India's state-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has reportedly suffered a data breach that puts at risk thousands of users.

As per reports, a "threat actor" on the dark web has claimed to have "critical information" pertaining to the telecom company's fibre and landline users.

<h2>What data was leaked?</h2>

As per an ET report, the threat actor posting under the alias "Perell" has shared a "sample dataset" on the dark web, which includes sensitive details of BSNL fibre and landline users.

The hacker is said to possess sensitive information, including email addresses, billing details, contact numbers, and other sensitive data. Besides this, information like mobile outage records, network details, completed orders, and customer information etc have also been compromised, reported ET, citing a person with knowledge of the development.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/noida-reports-its-first-covid-case-after-months-health-authorities-advise-caution-672404">India: Noida reports its first Covid case after months, health authorities advise caution</a>

"This poses an imminent threat to the privacy and security of BSNL customers, which is considered critical infrastructure," the person told ET.&nbsp;

According to the report, the dataset shared by the hacker consists of about 32,000 lines of data. The threat actor 'Perell' however, claimed to possess approximately 2.9 million lines of data, across all databases. This, as per the report, includes information like a BSNL customer's district.

<h2>What now?</h2>

Indian cybersecurity watchdog Cert-In has reportedly been notified of the hacking attack.

While BSNL is yet to publicly acknowledge the breach, speaking to the publication, Kanishk Gaur, cybersecurity expert and founder of India Future Foundation, a think tank working on internet safety and cybersecurity, called the data breach "deeply concerning".

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/walmart-boosts-indian-e-commerce-giant-flipkart-with-600-mn-infusion-in-latest-funding-round-672417">Walmart boosts Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart with $600 mn infusion in latest funding round</a>

"The recent data breach at BSNL is deeply concerning," he said, adding,&nbsp;"This incident has far-reaching implications for both BSNL and its users."&nbsp;

"The breach, involving sensitive information, not only compromises the privacy of the users but also places them at risk of identity theft, financial fraud, and targeted phishing attacks," he warned.

(With inputs from agencies)

India's state-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has reportedly suffered a data breach that puts at risk thousands of users. As per reports, a "threat actor" on the dark web has claimed to have "critical information" pertaining to the telecom company's fibre and landline users.

India's state-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has reportedly suffered a data breach that puts at risk thousands of users. As per reports, a "threat actor" on the dark web has claimed to have "critical information" pertaining to the telecom company's fibre and landline users. What data was leaked? As per an ET report, the threat actor posting under the alias "Perell" has shared a "sample dataset" on the dark web, which includes sensitive details of BSNL fibre and landline users. The hacker is said to possess sensitive information, including email addresses, billing details, contact numbers, and other sensitive data. Besides this, information like mobile outage records, network details, completed orders, and customer information etc have also been compromised, reported ET, citing a person with knowledge of the development. Also read | India: Noida reports its first Covid case after months, health authorities advise caution "This poses an imminent threat to the privacy and security of BSNL customers, which is considered critical infrastructure," the person told ET. According to the report, the dataset shared by the hacker consists of about 32,000 lines of data. The threat actor 'Perell' however, claimed to possess approximately 2.9 million lines of data, across all databases. This, as per the report, includes information like a BSNL customer's district. What now? Indian cybersecurity watchdog Cert-In has reportedly been notified of the hacking attack. While BSNL is yet to publicly acknowledge the breach, speaking to the publication, Kanishk Gaur, cybersecurity expert and founder of India Future Foundation, a think tank working on internet safety and cybersecurity, called the data breach "deeply concerning". Also read | Walmart boosts Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart with $600 mn infusion in latest funding round "The recent data breach at BSNL is deeply concerning," he said, adding, "This incident has far-reaching implications for both BSNL and its users." "The breach, involving sensitive information, not only compromises the privacy of the users but also places them at risk of identity theft, financial fraud, and targeted phishing attacks," he warned. (With inputs from agencies)

BSNL suffers data breach, hacker posts data on dark web: Report

UK's Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), a data watchdog has opened an investigation into two official World Cup apps over the concerns that Qatari authorities may be using the apps to secretly spy on England fans.

