#FactCheck -Old 2016 Madame Tussauds Wax Statue Video Misrepresented as PM Modi Being “Made Up” by Team

Introduction

Many people will have started their day as normal on the 12th November; however, Microsoft Outlook went down, causing issues with Teams and Copilot shortly after. This outage was reported by users in over 70 countries. This means that governments, police forces, schools and businesses lost a key communication platform. Whilst this outage was caused by a technical issue, it is reassuring to know that it was not a cyber attack. However, this is still a security incident due to availability being a core part of data security. Here is what happened and what we can learn from it.

What happened?

The outage began in the US on Thursday afternoon. Within an hour, it was reported globally. Downdetector reported that users were unable to access their services in 74 countries and territories. This outage caused issues for many users of Microsoft 365 (around 430 million users). This impacted Exchange Online-based services such as Teams and Copilot. Many organisations including the U.S. House of Representatives, Australian police and Japanese government reported issues. Microsoft stated that there was increased load on their servers. They also stated that they had made "limited progress" after over 12 hours.

By Friday morning the company had resolved the root cause of the issue. However, they were still experiencing issues with queues and were informing users that whilst queues were returning to normal, there were still sporadic issues. They apologised and increased the timeout period to 48 hours to ensure that emails would not bounce. They also stated that there was no estimate at this point for when everything would be back to normal. At the time of writing, I cannot find any confirmation that everything is completely back to normal.

Was it a cyberattack?

This was a fair question to ask almost immediately. Microsoft have repeatedly stated that there was no evidence of malicious activity. They later stated that the outage was a technical issue and had nothing to do with cyber activity or AI agents. Microsoft Executive Vice President Charles Lamanna stated that teams are investigating what happened and how to prevent this from happening again. The timing of the outage did cause speculation, as the FAA issued a rare nationwide ground stop the following day. However, Microsoft have stated that there was no indication that these were related. Officials have pointed to an issue with the communications at air traffic control centres.

It is important to note that any statements made by a vendor are an initial investigation and will be confirmed once a full investigation has been completed. Customers should ask for this investigation.

Availability is a security property

Confidentiality, integrity and availability are usually the first 3 words we learn in any security training. We often focus on the first two. However, this outage reminded us that availability is equally important. Incident response teams will no longer be able to communicate in their usual way. Hospitals and schools will lose a way to contact patients and parents. Automated alerts will no longer be sent. Even AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude (which link to Microsoft 365) were reported to have issues.

Experts quoted by CBC said that this incident should cause concern. Many organisations rely on a few large technology vendors. This is efficient in normal circumstances but causes issues when things go wrong. The outage caused by one vendor's capacity issues caused issues globally within an afternoon.

The data privacy angle

Although often not mentioned, privacy can be a concern. Emails will be queued up and therefore will be stored in systems and logs that are not easily accessible. Increasing the timeout to 48 hrs will help guarantee delivery but means sensitive emails will be in transit for longer. You should check with your vendors what happens to emails while they are being queued. How are they stored? Who has access? How are they protected?

The bigger concern is human error. If the official tool fails, then staff will look for alternative methods. This could include sending work-related emails to personal accounts, sending communications to consumer-based messaging and sharing files through any links. This will result in personal, client or health data being outside your control. If people are unable to send emails during peak times, then shadow IT will increase. If there isn’t an official alternative channel, then staff will create one.

Attackers will know this. During the outage people are more likely to click on emails that offer updates, password resets or recovery tools. There are often fake alerts and support calls after incidents like this. Best practice is to always go directly to the official Microsoft 365 status page or admin centre.

Regulation and responsibility

Resilience is becoming an expectation. In the European Union GDPR requires organisations to ensure systems that process personal data are available and resilient. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act in India requires reasonable security measures. Neither of these regulations requires no downtime from your cloud providers but does expect you to have thought about what will happen. This should be included in your vendor contracts, SLAs and breach notification clauses. Customers should read these to know what to expect.

