On Wednesday, India’s counter-terror arm put the screws on Riaz, or Rizvi as he is also known. The agency says he was in on an anti-India terror plot, feeding out confidential details to show just how digital means are being put to work for cross-border intel.
Arrest marks escalation against Pakistan-linked espionage
Riaz was picked up after a Look Out Circular had been put in place and with the process to make him a Proclaimed Offender in motion. He is now facing charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Official Secrets Act.
There is a personal side to this, too. Riaz is wed to a Pakistani and his kids are citizens of that country. In the eyes of officials, those ties are part of what made him susceptible to being put to use.
How the alleged network operated
What the NIA has uncovered is a deceptively simple ploy: Riaz is said to have given a Pakistani Intelligence Officer (PIO) One-Time Passwords from Indian phone numbers to get WhatsApp accounts running. From there, the agency says, he was in touch with co-accused Motiram Jat.
Jat, in turn, is alleged to have used those same lines to pass on security secrets to the PIO. It’s not high-tech, but it muddies the waters when it comes to tracing where a message is coming from.
Prior record and recruitment trail
This isn’t the first time Riaz has been in trouble; the NIA notes a prior conviction for espionage. Then there is his record of going back and forth between the two countries since 2005.
The story goes that during a trip to Pakistan, the PIOs made their approach. They dangled a deal: money and a path to citizenship if he would do some work for them in India.
Wider probe and next steps
The NIA is following up on this to see who else is involved and to get a handle on the whole scheme. You can expect the probe to look at how much information has been moving through the network.
Investigators are now prioritising the following lines of inquiry:
– Mapping suspected handlers and intermediaries
– Auditing OTP-enabled WhatsApp accounts
– Tracing financial inducements and channels
– Identifying operatives near sensitive locations
In other news, the NIA on Monday put in an Investigation Report in Ghaziabad for five Juveniles in Conflict with Law. They are tied to a Pakistan-backed plan to put eyes on sensitive spots and put India’s security at risk.
Why this arrest matters now
It shows a change in how things are done. You don’t need a sophisticated hack when you can make do with a telecom verification to open a back channel. For the agencies, it’s a matter of watching these digital identity loops more closely.
And for the rest of us, it is a reminder of how our mobile data can be turned against us. The NIA’s take on OTP abuse will likely have an impact on what we see from the telcos and app makers down the line.
What to watch
Going forward, it’s all about the evidence: the digital footprints, the messages, and the breaches they can be connected to. More arrests may well come and with them a better picture of how this works.
For the moment, Riaz’s case, as the NIA tells it, is a clear case of inducement and cross-border dealing over a common app. We’ll have to wait and see what the agency has to say next about how far this has gone and how to put a stop to it.
