COVID-19: Kuwaiti man attempts to hack shopping system 20,000 times

Abu Dhabi:Cybercrime officers in Kuwait arrested a Kuwati hacker working in a company specialised in programming systems after he attempted to hack the Ministry of Commerce’s system for booking of shopping appointments from cooperative societies and catering branches more than 20,000 times .

The accused, who was caught in an apartment in Al Shaab Al Bahari area, allegedly admitted that his aim was to try to obtain as much information as possible on the co-op shoppers and he was referred to the Public Prosecution.

The source added coordination between the Ministry of Commerce and the cybercrime department led to the hacker, who was arrested after a warrant was obtained from the Public Prosecution to tap a number of suspicious phones, as well as some landline numbers. Investigation officers identified the hacker, his residence and workplace, and he was caught as he was leaving the house for the permitted walking period during the current COVID-19 curfew. Two cell phones found on the hacker were seized.

The source said the man allegedly admitted that he had committed the offence and led the cybercrime officers to the hacking station att home.

The man also allegedly admitted that his goal was to try to obtain as much information as possible on the co-op shoppers for the creation of a large database for citizens and residents, their home addresses and phone numbers, for unidentified purposes.

Along with co-ops, private supermarkets became available as an online option.. Previously shoppers could only book an appointment at the co-op, which was reportedly said to be fine for low-density areas like Bayan and Mishref where the population is around 40,000. But some shoppers complained Salmiya, for example, has a population of over 300,000 so sharing one co-op was not going to work.

The online service is for citizens and residents to book a shopping appointment during the curfew hours. It is provided by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.