Today, the Supreme Court of India’s YouTube channel was hacked and compromised. The channel, which is primarily used to live stream hearings of Constitution Bench cases and matters of public interest, displayed unauthorised content related to cryptocurrency. The videos were linked to Ripple Labs, a U.S.-based company that developed the digital currency XRP.
Official Response from the Supreme Court of India
In response to the breach, the Supreme Court issued a notice confirming the situation. The notice stated that the YouTube channel had been taken offline following the unauthorised activity. It reassured the public that services on the channel would resume shortly after the necessary steps were taken to secure it.
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The hack became evident when a video titled “Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple Responds to the SEC’s $2 Billion Fine! XRP PRICE PREDICTION” appeared on the channel. This was a clear sign of the unauthorised takeover. Following the incident, all previous videos of Supreme Court hearings were set to private to protect them from further tampering.
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Trend of Cryptocurrency Hacks
This event marks another instance in a broader trend where hackers have targeted YouTube channels to promote cryptocurrency. Ripple Labs and its cryptocurrency, XRP, have been involved in several such incidents, where hackers use compromised channels to promote their cryptocurrency. Scammers have been known to create convincing accounts impersonating Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, or using hacked accounts to reach larger audiences.
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In 2020, Ripple Labs filed a lawsuit against YouTube for what they described as a failure to address this issue. The company accused the platform of allowing scammers to promote fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes by selling ads and verifying fake accounts. Ripple hoped that the lawsuit would lead to a broader industry response and improve accountability in stopping these scams, according to The Times of India report.
Recently, Ripple Labs faced legal issues of its own. A Manhattan court judge ordered the company to pay $125 million in penalties for improperly selling its cryptocurrency XRP, in a case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.