New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS): Following the crackdown on Shahzad Bhatti-led surveillance modules, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has shifted tactics by deploying high-definition, SIM-powered smart CCTV cameras along India’s highways and close to military zones to track troop movements.
Compared with solar-powered CCTV cameras, high-definition, SIM-powered smart cameras are considered more effective for terror groups as they can bypass conventional security checks. Their use has been increasingly detected in Jammu and Kashmir, where the ISI is seeking information on the movement of Indian troops.
An Intelligence Bureau official said the ISI’s handlers have been scouting for people living along highways or in the vicinity of military installations.
“Once recruited, the handlers instruct the operatives to install these cameras outside their homes. Those living along highways are particularly preferred by the handlers, as live feeds from the highways help the ISI gather information about the movement of Indian troops and important personalities,” the IB official said.
The Jammu and Kashmir police last week arrested one Aman who had installed a high-definition, SIM-powered smart CCTV camera outside his home. Investigations showed that he was paid Rs 20,000 to install the camera.
Another official said that the ISI would rely more on such cameras for future operations not just in Jammu and Kashmir, but in other parts of the country.
“Locations across the country that are closer to military installations or along the highways would be the preferred slot to install these cameras,” the official added.
Another official said that the reason why such cameras are being chosen is because it has the capability of bypassing Wi-Fi by using the cellular network. These cameras do not route data through a local Wi-Fi router.
They have a built-in cellular module and an active SIM card that allows terror groups to receive data that is completely off the grid, the official said.
The officials point out that a SIM-powered camera bypasses the target building’s local network entirely.
“It also blends its data traffic into the standard commercial 4G and 5G mobile towers across the country,” officials say.
The ISI has been pushing to set up a massive CCTV camera network across the country. It has been experimenting with various types of cameras that can evade security. The solar-powered CCTV cameras have provided crucial information to the ISI about military installations and crowded locations such as bus stands and railway stations.
Officials say that there are several ISI recruits in India who have also been tasked with procuring SIM cards. These SIM cards are often sent across to Pakistan or wherever the handlers are based. Instructions to Indian recruits are given over the phone using these SIM cards. This helps evade detection as the SIM cards are registered in India.
The same SIM cards that are procured illegally are now being used to power the high-definition, SIM-powered smart CCTV cameras.
The ISI’s recruits use fraudulent documentation or virtual SIM cards to activate cellular connections. The SIM card that is being used in these cameras cannot be tied to the real identity of the operator.
This makes tracking the device a major challenge for the security and Intelligence agencies, another official said.
