Cybercriminals laundered $8.6 billion in cryptocurrencies last year, up 30% from 2020, according to a report from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis released on Wednesday.

Overall, cybercriminals have laundered more than $33 billion worth of crypto since 2017, Chainalysis estimated, with most of the total over time moving to centralized exchanges.

The firm said the sharp rise in money laundering activity in 2021 was not surprising, given the significant growth of both legitimate and illegal crypto activity last year.

Money laundering refers to that process of disguising the origin of illegally obtained money by transferring it to legitimate businesses.

About 17% of the $8.6 billion laundered went to decentralized finance applications, Chainalysis said, referring to the sector which facilitates crypto-denominated financial transactions outside of traditional banks.

That was up from 2% in 2020.

Mining pools, high-risk exchanges, and mixers also saw substantial increases in value received from illicit addresses, the report said. Mixers typically combine potentially identifiable or tainted cryptocurrency funds with others, so as to conceal the trail to the fund's original source.

Wallet addresses associated with theft sent just under half of their stolen funds, or more than $750 million worth of crypto in total, to decentralized finance platforms, according to the Chainalysis report.

Chainalysis also clarified that the $8.6 billion laundered last year represents funds derived from crypto-native crime such as darknet market sales or ransomware attacks in which profits are in crypto instead of fiat currencies.

"It's more difficult to measure how much fiat currency derived from off-line crime — traditional drug trafficking, for example — is converted into cryptocurrency to be laundered," Chainalysis said in the report.

"However, we know anecdotally this is happening."

Cybercriminals laundered $8.6 billion in cryptocurrencies last year, up 30% from 2020, according to a report from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis released on Wednesday.

Cybercriminals laundered $8.6 billion in cryptocurrencies last year, up 30% from 2020, according to a report from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis released on Wednesday. Overall, cybercriminals have laundered more than $33 billion worth of crypto since 2017, Chainalysis estimated, with most of the total over time moving to centralized exchanges. The firm said the sharp rise in money laundering activity in 2021 was not surprising, given the significant growth of both legitimate and illegal crypto activity last year. Money laundering refers to that process of disguising the origin of illegally obtained money by transferring it to legitimate businesses. About 17% of the $8.6 billion laundered went to decentralized finance applications, Chainalysis said, referring to the sector which facilitates crypto-denominated financial transactions outside of traditional banks. That was up from 2% in 2020. Mining pools, high-risk exchanges, and mixers also saw substantial increases in value received from illicit addresses, the report said. Mixers typically combine potentially identifiable or tainted cryptocurrency funds with others, so as to conceal the trail to the fund's original source. Wallet addresses associated with theft sent just under half of their stolen funds, or more than $750 million worth of crypto in total, to decentralized finance platforms, according to the Chainalysis report. Chainalysis also clarified that the $8.6 billion laundered last year represents funds derived from crypto-native crime such as darknet market sales or ransomware attacks in which profits are in crypto instead of fiat currencies. "It's more difficult to measure how much fiat currency derived from off-line crime — traditional drug trafficking, for example — is converted into cryptocurrency to be laundered," Chainalysis said in the report. "However, we know anecdotally this is happening."

Crypto money laundering rises 30% in 2021: Report

It’s that time of the year, when you can grab great deals online and buy products at heavy discounts. Unfortunately, it's also that time of the year when cybercriminals are known to prey on consumers. But with these simple tips, you should be able to keep scammers at bay.

Scam alert: How online shoppers can stay safe this holiday season

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WION Live Broadcast: Top US General went behind trump's back?

With Labor's support, an Australian government law giving police unprecedented powers to spy on criminal suspects online, interrupt their data, and take over their accounts was passed.

Despite worries about the low bar for who can issue a warrant and the government's failure to adopt all of the protections proposed by the bipartisan joint committee on intelligence and security, the Senate passed the identify and disrupt bill on Wednesday. 
 
Watch | Gravitas Plus | Future of War: Cyber is the new nuclear

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-plus-future-of-war-cyber-is-the-new-nuclear-397239/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020 (Identify and Disrupt Bill) provides three new types of warrants that allow the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission to edit and erase data, take over accounts, and spy on Australians who are suspected of being involved in criminal networks.

These three additional authorities to combat online crime:

<ol>
	<li data-changed="false" data-paragraphid="8">The ability to "disrupt data" by modifying, copying, adding, or removing it is granted by a data disruption warrant.</li>
	<li data-changed="false" data-paragraphid="9">A network activity warrant permits the authorities to gather information from devices or networks used or anticipated to be used by those who are the subject of the order.</li>
	<li data-changed="false" data-paragraphid="10">Account takeover warrant: permits the police to seize control of an internet account (such as social media) in order to obtain information for an investigation.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>

(With inputs from agencies)

With Labor's support, an Australian government law giving police unprecedented powers to spy on criminal suspects online, interrupt their data, and take over their accounts was passed.

With Labor's support, an Australian government law giving police unprecedented powers to spy on criminal suspects online, interrupt their data, and take over their accounts was passed. Despite worries about the low bar for who can issue a warrant and the government's failure to adopt all of the protections proposed by the bipartisan joint committee on intelligence and security, the Senate passed the identify and disrupt bill on Wednesday. Watch | Gravitas Plus | Future of War: Cyber is the new nuclear The Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020 (Identify and Disrupt Bill) provides three new types of warrants that allow the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission to edit and erase data, take over accounts, and spy on Australians who are suspected of being involved in criminal networks. These three additional authorities to combat online crime: The ability to "disrupt data" by modifying, copying, adding, or removing it is granted by a data disruption warrant. A network activity warrant permits the authorities to gather information from devices or networks used or anticipated to be used by those who are the subject of the order. Account takeover warrant: permits the police to seize control of an internet account (such as social media) in order to obtain information for an investigation. (With inputs from agencies)

Australia: Police can now hack citizens' devices, collect or delete their data

According to reports, the US state department was recently hit by a cyber attack, and notifications of a possible serious breach were made by the department of defence cyber command.

Report: US State Department hit by cyber attack, possible breach notified

India is planning a digital firewall against China. It has stopped short of banning Chinese telecom equipment. However, now, a new policy is in the works that would make it harder for Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE to do business in India.

India's department of telecommunications has made a few amendments and the licensing conditions have been changed. Now, Indian telecom companies will have to consider "defence and national security" before buying equipment. They will be required to source from "trusted telecom equipment sources" which can loosely be translated to suppliers India can trust.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/microsoft-email-hack-how-does-the-attack-work-what-microsoft-is-doing-369772">WATCH |</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/microsoft-email-hack-how-does-the-attack-work-what-microsoft-is-doing-369772/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

This classification is the result of last year's activities in India's cabinet committee on security — the final decision-making body on national security — which had issued a new directive. It called for telecom products to be classified under two categories, namely "trusted" and "non-trusted".

Now, the new rules kick in from June 15 and once that happens, the telecom companies will not be able to use any products that are labelled "non-trusted". Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE will feel the pinch as no one will be able to use their gear if they are labelled "non-trusted".

Huawei and ZTE have been accused of installing back-doors in their technology. These are vulnerabilities that might leave doors open for hackers to exploit.

India's biggest telecom operators, including state-run telecom companies, have equipment from Chinese vendors.

Curbs on Chinese technology is now becoming a necessity, especially after it emerged that Chinese hackers tried to target critical infrastructure in India using malware last year, at the peak of the border standoff in Ladakh. Chinese hackers were linked to last year's blackout in Mumbai which had brought the entire city to a standstill.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-has-india-banned-huawei-and-zte-369805">WATCH |</a>

<iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-has-india-banned-huawei-and-zte-369805/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe>

Reportedly, India is now planning to strengthen its cybersecurity with a new national strategy. Under this, digitally connected government systems and India's nuclear&nbsp;power and aviation infrastructure will be secured.

Chinese hackers are becoming the next big national security threat. Just this week, we learnt about the hack at Microsoft where at least 30,000 American organisations, including local governments, were hacked.

According to a report, this is a Chinese cyber espionage campaign in which flaws within Microsoft's exchange software were exploited. A cybersecurity news website claimed that emails were stolen and computers were infected with tools that let attackers take control of systems remotely.

"We don't have rules of engagement in cyberspace. Modern nations don't have rules they're playing by, and what I just saw was china doing something they don't normally do. So that means they're expanding, they're implementing what they are thinking is permissible. So we're going to have to define rules," said Kevin Mandia, CEO and Director or FireEye. "We don't have rules of engagement in cyberspace".

India is planning a digital firewall against China. It has stopped short of banning Chinese telecom equipment. However, now, a new policy is in the works that would make it harder for Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE to do business in India.

India is planning a digital firewall against China. It has stopped short of banning Chinese telecom equipment. However, now, a new policy is in the works that would make it harder for Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE to do business in India. India's department of telecommunications has made a few amendments and the licensing conditions have been changed. Now, Indian telecom companies will have to consider "defence and national security" before buying equipment. They will be required to source from "trusted telecom equipment sources" which can loosely be translated to suppliers India can trust. WATCH | This classification is the result of last year's activities in India's cabinet committee on security — the final decision-making body on national security — which had issued a new directive. It called for telecom products to be classified under two categories, namely "trusted" and "non-trusted". Now, the new rules kick in from June 15 and once that happens, the telecom companies will not be able to use any products that are labelled "non-trusted". Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE will feel the pinch as no one will be able to use their gear if they are labelled "non-trusted". Huawei and ZTE have been accused of installing back-doors in their technology. These are vulnerabilities that might leave doors open for hackers to exploit. India's biggest telecom operators, including state-run telecom companies, have equipment from Chinese vendors. Curbs on Chinese technology is now becoming a necessity, especially after it emerged that Chinese hackers tried to target critical infrastructure in India using malware last year, at the peak of the border standoff in Ladakh. Chinese hackers were linked to last year's blackout in Mumbai which had brought the entire city to a standstill. WATCH | Reportedly, India is now planning to strengthen its cybersecurity with a new national strategy. Under this, digitally connected government systems and India's nuclear power and aviation infrastructure will be secured. Chinese hackers are becoming the next big national security threat. Just this week, we learnt about the hack at Microsoft where at least 30,000 American organisations, including local governments, were hacked. According to a report, this is a Chinese cyber espionage campaign in which flaws within Microsoft's exchange software were exploited. A cybersecurity news website claimed that emails were stolen and computers were infected with tools that let attackers take control of systems remotely. "We don't have rules of engagement in cyberspace. Modern nations don't have rules they're playing by, and what I just saw was china doing something they don't normally do. So that means they're expanding, they're implementing what they are thinking is permissible. So we're going to have to define rules," said Kevin Mandia, CEO and Director or FireEye. "We don't have rules of engagement in cyberspace".

India plans digital firewall against China as cyber threat increases alarmingly

The United States has charged three&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korean computer programmers with a massive hacking spree aimed at stealing more than $1.3 billion in money and cryptocurrency, affecting companies from banks to Hollywood movie studios, the Department of Justice said on Thursday.

The first action against Pyongyang by President Joe Biden's administration took aim at what the department called "a global campaign of criminality" being waged by&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea.&nbsp;

The indictment alleges that Jon Chang Hyok, 31, Kim Il, 27, and Park Jin Hyok, 36, stole money while working for&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea's military intelligence services.&nbsp;

In addition to the earlier charges, the three allegedly operated out of&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea, Russia and China to hack computers using spearfishing techniques, and to promote cryptocurrency applications loaded with malicious software that allowed them to empty victims' crypto-wallets.

They allegedly robbed digital currency exchanges in Slovenia and Indonesia and extorted a New York exchange of $11.8 million.

In a 2018 scheme, they robbed $6.1 million from ATM machines from Pakistan's BankIslami after gaining access to its computer network.

Over at least seven years, the officials created malicious cryptocurrency applications that opened back doors into targets' computers; hacked into companies marketing and trading digital currencies like bitcoin; and developed a blockchain platform to evade sanctions and secretly raise funds, the department said.

The Justice Department said the hackers were responsible for a wide range of criminal activity and high-profile intrusions, including a retaliatory 2014 attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment for producing "The Interview" movie, which depicted the assassination of&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea's leader.

The group is alleged to have targeted the staff of AMC Theatres and broken into computers belonging to Mammoth Screen, a UK film company that was working on a drama series about&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea.

The Justice Department also alleged that the trio participated in the creation of the destructive WannaCry 2.0 ransomware - which hit Britain's National Health Service hard when it was set loose in 2017.

The indictment pins the blame on the hackers for breaking into banks across South and Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Africa by penetrating the financial institutions' networks and abusing the SWIFT protocol to steal money. They are also alleged to have deployed malicious applications from March 2018 through September 2020 to target cryptocurrency users.

The overall amount of money stolen by the hackers is not clear because in some cases the thefts were either halted or reversed. But the figures are significant. In one 2016 heist alone - at the Bangladesh Bank - the hackers are alleged to have made off with $81 million.

"North&nbsp;Korea's operatives, using keyboards rather than guns, stealing digital wallets of cryptocurrency instead of sacks of cash, are the world's leading 21st-century nation-state bank robbers," US&nbsp;Assistant Attorney General John Demers told a news briefing.

The United States has charged three North Korean computer programmers with a massive hacking spree aimed at stealing more than $1.3 billion in money and cryptocurrency, affecting companies from banks to Hollywood movie studios, the Department of Justice said on Thursday.

