A 140-member contingent of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force, comprising seven women, has been flagged off for rendering UN mandated police duties in the African nation of Democratic Republic of Congo.
The squad was sent off by ITBP Director General Krishna Chaudhary from the force headquarters here early this week.
This is the 10th contingent of the border guarding force to the central African nation and it will be stationed in Bunia.
The squad, led by Commandant Sanjay Kothari, has been trained in mob dispersal and riot control techniques, special driving skills, providing aid to civilian authorities and basics on human rights laws.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the third largest country in Africa, bordering Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. It has been placed under the United Nations due to internal disturbances in the country.
The latest squad will be there for a year after it replaces an earlier ITBP team working there.
"Users should restrict the amount of personal information
placed on social media websites and avoid posting information such as users home or work address, phone numbers, place of employment and other personal information that can be used to tag them," the instructions said.
They add that personnel of the force should "not use" their official email ids or passwords on these foras and desist from giving these vital personal details to "untrusted third parties, especially those promising to get followers or to make money".
Some counter-measures have also been suggested for these men in uniform to save them from becoming the victims of social media attacks like hacking or phishing.
"Users should apply available security and privacy options to their accounts and use a 'private' profile wherever applicable.
"During the use of social media websites, do not accept any friend requests from strangers and check each profile before accepting," the instructions said.
The men and women of the about 80,000 strong force have also been asked to use the latest security patches and strong anti-virus softwares.
"Be wary of accessing unknown website links or attachments, unsolicited contact and fake profiles," the instructions added.
