“I was hacked!”: Pyne explains porn ‘like’
Cabinet minister Christopher Pyne says his Twitter account was hacked after social media users noticed his account “liked” a gay porn site.
It wasn't me, says Christopher Pyne, on his Twitter account 'liking' a porn site. AAP image
“I was hacked overnight!” Pyne tweeted this morning, noting he was asleep at 2am when the pornographic image was “liked”.
“Someone tried to hack my social media yesterday. Maybe they are making mischief over the plebiscite?”
Pyne’s account has since removed the post.
Fellow South Australian and Pyne’s former factional enemy within the Liberal Party, Cory Bernardi, wants the Attorney-General to investigate the security implications of the hack.
Bernardi, now head of the Australian Conservatives, says he has given notice of a motion to refer the incident for investigation.
“Need full investigation and report in case is foreign agent trying to influence elections,” he tweeted.
Deeply concerned about national security implications of hacking of Pyne’s social media account. Need full investigation and report in case is foreign agent trying to influence elections. #auspol pic.twitter.com/JT447lqygK
— Cory Bernardi (@corybernardi) November 15, 2017
Not everybody on Twitter was buying Pyne’s explanation.
“I don’t think so darling. Welcome to the club,” one Twitter user replied.
More than 100 people responded within hours of the minister trying to pour cold water on the situation.
“Mate, even my 3yo knows when he’s been naughty. Be accountable for your own actions,” posted another.
Several pointed out the peculiar tactic of hacking an account to “like” one rogue tweet.
“Hahaha … funny as. The hacker got in and liked one post,” one user said.
“Yeah. This is the most common thing hackers do. Be careful everyone!” warned another.
Some pointed to the gravity of the situation.
“It’s quite serious if the accounts of the Minister for Defence Industry have been compromised,” one person said.
“You should request that the AFP and other relevant authorities investigate.”
It is not the first time a high profile figure has fallen prey to porn-liking hackers.
Earlier this year, the Australian Border Force was asked to explain why Commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg’s Twitter account liked a pornographic tweet.
It came after United States Republican Senator Ted Cruz was also forced to explain his account “liking” a pornographic post in September.
Cruz blamed the “inadvertent mistake” not on hackers but rather “a staffing issue.”
– with AAP
