British Army’s Online Channels Get Hacked To Promote NFTs, Crypto

Cryptocurrency hacks have become increasingly commonplace, with deepfake videos of Elon Musk scamming users out of Bitcoin and Ethereum, and Beeple’s Twitter account taken over by hackers that drained victims of high-value non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Now, an even higher-profile entity has had its social media accounts hijacked by bad actors looking for a get-rich-quick scheme: the British Army. 

Over the weekend, the Army saw its Twitter account rebranded “to resemble the Possessed NFT project,” with a “profile picture featuring an ape-like cartoon figure with make-up mimicking a clown.” 

According to Gizmodo, hackers changed the account’s name and details, tweeting to promote a scam NFT collection that was linked to a fake minting website. 

The Army’s YouTube account wasn’t spared either, with bad actors switching its layout to resemble that of ARK Invest, an actual investment firm by Catherine D Wood. 

Populating the channel with livestreams of Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk from the event, which took place last June, the videos showcased cryptocurrency scams meant to trick unsuspecting viewers. 

The BBC reported that the organization has since confirmed the “breach,” saying that it was taking the security issue “extremely seriously” and has restored both the Twitter and YouTube accounts, with an investigation underway. 

“Apologies for the temporary interruption to our feed. We will conduct a full investigation and learn from this incident. Thanks for following us and normal service will now resume,” tweeted the now-restored account. 

Collectors of the virtual assets should remain vigilant and take extra precautions to keep themselves safe while navigating the burgeoning online landscape.

[via Gizmodo and BBC, cover image via Bumbleedee | Dreamstime.com]