Hyundai MEA X Account Hacked, Followed by Crypto Promotion – Source: www.darkreading.com

Source: poco_bw via Alamy Stock Photo

The social media account for Hyundai MEA (Middle East & Africa) was taken over to distribute cryptocurrency promotions.

The Hyundai MEA account on X (formerly Twitter) was briefly changed to impersonate Overworld, a role-playing game that is backed by the venture capital and incubator arm for the Binance cryptocurrency exchange.

The takeover took place earlier this week and saw text and images changed on Hyundai MEA’s X account, with posts offering registration to claim “btc domains.” Specifically, registration was promoted to the “BRC launchpad,” where the first 1,000 people to sign up would receive $100,000.

It is not clear how for long attackers had control of the X account, or if any direct messages were sent in that time.

Hyundai MEA was able to regain control of its X account and remove any offending posts. Netgear was also taken over to promote the same cryptocurrency registration, and follows Google’s cybersecurity operation at Mandiant temporarily losing control of its X account to cryptocurrency drainer malware operators Jan. 3. The Securities and Exchange Commission also recently lost control of its X account.

Overworld is so often a target for impersonation in similar scams that it warns users to “stay clear of those impersonating our account.”