The United States has charged three North Korean computer programmers with a massive hacking spree aimed at stealing more than $1.3 billion in money and cryptocurrency, affecting companies from banks to Hollywood movie studios, the Department of Justice said on Thursday. The first action against Pyongyang by President Joe Biden's administration took aim at what the department called "a global campaign of criminality" being waged by North Korea. The indictment alleges that Jon Chang Hyok, 31, Kim Il, 27, and Park Jin Hyok, 36, stole money while working for North Korea's military intelligence services. In addition to the earlier charges, the three allegedly operated out of North Korea, Russia and China to hack computers using spearfishing techniques, and to promote cryptocurrency applications loaded with malicious software that allowed them to empty victims' crypto-wallets. They allegedly robbed digital currency exchanges in Slovenia and Indonesia and extorted a New York exchange of $11.8 million. In a 2018 scheme, they robbed $6.1 million from ATM machines from Pakistan's BankIslami after gaining access to its computer network. Over at least seven years, the officials created malicious cryptocurrency applications that opened back doors into targets' computers; hacked into companies marketing and trading digital currencies like bitcoin; and developed a blockchain platform to evade sanctions and secretly raise funds, the department said. The Justice Department said the hackers were responsible for a wide range of criminal activity and high-profile intrusions, including a retaliatory 2014 attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment for producing "The Interview" movie, which depicted the assassination of North Korea's leader. The group is alleged to have targeted the staff of AMC Theatres and broken into computers belonging to Mammoth Screen, a UK film company that was working on a drama series about North Korea. The Justice Department also alleged that the trio participated in the creation of the destructive WannaCry 2.0 ransomware - which hit Britain's National Health Service hard when it was set loose in 2017. The indictment pins the blame on the hackers for breaking into banks across South and Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Africa by penetrating the financial institutions' networks and abusing the SWIFT protocol to steal money. They are also alleged to have deployed malicious applications from March 2018 through September 2020 to target cryptocurrency users. The overall amount of money stolen by the hackers is not clear because in some cases the thefts were either halted or reversed. But the figures are significant. In one 2016 heist alone - at the Bangladesh Bank - the hackers are alleged to have made off with $81 million. "North Korea's operatives, using keyboards rather than guns, stealing digital wallets of cryptocurrency instead of sacks of cash, are the world's leading 21st-century nation-state bank robbers," US Assistant Attorney General John Demers told a news briefing.

US charges three North Korean hackers in $1.3 billion theft spree

Hackers broke into the computer system of a facility that treats water for about 15,000 people near Tampa,&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;and sought to add a dangerous level of additive to the water supply, the Pinellas County Sheriff said on Monday.

The hack was noticed quickly and reversed immediately, so no one in the Tampa suburb of Oldsmar was ever in danger, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said.

But it underscored the broader threat of cyberattacks to US infrastructure, he added.

A computer operator for the Oldsmar water treatment system noticed Friday afternoon someone remotely accessing the plant's controls, Gualtieri said.

The operator watched the mouse pointer move between various functions for several minutes before opening the controls for adding sodium hydroxide to the water.

The hackers then increased the amount of sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, being distributed into the water supply. The chemical is typically used in small amounts to control the acidity of water, but at higher levels is dangerous to consume.

"This is obviously a significant and potentially dangerous increase," he told a press conference.

"Luckily it was caught right away."

Gualtieri said water users were never threatened because even if the hack had not been spotted immediately, it would have taken at least 24 hours for the water with high sodium hydroxide levels to reach consumers.

In the meantime, he added, safety mechanisms would have alerted officials to the change in water quality.

He said the FBI and US Secret Service were called in to help investigate, but so far there were no suspects.

Investigators did not know if the hack came from within or outside the United States, or why Oldsmar was targeted.

"Water systems, like other public utility systems, are part of the nation's critical infrastructure, and can be vulnerable targets when someone desires to adversely affect public safety," Gualtieri said.

The plant employee alerted his employer, who called the sheriff. The water treatment facility was able to quickly reverse the command, leading to minimal impact.

Oldsmar Mayor Eric Seidel said in a news conference on Monday that the affected water treatment facility also had other controls in place that would have prevented a dangerous amount of lye from entering the water supply unnoticed.

"At no time was there a significant adverse affect on the water being treated. Importantly the public was never in danger," Gualtieri said. The affected water treatment facility is a public utility owned by the town, he explained, which has its own internal IT team. Oldsmar is about 17 miles northwest of Tampa and has about 15,000 residents.

TeamViewer, which says on its website that its software has been installed on 2.5 billion devices worldwide, enables remote technical support among other applications.

Hackers broke into the computer system of a facility that treats water for about 15,000 people near Tampa, Florida and sought to add a dangerous level of additive to the water supply, the Pinellas County Sheriff said on Monday.

Hackers broke into the computer system of a facility that treats water for about 15,000 people near Tampa, Florida and sought to add a dangerous level of additive to the water supply, the Pinellas County Sheriff said on Monday. The hack was noticed quickly and reversed immediately, so no one in the Tampa suburb of Oldsmar was ever in danger, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said. But it underscored the broader threat of cyberattacks to US infrastructure, he added. A computer operator for the Oldsmar water treatment system noticed Friday afternoon someone remotely accessing the plant's controls, Gualtieri said. The operator watched the mouse pointer move between various functions for several minutes before opening the controls for adding sodium hydroxide to the water. The hackers then increased the amount of sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, being distributed into the water supply. The chemical is typically used in small amounts to control the acidity of water, but at higher levels is dangerous to consume. "This is obviously a significant and potentially dangerous increase," he told a press conference. "Luckily it was caught right away." Gualtieri said water users were never threatened because even if the hack had not been spotted immediately, it would have taken at least 24 hours for the water with high sodium hydroxide levels to reach consumers. In the meantime, he added, safety mechanisms would have alerted officials to the change in water quality. He said the FBI and US Secret Service were called in to help investigate, but so far there were no suspects. Investigators did not know if the hack came from within or outside the United States, or why Oldsmar was targeted. "Water systems, like other public utility systems, are part of the nation's critical infrastructure, and can be vulnerable targets when someone desires to adversely affect public safety," Gualtieri said. The plant employee alerted his employer, who called the sheriff. The water treatment facility was able to quickly reverse the command, leading to minimal impact. Oldsmar Mayor Eric Seidel said in a news conference on Monday that the affected water treatment facility also had other controls in place that would have prevented a dangerous amount of lye from entering the water supply unnoticed. "At no time was there a significant adverse affect on the water being treated. Importantly the public was never in danger," Gualtieri said. The affected water treatment facility is a public utility owned by the town, he explained, which has its own internal IT team. Oldsmar is about 17 miles northwest of Tampa and has about 15,000 residents. TeamViewer, which says on its website that its software has been installed on 2.5 billion devices worldwide, enables remote technical support among other applications.

Hackers try to poison Florida by changing chemical levels at water treatment plant

According to reports, Cyber-attacks have cost Russian companies and citizens up to 3.6 trillion roubles ($49 billion) this year.

World Business Watch: Cyber crime costs Russia $49 BN in 2020

It is 2020, and yet we struggle to find out that perfect password that would match the extensive safety requirements and also not skip our brain. And in the end, we settle down with our birthdays, anniversaries and — believe it or not — '123456'.

New research conducted by&nbsp;NordPass, a password management company, has recently revealed that people are still using easy-to-hack passwords such as '123456' and 'password' even after so many years of warnings.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/canada-facing-cyber-security-threat-from-china-russia-state-sponsored-programs-report-343994" hreflang="en">Canada facing cyber security threat from China, Russia state-sponsored programs: Report</a>

The researchers compiled a list of most recent passwords used in 2020 and compared it to the list from 2019, and the passwords have not seen any drastic change. This poses a major threat of cyber hacking and bullying — an issue which has seen increased victims in the past few years, especially during the pandemic.

A third party, which specialises in data breach research,&nbsp;studied the users' activities and compiled a list of nearly 275,699,516 passwords. While majority passwords have not changed, the two new additions to the top 10 passwords list are 'picture1' and 'senha' which translates to 'password' in the Portuguese language.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/apple-to-reduce-its-app-store-fees-for-small-developers-343975" hreflang="en">Apple to reduce its App Store fees for small developers</a>

The most used password is '123456', with '123456789' in the second place, followed by 'picture1' and 'password'. Interestingly, people are still using '111111' too as their passwords.

NordPass has urged people to change their passwords and avoid&nbsp;dictionary words, predictable number combinations, or strings of adjacent keyboard combinations to make sure they do not fall prey to cybercrime.

The researchers have also suggested people change their passwords every 90 days, and always have different passwords for different accounts, with a mix of the upper and lower case.

It is 2020, and yet we struggle to find out that perfect password that would match the extensive safety requirements and also not skip our brain. And in the end, we settle down with our birthdays, anniversaries and — believe it or not — '123456'.

It is 2020, and yet we struggle to find out that perfect password that would match the extensive safety requirements and also not skip our brain. And in the end, we settle down with our birthdays, anniversaries and — believe it or not — '123456'. New research conducted by NordPass, a password management company, has recently revealed that people are still using easy-to-hack passwords such as '123456' and 'password' even after so many years of warnings. Also read| Canada facing cyber security threat from China, Russia state-sponsored programs: Report The researchers compiled a list of most recent passwords used in 2020 and compared it to the list from 2019, and the passwords have not seen any drastic change. This poses a major threat of cyber hacking and bullying — an issue which has seen increased victims in the past few years, especially during the pandemic. A third party, which specialises in data breach research, studied the users' activities and compiled a list of nearly 275,699,516 passwords. While majority passwords have not changed, the two new additions to the top 10 passwords list are 'picture1' and 'senha' which translates to 'password' in the Portuguese language. Also read| Apple to reduce its App Store fees for small developers The most used password is '123456', with '123456789' in the second place, followed by 'picture1' and 'password'. Interestingly, people are still using '111111' too as their passwords. NordPass has urged people to change their passwords and avoid dictionary words, predictable number combinations, or strings of adjacent keyboard combinations to make sure they do not fall prey to cybercrime. The researchers have also suggested people change their passwords every 90 days, and always have different passwords for different accounts, with a mix of the upper and lower case.

If you are still using '123456' as your password, change it: Research

A 17-year-old Bangladeshi teenager has been awarded a prestigious global children’s award for taking action against cyberbullying and an online crime against children.

Sadat Rahman has been conferred with the&nbsp;2020 KidsRights International Children’s Peace Prize for achievement only few can think about. Rahman developed a mobile app to help teenagers report cyberbullying and cybercrime in the western&nbsp;district of Narail in Bangladesh.

“Serious action needs to be taken right now. Teenagers continue to remain vulnerable to online crime and cyberbullying, particularly in the times we live in,” Rahman said in a remote interview.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/bangladeshi-stars-comeback-after-islamist-death-threats-342847" hreflang="en">Bangladeshi star's comeback after Islamist death threats</a>

The ceremony, hosted by a&nbsp;Netherlands-based KidsRights foundation, was held online this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp;

Rahman has followed the footsteps of&nbsp;Nobel laureate and Pakistani education campaigner Malala Yousafzai and the Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

His mobile app is called "Cyber Teens" and puts children in contact with a team of youngsters, termed as&nbsp;Narail Volunteers. Rahman, too, is a part of this team of volunteers. This team then gets in contact with the local police officers and social workers and helps the victims out of situations of cyberbullying.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/arzoo-raja-is-just-14-its-a-case-of-child-marriage-pakistan-court-341923" hreflang="en">Arzoo Raja is just 14, it’s a case of child marriage: Pakistan court</a>

The app also has a section of helpful tips and hints about different kinds of online behaviour, and tips about how to identify and avoid getting in contact with sexual predators of the internet.

As of now, the app has been downloaded around 1,800 times and the volume been successful in resolving nearly 60 complaints of youngsters so far. On the basis of these complaints, eight criminals have also been arrested by the local police officials. The complaints received had adults sending&nbsp;inappropriate messages and pornographic content to children

“The idea started after a 15-year-old girl committed suicide because of online bullying,” Rahman said. “I decided that teenagers needed help and that we should take action to try to avoid other children facing the same tragedy.”

The other two finalists for the award were a Mexican girl Ivanna Ortega Serret, 12, who fought water pollution, and Irish 18-year-old Siena Castellon, who created a website to help pupils with autism and severe learning disabilities.

Rahman has received prize money of&nbsp;100,000 euro ($118,000) which he plans to use for investment for projects, and further develop the app across Bangladesh “and hopefully to serve as a model for the rest of the world.”

A 17-year-old Bangladeshi teenager has been awarded a prestigious global children’s award for taking action against cyberbullying and an online crime against children.

A 17-year-old Bangladeshi teenager has been awarded a prestigious global children’s award for taking action against cyberbullying and an online crime against children. Sadat Rahman has been conferred with the 2020 KidsRights International Children’s Peace Prize for achievement only few can think about. Rahman developed a mobile app to help teenagers report cyberbullying and cybercrime in the western district of Narail in Bangladesh. “Serious action needs to be taken right now. Teenagers continue to remain vulnerable to online crime and cyberbullying, particularly in the times we live in,” Rahman said in a remote interview. Also read| Bangladeshi star's comeback after Islamist death threats The ceremony, hosted by a Netherlands-based KidsRights foundation, was held online this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Rahman has followed the footsteps of Nobel laureate and Pakistani education campaigner Malala Yousafzai and the Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. His mobile app is called "Cyber Teens" and puts children in contact with a team of youngsters, termed as Narail Volunteers. Rahman, too, is a part of this team of volunteers. This team then gets in contact with the local police officers and social workers and helps the victims out of situations of cyberbullying. Also read| Arzoo Raja is just 14, it’s a case of child marriage: Pakistan court The app also has a section of helpful tips and hints about different kinds of online behaviour, and tips about how to identify and avoid getting in contact with sexual predators of the internet. As of now, the app has been downloaded around 1,800 times and the volume been successful in resolving nearly 60 complaints of youngsters so far. On the basis of these complaints, eight criminals have also been arrested by the local police officials. The complaints received had adults sending inappropriate messages and pornographic content to children “The idea started after a 15-year-old girl committed suicide because of online bullying,” Rahman said. “I decided that teenagers needed help and that we should take action to try to avoid other children facing the same tragedy.” The other two finalists for the award were a Mexican girl Ivanna Ortega Serret, 12, who fought water pollution, and Irish 18-year-old Siena Castellon, who created a website to help pupils with autism and severe learning disabilities. Rahman has received prize money of 100,000 euro ($118,000) which he plans to use for investment for projects, and further develop the app across Bangladesh “and hopefully to serve as a model for the rest of the world.”

Bangladeshi teenager awarded Children's Peace Prize for fighting cybercrime

Two years ago, the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Trum</a>p administration offered a seat on the board of the National Endowment for the Humanities to Ken Kurson, a close friend of the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

As part of the routine background check for the position, the FBI uncovered a swirl of harassment allegations against Kurson over his divorce in 2015. He then withdrew from consideration, but the fallout from the nomination did not end there.

