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Gaming apps emerge as new communication tools for terror groups in Jammu & Kashmir
Online multiplayer games resembling PUBG, which offer chat features with known or anonymous partners have become a covert communication tool for terror outfits and Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI to relay instructions to recruits in Jammu and Kashmir, PTI reported.
As terrorist organisations attempt to evade detection by avoiding traditional social media platforms and monitored channels, they are increasingly turning to online gaming spaces, using virtual battle zones into real-world threats. Officials have so far identified four such cases.
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In one instance, a minor was reportedly being radicalised by a gaming partner based across the border. Authorities intervened in time and after counselling the boy and his family, he was returned to his parents' custody.
According to officials, the in-game chat features which support real-time voice, video and text communication are being misused for strategic conversations under the guise of gameplay. These tools, originally intended to improve coordination and social engagement among players are being exploited for sinister objectives, they said.
Prospective recruits are reportedly approached and groomed during these gaming sessions, the officials added, without specifying the names of the games or exact methods being used.
The gaming applications have been increasingly incorporating encryption to protect user communications but the level of security varies widely. So, some games use basic encryption for in-game voice chat and others offer more robust end-to-end encryption for text and voice. There are also applications that allow for self-destructing messages.
Though several of these gaming applications are banned in India, they are downloaded using Virtual Private Network (VPN) illegally. A VPN creates a secure and encrypted connection over the internet by masking Internet Protocol addresses and encrypts online traffic, making it more difficult to track online activity and access data.
In the past, messaging platforms like WhatsApp were delinked by terror groups and their handlers from Pakistan and they switched to other applications to communicate with each other. The included one developed by a Turkish company that is being used by terror group handlers and their prospective recruits in the Valley, the officials said.
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The new applications have the ability to work with the slowest internet connections where Enhanced Data for Global Evolution (EDGE), used in the late 2000s, or 2G is in operation.
The Central government had suspended internet across Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of the special status of the erstwhile state on August 5, 2019.
All encryption and decryption happen directly on the devices, therefore reducing third party intervention at any point. These new apps use encryption algorithm RSA-2048 which was adopted as the most secure encrypted platform, officials said.
RSA is an American Network Security and Authentication company founded in 1982 by US-born Ron Rivest and Leonard Adleman and Israeli-born Adi Shamir. The acronym RSA is used worldwide as the foundation key in the cryptosystem.
One new messaging app used by terrorists to radicalise youth in the Valley does not even ask for phone numbers or emails, therefore enabling complete user anonymity, the officials said.
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The latest challenge in tracking terror activity comes just as security agencies in the Valley are fighting the menace of virtual SIM cards. Terror groups have been increasingly using these to connect with their handlers in Pakistan. Virtual SIM cards are generated by a service provider based in a foreign country.
In this technology, the computer generates a telephone number and the user needs to download an application from the service provider on his or her smartphone to use it.
The penetration of this technology came to light in 2019 when a request was sent to the United States to seek details from a service provider of virtual SIMs used by a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber in the attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama that left 40 personnel dead.
A detailed probe by the National Investigation Agency and other security agencies indicated that over 40 virtual SIM cards were used in the Pulwama attack alone. There are probably many more floating in the Valley's cyberspace, the officials said.
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With inputs from agencies
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