#FactCheck - AI Generated image of Virat Kohli falsely claims to be sand art of a child

Introduction

MEITY’s Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) in collaboration with SISA, a global leader in forensics-driven cyber security company, launched the ‘Certified Security Professional for Artificial Intelligence’ (CSPAI) program on 23rd September. This initiative marks the first of its kind ANAB-accredited AI security certification. The CSPAI also complements global AI governance efforts. International efforts like the OECD AI Principles and the European Union's AI Act, which aim to regulate AI technologies to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability in AI systems are the sounding board for this initiative.

About the Initiative

The Certified Security Professional for Artificial Intelligence (CSPAI) is the world’s first ANAB-accredited certification program that focuses on Cyber Security for AI. The collaboration between CERT-In and SISA plays a pivotal role in shaping AI security policies. Such partnerships between the public and private players bridge the gap between government regulatory needs and the technological expertise of private players, creating comprehensive and enforceable AI security policies. The CSPAI has been specifically designed to integrate AI and GenAI into business applications while aligning security measures to meet the unique challenges that AI systems pose. The program emphasises the strategic application of Generative AI and Large Language Models in future AI deployments. It also highlights the significant advantages of integrating LLMs into business applications. 

The program is tailored for security professionals to understand the do’s and don’ts of AI integration into business applications, with a comprehensive focus on sustainable practices for securing AI-based applications. This is achieved through comprehensive risk identification and assessment frameworks recommended by ISO and NIST. The program also emphasises continuous assessment and conformance to AI laws across various nations, ensuring that AI applications adhere to standards for trustworthy and ethical AI practices.

Aim of the Initiative

As AI technology integrates itself to become an intrinsic part of business operations, a growing need for AI security expertise across industries is visible. Keeping this thought in the focal point, the accreditation program has been created to equip professionals with the knowledge and tools to secure AI systems. The CSPAI program aims to make a safer digital future while creating an environment that fosters innovation and responsibility in the evolving cybersecurity landscape focusing on Generative AI (GenAI) and Large Language Models (LLMs).

Conclusion

This Public-Private Partnership between the CERT-In and SISA, which led to the creation of the  Certified Security Professional for Artificial Intelligence (CSPAI) represents a groundbreaking initiative towards AI and its responsible usage. CSPAI can be seen as an initiative addressing the growing demand for cybersecurity expertise in AI technologies. As AI becomes more embedded in business operations, the program aims to equip security professionals with the knowledge to assess, manage, and mitigate risks associated with AI applications. CSPAI as a programme aims to promote trustworthy and ethical AI usage by aligning with frameworks from ISO and NIST and ensuring adherence to AI laws globally. The approach is a significant step towards creating a safer digital ecosystem while fostering responsible AI innovation. This certification will significantly impact the healthcare, finance, and defence sectors, where AI is rapidly becoming indispensable. By ensuring that AI applications meet the requirements of security and ethical standards in these sectors, CSPAI can help build public trust and encourage broader AI adoption.

References

• https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2057868 
• https://www.sisainfosec.com/training/payment-data-security-programs/cspai/ 
• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/cert-in-and-sisa-launch-ai-security-certification-program-to-integrate-ai-into-business-applications/articleshow/113622067.cms 

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Introduction

Cybersecurity threats have been globally prevalent for quite some time now. All nations, organisations and individuals stand at risk from new and emerging potential cybersecurity threats, putting finances, privacy, data, identities and sometimes human lives at stake. The latest Data Breach Report by IBM revealed that nearly a staggering 83% of organisations experienced more than one data breach instance during 2022. As per the 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report by Verizon, the total number of global ransomware attacks surged by 13%, indicating a concerning rise equal to the last five years combined. The statistics clearly showcase how the future is filled with potential threats as we advance further into the digital age.  

Who is Okta?  

Okta is a secure identity cloud that links all your apps, logins and devices into a unified digital fabric. Okta has been in existence since 2009 and is based out of San Francisco, USA and has been one of the leading service providers in the States. The advent of the company led to early success based on the high-quality services and products introduced by them in the market. Although Okta is not as well-known as the big techs, it plays a vital role in big organisations' cybersecurity systems. More than 18,000 users of the identity management company's products rely on it to give them a single login for the several platforms that a particular business uses. For instance, Zoom leverages Okta to provide "seamless" access to its Google Workspace, ServiceNow, VMware, and Workday systems with only one login, thus showing how Okta is fundamental in providing services to ease the human effort on various platforms. In the digital age, such organisations are instrumental in leading the pathway to innovation and entrepreneurship. 

