#FactCheck – Myntra Scam Alert: Stay Protected from Deceptive Online Offers

Introduction

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a consultation paper titled “Encouraging Innovative Technologies, Services, Use Cases, and Business Models through Regulatory Sandbox in Digital Communication Sector. The paper presents a draft sandbox structure for live testing of new digital communication products or services in a regulated environment. TRAI seeks comments from stakeholders on several parts of the framework.

What is digital communication?

Digital communication is the use of internet tools such as email, social media messaging, and texting to communicate with other people or a specific audience. Even something as easy as viewing the content on this webpage qualifies as digital communication.

Aim of Paper

• Frameworks are intended to support regulators’ desire for innovation while also ensuring economic resilience and consumer protection. Considering this, the Department of Telecom (DoT) asked TRAI to offer recommendations on a regulatory sandbox framework. TRAI approaches the issue with the goal of encouraging creativity and hastening the adoption of cutting-edge digital communications technologies.
• Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, edge computing, and other emerging technologies are revolutionizing how we connect, communicate, and access information, driving the digital communication sector to rapidly expand. To keep up with this dynamic environment, an enabling environment for the development and deployment of novel technologies, services, use cases, and business models is required.
• The regulatory sandbox concept is becoming increasingly popular around the world as a means of encouraging innovation in a range of industries. A regulatory sandbox is a regulated environment in which businesses and innovators can test their concepts, commodities, and services while operating under changing restrictions.
• Regulatory Sandbox will benefit the telecom startup ecosystem by providing access to a real-time network environment and other data, allowing them to evaluate the reliability of new applications before releasing them to the market. Regulatory Sandbox also attempts to stimulate cross-sectoral collaboration for carrying out such testing by engaging the assistance of other ministries and departments in order to give the starting company with a single window for acquiring all clearances.

What is regulatory sandbox?

• A regulatory sandbox is a controlled regulatory environment in which new products or services are tested in real-time.
• It serves as a “safe space” for businesses because authorities may or may not allow certain relaxations for the sole purpose of testing.
• The sandbox enables the regulator, innovators, financial service providers, and clients to perform field testing in order to gather evidence on the benefits and hazards of new financial innovations, while closely monitoring and mitigating their risks.

What are the advantages of having a regulatory sandbox?

• Firstly, regulators obtain first-hand empirical evidence on the benefits and risks of emerging technologies and their implications, allowing them to form an informed opinion on the regulatory changes or new regulations that may be required to support useful innovation while mitigating the associated risks.
• Second, sandbox customers can evaluate the viability of a product without the need for a wider and more expensive roll-out. If the product appears to have a high chance of success, it may be authorized and delivered to a wider market more quickly.

Digital communication sector and Regulatory Sandbox

• Many countries’ regulatory organizations have built sandbox settings for telecom tech innovation.
• These frameworks are intended to encourage regulators’ desire for innovation while also promoting economic resilience and consumer protection.
• In this context, the Department of Telecom (DoT) had asked TRAI to give recommendations on a regulatory sandbox framework.
• Written comments on the drafting framework will be received until July 17, 2023, and counter-comments will be taken until August 1, 2023. The Authority’s goal in the digital communication industry is to foster creativity and expedite the use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and edge computing. These technologies are changing the way individuals connect, engage, and access information, causing rapid changes in the industry.

Conclusion

According to TRAI, these technologies are changing how individuals connect, engage, and obtain information, resulting in significant changes in the sector.

The regulatory sandbox also wants to stimulate cross-sectoral collaboration for carrying out such testing by engaging the assistance of other ministries and departments in order to give the starting company with a single window for acquiring all clearances. The consultation paper covers some of the worldwide regulatory sandbox frameworks in use in the digital communication industry, as well as some of the frameworks in use inside the country in other sectors.

One of the best forums for many video producers is YouTube. It also has a great chance of generating huge profits. YouTube content producers need assistance to get the most views, likes, comments, and subscribers for their videos and channels. As a result, some people could use YouTube bots to unnaturally raise their ranks on the YouTube site, which might help them get more organic views and reach a larger audience. However, this strategy is typically seen as unfair and can violate the YouTube platform’s terms of service.

As YouTube grows in popularity, so does the usage of YouTube bots. These bots are software programs that may automate operations on the YouTube platform, such as watching, liking, or disliking videos, subscribing to or unsubscribing from channels, making comments, and adding videos to playlists, among others. There have been YouTube bots around for a while. Many YouTubers widely use these computer codes to increase the number of views on their videos and accounts, which helps them rank higher in YouTube’s algorithm. Researchers discovered a new bot that takes private information from YouTube users’ accounts.

CRIL (Cyble Research and Intelligence Labs) has been monitoring new and active malware families CRIL has discovered a new YouTube bot virus capable of viewing, liking, and commenting on YouTube videos. Furthermore, it is capable of stealing sensitive information from browsers and acting as a bot that accepts orders from the Command and Control (C&C) server to carry out other harmful operations.

