Maharashtra ATS officer's Facebook account hacked
Monday | Mar 17 2025 | 12:59:36 PM
Monday | Mar 17 2025 | 12:59:36 PM
New Delhi, August 23
Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) officer Shivdeep Lande’s Facebook account got hacked. The officer posted about the incident recently to warn his contacts and followers on the social media.
Lande is presently posted as Deputy Inspector General in the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad.
The Maharashtra police stated that the hacker managed to breach the two-step authentication feature of Facebook and is using the profile with a fake identity of “Micheal West”. The account was hacked on August 19.
The officials said that the hacker has taken total control of the account and officer Lande fears that his account, with 7.51 lakh followers will be misused.
DIG Lande told media that retrieving the data of his followers is his first priority as the data can be misused by the hacker. He have taken up the issue with Facebook and they are trying to retrieve my data.
The police added that the hacker is operating from another country.
A Bihar cadre officer, Lande was posted on deputation in Maharashtra in 2016 for a period of three years and his deputation period will end in November this year after which the officer will head back to Bihar. As the chief of Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) from 2017 to 2019, Lande cracked down on the chain of drugs recovering Fentanyl drugs worth over Rs 1060 crores.
The Maharashtra police stated that after primary information gathering from Lande they learnt that his friend used to handle the Facebook account as he received many messages for help during the pandemic. His friend used to filter messages and sent to him to ensure help reaches.
The cyber crime wing of Maharashtra police have taken up the inquiry while Lande will file an official complaint in this regard.
Lande, a native of Akola district in Maharashtra has been very actively working for social causes in Maharashtra. He donates 60% to 70% of his salary to the groups which organizes mass marriages of poor girls and runs coaching classes and a hostel for students in Akola to "Aid Them Realize Their Dreams".
