By Online Desk
The official Twitter account of Prime Minister Narendra Modi fell prey to a hacking attempt in the early hours of Sunday. The issue came to light after the PM’s official account on Twitter, @narendramodi, tweeted out at 2.24 am on December 12 saying the country “has officially adopted bitcoin as legal tender.”
“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,” the hacked account’s tweet read. Multiple screenshots of this tweet, which has since been deleted, have appeared on the social networking site within seconds of its posting.
Screengrab of the Tweet PM Narendra Modi’s account shared while it was compromised.
Many users were quick to point out the possibility of a hack though there was confusion about the news itself, given the PM’s affinity towards delivering shock news at dramatic hours. Decisions about the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes and the recent Covid 19 lockdowns were delivered in a similar dramatic fashion, albeit through television.
The Prime Minister’s Office within an hour responded and issued a clarification regarding the hack. The verified Twitter account of PMO, @PMOIndia, tweeted out saying PM Narandra Modi’s Twitter account ‘was briefly compromised.’
“The Twitter handle of PM @narendramodi was 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,” said the PMO’s clarification on the micro-blogging site.
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.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) December 11, 2021
The latest hack of the PM’s Twitter account follows last year’s hacked post on another official account of his, @narendramodi_in, that asked his followers to donate Bitcoin to the PM National Relief Fund for Covid 19.
The tweet by @narendramodi_in, which is linked to the PM’s website, read, “I appeal to you all to donate generously to PM National Relief Fund for Covid-19, Now India begin with crypto currency. Kindly Donate Bitcoin…” This, too, was followed by a probe by Twitter.
