#FactCheck - Edited Video Falsely Claims as an attack on PM Netanyahu in the Israeli Senate

Introduction

The scam involving "drugs in parcels' has resurfaced again with a new face. Cybercriminals impersonating and acting as FedEx, Police and various other authorities and in actuality, they are the perpetrators or bad actors behind the renewed "drugs in parcel" scam, which entails pressuring victims into sending money and divulging private information in order to escape fictitious legal repercussions. 

Modus operandi  

The modus operandi followed in this scam usually begins with a hacker calling someone on their cell phone posing as FedEx. They say that they are the recipients of a package under their name that includes illegal goods like jewellery, narcotics, or other items. The victim would feel afraid and apprehensive by now. Then there will be a video call with someone else who is posing as a police officer. The victim will be asked to keep the matter confidential while it is being investigated by this "fake officer."

After the call, they would get falsified paperwork from the CBI and RBI stating that an arrest warrant had been issued. Once the victim has fallen entirely under their sway, they would claim that the victim's Aadhaar has been used to carry out the unlawful conduct. They then request that the victim submit their bank account information and Aadhaar data for investigation. Subsequently, the hackers request that the victim transfer funds to a bank account for RBI validation. The victims thus submit money to the hackers believing it to be true for clearing their name.

Recent incidence:

In the most recent instance of a "drug-in-parcel" scam, an IT expert in Pune was defrauded of Rs 27.9 lakh by internet con artists acting as members of the Mumbai police's Cyber Crime Cell. The victim filed the First Information Report (FIR) in this matter at the police station. The victim stated that on November 11, 2023, the complainant received a call from a fraudster posing as a Mumbai police Cyber Crime Cell officer. The scammer falsely claimed to have discovered illegal narcotics in a package addressed to the complainant sent from Mumbai to Taiwan, along with an expired passport and an SBI card. To avoid arrest in a fabricated drug case, the fraudster coerced the complainant into providing bank account information under the guise of "verification." The victim, fearing legal consequences, transferred Rs 27,98,776 in ten online transactions to two separate bank accounts as instructed. Upon realizing the deception, the complainant reported the incident to the police, leading to an investigation.

In another such incident, the victim received an online bogus identity card from the scammers who had phoned him on the phone in October 2023. In an attempt to "clear the case" and issue a "no-objection certificate (NOC)," the fraudster persuaded the victim to wire money to a bank account, claiming to have seized narcotics in a shipment shipped from Mumbai to Thailand under his name. Fraudsters threatened to arrest the victim for mailing the narcotics package if money was not provided. 

Furthermore, In August 2023, fraudsters acting as police officers and executives of courier companies defrauded a 25-year-old advertising student of Rs 53 lakh. They extorted money from her under the guise of avoiding legal action, which would include arrest, and informed her that narcotics had been discovered in a package she had delivered to Taiwan. According to the police, callers acting as police officers threatened to arrest the girl and forced her to complete up to 34 transactions totalling Rs 53.63 lakh from her and her mother's bank accounts to different bank accounts.

Measures to protect oneself from such scams

Call Verification: 

• Be sure to always confirm the legitimacy of unexpected calls, particularly those purporting to be from law enforcement or delivery services. Make use of official contact information obtained from reliable sources to confirm the information presented.

Confidentiality:

• Use caution while disclosing personal information online or over the phone, particularly Aadhaar and bank account information. In general, legitimate authorities don't ask for private information in this way.

Official Documentation: 

• Request official documents via the appropriate means. Make sure that any documents—such as arrest warrants or other government documents—are authentic by getting in touch with the relevant authorities.

No Haste in Transactions: 

• Proceed with caution when responding hastily to requests for money or quick fixes. Creating a sense of urgency is a common tactic used by scammers to coerce victims into acting quickly.

Knowledge and Awareness: 

• Remain up to date on common fraud schemes and frauds. Keep up with the most recent strategies employed by online fraudsters to prevent falling for fresh scam iterations.

Report Suspicious Activity: 

• Notify the local police or other appropriate authorities of any suspicious calls or activities. Reports received in a timely manner can help investigations and shield others from falling for the same fraud.

2fA:

• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever you can to provide online accounts and transactions an additional degree of protection. This may lessen the chance of unwanted access.

Cybersecurity Software: 

• To defend against malware, phishing attempts, and other online risks, install and update reputable antivirus and anti-malware software on a regular basis.

Educate Friends and Family:

• Inform friends and family about typical scams and how to avoid falling victim to fraud. A safer online environment can be achieved through increased collective knowledge.

