Hackers exploit SMS gateways to text millions of US numbers

Receive any strange SMS text messages recently?

If you live in the US, there’s a small chance you might have received an SMS with the following text in the last few days from someone called ‘j3ws3r on Twitter’:

I’m here to warn the masses about SMS email gateways. Please look up how to disable it on your phone or call your provider and ask.

Judging from responses on Twitter, the chances of receiving one of these is currently low, although it’s also possible some phone users either ignored the message or deleted it out of habit.

(The text also begins with a promotional link to controversial YouTuber PewDiePie, a clue to its origins which we’ll get to shortly.)