india

Updated: Mar 19, 2018 19:48 IST

The Indian Army issued an advisory on Sunday, warning that Chinese hackers could extract data from digital platforms such as WhatsApp.

A video posted on Twitter by the army’s official handle, Additional Directorate General of Public Interface (ADGPI), said: “The Chinese use all kinds of platforms to penetrate your digital world. WhatsApp groups are a new way of hacking into your system. Chinese numbers starting with +86 barge into your groups and start extracting all the data.”

Issued in “service interest”, the force also asked people to regularly check their online groups and scrutinise unknown numbers. “Destroy the SIM card if you change your number, and delete your Whatsapp on that number.” the video, which was retweeted by the defence ministry, said.

Last year, a report by the army design bureau (ADB) had warned the force’s communications system is riddled with security flaws and could be infected with Chinese malware that can bring down India’s military network. The ADB report had also highlighted the need for military-grade security to protect data and made a case for utilising software-based encryption as an additional security feature.