Browsed by
Tag: fabricated facts

Allegations of planted evidence raise questions about hacking ecosystem in India / Designs of India’s Surveillance State

Allegations of planted evidence raise questions about hacking ecosystem in India / Designs of India’s Surveillance State

Allegations of planted evidence raise questions about hacking ecosystem in India

19/02/2021

Cyber Scoop / by Shannon Vavra

Recent allegations that planted evidence may have been used to frame an activist in a terrorism case are raising new questions about the surveillance and hacking ecosystem in India.
The human rights activist in question, Rona Wilson, is one of several people accused of plotting to overthrow the Indian government in connection with a violent demonstration in Bhima Koregaon, India in 2017…
While it may be unclear who exactly is responsible for the reportedly manipulated evidence against Wilson at this time, the possible links between pro-India hacking operations and the global commercial sector of surveillance software have begun to emerge in recent research.
Read more

Unprecedented Tampering In Bhima Koregaon Case: Forensic Firm Chief

19/02/2021

Outlook/ by Preetha Nair

Mark Spencer is the president of Arsenal Consulting, a forensic firm that recently released a report that concluded that incriminating evidence was planted on the computer of Bhima-Koregaon accused and activist Rona Wilson.
In an email interview with Outlook, Arsenal Consulting’s President Mark Spencer elaborates on the process involved in analyzing the data and larger issues with regard to the case. Spencer also contests the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) claim of no ‘planted evidence’.
Excerpts from the interview.
Read more

Sinister Designs of India’s Surveillance State

19/02/2021

NewsClick / by Suhit K Sen

How the Bhima Koregaon case has progressed so far gives credence to the claim that malware was planted on activist Rona Wilson’s computer.
On 10 February, Rona Wilson, one of the first batch of activists arrested by the police in the Bhima Koregaon/Elgar Parishad case, filed a petition in the Bombay High Court seeking the dismissal of the case against him. In support, his lawyers provided a forensic report showing that evidence had been planted against him.
Read more

Also read: Prison-rights activist Rona Wilson’s hard disk contained malware that allowed remote access (The Caravan, March 2020)

The Bhima Koregaon Forensic Report: FAQs answered by Prof. Jedidiah Crandall

The Bhima Koregaon Forensic Report: FAQs answered by Prof. Jedidiah Crandall

The Bhima Koregaon Forensic Report: FAQs answered by Prof. Jedidiah Crandall

17/02/2021

… In a statement to The Washington Post the NIA had stated that it had found no malware on Wilson’s computer and other government spokespersons have attempted to label the forensic report as a “distortion.” Media outlets close to the government have attempted to cast aspersions on the report by suggesting that the cloned hard drive was tampered with as it was being transported from India to Boston.
Prof. Jedadiah Crandall from Arizona State University, who is one of the technical experts who has reviewed the Arsenal report in detail has said “to call the forensic report a distortion is unfortunate”. Prof Crandall emphatically added “The Arsenal report conclusively establishes that NetWire was the malware used for incriminating document delivery. There is no room for interpretation or doubt about this.”
To demystify all the technical details, Prof. Jedadiah Crandall has answered the frequently asked questions to help us understand the Bhima Koregaon Forensic Report.
Read more

Surveillance on Rona Wilson Aggressive, Long Time Period Very Unusual: Forensics Firm Head

16/02/2021

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Last week, a Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm, Arsenal Consulting, released a damning report which posed serious questions about the credibility of the letters that were allegedly found in the computer and other gadgets of arrested prisoners’ rights activist Rona Wilson.
Arsenal Consulting’s director Mark Spencer discussed the findings and his impression of the attack in detail in an interview with The Wire.
Read more

Chorus demanding release of activists grows / Stan Swamy told NIA about planting of fake evidence

Chorus demanding release of activists grows / Stan Swamy told NIA about planting of fake evidence

Family members of Bhima Koregaon accused, cyber experts raise questions on investigation following reports of ‘planted evidence’

