JAMMU — The authorities in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch on Sunday ordered suspension of all virtual private network services in the border district for two months, citing their potential misuse for unlawful activities.
Poonch became the second border district in the Jammu region after Rajouri, where virtual private network (VPN) services have been suspended in the past two days.
Poonch District Magistrate Ashok Kumar Sharma ordered the suspension of VPNs under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) with immediate effect.
“The SSP informed that there has been an unprecedented high usage of VPNs in the past few days at different locations of the district by suspicious internet users,” Sharma said in the order.
It was also informed that VPN transmit gets encrypted and creates a point-to-point tunnel, masks IP addresses, and sidesteps website blocks and firewalls on the internet, thus making sensitive data vulnerable to cyber attacks, the order said.
“Adversaries can use VPN service to create an atmosphere of fear in view of the prevailing situation,” Sharma said.
The order shall apply to all individuals, institutions, cyber cafes and internet service providers operating in the district, and anyone found violating it shall be punishable under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), he said.
The district magistrate has directed the SSP to ensure implementation of the order in letter and spirit. — (PTI)