ISI eyes high-ranking officials in planned honeytrap spy network

India’s intelligence agencies have warned that Inter-Services Intelligence is intensifying honeytrap operations via social media to extract sensitive defence information. Officials say the network targets high-ranking personnel and aims to recruit agents within India for espionage activities

New Delhi: The ISI is engaging India in an unconventional battle whereby it is using social media to pull out sensitive information. Setting up modules to honeytrap officials is not new; the Indian agencies have learnt that the ISI is on overdrive mode this time.

Pakistan has laid traps to dig out sensitive information several times. However, this time around, the primary focus has been on procuring information about India’s defence sector.

---

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the pattern that they have been noticing is that the ISI is not looking to trap army personnel of smaller ranks. The official said that the ISI is aiming to set traps for higher-ranking officials since they have access to very sensitive information.

Recent cases have shown that Pakistan has been trying to pull out information relating to the future defence procurements, drone technology and also sensitive communications between top-ranking officials and defence ministry personnel.

Another official said that the ISI does not want to continue running this module from Pakistan. It plans to set up centres within India. Moles in India have been instructed to recruit women in Delhi, the Northeast and Uttar Pradesh to participate in these modules.

In addition to this, the ISI wants to recruit scores of agents across the country. The idea is to have agents positioned at sensitive areas, with the main focus being on the defence sectors, the official added.

Officials say that the plan has been in the making since 2018. Modules had been set up in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Members of these modules have been scouting for recruits for a long time. However, these modules had slowed down operations owing to multiple busts by the Indian agencies. While there was a lull for some time, Indian agencies have noticed plenty of activity in recent months. The agents that the ISI has been looking to recruit are being offered huge sums of money.

Officials say that the budgetary allotment that the ISI has made for this operation is huge. This is because it wants to rope in high-ranking personnel so that the information that they will try and elicit will be highly classified and top-notch.

India’s Intelligence agencies remain on very high alert, and all attempts are being made to ensure that this mega plan by the ISI does not go through.