Telangana Police Caution Against Fake Aarogya Setu App Developed By Pakistan

HYDERABAD: Pakistan ISI has developed a fake Aarogya Setu app to spy on Indians. Aarogya Setu application was designed and created in the wake of coronavirus to collect data on one’s location and to cross-check it with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)’s database of COVID-19 tests. The app has become so popular in India and more than 10 crore Indians have downloaded it. The app gives information to the user whether he/she is in close proximity to an infected person or not.

The Telangana government officials have warned the people about the phishing attacks in the name of the Aarogya Setu mobile application. The Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Department of Telangana said that an alert was issued from the Intelligence Department.

The note reads, "Cyber fraudsters are sending specially crafted messages through SMS and WhatsApp with a link to click and download a fake Aarogya Setu App. As the user tries to download the app by opening the link, a malicious app (ChatMe) downloads on the device and begins data exfiltration to the servers of the adversary based outside India."

Maharashtra Cyber department official said that, "Maharashtra Cyber department has come across potentially very dangerous malware, through which sensitive data of our country can be stolen. Some Pakistan hackers designed a fake Aarogya Setu App to access sensitive information from the phone of our bureaucrats and defence personnel."

Follow these steps to stay away from such fake app:

• It is always advisable to download app only from MyGov.in, Google Play Store or IOS.
• Never download app from either unverified source or any link sent by an unknown person.
• The original app ends with an extension file gov.in whereas the extension file of the fake app is .apk

It has to be noted that once the fake app is installed in the mobiles, the entire information present on the phone can be accessed. It can also activate the mobile's microphone and can also access WhatsApp and text messages easily.