Cyber update Archives - Page 3 of 11

Andhra police arrest international cyber fraud syndicate, 33 held

Andhra police busted an international cyber fraud ring posing as Amazon support, arresting 33 and seizing tech gear and cash. The gang targeted US citizens via VoIP scams. An alleged worldwide cyber fraud gang based in Achyutapuram, Andhra Pradesh, has been busted by the police, who have arrested 33 individuals and confiscated expensive tech equipment and Rs 3 lakh in cash. Following a Village Revenue Officer’s report and information, Anakapalli district Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Vishnu Swaroop conducted concurrent searches at three key locations on 22 May. Computers, network equipment, and upscale furniture were among the items confiscated. Swaroop told PTI on Friday that this was a full-fledged contact centre that used Amazon support as a front to target US individuals with impersonation and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) fraud. Police claim that job seekers were recruited via internet job boards, educated in impersonation tactics, and then used in scam calls to obtain private financial data from US citizens. Food and lodging were given to the recruits, who were primarily from Assam and northeast India. He claimed that after a week of training, they were on calls the following week. The fraud had four layers: managers, American bank representatives, and dialers impersonating Amazon assistance used “gift card redemptions” and other strategies to trick unsuspecting Americans.

Joint Airtel-Jio-Vi initiative: Will the telecom behemoths unite to combat fraud and cybercrime

Joint Airtel-Jio-Vi initiative: Airtel has proposed a joint initiative with Jio and Vodafone Idea to combat rising telecom-related cybercrimes and frauds, citing over 1.7 million complaints in early 2024. The plan calls for real-time fraud intelligence sharing and cross-network coordination to strengthen user safety. Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (VI), India’s three main private telecom companies, may unite in an uncommon attempt to fight telecom fraud, scams, and cybercrime. The second-largest telecom provider in India by market share, Airtel, claims that it just sent a call to action to Jio and Vodafone, urging them to band together to combat these nefarious frauds and scams. The telecom giant claims that in the first three quarters of 2024, India received over 1.7 million complaints about cybercrime, which led to losses of ₹11,000 crore. India has recently witnessed a notable increase in cybercrime, ranging from identity theft to phishing links, “digital arrest” frauds, and fraudulent loan offers and payment forms. Customers received the following message from Airtel last week: “Airtel is now The Safe Network.” To keep you safe, our fraud detection tool prevents bogus URLs from opening. Additionally, for the past month, Airtel has begun adding “scam” cautions before suspected texts for a large number of consumers. However, the operator led by Sunil Mittal aims to do more. “…it became clear that more coordinated industry action was required, given the recent alarming rise in phishing attempts and malicious URL-based scams targeting unsuspecting individuals.” In letters to Telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal and TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahotia, it stated that these sophisticated fraud schemes frequently take advantage of the lack of cooperation between service providers. “Through real-time fraud intelligence sharing and cross-network coordination, this initiative would bring all TSPs together to collaboratively detect, prevent, and mitigate telecom fraud and scams across our networks,” Airtel continued. The challenge for Jio, Vodafone, and the other two companies involved in this program is to prevent unsolicited commercial communications (UCC), which are the source of the majority of scams, without interfering with the enterprise services that are properly provided by the telecom networks. This might include establishing a centralised platform for data sharing, which raises additional privacy concerns. However, that is a matter for another time. Currently, it is up to Ambani-led Jio and Vodafone Idea to agree to Airtel’s proposal for a collaborative task force to combat cybercrime based on telecoms.

Odisha Police Train 700 Officers in Digital Investigation Techniques

Odisha Police: Around 700 police investigating officers from Odisha’s Eastern Range attended a digital investigation workshop on May 21, 2025, to enhance skills in e-investigation, evidence management, and case documentation. The initiative reflects Odisha Police’s commitment to modernising law enforcement through technology. Odisha’s Balasore (PTI) On May 21, 2025, around 700 police investigating officers (IOs) attended a workshop on the latest methods and knowledge in digital investigation, evidence management, and case documenting. The State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) conducted a workshop for the IOs of the districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, and Mayurbhanj on e-investigation, e-sakshya, and e-sign, according to Satyajit Naik, DIG Eastern Range. The DIG stated, “The training aimed to equip IOs with the latest skills and knowledge in digital investigation, evidence management, and case documentation.” The police department uses technology to improve the efficacy and efficiency of investigations, which ultimately ensures the delivery of justice. According to the DIG, this project demonstrates the Odisha Police’s dedication to implementing creative solutions and keeping up with the most recent advancements in law enforcement. He stated that this capacity-building operation is expected to have a good effect on crime investigation and public service delivery in the area, and that the Eastern Range Police stand to gain enormously from it.

