A computer popup box screen warning of a system being hacked, compromised software enviroment. 3D illustration.
The official X (formerly Twitter) account of the Government of Punjab was briefly compromised at about 1:00 p.m. (PKT) today, during which the profile published an abusive post reading “i hate Pakistan” along with several posts linking to cryptocurrency schemes.
The account has since been restored, and the unauthorized posts removed.
The compromise raises immediate concerns because hijacked government profiles can be used to spread disinformation, damage institutional credibility or direct followers to fraud and scam links; in this case, several of the posts promoted crypto-related links that could pose financial risk to users who clicked them.
This is not an isolated type of incident: Pakistan has seen a number of high-profile X account breaches involving federal ministries and state bodies in the recent past.
*There has been no clarification reported from the government of Punjab till the publication of this news.