GIMS or Government Instant Messaging System

GIMS or Government Instant Messaging System

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Governance

In News

• The government is testing a prototype of an Indian equivalent of popular messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, for secure internal use – codenamed GIMS

• Designed and developed by the Kerala unit of National Informatics Centre (NIC)

• GIMS is being packaged for employees of Central and state government departments and organisations for intra and inter organisation communications
• It is being developed as a secure Indian alternative without the security concerns attached with apps hosted abroad or those owned by foreign entities. Like WhatsApp, GIMS employs end-to-end encryption for one-to-one messaging

Do You know?

• There was a WhatsApp breach through a spyware called Pegasus some Indian users’ mobile devices were targeted 
• Pegasus code can be transmitted via Whatsapp call.It sends the targets contacts, calls and messages to its controller. It can also turn the phone into a spy device by switching on the camera or microphone.