17/02/2021

TwoCircles.net / by Suprakash Majumdar

Besides demanding the release of all the accused, the speakers pointed out that the Arsenal report has raised some serious questions such as, “Why couldn’t the government and the forensic lab find evidence of hacking and if they did, why did they ignore it? Why did NIA not verify the authenticity of the files as they were the primary evidence in the case?”
Read more

Chorus demanding release of activists grows

17/02/2021

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

Legal and tech experts shed light on future course of case in wake of Arsenal revelations of planted evidence.
Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy, a group of activists, organised a webinar to discuss the possible impact of the recent revelations made by Arsenal Consulting, an American digital forensics firm in the Bhima Koregaon case.
Read more

Stan Swamy told NIA about planting of fake evidence, says his colleague

17/02/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The statement came in the wake of a forensics report that found key evidence against the accused in the case was planted using a malware.
A colleague of human rights activist Stan Swamy, who was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case in October, said on Tuesday that the jailed activist had told the National Investigation Agency at least four times that fake evidence had been planted on his computer, reported PTI.
Solomon, the director of Ranchi’s Bagaicha Social Centre where Swamy worked, made the statement at a press briefing.
Read more

Watch whole press briefing @YouTube: Decoding the Arsenal Report – Curious Case of Questionable Evidence in the Case (Feb 16, 2020)

Video: Decoding the Arsenal Report – Curious Case of Questionable Evidence in the Case / Press Release

Video: Decoding the Arsenal Report – Curious Case of Questionable Evidence in the Case / Press Release

Video: Decoding the Arsenal Report – Curious Case of Questionable Evidence in the Case

16/02/2021


en | 1h 36min | 2021

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

PRESS CONFERENCE
Speakers
Jedidiah Crandall: Associate Professor, Biodesign Center for Biocomputing, Security and Society; Associate Professor, School of Computing, Informatics and Decision Systems Engineering, Arizona State University Sandeep Shukla: Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Kanpur
Adv. Mihir Desai: Senior Advocate Bombay High Court Lawyer, PUCL
Father Solomon: Director, Bagaicha, Ranchi, Fr Stan Swamy’s colleague
Sagar Abraham Gonsalves: Vernon Gonsalves’ son
Watch @ YouTube

The NIA’s ‘No Malware Found’ Response to New Forensic Report Points to Ineptitude
Bhima Koregaon Conspiracy Case Must be Quashed in Light of Explosive Forensic Evidence

16/02/2021

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

PRESS RELEASE
On February 10, 2021 the Bhima Koregaon defense team filed a petition in the Bombay High Court seeking the release of Rona Wilson and the quashing of all charges against him. The petition was filed in light of startling new evidence of a forensic analysis that establishes that the top 10 files used to implicate Mr. Wilson with conspiracy to assassinate the Prime Minister and several other charges were fabricated and had been planted on Mr. Wilson’s hard drive by a cyber attacker using the NetWire malware. The forensic analysis was conducted by one of the world’s leading forensic analysis firms, Boston-based Arsenal Consulting and the story was first reported by The Washington Post on February 10. …

Read More Read More

Bhima Koregaon hacking allegations: What Arsenal analysis of Rona Wilson’s PC says

Bhima Koregaon hacking allegations: What Arsenal analysis of Rona Wilson’s PC says

Firstpost / by Praveen Swami

Arsenal Consulting’s findings will, obviously, be contested by the police’s Forensic Science Laboratory; that is the normal back-and-forth of any criminal trial.
Last week, US-based digital forensics firm Arsenal Consulting released the results of its investigation into the computer of Rona Wilson — one of 16 people facing trial in the Bhima Koregaon case. The evidence assembled by prosecutors against the accused include letters containing, among other things plans to buy assault weapons from Nepal, and a plot assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The analysis raises questions about not just the authenticity of those documents, but also the possible manipulation of Wilson’s computer by still-unidentified hackers.
Read more

Video: The Needle of Doubt is Now on All Matters, says Mihir Desai / India’s democracy in decline

Video: The Needle of Doubt is Now on All Matters, says Mihir Desai / India’s democracy in decline

Video: Not Just Bhima Koregaon, the Needle of Doubt is Now on All Matters, says Mihir Desai

