Skip to content
FOSSBYTES TECH SIMPLIFIED LOGO
Search
  • News
  • Xplained
  • Geek
  • Gaming
  • Streaming
  • Reviews
  • How To
  • Top X
  • Jobs
Menu
  • News
  • Xplained
  • Geek
  • Gaming
  • Streaming
  • Reviews
  • How To
  • Top X
  • Jobs
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Menu
  • News
  • Xplained
  • Geek
  • Gaming
  • Streaming
  • Reviews
  • How To
  • Top X
  • Jobs
FOSSBYTES TECH SIMPLIFIED LOGO
Search
Close
Join Us On Telegram
  • News, Tech

Indian IT Firm Spied On Politicians Worldwide; Operated Above A Tea Stall

  • Charanjeet Singh Charanjeet Singh
  • June 10, 2020
Tweet
Share
WhatsApp
Indian it firm spy politicians email

A west Delhi-based cyber firm has been uncovered as a “spy-for-hire” company that helped its clients spy on politicians, investors, and client business rivals across the world.

According to a report from Reuters, the little-known Indian company called BellTroX InfoTech Services spied on 10,000 email accounts over seven years.

It targeted lawyers in France, judges in South Africa, politicians in Mexico, gamblers in the Bahamas, and several government officials in Europe, according to Citizen Lab researchers who have been trailing them for over two years and three former employees. The hit list also includes private equity giant KKR and short-seller Muddy Waters from the US.

BellTroX sent over thousands of malicious emails to targeted people. The emails impersonated Facebook login requests, messages from colleagues or relatives, and notifications to unsubscribe from adult websites, according to data gathered by Reuters.

Two organizations, namely Free Press and Fight for the Future, that have been keen supporters of net neutrality in the US, were also targeted by BellTrox. The spying campaign ran back in 2017, which compromised several employees of both organizations; however, it was never tied to BellTroX until now.

BellTroX owner denies allegations

In a telephonic conversation with Reuters, the owner of BellTroX, Sumit Gupta, has denied the allegations as well as denied taking part in any wrongdoing. According to Gupta, he only downloaded emails from accounts whose login credentials were provided by clients.

“I was just helping them with technical support.”

Gupta denied meeting the Reuters reporter in his office, which is essentially a small room just above a closed tea shop in a west Delhi complex.

Reuters writes that “aspects of BellTroX’s” are under investigation by US law enforcement; however, there is no official statement. Meanwhile, Delhi police and the Indian ministry have not commented on the matter until now.

Interestingly, BellTroX owner was declared a fugitive in the US in 2017, when two US private investigators admitted paying him money to hack accounts of marketing executives.

Charanjeet Singh

Charanjeet Singh

Charanjeet owns an iPhone but his love for Android customization lives on. If you ever ask him to choose between an iPhone, Pixel or Xiaomi; better if you don't.
More From Fossbytes

Latest On Fossbytes

how to use chatgpt 4

How To Use ChatGPT 4 For Free?

OpenAI’s latest GPT-4 model!

4 Reasons Why AI Is A Great Career Choice For 2023

Great Reasons You Should Get A Job In Artificial Intelligence

AI – A game changer!

What Time Will Succession Season 4 Air On HBO Max? Can You Watch It For Free?

What Time Will Succession Season 4 Air On HBO Max? Can You Watch It For Free?

Name a more dysfunctional family than the Roys from HBO’s Succession. It’s difficult to compare Waystar RoyCO’s mogul Logan Roy

When & Where To Watch Yellowjackets Season 2?

When & Where To Watch Yellowjackets Season 2?

Buzz, Buzz! We already have a season 3.

lenovo ideapad gaming 3 gen 7 16 intel review RTX 3060

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i (2023) Review: A Great Mid-Range Gaming Laptop

Bang-for-the-buck gaming laptop powered by 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU.

Xencelabs Medium Pen Tablet Review Hero

Xencelabs Pen Tablet Review: Watch out Wacom!

A worthy opponent?

Find your dream job

tech jobs board by fossbytes banner
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Fossbytes

Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • Contact Us
  • Work With Us

find your dream job today

FOSSBYTES JOBS

Fossbytes Media Pvt Ltd © 2022

FOSSBYTES
Facebook Twitter Instagram

FIND YOUR DREAM JOB TODAY

FOSSBYTES JOBS
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Work With Us

Fossbytes Media Pvt Ltd © 2022

pixel