#FactCheck - Viral Photos Falsely Linked to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's Helicopter Crash

Introduction

India has been a nation where technology penetration has been a little slower in the previous decades; however, that has changed now. Cyberspace has influenced and touched every country and has significantly diminished the gap between developing nations, developed nations, and underdeveloped nations. This has also been substantiated and strengthened during the Covid-19 pandemic as the world went into lockdown and the cyberspace was the only medium of communication and information. India witnessed a rise of 61% in terms of internet users, and a significant part of this number represented rural India.

New Standards

These standards have been released in threefold aspects covering – Digital Television Receivers, USB Type-C chargers, and Video Surveillance Systems, thus streamlining the use of gadgets and reduction of e-waste for the country.

1. Digital Television Receivers

The Indian standard IS 18112:2022 specification for digital television, and this standard would enable reception of free-to-air TV and radio channels just by connecting a dish antenna with LNB mounted on a suitable area with good signal reception. This will help in the transmission of knowledge about government initiatives and schemes, the educational content of Doordarshan, and the repository of Indian cultural programs. Doordarshan is in the process of phasing out analog transmission, and free-to-air channels will continue to be broadcast using digital satellite transmission. The keen aspects of educational and awareness programs run by the Govt and CSOs will impact more Indians than before as the Ministry of Information and Broadcast intends to increase their free channels of Doordarshan from 55 to 200 by the end of this year, which shows the importance of developments in the mass media industry.

2. USB Type C

Standard (IS/IEC 62680-1-3:2022) for USB Type-C receptacles, plugs, and cables adopting the existing global standard IEC 62680-1-3:2022. This standard provides for the requirements for USB type C ports and cables for use in various electronic devices like laptops, mobile phones, and other gadgets. This standard is similar to the new European standard, which is also aimed at the reduction of carbon emissions and e-waste; this move will result in ease for the industry and the end users. This will also contribute towards the strengthening of the cyber security aspects and prevent threats like ‘Juice Jacking’ to a massive extent.

3. Video Surveillance System

IS 16190, this standard provides a detailed outline of the aspects of a video surveillance system, such as requirements for its components like camera devices, interfaces, system requirements, and tests to ascertain the camera’s image quality on different devices. This series of standards would assist customers, installers, and users in establishing their requirements and determining the appropriate equipment required for their intended application and also provide means of evaluating the performance of the VSS objectively. This will also help in the improvement of surveillance by the individuals, and this will also help in the better investigation by Law enforcement agencies and faster apprehension of criminals, thus contributing to an overall safe society.

The Advantages

These standards are in power with the Internationally prevalent standards, thus taking the safety factors to the global aspect. This will also allow the Indian industry to create world-class products which can be shared all across the globe. This will open India to various opportunities and job avenues, thus opening the world to invest in India. The aspect of Atma Nirbhar Bharat and Digital India will be strengthened to a new level as the nation will be able to deliver products in power with quality in developed countries. The end Indian consumer will benefit the most from these upgraded standards in terms of Digital Televisions, Type ‘C’ USB chargers, and Video surveillance systems, as these impacts the consumers’ daily activities in terms of security and access to information.

• Reduction in Carbon Emission
• Production of World Class components and devices
• Boost to the economy and Atmanirbhar Bharat
• New avenues and opportunities for startups and MSMEs
• Better transmission of Knowledge
• Boosting FDI
• Improved quality of products for the end consumer
• New innovation hubs and exposure to global talents

This government move simply shows how India is working toward securing the Sustainable development Goals (SDG) by United Nations. This clearly shares the message to the world that India is ready for the future and will also be a helping hand to various developing and underdeveloped nations in the times to come.

Conclusion

These standards will significantly contribute towards the reduction of E-Waste and unnecessary accessories for daily use gadgets. This strengthens the reduction in carbon emissions and thus contributes towards the perseverance of the environment and working towards sustainable development goals. Such standards will lead the future towards securing the netizens and their new and evolving digital habits. In the current phase of cyberspace, the most essential aspect of establishing Critical Infrastructure as the same will act as a shield against the threats of cyberspace.

Along with the loss of important files and information, data loss can result in downtime and lost revenue. Unexpected occurrences, including natural catastrophes, cyber-attacks, hardware malfunctions, and human mistakes, can result in the loss of crucial data. Recovery from these without a backup plan may be difficult, if not impossible.

