PM Narendra Modi's Twitter handle 'briefly compromised'; hackers share Bitcoin link

The personal Twitter handle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "very briefly compromised," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) tweeted early today. As soon as it was noticed, the issue was escalated to Twitter. Thereafter, the Twitter handle, @narendramodi, was immediately secured. PMO India tweet also requested everyone that any tweet shared during the brief period when the account was compromised should be ignored. Hackers had shared a Bitcoin link.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) tweeted the information on its handle, “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.” It was not immediately known how long the personal Twitter handle of Modi, which has over 73 million followers, was compromised.

The malicious tweets that appeared on PM Modi's Twitter handle have been removed now. The screenshots of these malicious tweets were shared by many. The tweet claimed, “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 reaction

In its reaction, Twitter said that it took “necessary steps to secure” PM Modi's personal Twitter handle after it was "very briefly compromised." 

A Twitter spokesperson said, "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.”

The spokesperson added, “Our investigation has revealed that there are no signs of any other impacted accounts at this time.”

Twitter users' reactions

After PM Modi's account was compromised, the #Hacked began trending in India.

Srinivas BV, the national president of the Indian Youth Congress, tweeted, "Good Morning Modi ji, Sab Changa Si?".

Political activist Tehseen Poonawalla tweeted, “Was the Twitter account of the Hon'ble PM shri #NarendraModi ji hacked? And promise of #Bitcoin !!".

Twitter took the necessary steps to secure the compromised account as soon as it became aware of the activity, a Twitter spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters, adding an investigation revealed no signs of any other impacted accounts at present.

Yet another Twitter user alerted others about the hack, by posting this tweet, "#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?"

A similar incident had occurred with the Twitter handle of Modi's personal website @narendramodi_in in September 2020, with a series of tweets asking followers to donate to a relief fund through cryptocurrency.

Read PMO tweet on PM Narendra Modi Twitter handle getting compromised below: