Police in Turkey dismiss allegations of drug system involvement in the forged diploma controversy
In a recent development, Turkish authorities are investigating a significant fake diploma scandal that has come to light, involving 199 suspects. 37 of these individuals have been arrested in operations conducted in January and May.
The investigation began in 2024 and spanned multiple provinces, including Adana, Mersin, Hatay, Ankara, and Istanbul. The suspects are accused of using forged electronic signatures of high-ranking government officials to produce fraudulent university degrees and driver's licenses.
However, it's essential to clarify that Turkey’s police electronic signature (e-signature) security protocol employs internally produced, institutionally certified e-signatures, which are exclusively used within the Electronic Document Management System of the police. This system prevents external use or access to other sensitive police databases through e-signatures.
Separate narcotics and judicial control systems also use multi-layered, closed-network security measures requiring specialized authentication beyond e-signatures, making unauthorized access via e-signature practically impossible under normal protocols.
In the recent fake diploma scandal, suspects were able to produce fake e-signatures by exploiting vulnerabilities outside of official police channels. Investigators found that the fake e-signatures were obtained through a certificate provider in Adana by using forged photographs and cloned electronic certificates, effectively mimicking legitimate officials’ signatures.
This digital forgery ring created counterfeit university diplomas and driver's licenses by producing these cloned e-signature forgeries outside the institutional control of official police or government bodies. These forgeries bypassed the internal certification protections in place within official police systems by leveraging fraudulent certificates issued by third-party providers.
It's worth noting that the General Directorate of Security (EGM) has denied claims that the suspects had obtained a chief superintendent's e-signature and used it to access narcotics databases. The EGM also clarified that electronic signatures used in police services are produced exclusively by the institution itself, with certification processes conducted internally.
The EGM further stated that there is no narcotics system that can be accessed through e-signatures as alleged. They also clarified that judicial control decisions and related procedures are handled by judicial authorities, with police personnel having no such authority.
The EGM also confirmed that the cancellation of the fraudulent e-signature was confirmed, and no evidence was found that it was used to perform any operations. The police confirmed that a fake e-signature was produced without the knowledge of a chief superintendent, but it was not copied from existing credentials.
The investigation has revealed the production of 57 fake university diplomas, 4 high school diplomas, and 108 fraudulent driver's licenses. Prosecutors identified Ziya Kadiroglu as the organization's leader, who has faced document forgery charges since 1999. Kadiroglu served five years in prison and was involved in three separate investigations as an "organization leader" in 2010, 2012, and 2016.
The EGM stated that electronic signatures used in police services are produced exclusively by the institution itself, with certification processes conducted internally. This prevents external access or use of e-signatures for malicious purposes, as seen in the recent fake diploma scandal.
[1] Turkish police e-signature security protocol [2] Exploitation of certificate issuance and verification vulnerabilities in the fake diploma scandal
- The recentfake diploma scandal in Turkey involved the exploitation of vulnerabilities in the certificate issuance and verification process, particularly in Adana, where fraudulent electronic certificates were cloned to produce fake e-signatures.
- Despite the fake diploma scandal, the Turkish police e-signature security protocol employs internally produced, institutionally certified e-signatures that are exclusive to the Electronic Document Management System of the police, thereby preventing external access to sensitive police databases.
- The general news and crime-and-justice sectors in Turkey, including the investigation into the fake diploma scandal, are closely monitoring the actions of Ziya Kadiroglu, an individual with a history of document forgery charges since 1999.
- In response to allegations, the Turkish government, through the General Directorate of Security (EGM), has confirmed that their police e-signature system is internally secured, and no narcotics system can be accessed through e-signatures as claimed.
- Turkish authorities are conducting policy-and-legislation and politics-related discussions about strengthening the security measures associated with e-certificates and e-signatures to prevent future occurrences of digital forgery rings and scandals like the recent one.
