Social media applications are 'tools of Chinese hacking', Indian army warns soldiers

In just a couple of months, this is the second warning the officials have issued in 'general interest of public'

Once again, Indian intelligence agencies, along with the Indian Army, have announced a list of Chinese apps that have been marked dangerous as they reportedly are either Chinese spyware of some other malicious ware, reports Times Now News.

According to the report, there are as many as 41 iOS/Android apps made by Chinese developers or have Chinese links which carry the potential of carrying out cyber-attacks against the Hindu-majority country as they are said to be sending the user’s data back to the servers in China.

In a tweet from its official handle, the Additional Directorate General of Public Interface (ADGPI) of Indian Army has warned that the social messaging service WhatsApp has become a new tool of hacking for Chinese army.

सजग रहे,सतर्क रहें,सुरक्षित रहें।#भारतीयसेना सोशल मीडिया उचित एवं नियमबद्ध एकाउंट को प्रोत्साहित करता है। हैकिंग जोरो पर है, उनके लिए जो असावधान हैं। अपने सोशल मीडिया को हमेशा चेक करें। व्यक्तिगत एवं ग्रुप एकाउंट के बारे में सावधान रहें, सुरक्षित रहें। @DefenceMinIndia @PIB_India pic.twitter.com/YQbdVFsmWe

— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) March 18, 2018

The Indian army's warning video comes just months after the two countries ended their lengthy standoff at Doklam, which witnessed a build-up of Indian and Chinese forces at the border.

The tweeted video has a woman speaking with an Indian accent who warns that the Chinese use all kinds of platforms to penetrate the digital world of individuals.

"Whatsapp groups are a new way of hacking into your system," she adds.

According to the woman in the video, the numbers starting with 0086 "barge into groups and start extracting data".

The video further wants users to start regularly checking their groups for such threats and performing "regular audits". It advises people to save contacts by their names on the phones, and inform administrators of social media groups if they change numbers.

The woman also says users should destroy their old SIM cards after they have used them.



"Social media encourages proper accounts. Hacking is on the Zoro, which is inattentive for them. Always check your social media. Be careful about personal and group account, stay safe," a translation of the tweet by the Indian Army account reads.

The list of Chinese spyware apps comes three months after the Indian Army issued a warning, cautioning troops against the dangers of some instant messaging apps as well as social media.

In particular, the army has given a warning to all its officers to cease using these 41 apps, especially WhatsApp, as the Chinese spyware is reportedly extracting information from WhatsApp groups after gaining access from the malicious ware of other apps.

This article originally appeared on Times Now News