An EU bank tweeted out the N-word after a hacker took over its account, weeks after Twitter's giant hack

• Twitter accounts belonging to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development tweeted out the N-word and other offensive language on Wednesday after a hacker or hackers took over the accounts.
• A digital comms staffer at the EBRD, Marcus Warren, also had his account hijacked to tweet out the N-word and other inappropriate content.
• An individual who appears to be based in Australia and goes by the online moniker "Switch" appeared to claim responsibility for some of the hijackings, plus several other takeovers of other verified accounts.
• Twitter said it had taken action on the offending tweets.

Twitter accounts belonging to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) were hijacked on Wednesday to tweet out the N-word and other offensive content, only weeks after Twitter's major hack.

Business Insider spotted the EBRD tweeting out the N-word and references to smoking drugs for a brief period on Wednesday morning. The EBRD said in later tweets it and another account belonging to the bank had been hijacked.

—The EBRD (@EBRD) July 29, 2020

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An employee who works in online comms for the EBRD, Marcus Warren, also appears to have had his account hijacked by the same person. Warren's account likewise tweeted out the N-word.

It isn't clear if this new activity is linked to the giant Twitter hack that took place earlier on July 15, which is still under investigation by Twitter and the FBI, or separate activity.

The July 15 incident was a disaster for Twitter, and saw hackers gain access to accounts belonging to high-profile users including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Barack Obama, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and many others to tweet out a bitcoin scam. The hackers gained access via an internal set of tools that handed them broad control over the accounts. Reports suggest that Twitter employees may have given the hackers access to the tools.

It isn't clear who was responsible for Wednesday's hijacks.

Someone claiming to go by the online moniker "Switch" appeared to claim responsibility for the hijacking of Warren's account, which they used to tweet out a link to an Instagram account with the handle @Switched.

The @Switched Instagram account appears to show that the person is located in Australia and gained access to a number of other verified accounts through July, including former Sydney Morning Herald editor Darren Goodsir. The Twitter account of ABC journalist Jonathan Green was also hijacked, possibly by the same person.

Many of the offensive tweets on Wednesday disappeared after a few hours.

A Twitter spokeswoman said: "We're aware of this activity and have taken steps to secure the compromised account. We are taking enforcement action under our rules, specifically our policy on platform manipulation and spam."