SRM University and Officers Training Academy sign an MOU

SRM University: SRM Institute of Science and Technology and the Officers Training Academy, Chennai, signed an MoU on May 26, 2025, to launch a diploma program in Cyber Security and IT for officer cadets. The initiative aims to enhance cadets’ technical skills and digital readiness for modern defence challenges. On May 26, 2025, the Officers Training Academy in Chennai and the SRM Institute of Science and Technology signed a Memorandum of Understanding to provide its officer cadets with additional training through a diploma program in Cyber Security and Information Technology. The program is intended to cover important topics including cybersecurity, data protection, and IT principles, according to a Defense announcement. The Memorandum of Understanding documents were signed by Officers Training Academy (OTA) Commandant Lt Gen Michael AJ Fernandez and Vice Chancellor Dr. C Muthamizh Selvan at the Officers Training Academy headquarters here. During his speech, Lt. Gen. Michael Fernandez stated that the days of thinking about warfare without utilising new technologies were long gone. He also urged the officer cadets to continue learning to stay up to date with the changes. He conveyed his expectation that the new course will empower future army commanders with cybersecurity and information technology capabilities, giving them the technical know-how and digital competency needed in the quickly evolving defence environment of today. SRM IST Vice Chancellor Dr. Muthamizh Selvan stated in his speech that the OTA officer cadets are welcome to use the university’s laboratories for their research and projects. Selvan maintained that it is time for educational establishments to transition from rigidity to flexibility and from tradition to innovation.

Department of Telecommunications Launches FRI Tool to Detect Risky Mobile Numbers in Cyber Frauds

The Department of Telecommunications has launched the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) to help banks and payment platforms identify risky mobile numbers linked to cyber fraud. Platforms like PhonePe, Paytm, and Google Pay are integrating the tool to enhance transaction security. The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), a new multi-dimensional analytical tool created as part of the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP), was unveiled on Wednesday. Its purpose is to assist financial institutions in preventing cyber fraud by providing them with advanced, actionable intelligence. In order to combat financial crime and cyber fraud, FRI facilitates improved intelligence sharing with banks, UPI service providers, and other financial organizations. A cell phone number can be categorized as having a Medium, High, or Very High risk of financial fraud using this risk-based criteria. In the event that a mobile number is deemed to be at high risk, the action is expected to assist banks, non-banking financial institutions, and UPI service providers in giving enforcement top priority and implementing further client protection measures. The digital payment provider PhonePe, which was among the first to implement FRI, has utilised it to reject transactions associated with Very High FRI mobile numbers and to show a notice on the screen as part of the PhonePe Protect feature. According to the DoT, PhonePe is working to show a proactive user alert for Medium FRI numbers before authorising the transaction. PhonePe, Paytm, and Google Pay, which collectively manage over 90% of UPI transactions, have begun integrating DIP notifications into their systems, the DoT claims. Fraud detection According to the department, “this classification is the result of inputs obtained from various stakeholders, including intelligence shared by banks and financial institutions, reporting on DoT’s Chakshu platform, the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4Cs). The list of mobile numbers that were disconnected due to their involvement in cybercrime, failure to re-verify, and violating limitations is shared by the DoT every month. Financial fraud also frequently uses these numbers. The life of a cell number used in cyber frauds is usually a few days, and complete verification might take several days, therefore, the DoT believes that an advanced signal of risk associated with such numbers is quite important. As a result, when a stakeholder flags a suspected mobile number, it is subjected to multi-dimensional analysis, which determines whether it carries a Medium, High, or Very High financial risk. It is then promptly shared with all stakeholders via DIP.

OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s AI Startup io for $6.4 Billion in Major Hardware Push

OpenAI is acquiring Jony Ive’s AI device startup, io, for $6.4 billion in an all-equity deal, marking its major push into hardware. I’ve will lead design efforts at both OpenAI and io, while io integrates with OpenAI’s San Francisco teams. On May 21, 2025, OpenAI announced that it would acquire Jony Ive’s AI device startup, io, for roughly $6.4 billion in an all-equity transaction, solidifying the AI company’s entry into the hardware market. The company said in a statement that Ive will be taking on “deep creative and design responsibilities across OpenAI and io.” Ive and LoveFrom, his “creative collective,” will continue to operate independently. According to OpenAI, while io will be coming in-house. Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in a blog post on May 21 that Ive launched io a year ago with the help of Apple alums Scott Cannon, Tang Tan, and Evans Hankey, who temporarily filled Ive’s position at Apple after he left. In order to collaborate more closely with the research, engineering, and product teams in San Francisco, the io team—which is dedicated to creating products that inspire, empower, and enable—will now join with OpenAI, according to the post. OpenAI, which already controls 23% of the business, stated that it is paying $5 billion in the deal. Ive is “the greatest designer in the world,” according to Altman’s post on X. This is by far OpenAI’s biggest acquisition to date, and it comes weeks after the business agreed to pay $3 billion to acquire the AI-assisted coding tool Windsurf. Before that, in 2024, OpenAI paid an unknown amount to purchase the analytics database startup Rockset. To launch LoveFrom, Ive declared in 2019 that he was leaving Apple, where he had served as chief design officer for several years. In 2020, Airbnb announced that I had been advising the business on hiring and upcoming features. Last year, the New York Times revealed that LoveFrom’s designers were working on projects for Christie’s, Airbnb, and Ferrari at the time, and that the company’s clients pay it up to $200 million annually. Ive and designer Marc Newson formed LoveFrom, according to the company’s website, but it makes no mention of io or what the business does. Apple’s most recognisable products, such as the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air, were all designed by Ive. Additionally, he contributed to the design of Apple Park, the company’s new Cupertino headquarters, which was started in 2004 and formally opened in 2019. As competitors like Google, Anthropic, and Elon Musk’s xAI are making significant investments and frequently releasing new products, OpenAI, which was recently valued at $300 billion in a funding round spearheaded by Soft Bank, is scrambling to remain ahead of the competition in the generative AI space. Strengthening its hardware operations is one way to keep ahead of the competition. To advance its hardware objectives, OpenAI in November named the former leader of Meta’s Orion augmented reality glasses project to lead its robotics and consumer hardware initiatives. The position would “initially focus on OpenAI’s robotics work and partnerships to help bring AI into the physical world and unlock its benefits for humanity,” according to a statement made at the time by Caitlin “CK” Kalinowski. Additionally, in November, OpenAI invested $400 million at a valuation of $2.4 billion in Physical Intelligence, a robot company based in San Francisco. Among the other investors was Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. By creating extensive AI models and algorithms to drive robots, the business aims to “bring general-purpose AI into the physical world,” according to its website.

