Earlier this month some smart alecks managed to breach the defenses of one of the most ubiquitous media platforms, access the mouthpiece of the leader of one of the world’s most populous countries, and grab the opportunity to broadcast whatever they wanted to 73 million followers. And they used it to pump cryptocurrency.
It’s almost laughable that yet another Twitter Inc. hack — this time on the account of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — should once again become the vehicle for spruiking bitcoin. "India has officially adopted bitcoin as legal tender,” the tweet sent by hackers from his account read. "The government has officially bought 500 BTC and is distributing them to all residents of the country.”
As implausible as that message sounds, the entire incident — from exploit to outcome — tells us a lot about hacking culture and the variety of actors out there trying to break into computer systems.
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