The software of the Gujarat Technical University (GTU) was hacked by a student and data of 1275 students was stolen. This security breach was carried out by a 22-year-old student from Vadodara.
His intention? To get all online examinations canceled!
He apparently acquired this talent of hacking as a hobby, but clearly decided to employ it for all the wrong purposes.
Student Hacks Gujarat Technical University; Makes Personal Data Of 1275 Students Public
The accused, who has now been arrested, is in his eighth semester (fourth year) in Electrical Engineering at a private college that is affiliated with the GTU. After stealing the data of 1275 students, he reportedly uploaded it on various websites. This has been confirmed by the officials of Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Cell.
The software of GTU is used by the students as a pre-trial for students to register for online examination. This also requires the students to input their personal details.
Amit Vasava, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Cell said, “He later uploaded the leaked data of students on different portals and created an anonymous Twitter account to prove that online exams are not safe.”
GTU Software Hacked To Cancel Online Examinations
As per reports, an online examination was organized by the GTU management for the students who are in the sixth semester of engineering, post-graduation, and diploma courses in all the institutes who are affiliated with the GTU.
The GTU had scheduled a test on July 28 which was attended by thousands of students. However, for this test, 1900 students were unable to register themselves. When the test was rescheduled on July 29, about 1275 students appeared for the test.
On the next day, a link was shared on social media by multiple students. This link included many personal details of students who reappeared for the test scheduled on July 29. The personal details included personal photographs, Aadhaar card, PAN card, and voter ID card details.
The DCP revealed that the accused did not do it for any personal gain, but to cancel the online examinations of GTU because no other university throughout the country is conducting any online examination of students because of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in India.