Ghana’s President John Mahama was struck by a massive cybersecurity breach when his verified X account was compromised for 48 hours. Cybercrooks took over the account and utilized it to promote a fraudulent cryptocurrency project, as his spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday.
The hack began on Saturday but was initially detected on Sunday. Throughout this period, the hacked account began tweeting the backing of a project called Solanafrica, claiming that it was “led by Ghana’s President John Mahama to enable free payments across Africa using the Solana blockchain.”
The hackers urged the Mahama followers to invest in this illegal undertaking, presenting it as revolutionary that will transform money movements throughout the continent. Even though the fake messages were deleted quickly once the President’s staff noted what was occurring, the account went on posting about cryptocurrencies, including speculations about a new memecoin being launched.
Kwakye Ofosu, the President’s spokesperson, stated, “The President’s X account was hacked and we have moved to regain control.” He confirmed that the account has been recovered in full and urged the public to disregard any suspicious cryptocurrency tweets from the handle.
This case is an example of the increasing rate of cryptocurrency scams in Africa, where cryptocurrencies are becoming popular but the regulations are still lacking. Cybercriminals prefer to hijack trusted accounts to offer outrageous investment schemes.
In response to the experience, Mahama thanked his benefactors and confirmed his account was restored, stating, “My team has restored my account, with the collaboration of the X support team. Thanks for your queries and desire to assist.”
The high-profile accounts hack trend is not unique to Mahama. Earlier this year, South African opposition leader Julius Malema experienced a similar hack, with his account being utilized to sell a scam scheme token project. Nigerian businessman Tony Elumelu had his account hacked in 2022, flooding his timeline with fake cryptocurrency giveaways.
Cybersecurity experts cite that high-profile individuals, particularly those in government, must intensify their security protocols. Ghanaian cybersecurity expert Abubakar Issaka at the Centre for Cyberwatch and Data Protection noted that “two-factor authentication alone is no longer enough.” He recommended strong backend security validation, continuous login behavior monitoring, and limiting third-party app access.
While Solana is getting more popular in Africa because it is cheaper than Bitcoin and Ethereum in transaction fees, scammers are becoming more inclined to use its name to cheat investors. Ofosu assured that the authorities are doing everything to prevent further exploitation of Mahama’s account.
