WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter working in parts of Kashmir despite govt ban

Internet users in the valley are able to bypass the ban with the help of VPN services

In view of the current unrest in the Kashmir valley, the government of Jammu and Kashmir banned 22 social media networking sites and mobile applications, including WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter.

However, the ban, which was imposed to curb the misuse of these services by anti-national and anti-social elements to fan trouble,has failed to restrict access to social media networks by internet users in the state. With the help of Virtual Private Network (VPN) services, internet users are able to bypass the ban and access blocked social media websites and mobile applications.

What is VPN and how it works?

"VPN extends a private network across a public network, and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. Applications running across the VPN may therefore benefit from the functionality, security, and management of the private network." Source: Wikipedia

"VPN helps provide a secure mechanism for encrypting and encapsulating private network traffic and moving it through an intermediate network. Data is encrypted for confidentiality, and packets that might be intercepted on the shared or public network are indecipherable without the correct encryption keys. Data is also encapsulated, or wrapped, with an IP header containing routing information." Source: Microsoft

In simple terms, VPN is a service that masks the user’s internet identity – Internet Protocol (IP) address – and therefore allows access to channels, websites and applications that are otherwise blocked on a particular network.

Such services are often being used to access information on official private networks (office) at public places (cafeteria, airport etc) but the same services can also be used to bypass the country’s internet law to access websites, applications and content channels that are otherwise impossible to access.

Now, that VPN services are available in abundance for computers and for mobile devices, it becomes comparatively difficult for the government to put restriction on web-based services. Such services can easily be accessed by anyone who has knowledge of internet and VPNs.

When it comes to tracking, the user on VPN network can access all the information without any fear of being traced back as the information is exchanged between servers is encrypted. The activities can be monitored but the root of the activities cannot be easily traced considering the fact that most premium VPN providers offer end-to-end encryption of information.