Cyber Crimes

Cyber crimes, climate change new threats to human rights: President Murmu

The human rights discourse so far has been centred on the "human agency" as the violator is assumed to be a human but with AI entering our lives, the "culprit could be a non-human" but an intelligent agent, President Droupadi Murmu said on Tuesday. In her address at an event hosted by the NHRC here to mark the Human Rights Day, the President also underlined that cyber crimes and climate change are "new threats" to human rights. Human Rights Day is observed on December 10 every year to commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The UDHR serves as a global benchmark for the protection and promotion of human rights. "As we progress into the future, we are confronted with emerging challenges. Cyber crimes and climate change are new threats to human rights," Murmu said. The digital era, while being transformative, had brought with it complex issues such as cyber bullying, deep fake, priv

Awareness essential to protect oneself from 'cyber arrest' scams: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spoke about the cyber crime of "digital arrests", noting that it has hit all sections of society and urging people to adopt the mantra of "stop, think and take action" when faced with such a scam. In his 'Mann ki Baat' broadcast, Modi said probe agencies are working with states to deal with the issue but added that awareness is essential in protecting oneself from this crime. The prime minister played a representative video to show how such criminals pose as probe agency officials to prey on people's fear after gathering detailed information about their potential victims. He said, "Beware of Digital Arrest frauds.No investigative agency will ever contact you by phone or video call for such an investigation." Modi asked people to dial 1930 to connect with national cyber helpline or connect with its portal and also inform police about such a crime. They should record such conversations and also take screenshots, he said touching on the crime wh

Over 29,000 Indians missing in SE Asia; trapped in cyber slavery: Report

Many victims are believed to have been lured with promises of high-paying jobs, only to be trapped in cyber fraud schemes in what is being described as 'cyber slavery'

India launches online 'suspect registry', 1.4 mn listed for financial fraud

Around 4.78 million cyber complaints involving 171.3 million victims have been filed to date, including cases of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) with 17,000 FIRs registered for CSAM-related crimes

ED, Cyber Crime conduct search ops at 20 locations in Magicwin case

The ED's investigation revealed that the Magicwin website was involved in illegal activities such as betting

As UN targets cybercrime, privacy groups say human rights to be violated

A global deal on the criminal use of computer technology is moving ahead despite worries it will let governments around the world violate human rights by probing electronic communications and bypassing privacy safeguards. Nearly 200 nations approved the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime on Thursday afternoon at a special committee meeting that capped months of complicated negotiations. The treaty expected to win General Assembly approval within months creates a framework for nations to cooperate against internet-related crimes including the illegal access and interception of computer information; electronic eavesdropping and online child sex abuse. Like outer space or even some parts of the deep sea, cyberspace is a relatively new area for regular human activity and many governments and businesses are rushing to keep up. The convention expected at the General Assembly later this year began with a Russian initiative several years ago and critics said they can see those .

Phishing attacks targetting CrowdStrike users after global outage: CERT-In

A Microsoft Windows outage caused by a faulty CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor update led to system crashes globally. Now a phishing campaign is targeting CrowdStrike users who were impacted by the outage

CBI nabs 43 in association with cyber crime network operating from Gurugram

The CBI has arrested 43 people during a crackdown on a Gurugram-based call centre, nabbing the suspected cyber criminals live in the act of defrauding foreign nationals by promising to address issues with their computers, officials said Friday. The CBI has booked a company, Innocent Technology (OPC) Pvt Ltd which runs from Gurgram's DLF Cyber City, and raided its premises as part of the agency's ongoing Operation CHAKRA-III aimed at dismantling sophisticated cyber-enabled financial crime network operating across multiple countries since 2022. A total of seven locations in Delhi and its posh suburbs of Noida and Gurugram were searched. During the operation, a task force comprising cybercrime domain experts swiftly descended on the call centre, capturing several employees engaged in live cyber crime activities, resulting in the interception of substantial incriminating evidence. "The CBI is actively coordinating with the FBI and law enforcement agencies across various nations via ...

Japan's space agency hit by cyberattacks, no sensitive data compromised

Japan's space agency has suffered a series of cyberattacks since last year, but sensitive information related to rockets and satellites was not affected and it is continuing to investigate and take preventive measures, officials said Friday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi acknowledged that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, has had "a number of" cyberattacks since late last year. JAXA has investigated the extent of illegal access while shutting down the affected networks and verifying that they did not contain classified information about operations of rockets and satellites and national security, he said. Hayashi vowed to strengthen Japan's ability to counter cyberattacks. Japan has been accelerating a military buildup in response to China's growing military might and is hoping to be able to develop a counterstrike ability, but experts say Tokyo will continue to need to rely heavily on the United States for launching long-range cruise missiles at ...

