Cyber Threat

Gujarat Police arrest kingpin of Southeast Asia cyber-slavery racket

Gujarat Police has nabbed the alleged kingpin of an international cyber slavery network being operated by Chinese gangs from Myanmar and Cambodia, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi said on Tuesday. The Cyber Centre for Excellence of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID-Crime) arrested Nilesh Purohit alias Neel who allegedly supplied Indian workers to 'cyber slavery' scam compounds in Myanmar and Cambodia, the minister told the media. Purohit, known as 'The Ghost', was arrested from Gandhinagar while he was allegedly planning to flee to Malaysia, said Sanghavi, the Gujarat home minister. The CID-Crime had recently nabbed two of Purohit's main associates, sub-agents Hitesh Somaiya and Sonal Faldu. Two more accused involved in the racket, Bhavdeep Jadeja and Hardeep Jadeja, have also been arrested, said Sanghavi. These sub-agents were accused of running a human trafficking racket where job aspirants were promised high-paying jobs abroad and then forced to work for a cybercrim

Helping kids stay safe online: How parents can help tackle cyberbullying

With cyberbullying cases on the rise, creating a safe space for open conversations and building digital resilience are key steps to protecting children in today's connected world

Cybercriminal group extorts executives after claiming Oracle apps breach

They claim to be affiliated with a criminal outfit called Cl0p, which began sending extortion emails on or before Sept 29, according to the head of cybercrime at Google Threat Intelligence Group

Your electric car runs on data but how safe is it from cyberattacks?

Modern EVs are like computers on a wheel, collecting detailed personal data from your routes to your playlists which has raised urgent questions about privacy and cybersecurity

Cyber threats, volatility pose challenge to rising investor trend: Sebi WTM

With an increasing number of savers stepping into the capital markets, Sebi Whole-Time Member Ananth Narayan on Tuesday highlighted that cyber threats, market volatility, and a trust deficit in the financial ecosystem could pose significant challenges to this growing investor trend. Over the years, the number of unique investors in India's capital markets has risen sharply from 4.2 crore in March 2020 to 13 crore to date. Despite this remarkable growth, there remains considerable room for further expansion. While acknowledging the rise of domestic investors, Narayan stressed the importance of addressing the challenges to sustain the momentum. Among these challenges, he noted that risks such as cyber risk and digital frauds are a serious concern. Fraudsters-- often sophisticated and organized-- prey on unsuspecting investors, making cybersecurity a key area of focus. Alongside this, investors need to be fully aware of market volatility, he said, emphasising that market movements are

Vulnerability exploited on MS SharePoint servers: All you need to know

Microsoft has issued an emergency fix to close off a vulnerability in Microsoft's widely-used SharePoint software that hackers have exploited to carry out widespread attacks on businesses and at least some US government agencies. The company issued an alert to customers Saturday saying it was aware of the zero-day exploit being used to conduct attacks and that it was working to patch the issue. Microsoft updated its guidance Sunday with instructions to fix the problem for SharePoint Server 2019 and SharePoint Server Subscription Edition. Engineers were still working on a fix for the older SharePoint Server 2016 software. Anybody who's got a hosted SharePoint server has got a problem, said Adam Meyers, senior vice president with CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm. It's a significant vulnerability. Companies and government agencies around the world use SharePoint for internal document management, data organization and collaboration. What is a zero-day exploit? A zero-day exploit is

Max Financial's Axis Max Life reports unauthorised acces to customer data

Axis Max Life Insurance is a joint venture between private lender Axis Bank and Max Financial

Iranian cyberattacks remain a threat despite ceasefire, warn US officials

A ceasefire between Iran and Israel has not ended the threat of cyberattacks from hacking groups supportive of Tehran, the FBI and federal cybersecurity officials warned on Monday. In a public bulletin, the authorities warned that hacking groups affiliated with or supportive of Tehran may still seek to disrupt or disable critical infrastructure systems in the US such as utilities, transportation and economic hubs. Hackers may also target defence contractors or other American companies with ties to Israel, the agencies said. Despite a declared ceasefire and ongoing negotiations towards a permanent solution, Iranian-affiliated cyber actors and hacktivist groups may still conduct malicious cyber activity, the agencies warned. The warning of continued cyberthreats after a halt to conventional warfare reflects the often opaque nature of cyber conflict. Hacking groups may have only loose ties to a nation state, and may seek to retaliate as an alternative to traditional military action.

