Officials have reported an increase in the number of telecom towers along the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) recently. According to a report in news agency PTI, this increase is believed to assist terrorists and their associates in their infiltration activities.
Terrorists use encrypted YSMS services
Terrorist groups reportedly use highly encrypted YSMS services, a technology that combines smartphones and radio sets for covert communication.This information comes from a study of infiltration attempts and recent terrorist attacks, especially south of the Pir Panjal range in the Jammu region.
According to the report, this technology allows a handler of a terrorist group in PoK to connect with the infiltrating group and its reception party in the Jammu region via a telecom network used across the LoC. This method is used to evade detection by the army or the BSF, who guard the borders with Pakistan.
The project to enhance telecom signals has been fully transferred to the Special Communication Organization (SCO), led by Pakistani army officer Maj Gen Umar Ahmad Shah, who is believed to have previously worked with Pakistan’s spy agency ISI.
Telecom towers set up by Pakistan violate international law
The strategic positioning of telecom towers near the LoC and the international border, typically used to assist terrorists and their associates in infiltration activities, is in violation of Article 45 of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) constitution, a United Nations body.
Article 45 of the ITU’s constitution mandates all 193 member countries to take necessary steps to prevent the transmission or circulation of identification signals and to cooperate in locating and identifying stations transmitting such signals under their jurisdiction.
The Radiocommunication Bureau (BR) under the ITU has reiterated that all stations are prohibited from carrying out unnecessary transmissions, or the transmission of superfluous signals, or the transmission of false or misleading signals, or the transmission of signals without identification, according to officials.
The issue is currently being discussed at the ministerial level for raising it at the relevant international forum.
Pakistani telecom towers run on CDMA
The new telecom towers operate on the Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology, and the encryption has been done by a Chinese firm primarily to cater to YSMS operations, say officials.
This rogue telecom infrastructure supports infiltrating terrorists and their contacts in the Jammu and Kashmir regions.
The deployment of CDMA technology along the LoC aims to complicate monitoring efforts as the technology allows multiple signals on a single transmission channel, posing challenges in controlling illegal communications.
Security agencies thwarted past instances of such technology use in 2019 and 2020 by breaking the encryption. Officials predict that the current attempt by terrorist groups, aided by Pakistan’s state actors, will meet a similar fate.
Despite the significant presence of the SCO in PoK, including in Gilgit and Baltistan, telecom towers provide minimal benefits in the Kashmir Valley due to its elevated terrain. However, their signals reach the Jammu plains, with traces even reaching sensitive areas like the Kot Balwal jail area.
Jammers not much effective against these
Traditional methods such as jammers and managed access systems have proven inadequate in deterring mobile phone usage, leading to the development of advanced detection capabilities aimed at locating and neutralising active phones within defined areas.
Officials anticipate that new technology will likely be tested nationwide, particularly in prisons, by security agencies to effectively combat security threats.
This development follows reports from several security agencies that telecom signals from PoK have been penetrating Indian territories, affecting regions from Baramulla and Kupwara in Kashmir.
Terrorists use encrypted YSMS services
Terrorist groups reportedly use highly encrypted YSMS services, a technology that combines smartphones and radio sets for covert communication.This information comes from a study of infiltration attempts and recent terrorist attacks, especially south of the Pir Panjal range in the Jammu region.
According to the report, this technology allows a handler of a terrorist group in PoK to connect with the infiltrating group and its reception party in the Jammu region via a telecom network used across the LoC. This method is used to evade detection by the army or the BSF, who guard the borders with Pakistan.
The project to enhance telecom signals has been fully transferred to the Special Communication Organization (SCO), led by Pakistani army officer Maj Gen Umar Ahmad Shah, who is believed to have previously worked with Pakistan’s spy agency ISI.
Telecom towers set up by Pakistan violate international law
The strategic positioning of telecom towers near the LoC and the international border, typically used to assist terrorists and their associates in infiltration activities, is in violation of Article 45 of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) constitution, a United Nations body.
Article 45 of the ITU’s constitution mandates all 193 member countries to take necessary steps to prevent the transmission or circulation of identification signals and to cooperate in locating and identifying stations transmitting such signals under their jurisdiction.
The Radiocommunication Bureau (BR) under the ITU has reiterated that all stations are prohibited from carrying out unnecessary transmissions, or the transmission of superfluous signals, or the transmission of false or misleading signals, or the transmission of signals without identification, according to officials.
The issue is currently being discussed at the ministerial level for raising it at the relevant international forum.
Pakistani telecom towers run on CDMA
The new telecom towers operate on the Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology, and the encryption has been done by a Chinese firm primarily to cater to YSMS operations, say officials.
This rogue telecom infrastructure supports infiltrating terrorists and their contacts in the Jammu and Kashmir regions.
The deployment of CDMA technology along the LoC aims to complicate monitoring efforts as the technology allows multiple signals on a single transmission channel, posing challenges in controlling illegal communications.
Security agencies thwarted past instances of such technology use in 2019 and 2020 by breaking the encryption. Officials predict that the current attempt by terrorist groups, aided by Pakistan’s state actors, will meet a similar fate.
Despite the significant presence of the SCO in PoK, including in Gilgit and Baltistan, telecom towers provide minimal benefits in the Kashmir Valley due to its elevated terrain. However, their signals reach the Jammu plains, with traces even reaching sensitive areas like the Kot Balwal jail area.
Jammers not much effective against these
Traditional methods such as jammers and managed access systems have proven inadequate in deterring mobile phone usage, leading to the development of advanced detection capabilities aimed at locating and neutralising active phones within defined areas.
Officials anticipate that new technology will likely be tested nationwide, particularly in prisons, by security agencies to effectively combat security threats.
This development follows reports from several security agencies that telecom signals from PoK have been penetrating Indian territories, affecting regions from Baramulla and Kupwara in Kashmir.