CERT-In Alert: Protecting Yourself from Smishing Attacks
Introduction
With the ever-growing technology where cyber-crimes are increasing, a new cyber-attack is on the rise, but it’s not in your inbox or your computer- it's targeting your phone, especially your smartphone. Cybercriminals are expanding their reach in India, with a new text-messaging fraud targeting individuals. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has warned against "smishing," or SMS phishing.
Understanding Smishing
Smishing is a combination of the terms "SMS" and "phishing." It entails sending false text messages that appear to be from reputable sources such as banks, government organizations, or well-known companies. These communications frequently generate a feeling of urgency in their readers, prompting them to click on harmful links, expose personal information, or conduct financial transactions.
When hackers "phish," they send out phony emails in the hopes of tricking the receiver into clicking on a dangerous link. Smishing is just the use of text messaging rather than email. In essence, these hackers are out to steal your personal information to commit fraud or other cybercrimes. This generally entails stealing money – usually your own, but occasionally also the money of your firm.
The cybercriminals typically use these tactics to lure victims and steal the information.
Malware- The cyber crooks send the smishing URL link that might tick you into downloading malicious software on your phone itself. This SMS malware may appear as legitimate software, deceiving you into putting in sensitive information and transmitting it to crooks.
Malicious website- The URL in the smishing message may direct you to a bogus website that seeks sensitive personal information. Cybercriminals employ custom-made rogue sites meant to seem like legitimate ones, making it simpler to steal your information.
Smishing text messages often appear to be from your bank, asking you to share personal sensitive information, ATM numbers, or account details. Mobile device cybercrime is increasing, as is mobile device usage. Aside from the fact that texting is the most prevalent usage of cell phones, a few additional aspects make this an especially pernicious security issue. Let's go over how smishing attacks operate.
Modus Operandi
The cyber crooks commit the fraud via SMS. As attackers assume an identity that might be of someone trusted, Smishing attackers can use social engineering techniques to sway a victim's decision-making. Three things are causing this deception:
- Trust- Cyber crooks target individuals, by posing to someone from a legitimate individual and organization, this naturally lowers a person’s defense against threats.
- Context- Using a circumstance that might be relevant to targets helps an attacker to create an effective disguise. The message feels personalized, which helps it overcome any assumption that it is spam.
- Emotion- The nature of the SMS is critical; it makes the victim think that is urgent and requires rapid action. Using these tactics, attackers craft communications that compel the receiver to act.
- Typically, attackers want the victim to click on a URL link within the text message, which takes them to a phishing tool that asks them for sensitive information. This phishing tool is frequently in the form of a website or app that also assumes a phony identity.
How does Smishing Spread?
As we have revealed earlier smishing attacks are delivered through both traditional texts. However, SMS phishing attacks primarily appear to be from known sources People are less careful while they are on their phones. Many people believe that their cell phones are more secure than their desktops. However, smartphone security has limits and cannot always guard against smishing directly.
Considering the fact phones are the target While Android smartphones dominate the market and are a perfect target for malware text messages, iOS devices are as vulnerable. Although Apple's iOS mobile technology has a high reputation for security, no mobile operating system can protect you from phishing-style assaults on its own. A false feeling of security, regardless of platform, might leave users especially exposed.
Kinds of smishing attacks
Some common types of smishing attacks that occurred are;
- COVID-19 Smishing: The Better Business Bureau observed an increase in reports of US government impersonators sending text messages requesting consumers to take an obligatory COVID-19 test via a connected website in April 2020. The concept of these smishing assaults may readily develop, as feeding on pandemic concerns is a successful technique of victimizing the public.
- Gift Smishing: Give away, shopping rewards, or any number of other free offers, this kind of smishing includes free services or products, from a reputable or other company. attackers plan in such a way that the offer is for a limited time or is an exclusive offer and the offers are so lucrative that one gets excited and falls into the trap.
CERT Guidelines
CERT-In shared some steps to avoid falling victim to smishing.
- Never click on any suspicious link in SMS/social media charts or posts.
- Use online resources to validate shortened URLs.
- Always check the link before clicking.
- Use updated antivirus and antimalware tools.
- If you receive any suspicious message pretending to be from a bank or institution, immediately contact the bank or institution.
- Use a separate email account for personal online transactions.
- Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for emails and bank accounts.
- Keep your operating system and software updated with the latest patches.
Conclusion
Smishing uses fraudulent mobile text messages to trick people into downloading malware, sharing sensitive data, or paying cybercriminals money. With the latest technological developments, it has become really important to stay vigilant in the digital era not only protecting your computers but safeguarding the devices that fit in the palm of your hand, CERT warning plays a vital role in this. Awareness and best practices play a pivotal role in safeguarding yourself from evolving threats.
