Pak-based terror handlers use porn sites, tor apps & chats to communicate with recruits in Jammu & Kashmir

Terrorist networks operating from Pakistan are changing the way they communicate with recruits in Jammu and Kashmir, moving beyond conventional social media and messaging platforms to more obscure digital services, security officials said on August 30.

 

According to officials, Pakistan-based terrorist handlers and Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI are making use of real-time chat facilities available on pornography websites to communicate with people recruited in Jammu and Kashmir. The use of such platforms makes it harder for security agencies to track communications through the social media services that are more commonly monitored.

 

The platforms being used for these chats were originally designed to connect users looking for dating partners nearby. Terrorist handlers, however, are using the same communication features to exchange messages with their recruits, officials said.

 

 

Security agencies are examining a number of specialised digital tools being used by terrorist networks.

 

Officials said handlers have also turned to Tor-based messaging applications such as Cotecks and Conion. Tor-based apps are messaging or communication apps that route internet traffic through multiple encrypted servers to hide a user's identity and location.

 

Indian agencies have blocked access to the Conion APK in the country. APK or Android Package Kit, is the file format used to distribute and install applications on Android devices.

 

 

 

Security officials have also identified the use of a France-based messaging application that provides end-to-end encrypted communication without requiring users to register with a SIM card or telephone number.

 

Such features make it more difficult for investigators to connect an account to a specific individual.

 

Agencies are also keeping watch on applications based in Vietnam, as well as anonymous communication platforms such as MoonChat.

 

MoonChat has versions that use PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption, a method that scrambles messages so that only the intended recipient can read them. Officials are examining versions of the application that are suspected to have Chinese origins.

 

Some versions do not require traditional registration and include features designed to connect users with single people in their vicinity.

 

 

Officials said several pornography applications and platforms are banned in India, but some are still being accessed through VPNs.

 

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) creates an encrypted connection between a user's device and the internet. It can conceal the device's IP address and make it harder to establish the user's online location and activity.

 

Security agencies are examining the use of VPNs as part of the broader communication methods adopted by terrorist networks to bypass monitoring.

 

 

Investigators have found that terrorist handlers and recruits in the Kashmir Valley are also relying on applications that can function on slow 2G and EDGE networks.

 

Some of these applications do not require a mobile number or email address during registration, further reducing the amount of identifying information available to investigators.

 

The shift towards such platforms became more prominent as security agencies intensified efforts to stop the use of virtual SIMs generated by foreign companies.

 

 

A virtual SIM can be used to generate a phone number through software and operate it on a smartphone through specific applications. Such numbers can leave fewer conventional traces than standard mobile connections.

 

The use of such technology by terror networks had come under scrutiny during the investigation into the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

 

Security agencies are now examining a wider range of digital platforms as terrorist networks adapt their communication methods and move towards services that offer encryption, anonymity and minimal registration requirements.