Eknath Shinde's X Account Briefly Hacked, Hackers Post Pics Of Pak, Turkey Flags

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's X account was temporarily compromised on Sunday, with hackers posting images of Pakistani and Turkish flags, according to an official statement. The account was successfully recovered within approximately 45 minutes.

Mumbai authorities confirmed that Shinde's social media handle was hacked, with perpetrators live-streaming content featuring flags of the two Islamic nations. This security breach occurred coincidentally on the same day India and Pakistan were scheduled to face off in their second Asia Cup match.

"We promptly notified the cyber crime police. The team responsible for managing the Deputy CM's X account subsequently regained control," stated the official.

The recovery process took between 30 to 45 minutes to completely restore the account to normal functioning, the official further explained.

In response to the incident, senior Maharashtra Congress leader Nana Patole expressed concerns about the state's cybersecurity infrastructure. The former state Congress president described the situation as alarming and questioned the effectiveness of current digital security measures.

Patole noted that the incident had provoked significant reactions, particularly among younger citizens who questioned the implications for ordinary people's online safety if even high-ranking government officials' accounts could be compromised. He added that the episode has placed the state's home department under scrutiny, with critics demanding accountability and information about protective measures for citizens' digital information.

The Congress MLA highlighted via a post on X that the government had recently unveiled its 'Golden Data' initiative intended to establish a centralized database. However, he pointed out that the breach of a minister's account has created skepticism regarding the effectiveness of security protocols for government websites and confidential official data.

Patole called on the home department to provide transparent responses regarding how it plans to protect citizens from cybersecurity threats in the future.