KOCHI: The Kochi City Police have registered a case over the alleged hacking of computer systems at the corporate office of Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) and theft and circulation of official data.
According to the FIR, the accused allegedly gained unauthorised access to the computer systems at KMRL’s corporate office on the fourth floor of the Kaloor JLN Metro station and stole data with the intention of making personal and unlawful financial gains.
The FIR alleges that the printer used by the KMRL IT department for official purposes was illegally accessed and misused to gain access to other desktops and mobile phones and obtain official data.
Highly confidential documents, personal information of employees and financial information of KMRL were allegedly leaked, according to the FIR. The documents were allegedly uploaded and circulated in the WhatsApp group Unifide Kochi Metro Rail Reform and Development Forum, which, the FIR states, affected the security of the company and privacy of its employees.
The police are investigating whether the alleged data breach was carried out through a cyberattack or by someone having access to KMRL’s systems. The cyber team is also examining the alleged breach and the route through which the documents were accessed and circulated.
However, a senior police official said the investigation had so far not revealed the leakage of any sensitive documents.
“As far as now, we have not come across the leak of any sensitive documents. But there is a suspicion that certain documents got leaked and we have received a complaint. A detailed enquiry is going on in the probe, and the cyber team is also looking into it,” the officer said.
Police are likely to examine the computer systems and other devices at the KMRL corporate office and record the statements of technical personnel, including those working on contract.