Reference
- https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/government-warns-of-smishing-attacks-heres-how-to-stay-safe-4709458
- https://zeenews.india.com/technology/govt-warns-citizens-about-smishing-scam-how-to-protect-against-this-online-threat-2654285.html
- https://www.the420.in/protect-against-smishing-scams-cert-in-advice-online-safety/
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Introduction
Language is an important part of human communication and a basic aspect of human understanding. The world is a global market and this diversity of languages has led to difficulties in engaging for effective communication and collaboration. India alone has 22 official languages and countless regional languages and dialects which change every few hundred kilometres.
AI has emerged to overcome this challenge of language barriers and has stepped into bringing about a transformative shift. It is leading the charge in breaking down traditional barriers and paving the way for more inclusive and seamless global interactions. AI’s integration into language translation has revolutionised the field, addressing longstanding challenges associated with traditional human-centric approaches. The limitations posed by reliance on human translators, such as time constraints, resource limitations, and the inability to handle the data efficiently, paved the way for the furtherance of the transformative impact of AI. However, challenges such as maintaining translation accuracy, addressing cultural nuances, and ensuring data privacy require careful attention to realize AI's full potential.
AI Technologies Bridging Language Gaps
AI tools have transformed translation, transcription, and natural language processing, providing language solutions. They can instantly translate text, transcribe audio, and analyse linguistic nuances, enabling effective cross-cultural communication. Moreover, AI's adaptive capabilities have facilitated language learning, allowing individuals to grasp new languages and adapt their communication styles to diverse cultural contexts.
AI technologies are making information and services more accessible to non-native speakers and are impacting global business, allowing effective engagement. Building on this transformative potential, various AI tools are now used to bridge language gaps in real-world applications. Some examples of AI’s role in bridging the language gap are:
- Real-time translation tools that enable instant communication by providing translations between languages on the fly. This would help in effortless conversations with clients and partners worldwide.
- Tools such as ‘speech-to-text’ and ‘text-to-speech’ like Murf AI, Lovo AI, and ElevenLabs work towards converting spoken language into written text and vice versa. These technologies have led to streamlined interactions, boosted productivity, and clarity in global business dealings. Businesses can extract important information, insights, and action points from meetings, interviews, and presentations.
- AI chatbots like MyGov Corona Helpdesk, WhatsApp Chatbot by the Government of India, Railway Food Order & Delivery by Zoop India, and Gen AI-Powered 'Elena' by Indian School of Business (ISB) are some examples that act as intelligent virtual assistants that engage in real-time conversations, by answering queries, providing information, and facilitating transactions. They offer round-the-clock support, freeing human resources and enhancing customer experience across language barriers.
Challenges and Limitations of AI Translation
While AI’s integration in combatting language barriers is commendable, there are challenges and limitations in overcoming this endeavour. These challenges and limitations are:
- AI translation systems face several challenges in handling accuracy, context, nuance, and idiomatic expressions.
- These systems may encounter struggles with complex or specialised language, along with those towards regional dialects, leading to potential misinterpretations.
- Biases within the AI models can further affect the inclusivity of translations, often favouring dominant languages and cultural norms while marginalising others.
- Ethical concerns, regarding privacy and data security, particularly when sensitive information is processed have also been arising.
- Ensuring user consent and protecting data integrity are essential to addressing these concerns. As AI continues to evolve, ongoing efforts are needed to improve fairness, transparency, and the cultural sensitivity of translation systems.
AI’s Future in Language Translation
AI technologies are moving towards improving translation accuracy and contextual understanding, allowing AI models to grasp cultural nuances and idiomatic expressions better. This can significantly enhance communication across diverse languages, fostering multilingual interactions and global collaboration in business, education, and diplomacy. Improvements in AI tech are taking place ubiquitous, and models like GPT and Google Translate are now better at capturing nuances, idioms, and cultural differences, reducing errors. AI tools like the Microsoft Translator help cross-continental teams work seamlessly by enhancing their productivity and inclusivity.
AI is capable of offering real-time translation in healthcare, education, and public services. This would enable more inclusive environments and bridging communication gaps. For example in the healthcare system, AI-powered translation tools are helping the industry to provide better care by crossing linguistic barriers. Doctors can now communicate with patients who speak different languages, ensuring equitable care even with linguistic boundaries.
