Hackers gloat over it, claim even children could hack into the websites.
The websites of seven Indian High Commissions were hacked by two hackers and the data were dumped online.
The Indo-Asian News Service reported that the hackers leaked and shared the login details, password and names, email IDs, phone numbers and, passport numbers of mission staffers.
Hackers going by the name Kapustkiy and Kasimierz L claimed on Twitter that they hacked the websites of seven Indian missions abroad. According to a report in E Hacking News website, the hackers got access to the database of official websites of the Indian missions in South Africa, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Italy, Switzerland, and Romania. The details posted onpastebin.com were later removed by the website administrator.
The details include that of 161 Indians living in South Africa, 35 in Switzerland, 145 in Italy, 305 in Libya, 74 in Malawi, 14 in Mali and 42 in Romania.
“We did it because their security was poor and as the Indian Embassy they need to have better security,†hacker Kapustkiy told Hindustan Times. “The websites have a SQL vulnerability. Even a six-year-old could breach it,†said the hacker. He claimed that he possesses more data, but he chose not to make it public.
“It’s not hard to fix it. You just have to be aware of such things because most of the time you want contact them and saying that they have vulnerabilities, they just ignore you,†the hacker added.
The website of Indian Embassy in South Africa was hacked first followed by Switzerland and Italy. The hackers who claim to be from the Netherlands are under the age of 18.
“All the actions we made were to force the administrators of the site to get better protection on their websites. It’s very odd that multiple websites of embassies can be exploited with an SQL injection,†the second hacker who identifies himself as Kasimierz told Hindustan Times.
The External Affairs Ministry of India said that efforts are being made to solve the issue.
“We are aware of the issue and we are fixing it,†external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup told Hindustan Times.