IITs are not far behind when it comes to computer and email hacking. Infact, hacking is taken as a prank, played now and then by the IITians. They can get through the firewalls of closed source software and social media accounts at the same time.  PaGaLGuY got to know about some of the hacking incidents at IITs; few are serious but others are actually quite funny. Such pranks help in easing up the atmosphere inside the campus.

All IITs have their own webmail servers through which the IIT community (including students, professors and authorities) is connected. PaGaLGuY spoke to some students studying at IITs about hacking. They said, “We generally brush off a harmless hack of a Facebook or Gmail account as a prank.” But what happens if a student staying on campus hacks into the institute’s official webmail server?

A student hacked into IIT Indore’s webmail server to send an anonymous invite to a housewarming party happening in the township. IIT Indore’s temporary residential campus, called Silver Springs Township, houses non-IITian public as well.”Last year in 2014, a villa named Love Palace was being inaugurated, to which we had received an invite on the webmail. Many students went in shorts and slippers, though it was an elite businessman’s party. I think the host noticed the increasing number of students, which is when he slapped one of my friends for coming in uninvited,” said a final year student of IIT Indore, on the condition of anonymity.

He further added, “When we tried to ascertain the cause of the fuss, we realised that our webmail had been hacked. Eventually, we all were kicked out of the party. But because all the commotion was caused by a batch-mate, we kept silent.” Even though the boundaries of a prank were overstepped here, this incident did not come in the limelight.

With the rise in online security infrastructure, only experts can hack into websites, servers etc. Student accounts are mostly hacked when they forget to log out from their accounts on computers in public spaces. However, hacking is illegal and an offence under the Information Technology Act, 2000.

During the internship season at IIT Guwahati in August 2015, a student’s Facebook account was hacked by his friends when he forgot to log out. Kunal Jain, a fourth-year student at IITG said, “My friend forgot to log out from his Facebook account. We posted the status ‘I got an internship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’ on his timeline. Everybody congratulated him, even his parents. It took him some time to realise what happened.”

IP addresses can be easily tracked unless students use systems like TOR for hacking. TOR is an anonymous internet access system that uses multiple servers to deliver even a single email. Professor Y. N. Singh, Computer Centre head at IIT Kanpur, said, “The government has made Open Source Software (OSS) like LINUX compulsory for all government funded institutions as they maintain a higher level of transparency. OSS is safer as there is no arm twisting by the companies who own proprietary systems. “

Shubham Atreja, chairperson for IIT Kanpur’s Students’ Gymkhana, said, “As long as the victims of the pranks take it in a healthy manner, hacking is fun. Otherwise, if reported, we can easily track the hacker from the Computer Centre.”

Pranks are healthy when played without the intention of maligning a student’s image. This ‘undamaging’ mischief gives students a good laugh and lightens up the mood on college campus.