New Delhi, Jan 6: In a major crackdown by the Delhi Police’s Cyber Cell, six persons were arrested after police broke a huge online test hacking ring that was allegedly helping aspirants cheat in GMAT and JEE exams.
The accused hired Russian hackers who created a software that allowed them to remotely infiltrate computers at test centres, police said.
Proctors were unable to identify the software since it was designed in such a way that it could not be noticed. For JEE examinations, the gang got Rs 8-10 lakhs from an applicant and Rs 6-8 lakhs for GMAT exams. They profited in the range of Rs 50-60 crore. The JEE exam hacking scam is being investigated by the CBI.
The Delhi Police detained hackers, exam solvers, trainers, and coaching facility proprietors over the course of ten days. The CBI and the Haryana police were both looking for one of the suspects. Raj Teotia (33), the primary suspect, is accused of leading the scam since 2019. According to police, he travelled to Russia to meet and hire hackers for the gang, and he also invited them to India to set up the program during the lockdown.
A team led by ACP Raman Lamba initially contacted the hackers, posing as candidates seeking assistance in passing the GMAT exam. They paid the money and reserved a time slot, IE reported.
The accused sent a link to a software called ‘Ultraviewer’ on the day of the test, in order to gain access to the laptop at the examination centre.
Access to the laptop was then granted to a “solver,” who assisted the candidate by providing correct answers on the test.
Police arrested Teotia from Jaipur while M Sharma, a “solver”, was held from Gurgaon.
During questioning, authorities discovered that the accused were in the training and exam coaching industry. According to investigators, Teotia has also been operating “exam labs” on his own to conduct admission exams and assist students in cheating. He began such a “lab” at Agra, followed by Jaipur and Kota. However, they were eventually placed on a blacklist by examination authorities.
