The official Instagram account of West Bengal’s public grievance service ‘Sorasori Mukhyomantri’ has been hacked, as confirmed by Bidhannagar Police sources. An alert has been issued within the state administration following the breach, with a formal complaint lodged at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee introduced ‘Sorasori Mukhyomantri’ to address citizen grievances across West Bengal, with a dedicated Instagram page established for this purpose. Hackers, during their unauthorized access, sent 47 messages and posted two stories through the compromised account.
The hacking incident occurred late on Wednesday night, with multiple unauthorized messages sent between 2:06 am and 2:19 am, followed by another batch between 9:11 am and 9:22 am on the same day. The hackers also targeted official accounts of ‘Egiye Bangla’, ‘Kolkata Police’, and ‘West Bengal Police’ using the compromised account.
Authorities revealed that the Instagram account is supposed to be accessed only through three authorized devices: a government mobile phone, a specific laptop, and an office desktop. Prompt actions were taken post-hack, including changing the account password and preserving electronic records and timestamps.
An investigation is underway to identify the hackers by analyzing digital evidence, including IP addresses and login histories. Despite ongoing efforts, no arrests have been made yet. The police are optimistic about swiftly identifying the culprits based on the digital trail left behind.
To prevent future breaches, the government plans to enhance the security of its social media accounts. Measures will be implemented to fortify the protection of government-related platforms and prevent similar incidents from occurring again.
