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New Dimension to Virtual Warfare: How Indian Army Will Combat 'Honey-Traps'

19:38, 23 January 2024
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Swapna Nair
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The Indian military has launched an advanced AI chatbot aimed at assessing soldiers' vulnerability to online honey traps, thereby introducing a whole new aspect to the concept of 'virtual warfare'. Sputnik India delves into the troop training implications of this honey-trapping tool.
Sputnik
In a ground-breaking shift in warfare, the Indian Army has introduced a cutting-edge AI chatbot designed to engage soldiers in conversations that assess their vulnerability to online honey traps, giving an entirely new dimension to the concept of virtual warfare, as reported by Eurasian Times.

What is Honey Trapping?

Honey trapping, a technique employed globally by intelligence agencies and traditionally associated with romantic entanglements, now takes on a contemporary twist in Indo-Pak encounters, where the allure of the virtual realm supersedes that of the physical world

Crafting Realism: How India's New AI-Chat Box Works

“The AI-powered chat box undergoes a meticulous process, having analysed numerous profiles. Through machine learning, the algorithm refines itself, tailoring questions and conversations that resonate with individuals of specific ages and profiles”, a military officer told Sputnik India on condition of anonymity.

“This refinement process mirrors the personalized content experiences offered by platforms such as YouTube or Google, adapting to user preferences and displaying relevant media and advertisements,” he added.

“Similarly, the AI chat box operates on a model honed specifically for military personnel. Drawing on shared experiences of military life, including upbringing, training, and prolonged periods away from home, the model aims to connect with soldiers on a personal level”, the officer explained.

“It strategically taps into aspects such as separation from family, bachelorhood, or the unique lifestyle of military officers. The AI chatbot serves as a comprehensive training instrument, exploring the extent of weaknesses and vulnerabilities in different individuals becomes increasingly realistic, serving as an effective training tool for soldiers", the officer concluded.

Roots of Virtual Conflict & the Need to Explore Timeless Warfare Strategies

“The concept of virtual conflict has existed since time immemorial. Divided into influence operations, where the minds of enemy soldiers are targeted, and information-seeking operations, which gather intel about the enemy, the art of war aims to weaken the enemy's resolve without confrontation, as advocated by Sun Tzu (Chinese general and strategist),” Maj Gen (Dr) Pawan Anand, AVSM (Retd), Director USI Centre for Atma Nirbhar Bharat, told Sputnik India
“The AI model supports the spy with voice choices and images aligned with the target's preferences, gradually extracting increasing details. This soft kill approach may even extend into the physical realm, encouraging meetings or accepting bribes, evolving into a hard-kill scenario”, said the General.

The real-world consequences, according to Anand, “can be categorized into two or three key areas. Firstly, there is a substantial loss to the state when incident such as the DRDO Scientist and Pakistani Spy occurs. Secondly, the impact extends to the individual level, leading to a decline in social standing and, in many cases, strained family relationships.”

Safeguarding Soldier Data: Call for Robust Measures Against Potential Misuse

“A trained individual is absent in whom trust has been eroded, and the organization is deprived of the services of a highly qualified person who can no longer be utilized at the same level of responsibility as before,” Maj Gen (Dr) Anand argued.
He pointed out that “India is subjecting soldiers to an AI bot to understand their individual preferences, yielding valuable data. However, this data poses a potential risk if it falls into the wrong hands and could be used against the soldiers”

To address this, “it is crucial to ensure the anonymization of soldier data at the individual level and implement robust protective measures. Without such safeguards, this data loss would be a significant detriment to both the state and the individuals involved.”

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