According to Reuters, a little-known Indian IT company provided hacking services to customers and hacked more than 10,000 e-mail accounts worldwide in seven years.
Based on information disclosed by the company’s three former employees, as well as reports from external researchers and various evidence online, New Delhi-based BellTroX Information Technology Services specifically targets European government officials, Bahamian gaming tycoons, and including U.S. private equity giant KKR Famous investment institutions such as Muddy Waters and short-selling institutions.
Five people familiar with the matter said that BellTroX’s hacking operations against US targets are facing investigations by US law enforcement agencies. But the US Department of Justice declined to comment.
The identity of BellTroX customers is unclear. But the company’s owner, Sumit Gupta, declined to disclose the identity of the customer in a telephone interview and denied any wrongdoing.
Carson Block, the founder of Muddy Waters, said, “I was disappointed when I learned that we might be the target of BellTroX customers, but I was not surprised.” KKR declined to comment.
Researchers at the Internet surveillance organization Citizen Lab spent more than two years figuring out the infrastructure used by hackers. These researchers released a report on Tuesday that they “fully believed” that BellTroX employees acted as behind the espionage activities.
“This is one of the largest espionage activities ever employed.” Citizen Lab researcher John Scott-Railton said.