#Factcheck-Allu Arjun visits Shiva temple after success of Pushpa 2? No, image is from 2017
Executive Summary:
Recently, a viral post on social media claiming that actor Allu Arjun visited a Shiva temple to pray in celebration after the success of his film, PUSHPA 2. The post features an image of him visiting the temple. However, an investigation has determined that this photo is from 2017 and does not relate to the film's release.
Claims:
The claim states that Allu Arjun recently visited a Shiva temple to express his thanks for the success of Pushpa 2, featuring a photograph that allegedly captures this moment.
Fact Check:
The image circulating on social media, that Allu Arjun visited a Shiva temple to celebrate the success of Pushpa 2, is misleading.
After conducting a reverse image search, we confirmed that this photograph is from 2017, taken during the actor's visit to the Tirumala Temple for a personal event, well before Pushpa 2 was ever announced. The context has been altered to falsely connect it to the film's success. Additionally, there is no credible evidence or recent reports to support the claim that Allu Arjun visited a temple for this specific reason, making the assertion entirely baseless.
Before sharing viral posts, take a brief moment to verify the facts. Misinformation spreads quickly and it’s far better to rely on trusted fact-checking sources.
Conclusion:
The claim that Allu Arjun visited a Shiva temple to celebrate the success of Pushpa 2 is false. The image circulating is actually from an earlier time. This situation illustrates how misinformation can spread when an old photo is used to construct a misleading story. Before sharing viral posts, take a moment to verify the facts. Misinformation spreads quickly, and it is far better to rely on trusted fact-checking sources.
- Claim: The image claims Allu Arjun visited Shiva temple after Pushpa 2’s success.
- Claimed On: Facebook
- Fact Check: False and Misleading
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Executive Summary:
A viral claim circulating on social media suggests that the Indian government is offering a 50% subsidy on tractor purchases under the so-called "Kisan Tractor Yojana." However, our research reveals that the website promoting this scheme, allegedly under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, is misleading. This report aims to inform readers about the deceptive nature of this claim and emphasize the importance of safeguarding personal information against fraudulent schemes.
Claim:
A website has been circulating misleading information, claiming that the Indian government is offering a 50% subsidy on tractor purchases under the so-called "Kisan Tractor Yojana." Additionally, a YouTube video promoting this scheme suggests that individuals can apply by submitting certain documents and paying a small, supposedly refundable application fee.
Fact Check:
Our research has confirmed that there is no scheme by the Government of India named 'PM Kisan Tractor Yojana.' The circulating announcement is false and appears to be an attempt to defraud farmers through fraudulent means.
While the government does provide various agricultural subsidies under recognized schemes such as the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi and the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), no such initiative under the name 'PM Kisan Tractor Yojana' exists. This misleading claim is, therefore, a phishing attempt aimed at deceiving farmers and unlawfully collecting their personal or financial information.
Farmers and stakeholders are advised to rely only on official government sources for scheme-related information and to exercise caution against such deceptive practices.
To assess the authenticity of the “PM Kisan Tractor Yojana” claim, we reviewed the websites farmertractoryojana.in and tractoryojana.in. Our analysis revealed several inconsistencies, indicating that these websites are fraudulent.
As part of our verification process, we evaluated tractoryojana.in using Scam Detector to determine its trustworthiness. The results showed a low trust score, raising concerns about its legitimacy. Similarly, we conducted the same check for farmertractoryojana.in, which also appeared untrustworthy and risky. The detailed results of these assessments are attached below.
Given that these websites falsely present themselves as government-backed initiatives, our findings strongly suggest that they are part of a fraudulent scheme designed to mislead and exploit individuals seeking genuine agricultural subsidies.
During our research, we examined the "How it Works" section of the website, which outlines the application process for the alleged “PM Kisan Tractor Yojana.” Notably, applicants are required to pay a refundable application fee to proceed with their registration. It is important to emphasize that no legitimate government subsidy program requires applicants to pay a refundable application fee.
Our research found that the address listed on the website, “69A, Hanuman Road, Vile Parle East, Mumbai 400057,” is not associated with any government office or agricultural subsidy program. This further confirms the website’s fraudulent nature. Farmers should verify subsidy programs through official government sources to avoid scams.
A key inconsistency is the absence of a verified social media presence. Most legitimate government programs maintain official social media accounts for updates and communication. However, these websites fail to provide any such official handles, further casting doubt on their authenticity.
Upon attempting to log in, both websites redirect to the same page, suggesting they may be operated by the same entity or individual. This further raises concerns about their legitimacy and reinforces the likelihood of fraudulent activity.
Conclusion:
Our research confirms that the "PM Kisan Tractor Yojana" claim is fraudulent. No such government scheme exists, and the websites promoting it exhibit multiple red flags, including low trust scores, a misleading application process requiring a refundable fee, a false address, and the absence of an official social media presence. Additionally, both websites redirect to the same page, suggesting they are operated by the same entity. Farmers are advised to rely on official government sources to avoid falling victim to such scams.
- Claim: PM-Kisan Tractor Yojana Government Offering Subsidy on tractors.
