Modi's Twitter account hacked with Bitcoin post, restored
Darpan News Desk IANS, 13 Dec, 2021 12:54 PM
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal Twitter handle was restored after getting "very briefly compromised," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a tweet on Sunday, after it shared a link promising a bitcoin giveaway.
"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 said in a tweet.
The account of Modi, who has more than 73.4 million followers, has now been restored.
Before the account was restored, a tweet was shared with a URL on PM Modi's timeline which read, "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."
Minutes later, another tweet was posted, saying, "Yes this account is hacked by John Wick (hckindia@tutanota.com), We have not hacked Paytm Mall."
"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," Twitter spokesperson told IANS.
After Prime Minister Modi's account was compromised, #Hacked began trending in India.
"Good Morning Modi ji, Sab Changa Si?," Srinivas BV, the national president of the Indian Youth Congress, tweeted.
"Was the Twitter account of the Hon'ble PM shri #NarendraModi ji hacked? And promise of #Bitcoin !!" tweeted political activist Tehseen Poonawalla.
Another user warned others about the link. "#PMmodi #modi account #hacked, please do not click on the link. It's a scam. ... Even PM's account is not safe. How safe will be Indian social media from hackers, manipulators, scammers and foreign influence? #Twitter verified security compromised?"
Earlier, in September 2020, the Twitter account linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal website and mobile app was hacked by an unknown group with a series of tweets asking followers to donate to a relief fund through cryptocurrency.
Earlier, Dhesi sent a letter, signed by over 100 British MPs and Lords, to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the ongoing farmers' protests, asking him to raise this matter with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi when they next liaise.
The Chief Minister told the media here that for more than a year since the Central government had brought three agriculture laws for the benefit of farmers, especially small and marginal ones, unfortunately, some farmer unions had been protesting on the Delhi borders.
While the Centre's announcement to repeal three farm laws is seen as a political decision with eye on forthcoming assembly polls in five states, the BJP claims that it has nothing to do with elections as the party has won many states after laws were passed by the Parliament.
On January 12 this year, the Supreme Court had stayed the implementation of the three farm laws after scores of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh pitched their tents on various Delhi borders in protest against the three laws.
A nine-member committee of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the consortium of protesting farmers' bodies, will be meeting on Saturday, and it is likely to put forth four main demands. The meeting will also decide whether the SKM will go ahead with the originally announced 'March Towards Delhi' programme on November 26.
Congress legislator and Punjab unit party president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday said the minimum support price (MSP) is the bigger issue than farm laws as it is the lifeline of farmers.
