Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has shifted its surveillance strategy in India, deploying high-definition, SIM-powered smart CCTV cameras along national highways and near military installations to track Indian troop movements, according to intelligence officials. The tactical shift follows a crackdown on surveillance modules linked to Shahzad Bhatti and signals a more sophisticated, harder-to-detect espionage network taking shape across the country.

How the New Surveillance Network Works

Unlike conventional CCTV systems that route footage through a local Wi-Fi network, the newly detected cameras carry a built-in cellular module and an active SIM card, allowing them to transmit live data directly over 4G and 5G commercial mobile towers — entirely off the grid. This design means the camera bypasses the target building's local network, leaving no trace on conventional network monitoring systems.

'It also blends its data traffic into the standard commercial 4G and 5G mobile towers across the country,' officials noted. The result is a feed that is operationally indistinguishable from ordinary mobile data traffic, creating a significant detection challenge for security and intelligence agencies.

Who Is Being Recruited and Where

An Intelligence Bureau (IB) official said ISI handlers have been actively scouting individuals living along highways or in the vicinity of military installations to serve as unwitting or witting operators. Once recruited, operatives are instructed to mount the cameras on the exterior of their homes.

'Those living along highways are particularly preferred by the handlers, as live feeds from the highways help the ISI gather information about the movement of Indian troops and important personalities,' the IB official said. The Jammu and Kashmir police last week arrested one individual identified as Aman, who had installed a high-definition, SIM-powered smart CCTV camera outside his residence. Investigations revealed he was paid ₹20,000 to install the device.

The SIM Card Trail — and How It Is Being Hidden

Intelligence officials say ISI recruits inside India have also been separately tasked with procuring SIM cards, which are then either sent to Pakistan or used to issue instructions to local operatives over phone calls. Because these SIM cards are registered in India, they help evade conventional detection frameworks.

Critically, the same illegally procured SIM cards are now being used to power the cameras. The ISI's operatives reportedly use fraudulent documentation or virtual SIM cards to activate cellular connections, ensuring the device cannot be tied to the real identity of the operator. This, officials warn, makes tracking the hardware a major challenge for security agencies.

Scale of the Threat and What Comes Next

Officials indicate the ISI intends to expand this model well beyond Jammu and Kashmir. 'Locations across the country that are closer to military installations or along the highways would be the preferred slot to install these cameras,' a second official said. The ISI had previously experimented with solar-powered CCTV cameras, which reportedly yielded intelligence on military installations as well as crowded civilian locations such as bus stands and railway stations. The SIM-powered variant is considered a more advanced iteration because it bypasses Wi-Fi entirely.

This is not the first documented instance of foreign intelligence leveraging commercial hardware for espionage in India, but the cellular bypass mechanism marks a qualitative upgrade in operational tradecraft. Security agencies are now believed to be working on protocols to detect unusual SIM-activated camera activity near sensitive zones.