Jamaat alleges leaders' X accounts hacked using India-origin malware via Bangabhaban, BCC emails
The party calimed that the X account of party’s Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar was hacked last night, following a similar incident involving its Ameer Shafiqur Rahman’s account on 31 January.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has alleged that the X (formerly Twitter) accounts of its top leaders, including its ameer and secretary general, were hacked using malware that originated in India and was transmitted through official email addresses linked to Bangabhaban and the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC).
The allegations were made at a press conference held last night (3 February).
Saifuddin Khaled, a member of Jamaat's national campaign team, and Sirajul Islam, a member of the party's central Majlish-e-Shura, briefed the media on what they described as "coordinated cyberattacks targeting the party's leadership".
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They said the X account of party's Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar was "hacked" last night, following a similar incident involving its Ameer Shafiqur Rahman's account on 31 January.
Referring to the hacking of the ameer's account, Barrister Saifuddin Khaled said, "We have identified that the malware came from an email from the president's office."
Sirajul Islam said the party conducted an internal investigation supported by what he described as a "deep forensic analysis report."
According to him, the malware entered through the official email address assistant.programmer@bangabhaban.gov.bd.
He further alleged that the attack used a server associated with the BCC, specifically referencing the domain bcc.gov.bd.
"The malware was originated in India, introduced there, and then pushed through the Bangabhaban email system to compromise our devices," Sirajul Islam added.
Saifuddin described the cyberattack as an attack on the country's electoral process and national sovereignty. "We believe malware originating from India constitutes an attack on Bangladesh's election process and undermines the integrity of a level playing field," he said.
The party leaders also expressed concern that multiple devices used by Jamaat officials may have been compromised.
"We have filed a general diary and submitted a formal complaint. We urged the president's secretary to look into the matter, but so far we have received no response from the government, the president's office or the police," Saifuddin added.
Regarding the content posted from the compromised accounts, Sirajul said the hackers published "unwanted" statements intended to create confusion.
"The posts were deleted within minutes after the breach was identified," he said.
The Jamaat leader further alleged that activists of a particular political party circulated screenshots of the hacked posts as part of what he described as a "smear campaign" against Jamaat.
"Fight us with ideology. Do not resort to these thief-like attacks," he said, adding that voters now want "positive and constructive politics."
During the briefing, Saifuddin reiterated Shafiqur Rahman's recent call for a policy debate with BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman.
"In the UK and the US, policy debates between presidential or prime ministerial candidates help voters make informed decisions," he said, urging the media to facilitate such a debate.
