Madhya Pradesh EOW alerts ISRO of 'e-tender' type breach

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh economic offences wing (EOW) has raised the alarm in four states and 26 departments — including Department of Atomic Energy, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), NTPC and IRCTC — asking them to check for any unauthorized access of their portals that were maintained by Bengaluru-based Antares Systems Ltd (ASL), an IT firm alleged to be a key player in the state’s e-tendering scam.
“During our investigation, we have come to know that this company operates in four states and has contracts with 26 public sector undertakings. We are issuing an advisory to all of them to ensure that no unauthorized access has been made in their portals,” DG-EOW K N Tiwari said on Monday.
EOW has arrested a vicepresident of Antares, Manohar M N, in connection with the Rs 80,000 crore e-tendering scam investigation. Six people have been arrested so far, including directors of the Bhopal-based OSMO IT Solutions. ASL claims to be working with governments of Bihar, Goa and the Union territories of Lakshadweep and Andamans along with IT units of Punchkula, Chandigarh, Amritsar, and various institutions like Northern Coalfields Ltd, Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, Department of Atomic Energy, IRCTC, ISRO, NTPC, Allahabad Bank, SBI, Punjab Cricket Association, Kerala Feeds Ltd, BSNL and some IIM and IITs.
Madhya Pradesh State Electronic Development Corporation (MPSEDC), which was appointed nodal agency for e-tendering in the state, had signed an agreement with TCS and ASL for managing the software. It was found that a ‘demo department’ created for training and practice of officials and bidders was used as a vehicle to open encrypted bids submitted by rival bidders. “The software was manipulated by copying the original bids of rival companies on to the ‘demo department’ folders after the last date of submission of tenders,” said sources. Copied tenders were then opened by using digital signatures of tender opening authorities (TOA) to reveal the bid value of rival companies, they say.
By mapping the same digital signatures, a lower bid value was filled in for the intended beneficiaries after the deadline, helping them bag tenders, say investigators. The manipulation went undetected unless someone checked the one-way-hash (OWH) value — an identification mark that tracks every change in the document. Investigators say the password of the demo department was never changed, which ended up helping the scamsters. Many IAS officials are under the scanner of the probe agency.