Ankit Fadia

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Ankit Fadia
Fadia in 2025
Born (1985-05-24) May 24, 1985 (age 40)
Delhi, India
NationalityIndian
Alma materStanford University (B.S.)
Occupation(s)Hacker, author, and television presenter
Years active2000s–present
Notable workAn Unofficial Guide to Ethical Hacking (2001)
TelevisionMTV What the Hack! (2008–2009)

Ankit Fadia (born 24 May 1985)[1] is an Indian former hacker, author, and television host known for his work related to computer security.[2] In his early career, he provided tips and tutorials on operating systems and networking, as well as offering proxy websites.[3][4][5]

His claims of hacking claims have since been discredited by professionals within the cybersecurity community and media.[6][7]

Life

[edit]

Ankit Fadia was born in Delhi, India.[8] He developed an interest in computer hacking after receiving a computer at age 10 and reading a newspaper article on the topic.[9][10] He is a graduate of Stanford University, where he studied management science and engineering.[11]

Writing career and plagiarism

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Fadia's writing career began when he founded a website called hackingtruths.box.sk, where he wrote hacking tutorials.[9][2][12][13] At the age of 15, Fadia authored An Unofficial Guide to Ethical Hacking which made him the youngest author published by Macmillan India.[8][10] Following his initial publication, Fadia wrote additional books on computer security, spoke at seminars across schools and colleges in India,[14] and launched his own training courses, including the "Ankit Fadia Certified Ethical Hacker" (AFCEH) program.[15] However, his work has faced accusations of plagiarism.[16][17] In 2011, Jericho of attrition.org discovered that two of Ankit Fadia's books were plagiarized from other sources.[18] About half of Network Intrusion Alert and a third of The Unofficial Guide to Ethical Hacking were found to be copied from pre-existing works.[18]

Hacking claims

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Many security and cryptography professionals have characterized Fadia as a self-proclaimed expert whose claims lack substance.[16] Fadia has dismissed the critics who question his credibility as an expert, saying "If I had been fake, my growth would have stopped 10 years ago".[8]

After the September 11 attacks, Fadia claimed that he was hired by a U.S. intelligence agency to decipher Al-Qaeda communications in November 2001.[19] Later, he also claimed to have consulted for India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a cybercrime case.[19]

In 2002, Fadia claimed to have defaced the website of the Indian edition of CHIP magazine at age 17, asserting that the editor subsequently offered him a job.[2][20] However, in 2012, the Forbes India executive editor Charles Assisi, who was the editor of CHIP India at the time, denied that the incident ever occurred after consulting with his predecessor and successor.[21] Fadia also stated in a 2002 interview that a year ago, he had thwarted an attempt by Kashmiri separatist hackers to deface an Indian website.[9] He claimed to have gathered information on the attackers, infiltrated their online chats, and sent the details to a US intelligence agency for which he was working.[22] The name of the organization was not disclosed for security reasons.[2] In response, the Pakistani hacker group Anti-India Crew (AIC) questioned his abilities by hacking the Indian government website epfindia.gov.in and dedicating the defacement to Fadia.[23] AIC also publicly challenged him to prevent them from defacing the CBEC website within two days; Fadia was unsuccessful.[24]

In 2003, Fadia claimed to have infiltrated a hacker group and alleged that Pakistani intelligence agencies were paying "westerners" to deface Indian websites.[17]

In 2009, Fadia stated that he was working as an internet security consultant for "prestigious companies" in New York.[25] He also endorsed the Flying Machine jeans brand of Arvind Mills.[26]

Fadia's own website has been compromised at least nine times despite his claim of being a hacker.[16][19] After a 2009 defacement, he attributed the breach to a vulnerability in his web host's servers. However, independent security experts contended that the issue was a loophole within his own website's code. His website was also hacked by an Indian hacker, Himanshu Sharma, after accepting a challenge from Fadia.[27] In 2012, Fadia was given a "Security Charlatan of the Year" award at the DEF CON hacking conference. That same year, after Fadia issued a public challenge, a group known as "Team Grey Hat" compromised his personal website on January 7, 2012, and released data obtained from it.[28][19] His site was also defaced twice by hackers who disputed his claims and accused him of misleading the public.[29]

TV host

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In 2008, Fadia began hosting the television show MTV What the Hack! on MTV India with José Covaco. In 2009, he launched a second show on MTV India, where he answered internet-related questions submitted by viewers.[30][31]

In 2012, Fadia and Dell India created a video series on computer and mobile phone usage, which was distributed on the Dell India Facebook page.[32][33] A year later, Fadia started the YouTube show Geek on the Loose in collaboration with PING networks.[34] The show was based on his book.[35]

