India’s military and intelligence services have discovered a cybersecurity compromise involving military officials that may be linked to espionage-related actions by a neighbouring country.
According to reports, defence sources have revealed that “the breach has been reported on certain WhatsApp groups”. The action is reportedly being taken against the officials who are accused of wrongdoing.
As reported, an investigation is underway. Military officers who violate current instructions, especially involving counterintelligence, are dealt with harshly, under the Official Secrets Act.
It was also reported that officials found guilty will face the worst punishment conceivable.
The Act, which applies to both government employees and citizens, establishes a framework for dealing with espionage, sedition and other threats to the nation’s integrity.
Spying, exchanging secret information, unauthorised use of uniforms, withholding information and interfering with the armed forces in forbidden/restricted areas are all prohibited under the legislation. If convicted, a person might face up to 14 years in prison, a fine, or both.
However, the sources said it will be better to avoid any kind of speculation due to the sensitivity as this would jeopardise the ongoing investigations into the case.
Suspected Pakistani and Chinese intelligence operatives have recently attempted to engage with military personnel on social media platforms to obtain sensitive information about the military and its operations. Despite previous failed attempts, the suspected operatives have now been able to obtain information from some of the Indian military personnel.
Last year, it was reported that the Punjab Police arrested two Army men and dismantled a major cross-border espionage network that was allegedly involved in providing classified documents to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Agency. Secret documents were retrieved while the Jalandhar Rural Police was investigating a Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) case.
It should be noted that in 2019 the Indian navy issued a ban on Facebook to prevent “leaking” of classified information.
However, last year the Indian Army launched a new messaging application called ASIGMA for internal communication. According to an official statement, Army Secure Indigenous Messaging Application (ASIGMA) has been developed by a team of Signal Corps officers.
At that time the Army said: “The new application is being deployed on the Army’s internal network as a replacement for the Army Wide Area Network (AWAN) messaging application, which has been in service for the last 15 years.”
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