Be skeptical

• Whenever anything looks strange or too good to be true, it most often is. Trust your instincts. Prior to acting, follow your gut and confirm the information.

By taking these precautions and exercising caution, people may lessen their vulnerability to scams and safeguard their money and personal data from online fraudsters.

Conclusion:

Verifying calls, maintaining secrecy, checking official papers, transacting cautiously, and keeping up to date are all examples of protective measures for protecting ourselves from such scams. Using cybersecurity software, turning on two-factor authentication, and reporting suspicious activity are essential in stopping these types of frauds. Raising awareness and working together are essential to making the internet a safer place and resisting the activities of cybercriminals.

 References:

• https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/pune-cybercrime-drug-in-parcel-cyber-scam-it-duping-9058298/#:~:text=In%20August%20this%20year%2C%20a,avoiding%20legal%20action%20including%20arrest.
• https://www.the420.in/pune-it-professional-duped-of-rs-27-9-lakh-in-drug-in-parcel-scam/
• https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2023/oct/16/the-return-of-drugs-in-parcel-scam-2624323.html
• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/2-techies-fall-prey-to-drug-parcel-scam/articleshow/102786234.cms

Overview:

‘Kia Connect’ is the application that is used to connect ‘Kia’ cars which allows the user control various parameters of the vehicle through the application on his/her smartphone. The vulnerabilities found in most Kias built after 2013 with but little exception. Most of the risks are derived from a flawed API that deals with dealer relations and vehicle coordination. 

Technical Breakdown of Exploitation:

1. API Exploitation: The attack uses the vulnerabilities in Kia’s dealership network. The researchers also noticed that, for example, the logs generated while impersonating a dealer and registering on the Kia dealer portal would be sufficient for deriving access tokens needed for next steps.

2. Accessing Vehicle Information: The license plate number allowed the attackers to get the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) number of their preferred car. This VIN can then be used to look up more information about the car and is an essential number to determine for the shared car.

3. Information Retrieval: Having the VIN number in hand, attackers can launch a number of requests to backends to pull more sensitive information about the car owner, including:

• Name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Geographical address

4. Modifying Account Access: With this information, attackers could change the accounts settings to make them a second user on the car, thus being hidden from the actual owner of the account.

5. Executing Remote Commands: Once again, it was discovered that attackers could remotely execute different commands on the vehicle, which includes:some text
   • Unlocking doors
   • Starting the engine
   • Monitoring the location of the vehicle in terms of position.
   • Honking the horn 

Technical Execution:

The researchers demonstrated that an attacker could execute a series of four requests to gain control over a Kia vehicle:

1. Generate Dealer Token: The attacker sends an HTTP request in order to create a dealer token.

2. Retrieve Owner Information: As indicated using the generated token, they make another request to another endpoint that returns the owner’s email address and phone number.

3. Modify Access Permissions: The attacker takes advantage of the leaked information (email address and VIN) of the owner to change between users accounts and make himself the second user.

4. Execute Commands: As the last one, they can send commands to perform actions on the operated vehicle.

Security Response and Precautionary Measures for Vehicle Owners

1. Regular Software Updates: Car owners must make sure their cars receive updates on the recent software updates provided by auto producers. 
2. Use Strong Passwords: The owners of Kia Connect accounts should develop specific and complex passwords for their accounts and then update them periodically. They should avoid using numbers like the birth dates, vehicle numbers and simple passwords.
3. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication: For security, vehicle owners should turn on the use of the secondary authentication when it is available to protect against unauthorized access to an account. 
4. Limit Personal Information Sharing: Owners of vehicles should be careful with the details that are connected with the account on their car, like the e-mail or telephone number, sharing them on social networks, for example.
5. Monitor Account Activity: It is also important to monitor the account activity because of change or access attempts that are unauthorized. In case of any abnormality or anything suspicious felt while using the car, report it to Kia customer support.
6. Educate Yourself on Vehicle Security: Being aware of cyber threats that are connected to vehicles and learning about how to safeguard a vehicle from such threats.
7. Consider Disabling Remote Features When Not Needed: If remote features are not needed,  then it is better to turn them off, and then turn them on again when needed. This can prove to help diminish the attack vector for would-be hackers.

Industry Implications:

The findings from this research underscore broader issues within automotive cybersecurity:

• Web Security Gaps: Most car manufacturers pay more attention to equipment running in automobiles instead of the safety of the websites that the car uses to operate thereby exposing automobiles that are connected very much to risks.

• Continued Risks: Vehicles become increasingly connected to internet technologies. Auto makers will have to carry cyber security measures in their cars in the future.

