SOURCE : TIMES NOW
Even during COVID-19 times, Pakistan – ISI is leaving no stone unturned to spy on India. A fake Aarogya Setu app is the new tool of ISI to spy on Indians. This app was first developed in the month of April 2020. This time again recently ISI backed hackers have launched the renovated version of this app. This app is being pushed by ISI backed hackers in the Indian internet space. The links of this app are being circulated especially among the people in bureaucracy and Defence Establishments.
Original government of India App Arogya Setu has become really popular amongst Indians. More than 10 Crore Indians have already downloaded it. It has been made mandatory by the Indian government for the government employees. Taking advantage of the same, hackers are trying to get access to the mobile phones of our bureaucrats and Army personnel.
Yashasvi Yadav, IG Cyber Department, Maharashtra Police says, “Maharashtra Cyber department has come across potentially very dangerous malware, through which sensitive data of our country can be stolen. Some Pakistan hackers designed a fake Aarogya Setu App to access sensitive information from the phone of our bureaucrats & Defence personnel,”
Precautions that one can take in order to stay clear of such fake apps:
1) Always Download App from a Playstore or IOS.
2) Don’t Download Aarogya Setu App from unverified source or link sent by somebody.
3) The name of extension file of the fake app is .apk & the name of extension file of government app is gov.in.
4) If you come across any such fake link inform it immediately to the Cyber Cell.
“This App looks similar to original Aarogya Setu app. The file extension of the fake App is .apk & the file extension of the original app of Government is .Gov.in. Once the fake App gets installed, the information on your phone can be accessed. It can activate the phone’s microphone & can access WhatsApp, text messages easily,” says Yadav.
Cyber Expert Ankur Puranik says, “Don’t download any app through any link sent via text messages or via Email. Download it from verified sources. The clear intention behind pushing this App is to get sensitive information of netizens in India. At the time of downloading such apps, one gives default permissions to access, photos, chats etc in the phone and even permission to activate microphone also. The information goes to the third person sitting across border,”
The server of this app is located in the Netherlands, therefore, making it difficult for Maharashtra Cyber police to Probe. The input available with police also suggests that many Indians have already downloaded this App. The information regarding the same has been shared with several other states and the Central government as well. This is a Trojan Horse attack. The fake app looks exactly like the original Aarogya Setu app but it has spyware from which it gets information from individuals’ phones.
https://defencenewsofindia.com/isi-backed-fake-aarogya-setu-app-hits-indian-internet-space-suspected-of-being-used-to-spy/