UK's Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), a data watchdog has opened an investigation into two official World Cup apps over the concerns that Qatari authorities may be using the apps to secretly spy on England fans. “If anyone is concerned about how their data has been handled, they can make a complaint to the ICO,” said a spokesman of the public body. English fans travelling to Qatar have been mandated to download the ‘Ehteraz’ and ‘Hayya’ apps to allow access to the stadiums and Covid contact tracing. However, some security experts are of the view that the app allows Qatari authorities to collect sensitive information which can be used to monitor the fans. The experts have cautioned the travellers to be extremely careful with the photos, videos or documents that they keep on their phones. Moreover, there is a high possibility that vulnerable groups that remain on the edge of archaic Qatari legislations could be monitored through the two apps. Read more: FIFA World Cup 2022: Morocco defeat Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal 1-0, reach semis for the 1st tim Countries such as Norway and France have already issued advisories to travellers to use the apps on a separate blank phone rather than the one they use for their personal use. The BfDI watchdog in Germany has asserted that Qatari authorities are not coming clean on the kind of data they are harvesting and that there is a 'central server' where the data is being transferred. “Among other things, one of the apps collects data on whether and with which number a telephone call is made. The other app actively prevents the device on which it is installed from going into sleep mode." "It is also obvious that the data used by the apps not only remain locally on the device, but are also transmitted to a central server.” The Qatar World Cup is heading towards its business end. The semifinals begin on Tuesday with the final scheduled for Sunday, next week. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

UK data regulator probing World Cup apps mandated by Qatari authorities for spying on English fans

Data comprising of details of many airline passengers around the world has been hacked via a attack on the IT systems operator that serves around 90 per cent of the global aviation industry.

Sita, which serves the Star Alliance of airlines including Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and United, said on Thursday it had been the victim of a cyber attack.

The American company said the incident occurred on&nbsp;February 24, and might have led to a breach of passenger data held on its servers.

Sita took “immediate action” to contact affected customers and all related organisations, it said in a statement.

It added, "This was a highly sophisticated attack. Sita acted swiftly and initiated targetted containment measures. The matter remains under continued investigation by Sita’s security incident response team with the support of leading external experts in cyber-security."

Sita had informed Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Finnair and a South Korean carrier called Jeju Air that their passengers had been affected by the breach of its passenger service system (PSS) servers.

Star Alliance, which also includes Air China, Swiss and Air Canada, shares data between carriers to ensure benefits can be spread among each member airline.

The breach was linked to frequent flyer data but was limited to “your name, tier status and membership number”, an email said. The data breach did not include any member passwords, credit card information or other personal customer data.

Data comprising of details of many airline passengers around the world has been hacked via a attack on the IT systems operator that serves around 90 per cent of the global aviation industry.

Data comprising of details of many airline passengers around the world has been hacked via a attack on the IT systems operator that serves around 90 per cent of the global aviation industry. Sita, which serves the Star Alliance of airlines including Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and United, said on Thursday it had been the victim of a cyber attack. The American company said the incident occurred on February 24, and might have led to a breach of passenger data held on its servers. Sita took “immediate action” to contact affected customers and all related organisations, it said in a statement. It added, "This was a highly sophisticated attack. Sita acted swiftly and initiated targetted containment measures. The matter remains under continued investigation by Sita’s security incident response team with the support of leading external experts in cyber-security." Sita had informed Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Finnair and a South Korean carrier called Jeju Air that their passengers had been affected by the breach of its passenger service system (PSS) servers. Star Alliance, which also includes Air China, Swiss and Air Canada, shares data between carriers to ensure benefits can be spread among each member airline. The breach was linked to frequent flyer data but was limited to “your name, tier status and membership number”, an email said. The data breach did not include any member passwords, credit card information or other personal customer data.

Thousands of Star Alliance passengers' details stolen in cyber attack

Almost 10 universities in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada have been hit by a malware in their cloud computing provider, Blackbaud.

Blackbaud is one of the largest providers of&nbsp;education administration, fundraising, and financial management software in the world.

The hackers focused on information about&nbsp;students and/or alumni. Sensitive information such as&nbsp;phone numbers, donation history and events attended were stolen. However, payment details such as credit card numbers were not exposed, according to BBC.

Mails asking for donation for the universities were sent out to alumni. However, in few of the cases, the threat was extended to&nbsp;staff, existing students and other supporters.

The company, Blackbaud, is being criticised for the way the whole whole situation&nbsp;as handled in their end. The hackers targeted the company in May, but the universities were informed in July.

"In May of 2020, we discovered and stopped a ransomware attack. Prior to our locking the cyber-criminal out, the cyber-criminal removed a copy of a subset of data from our self-hosted environment," Blackbaud said in a statement on their website.

