New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Twitter account was “very briefly compromised” and was secured later, informed Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) informed on Sunday.
PMO India wrote, “The Twitter handle of PM @narendramodi was very briefly compromised. The matter was escalated to Twitter and the account has been immediately secured. In the brief period that the account was compromised, any Tweet shared must be ignored”.
However, by the time PM Modi’s Twitter access was regained, a Tweet promoting cryptocurrency was tweeted from the platform. The hacked tweet reads, “India has officially adopted bitcoin as legal tender. The government has officially bought 500 BTC and is distributing them to all residents of the country”.
Twitter clarified that it took the necessary steps to secure the compromised handle of PM Modi as soon as it became aware of this activity.
“We have 24X7 open lines of communication with the PM’s Office and our teams took necessary steps to secure the compromised account as soon as we became aware of this activity. Our investigation has revealed that there are no signs of any other impacted accounts at this time,” the Twitter spokesperson said
Last year, PM Modi’s personal Twitter handle was compromised and a series of Tweets promoting the cryptocurrency was made. The hacker went on to appeal to the public to donate generously to the PM National Relief Fund for Covid-19, claiming that the Indian government is accepting donations via Ethereum.
In July 2020, Multiple high-profile Twitter accounts were hacked which included Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Barack Obama, Jeff Bezos, and several others.
“Everyone is asking me to give back,” a tweet from Bill Gates’ account said. “You send $1,000, I send you back $2,000.”
This Twitter attack targeted included:
- US rapper Kanye West
- Kim Kardashian West
- Ex-US President Obama
- Ex-US Vice-President Joe Biden, current US President
- Mike Bloomberg
- Uber