On Friday, federal prosecutors charged Kurson with cyberstalking three people and harassing two others, including a friend whom he blamed for the deterioration of his marriage.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-loss-joe-biden-breaks-television-spending-record-week-before-us-election-2020-337663">Also read|&nbsp;Trump's loss: Joe Biden breaks television spending record week before US Election 2020</a>

Kurson’s stature within the Trump family’s circle had been growing before his nomination to the prestigious board. In 2013, when Kushner owned The New York Observer, the weekly newspaper, he appointed Kurson to be its editor-in-chief. While serving as editor, Kurson helped write a speech for President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Kurson was also a longtime associate of Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, and helped manage his short-lived 2008 presidential campaign. He now runs a media company and works in the cryptocurrency industry.

In a statement Friday, Marc Mukasey, Kurson’s lawyer, called Kurson “an honorable man, a loving dad and a gifted writer.”

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-19-year-old-charged-for-plotting-the-assassination-of-joe-biden-337485">Also read|&nbsp;US election 2020: 19-year-old charged for plotting the assassination of Joe Biden</a>

“The conduct alleged is hardly worthy of a federal criminal prosecution,” Mukasey said. “Ken will get past it.”

Kurson’s accusers described his conduct as “diabolical” and “superscary,” according to the criminal complaint.

The friend whom he blamed for his divorce works as a doctor at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, according to people familiar with the investigation, and had been friends with Kurson for more than 20 years.

He targeted her with a flood of negative Yelp reviews, threatening emails, anonymous calls to her phone and messages to Mount Sinai employees claiming she was having an affair with her boss, prosecutors said. To cover his tracks, he used aliases like “Jayden Wagner” and “Eddie Train.”

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-to-vote-in-person-in-florida-before-hitting-campaign-trail-337640">Also read|&nbsp;Trump to vote in person in Florida before hitting campaign trail</a>

The doctor told Mount Sinai that Kurson had used similar tactics against another woman who was later fired from her job as a result, the criminal complaint said. The woman filed a restraining order against Kurson.

The woman is Kurson’s ex-wife, according to people familiar with the investigation, though she is not identified by name in the complaint. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.

The case is being handled by the public corruption unit of the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn. In a court appearance Friday conducted by phone, a judge released Kurson from custody pending trial. He did not have to enter a plea.

The criminal complaint lists five unnamed individuals as victims of Kurson’s harassment. They include Kurson’s ex-wife, the Mount Sinai doctor, her boss and her boss’s wife at the time, people familiar with the investigation said. The fifth person could not be determined.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-calls-borat-actor-sacha-baron-cohen-creepy-and-phony-guy-337654">Also read|&nbsp;Donald Trump calls Borat actor, Sacha Baron Cohen, 'creepy' and 'phony guy'</a>

The FBI has gathered evidence that Kurson also installed software on someone’s computer to monitor keystrokes, the complaint said. He used aliases to contact that person’s employer to report false allegations of misconduct, according to the complaint.

The criminal investigation began after Kurson was nominated for a seat in 2018 on the humanities board, a federal body that distributes grants to museums, libraries and other cultural institutions.

After the background check turned up the allegations, Kurson withdrew from consideration for the post, The New York Times reported in 2018.

Kurson had resigned as editor of The Observer the previous year. During his four-year tenure there, the newspaper endorsed Trump for president as Kurson advised his campaign. While editing the newspaper, Kurson sat in the Trump family box at the Republican National Convention.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-trump-biden-press-on-in-the-final-leg-of-campaigning-337583">Also read|&nbsp;US Election 2020: Trump, Biden press on in the final leg of campaigning</a>

Kurson had a deal to write a book for HarperCollins, shadowing Kushner for an insider’s account of life in the White House. The deal was terminated after the harassment allegations surfaced in 2018, according to a person familiar with the matter.

In 2018, Kurson created a website called Modern Consensus, which focuses on cryptocurrency and blockchain news. After leaving The Observer, he also joined the board of directors of Ripple, a cryptocurrency company.

A representative for Ripple did not respond to a request for comment.

The complaint said that Kurson’s harassment campaign appeared to begin in 2015, when he emailed the Mount Sinai doctor and accused her of pushing to split up his family.

She replied, “Unfortunately, you have no one to blame but yourself. It is a bitter pill to swallow, but true.”

Kurson then targeted the doctor’s supervisor, the complaint said. Using the alias “Eddie Train,” Kurson emailed the supervisor’s wife claiming to be an employee at Mount Sinai. The email said that her husband was having an affair with the female doctor.

Kurson visited the hospital once in late 2015 and asked for the doctor, the complaint said. He left after he was told she was not available. He also attached photos he took in the lobby in negative Yelp reviews about the doctor that were posted under an alias, prosecutors said.

After the visit, the hospital hired security personnel to guard the lobby and escort the doctor, the complaint said.

“This is a little scary that he was in the office and we don’t know who this person is,” an unnamed hospital employee wrote to the doctor’s supervisor.

That same month, the doctor received harassing calls to her personal cellphone, prosecutors said. The caller would immediately hang up after she answered. She also received the calls on her apartment telephone, which can only take calls from telephones inside her apartment building.

At the time, she was living in the Trump Park Avenue building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, according to people familiar with the investigation and public records. She filed a complaint with the police department.

In late 2015, the Mount Sinai doctor informed the hospital that she would be relocating to a new apartment and said her email had been hacked.

“I can’t hide forever,” she told Mount Sinai, according to the complaint. “I honestly have no idea what to do about this. I’ve never experienced or heard of anything so insane.”

Two years ago, the Trump administration offered a seat on the board of the National Endowment for the Humanities to Ken Kurson, a close friend of the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Two years ago, the Trump administration offered a seat on the board of the National Endowment for the Humanities to Ken Kurson, a close friend of the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. As part of the routine background check for the position, the FBI uncovered a swirl of harassment allegations against Kurson over his divorce in 2015. He then withdrew from consideration, but the fallout from the nomination did not end there. On Friday, federal prosecutors charged Kurson with cyberstalking three people and harassing two others, including a friend whom he blamed for the deterioration of his marriage. Also read| Trump's loss: Joe Biden breaks television spending record week before US Election 2020 Kurson’s stature within the Trump family’s circle had been growing before his nomination to the prestigious board. In 2013, when Kushner owned The New York Observer, the weekly newspaper, he appointed Kurson to be its editor-in-chief. While serving as editor, Kurson helped write a speech for President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. Kurson was also a longtime associate of Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, and helped manage his short-lived 2008 presidential campaign. He now runs a media company and works in the cryptocurrency industry. In a statement Friday, Marc Mukasey, Kurson’s lawyer, called Kurson “an honorable man, a loving dad and a gifted writer.” Also read| US election 2020: 19-year-old charged for plotting the assassination of Joe Biden “The conduct alleged is hardly worthy of a federal criminal prosecution,” Mukasey said. “Ken will get past it.” Kurson’s accusers described his conduct as “diabolical” and “superscary,” according to the criminal complaint. The friend whom he blamed for his divorce works as a doctor at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, according to people familiar with the investigation, and had been friends with Kurson for more than 20 years. He targeted her with a flood of negative Yelp reviews, threatening emails, anonymous calls to her phone and messages to Mount Sinai employees claiming she was having an affair with her boss, prosecutors said. To cover his tracks, he used aliases like “Jayden Wagner” and “Eddie Train.” Also read| Trump to vote in person in Florida before hitting campaign trail The doctor told Mount Sinai that Kurson had used similar tactics against another woman who was later fired from her job as a result, the criminal complaint said. The woman filed a restraining order against Kurson. The woman is Kurson’s ex-wife, according to people familiar with the investigation, though she is not identified by name in the complaint. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. The case is being handled by the public corruption unit of the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn. In a court appearance Friday conducted by phone, a judge released Kurson from custody pending trial. He did not have to enter a plea. The criminal complaint lists five unnamed individuals as victims of Kurson’s harassment. They include Kurson’s ex-wife, the Mount Sinai doctor, her boss and her boss’s wife at the time, people familiar with the investigation said. The fifth person could not be determined. Also read| Donald Trump calls Borat actor, Sacha Baron Cohen, 'creepy' and 'phony guy' The FBI has gathered evidence that Kurson also installed software on someone’s computer to monitor keystrokes, the complaint said. He used aliases to contact that person’s employer to report false allegations of misconduct, according to the complaint. The criminal investigation began after Kurson was nominated for a seat in 2018 on the humanities board, a federal body that distributes grants to museums, libraries and other cultural institutions. After the background check turned up the allegations, Kurson withdrew from consideration for the post, The New York Times reported in 2018. Kurson had resigned as editor of The Observer the previous year. During his four-year tenure there, the newspaper endorsed Trump for president as Kurson advised his campaign. While editing the newspaper, Kurson sat in the Trump family box at the Republican National Convention. Also read| US Election 2020: Trump, Biden press on in the final leg of campaigning Kurson had a deal to write a book for HarperCollins, shadowing Kushner for an insider’s account of life in the White House. The deal was terminated after the harassment allegations surfaced in 2018, according to a person familiar with the matter. In 2018, Kurson created a website called Modern Consensus, which focuses on cryptocurrency and blockchain news. After leaving The Observer, he also joined the board of directors of Ripple, a cryptocurrency company. A representative for Ripple did not respond to a request for comment. The complaint said that Kurson’s harassment campaign appeared to begin in 2015, when he emailed the Mount Sinai doctor and accused her of pushing to split up his family. She replied, “Unfortunately, you have no one to blame but yourself. It is a bitter pill to swallow, but true.” Kurson then targeted the doctor’s supervisor, the complaint said. Using the alias “Eddie Train,” Kurson emailed the supervisor’s wife claiming to be an employee at Mount Sinai. The email said that her husband was having an affair with the female doctor. Kurson visited the hospital once in late 2015 and asked for the doctor, the complaint said. He left after he was told she was not available. He also attached photos he took in the lobby in negative Yelp reviews about the doctor that were posted under an alias, prosecutors said. After the visit, the hospital hired security personnel to guard the lobby and escort the doctor, the complaint said. “This is a little scary that he was in the office and we don’t know who this person is,” an unnamed hospital employee wrote to the doctor’s supervisor. That same month, the doctor received harassing calls to her personal cellphone, prosecutors said. The caller would immediately hang up after she answered. She also received the calls on her apartment telephone, which can only take calls from telephones inside her apartment building. At the time, she was living in the Trump Park Avenue building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, according to people familiar with the investigation and public records. She filed a complaint with the police department. In late 2015, the Mount Sinai doctor informed the hospital that she would be relocating to a new apartment and said her email had been hacked. “I can’t hide forever,” she told Mount Sinai, according to the complaint. “I honestly have no idea what to do about this. I’ve never experienced or heard of anything so insane.”

Trump family ally is arrested on cyberstalking charge

Online frauds and abuse have increased since the pandemic and lockdowns began all over the world. In one such case of online menace, an unidentified online service is letting people create fake nude images of women.

The service was revealed in a report by an agency tracking deepfakes that uncovered a large network of growing ecosystem that has targeted at least 100,000 women.

Through deepfakes, which is an AI technology created years ago,&nbsp;people can create fake images of strangers and mould it as per their own needs.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chinese-hackers-targeting-biden-and-trump-are-faking-mcafee-software-google-336251">Also read|&nbsp;Chinese hackers targeting Biden and Trump are faking McAfee software: Google</a>

The agency has identified an unidentified bot that has created more than 100,000 fake images of women and those images have been shared on public platforms. While this service has been active for the past few years, and has been used to tarnish the images of celebrities, the amount of images generated has increased massively in the last few months.&nbsp;As per the reports, majority of the victims are from Russia.

“Our investigation of this bot and its affiliated channels revealed several key findings. Approximately 104,852 women have been targeted and had their personal “stripped” images shared publicly as of the end of July, 2020. The number of these images grew by 198% in the last 3 months,” said the report.

The tool is available online for free, but to remove watermark the users are asked to&nbsp;$1.5, the agency reported. There were also dedicated groups for this service on social media platform called Telegram.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/microsoft-takes-down-global-criminal-botnet-that-could-have-affected-us-election-334896">Also read|&nbsp;Microsoft takes down global criminal botnet that could have affected US election</a>

“The activity on the bot’s affiliated Telegram channels makes for bleak viewing. On the image sharing galleries, thousands of synthetically stripped images of young women taken from social media and private correspondence are constantly being uploaded,” said Henry Ajder, an expert on deepfakes and the lead author of the report who has since left Sensity.

While the original version was licensed to&nbsp;DeepNudes, the investigation agency found out that the license has since bene sold to an&nbsp;anonymous buyer for $30,000.

“We can state confidently that the individuals involved in the bot creation are very likely to be Russian native speakers, given the presence of this language among the users and the fact that a large part of the victim are Russian nationals," said Giorgio Patrini, CEO and chief scientist at Sensity.

Online frauds and abuse have increased since the pandemic and lockdowns began all over the world. In one such case of online menace, an unidentified online service is letting people create fake nude images of women.

Online frauds and abuse have increased since the pandemic and lockdowns began all over the world. In one such case of online menace, an unidentified online service is letting people create fake nude images of women. The service was revealed in a report by an agency tracking deepfakes that uncovered a large network of growing ecosystem that has targeted at least 100,000 women. Through deepfakes, which is an AI technology created years ago, people can create fake images of strangers and mould it as per their own needs. Also read| Chinese hackers targeting Biden and Trump are faking McAfee software: Google The agency has identified an unidentified bot that has created more than 100,000 fake images of women and those images have been shared on public platforms. While this service has been active for the past few years, and has been used to tarnish the images of celebrities, the amount of images generated has increased massively in the last few months. As per the reports, majority of the victims are from Russia. “Our investigation of this bot and its affiliated channels revealed several key findings. Approximately 104,852 women have been targeted and had their personal “stripped” images shared publicly as of the end of July, 2020. The number of these images grew by 198% in the last 3 months,” said the report. The tool is available online for free, but to remove watermark the users are asked to $1.5, the agency reported. There were also dedicated groups for this service on social media platform called Telegram. Also read| Microsoft takes down global criminal botnet that could have affected US election “The activity on the bot’s affiliated Telegram channels makes for bleak viewing. On the image sharing galleries, thousands of synthetically stripped images of young women taken from social media and private correspondence are constantly being uploaded,” said Henry Ajder, an expert on deepfakes and the lead author of the report who has since left Sensity. While the original version was licensed to DeepNudes, the investigation agency found out that the license has since bene sold to an anonymous buyer for $30,000. “We can state confidently that the individuals involved in the bot creation are very likely to be Russian native speakers, given the presence of this language among the users and the fact that a large part of the victim are Russian nationals," said Giorgio Patrini, CEO and chief scientist at Sensity.