The Okta Breach

The last Friday, 20 October, Okta reported a hack of its support system, leading to chaos and havoc within the organisation. The result of the hack can be seen in the market in the form of the massive losses incurred by Okta in the stock exchange. 

Since the attack, the company's market value has dropped by more than $2 billion. The well-known incident is the most recent in a long line of events connected to Okta or its products, which also includes a wave of casino invasions that caused days-long disruptions to hotel rooms in Las Vegas, casino giants Caesars and MGM were both affected by hacks as reported earlier this year. Both of those attacks, targeting MGM and Caesars’ Okta installations, used a sophisticated social engineering attack that went through IT help desks.

What can be done to prevent this? 

Cybersecurity attacks on organisations have become a very common occurrence ever since the pandemic and are rampant all across the globe. Major big techs have been successful in setting up SoPs, safeguards and precautionary measures to protect their companies and their digital assets and interests. However, the Medium, Mico and small business owners are the most vulnerable to such unknown high-intensity attacks. The governments of various nations have established Computer Emergency Response Teams to monitor and investigate such massive-scale cyberattacks both on organisations and individuals. The issue of cybersecurity can be better addressed by inculcating the following aspects into our daily digital routines: 

• Team Upskilling: Organisations need to be critical in creating upskilling avenues for employees pertaining to cybersecurity and threats. These campaigns should be run periodically, focusing on both the individual and organisational impact of any threat.  
• Reporting Mechanism for Employees and Customers: Business owners and organisations need to deploy robust, sustainable and efficient reporting mechanisms for both employees well as customers. The mechanism will be fundamental in pinpointing the potential grey areas and threats in the cyber security mechanism as well. A dedicated reporting mechanism is now a mandate by a lot of governments around the world as it showcases transparency and natural justice in terms of legal remedies.  
• Preventive, Precautionary and Recovery Policies: Organisations need to create and deploy respective preventive, precautionary and recovery policies in regard to different forms of cyber attacks and threats. This will be helpful in a better understanding of threats and faster response in cases of emergencies and attacks. These policies should be updated regularly, keeping in mind the emerging technologies. Efficient deployment of the policies can be done by conducting mock drills and threat assessment activities.  
• Global Dialogue Forums: It is pertinent for organisations and the industry to create a community of cyber security enthusiasts from different and diverse backgrounds to address the growing issues of cyberspace; this can be done by conducting and creating global dialogue forums, which will act as the beacon of sharing best practices, advisories, threat assessment reports, potential threats and attacks thus establishing better inter-agency and inter-organisation communication and coordination.  
• Data Anonymisation and Encryption: Organisations should have data management/processing policies in place for transparency and should always store data in an encrypted and anonymous manner, thus creating a blanket of safety in case of any data breach.
• Critical infrastructure: The industry leaders should push the limits of innovation by setting up state-of-the-art critical cyber infrastructure to create employment, innovation, and entrepreneurship spirit among the youth, thus creating a whole new generation of cyber-ready professionals and dedicated netizens. Critical infrastructures are essential in creating a safe, secure, resilient and secured digital ecosystem. 
• Cysec Audits & Sandboxing: All organisations should establish periodic routines of Cybersecurity audits, both by internal and external entities, to find any issue/grey area in the security systems. This will create a more robust and adaptive cybersecurity mechanism for the organisation and its employees. All tech developing and testing companies need to conduct proper sandboxing exercises for all or any new tech/software creation to identify its shortcomings and flaws. 

‍Conclusion 

In view of the rising cybersecurity attacks on organisations, especially small and medium companies, a lot has been done, and a lot more needs to be done to establish an aspect of safety and security for companies, employees and customers. The impact of the Okta breach very clearly show how cyber attacks can cause massive repercussion for any organisation in the form of monetary loss, loss of business, damage to reputation and a lot of other factors. One should take such instances as examples and learnings for ourselves and prepare our organisation to combat similar types of threats, ultimately working towards preventing these types of threats and eradicating the influence of bad actors from our digital ecosystem altogether. 

