The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has advised the Army and paramilitary forces along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), to format their smartphones and delete a certain number of Chinese apps, and other Chinese links from their phones.
The intelligence agency has asked everyone member of security forces to uninstall a mobile applications like WeChat, Truecaller, Weibo, UC Browser and UC News and other 42 apps from their smartphones, to avoid being the victim of cross-border espionage.
The Union Home Ministry has issued the warning after they received an input from RAW and NTRO
According to the reports, China and Pakistan, have escalated to use the mobile apps to break into smartphones and steal data.
“As per reliable inputs, a number of Android/IOS apps developed by Chinese developers or having Chinese links are reportedly either spyware or other malicious ware. Use of these apps by our force personnel can be detrimental to data security having implications on the force and national security,” the advisory read.
Truecaller has issued a statement to avoid any kind of possible cyber attack and denied any kind of foul play from their side.
"In response to certain reports, we would like to clarify that we are a Sweden-based company. We are not sure why the app is on this list, but we're investigating. Truecaller is not a malware, and all our features are permission-based and are disabled by default," the company said in a statement.
"For additional clarity, when you download Truecaller from the app store, Truecaller needs access to certain capabilities to provide you with a richer experience," the company added.
It’s not the first time the security forces are on hackers radar. In 2012, over 10,000 email addresses of top government officials were hacked in a single day, and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was worst hit by the data breach.
The intelligence agency has asked everyone member of security forces to uninstall a mobile applications like WeChat, Truecaller, Weibo, UC Browser and UC News and other 42 apps from their smartphones, to avoid being the victim of cross-border espionage.
The Union Home Ministry has issued the warning after they received an input from RAW and NTRO
According to the reports, China and Pakistan, have escalated to use the mobile apps to break into smartphones and steal data.
“As per reliable inputs, a number of Android/IOS apps developed by Chinese developers or having Chinese links are reportedly either spyware or other malicious ware. Use of these apps by our force personnel can be detrimental to data security having implications on the force and national security,” the advisory read.
Truecaller has issued a statement to avoid any kind of possible cyber attack and denied any kind of foul play from their side.
"In response to certain reports, we would like to clarify that we are a Sweden-based company. We are not sure why the app is on this list, but we're investigating. Truecaller is not a malware, and all our features are permission-based and are disabled by default," the company said in a statement.
"For additional clarity, when you download Truecaller from the app store, Truecaller needs access to certain capabilities to provide you with a richer experience," the company added.
It’s not the first time the security forces are on hackers radar. In 2012, over 10,000 email addresses of top government officials were hacked in a single day, and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was worst hit by the data breach.
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