Deepfake tool helped create more than 100,000 fake nude images of women: Report

Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has slammed news channel Republic network for disclosing and misrepresenting confidential communication.

In a statement, BARC India said Sunday, "BARC India has not commented on the ongoing investigation and it is providing necessary assistance to the law enforcement agency."

The statement comes in response to Republic network claiming that BARC's response in an e-mail exchange with the channel stands in contradiction to the allegations levelled by Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh.

"BARC India is highly disappointed with the actions of the Republic network by disclosing private and confidential communications and misrepresenting the same. BARC India reiterates that it has not commented on the ongoing investigation and without prejudice to BARC India's rights, it expresses its dismay at the actions of the Republic Network," BARC added.

Earlier this month, the Mumbai Police busted a major fraud of manipulating TRP (Television Rating Point) data by at least three TV channels and also made arrests with regard to it.

In consequence, BARC, on October 12, had announced that it has paused the measurement of television viewership ratings of news channels for a period of twelve weeks.

Republic TV, earlier&nbsp;on Sunday, claimed that the BARC has 'confirmed that there was never a case against the network and there was no malpractice or illegality found against it'. The media group also released an alleged email sent by BARC and said that the &nbsp;Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh's remarks that Republic TV was involved in fudging the TRP data was 'based on a lie'.&nbsp;

Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has slammed news channel Republic network for disclosing and misrepresenting confidential communication. In a statement, BARC India said Sunday, "BARC India has not commented on the ongoing investigation and it is providing necessary assistance to the law enforcement agency.

Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has slammed news channel Republic network for disclosing and misrepresenting confidential communication. In a statement, BARC India said Sunday, "BARC India has not commented on the ongoing investigation and it is providing necessary assistance to the law enforcement agency." The statement comes in response to Republic network claiming that BARC's response in an e-mail exchange with the channel stands in contradiction to the allegations levelled by Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh. "BARC India is highly disappointed with the actions of the Republic network by disclosing private and confidential communications and misrepresenting the same. BARC India reiterates that it has not commented on the ongoing investigation and without prejudice to BARC India's rights, it expresses its dismay at the actions of the Republic Network," BARC added. Earlier this month, the Mumbai Police busted a major fraud of manipulating TRP (Television Rating Point) data by at least three TV channels and also made arrests with regard to it. In consequence, BARC, on October 12, had announced that it has paused the measurement of television viewership ratings of news channels for a period of twelve weeks. Republic TV, earlier on Sunday, claimed that the BARC has 'confirmed that there was never a case against the network and there was no malpractice or illegality found against it'. The media group also released an alleged email sent by BARC and said that the Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh's remarks that Republic TV was involved in fudging the TRP data was 'based on a lie'.

BARC India expresses dismay at misrepresentation of its communication by Republic Network

British Police, on Thursday, claimed to have carried out their biggest operation ever in which they caught "iconic" figures.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has claimed to smash thousands of conspiracies, including murder plots, as the agency was able to crack the encryption system of EnroChat, the communication system which was being used by several criminals.

"Together we’ve protected the public by arresting middle-tier criminals and the kingpins, the so-called iconic untouchables who have evaded law enforcement for years, and now we have the evidence to prosecute them," said NCA Director of Investigations Nikki Holland.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/australian-government-boosts-cyber-security-after-state-backed-attacks-309605">Also read|&nbsp;Australian government boosts cyber security after state-backed attacks</a>

NCA claimed to have been working on this project since 2016 with international partners, after which it has managed to arrest nearly 750 criminals.

The agency said it also meant a specialist team had been able to stop rival gangs carrying out kidnappings and executions, "successfully mitigating over 200 threats to life".

Two months ago, French and Dutch investigators were able to infiltrate the platform, which had 60,000 users worldwide and around 10,000 in the United Kingdom. This allowed the agencies to monitor the messages and keep a eye on the movements of the criminals.

Reports also suggested that EnroChat had realized that the platform had been infiltrated, and had then asked their users to throw away their devices. All this had happened after June 13.

However, British police have made 746 arrests, claimed 54 million pounds ($67 million) in criminal cash, seized 77 firearms, including an assault rifle and sub-machine guns, and more than two tonnes of drugs, the NCA said.

The operation has been helpful for other European agencies too, who have been able to get ahead of criminal activities using this&nbsp;information.

EnroChat has now been shut down.

(With inputs from Reuters)

British Police, on Thursday, claimed to have carried out their biggest operation ever in which they caught "iconic" figures. The National Crime Agency (NCA) has claimed to smash thousands of conspiracies, including murder plots, as the agency was able to crack the encryption system of EnroChat, the communication system which was being used by several criminals.

British Police, on Thursday, claimed to have carried out their biggest operation ever in which they caught "iconic" figures. The National Crime Agency (NCA) has claimed to smash thousands of conspiracies, including murder plots, as the agency was able to crack the encryption system of EnroChat, the communication system which was being used by several criminals. "Together we’ve protected the public by arresting middle-tier criminals and the kingpins, the so-called iconic untouchables who have evaded law enforcement for years, and now we have the evidence to prosecute them," said NCA Director of Investigations Nikki Holland. Also read| Australian government boosts cyber security after state-backed attacks NCA claimed to have been working on this project since 2016 with international partners, after which it has managed to arrest nearly 750 criminals. The agency said it also meant a specialist team had been able to stop rival gangs carrying out kidnappings and executions, "successfully mitigating over 200 threats to life". Two months ago, French and Dutch investigators were able to infiltrate the platform, which had 60,000 users worldwide and around 10,000 in the United Kingdom. This allowed the agencies to monitor the messages and keep a eye on the movements of the criminals. Reports also suggested that EnroChat had realized that the platform had been infiltrated, and had then asked their users to throw away their devices. All this had happened after June 13. However, British police have made 746 arrests, claimed 54 million pounds ($67 million) in criminal cash, seized 77 firearms, including an assault rifle and sub-machine guns, and more than two tonnes of drugs, the NCA said. The operation has been helpful for other European agencies too, who have been able to get ahead of criminal activities using this information. EnroChat has now been shut down. (With inputs from Reuters)

UK police catches nearly 750 criminals in biggest operation against EnroChat: NCA

Microsoft Executive has said that many cybercrooks have been using coronavirus to make ransomware attacks on people. Between February 2 and May 2 over 9,000 coronavirus-themed attacks were recorded. &nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-makes-second-most-user-data-requests-to-facebook-reports-298390" hreflang="en">India makes second-most user data requests to Facebook: reports</a>

Microsoft Corp Corporate Vice President (Cybersecurity Solutions Group) Ann Johnson told reporters: "Between February 2 and May 2, we saw 9,100 total file encounters related to COVID-19 or coronavirus.

It means our detection tools saw malware or URL or an attachment or a phishing email that was using COVID-19 as a lure to get somebody to download malware to the system or potentially to give up their credentials via a phishing attack."

Around 19 million of such attacks were noticed in Asia. India was among the less-affected ones as it had good controls in place. She said: "India was one of the lower countries or the only country that was lower (among) those we track was Australia so. So, India had some pretty good controls in place."

According to her, these cybercriminals were taking full advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to target employees with malicious malware.&nbsp;

"That is exacerbated by the fact that workforces are now largely remote and under a lot of stress. They may not have been equipped in their homes to work remotely...we do believe that technology needs to help our employees, customers, employees and IT professionals to navigate this crisis...We're seeing a lot of different pockets of attacks," she said.

Some of these attacks will claim things if a person clicks on the URL which stats that they will be the first of 1,000 people to get the newest coronavirus vaccine. These crooks can even monetise these attacks.&nbsp;

"So, there's this sense of urgency that the bad actors tried to drive to because they don't want the employees to have the opportunity to go ask a colleague. They know people are working from home potentially, so they can't just walk to the next cubicle or walk down the hall, they may have to phone somebody or e-mail them, and they give this urgency around these phishing attacks that the person must respond right away," she said.

According to Johnson, these attacks target health organisations, governments and critical infrastructure.&nbsp;

(With Inputs from PTI)

Microsoft Executive has said that many cybercrooks have been using coronavirus to make ransomware attacks on people. Between February 2 and May 2 over 9,000 coronavirus-themed attacks were recorded.

Microsoft Executive has said that many cybercrooks have been using coronavirus to make ransomware attacks on people. Between February 2 and May 2 over 9,000 coronavirus-themed attacks were recorded. Also read: India makes second-most user data requests to Facebook: reports Microsoft Corp Corporate Vice President (Cybersecurity Solutions Group) Ann Johnson told reporters: "Between February 2 and May 2, we saw 9,100 total file encounters related to COVID-19 or coronavirus. It means our detection tools saw malware or URL or an attachment or a phishing email that was using COVID-19 as a lure to get somebody to download malware to the system or potentially to give up their credentials via a phishing attack." Around 19 million of such attacks were noticed in Asia. India was among the less-affected ones as it had good controls in place. She said: "India was one of the lower countries or the only country that was lower (among) those we track was Australia so. So, India had some pretty good controls in place." According to her, these cybercriminals were taking full advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to target employees with malicious malware. "That is exacerbated by the fact that workforces are now largely remote and under a lot of stress. They may not have been equipped in their homes to work remotely...we do believe that technology needs to help our employees, customers, employees and IT professionals to navigate this crisis...We're seeing a lot of different pockets of attacks," she said. Some of these attacks will claim things if a person clicks on the URL which stats that they will be the first of 1,000 people to get the newest coronavirus vaccine. These crooks can even monetise these attacks. "So, there's this sense of urgency that the bad actors tried to drive to because they don't want the employees to have the opportunity to go ask a colleague. They know people are working from home potentially, so they can't just walk to the next cubicle or walk down the hall, they may have to phone somebody or e-mail them, and they give this urgency around these phishing attacks that the person must respond right away," she said. According to Johnson, these attacks target health organisations, governments and critical infrastructure. (With Inputs from PTI)

9,100 covid-themed attacks by cyber crooks witnessed in India: Microsoft

Children are at a higher risk of not only being infected with coronavirus but also being victim of online crime. Watch this video to know more.

UNICEF's note to keep children safe from cyber crime

Russian spies hacked a Ukrainian energy company at the centre of the impeachment trial of US President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/bernie-sanders-said-no-woman-could-beat-donald-trump-in-2020-elizabeth-warren-274125">Donald Trump</a>, a cybersecurity firm said Monday.

Russia's GRU spy agency launched a "<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/north-korea-linked-hackers-stole-sensitive-information-microsoft-271217">phishing</a>" attack in November to access the email of Burisma Holdings employees, California cyber firm Area 1 Security said in a report.

"The timing of the GRU's campaign in relation to the 2020 US elections raises the spectre that this is an early warning of what we have anticipated since the successful cyberattacks undertaken during the 2016 US elections," Area 1 co-founders Oren J. Falkowitz and Blake Darche said in the eight-page document.

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Here's a link to the <a href="https://twitter.com/Area1Security?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Area1Security</a> report on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/phishing?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#phishing</a> of Burisma Holdings by the GRU <a href="https://t.co/oTEvMwmsjs">https://t.co/oTEvMwmsjs</a> <a href="https://t.co/XEmXumrww8">pic.twitter.com/XEmXumrww8</a>
— Oren J. Falkowitz (@orenfalkowitz) <a href="https://twitter.com/orenfalkowitz/status/1216874240848228352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Trump was impeached in December over allegations that he improperly pressured Ukraine to announce an investigation into Burisma and its links to former board member Hunter Biden, the son of the president's election rival Joe Biden.

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russian-government-linked-hackers-targeting-anti-doping-authorities-sports-organizations-microsoft-258571">GRU</a> figured heavily in the Mueller report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, which concluded that Russia hacked the Democratic Party and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/shameful-for-uk-not-to-publish-russia-meddling-probe-clinton-261520">Hillary Clinton's</a> campaign to help Trump.

The president triggered wide alarm in Washington in July 2018 after he met President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/pm-modi-and-russias-putin-discuss-regional-global-issues-in-telephonic-conversation-274090">Vladimir Putin</a> in Helsinki and appeared to take at face value Putin's denials of Russian meddling.

In a July 2019 phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ukraine-demands-punishment-compensation-for-airliner-downed-by-iran-273583">Volodymyr Zelensky</a>, Trump pushed for Kiev to investigate a debunked Kremlin conspiracy theory that Biden, one of the Democrats most likely to challenge Trump for the White House in November, had tried to quash a graft probe of Burisma to protect his son.&nbsp;

The GRU, a military intelligence unit, got into the servers of Burisma Holdings, Area 1 said, although it is not clear what they found or what they were looking for.

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The Russians appear to be at it again. According to a new report, they’re hacking information that could be a prelude to more election interference in 2020. 
 
And again, it appears aimed to help Trump. 
 
We must reject foreign meddling. 
 
Americans should decide American elections. <a href="https://t.co/ipFsqq5yJz">https://t.co/ipFsqq5yJz</a>
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/1216921237009633281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2020</a></blockquote>
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"The Russians appear to be at it again," tweeted <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/i-am-prepared-to-testify-in-trump-impeachment-trial-john-bolton-272608">Adam Schiff</a>, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who led Trump's impeachment investigation for the Democrats.

"According to a new report, they're hacking information that could be a prelude to more election interference in 2020. And again, it appears aimed to help Trump."

The report was released with Trump expected to stand trial in the Senate as early as this week on two articles of impeachment, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Russian spies hacked a Ukrainian energy company at the centre of the impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump, a cybersecurity firm said Monday. Russia's GRU spy agency launched a "phishing" attack in November to access the email of Burisma Holdings employees, California cyber firm Area 1 Security said in a report.

