Russian hackers hired to crack JEE and GMAT exams, 6 arrested

According to police, the accused had hired Russian hackers who developed a software to hack computers at examination centres remotely. The software was developed in a way that it couldn’t be detected by proctors.

The gang took Rs 8-10 lakh from a candidate for JEE exams and Rs 6-8 lakhs for GMAT exams. They made money to the tune of Rs 50-60 crore. The CBI is investigating the JEE exam hacking scam.

Over 10 days, the Delhi Police arrested hackers, exam solvers, trainers and coaching institute owners involved in the scam. One of the accused is also wanted by the CBI and Haryana police. The main accused, Raj Teotia (33), has allegedly been running the racket since 2019. Police said he went to Russia to meet and hire hackers for the gang, and also invited them to India during the lockdown to set up the software.

KPS Malhotra, DCP (Cyber Cell), said, “Our investigation shows that the gang helped over 500 candidates clear JEE and other entrance tests and 18 candidates clear the GMAT exam. We received information about their illegal activities as they were charging a hefty amount. These gangs claim to have access to GMAT, IBM, CCISO, JEE and other reputed exams.”

A team led by ACP Raman Lamba first contacted the hackers, posing as candidates seeking help to clear the GMAT exam. They paid the money and booked a slot.

On the day of the test, December 26, the accused sent a link to a software named ‘Ultraviewer’ to gain access to the laptop at the examination centre.

The laptop’s access was then given to a “solver”, who helped the candidate by providing correct answers in the test.

“Our police officer who posed as a candidate scored 780 marks out of 800 with the help of these people. We then started tracing their location. We found they were in Mumbai. On January 1, three persons – A Dhunna, S Dhunna and H Shah – were arrested from Mahim. They were tasked with talking to candidates and helping connect their laptops to hackers,” said DCP Malhotra.

The three men were questioned, and they identified other members. The police then arrested K Goel from Delhi. He runs a coaching centre in Pitampura and was allegedly tasked with arranging “solvers” who could help candidates.

M Sharma, a “solver”, was arrested from Gurgaon, while Teotia was arrested from Jaipur.

During questioning, police found that the accused were involved in the business of training institutes and exam coaching. Teotia has also been opening “exam labs” on his own to conduct entrance tests and help aspirants cheat, police said. He first started such a “lab” in Agra, and then in Jaipur and Kota. However, examination authorities later blacklisted them.

“The Russian hackers they hired were also making software to get into other exams such as forest guard, the Navy, etc,” said DCP Malhotra.