Microsoft’s official X account was compromised on Thursday, with attackers using it to promote an unauthorized Clippy-themed cryptocurrency, according to The Verge. The hijacked account followed a profile associated with the token, reposted promotional content, and temporarily changed Microsoft’s profile picture to an image of Clippy, the paperclip assistant from older Microsoft Office versions.
The unauthorized posts were removed roughly 30 minutes after they appeared. Microsoft confirmed the breach, secured the account, and stated it was investigating how access occurred. The company told The Verge: “We have confirmed unauthorized access to our account on X, including posts that did not come from Microsoft.” A separate statement that briefly appeared on the account rejected any link between the token and Microsoft shares and said the company would pursue legal action. That statement was later deleted, and some users reported that even the apology did not appear to come from the company.
Promoters of the token, identified as CLIPPY, claimed that associated liquidity pools held more than $200,000 and that actual Microsoft shares backed those pools. Microsoft explicitly denied authorizing the token’s use of its name and intellectual property and said holding the token gave no ownership rights in Microsoft Corporation. The share-backing assertion remained unverified.
The incident follows similar hacks on prominent X accounts. In July, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev’s account was breached to promote a fake Vladhood meme coin that briefly reached about $10 million in market cap before falling below $5 million. Accounts connected to SpaceX and Starlink were also compromised to promote SCATMAN tokens, and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s account was hacked to publish blockchain tokenization posts. In June 2024, Microsoft India’s X account was used to impersonate trader Keith Gill and promote a fake GameStop token presale linked to a wallet-draining scheme. The SEC has separately warned investors about social media impersonation, fake crypto investment scams, and market manipulation.