Russian spies hacked a Ukrainian energy company at the centre of the impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump, a cybersecurity firm said Monday. Russia's GRU spy agency launched a "phishing" attack in November to access the email of Burisma Holdings employees, California cyber firm Area 1 Security said in a report. "The timing of the GRU's campaign in relation to the 2020 US elections raises the spectre that this is an early warning of what we have anticipated since the successful cyberattacks undertaken during the 2016 US elections," Area 1 co-founders Oren J. Falkowitz and Blake Darche said in the eight-page document. Here's a link to the @Area1Security report on #phishing of Burisma Holdings by the GRU https://t.co/oTEvMwmsjs pic.twitter.com/XEmXumrww8 — Oren J. Falkowitz (@orenfalkowitz) January 14, 2020 × Trump was impeached in December over allegations that he improperly pressured Ukraine to announce an investigation into Burisma and its links to former board member Hunter Biden, the son of the president's election rival Joe Biden. The GRU figured heavily in the Mueller report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, which concluded that Russia hacked the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton's campaign to help Trump. The president triggered wide alarm in Washington in July 2018 after he met President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki and appeared to take at face value Putin's denials of Russian meddling. In a July 2019 phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump pushed for Kiev to investigate a debunked Kremlin conspiracy theory that Biden, one of the Democrats most likely to challenge Trump for the White House in November, had tried to quash a graft probe of Burisma to protect his son. The GRU, a military intelligence unit, got into the servers of Burisma Holdings, Area 1 said, although it is not clear what they found or what they were looking for. The Russians appear to be at it again. According to a new report, they’re hacking information that could be a prelude to more election interference in 2020. And again, it appears aimed to help Trump. We must reject foreign meddling. Americans should decide American elections. https://t.co/ipFsqq5yJz — Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) January 14, 2020 × "The Russians appear to be at it again," tweeted Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who led Trump's impeachment investigation for the Democrats. "According to a new report, they're hacking information that could be a prelude to more election interference in 2020. And again, it appears aimed to help Trump." The report was released with Trump expected to stand trial in the Senate as early as this week on two articles of impeachment, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Russian spies hacked Ukrainian energy firm at center of Trump impeachment

Police in Nepal have detained 122 Chinese nationals in its biggest crackdown on crime by foreigners entering the country on a tourist visa, officials said on Tuesday.

The chief of police in the capital, Kathmandu, Uttam Subedi, said 122 Chinese men and women were rounded up in raids on Monday following information that they were engaged in suspicious activities.

The Chinese are suspected of carrying out<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/cyber-crime-becoming-industry-may-occur-very-often-rajnath-singh-35769"> cybercrime </a>and hacking into bank cash machines, Subedi said, adding that they were being held in different police stations and their passports and laptop computers had been seized.

"This is the first time that so many foreigners have been detained for suspected criminal activities," he said.

Chinese embassy officials were not immediately available for comment but another senior police officer, Hobindra Bogati, said the embassy knew of the raids and had supported the detention of the suspects.

Chinese people are regularly detained in Asian countries on suspicion of involvement in various illegal activities, often involving fraud back in China.

Last week, authorities in the Philippines arrested 342 <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/underperforming-chinese-workers-made-to-drink-urine-eat-bugs-176165">Chinese workers</a> in a raid on an unlicensed gambling operation.

In September, police arrested five Chinese nationals on a charge of stealing money by hacking bank cash machines. Chinese citizens were also arrested with smuggled gold this year.

Nepal and China signed a treaty on mutual assistance in criminal matters during a visit to Nepal by President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/americas/donald-trump-xi-jinping-and-trade-a-high-stakes-game-of-chicken-216697">Xi Jinping</a> in October.

China has been increasing its investment in Nepal in recent years in areas such as roads, power plants, and hospitals.

More than 134,000 Chinese tourists visited Nepal between January and October this year, up 9.2 per cent from the same period in 2018, according to Nepal Tourism Board data.

Police in Nepal have detained 122 Chinese nationals in its biggest crackdown on crime by foreigners entering the country on a tourist visa, officials said on Tuesday.

Police in Nepal have detained 122 Chinese nationals in its biggest crackdown on crime by foreigners entering the country on a tourist visa, officials said on Tuesday. The chief of police in the capital, Kathmandu, Uttam Subedi, said 122 Chinese men and women were rounded up in raids on Monday following information that they were engaged in suspicious activities. The Chinese are suspected of carrying out cybercrime and hacking into bank cash machines, Subedi said, adding that they were being held in different police stations and their passports and laptop computers had been seized. "This is the first time that so many foreigners have been detained for suspected criminal activities," he said. Chinese embassy officials were not immediately available for comment but another senior police officer, Hobindra Bogati, said the embassy knew of the raids and had supported the detention of the suspects. Chinese people are regularly detained in Asian countries on suspicion of involvement in various illegal activities, often involving fraud back in China. Last week, authorities in the Philippines arrested 342 Chinese workers in a raid on an unlicensed gambling operation. In September, police arrested five Chinese nationals on a charge of stealing money by hacking bank cash machines. Chinese citizens were also arrested with smuggled gold this year. Nepal and China signed a treaty on mutual assistance in criminal matters during a visit to Nepal by President Xi Jinping in October. China has been increasing its investment in Nepal in recent years in areas such as roads, power plants, and hospitals. More than 134,000 Chinese tourists visited Nepal between January and October this year, up 9.2 per cent from the same period in 2018, according to Nepal Tourism Board data.

Nepal detains 122 Chinese nationals over suspected cyber crime, bank fraud

As per a survey, 56% Indians were victim of online scams by clicking on malicious links. Cybersecurity firm warns Indians from becoming a victim of online shopping discounts during the holiday season. Watch to know more

Increasing number of Indians falling prey to online scams

With an increase in holiday season travel and online shopping, Indians are increasingly falling prey to cybercriminals, with 53.6 per cent Indians admitting that they fell victim to deceitful apps, according to a new report released by McAfee.&nbsp;

McAfee’s recent survey, ‘A Christmas Carol: Scam Edition’, highlights how the year-end festivities present a variety of threats to Indian internet users with 28.6% of Indians having lost between INR 15,000 to 20,000 to fake online retail sites.&nbsp;

The survey also revealed that 78.6 per cent of Indians have been conned by seasonal travel scams through unsolicited and malicious links considering that family vacations and travel are high on the agenda for many Indians.&nbsp;

To avoid the holiday rush, consumers tend to get careless while purchasing and booking online, falling victim to surging cyber attacks, said Venkat Krishnapur, Vice-President of Engineering and Managing Director, McAfee India.&nbsp;

“Consumers choose to beat the holiday rush by purchasing and booking online, but, as transactions surge, so do the cyber-attacks. With the sheer volume of people shopping online, they tend to get careless, carried away with discounts, and open themselves to phishing attacks, frauds, malicious websites, and viruses that aim to steal money and personal information,” said Krishnapur.&nbsp;

With a consistent increase in online shopping 56.1 per cent Indians have fallen victim to discount scams, by clicking on links that took them to a sketchy website with 35.4 per cent of Indians confessed to having been impacted by discount scams, where a malicious file was downloaded onto their device.

With scammers impersonating genuine charities, 60.7 per cent were victims of fake trusts seeking donations, while 43 per cent of Indians expressed their concerns about being scammed by these fake trusts.&nbsp;

The survey also revealed that a staggering 52.6 per cent of millennials between the age of 18 to 24 years faced the brunt of romance scams, while 60 per cent of the same age group were scammed by e-greetings.&nbsp;

Krishnapur warned Indians against the enhancing techniques of threats actors while urging users to be more mindful of potential risks.&nbsp;

“As threat actors continue to enhance their techniques and explore new creative means of theft, it is crucial that users are mindful of potential risks and undertake necessary measures to protect themselves this holiday season,” Krishnapur added.

With an increase in holiday season travel and online shopping, Indians are increasingly falling prey to cybercriminals, with 53.6 per cent Indians admitting that they fell victim to deceitful apps, according to a new report released by McAfee.

With an increase in holiday season travel and online shopping, Indians are increasingly falling prey to cybercriminals, with 53.6 per cent Indians admitting that they fell victim to deceitful apps, according to a new report released by McAfee. McAfee’s recent survey, ‘A Christmas Carol: Scam Edition’, highlights how the year-end festivities present a variety of threats to Indian internet users with 28.6% of Indians having lost between INR 15,000 to 20,000 to fake online retail sites. The survey also revealed that 78.6 per cent of Indians have been conned by seasonal travel scams through unsolicited and malicious links considering that family vacations and travel are high on the agenda for many Indians. To avoid the holiday rush, consumers tend to get careless while purchasing and booking online, falling victim to surging cyber attacks, said Venkat Krishnapur, Vice-President of Engineering and Managing Director, McAfee India. “Consumers choose to beat the holiday rush by purchasing and booking online, but, as transactions surge, so do the cyber-attacks. With the sheer volume of people shopping online, they tend to get careless, carried away with discounts, and open themselves to phishing attacks, frauds, malicious websites, and viruses that aim to steal money and personal information,” said Krishnapur. With a consistent increase in online shopping 56.1 per cent Indians have fallen victim to discount scams, by clicking on links that took them to a sketchy website with 35.4 per cent of Indians confessed to having been impacted by discount scams, where a malicious file was downloaded onto their device. With scammers impersonating genuine charities, 60.7 per cent were victims of fake trusts seeking donations, while 43 per cent of Indians expressed their concerns about being scammed by these fake trusts. The survey also revealed that a staggering 52.6 per cent of millennials between the age of 18 to 24 years faced the brunt of romance scams, while 60 per cent of the same age group were scammed by e-greetings. Krishnapur warned Indians against the enhancing techniques of threats actors while urging users to be more mindful of potential risks. “As threat actors continue to enhance their techniques and explore new creative means of theft, it is crucial that users are mindful of potential risks and undertake necessary measures to protect themselves this holiday season,” Krishnapur added.

78% of Indians fell victim to online scams this holiday season: Report

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Women Empowerment on Thursday met representatives of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-corrects-users-post-under-new-singapore-fake-news-law-265378">Facebook</a> group at Parliament House Annexe building in view of rising crime against women on social media.

The Committee chaired by Lok Sabha Heena Gavit will discuss <a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/cyber-bullying-star-suicides-the-dark-side-of-south-koreas-k-pop-world-265173">cyber harassment</a> and cyberbullying with representatives of the social media giant, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

A meeting of the committee was called on December 4 and 5 in which representatives of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have been called.

On Wednesday, the Parliamentary Committee met Twitter India representatives and had a detail discussion on cyber harassment and cyberbullying, sources said. 
 
The Parliamentary Committee has called the representatives of social media companies amidst the concerns raised on the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/rape-survivor-set-ablaze-in-unnao-266330">safety of women</a> across the country.

Sources said, Twitter India has given presentations to the Parliamentary Committee on women safety, on how Twitter works, how to report on Twitter and on the basis of complaint how Twitter will take action against complaint.

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Women Empowerment on Thursday met representatives of the Facebook group at Parliament House Annexe building in view of rising crime against women on social media.

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Women Empowerment on Thursday met representatives of the Facebook group at Parliament House Annexe building in view of rising crime against women on social media. The Committee chaired by Lok Sabha Heena Gavit will discuss cyber harassment and cyberbullying with representatives of the social media giant, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. A meeting of the committee was called on December 4 and 5 in which representatives of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have been called. On Wednesday, the Parliamentary Committee met Twitter India representatives and had a detail discussion on cyber harassment and cyberbullying, sources said. The Parliamentary Committee has called the representatives of social media companies amidst the concerns raised on the safety of women across the country. Sources said, Twitter India has given presentations to the Parliamentary Committee on women safety, on how Twitter works, how to report on Twitter and on the basis of complaint how Twitter will take action against complaint.

Parliamentary panel meets Facebook group over rising crime against women on social media

Activists, lawyers, journalists & diplomats were targets of the WhatsApp hack. As the story continues to evolve, another major data breach has come to the fore. Reports suggest that debit, credit data of customers are up for sale in dark web.

Gravitas: Not just WhatsApp, even credit & debit card data of users stolen!

NPCIL Admits Malware Attack At Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant In Tamil Nadu.

Gravitas: Cyber attack on India's largest nuclear power plant

The United States carried out a secret cyber operation against Iran in the wake of the September&nbsp;14 attacks on <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mike-pompeo-says-abundantly-clear-iran-was-behind-saudi-oil-attacks-250674">Saudi Arabia's oil facilities</a>, which Washington and Riyadh blame on Tehran, two US&nbsp;officials have told Reuters.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the operation took place in late September and took aim at Tehran's ability to spread "propaganda."

One of the officials said the strike affected physical hardware, but did not provide further details.

The attack highlights how President Donald Trump's administration has been trying to counter what it sees as Iranian aggression without spiralling into a broader conflict.

Asked about Reuters reporting on Wednesday, Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi said: "They must have dreamt it," Fars news agency reported.

The US&nbsp;strike appears more limited than other such operations against Iran this year after the downing of an American drone in June and an alleged attack by Iran's Revolutionary Guards on oil tankers in the Gulf in May.

The United States, Saudi Arabia, Britain, France and Germany have publicly blamed the September&nbsp;14 attack on Iran, which denied involvement in the strike. The Iran-aligned Houthi militant group in Yemen claimed responsibility.

Publicly, the Pentagon has responded by sending thousands of additional <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/weapons-used-in-saudi-oil-attacks-came-from-iran-saudi-coalition-250062">troops and equipment to bolster Saudi defences</a>, the latest US&nbsp;deployment to the region this year.

The Pentagon declined to comment about the cyber strike.

"As a matter of policy and for operational security, we do not discuss cyberspace operations, intelligence, or planning," said Pentagon spokeswoman Elissa Smith. 
 
Gulf tensions rise sharply

The impact of the attack, if any, could take months to determine, but cyber strikes are seen as a less-provocative option below the threshold of war.

"You can do damage without killing people or blowing things up; it adds an option to the toolkit that we didn't have before and our willingness to use it is important," said James Lewis, a cyber expert with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Lewis added that it may not be possible to deter Iranian behaviour with even conventional military strikes.

