Achive.php cyber security - The Cyber Shark

Rs 12L refunded to FedEx parcel scam victim

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The Hyderabad city cyber-crime police refunded an amount of Rs 12 lakh to victims cheated by cyber fraudsters under the pretext of FedEx. According to the police, they received a complaint from a 51-year-old male private employee from Hyderabad, stating that cyber fraudsters had cheated him under the pretext of FedEx parcels and fake police. The fraudsters made him transfer an amount of Rs 16 lakh to bank accounts provided by the accused. Following the complaint, the cybercrime police registered a case, and the investigation is underway. Inspector K Madhusudhan Rao and his team made significant efforts to send notices to the bank officials, followed up to freeze the fraudulent amount, and guided the complainant to file a petition in court for the refund of the held funds. The police said the efforts resulted in Rs 12 lakh refunding the complainant’s bank account. Cybercrime police advised people not to panic if they receive any threatening video calls claiming them to be CBI, RBI, ED, customs, judges, cybercrime police, narcotics, FedEx, BSNL, and TRAI. There is no digital arrest or inquiry in the system. If a call raises suspicions, individuals should end the call immediately, without engaging further, and any fear report near the police station. Any government agency or law enforcement officials will not make Skype calls and demand monNo government agency or law enforcement officials will ey to clear the issue. Scammers can employ psychological tactics to manipulate emotions and decision-making. Do not deposit money in the unknown bank accounts believing false promises of unknown persons.

Police hold cybercrime awareness sessions for senior citizens

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Cybercrimes are rising exponentially. While Bengaluru reported 17,633 cases in 2023, it had already registered 12,356 cases by August 30, 2024. An awareness program on cyber-crimes for around 50 senior citizens was held last week at the CSI Church, Hennur Cross. The session began with a police officer asking the participants for their personal and bank details, which the senior citizens shared without hesitation. The officer then explained the common modus operandi of cyber fraudsters, the importance of data privacy, and the dos and don’ts for protecting themselves from cybercrimes. At the end of the session, he asked them again to share their bank details, and they complied. “Awareness about data privacy doesn’t come easily, especially when a trusted person or someone occupying a position of authority asks for such details,” the officer remarked. Vulnerable targets The Bengaluru City Police recently launched a cybercrime awareness campaign in collaboration with the Elders’ Helpline, recognising that senior citizens are among the most vulnerable targets for cyber fraud due to limited digital literacy. Additionally, senior citizens often have their life savings in their bank accounts, making them attractive targets for fraudsters. This campaign comes at a time when cybercrimes are rising exponentially. While the city reported 17,633 cases in 2023, it had already registered 12,356 cases by August 30, 2024. “Most of the senior citizens attending our programmes, despite being educated, are unaware that no legitimate entity — be it banks, security agencies, or courier companies — would ask for their details or claim to ‘digitally arrest’ them. “If you have done nothing wrong, there’s no need to fear. The Prime Minister himself recently clarified that the concept of a digital arrest does not exist. You should never disclose personal information, even to those claiming to represent government agencies like the police or customs. Be wary, even if they make video calls in full uniform,” he advised. Be calm “The key is to remain calm. Most cyber fraudsters induce panic to extract bank details. We hope that raising awareness about their tactics will empower seniors to refuse such requests confidently,” said Dhananjaya J.N., a counsellor from Elders’ Helpline. The campaign also offers practical tips on recognising suspicious calls, identifying common scams — such as lottery scams, fake tech support calls, and fraudulent investment schemes — and emphasises the importance of reporting cyber-crimes promptly through dedicated helplines within the crucial golden hour.

Cyber security becomes a Business Imperative: Boards Prioritize Cyber Risk Management amid Rising Threats

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Cyber security is now seen as a core business function rather than just an IT task.Cyber security is no longer just an IT problem; it’s a critical part of managing risk across the entire business. Business leaders are increasingly aware of this, especially as cyber risks have multiplied since the pandemic. Interestingly, the percentage of large companies with a cyber-security expert on their board rose from 7 percent in 2013 to 28 percent in 2020. This number is expected to grow, as research predicts that by 2025, 40 percent of boards will have a dedicated cyber security committee led by a qualified member, as per Deloitte’s latest Global Future of Cyber Survey. Cyber security is now seen as a core business function rather than just an IT task. The survey highlights that cyber security is now a “business-critical imperative—57 percent of companies plan to increase their cyber security budgets in the next one to two years, while 58 percent are working to align their cyber security spending with IT, digital transformation, and cloud initiatives. This shift towards a more integrated approach shows that businesses understand strong cyber security is vital to staying resilient in an unpredictable digital landscape. Despite this progress, many organizations still have work to do. Only 52 percent of executives feel highly confident in their board and C-suite’s ability to handle cybersecurity challenges, and among cybersecurity-focused executives, confidence drops to just 34 percent. Even in companies with high cyber maturity, frequent breaches are common, but these firms are often better prepared to manage disruptions and maintain business continuity. “It’s really about getting the basics right and maturing them and being excellent at them, every day, consistently. Things like foundational controls, asset management, and vulnerability management. You need to excel there, almost mindlessly. They just have to happen,” said CISO, Life Sciences and Healthcare Organization As technology advances, more companies are using AI in cyber security, with 39 percent already incorporating it into their programs. On average, companies dedicate USD 39 million of their annual IT budgets to cyber security, a number expected to rise by about 3 percent over the next two years.