The Bot Insight

This YouTube bot has the same capabilities as all other YouTube bots, including the ability to view, like, and comment on videos. Additionally, it has the ability to steal private data from browsers and act as a bot that takes commands from a Command and Control (C&C) server for various malicious purposes. Researchers from Cyble discovered the inner workings of this information breach the Youtube bot uses the sample hash(SHA256) e9dac8b677a670e70919730ee65ab66cc27730378b9233d944ad7879c530d312.They discovered that it was created using the.NET compiler and is an executable file with a 32-bit size.

• The virus runs an AntiVM check as soon as it is executed to thwart researchers’ attempts to find and analyze malware in a virtual environment.
• It stops the execution if it finds that it is operating in a regulated setting. If not, it will carry out the tasks listed in the argument strings.
• Additionally, the virus creates a mutex, copies itself to the %appdata% folder as AvastSecurity.exe, and then uses cmd.exe to run.
• The new mutex makes a task scheduler entry and aids in ensuring
• The victim’s system’s installed Chromium browsers are used to harvest cookies, autofill information, and login information by the AvastSecurity.exe program.
• In order to view the chosen video, the virus runs the YouTube Playwright function, passing the previously indicated arguments along with the browser’s path and cookie data.
• YouTube bot uses the YouTube Playwright function to launch the browser environment with the specified parameters and automate actions like watching, liking, and commenting on YouTube videos. The feature is dependent on Microsoft. playwright’s kit.
• The malware establishes a connection to a C2 server and gets instructions to erase the entry for the scheduled task and end its own process, extract log files to the C2 server, download and run other files, and start/stop watching a YouTube movie.
• Additionally, it verifies that the victim’s PC has the required dependencies, including the Playwright package and the Chrome browser, installed. When it gets the command “view,” it will download and install these dependencies if they are missing.

Recommendations

The following is a list of some of the most critical cybersecurity best practices that serve as the first line of defense against intruders. We propose that our readers follow the advice provided below:

• Downloading pirated software from warez/torrent websites should be avoided. Such a virus is commonly found in “Hack Tools” available on websites such as YouTube, pirate sites, etc.
• When feasible, use strong passwords and impose multi-factor authentication.
• Enable automatic software updates on your laptop, smartphone, and other linked devices.
• Use a reputable antivirus and internet security software package on your linked devices, such as your computer, laptop, and smartphone.
• Avoid clicking on suspicious links and opening email attachments without verifying they are legitimate.Inform staff members on how to guard against dangers like phishing and unsafe URLs.
• Block URLs like Torrent/Warez that might be used to propagate malware.To prevent malware or TAs from stealing data, keep an eye on the beacon at the network level.

Conclusion

Using YouTube bots may be a seductive strategy for content producers looking to increase their ranks and expand their viewership on the site. However, the employment of bots is typically regarded as unfair and may violate YouTube’s terms of service. Utilizing YouTube bots carries additional risk because they might be identified, which could lead to account suspension or termination for the user. Mitigating this pressing issue through awareness drives and surveys to determine the bone of contention is best. NonProfits and civil society organizations can bridge the gap between the tech giant and the end user to facilitate better know-how about these unknown bots.

Introduction

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Union minister of state for information technology (IT), said that the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit, which brings together 29 member governments, including the European Union, announced on 13th December 2023 that the New Delhi Declaration had been adopted. The proclamation committed to developing AI applications for medical treatment and agribusiness jointly and taking the needs of the Global South into account when developing AI.

In addition, signing countries committed to leveraging the GPAI infrastructure to establish a worldwide structure for AI safety and trust, as well as to make AI advantages and approaches accessible to all. In order to complete the recommended structure in six months, India also submitted a proposal to host the GPAI Global Governance Summit.

“The New Delhi Declaration, which aims to place GPAI at the forefront of defining the future of AI in terms of both development and building cooperative AI across the partner states, has been unanimously endorsed by 29 GPAI member countries. Nations have come to an agreement to develop AI applications in healthcare, agriculture, and numerous other fields that affect all of our nations and citizens,” Chandrasekhar stated.

The statement highlights GPAI's critical role in tackling modern AI difficulties, such as generative AI, through submitted AI projects meant to maximize benefits and minimize related risks while solving community problems and worldwide difficulties.

GPAI

Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) is an organisation of 29 countries from the Americas (North and South), Europe and Asia. It has important players such as the US, France, Japan and India, but it excludes China. The previous meeting took place in Japan. In 2024, India will preside over GPAI.

In order to promote and steer the responsible implementation of artificial intelligence based on human rights, multiculturalism, gender equality, innovation, economic growth, the surroundings, and social impact, this forum was established in 2020. Its goal is to bring together elected officials and experts in order to make tangible contributions to the 2030 Agenda and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Given the quick and significant advancements in artificial intelligence over the previous year, the meeting in New Delhi attracted particular attention. They have sparked worries about its misuse as well as enthusiasm about its possible advantages.

