17-year-old apprehended for hacking UPSC website

Days after the UPSC website was hacked, with its homepage displaying the image of popular cartoon character Doraemon, the Delhi Police Special Cell have apprehended a 17-year-old boy in connection with the incident.

Police said the boy, who is from Uttar Pradesh, is pursuing a technical course from a central university in Delhi and lives in a rented house. His father, a businessman who is currently abroad, has been informed about the incident. “The boy told police, in front of counsellors, that he recently learned hacking from the internet. He had been trying to hack several government websites for the last three weeks, but failed. Ultimately, he found the commission’s website was vulnerable and hacked it,” said a senior police officer, privy to the investigation.

The UPSC official website, managed by the government, was hacked on September 10. The homepage displayed an image of a heart and the cartoon character along with the caption: “Doraemon!!!! Pick up the call”. The page also had “I.M. STEWPEED” written at the bottom. The title track of the Japanese cartoon played in the background.

The matter came to light after some candidates shared screenshots of the website on Twitter around midnight. It was restored on September 11.

“With the help of technical surveillance, police traced and apprehended him. The juvenile was produced in front of the Juvenile Justice Board and handed over to his brother, who is a software engineer,” an officer said.
News Source (Indian Express)