Central agencies to rope in VPN providers in probe into bomb threats to flights

Central agencies in India are set to approach VPN service providers in an effort to trace the origins of recent bomb hoax calls targeting Indian flights.
Sources from the Civil Aviation Ministry revealed that many of these threatening calls have utilised virtual private networks (VPNs), complicating the tracking process.
The agencies have expressed concern over the increasing frequency of these hoax threats, which have reportedly been linked to IP addresses located in countries such as London and Germany.
This trend has prompted authorities to seek cooperation from VPN providers to help identify the original source of the calls.
This comes after 20 flights of Indian carriers — both domestic and international — received bomb threats this week. On Monday, three international flights were threatened, followed by 10 more on Tuesday, and at least six additional threats were reported the following day. All threats were later declared false after thorough security checks.
In the wake of multiple bomb threats to Indian flights, authorities have identified a suspect linked to an X handle, ‘schizobomber777’. The handle was created just days ago and has since been suspended after posting seven hoax messages that triggered significant air security alerts.
The suspect allegedly used VPN services to obscure their location, with IP addresses traced back to London and Germany. This routing made it challenging for investigators to pinpoint the exact origin of the threats, as the IP addresses “bounced off” various countries.
Multiple agencies, including the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), are collaborating to identify the individual behind the X handle. They are also exploring connections to other recent hoax bomb threats that have targeted flights.
The government is reportedly working on new legislation to deter people from making hoax calls and penalise those found guilty. Concerned over an alarming rise in the number of bomb hoaxes, the government is discussing multiple solutions, including adding the accused to a ‘no-fly list’.
The Civil Aviation Ministry is studying the best model available globally, and it’s also in talks with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to strengthen the Indian model of handling such cases, said top government officials.