Recently, it came to light that “hack-for-hire” businesses, also known as illicit hacking operatives, operated throughout India and had access to the emails and phones of VIPs and governments in exchange for money from private investigators all over the world.
An employee of Deloitte India, a company that offers audit, consultancy, advisory, and tax services, was let go for owning a hacking business.
All new hires are subjected to basic background checks, although occasionally a “black sheep” is overlooked. The hacker company WhiteInt was reportedly led by Aditya Jain, an associate director of Deloitte’s cyber branch.
Deloitte hired Aditya Jain in February 2022. Prior to this, he worked until March 2021 for the cyber division of another Big Four company.
“We are aware of recent media stories that have made significant claims against an individual who used to work for Deloitte India,” a spokeswoman for Deloitte stated.
According to a Deloitte spokeswoman, “This person no longer works for Deloitte India.”
According to the article, the hacking company’s database is alleged to have private information about a number of people, including former Pakistani president Musharraf, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis, former British chancellor Philip Hammond, and former Pakistani cabinet member Fawad Chaudhry.
Deloitte invests in exceptional people with a variety of skills and backgrounds and gives them the tools they need to succeed in ways they wouldn’t be able to elsewhere. In an unplanned reorganization, the corporation has changed the makeup of its UK executive team, replacing half of the 16-person group—including the managing partner.
Home-based work became the new standard under the Covid. The policies that the Firm put into place were very stringent. EY, Deloitte, PwC, and KPMG, the Big Four Indian accounting firms, have sizable cyber security practices; in recent years, it has been one of their fastest-growing business segments.
Cyber law specialists claim that India has taken a tolerant stance toward cybercrime.
According to reports, a sting operation by The Sunday Times and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism identified Indian-based hacking groups that target VIPs around the world. In order to uncover hackers who could access private data from the computers and emails of influential people, journalists disguising themselves as former intelligence agents came to India earlier this year.
Even the IT Act of 2008 made offenses that are “computer-related” bailable offenses with a three-year prison sentence and a Rs. 5,00,000 fine.
The way India handled this situation was delicate. It is necessary to enhance the judicial system. According to Pawan Duggal, founder and chairman of the International Commission on Cyber Security Law, the “golden age of cybercrime” has already started following the Covid pandemic.
Experts stated that in the current case of the Deloitte employee, India could independently file a FIR to take action or there could be a request for extradition from the UK.
