NHRC warns people about hacked official X account

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has said that its official X account has been hacked. They are warning the public to ignore messages from this account.

On Thursday, Fatimah Agwai, the NHRC’s Director of Corporate Affairs & External Linkages, shared this information in a disclaimer. She said the account is now under the control of @ephesus_lib without permission.

The NHRC “wishes to inform members of the general public, development partners, stakeholders, and the media that its official X (formerly Twitter) account has been compromised and is currently under the unauthorised control of an individual/account operating as @ephesus_lib.”

A check by PREMIUM TIMES on Friday morning confirmed that the account has been posting about cryptocurrency. The account has around 12,000 followers. Although the NHRC’s name is still visible, its official logo has been changed.

Mrs Agwai warned that the NHRC “does not authorise, endorse, or take responsibility for any posts, statements, messages, links, or other content currently being published from the compromised account.”

She urged the public to be careful and ignore messages from that account until the NHRC regains control. Mrs Agwai also mentioned that the NHRC is trying to get back control of its official X account.

“The NHRC will notify the general public and its partners through its verified and established communication channels once an official medium on X is available.

“The Commission regrets any inconvenience this development may cause and appreciates the understanding and continued cooperation of the public, partners, and stakeholders,” she said.

This situation shows how social media accounts belonging to government bodies, individuals, and private companies can easily be hacked.

Hackers usually target social media accounts for money, stealing identities, spreading scams, or sharing malware with trusted contacts. They also look for sensitive personal information.

They often go after high-profile accounts, like those of celebrities, public figures, government bodies, and businesses because of their wide reach and advertising budgets. They also target everyday accounts with weak or reused passwords to carry out mass attacks automatically.

On 15 August, the Defence Headquarters also faced hacking. Their account was flooded with many posts related to cryptocurrency.