This breach comes in the wake of similar cyberattacks on the social media platforms of Hyderabad Metro and the Indian Hockey team.
On September 20, 2024, the official YouTube channel of India's Supreme Court experienced a serious cybersecurity breach, remaining compromised for several hours. During the hack, videos promoting XRP, a cryptocurrency from U.S.-based Ripple Labs, were displayed before the channel was taken down, resulting in a 404 error for visitors.
The attackers exploited the channel to post a blank video titled Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple Responds To The SEC's $2 Billion Fine! XRP PRICE PREDICTION. Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple Labs, is at the center of ongoing legal conflicts with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The hackers seemingly set earlier videos of Supreme Court hearings to private. By 3 pm, visitors to the YouTube channel were greeted with the message: “This page isn't available. Sorry about that. Try searching for something else.”
This is to notify everyone that the Supreme Court of India's YouTube channel has been taken down. The channel's services will be restored shortly,” stated a notice on the Supreme Court's website.
The attack mirrors a recent hack of Hyderabad Metro’s X (formerly Twitter) account on September 18, 2024. The @ltmhyd handle was compromised to advertise the $HACKED cryptocurrency token on the Solana blockchain. According to Outlook magazine, the breach likely involved a “compromised API key or third-party applications linked to the account,” though the exact details remain unclear.
Hyderabad Metro Rail later confirmed it had successfully regained access to its account.
The Indian Hockey team’s X account was also hacked just a day after their victory in the Asian Champions Trophy final against China. The hacked message on the @TheHockeyIndia account read, "THIS IS A HACKED ACCOUNT! INTRODUCING $HACKED ON SOLANA. For each account we hack, we publish the token address to pump it and make profits together,” along with a link, stated the Outlook report.
