Supreme Court's YouTube Channel Hacked, Cryptocurrency Videos Shown Instead Of Proceedings

In a possible security breach, the Supreme Court's official YouTube channel was hacked on Friday, with the platform displaying content promoting the cryptocurrency XRP, developed by the US-based company Ripple Labs, rather than live court proceedings.

The hacked channel featured a video titled, "Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple Responds To The SEC's $2 Billion Fine! XRP PRICE PREDICTION," in place of its usual legal content.

The Supreme Court administration has initiated an investigation into the hack, as confirmed by sources to Bar and Bench. The channel's link has since been disabled by the Supreme Court registry.

This marks the first hacking incident involving the Supreme Court's YouTube channel since live-streaming of constitution bench hearings began in 2018.

Recently, the court's hearings on a suo moto case concerning the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata were also broadcast live on YouTube.

Notably, in 2020, Ripple Labs sued YouTube for failing to prevent hackers from impersonating its CEO, Brad Garlinghouse. Ripple operates an exchange network for XRP, which facilitates international money transfers.