Tensions in the Gulf have escalated sharply since May 2018, when Trump withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Tehran that put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of sanctions.

It was unclear whether there have been other US&nbsp;cyberattacks since the one in late September.

Iran has used such tactics against the United States. This month, a hacking group that appears linked to the Iranian government tried to infiltrate email accounts related to Trump's re-election campaign.

Over 30 days in August and September, the group, which Microsoft dubbed "Phosphorous," made more than 2,700 attempts to identify consumer accounts, then attacked 241 of them.

Tehran is also thought to be a major player in spreading disinformation.

Last year a Reuters investigation found more than 70 websites that push Iranian propaganda to 15 countries, in an operation that cybersecurity experts, social media firms and journalists are only starting to uncover.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/saudi-oil-attacks-put-us-commitments-to-the-test-250551">Tensions with Iran have been high since the September&nbsp;14 attack</a>. Tehran has said an Iranian tanker was hit by rockets in the Red Sea last week and warned that there would be consequences.

On Monday, President Hassan Rouhani reiterated his country's policy toward the Trump administration, ruling out bilateral talks unless Washington returns to the landmark nuclear deal and lifts crippling US&nbsp;economic sanctions.

The United States carried out a secret cyber operation against Iran in the wake of the September 14 attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities, which Washington and Riyadh blame on Tehran, two US officials have told Reuters.

The United States carried out a secret cyber operation against Iran in the wake of the September 14 attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities, which Washington and Riyadh blame on Tehran, two US officials have told Reuters. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the operation took place in late September and took aim at Tehran's ability to spread "propaganda." One of the officials said the strike affected physical hardware, but did not provide further details. The attack highlights how President Donald Trump's administration has been trying to counter what it sees as Iranian aggression without spiralling into a broader conflict. Asked about Reuters reporting on Wednesday, Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi said: "They must have dreamt it," Fars news agency reported. The US strike appears more limited than other such operations against Iran this year after the downing of an American drone in June and an alleged attack by Iran's Revolutionary Guards on oil tankers in the Gulf in May. The United States, Saudi Arabia, Britain, France and Germany have publicly blamed the September 14 attack on Iran, which denied involvement in the strike. The Iran-aligned Houthi militant group in Yemen claimed responsibility. Publicly, the Pentagon has responded by sending thousands of additional troops and equipment to bolster Saudi defences, the latest US deployment to the region this year. The Pentagon declined to comment about the cyber strike. "As a matter of policy and for operational security, we do not discuss cyberspace operations, intelligence, or planning," said Pentagon spokeswoman Elissa Smith. Gulf tensions rise sharply The impact of the attack, if any, could take months to determine, but cyber strikes are seen as a less-provocative option below the threshold of war. "You can do damage without killing people or blowing things up; it adds an option to the toolkit that we didn't have before and our willingness to use it is important," said James Lewis, a cyber expert with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. Lewis added that it may not be possible to deter Iranian behaviour with even conventional military strikes. Tensions in the Gulf have escalated sharply since May 2018, when Trump withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Tehran that put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of sanctions. It was unclear whether there have been other US cyberattacks since the one in late September. Iran has used such tactics against the United States. This month, a hacking group that appears linked to the Iranian government tried to infiltrate email accounts related to Trump's re-election campaign. Over 30 days in August and September, the group, which Microsoft dubbed "Phosphorous," made more than 2,700 attempts to identify consumer accounts, then attacked 241 of them. Tehran is also thought to be a major player in spreading disinformation. Last year a Reuters investigation found more than 70 websites that push Iranian propaganda to 15 countries, in an operation that cybersecurity experts, social media firms and journalists are only starting to uncover. Tensions with Iran have been high since the September 14 attack. Tehran has said an Iranian tanker was hit by rockets in the Red Sea last week and warned that there would be consequences. On Monday, President Hassan Rouhani reiterated his country's policy toward the Trump administration, ruling out bilateral talks unless Washington returns to the landmark nuclear deal and lifts crippling US economic sanctions.

United States carried out secret cyber strike on Iran in wake of Saudi oil attack: Officials

Facebook chose one of the busiest news days in American politics this year to admit that millions more Instagram users were affected by a security lapse than it had previously disclosed.

Facebook security lapse affects millions more Instagram users than first stated

Your complete digital life - including data from your social media accounts, banking and credit card details — can be sold by cybercriminals for less than US $50, scientists say.

While many of us have heard of, or even fallen victim to, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/cyber-crimes-rose-between-2014-and-2017-government-28660">cybercrimes</a> such as data and identity theft, it seems that relatively few know the value of the information stolen from us.&nbsp;

Scientists from the Kaspersky Lab, a cybersecurity company in Russia, found that while our identity may not be worth a lot in terms of dollars, it is a significant asset to criminals in other ways.

The research uncovered an appetite among cybercriminals for data stolen from popular services - including via social media accounts and remote access to gaming websites.

User confusion about what their data is worth could result in a haphazard approach to security, making it all too easy for thieves to steal data and commit a crime.

Data stolen due to people's lax security may have limited resale value, but can be put to many uses.

This can cause huge problems for an individual victim, who may lose money and their reputation, find themselves being chased for debt that somebody else has incurred in their name, or even suspected of a crime that somebody else has committed using their identity as a cover.

Kaspersky Lab investigated 'Dark Web' markets to find out how much personal data is worth, and how it is used by criminals.&nbsp;

The dark web also referred to as the darknet, is an encrypted portion of the internet that is not indexed by search engines. These networks use the internet but require specific software, configurations, or authorisation to access.

The researchers found that criminals can sell someone's complete digital life for less than US $50; including data from stolen social media accounts, banking details, remote access to servers or desktops, and even data from popular services like Uber, Netflix, and Spotify, as well as gaming websites, dating apps, and porn websites which might store credit card information.

Meanwhile, researchers found that the price paid for a single hacked account is lower, with most selling for about US $1 per account, and with criminals offering up discounts for bulk-buying.

The most common way criminals steal this sort of data in the first place is via spear phishing campaigns or by exploiting a web related security vulnerability in an application's software.

After a successful attack, the criminal gets password dumps which contain a combination of emails and passwords for the hacked services. With many people using the same password for several accounts, attackers might be able to use this information to access accounts on other platforms too.

Some criminals selling data even provide their buyers with a lifetime warranty, so if one account stops working, the buyer will receive a new account for free.

"It is clear that data hacking is a major threat to us all, and this applies at both an individual and societal level because stolen data funds many social evils," said David Jacoby, Senior Security Researcher at Kaspersky Lab.

"Fortunately, there are steps we can take to prevent it, including by using cybersecurity software and being aware of how much data we are giving away for free - particularly on publicly available social media profiles, or to organisations," said Jacoby.

People can avoid such risks by taking several easy security steps, which should become an integral part of any Internet user's digital life.

To stay safe from phishing, always check that the link address and the sender's email are genuine before clicking anything. A robust security solution will also warn you if you attempt to visit a phishing web page. 
To avoid one data leak harming all your digital identities, never use the same password for several websites or services, researchers said.

Your complete digital life - including data from your social media accounts, banking and credit card details — can be sold by cybercriminals for less than US $50, scientists say.

Your complete digital life - including data from your social media accounts, banking and credit card details — can be sold by cybercriminals for less than US $50, scientists say. While many of us have heard of, or even fallen victim to, cybercrimes such as data and identity theft, it seems that relatively few know the value of the information stolen from us. Scientists from the Kaspersky Lab, a cybersecurity company in Russia, found that while our identity may not be worth a lot in terms of dollars, it is a significant asset to criminals in other ways. The research uncovered an appetite among cybercriminals for data stolen from popular services - including via social media accounts and remote access to gaming websites. User confusion about what their data is worth could result in a haphazard approach to security, making it all too easy for thieves to steal data and commit a crime. Data stolen due to people's lax security may have limited resale value, but can be put to many uses. This can cause huge problems for an individual victim, who may lose money and their reputation, find themselves being chased for debt that somebody else has incurred in their name, or even suspected of a crime that somebody else has committed using their identity as a cover. Kaspersky Lab investigated 'Dark Web' markets to find out how much personal data is worth, and how it is used by criminals. The dark web also referred to as the darknet, is an encrypted portion of the internet that is not indexed by search engines. These networks use the internet but require specific software, configurations, or authorisation to access. The researchers found that criminals can sell someone's complete digital life for less than US $50; including data from stolen social media accounts, banking details, remote access to servers or desktops, and even data from popular services like Uber, Netflix, and Spotify, as well as gaming websites, dating apps, and porn websites which might store credit card information. Meanwhile, researchers found that the price paid for a single hacked account is lower, with most selling for about US $1 per account, and with criminals offering up discounts for bulk-buying. The most common way criminals steal this sort of data in the first place is via spear phishing campaigns or by exploiting a web related security vulnerability in an application's software. After a successful attack, the criminal gets password dumps which contain a combination of emails and passwords for the hacked services. With many people using the same password for several accounts, attackers might be able to use this information to access accounts on other platforms too. Some criminals selling data even provide their buyers with a lifetime warranty, so if one account stops working, the buyer will receive a new account for free. "It is clear that data hacking is a major threat to us all, and this applies at both an individual and societal level because stolen data funds many social evils," said David Jacoby, Senior Security Researcher at Kaspersky Lab. "Fortunately, there are steps we can take to prevent it, including by using cybersecurity software and being aware of how much data we are giving away for free - particularly on publicly available social media profiles, or to organisations," said Jacoby. People can avoid such risks by taking several easy security steps, which should become an integral part of any Internet user's digital life. To stay safe from phishing, always check that the link address and the sender's email are genuine before clicking anything. A robust security solution will also warn you if you attempt to visit a phishing web page. To avoid one data leak harming all your digital identities, never use the same password for several websites or services, researchers said.

Your digital data could be on sale for less than US $50: Study

By&nbspEllis Cashmore*

A number of Unidentified Flying Objects have landed around the world. What are their intentions? To destroy us? To bring peace on earth? Or just observe us earthlings and our perplexing little maneuvers? Do they come in peace or war? It’s impossible to know at the moment because they just sit there, day after day, week after week, without indicating whether they are just tourists or permanent residents.

North Korea, we understand, has already decided and issued a stark warning it is priming its nuclear reactors. The UFOs communicate something to us, but it’s incoherent. The grammar is unintelligible, so we’re not sure what to do. We could take our time in trying to translate the message and figure out what the UFOs’ inhabitants want (if indeed they want anything) and what they have to offer. After all, they could bring unimaginable benefits. But we’ll need time to try to arrange meetings and ponder the possibilities. Or we could simply open fire and try to bomb them out of existence.

As with this outlandish imaginary presence, there really isn’t a way we know for sure whether social media are a good or a bad thing. All we know for certain is that it’s arrived and shows no signs of disappearing. Like the make-believe UFOs, social media occupy a great, great deal of our attention, and after an initial period of doubt in the early 2000s (Facebook was launched in 2004, YouTube in 2005 and Twitter in 2006), they have become permanent fixtures.

Doom and Foreboding&nbsp

And yet, we still haven’t made up our minds about whether they are dangerous (like the invaders in HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds), or beneficial (like the benevolent Vulcans from Star Trek), or whether they’ll deliver on a utopian promise but take in return our identities and culture (as did the Overlords in Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End).

Traditional media are full of doom, foreboding and warnings of the baneful effects of using social media. If scholars, researchers, politicians and sundry self-appointed experts are to be believed, we have a perfect nightmare of mental-health problems, addictions as debilitating as many drug dependencies and “separation anxieties” if we are parted from a screen device for just an hour.

The media, for the most part, accept these warnings uncritically. Consider the following selection of headlines: “The under-5s glued to screens for four hours each day” (The Daily Mail) “Electroshock Therapy for Internet Users?” (The New York Times) “How to stop checking your smartphone in the middle of the night” (The Telegraph) “We now spend 1.3 years of our lives choosing what to watch” (ShortList) “Fraudster addicted to TV SHOPPING stole £370,000 from her employer” (Coventry Telegraph) “Video game addiction ‘contributes to depression and anxiety’” (i) and “Facebook, Twitter and Google have become a ‘recruiting platform for terrorism'” (The Telegraph).

Collectively, they provide a prodigious inventory of conditions, some mental, others physical, all undesirable. Much of the research on which these warnings is conducted by psychologists, neuroscientists and health researchers. Few seem interested in the social, cultural or historical contexts in which social media use takes place, or the perspectives of the people who engage in the activity. As such, they present the view of experts, not users and usually the human costs, rather than the cultural benefits, such as the #MeToo and #enough movements.

The perplexing paradox of social media is that it appears to turn its enthusiastic devotees into alien abductees who are wholeheartedly complicit in their own abduction. So, when an august body such as the United Nations pronounces that that social media has had a “determining role” in anti-Rohingya Muslim violence in Myanmar, and “substantively contributed to the level of acrimony and dissension and conflict,” it prompts a questions about the influence of social media — in particular Facebook — on its users.&nbsp

Facebook itself is presumably convinced enough to remove the pages of the anti-Islamic group Britain First and its leaders from its platform, explaining that the decision to remove the pages was made after Britain First had ignored a final warning about the posting of material that broke its community standards.

Cyber Consciousness 

While this chimes with common-sense ideas of decency and moral rectitude, it’s uncomfortably out of sync with the freedom of information ethos that characterized not just Facebook but all social media in their growth. The spirit of social media, as manifested in its users’ aspirations and attitudes, was to share information openly and with impunity and without any attempt to prevent certain ideas, memories, thoughts or any other element of culture that could be passed on, copied and spread — memes — emerging into the cyber-consciousness.

No wonder users laugh at scaremongering media that routinely issue caveats about the proliferation of fake news. They mistrust all news equally, whatever its provenance. Far from being the credulous, wide-eyed ingénues they are often mistaken to be, Screenagers are savvy, discerning and cute enough to know the difference between hokum and actuality. They don’t need a working knowledge of Foucault (though many have that too) to realize that what passes as truth is made possible by the discourse that commissions it rather than its relationship to fact.