The Indian government has frozen approximately 4.5 lakh “mule” bank accounts over the past year.

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The Indian government has frozen approximately 4.5 lakh “mule” bank accounts over the past year. These accounts, often opened using stolen identities, are primarily used to launder the proceeds of cyber fraud. State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Airtel Payments Bank were found to have the highest number of such accounts. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) recently informed the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) about this alarming trend. They highlighted the evolving tactics of cybercriminals, who are increasingly resorting to cheque withdrawals, ATM transactions, and digital transfers to siphon funds from these “mule” accounts. The I4C’s analysis, based on data from the Citizen Financial Cyber Frauds Reporting and Management System, revealed a disturbing pattern. Approximately 40,000 suspicious accounts were linked to SBI, 10,000 to PNB, 7,000 to Canara Bank, 6,000 to Kotak Mahindra Bank, and 5,000 to Airtel Payments Bank. Since January 2023, the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal has registered nearly 1 lakh cyber complaints, with estimated losses exceeding Rs 17,000 crore. To address this growing threat, the government’s high-level inter-ministerial panel has identified vulnerabilities in the banking system and directed state and union territory police forces to proactively investigate and take action against “mule” account holders. Bank managers and officials involved in opening such accounts are also under scrutiny. The Reserve Bank of India and the Department of Financial Services have been instructed to implement necessary measures to strengthen security protocols and prevent future incidents. Airtel Payments Bank, in response to these concerns, emphasized its commitment to digital financial inclusion while maintaining robust security measures. The bank highlighted its real-time API integration with the I4C suspect registry, advanced AI/ML models for fraud detection, and innovative customer verification processes like Face Match to mitigate risks associated with “mule” accounts.

QR code-based citizen launched in Chandigarh review service

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  Chandigarh Police launched 12 November two citizen-focused initiatives — the QR code-based Citizen Review Service and Cyber Awareness Kiosks — during an event at the Multipurpose Hall, UT Secretariat. Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria attended as the chief guest, joined by senior officials from the Chandigarh Administration and members of Samavesh advisory committees. These initiatives, introduced by SSP Kanwardeep Kaur, mark significant steps toward improving police transparency and public cyber safety. DGP Surendra Singh Yadav welcomed the chief guest and dignitaries, thanking Kataria for his support in bringing these citizen-centric services to Chandigarh. The Citizen Review Service is designed to gather public feedback on police interactions through an easy-to-use QR code system. Citizens visiting police stations, Samavesh centres, police headquarters, and traffic lines can scan a QR code to rate their experience on factors such as police behaviour, response time, station cleanliness, honesty, and accessibility. This feedback will be collected monthly to rank police stations, with the results displayed on the Chandigarh Police website, promoting transparency and highlighting top-performing stations. The initiative empowers citizens to voice their experiences directly, allowing police to identify areas for improvement and validate service quality. The Cyber Awareness Kiosks focus on educating the public about cyber safety in an increasingly digital world. Strategically positioned in high-traffic areas such as Sector-17 Plaza, Sukhna Lake, and Elante Mall, these kiosks offer resources on cyber safety, including updates on recent cybercrime trends, practical tips for secure online behavior, and contact information for reporting cyber incidents. Through interactive modules, visitors can learn how to protect themselves from online threats such as phishing, identity theft, and online scams. The kiosks provide an accessible means for citizens to stay informed on cyber threats, helping them navigate the digital world safely. In his address, Kataria lauded Chandigarh Police for these “innovative, citizen-friendly” measures and their ongoing commitment to digital and community-oriented initiatives, such as eFIR, eBeat/eSathi, and Cyber Swachhta Mission, which bring police services closer to the public. SP (Headquarters) Ketan Bansal delivered the vote of thanks, expressing gratitude to Kataria and other officials for their support in launching these initiatives.

