On Monday morning, an email containing malware was sent to thousands of people in Maharashtra – including police and government officials – from the purported ID of a senior inspector. Maharashtra Cyber Cell officials on Wednesday said the email is suspected to have originated in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Yashasvi Yadav, Special IG (Maharashtra Cyber) said, “It is suspected to be an attempt to contain malicious program intended for data theft or ransomware.”
The email id appears to be that of Rajesh Nagawde, Senior Inspector, East Zone Cyber Police Station. Nagawade did not respond to phone calls.
The subject line in the email was “Terrorist behind JK attack in Mumbai gunned down”. It also contained a PDF file named “Report Intelligence”. The cyber police suspect that it was malware that, when downloaded, would trigger a cyber attack.
SP (Maharashtra Cyber) Sanjay Shintre said, “We soon alerted all government officials and asked them not to open the link, which reduced the impact of the attack.”
Police said the email was traced to Rawalpindi and the PDF file may have been created in Uttar Pradesh. Mumbai Cyber Police can register an FIR in this matter.
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