Indian Navy prohibits social media platforms and smartphones after series of honey-traps

As per news source, an order has been issued on December 27 that the Indian navy has banned the personnel from using any messaging, networking, blogging, content sharing and hosting and ecommerce websites. This measure has been taken after seven officials, who were allegedly honey-trapped and were found leaking sensitive information to Pakistan’s intelligence agencies online.

It was uncovered in a special joint operation named Operation Dolphin’s Nose, between the Andhra Pradesh police and central agency. Eight people which includes seven navy personnel and one Hawala operator from Mumbai were arrested on December 20 from Visakhapatnam. They were arrested from different parts of the country.

Media reports highlight that out of the seven Navy officials, three sailors belonged to Eastern Naval Command of Visakhapatnam, which is an important strategic location. Whereas three others belonged to Western Naval Command and one was posted at Karwar naval base of Karnataka.

This is not a single instance but there have been similar cases where officials have been duped in similar honey-traps. According to reports, Pakistani intelligence and other organizations create fake accounts on social media and befriend Indian soldiers, their family members and retired army personnel to know more about the Indian defence strategies and the technology they rely on.