What we’re witnessing, though probably without knowing it, is a slow dismantling of one generation’s confidence in established sources of information and its replacement with a kind of all-purpose skepticism. No wonder people despair. “You have to believe something, or someone!” they’d insist. But Screenagers have been reared in a wonderful world of seemingly unlimited information theirs is a holistic approach to knowledge — they believe that all things, like all people, are interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.

“How do you define objective truth?” is not a question to ask a Screenager. “Says who?” or “What’s the source?” or “Who stands to gain if we believe it?” are nearer the mark. I write as a co-researcher on an international online project in which the responses of 2,000 Screenagers (you’ll have gathered this is the term we use to describe the current generation of smartphone-tablet-computer-users) were solicited on a range of subjects, from politics to personal health, and how these are being reshaped by screen devices. The results will be published later this year as Screen Society, the title reflecting the cultural transformation that’s taken place over the past decade.

At the moment, we humans are still apprehensive, as we would be if those UFOs had taken up residence and not revealed their intentions. We went through all this in the 1950s and early 1960s when televisions multiplied like those Tribbles in the Star Trek universe. Shortened attention spans, telly-addiction and family breakups were some of the predicted maladies these have all resurfaced, of course. Neither we nor the society we make up will unspool as a result of social media. Like every other piece of technology it has no immanent qualities. So, it is pointless trying to determine whether it’s good or evil. Social media are best judged on their potential, which is, as everyone now realizes, colossal.

No wonder people are concerned: These media are changing us, our children and practically every conceivable aspect of society just as profoundly as the steam engine did in the 18th century.&nbsp&nbsp

&nbsp

*Ellis Cashmore is visiting professor of sociology at Aston University and has previously worked at the universities of Hong Kong and Tampa.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Social media are changing us, our children and practically every conceivable aspect of society just as profoundly as the steam engine did in the 18th century.

By&nbspEllis Cashmore* A number of Unidentified Flying Objects have landed around the world. What are their intentions? To destroy us? To bring peace on earth? Or just observe us earthlings and our perplexing little maneuvers? Do they come in peace or war? It’s impossible to know at the moment because they just sit there, day after day, week after week, without indicating whether they are just tourists or permanent residents. North Korea, we understand, has already decided and issued a stark warning it is priming its nuclear reactors. The UFOs communicate something to us, but it’s incoherent. The grammar is unintelligible, so we’re not sure what to do. We could take our time in trying to translate the message and figure out what the UFOs’ inhabitants want (if indeed they want anything) and what they have to offer. After all, they could bring unimaginable benefits. But we’ll need time to try to arrange meetings and ponder the possibilities. Or we could simply open fire and try to bomb them out of existence. As with this outlandish imaginary presence, there really isn’t a way we know for sure whether social media are a good or a bad thing. All we know for certain is that it’s arrived and shows no signs of disappearing. Like the make-believe UFOs, social media occupy a great, great deal of our attention, and after an initial period of doubt in the early 2000s (Facebook was launched in 2004, YouTube in 2005 and Twitter in 2006), they have become permanent fixtures. Doom and Foreboding And yet, we still haven’t made up our minds about whether they are dangerous (like the invaders in HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds), or beneficial (like the benevolent Vulcans from Star Trek), or whether they’ll deliver on a utopian promise but take in return our identities and culture (as did the Overlords in Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End). Traditional media are full of doom, foreboding and warnings of the baneful effects of using social media. If scholars, researchers, politicians and sundry self-appointed experts are to be believed, we have a perfect nightmare of mental-health problems, addictions as debilitating as many drug dependencies and “separation anxieties” if we are parted from a screen device for just an hour. The media, for the most part, accept these warnings uncritically. Consider the following selection of headlines: “The under-5s glued to screens for four hours each day” (The Daily Mail) “Electroshock Therapy for Internet Users?” (The New York Times) “How to stop checking your smartphone in the middle of the night” (The Telegraph) “We now spend 1.3 years of our lives choosing what to watch” (ShortList) “Fraudster addicted to TV SHOPPING stole £370,000 from her employer” (Coventry Telegraph) “Video game addiction ‘contributes to depression and anxiety’” (i) and “Facebook, Twitter and Google have become a ‘recruiting platform for terrorism'” (The Telegraph). Collectively, they provide a prodigious inventory of conditions, some mental, others physical, all undesirable. Much of the research on which these warnings is conducted by psychologists, neuroscientists and health researchers. Few seem interested in the social, cultural or historical contexts in which social media use takes place, or the perspectives of the people who engage in the activity. As such, they present the view of experts, not users and usually the human costs, rather than the cultural benefits, such as the #MeToo and #enough movements. The perplexing paradox of social media is that it appears to turn its enthusiastic devotees into alien abductees who are wholeheartedly complicit in their own abduction. So, when an august body such as the United Nations pronounces that that social media has had a “determining role” in anti-Rohingya Muslim violence in Myanmar, and “substantively contributed to the level of acrimony and dissension and conflict,” it prompts a questions about the influence of social media — in particular Facebook — on its users. Facebook itself is presumably convinced enough to remove the pages of the anti-Islamic group Britain First and its leaders from its platform, explaining that the decision to remove the pages was made after Britain First had ignored a final warning about the posting of material that broke its community standards. Cyber Consciousness While this chimes with common-sense ideas of decency and moral rectitude, it’s uncomfortably out of sync with the freedom of information ethos that characterized not just Facebook but all social media in their growth. The spirit of social media, as manifested in its users’ aspirations and attitudes, was to share information openly and with impunity and without any attempt to prevent certain ideas, memories, thoughts or any other element of culture that could be passed on, copied and spread — memes — emerging into the cyber-consciousness. No wonder users laugh at scaremongering media that routinely issue caveats about the proliferation of fake news. They mistrust all news equally, whatever its provenance. Far from being the credulous, wide-eyed ingénues they are often mistaken to be, Screenagers are savvy, discerning and cute enough to know the difference between hokum and actuality. They don’t need a working knowledge of Foucault (though many have that too) to realize that what passes as truth is made possible by the discourse that commissions it rather than its relationship to fact. What we’re witnessing, though probably without knowing it, is a slow dismantling of one generation’s confidence in established sources of information and its replacement with a kind of all-purpose skepticism. No wonder people despair. “You have to believe something, or someone!” they’d insist. But Screenagers have been reared in a wonderful world of seemingly unlimited information theirs is a holistic approach to knowledge — they believe that all things, like all people, are interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole. “How do you define objective truth?” is not a question to ask a Screenager. “Says who?” or “What’s the source?” or “Who stands to gain if we believe it?” are nearer the mark. I write as a co-researcher on an international online project in which the responses of 2,000 Screenagers (you’ll have gathered this is the term we use to describe the current generation of smartphone-tablet-computer-users) were solicited on a range of subjects, from politics to personal health, and how these are being reshaped by screen devices. The results will be published later this year as Screen Society, the title reflecting the cultural transformation that’s taken place over the past decade. At the moment, we humans are still apprehensive, as we would be if those UFOs had taken up residence and not revealed their intentions. We went through all this in the 1950s and early 1960s when televisions multiplied like those Tribbles in the Star Trek universe. Shortened attention spans, telly-addiction and family breakups were some of the predicted maladies these have all resurfaced, of course. Neither we nor the society we make up will unspool as a result of social media. Like every other piece of technology it has no immanent qualities. So, it is pointless trying to determine whether it’s good or evil. Social media are best judged on their potential, which is, as everyone now realizes, colossal. No wonder people are concerned: These media are changing us, our children and practically every conceivable aspect of society just as profoundly as the steam engine did in the 18th century. *Ellis Cashmore is visiting professor of sociology at Aston University and has previously worked at the universities of Hong Kong and Tampa. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Social media occupy a great deal of our attention

By&nbsp;Ellis Cashmore*

A number of Unidentified Flying Objects have landed around the world. What are their intentions? To destroy us? To bring peace on earth? Or just observe us earthlings and our perplexing little maneuvers? Do they come in peace or war? It&rsquo;s impossible to know at the moment because they just sit there, day after day, week after week, without indicating whether they are just tourists or permanent residents.

North Korea, we understand, has already decided and issued a stark warning; it is priming its nuclear reactors. The UFOs communicate something to us, but it&rsquo;s incoherent. The grammar is unintelligible, so we&rsquo;re not sure what to do. We could take our time in trying to translate the message and figure out what the UFOs&rsquo; inhabitants want (if indeed they want anything) and what they have to offer. After all, they could bring unimaginable benefits. But we&rsquo;ll need time to try to arrange meetings and ponder the possibilities. Or we could simply open fire and try to bomb them out of existence.

As with this outlandish imaginary presence, there really isn&rsquo;t a way we know for sure whether social media are a good or a bad thing. All we know for certain is that it&rsquo;s arrived and shows no signs of disappearing. Like the make-believe UFOs, social media occupy a great, great deal of our attention, and after an initial period of doubt in the early 2000s (Facebook was launched in 2004, YouTube in 2005 and Twitter in 2006), they have become permanent fixtures.

Doom and Foreboding&nbsp;

And yet, we still haven&rsquo;t made up our minds about whether they are dangerous (like the invaders in HG Wells&rsquo; The War of the Worlds), or beneficial (like the benevolent Vulcans from Star Trek), or whether they&rsquo;ll deliver on a utopian promise but take in return our identities and culture (as did the Overlords in Arthur C. Clarke&rsquo;s Childhood&rsquo;s End).

Traditional media are full of doom, foreboding and warnings of the baneful effects of using social media. If scholars, researchers, politicians and sundry self-appointed experts are to be believed, we have a perfect nightmare of mental-health problems, addictions as debilitating as many drug dependencies and &ldquo;separation anxieties&rdquo; if we are parted from a screen device for just an hour.

The media, for the most part, accept these warnings uncritically. Consider the following selection of headlines: &ldquo;The under-5s glued to screens for four hours each day&rdquo; (The Daily Mail); &ldquo;Electroshock Therapy for Internet Users?&rdquo; (The New York Times); &ldquo;How to stop checking your smartphone in the middle of the night&rdquo; (The Telegraph); &ldquo;We now spend 1.3 years of our lives choosing what to watch&rdquo; (ShortList); &ldquo;Fraudster addicted to TV SHOPPING stole &pound;370,000 from her employer&rdquo; (Coventry Telegraph); &ldquo;Video game addiction &lsquo;contributes to depression and anxiety&rsquo;&rdquo; (i); and &ldquo;Facebook, Twitter and Google have become a &lsquo;recruiting platform for terrorism&#39;&rdquo; (The Telegraph).

Collectively, they provide a prodigious inventory of conditions, some mental, others physical, all undesirable. Much of the research on which these warnings is conducted by psychologists, neuroscientists and health researchers. Few seem interested in the social, cultural or historical contexts in which social media use takes place, or the perspectives of the people who engage in the activity. As such, they present the view of experts, not users; and usually the human costs, rather than the cultural benefits, such as the #MeToo and #enough movements.

The perplexing paradox of social media is that it appears to turn its enthusiastic devotees into alien abductees who are wholeheartedly complicit in their own abduction. So, when an august body such as the United Nations pronounces that that social media has had a &ldquo;determining role&rdquo; in anti-Rohingya Muslim violence in Myanmar, and &ldquo;substantively contributed to the level of acrimony and dissension and conflict,&rdquo; it prompts a questions about the influence of social media &mdash; in particular Facebook &mdash; on its users.&nbsp;

Facebook itself is presumably convinced enough to remove the pages of the anti-Islamic group Britain First and its leaders from its platform, explaining that the decision to remove the pages was made after Britain First had ignored a final warning about the posting of material that broke its community standards.

Cyber Consciousness 

While this chimes with common-sense ideas of decency and moral rectitude, it&rsquo;s uncomfortably out of sync with the freedom of information ethos that characterized not just Facebook but all social media in their growth. The spirit of social media, as manifested in its users&rsquo; aspirations and attitudes, was to share information openly and with impunity and without any attempt to prevent certain ideas, memories, thoughts or any other element of culture that could be passed on, copied and spread &mdash; memes &mdash; emerging into the cyber-consciousness.

No wonder users laugh at scaremongering media that routinely issue caveats about the proliferation of fake news. They mistrust all news equally, whatever its provenance. Far from being the credulous, wide-eyed ing&eacute;nues they are often mistaken to be, Screenagers are savvy, discerning and cute enough to know the difference between hokum and actuality. They don&rsquo;t need a working knowledge of Foucault (though many have that too) to realize that what passes as truth is made possible by the discourse that commissions it rather than its relationship to fact.

What we&rsquo;re witnessing, though probably without knowing it, is a slow dismantling of one generation&rsquo;s confidence in established sources of information and its replacement with a kind of all-purpose skepticism. No wonder people despair. &ldquo;You have to believe something, or someone!&rdquo; they&rsquo;d insist. But Screenagers have been reared in a wonderful world of seemingly unlimited information; theirs is a holistic approach to knowledge &mdash; they believe that all things, like all people, are interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.

&ldquo;How do you define objective truth?&rdquo; is not a question to ask a Screenager. &ldquo;Says who?&rdquo; or &ldquo;What&rsquo;s the source?&rdquo; or &ldquo;Who stands to gain if we believe it?&rdquo; are nearer the mark. I write as a co-researcher on an international online project in which the responses of 2,000 Screenagers (you&rsquo;ll have gathered this is the term we use to describe the current generation of smartphone-tablet-computer-users) were solicited on a range of subjects, from politics to personal health, and how these are being reshaped by screen devices. The results will be published later this year as Screen Society, the title reflecting the cultural transformation that&rsquo;s taken place over the past decade.

At the moment, we humans are still apprehensive, as we would be if those UFOs had taken up residence and not revealed their intentions. We went through all this in the 1950s and early 1960s when televisions multiplied like those Tribbles in the Star Trek universe. Shortened attention spans, telly-addiction and family breakups were some of the predicted maladies; these have all resurfaced, of course. Neither we nor the society we make up will unspool as a result of social media. Like every other piece of technology it has no immanent qualities. So, it is pointless trying to determine whether it&rsquo;s good or evil. Social media are best judged on their potential, which is, as everyone now realizes, colossal.

