SSC exam leak: Gang obtained remote access of candidates’ computers to solve paper

Police said the four men men arrested for helping candidates write the SSC exam relied on Team Viewer and AMMYY software that allows a user to take control of a computer remotely.

Four men have been arrested from north Delhi for helping Staff Selection Commission (SSC) candidates cheat. The accused took remote access of the SSC candidate’s computer during the examination and solved the question paper for them, police said.

Ajay Kumar, Gaurav, Sonu Singh and Param allegedly involved in online hacking of Staff Selection Commission (SSC) exam arrested in a joint operation by Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) and the Delhi Police in New Delhi on Wednesday.(PTI Photo)

Police said the men relied on Team Viewer and AMMYY software that allows a user to take control of a computer remotely. Where they couldn’t use Team Viewer and AMMYY, they worked through Local Area Network (LAN) that allows interconnection of computers in an area.

Jatin Narwal, deputy commissioner of police (north) said that the gang charged ₹5-10 lakh for solving the SSC papers for the recruitment of lower divisional clerks, junior secretariat assistant and data entry operators. “We recovered ₹51.8 lakh from the flat in Gandhi Vihar that we raided,” said Narwal.

Read: Gang that helped SSC candidates ‘cheat’ busted in Delhi, 4 arrested

The raid on Tuesday was conducted jointly by north Delhi district police and the Uttar Pradesh-Special Task Force.

The SSC conducts its examination online, for which it outsources exam centres to private computer labs across the country. Some of these labs are owned by Harpal — who has been identified as the alleged kingpin — and other members of the gang, said Narwal. The SSC exam this year was conducted between March 4 and March 26 for which 63.5 lakh candidates had applied.

“This gang is suspected to have links with other computer labs that made cheating possible on a large scale,” said an investigator.

“The gang first identified their customers. They then remotely accessed the candidate’s computer through Team Viewer and AMMYY software or through LAN,” said Abhishek Singh, senior superintendent of police (UP-STF).

Though the probe into the cheating was in its early stages, an STF officer said nearly 180 candidates have benefited from the racket.

Four persons have been arrested so far with police having launched a manhunt for Harpal.

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