Supreme Court website allegedly hacked minutes after verdict on judge Loya death case

Soon after the Supreme Court dismissed the petitions that sought an independent inquiry into the death of Special Central Bureau of Investigation judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya on Thursday, it’s official website crashed after first displaying a the message saying, “Hacked by HighTech Brazil HackTeam”.

On April 6, the websites of the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Law and Justice, and the Ministry of Home Affairs were purportedly hacked. Chinese characters had appeared on the home page of the defence ministry’s website. However, government officials had said that the websites were not hacked, but that there had been some a technical error.

Soon after the Supreme Court dismissed petitions that sought an independent inquiry into the death of Special Central Bureau of Investigation judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya on Thursday, it’s official website crashed after first displaying a message: “Hacked by HighTech Brazil HackTeam”.

The website was taken down shortly after the alleged hack, and now displays an “under maintenance” message.

“There is absolutely no merit in the writ petitions, Judge Loya’s death was natural,” a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud had said just minutes before the website crashed. The court said there was no reason to disbelieve the judicial officers who were with judge Loya around the time of his death.

Several Indian government websites have been targets of similar cyber attacks in recent years. Earlier in 2018, the government told the Lok Sabha that more than 700 websites linked to the central and state governments were hacked over the past four years, NDTV reported.

On April 6, the websites of the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Law and Justice, and the Ministry of Home Affairs were purportedly hacked. Chinese characters had appeared on the home page of the defence ministry’s website. However, government officials had said that the websites were not hacked, but that there had been a technical error.