German President's X Account Hacked, Modified To Mimic Bihar Government Handle

New Delhi: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's official X account has been reportedly hacked and modified to resemble the Bihar government's Water Resources Department handle. There has been no official communication from the German government regarding the incident, but media reports pointed out that earlier hackers made the account look like a verified page of the erstwhile Nazi Party's chief Adolf Hitler. The netizens have raised concerns about the security of high-profile social media accounts after the reports of account hacks surfaced.

In a twist, media reports revealed that hackers had earlier modified Steinmeier's account to look like a verified page of Adolf Hitler, the former chief of the Nazi Party and later to the Bihar government's department handle. The hackers changed the account's username to "@adolf_gov" and its description to "Make Germany Great Again," a slogan similar to former US President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign phrase. The description was later modified to “Make Germany Great Again. Decentralisation is what will help me to implement my plans”.

During the hack, the account posted an image of Hitler and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini with the caption “Remember: when you stand together, when your goal is the same, when your spirit is unshakable, nothing can stop you. #MGGA”. The post has since been removed.

Several X users flagged the hack, and the account was briefly suspended before reappearing with the username “Water Resources Department of the Government of Bihar”.

Despite the severity of the incident, the German government has not issued an official statement regarding the hacking of Steinmeier's X account. This silence has raised questions about the government's response to cybersecurity threats and its commitment to transparency.

In a recent statement, Steinmeier had criticized X, formerly known as Twitter, as a "threat to democracy" due to concerns about foreign interference in elections.³ This criticism has taken on a new significance in light of the hacking incident, which has compromised the security of his official social media account.