- Claimed On: Social Media
- Fact Check: False and Misleading
Introduction
MGM Resorts, which is an international company, has suffered an ongoing cyberattack which led to the shutdown of a number of its computer systems, including its website, in response to a cybersecurity issue. MGM Resorts International is in touch with external cybersecurity experts to resolve the issue since it has affected its entire Computer systems. MGM is a larger entity and operates thousands of hotel rooms across Las Vegas and the United States. MGM Resorts shared about the incident and posted that MGM recently identified a cybersecurity issue affecting some of the Company's systems. Promptly after detecting the issue, they quickly began an investigation with assistance from leading external cybersecurity experts. MGM has notified law enforcement and took prompt action to protect systems and data, including putting down certain systems. MGM further stated that the investigation is ongoing.
The issue
Basic operations such as the online reservation and booking system MGM have been affected and shut down due to the cybersecurity issue faced by a lot of visitors. Since earlier times, casino security has been the state of the art as they were very vulnerable to attacks by robbers and con artists. This is what we have also seen in a lot of movies. In today's time, con artists and robbers are now strengthened by cyber tactics. This is exactly what was seen in the case of the MGM attack.
MGM Resorts is home to best-in-class amenities and facilities for guests, but with the increase in tourist traction, the vulnerabilities and the scope of cyber attacks have also increased. This is also because of open wifis in the establishments and the transition of casinos to e-casinos, thus causing a major shift towards digital and technology-based intervention for better customer experience and streamlining a lot of operations.
How real is the threat?
As reported by MGM Resorts, the following systems were impacted in the cyber security attack:
- Slots Machines: The slot machines placed in the casino suddenly went offline and displayed an error message for the players. Some players who were already using the slot machines lost their bets and were unable to withdraw their winnings.
- Room Keys: Some of the guests reported that the room keys became unresponsive, and in some cases, the replacement keys were also inactive for some time, causing massive chaos at the reception.
- Booking Status: All the bookings in today's time are made online; this was one of the worst-hit segments of the cyber attacks. Most of the bookings made automatically were put on hold, and the confirmations could be made only from the hotel reception, thus causing massive cancelling of the bookings and both the hotel and customers losing out on money.
- MGM App: The official app of MGM Resorts was completely down, thus causing a situation of confusion and panic among the guests. The users also received notifications to speak to different customer care executives, but some of the numbers were unattentive and seemed to be operated by bad actors.
- Data breach: The main focus of the cyber attack was dedicated to committing a data breach. The attack led to the breach of personal data of most of the users registered on the app or on the system of MGM Resorts.
Conclusion
The cyber attack on the tourism industry is a major and growing concern for the industry and its customers. Seeing the volatility of the data and the regular inflow of personal information this makes the hotel's cyber security system a vulnerable choice for bad actors. The cyber attack was no less than a fire sale, where in all the segments of the services offered were impacted. Similar attacks were reported by MGM in 2019 and 2020, and subsequently, the safety measures were also deployed, but the bad actors have hit the resorts chain owners again, in such cases the most paramount defence is having a safe and regularly updated firewall, upskilling of staff for IT issues and attacks, active reporting and investigation mechanisms for assisting the LEAs. In the times of rising cyberattacks, one needs to be critical of their data management and digital footprints. The sooner we adopt safe, secure and resilient cyber hygiene practices, the safer our future will be.
References:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/mgm-resorts-shuts-down-it-systems-after-cyberattack/
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/12/mgm-resorts-cybersecurity-incident-forces-system-outage.html
Executive Summary:
QakBot, a particular kind of banking trojan virus, is capable of stealing personal data, banking passwords, and session data from a user's computer. Since its first discovery in 2009, Qakbot has had substantial modifications.
C2 Server commands infected devices and receives stolen data, which is essentially the brain behind Qakbot's operations.Qakbot employs PEDLL (Communication Files), a malicious program, to interact with the server in order to accomplish its main goals. Sensitive data, including passwords or personal information, is taken from the victims and sent to the C2 server. Referrer files start the main line of communication between Qakbot and the C2 server, such as phishing papers or malware droppers. WHOIS data includes registration details for this server, which helps to identify its ownership or place of origin.
This report specifically focuses on the C2 server infrastructure located in India, shedding light on its architecture, communication patterns, and threat landscape.
Introduction:
QakBot is also known as Pinkslipbot, QuakBot, and QBot, capable of stealing personal data, banking passwords, and session data from a user's computer. Malware is bad since it spreads very quickly to other networks, affecting them like a worm.,It employs contemporary methods like web injection to eavesdrop on customer online banking interactions. Qakbot is a member of a kind of malware that has robust persistence techniques, which are said to be the most advanced in order to gain access to compromised computers for extended periods of time.
Technical Analysis:
The following IP addresses have been confirmed as active C2 servers supporting Qbot malware activity:
Sample IP's
- 123.201.40[.]112
- 117.198.151[.]182
- 103.250.38[.]115
- 49.33.237[.]65
- 202.134.178[.]157
- 124.123.42[.]115
- 115.96.64[.]9
- 123.201.44[.]86
- 117.202.161[.]73
- 136.232.254[.]46
These servers have been operational in the past 14 days (report created in the month of Nov) and are being leveraged to perpetuate malicious activities globally.
