Jamaat claims device was hacked, not Ameer’s X account

Jamaat-e-Islami has claimed that its Ameer’s X (formerly Twitter) account was not hacked; rather, the device used by him was compromised.

The claim was made on Sunday (1 February) at a press conference held at the party’s central office in Moghbazar, Dhaka. Jamaat’s Assistant Secretary General Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair said the incident was a planned attempt to defame the party and its Ameer.

He said hackers used the compromised device to post obscene and objectionable content from the Ameer’s X account. A general diary (GD) has already been filed at Hatirjheel Police Station, and preparations are under way to file a case.

At the press conference, Jamaat’s Election Management Committee member Engineer Sirajul Islam presented documentary evidence, stating that the controversial post was made at 4:37 pm on Saturday. At that time, the Jamaat Ameer was addressing an election rally at Konakhola Field in Keraniganj, footage of which is available live, making it impossible for him to post anything himself.

He added that the party’s IT team detected the issue at 4:53 pm. The account password was changed at 5:09 pm, and the hacking incident was disclosed from the X account at 5:22 pm. Before that, the post had already been shared and translated into Bangla from the X account of Dhaka South Jamaat Secretary Shafiqul Islam Masud.

Responding to questions about the quick recovery, Mahmud Alam said the X account itself was not hacked; instead, the device remained logged in, allowing hackers to post from it. Once identified, all sessions were terminated and the password was changed.

Explaining the hacking method, he said that on 23 January an email titled “Urgent election information” was sent from a government email address used by Bangabhaban. Trusting the official address, the attachment was opened, which turned out to be a phishing file that gave hackers control of the device.

He claimed similar phishing emails were sent to several senior Jamaat leaders using the email address of a Bangabhaban assistant programmer.

Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair said opponents, having failed in ideology and campaigning, resorted to hacking tactics. He said the Jamaat Ameer supports higher education and empowerment and that 43 per cent of the party’s leadership consists of working professionals.