B’luru cyber heist: Rs 378 crore stolen as company server hacked; employee under scanner
Bengaluru: A case of cyber crime involving the hacking of a company’s server and the theft of approximately Rs 378 crore has come to light in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The company has suspected the involvement of a staff member.
The Whitefield Cybercrime, Economic Offences, and Narcotics (CEN) Police Station has registered an FIR in this regard. The complaint was filed by Nebilo Technologies Private Limited, located in Vaishnavi Tech Park near Bellandur in Bengaluru. Hardeep Singh, Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs, lodged the complaint.
The role of Rahul Agarwal, a part-time employee, is under suspicion, and he has been taken into police custody.
According to the FIR, the company operates as a trading platform for cryptocurrency exchange and sales.
On July 19 at about 2.37 a.m., an unknown individual hacked into the company’s wallet and transferred 1 USDT to another account. Later, at around 9.40 a.m., the same individual transferred $40 million (approximately Rs 378.95 crore) to his own account. The amount was subsequently distributed across six different accounts.
Upon investigating the hacking incident and the transfer of funds, the company discovered that the laptop used by employee Rahul Agarwal had been compromised. When questioned, Agarwal claimed he had been working part-time with the company for a year and used the laptop solely for company-related tasks.
However, it was revealed that, in violation of company policy, the laptop had also been used for non-official purposes. The FIR states that there is suspicion of Rahul Agarwal’s involvement in the crime, possibly in collusion with others.
The police have registered the FIR against Rahul Agarwal and others under Sections 66, 43, 66(C), and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, along with Sections 303, 316(4), 318(4), and 319(2) of the BNS Act.
Further investigation into the matter is underway and more details are expected to emerge as the probe progresses, an official said.
Cyber crime remains one of the most challenging issues and many people over the years have fallen victim to it, losing their hard earned money. However, in some instances, due to relentless efforts by the officials, several cases have been solved and a substantial amount of the stolen money was also recovered.