12/02/2021


hindi | 23:12min | 2021

Newsclick / Bhasha Singh in conversation with Mihir Desai

In a special offering by Newsclick, senior journalist Bhasha Singh spoke to Mihir Desai, a senior advocate at the Bombay High Court about the new revelation by The Washington Post in the Bhima Koregaon case which has revealed that offensive material was planted through a software on arrested political activist Rona Wilson’s laptop. The disclosure is important because it almost makes it clear that electronic evidence was planted in the Bhima Koregaon case and there is a strong sense of fear that it may happen in other cases as well.
Watch video

Also Read: Computer of Rona Wilson was compromised, malware planted from outside: US Forensic Firm report (Feb 10, 2021)

India’s democracy in decline

12/02/2021

Washington Post / by Joanna Slater and Niha Masih

The future of the world’s largest democracy is looking increasingly less democratic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most dominant Indian leader in five decades, while the country’s independent institutions have rarely appeared weaker…
One case in particular has become a litmus test for the rule of law and freedom of expression in India. Three years ago, police in a state controlled by Modi’s party began arresting activists under a stringent anti-terrorism law.
Read more

Left parties: Withdraw Bhima Koregaon Cases, Release All The Accused Immediately

Left parties: Withdraw Bhima Koregaon Cases, Release All The Accused Immediately

Withdraw Bhima Koregaon Cases, Release All The Accused Immediately

12/02/2021

By Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist-Liberation

A report by a US-based digital forensics firm reveals shocking evidence that malaware was used to plant a bunch of incriminating letters on the computer of Rona Wilson, one of the Bhima Koregaon accused. It is these letters that were made the basis for the Bhima Koregaon case, for which Wilson has been arrested and imprisoned under the draconian UAPA without bail or trial since 2018.
Read full statement (fb)

Release All Bhima Koregaon Accused Unconditionally

11/02/2021

Communistparty.in / by CPI

The National Secretariat of the Communist Party of India has issued the following statement today (on February 11, 2021) demanding unconditional release of all accused in Bhima Koregaon case.
Read full statement

Drop Cases against Bhima Koregaon Accused

11/02/2021

Communist Party of India (Marxist) / by CPI-M

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) demands the dropping of cases against activists arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case and asks the Maharashtra Government to set up an SIT to enquire into the developments exposed by the credible reports of international experts as to how evidence was manufactured and planted in the computer of one of the activists Rona Wilson.
Read full statement

Also Read: Computer of Rona Wilson was compromised, malware planted from outside: US Forensic Firm report (Feb 10, 2021)

After Washington Post Exposé India Needs to Amend Rules on Electronic Evidence

After Washington Post Exposé India Needs to Amend Rules on Electronic Evidence

After Washington Post Exposé India Needs to Amend Rules on Electronic Evidence

11/02/2021

The Leaflet / by Dushyant

The Washington Post newspaper has published a report in which Arsenal Consulting, a digital forensics firm, exposes the “extremely dark” and “very organised” hacking of activist Rona Wilson’s laptop to plant incriminating evidence related to the Bhima Koregaon incident. The revelations should trigger a rethink of how evidentiary value of electronic records, writes Dushyant.
Read more

Also Read: Computer of Rona Wilson was compromised, malware planted from outside: US Forensic Firm report (Feb 10, 2021)

Activists and Politicians Demands Special Probe after Revelation

11/02/2021

Newsclick / by Amey Tirodkar

When Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh chaired a meeting to check whether they could reopen the case, the NIA took over it the very next day, on January 25, 2020.
On Wednesday, February 10, The Washington Post reported that the laptop of Rona Wilson, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, was attacked with “malware to infiltrate” prior to his arrest and that the software deposited at least ten incriminating letters on his computer.
Read more

Also Read: Raid On NewsClick: An Attempt To Muzzle The Voices of Dissent (Feb 10, 2021)

Rona Wilson Moves Bombay HC Seeking SIT Probe Into His Framing [read petition]

Rona Wilson Moves Bombay HC Seeking SIT Probe Into His Framing [read petition]

