Intel agencies ask forces to avoid social media at sensitive locations

Photo used for representational purpose

Amid heightened security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and western borders after Taliban took over Kabul, Intelligence agencies in their fresh report to the government, have suggested that security personnel must avoid using various social media sites at sensitive locations especially border areas.

The sources quoting the latest Intel input, said that the surveillance agencies have noticed several attempts to 'infiltrate' in the social media groups on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and other social networks by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) with pseudo identities.

Sources also said that the high-ups in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) must communicate with the field formations only on the secured communication network and must use the government email network by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The security personnel have also been dissuaded from making WhatApp calls and calls from other social networks to communicate with their families or even with their colleagues especially if they are posted or deployed on sensitive locations.

In any case, the details of the movement of units or battalions or even the personnel going on leave should not be shared on social media platforms, the alert said. A senior official in the forces said that these do's and don'ts have been part of the protocol for every personnel and had been adhered to by everyone in the forces.

The intelligence agencies have confirmed reports that ISI has been trying to infiltrate WhatsApp groups of security forces to gather sensitive information.

The agencies have noticed that multiple groups with pseudo identity have been trying to infiltrate Facebook, WhatAapp, Telegram, Signal, WeChat etc, and they have been asked not to accept any invitations on the social network by unidentified numbers or groups.

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