New revelations regarding activist-priest Father Stan Swamy who died last year due to COVID-19 complications states that the priest’s computer was hacked by planting close to 44 documents.
A new report by a Boston-based forensic firm Arsenal Consulting, which has in-depth knowledge of working in the digital forensic area, states that around 44 documents, including letters addressed to Maoists, were planted by a hacker over a period of five years – 2014 to 2019.
According to Arsenal Consulting, one of the documents was sent by a person named ‘SS’ – assumed to be Father Stan Swamy – to a “Vijayan Dada” in 2017. The email asks Vijayan “to capture senior leaders of ruling BJP in the state and demand that the oppressive laws be done with.”
Another document that provides detailed information on a Maoist outfit called the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army talks about manpower and weapon usage. This, according to Arsenal, was also planted by the cyber hacker.
“The hacker had used malware called NetWire to gain access to Father Stan Swamy’s computer on October 19, 2014, for both invasive surveillance and ‘documentary delivery,” the report stated.
It should be noted that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged Father Stan Swamy based on electronic evidence found on his computer. Father Stan was accused of having Maoists links and plotting to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The report states that during their investigation they found no proof that supported NIA’s claims. There is no evidence to prove that the documents were ever opened by Father Stan Swamy.
Arsenal further mentions that the hacker made several attempts to erase their malicious activities, a day before Swamy’s computer was seized by the Pune police. The timing raises the question of whether the hacker had prior knowledge of the impending police action.
Father Stan Swamy was a Jharkhand-based Jesuit priest who worked with the tribal communities. He was arrested by the NIA along with activists Rona Wilson and Surendra Gadling on charges of nefarious activities in the Bhima-Koregaon case. He was lodged at Tihar jail and till his last breadth maintained he was innocent and being framed. He finally died in a government hospital during his jail term due to Covid-related complications.
His arrest was widely condemned by the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU). A UN official described his death as “devastating,” and added that Stan had been imprisoned on “false charges of terrorism”.
What is NetWire malware
According to an article by Infosec, NetWire is defined as a remote-access Trojan that steals as well as controls data in a system. it has been in use by malicious groups since 2012. According to Spamhaus Botnet Threat Update – Q2 2020, NetWire RAT has been observed during 2020 as one of the most active botnets. NetWire was one of the most exploited malware between February and April 2020.
