NTRO cracks VoIP terror path
Sometime back the nation’s elite intelligence and security agencies noticed a new phenomenon among terror outfits operating in Jammu and Kashmir. There was a sudden drop in communication, either via wireless or email, between terrorists operating on both sides of the border. A detailed probe indicated that subversive elements had switched over to Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) as their preferred mode of communication.
The terrorists knew Indian intelligence could easily snoop on their wireless messages and track their emails. But VoIP is much more difficult to crack particularly as almost all terror outfits in Kashmir have a dedicated VoIP address which is extremely difficult to break into. A few months ago this task was given to the National Technical Research Organisation, and after painstaking investigations its sleuths have finally managed to crack the VoIP path used by the terror groups operating out of Pakistan, top intelligence sources said.
Investigations show the maximum use of VoIP is made by Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, which keeps in touch with its commanders across the border by this method. The NTRO probe also confirmed that, as suspected, some key Lashkar operatives like Illyas Kashmiri use VoIP from smartphones even in jail to pass on messages to their cadre in the Kashmir Valley.
Illyas Kashmiri, an accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is currently lodged in Rawalpindi jail. Sources confirmed Kashmir was using VoIP via a smartphone provided to him inside the jail.
“There is clinching technical evidence regarding this and we will provide all the evidence to the home ministry... to take the matter up with Pakistan at the secretary-level talks,” a senior intelligence official said.
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