Some cases of Honeytraps

Some cases of honeytraps:

- Diplomat Madhuri Gupta was honey-trapped and was accused of spying for Pakistan.

- Commodore Sukhjinder Singh, a Naval officer was probed for his alleged relationship with a Russian woman between the period of 2005-07 during his posting in Russia as the head of Indian team supervising the repair work of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkav.

- A senior Indian embassy official posted in Beijing in 2008 was recalled by authorities after he fell into the honey trap of a Chinese woman.

- RAW officer Manmohan was lured into the trap of Chinese language teacher who was suspected to be an informant.

- Ravi Nair, another RAW officer, was asked to return from Hong Kong by an agency after his 

friendship with a girl suspected to be working for a Chinese spy agency.

- In the nineties, an India Naval attache posted at Islamabad was suspected to be having an affair with a Pakistani woman working with Military Nursing Service of Pakistan.

- The most famous case of a honey trap was of KV Unnikrishnan, a RAW officer dealing with LTTE. He was lured into the trap by an air hostess who was a spy.

- The arrest of BrahMos Aerospace engineer Nishant Agrawal for leaking data from the centre’s Nagpur facility, has once again exposed the faultiness of a system, revealing how vulnerable some are to international agencies such as Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).There have also been cases of soldiers receiving photos of young and pretty women on WhatsApp. They are told the photos will open only on desktops. This compromises computers and sensitive data is accessed. Victims of honey-trapping are forced to cultivate the agents, finance sleeper cells and fund the separatists. Joint Intelligence Bureau (JIB) which is the special wing of ISI was constituted to create disturbances in J&K while Joint Signal Intelligence Bureau is involved in sending fake messages, controlling WhatsApp and assisting Pakistan sponsored terrorists in communication. ISI is also involved in the smuggling of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) as well as in drug smuggling. The money generated through smuggling of FICN and drugs is used by ISI in financing terrorist operations in India.The Army has described 'honey trap' cases as a weapon of hybrid warfare being waged by the enemy across the borders. A new information warfare team is being set up at the Army Headquarters to combat the danger. This is likely to include 'social media warriors'. Several Twitter handles and Facebook accounts being run to 'honey trap' soldiers have been identified.The Army has asked officers and jawans as well as their families not to post photos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with soldiers in uniform or military equipment, installations and cantonments in the backdrop. This is part of a list of Don'ts for officers, junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and jawans. Other Don'ts include: do not give out names, ranks and deployment locations; do not brag about military achievements on social media; do not share information about military exercises, operations, transfers and promotions; do not accept friend requests from strangers; do not save or share military information on phones, laptops or personal desktops; do not watch and share porn online; do not click on advertisements; and do not download little-known APPs.The professional hazards without recreation are a direct cause of soldiers committing suicides, and in some cases shooting at their fellow soldiers(fratricide) before taking their own lives. Denial of leave to the soldiers, rigorous punishments and superiority complex of seniors are precursor to such incidents. The soldiers rely on social networking platforms use the virtual connect to compensate for the physical distance existing between themselves and their families.So a balanced approach is better than blanket ban on social media by strengthening data safety regulations and adequate regulatory checks and balances can be explored to usher in change in armed forces. Armed forces should be provided with some secure means of communication with their seniors, colleagues and family members, so their psychological and mental health are balanced. Armed forces are known for their selfless service and a sense of care from higher hierarchic of armed forces is necessary for efficient functioning of armed forces.