West Bengal's 'Sorasori Mukhyomantri' Instagram Account Breach Sparks Investigation
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Key Takeaways
Kolkata, Feb 26 (NationPress) The official Instagram account belonging to the West Bengal government’s widely-recognized public grievance service, 'Sorasori Mukhyomantri', has reportedly been compromised, as per reports from the Bidhannagar Police on Thursday.
In response, the state administration has issued a security alert. Upon discovering the breach, a formal complaint was lodged with the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station, prompting an immediate investigation.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee initiated the 'Sorasori Mukhyomantri' service to address citizens' concerns across West Bengal, which also led to the creation of an Instagram page under the same name.
Preliminary investigations reveal that the hackers have dispatched 47 unauthorized messages directly from the compromised Instagram account, along with uploading two stories.
According to police accounts, the hacking incident occurred late Wednesday night. The complainant reported that a series of unauthorized messages were sent between 2:06 am and 2:19 am on Wednesday, followed by another batch from 9:11 am to 9:22 am, amounting to a total of 47 direct messages.
In addition, the hackers utilized the account to send messages to the official pages of 'Egiye Bangla', 'Kolkata Police', and 'West Bengal Police'.
The complainant informed the police that the Instagram account is subject to multiple security protocols. Access is restricted to three authorized devices: a government mobile phone, a designated laptop, and an office desktop. Following the breach, the account's password has been promptly altered, and electronic records, screenshots, and timestamps have been preserved.
As per police sources, the inquiry is underway to trace the perpetrators while safeguarding digital evidence.
Investigators are currently scrutinizing IP addresses and login histories. As of now, no arrests have been made.
Based on the digital evidence collected, authorities are optimistic about identifying the culprits swiftly.
The administration has indicated that measures to enhance the security of government social media accounts will be prioritized to avoid future incidents.