URL/IP: 123.201.40[.]112
- inetnum: 123.201.32[.]0 - 123.201.47[.]255
- netname: YOUTELE
- descr: YOU Telecom India Pvt Ltd
- country: IN
- admin-c: HA348-AP
- tech-c: NI23-AP
- status: ASSIGNED NON-PORTABLE
- mnt-by: MAINT-IN-YOU
- last-modified: 2022-08-16T06:43:19Z
- mnt-irt: IRT-IN-YOU
- source: APNIC
- irt: IRT-IN-YOU
- address: YOU Broadband India Limited
- address: 2nd Floor, Millennium Arcade
- address: Opp. Samarth Park, Adajan-Hazira Road
- address: Surat-395009,Gujarat
- address: India
- e-mail: abuse@youbroadband.co.in
- abuse-mailbox: abuse@youbroadband.co.in
- admin-c: HA348-AP
- tech-c: NI23-AP
- auth: # Filtered
- mnt-by: MAINT-IN-YOU
- last-modified: 2022-08-08T10:30:51Z
- source: APNIC
- person: Harindra Akbari
- nic-hdl: HA348-AP
- e-mail: harindra.akbari@youbroadband.co.in
- address: YOU Broadband India Limited
- address: 2nd Floor, Millennium Arcade
- address: Opp. Samarth Park, Adajan-Hazira Road
- address: Surat-395009,Gujarat
- address: India
- phone: +91-261-7113400
- fax-no: +91-261-2789501
- country: IN
- mnt-by: MAINT-IN-YOU
- last-modified: 2022-08-10T11:01:47Z
- source: APNIC
- person: NOC IQARA
- nic-hdl: NI23-AP
- e-mail: network@youbroadband.co.in
- address: YOU Broadband India Limited
- address: 2nd Floor, Millennium Arcade
- address: Opp. Samarth Park, Adajan-Hazira Road
- address: Surat-395009,Gujarat
- address: India
- phone: +91-261-7113400
- fax-no: +91-261-2789501
- country: IN
- mnt-by: MAINT-IN-YOU
- last-modified: 2022-08-08T10:18:09Z
- source: APNIC
- route: 123.201.40.0/24
- descr: YOU Broadband & Cable India Ltd.
- origin: AS18207
- mnt-lower: MAINT-IN-YOU
- mnt-routes: MAINT-IN-YOU
- mnt-by: MAINT-IN-YOU
- last-modified: 2012-01-25T11:25:55Z
- source: APNIC
IP 123.201.40[.]112 uses the requested URL-path to make a GET request on the IP-address at port 80. "NOT RESPONDED" is the response status code for the request "C:\PROGRAM FILES GOOGLE CHROME APPLICATION CHROME.EXE" that was started by the process.
Programs that retrieve their server data using a GET request are considered legitimate. The Google Chrome browser, a fully functional application widely used for web browsing, was used to make the actual request. It asks to get access to the server with IP 123.201.40[.]112 in order to collect its data and other resources.
Malware uses GET requests to retrieve more commands or to send data back to the command and control servers. In this instance, it may be an attack server making the request to a known IP address with a known port number. Since the server has not replied to the request, the response status "NOT RESPONDED" may indicate that the activity was carried out with malicious intent.
This graph illustrates how the Qakbot virus operates and interacts with its C2 server, located in India and with the IP address 123.201.40[.]112.
Impact
Qbot is a kind of malware that is typically distributed through hacked websites, malicious email attachments, and phishing operations. It targets private user information, including corporate logins or banking passwords. The deployment of ransomware: Payloads from organizations such as ProLock and Egregor ransomware are delivered by Qbot, a predecessor. Network Vulnerability: Within corporate networks, compromised systems will act as gateways for more lateral movement.
Proposed Recommendations for Mitigation
- Quick Action: To stop any incoming or outgoing traffic, the discovered IP addresses will be added to intrusion detection/prevention systems and firewalls.
- Network monitoring: Examining network log information for any attempts to get in touch with these IPs
- Email security: Give permission for anti-phishing programs.
- Endpoint Protection: To identify and stop Qbot infestations, update antivirus definitions.,Install tools for endpoint detection and response.
- Patch management: To reduce vulnerabilities that Qbot exploits, update all operating systems and software on a regular basis.
- Incident Response: Immediately isolate compromised computers.
- Awareness: Dissemination of this information to block the IP addresses of active C2 servers supporting Qbot malware activity has to be carried out.
Conclusion:
The discovery of these C2 servers reveals the growing danger scenario that Indian networks must contend with. To protect its infrastructure from future abuse, organizations are urged to act quickly and put the aforementioned precautions into place.
Reference:
- Threat Intelligence - ANY.RUN
- https://www.virustotal.com/gui
- https://www.virustotal.com/gui/ip-address/123.201.40.112/relations