No wonder people are concerned: These media are changing us, our children and practically every conceivable aspect of society just as profoundly as the steam engine did in the 18th century.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;

*Ellis Cashmore is visiting professor of sociology at Aston University and has previously worked at the universities of Hong Kong and Tampa.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

By Ellis Cashmore* A number of Unidentified Flying Objects have landed around the world. What are their intentions? To destroy us? To bring peace on earth? Or just observe us earthlings and our perplexing little maneuvers? Do they come in peace or war? It’s impossible to know at the moment because they just sit there, day after day, week after week, without indicating whether they are just tourists or permanent residents. North Korea, we understand, has already decided and issued a stark warning; it is priming its nuclear reactors. The UFOs communicate something to us, but it’s incoherent. The grammar is unintelligible, so we’re not sure what to do. We could take our time in trying to translate the message and figure out what the UFOs’ inhabitants want (if indeed they want anything) and what they have to offer. After all, they could bring unimaginable benefits. But we’ll need time to try to arrange meetings and ponder the possibilities. Or we could simply open fire and try to bomb them out of existence. As with this outlandish imaginary presence, there really isn’t a way we know for sure whether social media are a good or a bad thing. All we know for certain is that it’s arrived and shows no signs of disappearing. Like the make-believe UFOs, social media occupy a great, great deal of our attention, and after an initial period of doubt in the early 2000s (Facebook was launched in 2004, YouTube in 2005 and Twitter in 2006), they have become permanent fixtures. Doom and Foreboding And yet, we still haven’t made up our minds about whether they are dangerous (like the invaders in HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds), or beneficial (like the benevolent Vulcans from Star Trek), or whether they’ll deliver on a utopian promise but take in return our identities and culture (as did the Overlords in Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End). Traditional media are full of doom, foreboding and warnings of the baneful effects of using social media. If scholars, researchers, politicians and sundry self-appointed experts are to be believed, we have a perfect nightmare of mental-health problems, addictions as debilitating as many drug dependencies and “separation anxieties” if we are parted from a screen device for just an hour. The media, for the most part, accept these warnings uncritically. Consider the following selection of headlines: “The under-5s glued to screens for four hours each day” (The Daily Mail); “Electroshock Therapy for Internet Users?” (The New York Times); “How to stop checking your smartphone in the middle of the night” (The Telegraph); “We now spend 1.3 years of our lives choosing what to watch” (ShortList); “Fraudster addicted to TV SHOPPING stole £370,000 from her employer” (Coventry Telegraph); “Video game addiction ‘contributes to depression and anxiety’” (i); and “Facebook, Twitter and Google have become a ‘recruiting platform for terrorism'” (The Telegraph). Collectively, they provide a prodigious inventory of conditions, some mental, others physical, all undesirable. Much of the research on which these warnings is conducted by psychologists, neuroscientists and health researchers. Few seem interested in the social, cultural or historical contexts in which social media use takes place, or the perspectives of the people who engage in the activity. As such, they present the view of experts, not users; and usually the human costs, rather than the cultural benefits, such as the #MeToo and #enough movements. The perplexing paradox of social media is that it appears to turn its enthusiastic devotees into alien abductees who are wholeheartedly complicit in their own abduction. So, when an august body such as the United Nations pronounces that that social media has had a “determining role” in anti-Rohingya Muslim violence in Myanmar, and “substantively contributed to the level of acrimony and dissension and conflict,” it prompts a questions about the influence of social media — in particular Facebook — on its users. Facebook itself is presumably convinced enough to remove the pages of the anti-Islamic group Britain First and its leaders from its platform, explaining that the decision to remove the pages was made after Britain First had ignored a final warning about the posting of material that broke its community standards. Cyber Consciousness While this chimes with common-sense ideas of decency and moral rectitude, it’s uncomfortably out of sync with the freedom of information ethos that characterized not just Facebook but all social media in their growth. The spirit of social media, as manifested in its users’ aspirations and attitudes, was to share information openly and with impunity and without any attempt to prevent certain ideas, memories, thoughts or any other element of culture that could be passed on, copied and spread — memes — emerging into the cyber-consciousness. No wonder users laugh at scaremongering media that routinely issue caveats about the proliferation of fake news. They mistrust all news equally, whatever its provenance. Far from being the credulous, wide-eyed ingénues they are often mistaken to be, Screenagers are savvy, discerning and cute enough to know the difference between hokum and actuality. They don’t need a working knowledge of Foucault (though many have that too) to realize that what passes as truth is made possible by the discourse that commissions it rather than its relationship to fact. What we’re witnessing, though probably without knowing it, is a slow dismantling of one generation’s confidence in established sources of information and its replacement with a kind of all-purpose skepticism. No wonder people despair. “You have to believe something, or someone!” they’d insist. But Screenagers have been reared in a wonderful world of seemingly unlimited information; theirs is a holistic approach to knowledge — they believe that all things, like all people, are interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole. “How do you define objective truth?” is not a question to ask a Screenager. “Says who?” or “What’s the source?” or “Who stands to gain if we believe it?” are nearer the mark. I write as a co-researcher on an international online project in which the responses of 2,000 Screenagers (you’ll have gathered this is the term we use to describe the current generation of smartphone-tablet-computer-users) were solicited on a range of subjects, from politics to personal health, and how these are being reshaped by screen devices. The results will be published later this year as Screen Society, the title reflecting the cultural transformation that’s taken place over the past decade. At the moment, we humans are still apprehensive, as we would be if those UFOs had taken up residence and not revealed their intentions. We went through all this in the 1950s and early 1960s when televisions multiplied like those Tribbles in the Star Trek universe. Shortened attention spans, telly-addiction and family breakups were some of the predicted maladies; these have all resurfaced, of course. Neither we nor the society we make up will unspool as a result of social media. Like every other piece of technology it has no immanent qualities. So, it is pointless trying to determine whether it’s good or evil. Social media are best judged on their potential, which is, as everyone now realizes, colossal. No wonder people are concerned: These media are changing us, our children and practically every conceivable aspect of society just as profoundly as the steam engine did in the 18th century. *Ellis Cashmore is visiting professor of sociology at Aston University and has previously worked at the universities of Hong Kong and Tampa. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said cyber crime has become an industry globally and that such offences may occur &quot;very often&quot; due to the availability of resources in wrong hands.

Singh also said penetration of Internet and self-radicalisation have further added to the woes of law enforcement agencies and that continuance of the availability of radicalised materials on the Internet is likely to have a drastic change in society and subsequently to humanity.

Inaugurating a two-day Asia-Pacific regional conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) on &quot;Challenges to Policing in 2020- How is Cyber Space shaping our approach to Cyber crime &amp; Terrorism, how do we perform within it and take advantage of it&quot;, the home minister said cyber security network outages, data compromised by hackers, computer malware and other cyber-related incidents and crimes have affected people&#39;s lives.

&quot;I am afraid, cyber attack would occur very often. Tools already exist to mount cyber attacks and they will be improving over the next decade. We have already witnessed an increase in the number and severity of such attacks,&quot; he said.

Singh said cyber crime has become an industry and many cyber crimes-related tools and techniques are being offered as services. Even novice criminal with limited investments of money can afford to have such services at his disposal.

&quot;The increase in digitisation of the financial services with inadequate attention to setting up of a robust process, controls and monitoring mechanisms has given new age fraudsters the opportunity to exploit these gaps leading to new types of financial crimes,&quot; he said.

The home minister said the new age technologies such as the internet of things, virtual currencies, advanced malware, artificial intelligence, etc. Are fast spreading its tentacles. The police are now expected to cope with such rapidly changing technologies, as well.

&quot;Across many countries many cyber criminals uses technologies like darknet, proxy servers, The Onion Router (TOR) services to hide their identity. Extensive use of VolP, caller ID spoofing, use of crypto currencies, encrypted channel for communication, use of social media have virtually created syndicates of criminals irrespective of their nationality,&quot; he said.

Singh said in the fast-changing technology world, computer-based technologies are being increasingly used in various activities ranging from simple home security system to complex nuclear power plants or space programs.

&quot;The cyber-dependency has become widespread today. This has increased vulnerability to attacks against both civilian and military infrastructures,&quot; he said.

The home minister said the governments, defence forces, corporations, financial institutions, utility services, hospitals and other businesses collect, process and store a great deal of sensitive information on systems and transmit data across networks.

&quot;With the growing volume and sophistication of cyber attacks, each one of us is required to protect sensitive information, as well as safeguard national security,&quot; he said.

Singh said there are many risks, some more serious than others, like viruses, computer hacking, pilferage of data, stealing of credit card information, etc.

&quot;Unfortunately, there is no 100 per cent guarantee that even with the best precautions some of these things won&#39;t happen to you, but there are steps you can take to minimize the chances,&quot; he said.

"I am afraid, cyber attack would occur very often. Tools already exist to mount cyber attacks and they will be improving over the next decade. We have already witnessed an increase in the number and severity of such attacks," he said

Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said cyber crime has become an industry globally and that such offences may occur "very often" due to the availability of resources in wrong hands. Singh also said penetration of Internet and self-radicalisation have further added to the woes of law enforcement agencies and that continuance of the availability of radicalised materials on the Internet is likely to have a drastic change in society and subsequently to humanity. Inaugurating a two-day Asia-Pacific regional conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) on "Challenges to Policing in 2020- How is Cyber Space shaping our approach to Cyber crime & Terrorism, how do we perform within it and take advantage of it", the home minister said cyber security network outages, data compromised by hackers, computer malware and other cyber-related incidents and crimes have affected people's lives. "I am afraid, cyber attack would occur very often. Tools already exist to mount cyber attacks and they will be improving over the next decade. We have already witnessed an increase in the number and severity of such attacks," he said. Singh said cyber crime has become an industry and many cyber crimes-related tools and techniques are being offered as services. Even novice criminal with limited investments of money can afford to have such services at his disposal. "The increase in digitisation of the financial services with inadequate attention to setting up of a robust process, controls and monitoring mechanisms has given new age fraudsters the opportunity to exploit these gaps leading to new types of financial crimes," he said. The home minister said the new age technologies such as the internet of things, virtual currencies, advanced malware, artificial intelligence, etc. Are fast spreading its tentacles. The police are now expected to cope with such rapidly changing technologies, as well. "Across many countries many cyber criminals uses technologies like darknet, proxy servers, The Onion Router (TOR) services to hide their identity. Extensive use of VolP, caller ID spoofing, use of crypto currencies, encrypted channel for communication, use of social media have virtually created syndicates of criminals irrespective of their nationality," he said. Singh said in the fast-changing technology world, computer-based technologies are being increasingly used in various activities ranging from simple home security system to complex nuclear power plants or space programs. "The cyber-dependency has become widespread today. This has increased vulnerability to attacks against both civilian and military infrastructures," he said. The home minister said the governments, defence forces, corporations, financial institutions, utility services, hospitals and other businesses collect, process and store a great deal of sensitive information on systems and transmit data across networks. "With the growing volume and sophistication of cyber attacks, each one of us is required to protect sensitive information, as well as safeguard national security," he said. Singh said there are many risks, some more serious than others, like viruses, computer hacking, pilferage of data, stealing of credit card information, etc. "Unfortunately, there is no 100 per cent guarantee that even with the best precautions some of these things won't happen to you, but there are steps you can take to minimize the chances," he said.

Cybercrime is becoming an industry: Rajnath Singh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday suggested nations to adopt stricter rules on preventing cyberspace from becoming a platform for &#39;dark forces of terrorism and radicalisation,&quot; while addressing the crowd in the cyberspace conference.&nbsp;

&quot;We need to ensure that vulnerable sections of our society do not fall prey to the evil designs of cyber criminals. Alertness towards cyber-security concerns should become a way of life. Nations must also take a responsibility to ensure that the digital space does not become a playground for the dark forces of terrorism and radicalisation,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

Further, the Prime Minister said it was necessary for the global community to approach the issue of cyber-security with conviction.

&#39;Cyber for All: A Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development&#39; is a two-day event which is being organised for the first time in India.

More than ten&nbsp;thousand delegates have taken part in the conference in person which will also include virtual participation from over 2800 locations across the world that will be connected in an interactive mode.

The conference has been organised to encourage people to take steps to prevent cyber-crime and signify the inclusiveness and human rights in global cyber policy.

&quot;The GCCS 2017 is certainly in accord with the Hon&#39;ble Prime Minister&#39;s vision to transform India into a digitally empowered country. GCCS 2017 will give the world&#39;s cyber community a unique opportunity to learn from global experience and expert insight, and discover more about the technology led transformation being engineered in India,&quot; Ravi Shankar Prasad, Electronics &amp; IT and Law &amp; Justice Minister said on Wednesday, as reported by the media.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will deliver the keynote address at the valedictory function.

&nbsp;

(with input from agencies)&nbsp;

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated 5th Global Conference on 'Cyber Space', a two-day event, in the national capital.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday suggested nations to adopt stricter rules on preventing cyberspace from becoming a platform for 'dark forces of terrorism and radicalisation," while addressing the crowd in the cyberspace conference. "We need to ensure that vulnerable sections of our society do not fall prey to the evil designs of cyber criminals. Alertness towards cyber-security concerns should become a way of life. Nations must also take a responsibility to ensure that the digital space does not become a playground for the dark forces of terrorism and radicalisation," he said. Further, the Prime Minister said it was necessary for the global community to approach the issue of cyber-security with conviction. 'Cyber for All: A Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development' is a two-day event which is being organised for the first time in India. More than ten thousand delegates have taken part in the conference in person which will also include virtual participation from over 2800 locations across the world that will be connected in an interactive mode. The conference has been organised to encourage people to take steps to prevent cyber-crime and signify the inclusiveness and human rights in global cyber policy. "The GCCS 2017 is certainly in accord with the Hon'ble Prime Minister's vision to transform India into a digitally empowered country. GCCS 2017 will give the world's cyber community a unique opportunity to learn from global experience and expert insight, and discover more about the technology led transformation being engineered in India," Ravi Shankar Prasad, Electronics & IT and Law & Justice Minister said on Wednesday, as reported by the media. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will deliver the keynote address at the valedictory function. (with input from agencies)

Digital space should not become playground for dark forces of terrorism: PM Modi

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