Indian Government's investigation and concerns:
The Indian government has initiated action against Telegram. The main objective of this investigation being jointly conducted by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is to detect illegal activities taking place through Telegram. The authorities are particularly interested in understanding how Telegram is being used for crimes such as extortion and gambling.
Telegram has been accused of spreading misinformation and promoting illegal activities in the past. In recent times, the incidents of paper leaks of prestigious exams like UGC-NEET and UGC-NET have further strengthened these allegations. The papers of these exams were widely shared on Telegram and were allegedly sold for a price ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. These incidents led to the cancellation of the exams, and the matter has now become a subject of investigation.
The number of Telegram users in India is increasing, but along with this, the cases of its involvement in criminal activities are also increasing. According to the Cyber Crime Unit of Delhi Police, one of the most common scams on Telegram is investment fraud, in which a user is added to a group and is lured into investing money on a fake stock trading app. Apart from this, illegal activities like buying fake SIM cards and misusing bank accounts are also going on on Telegram.
Pavel Durov's arrest in France and its implications:
The arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France has raised questions about the app's future. France's OFMIN, which works to prevent violence against minors, issued an arrest warrant against Pavel Durov for several crimes including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and promoting terrorism. French authorities have expressed concern over Telegram's moderation policies and its failure to prevent criminal activity.
Questions have been raised on Telegram since this arrest. According to the Paris prosecutor, Durov's investigation is related to illegal transactions, child pornography, fraud and refusal to provide information to the authorities. However, Telegram said in its defense that it is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform.
Telegram was launched in 2013 by Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai. Currently, it has more than 950 million users. But as its popularity has grown, cases of its misuse have also come to light.
Telegram policies and government criticism:
Telegram is also being criticized in India for the platform's failure to comply with Indian laws. Although the company has appointed a nodal officer and a chief compliance officer and publishes monthly compliance reports, the government is concerned about Telegram's lack of a physical presence in India.
Indian authorities believe that Telegram cooperates in only 20% of cases, making the investigation process difficult. Government officials have also complained that obtaining data from Telegram is a challenging task. Delhi Police officials said that whenever Telegram is contacted, they only respond with the IP address of the last login, which is of little help in the investigation.
Rakesh Maheshwari, a former official in the Ministry of Electronics and Technology, said Telegram has shown reluctance to comply with regulatory requirements in India. He pointed out that Telegram appointed an India-based grievance officer, chief compliance officer and nodal contact person and opened an office in India after the notification of the IT Rules 2021, but despite this the platform refused to cooperate in some cases.
Telegram's anonymity and encryption:
A major challenge for Telegram is its anonymity features, which create hurdles in the investigation process. Users on Telegram can hide their numbers and only show their usernames, making it difficult to identify them. Unlike WhatsApp, where a user's phone number is visible, Telegram does not have this feature, making it a favorite platform for criminals.
Apart from this, Telegram's encryption model is also being viewed with suspicion. Debayan Gupta, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Ashoka University, said that Telegram's encryption model cannot pass the security audit. He said that Telegram's E2EE (end-to-end encryption) model is not completely secure, and the platform's claim that its "secret chats" are the only E2EE is not true.
Gupta said that despite having access to the content on Telegram's servers, the platform does not moderate it. He explained that if the broadcast channels contain CSAM (child abuse material) and that content is present in an accessible format on the server, then it is the responsibility of the platform to remove it. Compared to WhatsApp, which is completely E2EE, Telegram is less secure in this regard.
Global impact of Telegram and cybercrime:
Telegram has become a major medium for cybercriminals. Anand Venkatanarayanan, co-founder and CTO of DeepStrat, said that Telegram is a platform that acts like social media for cybercriminals, and there is no content moderation.
Venkatanarayanan explained that crime can be mechanised through Telegram's bot functionality and API access. For example, a person's personal information can be obtained from a database using a bot. In 2023, a Telegram bot was used to expose personal details of Covid-19 vaccine recipients in India, highlighting the platform's potential for privacy breaches.
The importance of Telegram is also evident from the fact that most cybersecurity companies around the world use Telegram to gather threat intelligence. The anonymity and encryption features of this platform make it a safe place for cybercriminals, making this platform attractive to all those who engage in illegal activities.
Conclusion: Telegram is a platform that has attracted a large user base due to its anonymity and encryption features. However, with its popularity, cases of its misuse have also increased. The arrest of Pavel Durov in France and the ongoing investigation in India indicate that governments are now becoming cautious about the misuse of this platform.
The ongoing investigation in India could result in a ban on Telegram or the government taking some strict steps to limit its use.
Headlines :
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Arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France: French authorities have arrested Pavel Durov for involvement in fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying and other crimes. This has raised questions about the future of Telegram.
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Indian Government Investigation: The Indian government has launched an investigation against Telegram, probing its involvement in illegal activities on the platform.
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Telegram Policies: Indian authorities allege that Telegram has shown reluctance to comply with regulatory requirements in India, and has refused to cooperate in abuse cases.
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Anonymity and Encryption: Telegram’s anonymity features and encryption make it a favorite platform for criminals, leading to increased abuse.
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Global impact: Telegram has become a major medium for cybercriminals to use, and the platform's failure to moderate it is a matter of concern.
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