The Indian government has taken a significant step to curb terror activities in the country by blocking 14 mobile messenger applications that were being used by terror groups, according to news agency ANI citing sources on Monday, May 1.
The blocked apps were mainly being used by Over Ground Workers (OGW) of various terrorist organizations based in Jammu and Kashmir. Their job was to receive notifications from the neighboring nation Pakistan and spread them in the region, as well as spread terror propaganda and incite youths in J&K.
The banned apps include Crypviser, Enigma, Safeswiss, Wickrme, Mediafire, Briar, BChat, Nandbox, Conion, IMO, Element, Second Line, Zangi, and Threema, according to India-based news outlet NDTV.
The Central government blocked the apps under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. An official told ANI that agencies keep track of channels used by Overground workers (OGWs) and terrorists to communicate among themselves.
While tracking down one of the communications, agencies found that the mobile application does not have representatives in India, making it difficult to track activities happening on the app. The action was reportedly taken after the authorities received the intel and then shared it with the Central government in a secret communication recently.
The Ministry of Home Affairs closely coordinated with the IT ministry and other concerned agencies to block the apps when the information was shared with it, according to sources. They were told that these applications are being used by OWGs and members of different terrorist groups to circulate anti-India messages.
Some of these apps were designed in a way that they used to maintain the anonymity of the users and had certain inbuilt features that made it difficult for the authorities to find out the entities linked with them, the sources added.
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