Bitcoin-holder MicroStrategy’s X account hacked: security firm

MICROSTRATEGY, the largest publicly-traded corporate holder of Bitcoin, suffered a hack on its X account that tricked some people into handing over funds to the attacker, according to crypto security analysts.

On Monday (Feb 26) in Asia, the attacker placed a now-deleted post on the company’s X page that purported to promote a new coin backed by the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company. Users who clicked were directed to another website in what’s known as a phishing exploit.

The post prompted security firm PeckShield to warn that MicroStrategy’s account on X – the social media site formerly known as Twitter – had been compromised. Another crypto sleuth, who goes by the moniker ZachXBT, said the hacker was able to steal about US$440,000 by from users that were hoodwinked.

MicroStrategy did not immediately reply to a request for comment made outside regular business hours.

The company’s co-founder Michael Saylor is a prominent Bitcoin advocate. In the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, he decided to invest the enterprise software maker’s cash into the largest digital asset. The firm’s Bitcoin holdings are worth roughly US$10 billion now after the token’s latest rally. BLOOMBERG