Page 3 - Cyber Threat

Iran accelerating cyber activity seemingly to influence US polls: Microsoft

Iran is ramping up online activity that appears intended to influence the upcoming US election, in one case targeting a presidential campaign with an email phishing attack, Microsoft said Friday. Iranian actors also have spent recent months creating fake news sites and impersonating activists, laying the groundwork to stoke division and potentially sway American voters this fall, especially in swing states, the technology giant found. The findings in Microsoft's newest threat intelligence report show how Iran, which has been active in recent US campaign cycles, is evolving its tactics for another election that's likely to have global implications. The report goes a step beyond anything US intelligence officials have disclosed, giving specific examples of Iranian groups and the actions they have taken so far. Iran's United Nations mission denied it had plans to interfere or launch cyberattacks in the US presidential election. The report doesn't specify Iran's intentions besides sowin

'Happened in 2023': Angel One responds to report of data leak of 8 mn users

The hacker claims to have accessed sensitive data, including profit and loss statements of affected customers of the Mumbai-based stock broking company

BSNL data breach exposes 278 GB of sensitive telecom info, twice in 6 mts

A threat actor has claimed to have obtained sensitive data, which includes international mobile subscriber identity numbers, SIM card specifics, home location register data, and security keys

Man suspected of operating 'world's largest ever' cybercrime botnet held

An international law enforcement team has arrested a Chinese national and disrupted a major botnet that officials said he ran for nearly a decade, amassing at least USD 99 million in profits by reselling access to criminals who used it for identity theft, child exploitation, and financial fraud, including pandemic relief scams. The US Department of Justice quoted FBI Director Christopher Wray as saying on Wednesday that the 911 S5 botnet a network of malware-infected computers in nearly 200 countries was likely the world's largest. Justice said in a news release that Yunhe Wang, 35, was arrested May 24. Wang was arrested in Singapore, and search warrants were executed there and in Thailand, the FBI's deputy assistant director for cyber operations, Brett Leatherman, said in a LinkedIn post. Authorities also seized USD 29 million in cryptocurrency, Leatherman said. Cybercriminals used Wang's network of zombie residential computers to steal billions of dollars from financial ...

India ranks third globally for phishing attacks after US, UK: Report

India ranked as the third-largest country globally for phishing attacks after the US and UK, with its technology sector facing nearly 33 per cent of all such strikes, marking it as the most targeted industry, according to a report. The report by cybersecurity firm Zscaler showed a 60 per cent rise in global phishing attacks over the past year. The ThreatLabz 2024 Phishing Report gathered insights from 2 billion blocked phishing transactions between January and December 2023. "In 2023, India ranked as the third-largest country globally for phishing attacks, following behind the US and UK. The technology industry in India faced nearly 33 per cent of all phishing attacks, marking it as the most targeted sector among industries," the report said. The finance and insurance sector has become the prime target for cyber attackers and witnessed the highest number of phishing attempts in 2023, it added. "The finance and insurance sector experienced both the highest number of phishing attemp

Bank OTP frauds on the rise: Here's what govt is doing to tackle it

The govt is currently testing a system that will allow banks to securely track a customer's registered address and geolocation to ensure the secure delivery of OTPs

Chinese-owned Dutch chipmaker Nexperia Holding hit with cyberattack

The company was last year subject to an investigation by the Dutch government related to its acquisition of chip firm Nowi Energy BV as the state increased its scrutiny of Chinese tech investments

Apple warns users in India, 91 other nations of 'mercenary spyware' attack

The threat notification by Apple said that it had detected that users were 'being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack that is trying to remotely compromise the iPhone'

Only 4% of firms in India have 'maturity' to tackle cyber threats: Cisco

82% of respondents said a cybersecurity incident is likely to disrupt their business in the next 12 to 24 months

Only 4% of companies in India 'mature' to tackle cyber threats: Study

71% plan to upgrade their IT infrastructure in one to two years, says Cisco's 2024 Cybersecurity Readiness Index

Datadog forecasts revenue results below market estimates on weak adoption

Growing competition in the sector from bigger rivals such as SentinelOne and CrowdStrike is also weighing in on smaller players like Datadog

Need to train more officials to prevent, detect cyber crimes: Mumbai Police

Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar on Wednesday said there was an urgent need to train as many police officials as possible to investigate and prevent cyber crimes. He was speaking at a training workshop organised for Mumbai Police's 'Cyber Commandos'. On the occasion, the police introduced 'Cyber Commandos' trained for prevention and detection of cases related to cyber crime and also unveiled a poster of helpline 1930. Addressing the officials who underwent training, Phansalkar in the last two years, there has been an increase in cyber frauds and cases of sextortion, identity theft, phishing and cheating. Such cases lead to both financial and reputational damage, he said. Considering the threat of crime in the cyber space, every head constable working at a police station has to be computer and digital literate, said the senior IPS officer. "In the next phase, the Mumbai Police will train station house officers and other policemen on cyber crime investigation," he said.

Cyber inequity, AI key risks in 2024, says World Economic Forum study

AI advances pose more serious risk on elections that will be held this year across the world

Telecom department blocks more than 1,500 numbers linked to cyber threats

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) blocked international and local phone numbers associated with cybercrimes and threats, aiming to curb misuse of telecom resources

TMS Ep603: Antimicrobial resistance, leopards, Q3 results, cyber kidnapping

How can India stop popping antibiotics? What is driving leopards to cities? Will IT earnings remain disappointing in Q3? What is cyber kidnapping? All answers here

To cut a web of frauds, India needs to strengthen security systems

Job scams, Ponzi schemes, blackmail are increasing: Here is what can be done to protect people

Over Rs 10,300 cr siphoned off by cybercriminals since April 2021: I4C

Over Rs 10,300 crore were siphoned off from the country by cybercriminals since April 1, 2021, of which agencies managed to successfully block around Rs 1,127 crore in the country, Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) said Wednesday. In a media interaction, I4C CEO Rajesh Kumar said that more than 5,000 complaints of cyber crime are being reported on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) of which 40-50 per cent are based on frauds committed by gangs operating from China and "pockets of Cambodia and Myanmar". He said he did not mean "nation-State" are running the scams but "gangs" operating from these countries are behind the cyber crimes. "We have pockets of Cambodia and Myanmar. We are seeing Chinese apps. Who is denying?" Kumar said in response to a question. He said aggrieved persons can approach 1930 call centre to register their complaints and banks can block the money if call is made within and hour of the fraud. Around 263 banks and financial institutions ..

China shuts down 34,000 online accounts to stem rumours, ensure stability

In a bid to ensure sustained social stability, security officials across China have shut down 34,000 online accounts for spreading rumours and punished more than 6,300 people since the start of a crackdown campaign in April. Over 4,800 cases have been handled, with more than 6,300 people punished, Li Tong, an official with the Ministry of Public Security said. Officials across the country have shut down 34,000 online accounts for spreading rumours, Li said. To ensure social stability, the ministry has decided to carry out a yearlong crackdown on online rumours spanning 2024, Li told the media here on Friday. The campaign will employ multiple measures to make sure it is effective and delivers solid outcomes, he said. In 2023, Chinese police have also taken strong measures against criminal acts of cyber violence such as online smearing, insulting and privacy infringement, handling 110 cases so far, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Android smartphones face average 3 attacks per month, says DSCI report

The report also gave staggering numbers of threat detections, with over 400 million attacks getting detected in 2023

US, India, Taiwan unite to strengthen cybersecurity against China threat

Three countries share a common interest in warding off cyber attacks from various agencies PLA is developing and training in China