That feature of Telegram which became helpful to terrorists, telegrams related to Delhi blast

New Delhi. There are now reports of the use of a messaging app called Telegram in the blast that took place in Chandni Chowk, Delhi on 10 November. According to the information received, the terrorists planned the attack using Telegram’s secret chat app. As the investigation into the car blast near Red Fort in Delhi is progressing, many digital clues are emerging. Initial inputs revealed that the accused had used the secret chat feature of Telegram. This feature has now become the biggest headache for security agencies because it becomes almost impossible to directly access the messages sent through it.

The investigation team has only received basic information like metadata such as login time and device details. But the real chat is still not available. This is the reason why it is becoming difficult to connect the planning, timeline and network of the blast.

What is Telegram’s secret chat?

Telegram’s secret chat mode runs on end-to-end encryption. That means only the sender and the recipient can read the message. Telegram itself cannot see the chat. In this mode, there are many such features ranging from screenshot alerts to self-delete message timer which hide the chat completely. For this reason it is used for high level privacy. Common chats are saved on the cloud but secret chats run only from phone to phone. This means that if the device is not found, there will be no record of the chat.

Why is it difficult for investigating agencies

In cases like the Red Fort blast, investigating agencies get leads when they decode digital conversations. But in secret chat, there is neither forwarding, nor backup, nor can the chat be recovered. For this reason, it has become very difficult to find evidence of conversations in the Delhi blast case. Agencies are now trying to link suspicious activity through metadata, location patterns, device activity and AI based pattern analysis. But lack of direct message content has affected the speed of investigation.

What do tech experts say

Tech experts believe that it is almost impossible to break a secret chat but it is possible to identify suspicious behavior. Such as sudden chat activity with many unknown contacts, unusual login at night, frequent device changes or the same account being active from different places. AI can catch these patterns and provide clues in the investigation. However, he also says that in a country like India, striking a balance between digital privacy and national security has now become more challenging than before.

Next step in investigation of Red Fort blast

Now the investigation team is combining the metadata obtained from Telegram chats with CCTV, call records, financial transactions and field inputs. The hope is that the blueprint of this entire network will be revealed through metadata and AI analysis. The Delhi blast case has once again made it clear that messaging apps with high encryption are becoming a big challenge for law and order and in the coming times, the focus of digital investigation will be more on pattern analysis and not just on content.