Bengaluru: Private IP service company files bitcoin extortion bid complaint; three employees booked

The Whitefield CEN Crime Police have registered an FIR against three employees of a private IT company for their alleged involvement in stealing confidential company and customer data and threatening to disclose it unless a cryptocurrency ransom was paid.

A complaint was lodged on October 12 by a company executive and board member.

According to the complaint, the company received an email on September 15, 2026, allegedly claiming to have gained unauthorised access to the company’s computer systems and stolen confidential information relating to more than 40 customers and over five lakh email addresses. The sender threatened to disclose the information unless 10 bitcoins were paid.

During an internal inquiry, the company suspected the involvement of employee Shivaram Nekkalapudi and others in the alleged breach of its systems and customer data.

The complaint further alleges that Shivaram offered to resolve the issue through an intermediary, identified as Sai Kiran, described as an ethical hacker. The intermediary allegedly demanded ₹2.75 crore initially and subsequently ₹2.25 crore. When the company declined to pay, Sai Kiran advised the complainant to deal directly with the hacker.

On October 10, the company allegedly received another email demanding 30 bitcoins. A subsequent internal subcommittee inquiry reportedly found the alleged involvement of Shivaram, along with his subordinates Biswajit and Nikhil. They are suspected of downloading sensitive company information and threatening to disclose it unless the cryptocurrency payment was made.

The police registered a case under sections 66(C) and (D) of the Information Technology Act and Sections 316, 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for further investigation.