Internet underworld with fake bomb threat; Microsoft not cooperating to catch culprits

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The internet underworld has flooded the police with fake bomb threats through unsourced e-mail messages. In the past month, there have been around 70 bomb threats, including to the Secretariat, Raj Bhavan, Cliff House, airports, railway stations, courts and five-star hotels. Although all of them were fake, if there is a threat, it is mandatory to follow the central protocol, including searching by bomb-dog squads. It is only after checking for at least two hours at a place that it can be confirmed that it is a fake threat. The police's time and resources are being wasted due to this.

In 20 cases in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam, Microsoft was asked to identify the source of the threat, but it was not found. The response was that the information was not available because the sender was using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) that can hide the IP address of the computer or phone used to send the message. Microsoft also disclosed that the sender is using the Tor network, which hides the user's location and personal information.

The police are trying to get a favourable order from the court because even a joint request from Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra states was unsuccessful. 200 cases have been taken up in Tamil Nadu, in the last one and a half months.

Why are they still not caught?

• When a message is sent via the Tor Internet or VPN, it is encrypted several times before it reaches its destination. Since the layer of encryption is erased at each stage, the source IP address cannot be found.

• There are hundreds of companies that provide VPN facilities that allow users to use the Internet without sharing personal information. The police cannot collect information such as the location and IP address of the user if this is used.

• The e-mail was received through Microsoft's Outlook. Since a VPN is used, several countries, including the United States, are shown as the location of use. That is not the real information. Although Microsoft can provide accurate information, they are not cooperating.