New Delhi. The battle royale game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) was banned in India in 2020. This game app was banned due to its association with Chinese publisher Tencent. Later, this game returned to the Indian market with a rebranded avatar named Battlegrounds Mobile India i.e. BGMI. This game has been developed by Singapore-based company Krafton. However, now it can also be banned.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Indian authorities are concerned that the data collected by the game could pose a threat to national security and lead to cyber attacks. According to a report by our partner website News18 English, a senior official of the central government’s cyber security division, responsible for coordinating with law enforcement agencies, has claimed that the agency has recommended shutting down the app.
What is Seema Haider’s connection?
The report does not mention the exact reasons but the factors cited behind this move are the entry of Pakistani citizen Seema Haider into India and other crimes. Pakistani citizen Seema Haider is said to have met her partner Sachin Meena on the BGMI platform. The game’s server is located in the US. But Indian agencies are concerned about the possibility of data being transferred to servers located elsewhere and being used in cyber attacks, which could compromise the country’s security.
An intelligence agency report has highlighted that some violations of rules have been found that could pose a cyber threat by collecting user data for profiling with the intention of carrying out targeted cyber attacks on Indian users. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has conveyed this concern to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity).
The intelligence agency report also said that there are several issues with the app, but the most important issue is that it is directly or indirectly communicating with servers located in China. Sources have also confirmed that other apps that have been ‘rebranded’ are also communicating with servers in China and are under investigation. An important meeting is scheduled to be held next week to deal with the situation. The company will present its case in it and the central agencies will review their stance before deciding on the future of the game.
Tags: Cyber Attack, PUBG BAN, PUBG MOBILE, Tech news, China
FIRST PUBLISHED : March 8, 2024, 13:05 IST