Google-owned security firm Mandiant recently had their Twitter/X account briefly hacked by somebody wanting to promote a crypto scam, changing the accounts name in the process.
Since the height of the crypto boom in 2020, there have been quite a few scams going around the internet that attempt to access users wallets to steal from them.
A major way of doing that is making fake Twitter profiles of prominent figures, or taking over accounts entirely in a hack.
Google-owned security firm Mandiant is the latest to fall victim to the hack on January 3, 2024, which led to the user changing the company’s name briefly.
Google-owned company hit with Twitter/X crypto scam hack
According to Ars Technica, the hack was live for several hours before Mandiant was able to get ahold of their Twitter/X account.
During the hijacking, the scammer posted links to a website that attempted to bait people into linking their crypto wallets so they could steal some of their assets.
“Over several hours, X employees played tug-of-war with the unknown scammer, with scam posts being removed only to reappear, according to people who followed the events,” said Ars’ Dan Goodin.
The scammer eventually changed Mandiant’s username to Phantom, and posted several tweets asking the company to take their account back.
At the time of writing, the Google-owned company has gotten their account back and all of their posts have remained intact.
“We are aware of the incident impacting the Mandiant X account and are working to resolve the issue,” company officials wrote in a statement to Ars Technica. “We’ve since regained control over the account and are currently working on restoring it.”