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References: 

• https://hbr.org/2023/05/the-devastating-business-impacts-of-a-cyber-breach#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20the%20global%20average,legal%20fees%2C%20and%20audit%20fees.
• https://www.okta.com/intro-to-okta/#:~:text=Okta%20is%20a%20secure%20identity,use%20to%20work%2C%20instantly%20available.
• https://www.cyberpeace.org/resources/blogs/mgm-resorts-shuts-down-it-systems-after-cyberattack

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Introduction

Taj Hotels Group is well known for its luxurious ambience and old-world grace and charm, blended with contemporary comforts and amenities for its guests or customers. But what can make all the netizens perplexed is the recent data breach incident which took place in Tata-owned Taj hotels. The hotel suffer from a data breach that compromises nearly 1.5 million customers' data which includes addresses, membership IDs, mobile numbers and other personally identifiable information, according to sources. This news was brought to light which raised concerns about the privacy and data protection of personal data of individuals. We are living in a space influenced by advanced technology and digital communication which throws a concern or challenge to secure the personal information of individuals. 

Unveiling the incident 

Tata-owned Taj Hotels group has suffered a data breach that compromise information of over 1.5 million customers, according to a news report. A bad actor or entity going by the name “Dnacookies” claimed data set contains data from the 2014-2020 period and has not been disclosed anywhere till now. Such personal data includes name, address, customer ID, mobile number and other personally identifiable information. This shows the risks or challenges of data protection and security. The incidents raise an alarm about the risks and vulnerabilities that might be faced even by the big corporate giants. The bad actor with the handle “Dnacookies” also demanded a ransom of a sum of about Rs 4.16 lakh from the Taj hotel group. In response to the incident, a spokesperson from the concerned hotel group said that we have been made aware of someone claiming possession of a limited data customer data set, which is non-sensitive in nature. Investigation is underway and relevant authorities have been notified about the incident.

‍A demand for ransom

The report from CNBC-TV18 clears that the bad actor not only purloined the data but also demanded around 4.16 lakh as a ransom for the database.  Along with this, the bad actor kept three conditions ahead. Firstly there has to be a middleman for a negotiable deal secondly the data cannot be split either the entire data has to be taken with the ransom demand or no data at all. Thirdly additional samples of data will not be provided. Further, the spokesperson of Indian Hotel Company Limited mentioned that they have been escalated with the fact that someone is claiming authority in a limited data set. The bad actor claimed that the database contains information from 2014- 2020 which has been kept confidential till now. The audacity of the bad actor went to such an extent that the sample containing one thousand rows of unique entries from the bad actor dataset was also provided by the bad actor as proof of the deed. This incident underlines the growing threat in cyberspace and the urgency for individuals, organizations or entities to priorities data security measures and maintain cyber resilience.

Personal Data on Stake

Such data is the personal information of the individuals and also constitutes the personal tastes and preferences of individuals which can be exploited. The biggest gush of winds the hotel and individuals face by such a data breach is not only the volume of data compromised but also the potential ways it can get misused and exploited against the hotel or its customers by cyber crooks. This paves the way for cybercriminals to put forward any demand knowing the sensitivity of the data. Followed by creating a dilemmatic situation for the affected entities to either accept the ransom demands or to stand against ransom. Since the risks are high, going ahead with any of these situations can have an adverse impact on the security of personal data. The organisation or entities holding the personal data need to make sure that data under their realm is well protected and secured.

While the organisation has to sail through the aftermath of this breach, such incidents also pose a challenge for the organisation to maintain the trust and reputation of the organization since these incidents question the cyber security posture of the organisation. It is suggested to be transparent with its stakeholders, and open about the vulnerabilities and steps taken against this. They should also discuss the amplified step added for safeguarding their customer's personal data. Since Taj is well known for its out-of-the-box luxury and for providing comfort to its customers it should take a step ahead to reinforce its digital infrastructure to ensure the security of data.

Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023

The newly enacted Digital Personal Data Act, 2023 put certain obligations on data fiduciaries to take reasonable measures to maintain the security of personal data. The Act also requires to inform about the data breach to the data protection board constituted under the Act. The Act aims to protect the individual's digital personal data. The Act casts certain obligations on data principals and data fiduciaries. The Act provides penalty upto 250 crores in case of a data breach. The Act aims to provide consent-based data collection techniques. The Act also establishes the Data Protection Board to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Act and address grievances. 

Conclusion

Data breach in such a big giant in the market serves as an alarming concern to be more cautious and proactively take precautionary measures to protect the security of data and compliance with data protection laws and regulations. We are living in an era where digital security is as important as the basic fundamental rights of an individual. Taj Hotels Group has actively taken steps to handle the aftermath of the data breach by informing the incident to law enforcement agencies and taking necessary steps.  It is also on our part to be more aware, and vigilant about our personal data. Entities need to ensure compliance and measures to protect personal data and overall ensure a true cyber-safe & digital environment.

References

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/technology/taj-hotels-suffers-data-breach-exposes-information-of-1-5-million-customers-11801161.html

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