Conclusion:

The weaknesses found in Kia’s connected car system are a key concern for Automotive security. Since cars need web connections for core services, suppliers also face the problem of risks and need to create effective safeguards. Kia took immediate actions to tighten the safety after disclosure; however, new threats will emerge as this is a dynamic domain involving connected technology. With growing awareness of these risks, it is now important for car makers not only to put in proper security measures but also to maintain customer communication on how it safeguards their information and cars against cyber dangers. That being an incredibly rapid approach to advancements in automotive technology, the key to its safety is in our capacity to shield it from ever-present cyber threats.

Reference:

• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/auto/cars/hackers-could-unlock-your-kia-car-with-just-a-license-plate-is-yours-safe/articleshow/113837543.cms
• https://www.thedrive.com/news/hackers-found-millions-of-kias-could-be-tracked-controlled-with-just-a-plate-number
• https://www.securityweek.com/millions-of-kia-cars-were-vulnerable-to-remote-hacking-researchers/
• https://news24online.com/auto/kia-vehicles-hack-connected-car-cybersecurity-threat/346248/
• https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2024/09/millions-of-kia-vehicles-were-vulnerable-to-remote-attacks-with-just-a-license-plate-number
• https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/kia-vulnerability-enables-remote-acces/
• https://samcurry.net/hacking-kia

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Introduction

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Announces to Centre Government to Plan to Certify Permissible Online Games.

In a recent update to the notification released by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on April 6, MeitY has requested gaming entities to establish self-regulatory organisations (SROs) within a timeframe of 30 days or a maximum of 90 days from the date of the notification, which is April 6, 2023. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has further announced that the central government will certify which online games are permissible until the SROs are officially established. The intention behind establishing SROs is to assist intermediaries, such as Apple or Google, in determining what constitutes a permitted online game, but the SRO will take 2-3 months to complete. In the meanwhile, the Central government will step in and determine what is a permissible online game.

Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 & Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Amendment Rules, 2023

By enacting these rules, the Indian government has taken decisive action to protect Indian gamers and their financial resources against scams and fraud. The rules also serve to promote responsible gaming while preventing young and vulnerable users from being exposed to indecent or abusive content.

Amendment Rules developed the concept of a “Permissible online real money game.” This designation is reserved for games that have passed a review process conducted by a self-regulatory body (SRB).  Amendment rules indicate that Online Gaming Intermediaries must ensure that they do not permit any third party to host non-permissible online real money games on their platforms. This development is important because it empowers us to distinguish between legitimate and illicit real money games.

The Amendment Rules define an online gaming provider as an “intermediary” under the Information Technology Act of 2000, creating a separate classification called ‘Online Gaming Intermediary’.

Central government to certify what is an ‘Online Permissible Game’

The industry has been wondering what games come under wagering and will be banned. So, until the SROs are officially established, the government, in the interim, will certify what is a permissible game, what is wagering, and what is not wagering. Games that involve elements of wagering are going to be barred. The new regulations prohibit wagering on any outcome, whether in skill-based or chance-based games. Hence gaming applications involving wagering and betting apps will be barred.

Self-Regulatory Organizations (SROs)

According to the new regulations by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), online gaming intermediaries must establish a Self-Regulatory Body (SRO) to approve games offered to users over the Internet. The SRO must be registered with the Ministry and develop a framework to ensure compliance with the IT Rules 2021 objectives. An ‘online game’ can be registered by the SRO if it meets specific criteria, which include that the game is offered by an online gaming intermediary that is a member of the self-regulatory body, the game is not containing any content harmful to India’s interests, and complying with all relevant Indian regulations. If these requirements are met, the intermediary can display a visible registration mark indicating its registration with the self-regulatory authority.

Conclusion

MeitY found that with the rapid growth of the gaming industry, the real money gaming (RMG) sector had to be regulated properly. Rules framed must be properly implemented to stop gambling, betting, and wagering apps.

The IT Rules 2021, along with the Amendment Rules 2023, are created to take concrete action to curb the proliferation of gambling, betting, and wagering apps in India. These rules empower to issue of directives to ban specific apps that facilitate or promote such activities. The app ban directive allows the government to take decisive action by blocking access to these apps, making them unavailable for download or use within the country. This measure is aimed at curbing the negative impact of gambling, betting, and wagering on individuals and society, including issues related to addiction, financial loss, and illegal activities. Rules aim to actively combat the spread and influence of such apps and provide a safer online environment for gaming users.

The self-regulatory body in the context of online gaming will have the authority to grant membership to gaming intermediaries, register online games, develop a framework for regulation, interact with the Central Government, address user complaints, report instances of non-compliance, and take necessary actions to safeguard online gaming users.