What organisations can do now

Make a list of what you’d be unable to do if you lost your emails tomorrow. Make sure you have an out-of-band communication method. This could be another messaging platform with a separate login. Make sure you have key contact lists accessible offline. Do some tabletop exercises assuming your main collaboration suite will be unavailable for a whole day. Make sure you have an alternative method to receive any alerts from your security tools that are sent via email. Make sure you have a spokesperson decided. If you don’t have anyone speaking to customers, then rumours will begin to circulate that there has been a breach.

Conclusion

Whilst this outlook outage seems to have been a technical issue, there are lessons to learn. Availability is as important as confidentiality. Relying on a few vendors will increase risk. Under pressure, staff will look for alternatives if there is nothing safer. Organisations with plans in place to deal with system failures will be protecting their operations and personal data. Microsoft will have their own investigation which should provide more detail. Make sure you read this carefully.

Sources

• NPR: A negative Outlook, Microsoft scrambles to fix email outage
• ABC News: Outlook outage updates, Microsoft apologizes and says there was no hack
• CBS News: Microsoft says it is seeing continued recovery progress
• CNN: Microsoft global outage live updates
• CBC News: No timeline for when Microsoft’s multi-day outage might be fully fixed
• AFP via EWN: Global outage hits Microsoft Outlook
• Outlook India: Microsoft 365 outage affects Outlook, Teams, ChatGPT and Claude
• WESH: Are the Microsoft Outlook outage and FAA ground stop connected?

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Executive Summary:

Microsoft rolled out a set of major security updates in August, 2024 that fixed 90 cracks in the MS operating systems and the office suite; 10 of these had been exploited in actual hacker attacks and were zero-days. In the following discussion, these vulnerabilities are first outlined and then a general analysis of the contemporary cyber security threats is also undertaken in this blog. This blog seeks to give an acquainted and non-acquainted audience about these updates, the threat that these exploits pose, and prevent measures concerning such dangers. 

1. Introduction

Nowadays, people and organisations face the problem of cybersecurity as technologies develop and more and more actions take place online. These cyber threats have not ceased to mutate and hence safeguarding organisations’ digital assets requires a proactive stand. This report is concerned with the vulnerabilities fixed by Microsoft in August 2024 that comprised a cumulative of 90 security weaknesses where six of them were zero-day exploits. All these make a terrible risk pose and thus, it is important to understand them as we seek to safeguard virtual properties. 

2. Overview of Microsoft’s August 2024 Security Updates

August 2024 security update provided by Microsoft to its products involved 90 vulnerabilities for Windows, Office, and well known programs and applications. These updates are of the latest type which are released by Microsoft under its Patch Tuesday program, a regular cum monthly release of all Patch updates. 

•  Critical Flaws: As expected, seven of the 90 were categorised as Critical, meaning that these are flaws that could be leveraged by hackers to compromise the targeted systems or bring operations to a halt. 
•  Zero-Day Exploits: A zero-day attack can be defined as exploits, which are as of now being exploited by attackers while the software vendor has not yet developed a patch for the same. It had managed 10 zero-days with the August update, which underlines that Microsoft and its ecosystems remain at risk. 
•  Broader Impact: These are not isolated to the products of Microsoft only They still persist Despite this, these vulnerabilities are not exclusive to the Microsoft products only. Other vendors such as Adobe, Cisco, Google, and others also released security advisories to fix a variety of issues which proves today’s security world is highly connected. 

3. Detailed Analysis of Key Vulnerabilities

This section provides an in-depth analysis of some of the most critical vulnerabilities patched in August 2024. Each vulnerability is explained in layman’s terms to ensure accessibility for all readers.

3. 1 CVE-2024-38189: Microsoft Project Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVSS score:8. 8) : 

 The problem is in programs that belong to the Microsoft Project family which is known to be a popular project management system. The vulnerability enables an attacker to produce a file to entice an user into opening it and in the process execute code on the affected system. This could possibly get the attacker full control of the user’s system as mentioned in the following section. 

