Cyber Breach: NHRC Alerts Nigerians as Hackers Hijack Official X Account for Crypto Schemes

This breach highlights an escalating trend where digital platforms belonging to Nigerian Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) are systematically targeted by sophisticated threat actors seeking to exploit institutional credibility for social engineering and financial fraud.

Cybersecurity experts warn that hijacked government handles represent a significant public risk, as ordinary citizens may misinterpret fraudulent schemes as legitimate state-backed financial initiatives. Industry analysts point to recurring vulnerabilities such as weak credential governance, absence of robust multi-factor authentication (MFA), and phishing exploits targeting institutional social media administrators.

As the NHRC liaises with relevant cyber defense units and the platform’s security desk to remediate the compromise, the incident amplifies ongoing calls by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) for public institutions to enforce rigorous cyber hygiene standards, deploy end-to-end access protocols, and insulate digital public assets against malicious intrusions.