The fact is that the largest threat to the continuation of your organization today is cyberattacks. Because of this, disaster recovery planning should be approached from a data security standpoint. If not, you run the risk of leaving your vital systems exposed to a cyberattack. Cybercrime has been more frequent and violent over the past few years. In the past, major organizations and global businesses were the main targets of these attacks by criminals. But nowadays, businesses of all sizes need to be cautious of digital risks.

Many firms might suffer a financial hit even from a brief interruption to regular business operations. But imagine if a situation forced a company to close for a few days or perhaps weeks! The consequences would be disastrous.

One must have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place that is connected with the cybersecurity strategy, given the growing danger of cybercrime.

Let’s look at why having a solid data security plan and a dependable backup solution are essential for safeguarding a company from external digital threats.

1. Apply layered approaches

One must specifically use precautionary measures like antivirus software and firewalls. One must also implement strict access control procedures to restrict who may access the network.

One must also implement strict access control procedures to restrict who may access the network.

2. Understand the threat situation

If someone is unaware of the difficulties one should be prepared for, how can they possibly expect to develop a successful cybersecurity strategy? They can’t, is the simple response.

Without a solid understanding of the threat landscape, developing the plan will require a lot too much speculation. With this strategy, one can allocate resources poorly or perhaps completely miss a threat.

Because of this, one should educate themselves on the many cyber risks that businesses now must contend with.

3. Adopt a proactive security stance

Every effective cybersecurity plan includes a number of reactive processes that aren’t activated until an attack occurs. Although these reactive strategies will always be useful in cybersecurity, the main focus of your plan should be proactiveness.

There are several methods to be proactive, but the most crucial one is to analyze your network for possible threats regularly. your network securely. Having a SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) solution in place is beneficial for SaaS applications, in particular.

A preventive approach can lessen the effects of a data breach and aid in keeping data away from attackers.

4. Evaluate your ability to respond to incidents

Test your cybersecurity disaster recovery plan’s effectiveness by conducting exercises and evaluating the outcomes. Track pertinent data during the exercise to see if your plan is working as expected.

Meet with your team after each drill to evaluate what went well and what didn’t. This strategy enables you to continuously strengthen your plan and solve weaknesses. This procedure may be repeated endlessly and should be.

You must include cybersecurity protections in your entire disaster recovery plan if you want to make sure that your business is resilient in the face of cyber threats. You may strengthen data security and recover from data loss and corruption by putting in place a plan that focuses on both the essential components of proactive data protection and automated data backup and recovery.

For instance, Google distributes all data among several computers in various places while storing each user’s data on a single machine or collection of machines. To prevent a single point of failure, chunk the data and duplicate it across several platforms. As an additional security safeguard, they give these data chunks random names that are unreadable to the human eye.^[1]

The process of creating and storing copies of data that may be used to safeguard organizations against data loss is referred to as backup and recovery. In the case of a main data failure, the backup’s goal is to make a duplicate of the data that can be restored.

5. Take zero-trust principles

Don’t presume that anything or anybody can be trusted; zero trust is a new label for an old idea. Check each device, user, service, or other entity’s trustworthiness before providing it access, then periodically recheck trustworthiness while access is allowed to make sure the entity hasn’t been hacked. Reduce the consequences of any breach of confidence by granting each entity access to only the resources it requires. The number of events and the severity of those that do happen can both be decreased by using zero-trust principles.

6. Understand the dangers posed by supply networks

A nation-state can effectively penetrate a single business, and that business may provide thousands of other businesses with tainted technological goods or services. These businesses will then become compromised, which might disclose their own customers’ data to the original attackers or result in compromised services being offered to customers. Millions of businesses and people might be harmed as a result of what began with one infiltrating corporation.

In conclusion, a defense-in-depth approach to cybersecurity won’t vanish. Organizations may never be able to totally eliminate the danger of a cyberattack, but having a variety of technologies and procedures in place can assist in guaranteeing that the risks are kept to a minimum.

References:

• https://www.comparitech.com/vpn/cybersecurity-cyber-crime-statistics-facts-trends/
• https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/data-security/
• https://www.ibm.com/in-en/topics/cybersecurity
• https://www.cybersecurityforme.com/what-is-the-future-of-cybersecurity/

[1] https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/data-security/

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/