There seems to be no end to the drama involving the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) with the city police now receiving emails threatening to compromise the security of the public sector behemoth close on the heels of similar emails received by CSL officials in less than a fortnight.
Even as the city police were busy trying to track down the source of the emails sent to the CSL threatening to bomb vital installations, the Central and South police stations received similar emails in their official mail ids on Monday and Tuesday.
The CSL, where the country’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier is being built, has been on high security alert ever since it received the threats. The first of the mails was was received by CSL officials on August 24.
The South police registered a case and a thorough security sweep was held in its wake.
The content of the threatening email received by the police was similar to the ones received by CSL officials. Though the IP address from which the emails sent to the police and CSL officials was found to be the same, the police are having a tough time as it was reportedly spoofed.
The sender, who claims to be under pressure from foreign agents, has demanded bitcoins worth two lakh dollars to spare the CSL. Reportedly, about 20 such mails with the same content have been sent to various email ids since August 24.
The police have registered a case under Section 66F of the IT Act for cyber terrorism, which could even attract a probe by the National Investigation Agency, and Section 384 of the IPC for extortion. The police are being assisted by Cyberdome and Cyber Cell of the State police.
Though the police have interrogated around eight suspects, the real culprit could not yet be traced.
