A 19-year-old teenager in Odisha has apparently managed to hack into the mainframe of a major company in spite of having only a basic understanding of English. Not only that, he was also able to do so through an ancient phone with hacking skills sourced from online forums and understood through translation software.
Himalaya Mohanty’s actions cost Lloyd Electricals and Engineering Ltd over Rs 60 lakh in damages. The hacker supposedly found a way to break into the EPABX system of the Hyderabad-based firm. The attack allowed him to make free calls through the company’s toll-free number meant for its own customers.
Mohanty didn’t stop there, later deciding to post his method online complete with codes and Lloyd’s toll-free number. This chain of events lead to the brand receiving a Rs 60 lakh telephone bill in November last year instead of its usual Rs 1 lakh bill. The police eventually tracked him down using the site’s IP address.
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Cyber crime inspector Riyazuddin told the Times of India that apart from hacking the toll-free number, Mohanty also put up a message on his website asking people to contact him to learn how to hack. This proved to be yet another scam wherein he sent a Trojan virus to any person who got in touch with him and tracked their movements.
Riyazuddin was quick to add that the teenager did not gain any financial benefit from his endeavors. Still, his actions seem to be a clear invasion of privacy and cost a company dearly. It’s also worrying to see how easily a business can get compromised nowadays with just rudimentary hacking skills.