Massive Facebook Data Leak Exposes 1.2 Billion User Records, Hacker Claims

Facebook Data: A hacker claims to have leaked data from 1.2 billion Facebook users, including emails, phone numbers, and more. Researchers verified part of the sample, raising concerns about Meta’s data security and ongoing scraping issues. In response to Cyber News, Facebook’s parent company, Meta, sent a brief message along with a link to a newsroom article from four years ago titled “How we combat scraping.” “This assertion is not new. A Meta representative stated, “We revealed this years ago and have since taken action to stop such events from occurring. Meanwhile, looked into a data sample that had information on 100,000 distinct Facebook user records that the attackers had added to the post. The data seems valid based on the contents of the sample rather than the entire dataset. The team claims that the dataset consists of: User IDs Names Email addresses Usernames Phone numbers Locations Birthdays Genders Researchers advise exercising caution regarding the veracity of the attacker’s claims regarding “1.2 billion Facebook user records,” despite the fact that they are remarkable. For starters, this is only the second post the attackers have ever made that contains alleged Facebook records that were scraped. Although the quantity was substantially smaller, data purportedly collected from Facebook was also included in another attacker’s post. Researchers speculated that after publishing one post, they were able to extract further data to reach 1.2 billion entries. The social networking site would flag another case of user data being scraped in bulk if the Facebook data scrape were verified. According to the team, this calls into doubt the company’s stance on the protection of consumers’ personal information. Recurring incidents indicate a tendency toward reactive security measures as opposed to proactive ones, especially when it comes to safeguarding critical yet publicly accessible data. Millions may be vulnerable to phishing, scams, identity theft, and long-term privacy problems due to the absence of more robust protections and transparency, the researchers stated. A dataset of that size can be used in a variety of ways by threat actors since it makes it simple for hackers to automate attacks, releasing hordes of bots that target each user in the dataset with minimal human intervention. Since malicious actors are aware that the email addresses in the dataset belong to Facebook members, they can utilise one of the several Facebook phishing methods to target Facebook users. Threat actors frequently try to use APIs for malicious ends. Attackers targeted Shopify, GoDaddy, Wix, and OpenAI’s APIs earlier this year. Actors with financial motivations frequently try to misuse the same method to gain access to cryptocurrency wallets. “A pattern of reactive rather than proactive security measures is evident in repeated incidents, especially when it comes to safeguarding sensitive but publicly visible data.” Since APIs enable communication between various services, the majority of well-known services would not be possible without them. Attackers, however, manage to leverage lawful APIs for malicious ends, such as retrieving significantly more data than the software applications were designed to do. Facebook data scraping is not unheard of. For instance, Meta acknowledged last year that it had used publicly available Facebook and Instagram data to train its AI virtual assistant. In 2021, however, a different hacker shared details about more than 500 million Facebook users, including locations and phone numbers. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), the European Union’s top data privacy body, fined Meta €265 million ($266 million) for the leak.

Meet the Teen “Cyberterrorist” Who, During Operation Sindoor, Waged a Digital War Against India

Cyberterrorist: An 18-year-old from Gujarat was arrested for leading over 50 cyberattacks on Indian government websites during Operation Sindoor. Authorities suspect online radicalisation and possible foreign influence behind the coordinated digital assault. AHMEDABAD Jasim Shahnawaz Ansari, an 18-year-old from Nadiad, was detained by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for reportedly planning more than 50 assaults on Indian government websites, a development that has shocked the country’s cybersecurity scene. After India began Operation Sindoor in May 2025 as a military response after a terror incident in Pahalgam, the attacks allegedly became more intense. Officials claim that Ansari and other young people organised Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks using free tools obtained from websites such as GitHub and Termux in a group named AnonSec on Telegram. Among the targets were important government agencies in the fields of finance, urban development, aviation, and defence. On hacked websites, they frequently displayed anti-national statements such as “India may have started it, but we will be the ones to finish it.” Open-Source Weapons: A Cybercrime How-To According to investigators, the group learned Python programming and carried out attacks using open-source software and YouTube tutorials. Ansari allegedly overloaded government servers with digital traffic using programs like PyDroid. According to the ATS, the group boasted about their crimes in internet chat rooms after learning how to use websites like checkhost.net to confirm the effectiveness of their attacks. Even though many of the attacks were simple, intelligence services were alarmed by their sheer number and timing, which coincided with Operation Sindoor. After detecting discussion on online forums about India’s military operations, the Gujarat ATS began surveillance and monitoring. Eventually, they concentrated on the Telegram channels where attack plans were publicly discussed. Radicalisation, Recruitment, and the Juvenile Web Investigators have been taken aback not only by the attacks’ boldness but also by the target demographic. Ansari, a science student in class twelve who failed recent tests, is among an increasing number of young people engaged in cyber subversion. At least one further 17-year-old kid is being investigated, according to ATS officials. The ATS is currently investigating whether these kids acted on their initiative or with the support of foreign operators. “There is a chance that hostile outside forces could have an impact. A top ATS official stated, “We are looking at digital footprints to find any deeper affiliations.” Cyberterrorism-related FIRs have been submitted following Sections 43 and 66F of the IT Act. The arrest of a teenager responsible for such coordinated cyberattacks raises alarming concerns about online radicalisation, national resilience, and the ease with which the young and enraged can weaponise digital India is confronted with a complex threat matrix that includes both digital and physical fronts in its conflict.