 Explanation for Non-Technical Readers: Let us assume that one day you received a file which appears to be a normal word document. When it is opened, it is in a format that it secretly downloads a problematic program in the computer and this goes unnoticed. This is what could happen with this vulnerability, that is why it is very dangerous. 

 3. 2 CVE-2024-38178: Windows Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability (CVSS score: 7.5):

Some of the risks relate to a feature known as the Windows Scripting Engine, which is an important system allowing a browser or an application to run scripts in a web page or an application. The weak point can result in corruption of memory space and an attacker can perform remote code execution with the possibility to affect the entire system. 

 Explanation for Non-Technical Readers: For the purpose of understanding how your computer memory works, imagine if your computer’s memory is a library. This vulnerability corrupts the structure of the library so that an intruder can inject malicious books (programs) which you may read (execute) on your computer and create havoc. 

 3. 3 CVE-2024-38193: WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (CVSS score: 7. 8 )

 It opens up a security weakness in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock, which is an essential model that masks the communication between the two. It enables the attacker to gain new privileges on the particular system they have attacked, in this case they gain some more privileges on the attacked system and can access other higher activities or details. 

 Explanation for Non-Technical Readers: This flaw is like somebody gaining access to the key to your house master bedroom. They can also steal all your valuable items that were earlier locked and could only be accessed by you. It lets the attacker cause more havoc as soon as he gets inside your computer. 

3. 4 CVE-2024-38106: Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (CVSS score: 7. 0) 

 This vulnerability targets what is known as the Windows Kernel which forms the heart or main frameworks of the operating system that controls and oversees the functions of the computer components. This particular weakness can be exploited and an opponent will be able to get high-level access and ownership of the system. 

 Explanation for Non-Technical Readers: The kernel can be compared to the brain of your computer. It is especially dangerous that if someone can control the brain he can control all the rest, which makes it a severe weakness. 

 3. 5 CVE-2024-38213: Windows Mark of the Web Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability (CVSS score: 6.5). 

 This vulnerability enables the attackers to evade the SmartScreen component of Windows which is used to safeguard users from accessing unsafe files. This weakness can be easily used by the attackers to influence the users to open files that are otherwise malicious. 

 Explanation for Non-Technical Readers: Usually, before opening a file your computer would ask you in advance that opening the file may harm your computer. This weak point makes your computer believe that this dangerous file is good and then no warning will be given to you. 

 4. Implications of the Vulnerabilities

These vulnerabilities, importantly the zero-day exploits, have significant implications on all users. 

•  Data Breaches: These weaknesses can therefore be manipulated to cause exposures of various data, occasioning data leaks that put individual and corporate information and wealth. 
•  System Compromise: The bad guys could end up fully compromising the impacted systems meaning that they can put in malware, pilfer data or simply shut down a program. 
•  Financial Loss: The organisations that do not patch these vulnerabilities on the shortest notice may end up experiencing a lot of losses because of having to deal with a lot of downtimes on their systems, having to incur the costs of remediating the systems that have been breached and also dealing with legal repercussions. 
•  Reputation Damage: Security breaches and IT system corruptions can result in loss of customer and partner confidence in an organisation’s ability to protect their information affecting its reputation and its position in the market. 

5. Recommendations for Mitigating Risks

Immediate measures should be taken regarding the risks linked to these issues since such weaknesses pose a rather high threat. The following are recommendations suitable for both technical and non-technical users. 

5. 1 Regular Software Updates 

 Make it a point that all the software, particularly operating systems and all Microsoft applications are updated. Any system out there needs to update it from Microsoft, and its Patch Tuesday release is crucial. 

 For Non-Technical Users: As much as possible, reply ‘yes’ to updates whenever your computer or smartphone prompts for it. These updates correct security matters and secure your instruments. 

 5. 2 Realisation of Phishing Attacks 

 Most of the risks are normally realised through phishing techniques. People should be taught diversifiable actions that come with crazy emails like clicking on links and opening attachments. 

