CXOs are hiring experts to debug their homes. Here's why | Economic Times

The chief executive officer of one of the largest companies in India recently had a nagging suspicion that his house was bugged. He had been working on a deal to acquire a startup that only four people apart from himself knew about. However, a few days into the negotiation, the CEO heard that a private equity fund too had approached the startup with an eerily similar investment and valuation proposition. The CEO, who was working from home, hired a forensic firm to check his house for bugs.As top executives continue to work from home amid Covid-19, a fear that they are more vulnerable to espionage and cyberattacks is gripping India Inc, prompting some of the largest companies to rope in forensic investigators to do a “bug sweep” before a crucial meeting or after they suspect a leak.“Organisations are increasingly calling cyber forensic experts for debugging meeting locations such as homes, hotels and offices, and checking IT systems for hacking and data leakage,” said Jagvinder Brar, partner, forensic and investigation, at KPMG India. And in many cases, such fears have proved to be well founded, forensic experts said.85468050A BSE-listed company that recently held its board meeting in a South Mumbai roped in investigators to sweep the conference room for bugs ahead of the meeting. And voila! Investigators found identical bugs — video and audio malware — embedded deep inside two cell phones and a tablet of three different executives, people aware of the matter told ET.“There are vulnerabilities that many criminals are able to exploit that are leading to attacks mainly in the computer systems and hand phones of CEOs and CFOs,” said Arpinder Singh, partner, global markets and India leader, forensic and integrity services, at EY.Attacks Up 10 TimesOnline and offline espionage activities and cyberattacks have jumped ten times in the last two years, forensic experts said. Top executives are more vulnerable than before due to the work-from-home situation, they said.“Some of the companies are taking a cautious approach, fearing that their CEO’s home in a work-from-home environment could be exposed from a cyber perspective,” Singh said. “Even the simplest things like allowing children to use the same computer for school, or using a common Wifi, is leading to criminals successfully penetrating the systems,” he said.Investigators have come across instances where houses were bugged with listening devices or hidden cameras, forensic experts told ET.Many CEOs and CFOs have now started going to offices and investigators have found that it’s relatively easier to bug shut offices or a barely used hotel room prior to a meeting. “Vulnerabilities in the security of data about price-sensitive transactions and strategic moves, business secrets and intellectual property are exploited,” Brar of KPMG said.