How Cybercriminals Exploited IRCTC’s Tatkal System—And How Digital Forensics Stopped Them

By /

Listen to this Post

Featured Image

Introduction

India’s IRCTC railway ticketing platform faced a sophisticated cyber scam where automated bots and scripts manipulated the Tatkal booking system, allowing black-market agents to hoard and resell tickets at inflated prices. This case highlights critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities in web APIs, CAPTCHA systems, and session management—along with how digital forensics dismantled the operation.

Learning Objectives

  • Understand how attackers bypass CAPTCHA, OTP, and API security.
  • Learn key digital forensics techniques used to trace fraudulent bookings.
  • Discover security measures implemented to prevent future abuses.

1. Bypassing CAPTCHA with OCR & Automation

Command/Tool Example:

from pytesseract import image_to_string 
import cv2

OCR-based CAPTCHA bypass 
captcha_image = cv2.imread('captcha.png') 
text = image_to_string(captcha_image) 
print(f"Extracted CAPTCHA: {text}")

Step-by-Step Explanation:

  • Attackers used Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tools like Tesseract to decode CAPTCHA images.
  • Automated scripts then fed the extracted text into IRCTC’s booking form, bypassing human verification.

2. Exploiting IRCTC’s Web APIs

Command/Tool Example:

import requests

Direct API abuse for ticket booking 
headers = {"Authorization": "Bearer stolen_token"} 
payload = {"train_no": "12301", "class": "SL", "passengers": 4} 
response = requests.post("https://irctc-api/book", headers=headers, json=payload)

Step-by-Step Explanation:

  • Fraudsters reverse-engineered IRCTC’s booking APIs to send automated requests.
  • Stolen session tokens or credentials were used to mimic legitimate users.

3. Masking Identity with VPNs & Proxies

Command/Tool Example (Linux):

 Rotating proxies using cURL 
curl --proxy http://proxy-ip:port https://irctc.com --interface eth0

Step-by-Step Explanation:

  • Attackers routed traffic through VPNs and proxy chains to evade IP-based blocking.
  • Tools like MAC spoofing (ifconfig eth0 hw ether 00:11:22:33:44:55) further hid device identities.

4. Digital Forensics: Detecting Fraudulent Bookings

Command/Tool Example (Log Analysis):

 Analyzing IRCTC logs for rapid bookings 
grep "POST /book" access.log | awk '{print $1}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -nr

Step-by-Step Explanation:

  • Investigators identified suspicious IPs making sub-second bookings.
  • Pattern analysis revealed automated scripts (e.g., 100+ requests from a single IP in 1 minute).

5. Mobile Forensics: Extracting Chat Evidence

Command/Tool Example (WhatsApp Extraction):

 Using ADB to pull WhatsApp data from seized devices 
adb pull /sdcard/Android/media/com.whatsapp/ ./evidence

Step-by-Step Explanation:

  • Forensic teams extracted chat logs from Telegram/WhatsApp groups selling tickets.
  • Metadata (timestamps, user IDs) linked agents to bulk bookings.

6. IRCTC’s Security Upgrades

Implementation Example (AI-Based Detection):

 AI model flagging suspicious bookings 
from sklearn.ensemble import IsolationForest

model = IsolationForest(contamination=0.01) 
model.fit(booking_patterns) 
anomalies = model.predict(new_requests)

Step-by-Step Explanation:

  • IRCTC deployed AI to detect abnormal booking speeds or geolocations.
  • Dynamic CAPTCHAs and OTP logins were enforced to curb automation.

What Undercode Say

  • Key Takeaway 1: API security is critical—attackers exploited unsecured endpoints with simple Python scripts.
  • Key Takeaway 2: Digital forensics (log, network, and mobile analysis) was pivotal in tracing and prosecuting fraudsters.

Analysis:

This case underscores the need for layered security—CAPTCHA alone is ineffective against OCR bots. IRCTC’s shift to AI-driven monitoring and stricter authentication sets a precedent for other e-ticketing platforms. Future attacks may leverage generative AI for more advanced evasion, requiring adaptive defenses.

Prediction

As automation tools grow more sophisticated, ticket scalping will evolve into AI-driven fraud. Platforms must adopt real-time behavioral analytics and zero-trust API security to stay ahead.

IT/Security Reporter URL:

Reported By: Aravindhan A – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅

Join Our Cyber World:

💬 Whatsapp | 💬 Telegram

Related Posts: