State Courts vendor jailed after unauthorised remote access endangered 18,000 files
A 42-year-old external IT vendor for the State Courts was jailed for 28 weeks on Monday (Sept 28) after making an unauthorised modification to a government-managed laptop that allowed a device traced to India to connect remotely, endangering more than 18,000 files.Janarthanan Tamil Kovan, an Indian national, pleaded guilty to one count each of misusing a computer system and an offence under the Official Secrets Act.He had downloaded and installed unauthorised remote-access software on the laptop while trying to use it to take a Certified Information Security Manager examination after his personal laptop developed a faulty screen.The laptop contained 18,016 State Courts files, including login credentials, secret keys and network architecture details relating to the courts' systems, and was protected by GovTech's Security Suite for Engineering Endpoint Devices (SEED).When the laptop failed the examination's security checks on Aug 4, 2025, Janarthanan sought help from a man identified as "Hari Balan", who instructed him to download UltraViewer, a remote desktop application that would enable another user to remotely access and control the device.