Bengaluru: The killings of 20 Indian soldiers by China’s PLA at the Galwan Valley have hurt and humiliated Indians all over the world. 

As the nation rises in indignation, intel agencies have red-flagged use of 52 apps that have links with China, reports Hindustan Times. 

Also Read: PM pays tribute to Galwan martyrs

The website added that these weren’t safe and ended up extracting a large amount of data outside India. 

So what are the apps? 

 

The list of applications sent by the security establishment to the government include video conferencing app Zoom, short-video app TikTok, and other utility and content apps such as UC browser, Xender, SHAREit and Clean-master.

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The call for ban on these apps has been supported by the National Security Council Secretariat. 

The website noted that in April this year, the home ministry had issued an advisory on use of Zoom on the recommendation of the national cybersecurity agency – Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-in). 

However it should be noted that India wasn’t the first country to restrict use of Zoom within the government. 

Taiwan has banned government agencies from using Zoom, the German Foreign Ministry restricts its use of Zoom to emergency situations on personal computers while the United States Senate advises members to use other platforms. The company had responded to the home ministry advisory, insisting that it was serious about user security.

These apps, security experts feel are a grave threat to the country. 

A note on Galwal Valley violence: 

It all began when Indian soldiers dismantled a Chinese tent at Patrol Point 14, which is close to the mouth of the Galwan river. News18 has reported that the tent had been dismantled following a meeting between Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, who commands the Leh-based XIV Corps, and Major-General Lin Liu, the head of the Xinjiang military district

But just within two days, it should be noted that the PLA set up a fresh tent at Patrol Point 14. This was in clear violation of the agreement.

So, the tent was burned down. Col Santosh Babu also laid down his life. His father, proud of his son’s martyrdom added that it is a privilege to die for the country.

India has always maintained that all its activities are well within its borders:

"Given its responsible approach to border management, India is very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side of the LAC. We expect the same of the Chinese side," MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.