 For Non-Technical Users: Do not respond to emails from unknown people and if they make you follow a link or download a file, do not do it. If it looks like spam, do not click on it. 

 5. 3 Security Software 

 Strong and reliable antivirus and anti-malware software can be used to identify and avoid the attacks that might have high chances of using these vulnerabilities. 

 For Non-Technical Users: Ensure you download a quality antivirus and always update it. This works like a security guard to your computer by preventing bad programs. 

 5. 4  Introduce Multi Factor Authentication (MFA)

 MFA works in a way to enforce a second factor of authentication before the account can be accessed; for instance, a user will be asked to input a text message or an authentication application. 

 For Non-Technical Users: NS is to make use of two-factor authentication on your accounts. It is like increasing the security measures that a man who has to burgle a house has to undergo by having to hammer an additional lock on the door. 

 5. 5 Network segmentations and Privileges management 

 Network segmentation should be adopted by organisations to prevent the spread of attacks while users should only be granted the privileges required to do their activities. 

 For Non- Technical Users: Perform the assessments of user privileges and the networks frequently and alter them in an effort of reducing the extent of the attacks. 

6. Global Cybersecurity Landscape and Vendor Patches

The other major vendors have also released patches to address security vulnerabilities in their products. The interdependent nature of technology has the effect on the entire digital ecosystem.

• Adobe, Cisco, Google, and Others: These companies have released updates to address the weaknesses in their products that are applied in different sectors. These patches should be applied promptly to enhance cybersecurity.
• Collaboration and Information Sharing:Security vendors as well as researchers and experts in the cybersecurity domain, need to remain vigilant and keep on sharing information on emerging threats in cyberspace.

7. Conclusion

The security updates companies such as Microsoft and other vendors illustrate the present day fight between cybersecurity experts and cybercriminals.  All the vulnerabilities addressed in this August 2024 update cycle are a call for prudence and constant protection of digital platforms. These vulnerabilities explain the importance of maintaining up-to-date systems, being aware of potential threats, and implementing robust security practices. Therefore, it is important to fortify our shield in this ever expanding threat domain, in order to be safe from attackers who use this weakness for their malicious purposes.

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Executive Summary

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A collage of two images circulating on social media is falsely claiming that the street vendor who served jhalmuri to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election campaign in Jhargram was actually a personnel from the Special Protection Group (SPG). Research by the CyberPeace Research Wing found the claim to be false and misleading, indicating that it is being shared as part of election-related misinformation. The vendor and the SPG personnel seen in the viral collage are two different individuals.

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Claim

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An X (formerly Twitter) user, “@Jeetuburdak,” shared the viral collage on April 21, 2026, with the caption: “Another scam! The jhalmuri seller turned out to be an SPG commando.” The post quickly gained traction online.

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• https://x.com/Jeetuburdak/status/2046612977617637711
• https://perma.cc/JW8S-VA2J

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Fact Check

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A close examination of the two images used in the collage shows clear visual differences between the individuals. The person seen in SPG uniform does not match the street vendor who served food to the prime minister. Reverse image searches were conducted using multiple tools to trace the origin of the images. While no verifiable source was found linking the SPG personnel’s image to the vendor, several credible reports and videos featured the actual jhalmuri seller from the campaign event.

• https://x.com/ANI/status/2045859146508177911?s=20
• https://news24online.com/cities/kolkata/who-is-the-man-that-served-jhalmuri-to-pm-modi-know-his-daily-income-and-what-he-talked-about-with-pm/811123/

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According to media reports, the prime minister briefly stopped at a roadside stall during the campaign in Jhargram and interacted with the vendor while enjoying jhalmuri. The vendor was later interviewed by multiple outlets, further confirming his identity as a local seller. Additionally, technical facial comparison analysis using online tools also indicated that the two individuals in the viral collage are not the same person.

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Conclusion

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The claim that the jhalmuri vendor was an SPG commando is false and misleading. The viral collage shows two different individuals, and there is no evidence to support the allegation.

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