Digital India ambassador appointment controversy

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In September 2015, a certificate was posted on Fadia's official Facebook page announcing his appointment as a brand ambassador for the Indian Prime Minister's Digital India initiative. This followed a government announcement that it would select young tech entrepreneurs for the role.[36] However, government sources later clarified that there was "no such move to appoint a brand ambassador as reported."[37]

References

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  1. ^ "FADIA, Ankit 1985–". WorldCat. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "Indian hacker turns cyber cop". BBC News. 17 April 2002. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  3. ^ "'How to live... 'appily' ever after'". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  4. ^ Priyadarshini Pandey (14 November 2009). "Inside account". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  5. ^ "Ankit Fadia: Everything official about him". The Times of India. 3 September 2001. Retrieved 6 December 2006.
  6. ^ "Ethical hacker Ankit Fadia is a fake". Sunday Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  7. ^ "Forbes India Magazine – Ankit Fadia Revealed". forbesindia.com. Archived from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  8. ^ a b c Rana Siddiqui Zaman (22 January 2010). "A clean hacker". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024.
  9. ^ a b c "Rediff Guide to the Net: Features: 16-year-old hacker Ankit Fadia outsmarts Kashmiri separatists". Rediff.com. 18 April 2002. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Success Decoded". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 January 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  11. ^ "A clean hacker - The Hindu". The Hindu. 17 February 2024. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  12. ^ "E2 labs to combat cyber crime in Hyderabad". Business Line. 19 April 2003. Retrieved 19 December 2006.
  13. ^ Manoj Kumar (13 April 2003). "Teen hacker who is sought after by FBI". The Tribune, Chandigarh. Retrieved 19 August 2006.
  14. ^ K. Jeshi (3 July 2010). "Caught in the web". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  15. ^ "The inheritance of food". The Telegraph. 4 February 2007. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  16. ^ a b c Shubhankar Adhikari (19 February 2012). "Ethical hacker Ankit Fadia is a fake". The Sunday Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  17. ^ a b Suelette Dreyfus (5 August 2003). "Hacktivism through the eyes of an infiltrator". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  18. ^ a b Penenberg, Adam L. (27 July 2011). "When Hacks Attack: The Computer Security Textbook Plagiarism Epidemic". Fast Company.
  19. ^ a b c d Datta, Devangshu (1 October 2015). "Newsmaker: Ankit Fadia". Business Standard.
  20. ^ Priyadarshini Paitandy (14 September 2009). "Inside Account". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  21. ^ Charles Assissi (27 February 2013). "Ankit Fadia Revealed". Forbes India. Archived from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  22. ^ M. Krishnamoorthy (27 February 2005). "Teen helping adults fight 'bad guys'". The Star. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  23. ^ K. Srinivas Reddy (28 April 2002). "This hacker has a different message". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  24. ^ K. Srinivas Reddy (30 April 2002). "Hacker threat to CBEC website". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  25. ^ "How the hack he does it!". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 16 November 2009. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  26. ^ Ratna Bhushan (21 October 2012). "Flying Machine endorsement: Ethical Hacker Fadia replaces Abhishek Bacchan". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  27. ^ MiD DAY (8 December 2009). "Is Ankit Fadia selling Viagra?". Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  28. ^ "A murky vendetta against a discredited ethical hacker". caravanmagazine.in.
  29. ^ Eduard Kovacs (12 September 2012). "Ankit Fadia's Website Suspended After Being Defaced". Softpedia. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  30. ^ "From this Diwali, MTV will be more than just music – Money – DNA". Daily News and Analysis. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  31. ^ "VJs, Music, Videos, Blogs, Games, Wallpapers, Interviews, Performances, Shows, Fun and more". MTV India. Archived from the original on 21 November 2009.
  32. ^ "Dell India in association with Ankit Fadia presents "Unzipped: By Dell and Ankit Fadia". India Infoline News Service. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  33. ^ "Dell India in association with Ankit Fadia presents "Unzipped: By Dell and Ankit Fadia". EFYTimes.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  34. ^ "Short-cuts for the tech savvy". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  35. ^ "Ankit Fadia aims at stretching technology limits". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 7 November 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  36. ^ Daniyal, Shoaib. "Ankit Fadia's biggest hack: Getting Modi government to make him a brand ambassador". Scroll.in. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  37. ^ "Govt tries to clarify Ankit Fadia not a Digital India ambassador, adds to confusion". 29 September 2015.