The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has announced that its official X account has been compromised and warned members of the public to disregard posts, messages and links being published from the account until the commission regains control.
Key Highlights
- NHRC confirms its official X account has been compromised.
- Account allegedly placed under unauthorised control of @ephesus_lib.
- Compromised account has reportedly shared cryptocurrency-related posts.
- NHRC says it does not authorise or endorse content currently appearing on the account.
- Public advised not to click suspicious links or respond to messages from the account.
- Commission says it is working to recover control of the account.
- NHRC will issue updates through verified communication channels.
In a disclaimer issued on Thursday, the NHRC Director of Corporate Affairs and External Linkages, Fatimah Agwai, said the commission’s official X account was currently under the unauthorised control of an individual or account operating as @ephesus_lib.
The commission urged members of the public, development partners, stakeholders and the media to exercise caution and disregard any content originating from the compromised account.
NHRC Account Shares Crypto-Related Posts
A check of the account on Friday morning reportedly showed that it had been sharing cryptocurrency-related messages.
The account has approximately 12,000 followers. Although the NHRC name reportedly remains on the account, its official logo has been changed.
The development has raised concerns over the potential misuse of the account to circulate fraudulent investment offers, malicious links or other misleading information to the commission’s followers.
Agwai stressed that the NHRC had not authorised or endorsed any content being published from the compromised account.
“The NHRC does not authorise, endorse, or take responsibility for any posts, statements, messages, links, or other content currently being published from the compromised account,” she said.
NHRC Begins Effort to Recover X Account
The commission said it was working to reclaim control of the official X account.
Agwai advised members of the public to disregard messages from the account until the NHRC confirms that it has regained access.
She said the commission would notify the public and its partners through its verified and established communication channels once an official medium on X became available.
The NHRC also expressed regret over any inconvenience caused by the incident and thanked members of the public, partners and stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation.
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Government Social Media Accounts Face Growing Cybersecurity Threat
The NHRC incident highlights the growing vulnerability of social media accounts belonging to government institutions, businesses, public figures and other high-profile organisations.
Compromised accounts can be exploited to spread scams, cryptocurrency promotions, malware, false information or malicious links because followers are more likely to trust content published from an established institutional account.
The development follows a similar incident involving the Defence Headquarters, whose social media account was reportedly compromised on August 15 and subsequently flooded with cryptocurrency-related posts.
The latest incident underscores the importance of stronger account security measures, including multi-factor authentication, secure password management, access controls and continuous monitoring of official social media platforms.