Studio Ghibli AI art trend: A privacy nightmare in disguise, experts warn

While netizens are hooked on the viral trend of transforming personal photos into Studio Ghibli-style art using AI tools, experts warn that the trend conceals a darker reality where casual sharing can lead to unforeseen privacy breaches and data misuse. Cybersecurity experts caution that while these tools may appear harmless, the terms of services are often vague, raising questions about what happens to user photos after they are processed. The trend started when OpenAI launched its GPT-4o model, which allows users to recreate personal images in the artistic style of Studio Ghibli, a Japanese animation studio. Few of the many platforms say that they don't store the photos, or delete them after one-time use, but most of them don't clearly explain what "deletion" really means--whether it's instant, delayed, or partial. Photos contain more than just facial data. They often include hidden metadata like location coordinates, timestamps, and device details-- all of which can quietly reve

Govt sets up seven joint cyber coordination teams to handle cyber crimes

The Centre has constituted seven joint cyber coordination teams for enhance coordination among different law enforcement agencies dealing with cyber crimes and cyber crime hotspots, Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar also said that the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), which functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has proactively identified and blocked more than 3,962 Skype IDs and 83,668 WhatsApp accounts used for digital arrest. He said the law enforcement agencies have blocked over 7.81 lakh SIM cards and 2,08,469 IMEIs linked to digital frauds till February 28 this year. The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is a unique number assigned to every phone. Seven joint cyber coordination teams have been constituted for Mewat, Jamtara, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Vishakhapatnam and Guwahati under I4C covering the whole country based upon cyber crime hotspots/areas having multi jurisdictional ..

Cyber incidents: IRDAI asks insurers to empanel forensic experts in advance

Regulator Irdai on Wednesday directed insurers to empanel forensic auditor in advance so that they could conduct forensics and root cause analysis of cyber incidents without any delay. In a circular, which has come in the wake rising incidents of data breach, Insurance Regulagtory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) said that in today's digital age, any cyber incident and crisis poses significant threats to organisations. Therefore, it is crucial to be prepared to respond effectively to prevent or minimise damage to information assets, including customer data and ensure business continuity. In 2023, the regulator had issued Irdai Information and Cyber Security Guidelines regarding cyber incident or crisis preparedness. "In addition..., all regulated entities are required to establish a well-defined procedure/practice to ensure that the forensic auditor/s are empanelled in advance and can be onboarded to conduct forensics and root cause analysis of cyber incident/s without an

Kapil Sharma, Rajpal Yadav, Remo D'Souza receive death threats, FIR filed

Kapil Sharma, Rajpal Yadav, Remo D'Souza, and Sugandha Mishra have reportedly received death threats from Pakistan

Trump's biggest China threat is not TikTok but critical infrastructure

Chinese hackers are burrowing into the networks of major critical US infrastructure, including energy grids, water treatment plants and transportation networks

Healthcare industry faces rising cybersecurity threats: Seqrite report

Malware detections in the healthcare sector were dominated by Trojans, which accounted for 43.38 per cent of all threats

UP man dials 112, 'threatens to kill' CM Yogi Adityanath; arrested

A man has been arrested here for allegedly threatening to kill Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and police officials. According to police, Anil dialled 112, an emergency service number, and claimed that he would shoot the chief minister on January 26. He also threatened the station in-charge of Izzatnagar police station and other officers, they said. "After receiving the threat on Tuesday night, police launched a search operation, but the accused's phone was switched off. Following extensive efforts overnight, Anil was located and arrested on Wednesday," said SHO of Izzatnagar Police Station Dhananjay Pandey. An FIR has been registered, and the accused is being interrogated. He will be produced before a court here later on Thursday, the police officer said. The threats raised tensions in the area, creating fears of communal unrest. "Prompt action was taken to prevent escalation and maintain peace. We are also investigating the accused's intent and mental state," the SH

India should make cybersecurity national mission, become leader in efforts

Risks are going increase as the country adopts new technologies and becomes more digital

AI-driven, deepfake-enabled cyberattacks to increase in 2025: Report

AI-driven and deepfake-enabled cyberattacks are anticipated to become increasingly prevalent in 2025 with sectors like healthcare and finance most prone targets, according to a recent report. The India Cyber Threat Report 2025 by the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) and Seqrite, spotlighted the evolving tactics of cybercriminals and the rise of AI-driven attacks as a major concern. "Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be used to develop highly sophisticated phishing campaigns utilising deepfake technology and personalized attack vectors, making them harder to detect. AI-driven malware will adapt in real-time to evade traditional security measures, while data poisoning attacks will compromise the integrity of critical AI systems in sectors such as healthcare and autonomous transportation," the report noted. Deepfake technology will create compelling malicious content, including fake video or audio messages from trusted sources. This will facilitate more effective social engineerin

UP minister Gupta's company accountant duped of Rs 2.08 cr by cyber frauds

An accountant of a company owned by Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Nand Gopal Gupta's was allegedly duped of Rs 2.08 crore by cyber frauds, police said on Saturday. On the complaint of Ritesh Srivastava, a case was registered on Thursday in the cyber police station against unidentified individuals under section 319 (2), 318 (4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, they said. Srivastava works for Icavo Agro Daily Private Limited, owned by the minister and managed by his son Abhishek Gupta. According to the complaint, Srivastava received a WhatsApp message on November 13 from a number displaying Abhishek's profile photo. The sender claimed it was a new number and sought sensitive financial information related to a proposed business meeting, the complainant said. Believing the message to be genuine, Sivastava shared the company's account details on that number following the instructions of the company's director, it ...

Digital identity security becomes vital in an increasingly risky world

A digital identity is a collection of data points that identify an individual or ogranisation. Advanced technologies are being used to create and protect digital identities

To insure or not? Cyber insurance helps recover losses from cyberattacks

Cyber-risk insurance helps to provide a supplementary financial tool after the initial investment in IT security tools