Air India Twitter account was hacked. Hackers announced end to all flights

The account was restored to the national carrier in a short while.

NEW DELHI: The official Twitter handle of Air India appeared to have been hacked by a Turkish group, which posted a slew of odd tweets. For a while, the Air India handle even showed a tweet that said all Air India flights had been cancelled and recommended flying with Turkish Airlines.

News agency ANI reported that Twitter had removed the account's 'blue tick', as part of the site's policy on verified accounts that have been compromised. The account was restored to the national carrier a short while after.

The cyberattack was claimed by a group of Turkish hackers called Ayyildiz Tim. Another account linked to the group posted screenshots of the tweets by the outfit.

Ucuslar iptal ? Bizden hizlisi Turk Hava Yollari ?????? pic.twitter.com/6s3R5qDMZM

— Ayy?ld?zTim (@AyyildizOrg132) March 14, 2018

Afrin'deki yigitlere ve Thy selam olsun ????? pic.twitter.com/Ob7N6SBZKL

— Ayy?ld?zTim (@AyyildizOrg132) March 14, 2018

The hacking of the Air India handle is just the latest in a string of incidents involving the social media accounts of Indian officials.

On February 28, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's official handle was reportedly hacked. A complaint had been filed with the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police. However, the matter fizzled out with the later claim that it was a technical glitch.

In January, the Twitter account of India's Ambassador to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin, was hacked, presumably by a hacker or a group of hackers from Pakistan. The display pictures were changed to that of Pakistani flag and the country's president, Mamnoon Hussain.

Not just social media accounts, hackers have attacked the websites of Indian government. In December 2017, the website of the Chhattisgarh had been defaced.

However, it seems it is not only Pakistanis who hack into Twitter handles and websites. It was Indian hackers who are believed to hacked into the Pakistan government website, Pakistan.gov.pk in August 2017. The site featured an Indian flag with the National Anthem playing in the background.

(With inputs from ANI)