Conclusion
We live in a world where diverse languages pose significant challenges to global communication, and AI has emerged as a powerful tool to bridge these gaps. AI is paving the way for more inclusive and seamless interactions by revolutionising language translation, transcription, and natural language processing. Its ability to break down barriers caused by linguistic diversity ensures effective communication in fields ranging from business to healthcare. Despite challenges like accuracy and cultural sensitivity, the potential for AI to continuously improve is undeniable. As AI technologies evolve, they stand as the key to overcoming language barriers and fostering a more connected and inclusive global community.
Notwithstanding AI's potential abilities to overcome language barriers through advances in natural language processing and translation, cybersecurity and data privacy must always come first. The same technologies that make it easier to communicate globally also put private information at risk. The likelihood of data breaches, personal information misuse, and compromised communication rises in the absence of strict cybersecurity safeguards. Thus, in order to guarantee safe and reliable international Interactions as AI develops, it is crucial to strike a balance between innovation and privacy protection.
References
- https://megasisnetwork.medium.com/ai-and-language-translation-breaking-down-language-barriers-47873cfdb13b
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38099504/
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/breaking-language-barriers-ai-era-leveraging-tools-business-a-rad
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373842132_Breaking_Down_Barriers_With_Artificial_Intelligence_AI_Cross-Cultural_Communication_in_Foreign_Language_Education
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Introduction:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) focuses on threats and is an intelligence-driven agency with both law enforcement and intelligence responsibilities. The FBI has the power and duty to look into certain offences that are entrusted to it and to offer other law enforcement agencies cooperation services including fingerprint identification, lab tests, and training. In order to support its own investigations as well as those of its collaborators and to better comprehend and address the security dangers facing the United States, the FBI also gathers, disseminates, and analyzes intelligence.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Functions combating cybercrime:
- Collection: Internet crime victims can report incidents and notify the relevant authorities of potential illicit Internet behavior using the IC3. Law enforcement frequently advises and directs victims to use www.ic3.gov to submit a complaint.
- Analysis: To find new dangers and trends, the IC3 examines and examines data that users submit via its website.
- Public Awareness: The website posts public service announcements, business alerts, and other publications outlining specific frauds. Helps to raise awareness and make people become aware of Internet crimes and how to stay protected.
- Referrals: The IC3 compiles relevant complaints to create referrals, which are sent to national, international, local, and state law enforcement agencies for possible investigation. If law enforcement conducts an investigation and finds evidence of a crime, the offender may face legal repercussions.
Alarming increase in cyber crime cases:
In the recently released 2022 Internet Crime Report by the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the statistics paint a concerning picture of cybercrime in the United States. FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 39,416 cases of extortion in 2022. The number of cases in 2021 stood at 39,360.
FBI officials emphasize the growing scope and sophistication of cyber-enabled crimes, which come from around the world. They highlight the importance of reporting incidents to IC3 and stress the role of law enforcement and private-sector partnerships.
About Internet Crime Complaint Center IC3:
IC3 was established in May 2000 by the FBI to receive complaints related to internet crimes.
It has received over 7.3 million complaints since its inception, averaging around 651,800 complaints per year over the last five years. IC3's mission is to provide the public with a reliable reporting mechanism for suspected cyber-enabled criminal activity and to collaborate with law enforcement and industry partners.
The FBI encourages the public to regularly review consumer and industry alerts published by IC3. An victim of an internet crime are urged to submit a complaint to IC3, and can also file a complaint on behalf of another person. These statistics underscore the ever-evolving and expanding threat of cybercrime and the importance of vigilance and reporting to combat this growing challenge.
What is sextortion?
The use or threatened use of a sexual image or video of another person without that person’s consent, derived from online encounters or social media websites or applications, primarily to extort money from that person or asking for sexual favours and giving warning to distribute that picture or video to that person’s friends, acquaintances, spouse, partner, or co-workers or in public domain.
Sextortion is an online crime that can be understood as, when an bad actor coerces a young person into creating or sharing a sexual image or video of themselves and then uses it to get something from such young person, such as other sexual images, money, or even sexual favours. Reports highlights that more and more kids are being blackmailed in this way. Sextortion can also happen to adults. Sextortion can also take place by taking your pictures from social media account and converting those pictures into sexually explicit content by morphing such images or creating deepfake by miusing deepfake technologies.
Sextortion in the age of AI and advanced technologies:
AI and deep fake technology make sextortion even more dangerous and pernicious. A perpetrator can now produce a high-quality deep fake that convincingly shows a victim engaged in explicit acts — even if the person has not done any such thing.
