In a shocking cyberattack, the Supreme Court of India’s official YouTube channel was hacked on the morning of September 20, 2024. The hackers took control of the channel to promote a cryptocurrency scam, raising serious concerns about how secure the digital platforms of India’s top institutions are.
The Supreme Court of India YouTube channel is used to live stream its important cases, making legal proceedings more transparent and accessible to the public. But on this day, instead of legal content, viewers saw videos promoting XRP, a cryptocurrency created by Ripple Labs. The hack wasn’t random; it was a well-planned move to trick people into falling for a cryptocurrency scam.
Instead of streaming significant hearings, the channel began displaying scammy videos with titles like “Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple Responds to the SEC’s $2 Billion Fine! XRP PRICE PREDICTION.” This led to confusion among both legal professionals and the general public.
Supreme Court of India's YouTube channel appears to be hacked and is currently showing videos of US-based company Ripple. pic.twitter.com/zuIMQ5GTFZ
— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2024
The hackers also made the Supreme Court of India Youtube channel’s previous court videos private, making it hard for people to access old legal proceedings. This wasn’t just an attack to promote a cryptocurrency—it disrupted the court’s effort to be a transparent legal resource for the public.
This breach happened while the Supreme Court was set to hear multiple sensitive cases. One of them was a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that asked the government to follow a strict timeline for appointing judges recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium. Another case involved a dispute over the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah land, where the Muslim side was challenging the Allahabad High Court’s decision in favor of the Hindu parties.
The channel had also recently streamed sensitive court hearings on a case related to the rape and murder of a medical intern in Kolkata, which had captured national attention.
Supreme Court of India Youtube channel Taken down
Following the hacking of Supreme Court's YouTube channel, the channel has been taken down.
— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2024
“This is to inform all concerned that the YouTube channel of Supreme Court of India has been taken down. The services on YouTube channel of Supreme Court of India will be resumed shortly,”… https://t.co/4E77cuuyIX pic.twitter.com/WPIsrrtcqG
Once the hack was discovered, authorities launched an urgent investigation. Cybersecurity experts were called in to figure out how the hackers got in and to stop it from happening again. The attack raised concerns about the safety of other important digital platforms and how secure they really are from similar breaches.
This Supreme Court of India YouTube channel hacking incident has brought up a big question: if an important institution like the Supreme Court can be hacked, are other government websites and digital platforms safe? As more and more government bodies rely on digital platforms to share information with the public, they must invest in top-notch cybersecurity.
Hackers are becoming more skilled, targeting institutions not only for data but also to use their credibility to scam people. By taking over the Supreme Court of India YouTube channel, the hackers aimed to make their cryptocurrency scam look more legitimate. The trust in government institutions could also be harmed by incidents like this.
Let’s hope this Supreme Court of India YouTube channel hacking incident leads to stronger security measures to prevent such attacks in the future.