Here is how much Indians lost to cyber frauds between Jan and Apr of 2024

Most victims fell prey to online investment fraud, gaming apps, algorithm manipulations, illegal lending apps, sextortion, and OTP scams. Here is how much they lost

Number of advanced forensic labs needs to be augmented, says NHRC

The number of technologically advanced forensic laboratories in India needs to be "augmented for expeditious examination", the NHRC said on Wednesday. Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, Justice (retd) Arun Kumar Mishra, during a core group meeting here also said that investigation and forensics examination should be part of the process and "not independent" of each other. The NHRC on Wednesday organised a core group meeting on criminal justice system reforms, the rights panel said in a statement. The focus was on finding ways to address delay in forensic reports, areas of improvement in the prosecution system, and simplification of language used in organs of criminal justice system. During the discussions, it was emphasised that public prosecutors play a very important role at the trial stage and therefore, it is necessary to create a "cadre-based service" of public prosecutors to ensure transparency and merit in their appointment, the statement said. A training academ

Apple Lockdown mode: What is it, and how it prevents spyware attacks

Only users who perceive themselves as potential targets should use the feature, says company

Telecom department blocks more than 1,500 numbers linked to cyber threats

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) blocked international and local phone numbers associated with cybercrimes and threats, aiming to curb misuse of telecom resources

Almost 200 people falling prey to cyber frauds every day: Delhi Police

Cyber crooks are targeting around 200 people daily in the national capital, swindling their money with different modus operandi, a senior Delhi Police officer who has been investigating cyber crimes said. The officer said the fraudsters in and around Delhi are using sextortion, work from home, online hotel booking, and online resale, among other tricks to dupe the victims, whereas the gangs operating from Jharkhand and Bihar are using scams such as KYC expiry, Android banking malware to siphon money from gullible individuals. Mewat-based cyber criminals are siphoning amounts using investment applications and websites offering part-time jobs, seeking OTPs to take control of victims' systems, and creating fake social media accounts for sextortion, he added. The Delhi Police in a recent post on X warned residents of the national capital of such frauds. "We receive around 200 complaints everyday regarding cyber frauds in Delhi. Most of these complaints are related to work from home, ..

'Over 28k complaints of crimes against women received in 2023, 50% from UP'

The National Commission for Women (NCW) registered 28,811 complaints of crime against women last year and about 55 per cent were from Uttar Pradesh. The highest number of complaints were received in the right to dignity category that involves harassment other than domestic violence and it stood at 8,540, according to NCW data. This was followed by 6,274 complaints of domestic violence. Dowry harassment complaints stood at 4,797, molestation complaints at 2,349, police apathy against women complaints at 1,618, and rape and attempt to rape complaints at 1,537, the data showed. There were 805 complaints of sexual harassment, 605 of cyber crime, 472 of stalking and 409 of honour crimes, it stated. Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of complaints at 16,109 followed by Delhi 2,411, Maharashtra at 1,343, according to the data. Bihar recorded 1,312 complaints, Madhya Pradesh 1,165, Haryana 1,115, Rajasthan 1,011, Tamil Nadu 608, West Bengal 569 and Karnataka 501. The number of ...

Cybersecurity startup SecurWeave raises Rs 2.8 cr in seed round led by IAN

The company said it has already demonstrated its capabilities in both private and defence sectors in India and is now poised for global expansion

'Global legal framework' needed to combat terrorism, says PM Modi

He emphasised on bringing in a global legal framework to prevent cyber terrorism, money laundering or artificial intelligence misuse

Indian organisations' cost of data breach at record high: Report

Cost of detecting and fixing cyberattacks has increased 45% sine 2020, it says

Once 'most wanted hacker', Kevin Mitnick passes away at the age of 59

Kevin Mitnick, once the world's most wanted hacker, was battling with pancreatic cancer. Known for data and credit card theft, he later became a renowned consultant and public speaker

Cyber criminals use PAN details of M S Dhoni, Abhishek Bachchan for fraud

In a bizarre case of cyber fraud, a group of fraudsters allegedly procured PAN details of several Bollywood actors and cricketers from their GST Identification Numbers which are available online, and got credit cards issued in their names from Pune-based fintech startup 'One Card'. Some of the celebrities whose names and details were used by the fraudsters are Abhishek Bachchan, Shilpa Shetty, Madhuri Dixit, Emraan Hashmi and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Shahadra Rohit Meena said. "Since investigation into the matter is underway, we cannot comment further on it," Meena told PTI. The company got wind of the fraud subsequently but not before the fraudsters used some of these cards to purchase products worth Rs 21.32 lakh. It immediately alerted the Delhi Police which swung into action and arrested five of them. The five accused, identified as Puneet, Mohd Asif, Sunil Kumar, Pankaj Mishar and Vishwa Bhaskar Sharma, acted in close coordination to defraud