Legal Measures available in cases of sextortion:
In India, cybersecurity is governed primarily by the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act). Addressing cyber crimes such as hacking, identity theft, and the publication of obscene material online, sextortion and other cyber crimes. The IT Act covers various aspects of electronic governance and e-commerce, with providing provisions for defining such offences and providing punishment for such offences.
Recently Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 has been enacted by the Indian Government to protect the digital personal data of the Individuals. These laws collectively establish the legal framework for cybersecurity and cybercrime prevention in India. Victims are urged to report the crime to local law enforcement and its cybercrime divisions. Law enforcement will investigate sextortion cases reports and will undertake appropriate legal action.
How to stay protected from evolving cases of sextortion: Best Practices:
- Report the Crime to law enforcement agency and social media platform or Internet service provider.
- Enable Two-step verification as an extra layer of protection.
- Keep your laptop Webcams covered when not in use.
- Stay protected from malware and phishing Attacks.
- Protect your personal information on your social media account, and also monitor your social media accounts in order to identify any suspicious activity. You can also set and review privacy settings of your social media accounts.
Conclusion:
Sextortion cases has been increased in recent time. Knowing the risk, being aware of rules and regulations, and by following best practices will help in preventing such crime and help you to stay safe and also avoid the chance of being victimized. It is important to spreading awareness about such growing cyber crimes and empowering the people to report it and it is also significant to provide support to victims. Let’s all unite in order to fight against such cyber crimes and also to make life a safer place on the internet or digital space.
References:
- https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2022_IC3ElderFraudReport.pdf
- https://octillolaw.com/insights/fbi-ic3-releases-2022-internet-crime-report/
- https://www.iafci.org/app_themes/docs/Federal%20Agency/2022_IC3Report.pdf
Introduction
Recently, a Consultation Paper on Regulatory Mechanisms for Over-The-Top (OTT) Communication Services was published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The paper explores several OTT regulation-related challenges and solicits input from stakeholders on a suggested regulatory framework. We’ll summarise the paper’s main conclusions in this blog.
Structure of the Paper
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s Consultation Paper on Regulatory Mechanism for Over-The-Top (OTT) Communication Services and Selective Banning of OTT Services intends to solicit comments and recommendations from stakeholders about the regulation of OTT services in India. The paper is broken up into five chapters that cover the introduction and background, issues with regulatory mechanisms for OTT communication services, issues with the selective banning of OTT services, a summary of the issues for consultation, and an overview of international practices on the topic. Written comments from interested parties are requested and may be sent electronically to the Advisor (Networks, Spectrum and Licencing) at TRAI. These comments will also be posted on the TRAI website.
Overview of the Paper
- Chapter 1: Introduction and Background
- The first chapter of the essay introduces the subject of OTT communication services and argues why regulatory frameworks are necessary. The chapter also gives a general outline of the topics and the paper’s organisation that will be covered in the following chapters.
- Chapter 2: Examination of the Issues Related to Regulatory Mechanism for Over-The-Top Communication Services
- The second chapter of the essay looks at the problems with OTT communication service regulation. It talks about the many kinds of OTT services and how they affect the conventional telecom sector. The chapter also looks at the regulatory issues raised by OTT services and the various strategies used by various nations to address them.
- Chapter 3: Examination of the Issues Related to Selective Banning of OTT Services
- The final chapter of the essay looks at the problems of selectively outlawing OTT services. It analyses the justifications for government restrictions on OTT services as well as the possible effects of such restrictions on consumers and the telecom sector. The chapter also looks at the legal and regulatory structures that determine how OTT services are prohibited in various nations.
- Chapter 4: International Practices
- An overview of global OTT communication service best practices is given in the paper’s fourth chapter. It talks about the various regulatory strategies used by nations throughout the world and how they affect consumers and the telecom sector. The chapter also looks at the difficulties regulators encounter when trying to create efficient regulatory frameworks for OTT services.
- Chapter 5: Issues for Consultation
- This chapter is the spirit of the consultation paper as it covers the points and questions for consultation. This chapter has been classified into two sub-sections – Issues Related to Regulatory Mechanisms for OTT Communication Services and Issues Related to the Selective Banning of OTT Services. The inputs will be entirely focused on these sub headers, and the scope, extent, and ambit of the consultation paper rests on these questions and necessary inputs.
Conclusion
An important publication that aims to address the regulatory issues raised by OTT services is the Consultation Paper on Regulatory Mechanisms for Over-The-Top Communication Services. The paper offers a thorough analysis of the problems with OTT service regulation and requests input from stakeholders on the suggested regulatory structure. In order to make sure that the regulatory framework is efficient and advantageous for everyone, it is crucial for all stakeholders to offer their opinion on the document.
