A serious security breach occurred on Friday morning when the Supreme Court of India’s official YouTube channel was reportedly hacked. Instead of its usual content, which includes live streams of important court proceedings, the channel displayed videos promoting XRP, a cryptocurrency developed by US-based company Ripple Labs. This unexpected shift in content raised alarm bells and led to the immediate disabling of the channel.
The Supreme Court’s Registry has acknowledged the breach and is actively investigating the situation. The hack appears to be extensive, with numerous XRP-related videos being streamed on the channel. One particularly noteworthy video, titled “Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple Responds To The SEC’s $2 Billion Fine! XRP PRICE PREDICTION,” was displayed during the time the channel was supposed to be broadcasting the suo motu case related to the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata.
A senior Supreme Court official, speaking to the Indian Express, confirmed that the website “appears to have been compromised.” The official expressed uncertainty about the specific details of the hack but confirmed that the Supreme Court’s IT team had reported the issue to the National Informatics Centre (NIC) upon its detection on Friday morning.
This incident highlights the vulnerability of even high-profile institutions to cyberattacks. The implications of this breach are significant, especially considering the sensitive nature of the content normally streamed on the Supreme Court’s YouTube channel. The investigation into this matter is ongoing and will likely shed further light on the extent of the hack and the perpetrators involved.
