Power hackers sent to jail

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 15: The Public Prosecution has ordered the imprisonment of the members of the network that hacked the electricity systems, reports Al-Qabas daily. The daily has learned from an informed source that all the suspects arrested by the Ministry of Interior have been remanded to police custody for 21 days, pending further investigation. They are being held at the central prison.

The source pointed out that all the seven defendants against whom the pretrial detention decision was issued are Arab nationals. A decision will be issued soon to arrest and bring other persons for interrogation and take their statements.

The Ministry of Interior announced in a statement last week that the Criminal Security Sector, represented by the Anti- Cybercrime Department, had managed to control this criminal network, which illegally entered and tampered with the electricity and water meter reading systems. It stated that the arrest of this gang came based on directives and direct interest from the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Electricity.

The Ministry of Electricity stated that last June, the customer services sector monitored an attempt by people to enter the automated system for calculating electricity and water consumption bills, using the names of some employees who use the system, and the site used for the system was tracked and the surveillance cameras were unloaded.