X owner Elon Musk denied on Wednesday that his company has any responsibility for the hijack of Brazilian First Lady Rosângela da Silva’s account on the social media platform. “It is not clear how someone guessing her email password is our responsibility,” he said, reacting to the recent pledge by Mrs. Silva to sue the platform.
On the night of December 11, the presidential press office said that her X account had been hijacked and that it had informed both the company and the Federal Police, which is investigating the case.
After being hijacked, the account was used to publish offensive messages against herself, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The account also recommended that users follow a neofascist profile, which has since been deleted.
The next day, Federal Police conducted four search and seizure warrants in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. A suspect was interviewed but not detained. Investigators have also targeted suspects in Brasília.
Officials have not disclosed details on the attack, such as whether the first lady used two-step verification.
Earlier this month, X’s former head of information security Alan Rosa filed a legal complaint against the company — which he says fired him after he alerted to cybersecurity threats created by cuts to physical and digital security promoted by Mr. Musk. Mr. Rosa says the budget cuts create a “danger to public safety” and put X out of compliance with multiple regulatory requirements.
Mrs. Silva’s account hijack is the latest in a series of cybersecurity breaches involving Brazilian authorities and institutions. Back in 2019, the Federal Police said roughly 1,000 Brazilian authorities had been victims of some form of hacking or phone identity theft — including then-Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, then-House Speaker Rodrigo Maia, and even then-President Jair Bolsonaro.
Back in 2017, a hacker cloned a cell phone belonging to then-First Lady Marcela Temer and blackmailed her — threatening to reveal compromising content if not paid. The man was convicted of fraud and extortion and sentenced to almost six years.
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