Maha Cyber Cell issues advisory after massive Twitter hack; asks users to be cautious

The Maharashtra Cyber Cell on Friday issued an official advisory asking social media users to remain vigilant in the backdrop of the massive cyberattack on Twitter yesterday. Maharashtra's Cyber Cell which is also the state's nodal agency for cybersecurity and crime investigation urged users to remain cautious and not blindly trust content posted on social media. The investigation team further asked users to refrain from sharing and circulating posts which they may feel are fake or those which promote hate speech.

"Do not blindly trust content posted on social media platforms. Take your time to determine if the content posted is truthful or lie. Do not spread or further circulate any posts that seems like fake news or rumours or promoting hate speech and any kind of violence," the advisory said.

Read: FBI Leads Probe Into Attack On High-profile Twitter Accounts To Commit Cryptocurrency Scam

Twitter hacked by Bitcoin scammers

On June 16, a number of high-profile celebrities with verified Twitter accounts fell prey to Bitcoin hackers in one of Twitter's worst security breaches in its history. Accounts of prominent personalities along the likes of Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Kanye West, Joe Biden, were hacked by Bitcoin scammers, who circulated spam messages from their profiles asking people to donate money to a Bitcoin wallet address embedded as a link. 

Twitter Inc said that it believes the hacking was a coordinated “social engineering attack” as they successfully targeted some of the employees with access to internal systems and tools. The hackers used the access to take control of many highly-visible and verified accounts and tweet on their behalf. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is reportedly leading the probe into attack on Twitter. According to media reports, over $100,000 worth of Bitcoins was scammed from users during the security attack.

(With inputs from ANI)

Read: From Elon Musk To Apple: Here Is A List Of All Verified Twitter Profiles Hacked On July 16

Read: Former US President Barack Obama, Joe Biden In List Of Those Hacked By Bitcoin Scammers