US cyber Security Firm Commvault Strengthens India Operations with Coimbatore Facility

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  Commvault, a leading provider of cyber resilience and data protection solutions for the hybrid cloud, today announced the launch of an advanced, facility in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.  This facility, which complements Commvault’s existing operations in Bangalore and strengthens the company’s presence in India, will be a key centre for research and development, focusing on ground-breaking offerings like Cloud Rewind and Cleanroom Recovery. The Coimbatore facility will also serve as an innovation hub for engineering and technical talent, focusing on supporting regulatory compliance and AI advancements. The innovations will ultimately be utilized by customers across a wide array of verticals from banking, financial services, and healthcare, to public services and manufacturing. The facility’s launch follows a string of innovations from Commvault, including its recent acquisition of Apprenix, a leader in cloud-native rebuild resilience. The talented engineering team from Appranix, now integrated into Commvault’s R&D organization, will leverage this new hub to drive advancements in cloud-native application recovery and resilience. With Appranix’s expertise, Commvault is already equipping enterprises to swiftly rebuild cloud applications following outages or attacks with solutions like Cloud Rewind™, now available on the Commvault Cloud platform. This unique offering, which integrates cloud-native distributed application recovery and rebuild capabilities from the Appranix acquisition, gives cloud-first organizations a secret weapon to transform their cyber resilience strategies.  Rajesh Nambiar, President Designate, nasscom, remarked, “Commvault’s expansion into Coimbatore is a testament to India’s evolving tech landscape and the country’s role as a global innovation hub. Coimbatore’s growing reputation as a technology centre, coupled with the availability of top-tier talent, makes it an ideal location for such a cutting-edge facility. We are excited to see how Commvault will continue to innovate and contribute to the future of cyber resiliency, especially in India.” Speaking about the new centre, Sarv Saravanan, Chief Customer Officer at Commvault, stated, “The Coimbatore facility marks a major step in expanding Commvault’s global R&D footprint. Our goal is to harness the city’s outstanding talent to drive high-end cloud engineering capabilities, empowering our customers to be resilient against escalating and rampant cyber attacks, and rapidly rebuild, reconstruct, and recover when the inevitable happens.” Ramesh Kalanje, Vice President, Centre of Excellence at Commvault, stated, “Culture and collaboration have been the cornerstone of Commvault’s success, and with the launch of our new facility in Coimbatore, we will continue to enhance our commitment to empowering customers to operate in a state of continuous business.”

PAN Card Misuse: Government Plans To Take Strict Actions Against Companies

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The Ministry of Home Affairs has called for action against unauthorized use of personal data across various platforms. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has instructed the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) to crack down on all forms of unauthorized use of personal data of Indian citizens across multiple platforms. Driving the news: The Income Tax department has been directed by I4C to stop unauthorised database access, targeting fintech companies’ data harvesting practices. Why it matters: Fintech and loan companies have been using PAN numbers to: Pull customer details including addresses Access phone numbers Obtain full names Build customer profiles Cross-sell products like personal loans But why: The Union government wants every unauthorized access to the system database to be restricted in the event of the notification of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. The Act will bring in strict checks on who can access citizens’ data and for what purpose. To tighten its systems, the government is taking up this move. Industry disruption: The fintech industry, which used technology to streamline processes like credit underwriting, data gathering, and similar services, is finding many such avenues getting shut. Recently, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) asked banks to shut down any unauthorized access to the UPI database.  

Cyber Attack Warning As Hackers Use AI And Gmail In New Campaign

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  Unlike the deepfake AI-generated cyber attack that so nearly compromised a Gmail account user by impersonating Google support, the newly uncovered CopyRh(right) adamant campaign is simultaneously more sophisticated and a lot simpler. Let’s deal with that overly complicated name first: this cyber attack, described as a large-scale phishing campaign by Check Point Software researchers, uses a newly discovered variant of the Rhadamanthys information stealer malware. The attack also uses a false premise of the victim being responsible for copyright infringement violations. The conflation of these two things giving us that awful, pun-laden, CopyRh(right)adamantly label. The Check Point team has been tracking multiple threat actors utilizing Rhadamanthys information stealer malware, including an Iranian group operating in Israel called Void Manticore and Handala, a hacktivist group linked to it. A new large-scale phishing operation targeting both individuals and organizations. Rather than a political or nation-state agenda, the Check Point analysis suggests the motivation is purely financial and carried out by a criminal cybercrime operative. Gmail and AI at the Heart of New Cyber Attack The Check Point report reveals that the cyber attackers in question are using dedicated Gmail accounts, created solely to distribute emails that impersonate legitimate organizations to claim copyright violations on social media accounts, primarily Facebook. “Using falsified Gmail accounts sending emails from these well-known companies,” Check Point said, “the email addresses and language are customized per each target to inform the victim of their supposed copywriting violation.” It should come as no surprise that AI capabilities have been leveraged as part of this new cyber-attack campaign. However, according to the researchers, these capabilities are limited to older optical character recognition models which are using AI automation “to create customized emails and multiple Gmail accounts per target.” Sergey Shykevich, threat intelligence group manager at Check Point Software, said that the discovery of the CopyRh(right)”Adamantys”cyber-attack campaign reveals not only the evolving sophistication of cyber threats but also “highlights how cybercriminals are leveraging AI for marketing purposes and use automation to enhance their reach and operational scale. For security leaders.” As such, Shykevich concluded, “it’s a wake-up call to prioritize automation and AI in defense strategies to counteract these globally scaled, financially motivated phishing campaigns.”  

