More than 20 Indian airline flights, both domestic and international, received bomb threats this week.

Hoax bomb threats to Indian flights traced to IP addresses in London, Germany: Sources

Sources stated that the X handle, under probe, was created on Tuesday and used to post seven hoax messages that triggered major air security scares. The handle has since been suspended. 

by · India Today

In Short

  • Authorities probe hoax bomb threats on Indian flights
  • Suspect used X handle 'schizobomber777' traced to London, Germany
  • X handle posted seven hoax messages, now suspended

Amid several bomb threats to different Indian flights, authorities have narrowed down a suspect, who allegedly made the threats from a X handle 'schizobomber777'. According to sources, the suspect routed the activity through IP addresses traced to London and Germany.

Sources stated that the X handle, under probe, was created on Tuesday and used to post seven hoax messages that triggered major air security scares. The handle has since been suspended.

The suspect used multiple VPN services, making it difficult to trace the exact location as the IP addresses "bounced off" different countries, sources added.

Several probe agencies, including the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), have been involved in efforts to unmask the person running the X handle.

Currently, the authorities are investigating if this case is connected to several other incidents of hoax bomb threats received by some flights recently.

More than 20 Indian airline flights, both domestic and international, received bomb threats this week. On Monday, three international flights got a bomb threat, followed by similar threats to 10 more flights on Tuesday. At least six more threats were reported the next day. All threats, received via social media, were declared false after security checks.

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu stated that the government is closely monitoring the situation.

"Mumbai Police has arrested a minor responsible for issuing bomb threats targeting three flights. All others responsible for the disruptions will be identified and duly prosecuted," Naidu said.