Supreme Court’s Official YouTube Channel Hacked; Ran Videos Promoting Cryptocurrency on Channel

The Supreme Court’s official YouTube channel was hacked on Friday, potentially indicating a security breach. Instead of live court hearings, the channel aired videos promoting XRP, a cryptocurrency developed by the US-based Company Ripple Labs.

The YouTube channel displayed a blank video titled “Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple Responds To The SEC’s $2 Billion Fine! “XRP Price Prediction”.

In an official statement, the top court said, “This is to inform everyone concerned that the YouTube channel of the Supreme Court of India has been taken down. Services on the Supreme Court of India’s YouTube channel will resume shortly.”

The Supreme Court administration has launched an investigation into the channel hacking, according to sources. The Supreme Court Registry has removed the link to the channel.

This is the first time the Supreme Court’s YouTube channel has been hacked since it chose to live-stream all constitutional bench hearings in 2018.

The Supreme Court’s hearings in the suo muto case involving the rape and murder of a Kolkata trainee doctor at RG Kar Hospital were recently broadcast live on YouTube.

In 2020, Ripple sued YouTube for failing to prevent hackers from impersonating its CEO, Brad Garlinghouse. The US company operates an exchange network for the cryptocurrency XRP, which targets individuals who wish to send money worldwide.