Lok Sabha Question No. 1199 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-09
Subject: Apps Implications on National Security
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: A. Chellakumar, S. Jothimani

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1199

TO BE ANSWERED ON:  09.02.2022

## TEK FOGG AND WHATSAPP

## 1199.DR. A. CHELLAKUMAR: MS. S. JOTHIMANI:

Will the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  considering  to  take  action  against  Tek  Fogg  app  which  allows operatives to hack into and take over Whatsapp accounts of private citizens;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  is  considering  to  investigate  how  personal  information  of  targeted Whatsapp users has been phished by Tek Fogg and utilised as part of harassment campaigns;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, reasons therefor;
- (e)  whether  the  Government  is  planning  to  protect  citizens  from  the  threats  of  identity  theft  and potential legal liability for criminal cases emanating from their hacked phone numbers;
- (f) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (g) whether the Government is considering to investigate alleged links between two private companies, Persistent Systems and Mohalla Tech Pvt. Ltd. in regard to the apps implications on national security; and
- (h) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a) to (d),  (g) and (h):Government has noted the news articles about an App, namely, 'Tek Fog' that has been allegedly used to manipulate social media platforms. This Ministry has searched the App on prominent App Stores and APK Stores and could not find the so called App in any of these online stores. This Ministry is not aware of any technical vulnerability that makes social media intermediaries susceptible to manipulation as reported in the news articles.

(e) and (f):The Government is committed to ensure that the Internet in India is Open, Safe & Trusted and  Accountable  for  all  users.  As  internet  expands  and  delivers  many  benefits  for  citizens,  the Government is  also  aware  of  growing  phenomena  of  users  harms  caused  by  misuse  of  some  social media  intermediaries/  platforms  by  some  users  which  also  includes  cybercrimes  related  to  identity theft.

The Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 has adequate provisions to deal with such cyber crimes, where  sections 66C and  66D of the IT Act specifically provide punishment for identity theft and for cheating  by  personation  by  using  computer  resource,  respectively.  In  addition,  any  hacking  or suspected hacking attempt can also be reported to Indian Computer Emergency Response Team.

Rule 3(2)(b) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital media Ethics Code) Rules,  2021  also  provides  for  immediate  removal  of  any  imagery  which  is  in  the  nature  of impersonation in an electronic form from an Intermediary platform.

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