On Tuesday, the X account of UK MP Lucy Powell was hacked to advertise a cryptocurrency rip-off. This noticed her turn out to be the seventh MP to have their account hacked since Elon Musk acquired Twitter three years in the past.
Powell is the chief of the Home of Commons, and her account was used to advertise a fraudulent “House of Commons Coin” underneath the ticker “$HCC.”
A CoinShares senior analysis affiliate informed the BBC that the token noticed 34 transactions and certain made a revenue of lower than £300 ($400).
In 2024, 4 UK MPs had been hacked to advertise numerous crypto scams, together with the Inexperienced Occasion’s Deputy Chief and Welsh Labour MP Chris Elmore. The one MP who’s account was hacked for causes apart from to advertise a crypto rip-off was Chris Heaton-Harris, whose account was used as an alternative to share offensive remarks.
You possibly can see all the UK MPs hacked since Elon Musk’s X acquisition right here.
Different establishments which have suffered X hacks embody the British Military, which appeared to advertise an NFT rip-off in 2022, and the World Well being Group, which was hacked to advertise a Solana-based token known as “hacked.”
In 2022, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle warned MPs to tighten their cellphone safety whereas claiming they’re being focused by hostile nations for delicate info.
