Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson announced early Friday that the official Input Output Global (IOG) YouTube channel has been compromised. He warned the community not to click on any links or trust videos posted on the platform.
Hoskinson posted the alert on X, stating: "The IOG YouTube apparently has been compromised. Do not trust any videos or click on any links on it." He added that the team was working with YouTube to take down the channel and reset its credentials.
At the time of the announcement, IOG's own X account had not publicly addressed the alleged compromise, though several Cardano-focused accounts had shared Hoskinson's warning. Bitcoin investor Lark Davis amplified the message to his 1.5 million followers on X.
The channel's most recent uploads remained unchanged at the time, featuring content from weeks prior including a Musashi Dojo update, a Leios explainer, and a Lace wallet interview.
Part of a Broader Security Pattern
Compromised social media accounts of established crypto organizations and personalities have become a common scam vector. With years of posting history and large follower bases, hijacked accounts appear credible to users who may not notice the change in ownership, making them effective for phishing schemes and wallet theft.
The IOG incident occurred amid heightened security concerns in the crypto sector. Recently, attackers used a government agency email domain to obtain customer information from Revolut, including passports, verification documents, and Bitcoin transaction histories. A group later published the data while demanding 10,000 Bitcoin to cease distribution.
Both incidents underscore the potential damage of convincing impersonation before verification can occur.
