Private data belonging to KMRL staff, compromising their personal privacy, was also leaked
Kochi : A major data breach, involving sensitive company documents, financial transaction details, and employees’ personal information, have been reported at the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) headquarters, with the authorities and investigators suspecting the role of insiders. The Kochi Metro Police have launched an investigation based on the complaint filed by the director (systems), KMRL, after the data was found circulating in a WhatsApp group.
The breached data include confidential financial records, regarding company transactions, budget allocations, and financial planning, according to sources. Private data belonging to KMRL staff, compromising their personal privacy, was also found to be shared on the platform.
The perpetrators gained unauthorized access to computer systems on the fourth floor of the JLN Stadium Metro station headquarters, according to the FIR registered on Sept 12. The cyber complaint was filed after multiple officials reported suspicious document activity, Priyanka said. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kochi | Silver Rate in Kochi | Bank Holidays in Kochi | Public Holidays in Kochi Stay updated with the latest Kochi news.
Only investigation can reveal the same,” she said. The leak happened from there,” she said. “The extent of (financial or operational) damage can only be assessed once the probe concludes,” Priyanka said, adding strict measures would be taken against the guilty. Meanwhile, sources said this is not the first “data leak occurrence” at KMRL. The matter is serious given that the director (systems), himself has lodged the complaint,” they said. “This underlines the sensitive nature of the leaked technical and operational files,” sources said. As per the complaint, official data was stolen and circulated for “financial gain”, and could affect company security and privacy of the employees.
District collector G Priyanka, who is the temporary managing director of KMRL, didn’t rule out the role of insiders. “There is a possibility of the officials inside the KMRL behind the episode. “Office machines were used to scan and print documents, which were then forwarded to external, non-official e-mail accounts. Regarding the severity, she noted many of the leaked materials were confidential in nature. The top-level executive is responsible for overall planning, design, tendering, execution, and commissioning of rolling stock, signalling, and telecommunications. The suspects hacked the email ID used by the KMRL IT department for printing official documents. Desk computers and mobile phones were compromised to exfiltrate files, partly using local scanning and printing hardware, and emailing them to external, non-official accounts. The stolen data was then uploaded to a WhatsApp group named “Unified Kochi Metro Rail Reform and Development Forum. Download the TOI App.
“There were earlier instances, but this is the first time action has been taken.