It was further criticised for paying off the hackers ransom amount that has not been disclosed, without talking to the universities or the authorities.&nbsp;Blackbaud claims that paying off the ransom helped them get a&nbsp;"confirmation that the copy [of data] they removed had been destroyed".

While this is not illegal, the universities have not appreciated this step as they claim to have been kept in the dark about this whole situation.

Blackbaud has also claimed that majority of its customers were not affected. However, it has declined to give a complete list of affected universities, claiming that it wants to respect the privacy of its customers.

As of now the aconfirmed list of affected universities is:&nbsp;University of York, Oxford Brookes University, Loughborough University, University of Leeds, University of London, University of Reading, University College&nbsp;(Oxford), Ambrose University in Alberta (Canada), Human Rights Watch Young Minds, Rhode Island School of Design in the US and the University of Exeter.

The universities have now sent out an email apologising to the students and the alumni who were affected by the hacking activity.

"My main concern is how reassuring - impossibly so, in my opinion - Blackbaud were to the university about what the hackers have obtained," commented Rhys Morgan, a cyber-security specialist and former student at Oxford Brookes University, whose data was involved.

"They told my university that there is 'no reason to believe that the stolen data was or will be misused'. I can't feel reassured by this at all. How can they possibly know what the attackers will do with that information?"

"I doubt that my university has many details that aren't pretty easily available, but I am more concerned about giving in to the blackmail and blithely accepting the word of the blackmailer that all the data has now been destroyed," Matthew Scott, one of the recipients who received the email&nbsp;told the BBC.

After the whole situation was revealed to the universities,&nbsp;Leeds University said, in a statement: "We want to reassure our alumni that, since being informed by Blackbaud of this incident, we have been working tirelessly to investigate what has happened, in order to accurately inform those affected. No action is required by our alumni community at this time, although, as ever, we recommend that everyone remains vigilant."

Blackbaud will have to participate in investigations for the UK and Canada data authorities&nbsp;as the concernned authorities were informed last weekend, which is weeks after the company noticed the breach in the systems.

UK's Information Commissioner's Office [ICO] said, "Blackbaud has reported an incident affecting multiple data controllers to the ICO. We will be making enquiries to both Blackbaud and the respective controllers, and encourage all affected controllers to evaluate whether they need to report the incident to the ICO individually."

Almost 10 universities in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada have been hit by a malware in their cloud computing provider, Blackbaud. Blackbaud is one of the largest providers of education administration, fundraising, and financial management software in the world.

Almost 10 universities in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada have been hit by a malware in their cloud computing provider, Blackbaud. Blackbaud is one of the largest providers of education administration, fundraising, and financial management software in the world. The hackers focused on information about students and/or alumni. Sensitive information such as phone numbers, donation history and events attended were stolen. However, payment details such as credit card numbers were not exposed, according to BBC. Mails asking for donation for the universities were sent out to alumni. However, in few of the cases, the threat was extended to staff, existing students and other supporters. The company, Blackbaud, is being criticised for the way the whole whole situation as handled in their end. The hackers targeted the company in May, but the universities were informed in July. "In May of 2020, we discovered and stopped a ransomware attack. Prior to our locking the cyber-criminal out, the cyber-criminal removed a copy of a subset of data from our self-hosted environment," Blackbaud said in a statement on their website. It was further criticised for paying off the hackers ransom amount that has not been disclosed, without talking to the universities or the authorities. Blackbaud claims that paying off the ransom helped them get a "confirmation that the copy [of data] they removed had been destroyed". While this is not illegal, the universities have not appreciated this step as they claim to have been kept in the dark about this whole situation. Blackbaud has also claimed that majority of its customers were not affected. However, it has declined to give a complete list of affected universities, claiming that it wants to respect the privacy of its customers. As of now the aconfirmed list of affected universities is: University of York, Oxford Brookes University, Loughborough University, University of Leeds, University of London, University of Reading, University College (Oxford), Ambrose University in Alberta (Canada), Human Rights Watch Young Minds, Rhode Island School of Design in the US and the University of Exeter. The universities have now sent out an email apologising to the students and the alumni who were affected by the hacking activity. "My main concern is how reassuring - impossibly so, in my opinion - Blackbaud were to the university about what the hackers have obtained," commented Rhys Morgan, a cyber-security specialist and former student at Oxford Brookes University, whose data was involved. "They told my university that there is 'no reason to believe that the stolen data was or will be misused'. I can't feel reassured by this at all. How can they possibly know what the attackers will do with that information?" "I doubt that my university has many details that aren't pretty easily available, but I am more concerned about giving in to the blackmail and blithely accepting the word of the blackmailer that all the data has now been destroyed," Matthew Scott, one of the recipients who received the email told the BBC. After the whole situation was revealed to the universities, Leeds University said, in a statement: "We want to reassure our alumni that, since being informed by Blackbaud of this incident, we have been working tirelessly to investigate what has happened, in order to accurately inform those affected. No action is required by our alumni community at this time, although, as ever, we recommend that everyone remains vigilant." Blackbaud will have to participate in investigations for the UK and Canada data authorities as the concernned authorities were informed last weekend, which is weeks after the company noticed the breach in the systems. UK's Information Commissioner's Office [ICO] said, "Blackbaud has reported an incident affecting multiple data controllers to the ICO. We will be making enquiries to both Blackbaud and the respective controllers, and encourage all affected controllers to evaluate whether they need to report the incident to the ICO individually."

