Cyber Incident Victim: Nissan
Date:
Feb 2015
Location:
Mexico
Summary
Nissan's Mexican Twitter account was compromised by an unidentified individual who renamed the profile to "hacking for love" and posted messages seeking public assistance in locating a woman he had seen entering a blue Nissan March vehicle. The hacker described the woman's appearance and emphasized romantic intentions, claiming the breach was an attempt to reconnect with her, which generated unexpected engagement from followers during the 90-minute takeover. The company regained control, removed all unauthorized content, and issued a public apology acknowledging the incident as the actions of "a hacker in love," highlighting the unauthorized access and reputational impact without evidence of data theft or system damage beyond social media disruption.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On February 13, 2015, Nissan México’s official Twitter account (@Nissan_mx) was compromised by an unidentified Mexican hacker motivated by romantic intentions. The attacker renamed the account handle to “hacking for love” and posted multiple Spanish-language tweets over approximately 90 minutes. These messages declared the intrusion was an act of courtship, with one tweet stating, “Hi Twitter, sorry Nissan but I had to hack you for love.” The hacker claimed he targeted Nissan specifically because the woman he sought owned a blue Nissan March vehicle, which he observed her entering in Mexico City’s Polanco district. He provided physical descriptions of the woman—brunette, wearing glasses, a pink blouse, and black pants—and solicited Nissan’s 242,000 followers to help locate her, emphasizing he was “not a stalker” but wished to invite her to dinner.
Nissan’s social media team regained control of the account after the 90-minute intrusion and promptly deleted all unauthorized tweets. The company issued a public apology tweet in Spanish, translated as: “We apologize to our followers. Our Twitter account was a victim of a hacker in love.” While the breach caused temporary reputational disruption, the hacker’s posts unexpectedly garnered significant engagement through retweets and favorites from followers. No data theft, financial motives, or system compromises beyond the Twitter account were reported. The incident concluded with no further communication from the attacker or updates regarding whether he successfully contacted the woman. Nissan implemented no disclosed security changes but demonstrated rapid account recovery and damage control through content removal and public acknowledgment.