A WhatsApp Group of Hindu Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers in Kerala has sent shock waves across the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the state and a high level probe is on to find out the brains behind the “mischief”. P Rajeev, Kerala Minister for Law and Industries, who is also the Chief-Minister-in-waiting, told the media at Kochi on Monday that the government has noted the development with all seriousness and a probe is on to bring to light all factors behind the formation of the group.
The group was created on October 31 from the phone used by K Gopalakrishnan, an IAS officer in the state. News about the formation of the ‘Mallu Hindu Officers’ WA group spread like wildfire across Kerala, and it was taken off cyberspace within 24 hours.
However, Gopalakrishnan said that his phone was hacked and he was not aware of the existence of such a group. “It was only when colleagues told me about the WA group that I came to know about it. Multiple Groups were formed using the contact numbers in my phone and I do not know anything more than this,” Gopalakrishnan said. He has filed a police complaint about the hacking of his phone.
Dr MG Gireeshan, cyber expert who is a leading hackathon specialist, told The Pioneer that it was possible to hack the phone of anybody who is not aware of the potential of the internet, and mobile phones.
“Generally, there are two easy methods. We can hack the phone details through WhatsApp web and also when we install certain applications. If we click on unwanted links, we are handing over the permission to make use of our phone to the person who has uploaded the application. Though the new generation officers are cautious about the dangers involved in installing some strange applications, the older generation people are not aware of the trap,” Gireeshan said. He is one of the top contributors of the Hackathon of Kerala Police Cyberdome, and is a defence technologist working as research head of Edgeforce Solutions, a Hyderabad-based company.
This is not the first time WA groups based on communal lines hog the limelight in Kerala. There was ‘Green Light’, a WA group meant for Muslim community officers in Kerala Police which allegedly leaked information and intelligence data to leaders of extremist organisations operating from the state.