The Summit

The G20 summit, which India hosted in September 2023, provided an atmosphere for the discussions at the GPAI summit. There, participants of this esteemed worldwide economic conference came to an agreement on how to safely use AI for "Good and for All."

In order to safeguard people's freedoms and security, member governments pledged to address AI-related issues "in a responsible, inclusive, and human-centric manner."

The key tactic devised is to distribute AI's advantages fairly while reducing its hazards. Promoting international collaboration and discourse on global management for AI is the first step toward accomplishing this goal. 

A major milestone in that approach was the GPAI summit.

The conversation on AI was started by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is undoubtedly one of the most tech-aware and tech-conscious international authorities.

He noted that every system needs to be revolutionary, honest, and trustworthy in order to be sustained.

"There is no doubt that AI is transformative, but it is up to us to make it more and more transparent." He continued by saying that when associated social, ethical, and financial concerns are appropriately addressed, trust will increase.

After extensive discussions, the summit attendees decided on a strategy to establish global collaboration on a number of AI-related issues. The proclamation pledged to place GPAI at the leading edge of defining AI in terms of creativity and cooperation while expanding possibilities for AI in healthcare, agriculture, and other areas of interest, according to Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

There was an open discussion of a number of issues, including disinformation, joblessness and bias, protection of sensitive information, and violations of human rights. The participants reaffirmed their dedication to fostering dependable, safe, and secure AI within their respective domains.

Concerns raised by AI

• The issue of legislation comes first. There are now three methods in use. In order to best promote inventiveness, the UK government takes a "less is more" approach to regulation. Conversely, the European Union (EU) is taking a strong stance, planning to propose a new Artificial Intelligence Act that might categorize AI 'in accordance with use-case situations based essentially on the degree of interference and vulnerability'.
• Second, analysts say that India has the potential to lead the world in discussions about AI. For example, India has an advantage when it comes to AI discussions because of its personnel, educational system, technological stack, and populace, according to Markham Erickson of Google's Centers for Excellence. However, he voiced the hope that Indian regulations will be “interoperable” with those of other countries in order to maximize the benefits for small and medium-sized enterprises in the nation.
• Third, there is a general fear about how AI will affect jobs, just as there was in the early years of the Internet's development. Most people appear to agree that while many jobs won't be impacted, certain jobs might be lost as artificial intelligence develops and gets smarter. According to Erickson, the solution to the new circumstances is to create "a more AI-skilled workforce." 
• Finally, a major concern relates to deepfakes defined as 'digital media, video, audio and images, edited and manipulated, using Artificial Intelligence (AI).'

Need for AI Strategy in Commercial Businesses

Firstly, astute or mobile corporate executives such as Shailendra Singh, managing director of Peak XV Partners, feel that all organisations must now have 'an AI strategy'.

Second, it is now impossible to isolate the influence of digital technology and artificial intelligence from the study of international relations (IR), foreign policy, and diplomacy. Academics have been contemplating and penning works of "the geopolitics of AI."

Combat Strategies

"We will talk about how to combine OECD capabilities to maximize our capacity to develop the finest approaches to the application and management of AI for the benefit of our people. The French Minister of Digital Transition and Telecommunications", Jean-Noël Barrot, informed reporters. 

Vice-Minister of International Affairs for Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Hiroshi Yoshida stated, "We particularly think GPAI should be more inclusive so that we encourage more developing countries to join." Mr Chandrasekhar stated, "Inclusion of lower and middle-income countries is absolutely core to the GPAI mission," and added that Senegal has become a member of the steering group.

India's role in integrating agribusiness into the AI agenda was covered in a paragraph. The proclamation states, "We embrace the use of AI innovation in supporting sustainable agriculture as a new thematic priority for GPAI."

Conclusion

The New Delhi Declaration, which was adopted at the GPAI Summit, highlights the cooperative determination of 29 member nations to use AI for the benefit of all people. GPAI, which will be led by India in 2024, intends to influence AI research with an emphasis on healthcare, agriculture, and resolving ethical issues. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the need to use AI responsibly and build clarity and confidence. Legislative concerns, India's potential for leadership, employment effects, and the difficulty of deepfakes were noted. The conference emphasized the importance of having an AI strategy in enterprises and covered battle tactics, with a focus on GPAI's objective, which includes tolerance for developing nations. Taken as a whole, the summit presents GPAI as an essential tool for navigating the rapidly changing AI field.

References

• https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ai-summit-adopts-new-delhi-declaration-on-inclusiveness-collaboration/article67635398.ece
• https://www.livemint.com/news/india/gpai-meet-adopts-new-delhi-ai-declaration-11702487342900.html
• https://startup.outlookindia.com/sector/policy/global-partnership-on-ai-member-nations-unanimously-adopt-new-delhi-declaration-news-10065
• https://gpai.ai/