The Ministry of Health (MoH) X (formerly Twitter) account has been compromised and hacked by unknown individuals.
The hacker took over the account on Sunday, September 1, publishing posts on behalf of the ministry.
Further, the hacker posted that the ministry’s PS Mary Muthoni Muriuki and other members of the health fraternity were seeking contributions from Kenyans.
The funds, noted the post, would go towards the development of projects at ACK St Mathews Church community.
In addition, the post noted that the finale fundraiser, would take place on October 6, 2024.
“ACK St Mathews Church community is developing church projects thru fundraising to be held on Sunday 6th October,” the post read in part.
Also Read: Malawi Hit by Hackers, Suspends Issuance of Passports
Ministry of Health PS Speaks After the Hacking
Responding to the incident, the Principal Secretary (PS) has lashed out at the perpetrator. In her response, PS Mary Muthoni called out the hacker, asking them to get busy.
Additionally, she stated that the hackers should stop wasting their time, explaining that she would never do an harambee.
“Don’t waste your time hacking the ministry’s page. I don’t do Harambee’s, and I will continue working for this nation. Hey, get busy!” she stated.
At the same time, the ministry flagged the post asking members of the public to disregard any false information published on the site.
However, MoH is yet to confirm whether it successfully resolved the problem.
“This post is fake. Disregard and desist from sharing false information
“Attempts have been made to hack our X handle and post false information. Please disregard this and any unusual posts. We are working to resolve the issue,” stated the ministry.
Also Read: Truth Behind Uhuru Acquiring World’s Largest Construction Company Behind Expressway
Red Flags on the Flagged Post
One of the red flags on the publication was the spelling error on the word through which was written as ‘thru’. That is not expected on a government entity like a ministry.
The second red flag is the fact that the ministry published information about fundraising, at a time when it was a contentious issue in the country.
moreover, the matter forced the head of state to issue a directive, banning politicians from participating in any fundraising activity in public institutions like churches.
In an era of increased misinformation and a time when access to information online has been made even easier, it is important to double check and verify content shared online.
One of the ways of detecting fake publications and notices is establishing the source of the information.
Furthermore, it’s advisable to confirm that it originates from an official website or social media platform associated with a reliable source.
Many fake publications will contain grammatical errors and other mistakes that would easily not be made by officials working for government entities.
Follow our WhatsApp Channel for real-time news updates!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaB3k54HltYFiQ1f2i2C
