Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) has issued a statement after being hacked. In its statement, the popular mainstream media house has confirmed that its X (formerly Twitter) account was hacked. The account, which has over 800,000 followers, was hacked by unknown individuals who changed its name to “DeepSeek AI.”
This move left many Kenyans confused as they noticed unusual activity on the page. The hacking incident happened late on Friday, January 31, and the account remained under the hackers’ control for around 17 hours. Many people on social media raised concerns, wondering why the national broadcaster had not addressed the situation sooner.
Some feared the hackers might use the platform to spread false information. KBC has now issued a statement through its sister station, KBC Radio Taifa, confirming that the account had been compromised. The broadcaster has assured the public that efforts are being made to regain control.
It has also warned users to be careful when interacting with recent posts, as they could be misleading. KBC has stated that according to their latest investigations, the hackers are cryptocurrency scammers. They often take over high-profile accounts and rebrand them to appear as trusted businesses.
In this case, they used the name DeepSeek AI, a Chinese artificial intelligence company that has gained attention recently. Cybersecurity experts have warned that such attacks are becoming more frequent. Hackers often target big social media pages to trick people into falling for scams.
Some even demand money from the real owners before handing back control. This has raised concerns about online security and the measures organizations take to protect their platforms. Many Kenyans expressed their disappointment, questioning how such a major account could be hijacked.
Others urged KBC to strengthen its security to prevent a similar attack in the future. The media house has not yet explained how the breach happened but has assured the public that it is working with experts to fix the issue.
KBC has advised its mammoths of followers to stay alert for any suspicious activity on hacked accounts. The broadcaster has also apologized for any confusion caused by the incident and promised to provide updates once the issue is fully resolved.
By Nairobi