Rona Wilson challenges his prosecution in Bombay HC; seeks SIT probe into his framing [read petition/forensic report]

10/02/2021

The Leaflet / by The Leaflet

An accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, Rona Wilson, has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court challenging his prosecution under the stringent anti-terrorism Unlawful Activities (Prevention) (UAPA) Act. He has also sought the constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate his “framing” and “targeting” by planting incriminating material in his laptop.
Read more

Rona Wilson Moves Bombay High Court Seeking SIT Probe Into Forensic Report

10/02/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

Researcher Rona Wilson, the first person to be arrested in the Bhima Koregaon Case, on Wednesday, approached the Bombay High Court seeking the formation of a Special Investigation Team to inquire into the planting of fabricated documents in his computer over a course of around 22 months.
Wilson, as well as 15 other civil rights activists and academics, in India, are incarcerated, facing charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) based on letters primarily retrieved from his and co-accused Surendra Gadling’s computer, to claim a conspiracy to kill the Prime Minister and overthrow the government.
Read more

Also Read: Computer of Rona Wilson was compromised, malware planted from outside: US Forensic Firm report (Feb 10, 2021)

Key evidence against jailed activists planted using malware, says forensic report [read report] / Video: Planted Evidence?

Key evidence against jailed activists planted using malware, says forensic report [read report] / Video: Planted Evidence?

They were Accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government – The evidence was planted, a new report says

10/02/2021

Washington Post / by Niha Masih and Joanna Slater

Key evidence against a group of Indian activists accused of plotting to overthrow the government was planted on a laptop seized by police, a new forensics report concludes, deepening doubts about a case viewed as a test of the rule of law under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
An attacker used malware to infiltrate a laptop belonging to one of the activists, Rona Wilson, before his arrest and deposited at least 10 incriminating letters on the computer, according to a report from Arsenal Consulting, a Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm that examined an electronic copy of the laptop at the request of Wilson’s lawyers.
Read more

Computer of Rona Wilson was compromised, malware planted from outside: US Forensic Firm report

10/02/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The report was prepared by a foreign digital forensics consulting company appointed by the lawyers of Rona Wilson, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
… Massachusetts-based firm Arsenal Consulting was appointed by Wilson’s lawyers to analyse the electronic evidence seized from his home by the Pune Police in 2018.
Read more


Read Arsenal Consulting’s full report here

Video: Planted Evidence?

10/02/2021


en | 23:20min | 2021

NDTV / by Sreenivasan Jain

In this episode of Reality Check, a new report suggests crucial evidence on which the investigating agencies built the case against activists in the Bhima Koregaon case may have been planted.
Sreenivasan Jain in conversation with Mark Spencer, Head of Arsenal Consulting; Joanna Slater, Washington Post; Vrinda Grover, Advocate Supreme Court; Geeta Bhatt, Political Analyst; N Venugopal, Varavara Rao’s nephew.
Watch video

Key evidence against jailed activists planted using malware, says forensic report

10/02/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The report found that an attacker used malware to infiltrate activist Rona Wilson’s laptop before his arrest, and deposited at least 10 incriminating letters.
Key evidence against a group of activists and intellectuals, who have been arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case, was planted using a malware on a laptop seized by police, a new forensics report has found, The Washington Post reported.
Read more

Incriminating Letters Were ‘Planted’ on Rona Wilson’s Laptop: US Digital Forensics Firm

10/02/2021

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Investigating agencies have used these letters to implicate Wilson and 15 other rights activists arrested in the ongoing Elgar Parishad case of 2018.
For at least 22 months before the Pune Police had raided activist Rona Wilson’s residence in New Delhi and arrested him, a cyber attacker had allegedly gained access to his laptop and planted at least 10 incriminating letters on it.
Read more

Also Read:
► Prison-rights activist Rona Wilson’s hard disk contained malware that allowed remote access (The Caravan, Mar 2020)
► 13 letters leaked by Pune police show why it’s hard to believe claims about a Maoist conspiracy (Scroll.in, Sep 2018)