PM Modi's personal Twitter handle 'briefly compromised'

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal Twitter handle was "very briefly compromised," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a tweet early on Sunday.

The matter was escalated to Twitter and the Prime Minister's personal twitter handle @narendramodi was immediately secured, PMO India's tweet said, adding any tweet shared during the brief period when the account was compromised must be ignored.

According to screenshots shared by several users on Twitter, the hackers posted one tweet from PM Modi's @narendramodi account, which read, "India has officially accepted bitcoin as legal tender. The government has officially bought 500 BTC and distributing them to all residents of the country." Along with the tweet, a possible scam link was also attached.

Many users immediately pointed out that the account seems to have been hacked.

The tweet was soon deleted but not before #Hacked began trending in India. The account has now been restored and the malicious tweets have been deleted.

It was not immediately known how long the personal Twitter handle of Modi, which has over 73 million followers, was compromised.

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.

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.

Modi's accounts are not alone in being targeted by hackers for pushing bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, as handles of several noted public personalities, including Barack Obama and Bill Gates besides those from other fields like entertainment, have been targeted in the past.

India, it may be noted, has taken a tough stand on cryptocurrencies. Modi has been vocal in highlighting the risks associated with crypto, including at the recent democracy summit hosted by US President Joe Biden, and in his internal meetings with government officials.

The government has expressed concern that cryptocurrencies may be used for luring investors with misleading claims and for funding terror activities and money laundering. It is likely to bring a law to deal with the issue.

(With Reuters inputs)