule is the latest in a wave of stricter policies that tech companies are rolling out to confront an outbreak of virus-related misinformation on their sites. Facebook and Google, which owns YouTube, have already put similar systems in place.

The announcement signals that Twitter is taking its role in amplifying misinformation more seriously. But how the platform enforces its new policy will be the real test, with company leaders already tamping down expectations.

Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of site integrity, acknowledged as much: “We will not be able to take enforcement action on every tweet with incomplete or disputed information about COVID-19.”

Roth said Monday the platform has historically applied a “lighter touch” when enforcing similar policies on misleading tweets but said the company is working to improve the technology around the labels.

In February, Twitter said it would add warning labels to doctored or manipulated photos and videos after a recording of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was slowed down to make it appear as though she slurred her words. But even with obviously fake videos, such as one showing Joe Biden lolling his tongue and grinning that was shared by President Donald Trump, the company has since used the label only twice, in part because of technical glitches.

And Twitter has not added any warning labels to politicians’ tweets that violate its policies but are deemed in the “public interest” under a policy the company announced in June 2019.

Under the newest COVID-19 rules, Twitter will decide which tweets are labeled — only taking down posts if they are harmful.

Politicians’ tweets will be subject to the notices, which will be available in roughly 40 languages.

Some of the questionable tweets will run with a label underneath that directs users to a link with additional information about COVID-19. Other tweets might be covered entirely by a warning label alerting users that “some or all of the content shared in this tweet conflict with guidance from public health experts regarding COVID-19.”

Twitter won’t directly fact check or call tweets false on the site, said Nick Pickles, the company’s global senior strategist for public policy. The warning labels might send users to curated tweets, public health websites or news articles.

“People don’t want us to play the role of deciding for them what’s true and what’s not true but they do want people to play a much stronger role providing context,” Pickles said.

The notices, which could start appearing as soon as today, could also apply retroactively to past tweets.

The fine line is similar to one taken by tech rival Facebook, which has said it doesn’t want to be an “arbiter of the truth” but has arranged for third-party fact checkers to review falsehoods on its site. The Associated Press is part of Facebook’s fact-checking program.

One example of a disputed tweet that might be labeled on its site includes claims about the origin of COVID-19, which remains unknown. Conspiracy theories about how the virus started and if it is man-made have swirled around social media for months.

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Twitter will continue to take down COVID-19 tweets that pose a threat to the safety of a person or group, along with attempts to incite mass violence or widespread civil unrest. The company has been removing bogus coronavirus cures and claims that social distancing or face masks do not curb the virus’ spread for several weeks.

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AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay contributed to this story from Oakland, Calif.