Union Minister Scindia Launches Call Prevention System to Shield Indians from Cyber Criminals

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Another step by Department of Telecom (DoT) to protect Citizens from cyber frauds The system identifies and blocks the incoming international calls posing as Indian phone numbers System identified and blocked about 1.35 crore calls as spoofed calls in last 24 hrs, which are 90 % of all the incoming international calls Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister of Communications and Development of North Eastern Region today launched ‘International Incoming Spoofed Calls Prevention System’, in the presence of Minister of State for Communications & Rural Development Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar. The launch ceremony was attended by Secretary Telecom and other senior officers. This is another milestone of DoT’s efforts towards building a safe digital space and protecting citizens from cyber-crime. Of late, cyber criminals have been committing cyber-crimes by making international spoofed calls displaying Indian mobile numbers (+91-xxxxxxxxx). These calls appear to be originating within India but are actually being made from abroad by manipulating the calling line identity (CLI) or commonly known as phone number. These spoofed calls have been used for financial scams, impersonating government officials, and creating panic. There have also been cases of cyber-crime threatening disconnection of mobile numbers by DoT/TRAI officials, fake digital arrests, drugs/narcotics in courier, impersonation as police officials, arrest in sex racket etc. Department of Communications (DoT) and Telecom Service (TSPs) have collaborated and devised a system to identify and block such incoming international spoofed calls from reaching the Indian telecom subscribers. The system was made operational and it has been observed that within 24 hours of operation of the system, about 1.35 crore or 90% from all the incoming international calls with Indian phone numbers were identified as spoofed calls and blocked by TSPs from reaching Indian telecom subscribers. Indian telecom subscribers should see a significant reduction in such spoofed calls with +91-xxxxxxx numbers with implementation of this system. Despite such best efforts, there could be cases where fraudsters succeed through other means. For such calls, you can help by reporting such suspected fraud communications at Chakshu facility on Sanchar Saathi (www.sancharsaasthi, gov.in). The DoT remains committed to proactively combating cybercrime. For those who have already lost money or been victims of cybercrime, please report the incident at the cybercrime helpline number 1930 or website https://www.cybercrime.gov.in

Tamil Nadu Cyber Crime Wing Warns of Online Firecracker Sale Scams Ahead of Diwali

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  As the festive season approaches, the Tamil Nadu Cyber Crime Wing has warned the public about a surge in online firecracker sale scams. According to the police, scammers are targeting buyers by exploiting Diwali enthusiasm, with 17 complaints reported between September and October through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. The cybercrime police explained that scammers are using social media platforms to post attractive advertisements offering significant discounts on firecrackers. Victims, eager to capitalise on these deals, contact the fraudsters via WhatsApp or phone calls. Scammers then share links to fake websites, such as www.kannancrackers.in and www.sunrisecrackers.com, designed to appear legitimate but intended to steal money. “These sites often display genuine-looking product catalogues, prices, and payment options,” said the police. “Once payment is made, the victims never receive their ordered products, and the scammers vanish with the money.” The public is also at risk of having their personal and financial information compromised. In response, the police have issued an advisory urging people to verify the authenticity of online sellers, ensuring they have legitimate physical addresses and contact information before making any payments. The advisory also warns against ads that promote unrealistic deals, unusually low prices, or limited-time offers. To stay safe, the public is advised to purchase firecrackers from well-known brands, official websites, or established e-commerce platforms. Additionally, the police have encouraged users to report suspicious ads on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to prevent others from falling victim to these scams. Victims of such cyber fraud, or those observing suspicious activities, can report incidents through the helpline number 1930 or via the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at www.cybercrime.gov.in.