Stories
Indian IT Manager Jailed in Singapore for Exposing 18,000 Court Files
- •Janarthanan Tamil Kovan, an Indian IT professional, was sentenced to 28 weeks in prison in Singapore for allowing an acquaintance to remotely access his government-issued laptop.
- •The breach exposed over 18,000 official files from Singapore's State Courts, including network infrastructure details, login credentials, and secret keys, to potential security risks.
- •Kovan pleaded guilty to charges under Singapore's Official Secrets Act and for unlawfully modifying the government-managed laptop.
- •The incident occurred when Kovan used his work laptop for an IT certification exam and sought assistance from an acquaintance, Hari Balan, who remotely connected to the device from India.
- •Despite the exposure, no documents were transferred during the remote session, but the potential for unauthorized access to sensitive systems was high.
Key Questions Answered
Janarthanan Tamil Kovan, a 42-year-old Indian IT professional, was sentenced to 28 weeks in prison after pleading guilty to charges under Singapore's Official Secrets Act. He allowed an acquaintance to remotely access his government-issued Lenovo ThinkPad, exposing over 18,000 official State Courts files to potential security risks.
The breach occurred when Janarthanan attempted to take an IT certification exam on August 4, 2025, using his government-issued laptop after his personal device failed. Because security restrictions blocked him, he sought help from an acquaintance in India named Hari Balan and allowed him to establish a remote connection.
The laptop held 18,016 files belonging to the State Courts, including login credentials, secret keys, and network architecture details. While most documents were restricted and non-sensitive, one carried a high sensitivity classification, potentially enabling unauthorised entry into confidential systems.
