India’s Ban On Telegram Leads to Rise In VPN Usage, But Is It Safe And Secure?

India’s temporary Telegram ban, aimed at preventing exam fraud, spurred VPN and alternative app downloads, raising cybersecurity concerns. Experts suggest that platform bans are temporary fixes and advocate for intelligence sharing and targeted enforcement. The debate now focuses on balancing cybercrime control with maintaining digital security and access for legitimate users. “While emergency platform bans can disrupt illicit networks in the short term, they are ultimately a stopgap measure rather than a sustainable enforcement strategy,” said Probir Roy Chowdhury, Partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors. He noted that cybercriminals often migrate quickly to alternative platforms, decentralised networks or the dark web. A more sustainable response, he suggested, would involve stronger collaboration between law enforcement agencies and technology companies through threat intelligence sharing, metadata analysis and targeted content removal. Read more