Spies set honey traps on social networks to obtain strategic information

“Online temptation the art of using search engines to honey trap businessmen, politicians, bureaucrats and military officials “was an article I wrote seven months ago on the use of Social Networks to honey trap for corporate and military espionage. The Indian government today requested senior paramilitary and armed force personnel to stop flaunting their career information on such sites or stay away altogether. Many of these personnel posed in official uniform to impress people including girls. They became easy target for “across the border honey’s” who enticed them further with video chats and other types of conversation designed to extract strategic information or blackmail. This channel was also used to introduce malware onto sensitive government computers which is a high security threat. The government has decided to monitor social network pages of officials in sensitive positions, particularly those in border positions.

Honey traps have been effectively used by petty thieves. Do read a previous post on “Entrapment for Theft”

Reported Examples

Times of India 20 Dec 12 Indian Army Colonel honey-trapped by ISI, probe ordered
Excerpt: A Colonel was cultivated by a woman when he was posted in Bangladesh for a military course in one of the institutes of the neighbouring country. The relationship developed into a love affair sometime in the middle of this year.The Colonel was approached by ISI operatives based in Bangladesh, asking him to work for them. Sources said the Colonel also received letters threatening to put up on the Internet photographs of him in compromising position with the woman, as well as to send them to Delhi, if he failed to work for the ISI