Digital Terrorists on the Prowl in J & K

Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing testing time. A series of terror attacks in Jammu has already devastated the people. Search to nab the terrorists who executed the Reasi  terror attack and the Kathua attack is already on. In such a situation a new challenge has emerged. People are receiving random phone calls that include both normal mobile calls and Whats  App calls intimidating the people, especially the females. These calls are being received from mobile numbers have an area code of +92.Usually these calls are being made from Whats App. These people harass the people naming their dear ones, usually children. The common plot they use is that your son or daughter is involved in a crime .He or she has been arrested. The person speaking claims to be a high ranking police official. Mostly they are targeting the people whose children are studying outside Jammu and Kashmir. They intimidate the people by saying that they have sent their child to Pune or Delhi to indulge in crime from Jammu and Kashmir. Claiming that your child has been arrested. Ultimately, they ask for ransom money in lakhs. They also share their account numbers if the person is taken in by their fraudulent means. These people are using profile pictures of police officials in uniform. A person in the first instance is panicked. It is only the people who use their presence of mind and wit are able to  decode this fraud. The question arises from where these people get access to the personal information of the people. Like the name and place of the children. It leads to many apprehensions. From the last few years Aadhaar linkage of bank accounts and other services has enabled many people access to the personal data and particulars. This is a cause of concern. With the Aadhaar linkage of bank accounts there have been random calls of the hackers regarding the expiry date of the debit cards and maturity of the life insurance policies. Every day there are cases where many people are duped. Amount in lakhs and thousands is swindled from the people’s account. But no mechanism has been put in place to end this criminal act. Due to non-availability of the well-equipped mechanism to bring these criminals to justice, a more advanced stage of this crime has started to stare common people in the face. This nexus needs to be busted. Their linkages need to be  identified and dealt with as per law. Artificial Intelligence(AI) is being used by these criminals to create voices of the people they claim are in their custody. The code that flashes in these calls +92 which in the first instance is clearly the country code for Pakistan. It needs to be investigated. Cyber Crime Cell in particular and J and K Police in general must do ground work and research to meet this new challenge and reach out to people. Not only that J and K Police must sensitise the people and guide them how to deal with such unexpected situations. It is indeed a new form of terrorism. We have been able to categorise narco –terrorism. But there is an urgent need to categorise digital terrorism or cyber terrorism. Enemy hand cannot be ruled out. The sensitivity of this emerging new challenge cannot be brushed aside when terrorism has reached the new normal in Jammu and Kashmir. Forms of terrorism have changed and digital terrorism or cyber terrorism is a new reality. It has to be nipped in the bud before it spreads its tentacles to a vicious level. Moreover, there needs to be review of the Aadhar linked services as terrorists can have access to the personal data of the common people and become a tool to terrorise innocent people. It is a grave national security challenge. Jammu and Kashmir is already on the terror radar. People of J and K can’t afford the cocktail of digital terrorism and conventional terrorism. There is an immediate need to act.