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The Army Major who was questioned by Military Intelligence and Intelligence Bureau officials last month—after it was found that sensitive defence information was being transmitted from his computer to Pakistan—came to the attention of authorities in the US following leads given by Lashkar-e-Toiba operative David Coleman Headley.
Senior Defence Ministry officials, reacting to The Indian Express report on Thursday, said Headley had passed on to the US officials the Internet Protocol address of an ISI operative with whom he was in touch. Interceptions of traffic on that IP address led to the dispatch of a photograph of a serving Indian Army Brigadier from a computer in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
As part of the Indo-US exchanges on the Headley case, this piece of information was also provided to Indian intelligence agencies and the officer was called for questioning to New Delhi. Later, forensic examination of the hard disk of his computer revealed erased files containing classified defence information, all of which had been transmitted to the same IP address in Pakistan.
However, the Ministry of Defence has clarified that "the case was still under investigation and so far there are no evidences to suggest an espionage case." The MoD has described this as a case of "hacking by an external agency" which their officials now confirm is the ISI.
The MoD has also said that following an inquiry, the officer has since returned to his unit in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and was not in "safe custody" as reported.
What MI officials admit to at this stage even as the case is being investigated is that the officer seriously erred in saving classified information in his computer which was connected to the internet. Said a top official, "Given the recent cases of hacking in the Ministry of External Affairs and the National Security Council, the Ministry of Defence has issued regulations for such data and information not be downloaded on computers. The officer in question seriously erred in doing that and some administrative action will be taken against him shortly."
http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20100507/804/tnl-headley-twist-in-andaman-case-army-s_1.html
Senior Defence Ministry officials, reacting to The Indian Express report on Thursday, said Headley had passed on to the US officials the Internet Protocol address of an ISI operative with whom he was in touch. Interceptions of traffic on that IP address led to the dispatch of a photograph of a serving Indian Army Brigadier from a computer in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
As part of the Indo-US exchanges on the Headley case, this piece of information was also provided to Indian intelligence agencies and the officer was called for questioning to New Delhi. Later, forensic examination of the hard disk of his computer revealed erased files containing classified defence information, all of which had been transmitted to the same IP address in Pakistan.
However, the Ministry of Defence has clarified that "the case was still under investigation and so far there are no evidences to suggest an espionage case." The MoD has described this as a case of "hacking by an external agency" which their officials now confirm is the ISI.
The MoD has also said that following an inquiry, the officer has since returned to his unit in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and was not in "safe custody" as reported.
What MI officials admit to at this stage even as the case is being investigated is that the officer seriously erred in saving classified information in his computer which was connected to the internet. Said a top official, "Given the recent cases of hacking in the Ministry of External Affairs and the National Security Council, the Ministry of Defence has issued regulations for such data and information not be downloaded on computers. The officer in question seriously erred in doing that and some administrative action will be taken against him shortly."
http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20100507/804/tnl-headley-twist-in-andaman-case-army-s_1.html
