Telecommunications firm MTN Uganda admitted Thursday afternoon that some rogue elements hacked into its Twitter account Wednesday evening to post pornographic content that has since generated dramatic views on the microblogging platform.
MTN Uganda has more than 200,000 followers on Twitter.
In the screenshots seen by this website, the hackers posted a series of pornographic videos, captioning them with jumbled words. For instance, one reads: “Rwanda Liverpool Champions League Arsenal Tottenham Manchester United #AJATOT Spurs Lucas Moura”
(Our policy doesn’t allow us to share pornographic material.)
In a Thursday afternoon statement shared on social media, MTN Uganda said the situation had since been contained.
“Unknown hackers on the night of 8 May 2019, accessed MTN Uganda’s official Twitter handle, @mtnug and posted inappropriate material and content,” in part, the statement reads.
“This situation has now been contained and measures taken to prevent further breaches. We regret any inconveniences caused.”
— MTN Uganda (@mtnug) May 9, 2019
It should be recalled that Ugandan authorities banned pornographic content in 2018, and in one of the measures taken to prevent access, internet service providers were asked to block people from accessing porn sites.
But with VPNs in place, the efforts weren’t largely successful. Also, there are tons and tons of porn sites on the web, yet authorities directed blocking of specific and popular sites.
Another hack
The hack into MTN Uganda’s Twitter accounts comes hot on the heels of recent attacks on the company’s mobile money system which saw users and agents lose hundreds of millions of shillings. MTN said it compensated people who lost funds.
But this didn’t stop Twitter users like @kaz_ian to question the company’s capacity to protect their mobile money in the wake of this absurd development.
If ur this easy to hack what guarantees the safety of our mobile money ? pic.twitter.com/HUC31o7Nnt
— The Devil's Lettuce? ??? (@kaz_ian) May 9, 2019
MTN, in the statement, did not indicate whether it had identified the hackers. Even, in the mobile money incidents, the hackers were never revealed or how their pursuit progressed.
.@mtnug after the insult you put us through yesterday,I suggest you extend our Gaga bundles to Monday…our eyes need to heal? pic.twitter.com/WF0MDGOelK
— JONAM'S PRINCESS?? (@AtimCharlotte) May 9, 2019
