On the 20th of September, 2024, the Supreme Court of India’s YouTube channel got hacked in a major cybersecurity attack. In the attack, the hackers exchanged the actual legal content with promotional information regarding Ripple’s (XRP) token.
This event should raise eyebrows when it comes to cybersecurity as institutions are onthe list of target by cybercriminals in promoting digital assets and scams.
A Shocking Breach of Trust
SupremeCourtOfIndia is the official YouTube channel of the court which is helpful for the Indian public to get some important new updates, legal decisions and other public interest content. It is an already popular platform on which a number of people seek accurate and genuine legal information. This content was also breached on September 20, in which the information was quickly changed to the videos and livestreams to promote Ripple cryptocurrency.
The timing and the type of the attack prove the weakness in the internal structure of organizations regardless of how advanced is their defense. Thus, the hackers used the channel’s authority to share Ripple-related content expecting to get in touch with numerous gullible individuals.
Details of the Cyberattack
From the first reports, it was understood that the attack took place at September 20 in the early morning. Unwanted videos and live streams such as promotion videos and advertising of the Ripple cryptocurrency were posted and played on the channel. The website’s official IT team responded within the hour, but it was several more hours before they managed to wrest back control and delete this fake content. At that particular period, the channel’s subscribers and viewers were fed half-truths.
It is not the first time that government institutions are under cyberattacks but the identity of the victim makes this news special. Supreme Court’s YouTube channel can be considered as one of the primary sources of disseminating information and its vulnerability proves the lack of digital security for well-known government channels. This breach also presents questions on matters to do with cybersecurity as well as the protection that is in place in case of such an attack again.
Response and Public Reaction
As soon as the violation was identified, IT department of Supreme Court of Nepal along with the help of cybersecurity professionals acted immediately. The hackers found themselves locked out of the account, and, all Ripple content was taken down. Yet, it was done and the event raised people’s awareness of child abuse and juvenile delinquency at home.
The public response was quick, with lawyers and cybersecurity personnel urging for better protection with more efficient shields to online places especially those in relation to governmental and judicial bodies. As usual, social networks were full of comments and concerns about how this intrusion could have been prevented to start with and what measures still require to be taken to prevent similar future incidents from happening.
It also raised questions about what the technology firms including YouTube are supposed to do. Several of the insiders noted that greater security measures should be mandated for important accounts including multitude of authentication systems and real time high risk activities. Police and digital crime sections are likely to be involved as Indian government and judiciary looks for source of attack.
The Increasing Risk of Cyberattacks on Government Websites
This is not the first time such an act of aggression will be faced on the channel of the Supreme Court of the country. Cybercriminals have specifically sought out governmental organisations globally to leverage on their perceived legitimacy and large customer base. Probably one of the most evolving tendencies – cryptocurrency scams are getting more complex; hackers gain control over the legitimate accounts for their malicious purposes.
Ripple (XRP) was always an issuing coin that is linked with different discussions and legal issues, mainly in the United States. The hackers most probably used Ripple content to gain popularity and credibility among the audience. Their intention was to convince the audience, through means of glamourising the Supreme Court’s channel, that the cryptocurrency promotions in question were genuine and thus lure the audience into suffering financial losses if the arrivals of such hoaxes were unnoticed.
Security specialists have predicted a rise of such acts due to the upsurp in governmental and other institutional online interfaces. They stressed on the negative or the need to avoid such incidences.
