Naavi.org had once reported the story of an IT professional who had developed and distributed an IRCTC hacking code not knowing that it was an offence which could have landed him in jail for 3 years or more. Fortunately he realized his mistake and removed the code from the public domain.
Now another similar incident seems to have been reported in the case of a developer from Chandigarh. It is reported that a malware written by him has been found to take screen shots in the destination computer at periodical intervals without the knowledge of the owner of the computer. It is an application written for Mac Computers.
“The malware starts working every time the computer is restarted, and it takes screenshots in regular intervals and uploads them to two C&C servers – one of which is currently unavailable, and the other impossible to access without permission.“
Under Section 43 of ITA 2008, the activity of the backdoor classifies itself as a “Computer Contaminant” or “Virus” and by virtue of Section 66, the peron who introduced it is liable for imprisonment and payment of compensation to any person who may suffer damange.
Interestingly the report also says
“the backdoor was signed with a legitimate Apple Developer ID associated with a developer by the name of Rajinder Kumar, and thus was able to bypass Apple’s Gatekeeper.”
Apple has reportedly revoked his authorization since the discovery.
However the person whose profile is said to be available on LinkdedIn is now in a situation where he may be accused of an offence under ITA 2008. There is also a view that this could be a case of mistaken identity. We need to wait and observe the developments.
Naavi
