Five cases of honey-trapping were reported by the Army and the Air Force between 2015 and 2017. However, there is no data for 2018 to establish if more jawans were targeted.
New Delhi: The passing of sensitive military information to spy agents of rival countries after getting ‘honey trapped’ on social media has become a big concern for the Indian Army.
Five cases of honey trapping were reported by the Army and the Air Force between 2015 and 2017. However, there is no data for 2018 to establish if more jawans were targeted.
As per a written response given by the minister of state for defence Subhash Bhamre to a question in Rajya Sabha, the Army reported two cases of honey-trapping in 2015 and another two in 2017. The Air Force reported one case of honey-trapping in 2015. However, the Navy did not report any such case.
Earlier, the Army had sent several advisories to jawan telling them about dos and don'ts while surfing the internet. Moreover, security forces officers and jawans along with their family members have been asked not to post photos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with soldiers in uniform or military equipment, installations and cantonments in the backdrop. Spy agents especially target these people through fake social media accounts to siphon information.
According to a senior official, soldiers have been told not to accept social media friend requests with names of film stars. For those (soldiers) who are not following the rule, the punishment is heavy.
Bhamre said that the armed service personnel and their families are regularly sensitised on the use of honey traps as a modus operandi by foreign intelligence operatives.
“Advisories have been issued to all concerned. Special attention is being paid to new entrants in training institutes. Simultaneously, regular intelligence liaison with other agencies is maintained to detect such attempts,” he added.
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