Hacking episodes, like the one that took down Twitter recently, are becoming more frequent because the barriers to competition are coming down. And the perpetrators are getting smarter and staying one step ahead.

As BusinessWeek reports the prices for hiring out botnets are coming down which means just about anyone can launch a denial of service attack.

Add to that alarming reports now that hackers are now using Twitter to control botnets. Already one account, Upd4t3, has been suspended. That's hardly surprising given that Twitter is such an open communications platform with no message checking.

The fact that hackers are now targeting social networking sites is a concern because it will ensure their infected systems will spread like a virus.

There can be only one solution. Sites like Twitter and Facebook need to improve their platform security. After all, it's in their best interests to prevent down time.