Company:Appin
| Industry | Computer security |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | , |
| Services |
|
Appin was an Indian cyberespionage company started in 2003 and run by brothers Rajat and Anuj Khare. Although it initially started as a cybersecurity training firm, by 2010 the company had begun providing hacking services for governments and corporate clients.[1] In 2013, a report by Shadowserver Foundation publicly attributed several hacks of high-profile organizations to Appin.[2] The company offered "ethical hacking" to prospective clients.[3]
The firm rebranded in 2022 and its employees went on to form other similar firms including CyberRoot Risk Advisory and BellTroX InfoTech Services. Appin hacked into private computers for state security agencies and private investigators.[4][5][3][6][7] In November 2023, Appin lawyers filed a lawsuit against Reuters , claiming that the news agency had engaged in a "defamatory campaign."[8] On December 4, 2023, Reuters temporarily removed an article about the company's "hack for hire" services, "How an Indian startup hacked the world," to comply with a Delhi district court order, though Reuters reiterated that it stood by its reporting.[9][10][11] In February 2024, Wired reported that lawyers for Appin and a related entity called the Association for Appin Training Centers
have filed lawsuits and made legal threats against more than a dozen news organizations.[12]
External links
- A PowerPoint slide with Appin surveillance proposals provided to a Swiss private investigator on Nov. 22, 2010[3]
References
- ↑ Satter, Raphael; Bing, Christopher (2022-06-30). "How mercenary hackers swat litigation battles". https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-hackers-litigation/.
- ↑ Fagerland, Snorre; Kråkvik, Morten; Camp, Jonathan (2013). "Operation Hangover: Unveiling an Indian Cyberattack Infrastructure". https://web.archive.org/web/20130612144153/http://enterprise.norman.com/resources/files/Unveiling_an_Indian_Cyberattack_Infrastructure.pdf.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Kirkpatrick, David (1 June 2023). "A Confession Exposes India's Secret Hacking Industry". The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-crime/a-confession-exposes-indias-secret-hacking-industry. Retrieved 20 Nov 2023.
- ↑ Satter, Raphael (16 Nov 2023). "How an Indian startup hacked the world". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-hackers-appin/.
- ↑ Greenberg, Andy (10 Nov 2023). "The Startup That Transformed the Hack-for-Hire Industry". Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/indian-startup-hack-for-hire-security-roundup/. Retrieved 20 Nov 2023.
- ↑ Wild, Franz (11 May 2022). "Inside the global hack-for-hire industry". Bureau of Investigative Journalism. https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2022-11-05/inside-the-global-hack-for-hire-industry.
- ↑ Tom Hegel (November 16, 2023). Elephant Hunting: Inside an Indian Hack-For-Hire Group (Report). SentinelLabs. https://www.sentinelone.com/labs/elephant-hunting-inside-an-indian-hack-for-hire-group/.
- ↑ Omar, Rashid (December 7, 2023). "Forced To Pull Story On Indian Firm's Alleged Global Hacking Operation, Reuters To Fight Court Order". The Wire. https://thewire.in/law/delhi-court-reuters-takes-down-story-indian-firm-hacking.
- ↑ Masnick, Mike (December 7, 2023). "Indian Court Orders Reuters To Take Down Investigative Report Regarding A 'Hack-For-Hire' Company". Techdirt. https://www.techdirt.com/2023/12/07/indian-court-orders-reuters-to-take-down-investigative-report-regarding-a-hack-for-hire-company/.
- ↑ "The Hack-for-Hire Industry: Death by a Thousand Cuts + When Theft Doesn't Work... Troll" (in en). https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-hack-for-hire-industry-death-by-a-thousand-cuts-when-theft-doesn't-work-troll.
- ↑ Cox ·, Joseph (2023-12-06). "Reuters Takes Down Blockbuster Hacker-for-Hire Investigation After Indian Court Order" (in en). https://www.404media.co/reuters-takes-down-blockbuster-hacker-for-hire-investigation-after-indian-court-order/.
- ↑ Greenberg, Andy (February 1, 2024). "A Startup Allegedly Hacked the World. Then Came the Censorship—and Now the Backlash" (in en). https://www.wired.com/story/appin-training-centers-lawsuits-censorship/.
 |