Mumbai News: Man Arrested In ₹67 Lakh Cyber Fraud Targeting Elderly Sisters; Hunt on for Mastermind

Mumbai Police arrested Mohit Bhojraj in a ₹67 lakh cyber fraud case targeting two elderly sisters, with the mastermind Salid Mohammed Shaikh still at large. The victims were lured through a fake investment scheme on WhatsApp, promising high returns. A man from Dahisar has been taken into custody by the Mumbai Police’s South Cyber Cell about a ₹67 lakh cyber scam involving two elderly sisters. Mohit Akash Bhojraj has been recognised as the offender who was apprehended. Officials claim that Mohit maintained continuous communication with Salid Mohammed Shaikh, a well-known cyber fraudster who lives in Bengaluru, Karnataka, and is currently a sought-after suspect in the investigation. According to investigations, Mohit gave Shaikh access to 19 bank accounts, which were purportedly used to embezzle the stolen money. The cyber cell’s investigation to find the fugitive mastermind and follow the cash trail is still ongoing. The complaint claims that after investing in a financing company, the victims, two sisters living in Girgaon with their mother, were joined to a WhatsApp group in January 2025. A lady named Shruti Baheti ran the organisation and frequently shared information about profitable investment possibilities. Shruti posted conversation logs and screenshots purporting to show off earnings from prior investments in an attempt to win members’ trust. With the promise of large returns, Shruti persuaded one of the sisters to participate in a “block share deal” via direct messaging on January 21. The woman made a sizable investment after opening an account with the finance company. Following the first profits, her sister joined the organisation and invested as well. The sisters contributed a total of 67.15 lakh rupees. Their investment portfolio was reported to have increased to ₹1.88 crore shortly after. However, the transaction failed when they tried to withdraw ₹50 lakh. When asked, Shruti stated that before the money could be released, a tax payment was necessary. The sisters realized they had been duped at that point and filed a formal complaint. Mohit Bhojraj has been taken into custody by the cyber cell, which is also actively pursuing the other defendants, including the mastermind Salid Mohammed Shaikh. Investigations are still under progress.

Microsoft wants AI ‘agents’ to work together and retain information

Microsoft envisions AI agents collaborating across companies and improving memory retention using structured retrieval augmentation. At its Build conference, it plans to promote open standards like the Model Context Protocol to foster an interconnected “agentic web.” Microsoft’s top technologist said Sunday, ahead of the company’s annual software development conference, that the company envisions a future when its AI agents may work together with agents from other companies and remember past contacts more clearly. At its Build conference in Seattle on May 19, analysts expect Microsoft to unveil its latest tools for developers building AI systems. Microsoft is dedicated to encouraging the adoption of industry-wide standards that will allow agents from different manufacturers to collaborate, Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott told reporters and analysts at the company’s Redmond, Washington, headquarters before to the conference. Agents are AI systems that are able to do specific activities, like fixing a software defect, on their own. Scott claims that Microsoft is backing the open-source Model Context Protocol (MCP) technology, which was first introduced by Google-backed Anthropic. According to Scott, MCP could lead to the development of an “agentic web” in a manner akin to how hypertext protocols facilitated the internet’s growth in the 1990s. “It means that your imagination gets to drive what the agentic web becomes, not just a handful of companies that happen to see some of these problems first,” Scott stated. According to Scott, Microsoft is working to improve AI agents’ recall of tasks that customers have requested of them, but as of right now, “most of what we’re building feels very transactional.” However, because it requires more computing power, enhancing an AI agent’s memory is costly. Microsoft is focusing on a new approach called structured retrieval augmentation, where an agent provides a roadmap of the subjects discussed by summarising each turn in a user discussion. “This is a core part of how you train a biological brain – you don’t brute force everything in your head every time you need to solve a particular problem,” Scott stated.

Cyber update