Tag Archive for: india

India probing iPhone hacking complaints by opposition politicians

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(Corrects first name of minister in first paragraph to Ashwini)

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s cyber security agency is investigating complaints of mobile phone hacking by senior opposition politicians who reported receiving warning messages from Apple, Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

Vaishnaw was quoted in the Indian Express newspaper as saying on Thursday that CERT-In, the computer emergency response team based in New Delhi, had started the probe, adding that “Apple confirmed it has received the notice for investigation”.

A political aide to Vaishnaw and two officials in the federal home ministry told Reuters that all the cyber security concerns raised by the politicians were being scrutinised.

There was no immediate comment from Apple about the investigation.

This week, Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of trying to hack into opposition politicians’ mobile phones after some lawmakers shared screenshots on social media of a notification quoting the iPhone manufacturer as saying: “Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID”.

A senior minister from Modi’s government also said he had received the same notification on his phone.

Apple said it did not attribute the threat notifications to “any specific state-sponsored attacker”, adding that “it’s possible that some Apple threat notifications may be false alarms, or that some attacks are not detected”.

In 2021, India was rocked by reports that the government had used Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to snoop on scores of journalists, activists and politicians, including Gandhi.

The government has declined to reply to questions about whether India or any of its state agencies had purchased Pegasus spyware for surveillance.

(This story has been corrected to fix the first name of the minister to Ashwini in paragraph 1)

(Reporting by Rupam Jain and Munsif Vengattil; editing by Miral Fahmy)

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India Faces Soaring Ransomware and Malware Threats

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RansomwareIndia’s cybersecurity landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, marked by a significant uptick in ransomware and malware threats. In the first half of 2023, sectors vital to the nation’s economy, including Banking, Manufacturing, and Government, found themselves on high alert as they grapple with a growing wave of cyber challenges. The report highlights these pressing concerns, urging organizations to fortify their defenses and adopt proactive cybersecurity measures to safeguard against evolving cyber threats.

India’s cybersecurity landscape is under siege as ransomware and malware threats reach alarming heights, prompting an urgent call for robust defense strategies. Ransomware attacks surged, with a staggering 1,24,209 threats detected. These attacks targeted various sectors, with Banking, Manufacturing, and Retail industries reporting the highest number of incidents. Notable ransomware families such as StopCrypt, LOCKBIT, and BLACKCAT wreaked havoc in the Indian cybersecurity landscape. In January this year Mimic, a new ransomware group, was also discovered that abuses legitimate search tools. Mimic’s code is very similar to the 2022 Conti ransomware code and it mainly targets Russian and English-speaking users.

Simultaneously, malware incidents were on the rise. India ranked among the top five countries globally for malware detections, accounting for 5.5% of all threats. Online banking malware detection in India ranked 4th globally at 8.2% of all global threats in the first half of 2023. Manufacturing, Government, and Banking industries in India were the hardest hit, with malware families like COIMINER, MIMIKATZ, and POWLOAD posing significant risks.

Vijendra Katiyar, Country Manager for India & SAARC at Trend Micro said, “India is at a crossroads in cybersecurity. As cybercriminals become more sophisticated, our digital defenses are constantly being challenged. The rise of ransomware and malware attacks has had a significant impact on key sectors of our economy. To stay ahead of the curve, organizations need to be proactive in anticipating threats and bolstering their defenses with a unified cybersecurity platform.”

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India amongst top three most targeted APAC countries as AI use, ransomware increases: Report  

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India is among the top three most targeted countries in the APAC region by nation-state actors as cybercriminals used AI to create new threats, increased the speed and sophistication of ransomware, and attempted password-based and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) fatigue attacks.

India began advancing cyber incident reporting requirements in the last 12 months. For Transmission Control Protocol attacks, while India was the second most targeted country last year, it has now come down to the fifth, given recent geopolitical shifts, Microsoft said in its Digital Defence Report.

While AI was also used in creating new opportunities for defence, Microsoft blocked an average of 4,000 password attacks per second targeting its cloud identities, the company shared.

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The use of AI creates new threats, opportunities

Cybercriminals are increasingly using AI as a weapon to refine phishing messages and improve influence operations with synthetic imagery. However, AI will also be crucial for successful defence, automating and augmenting aspects of cybersecurity such as threat detection, response, analysis, and prediction, the report shared.

And while threat groups have significantly accelerated the pace of their attacks over the last few years, Microsoft says its built-in protections across its products blocked tens of billions of malware threats, thwarted 237 billion brute-force password attack attempts, and mitigated 619,000 distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks that aim to disable a server, service or network by overwhelming it with a flood of Internet traffic.

Increase in ransomware attacks

The report further shared that organisations saw human-operated ransomware attacks increase 195% since September 2022. These attacks were found to be “hands-on keyboard” types of attacks rather than automated ones, typically targeting a whole organisation with customised ransom demands.

Attackers were also found to have evolved attacks to minimise their footprint, with 60% using remote encryption, thereby rendering process-based remediation ineffective.

Ransomware operators were also found to increasingly…

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No Independence-Day curbs, internet ban in Valley this year too: Cops | Latest News India

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Srinagar: There will be no restrictions or internet ban in Kashmir on Independence Day, but a three-tier security will cover key venues to avoid any untoward event, divisional commissioner Vijay Kumar Bidhuri has said.

Aritists perform during full dress rehearsal ahead of independence day at Bakshi Stadium,in Srinagar,on 13 August 2023. (HT photo)

Internet services remained suspended across the Valley on important events like the Independence Day and Republic Day due to security concerns between 2005 and 2021. However, no such restriction has been imposed in the region over the last two years .

“There won’t be any restrictions in any part of Kashmir on Independence day. Also there won’t be restrictions on the internet on Independence Day… We are expecting huge participation of people in parades,” Bidhuri told reporters in Srinagar.

However, a three-tier security cover and drone surveillance have been put in place across the Kashmir Valley on August 15 to prevent any untoward incidents or threats, he added.

Additional director general of Police Vijay Kumar said that the police and security forces’ personnel are on high alert and ready to tackle any situation. “Drones will be used for surveillance across the region, and security arrangements have been made to ensure that common people don’t face any problems,” he added, calling upon local residents to join the celebrations in large numbers.

The J&K administration has made elaborate arrangements to mark the country’s 77th Independence Day.

On Sunday, Jammu & Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the “Tiranga Rally” on the banks of Dal lake to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ ahead of Independence Day. During the event, he also paid tributes to the slain soldiers as part of the “Meri Mati Mera Desh” campaign.

“I bow my head in reverence to the sacrifices of our freedom fighters and heroes who sacrificed their lives for the motherland. The memories of their martyrdom will forever live on in our hearts and inspire…

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