Several universities in UK, US and Canada hit by malware attack; data lost

A banking firm named 'Capital One', it's 100 million customers' data has been hacked who were using its credit card. 'Capital One' firm has claimed that the data of their credit cardholders and other customers is safe. A 33-year-old engineer has been accused and arrested in these charges.

100 million customers' data hacked of 'Capital One', Accused arrested

German police said Tuesday they have arrested a 20-year-old suspect in the case of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/german-cyber-defence-agency-defends-handling-of-data-breach-188455">private data stolen from hundreds of politicians</a>, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, and published online.

"The prosecutor's office in Frankfurt, the Central Office for Fighting Internet and Computer Crime and the Federal Police Office (BKA) searched the apartment of a 20-year-old suspect on January 6 and took him into custody," the BKA said in a statement.

It announced a press conference at midday to give further details on the probe into the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/data-of-politicians-leaked-including-of-chancellor-merkel-german-government-188289">remarkable breach of cybersecurity</a>, which has piled political pressure on the government.

The information, which comprised home addresses, mobile phone numbers, letters, invoices and copies of identity documents, was first released via Twitter in December but its spread gathered pace last week.

Among the estimated 1,000 people affected were members of the Bundestag lower house of parliament and the European Parliament as well as regional and local assemblies.

Deputies from all parties represented in the Bundestag were targeted with the exception of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the largest opposition group in parliament.

Although the leak was sweeping, there is no evidence that sensitive information reached the public, investigators and the interior ministry has said.

The case has nevertheless been deeply embarrassing for the political class, and increased pressure on the unpopular interior minister, Horst Seehofer.

Beyond politicians, the leak also exposed the private data of celebrities and journalists, including chats and voicemail messages from spouses and children of those targeted.

The information derived both from social media and private "cloud" data.

The Twitter account @_0rbit published the links every day last month, along the lines of an advent calendar with each link to new information hidden behind a "door".

The account, which calls itself G0d and has now been suspended by Twitter, was opened in mid-2017 and purportedly has more than 18,000 followers.&nbsp;

It described its activities as "security researching", "artist" and "satire and irony" and said it was based in Hamburg.

German police said Tuesday they have arrested a 20-year-old suspect in the case of private data stolen from hundreds of politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, and published online.

German police said Tuesday they have arrested a 20-year-old suspect in the case of private data stolen from hundreds of politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, and published online. "The prosecutor's office in Frankfurt, the Central Office for Fighting Internet and Computer Crime and the Federal Police Office (BKA) searched the apartment of a 20-year-old suspect on January 6 and took him into custody," the BKA said in a statement. It announced a press conference at midday to give further details on the probe into the remarkable breach of cybersecurity, which has piled political pressure on the government. The information, which comprised home addresses, mobile phone numbers, letters, invoices and copies of identity documents, was first released via Twitter in December but its spread gathered pace last week. Among the estimated 1,000 people affected were members of the Bundestag lower house of parliament and the European Parliament as well as regional and local assemblies. Deputies from all parties represented in the Bundestag were targeted with the exception of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the largest opposition group in parliament. Although the leak was sweeping, there is no evidence that sensitive information reached the public, investigators and the interior ministry has said. The case has nevertheless been deeply embarrassing for the political class, and increased pressure on the unpopular interior minister, Horst Seehofer. Beyond politicians, the leak also exposed the private data of celebrities and journalists, including chats and voicemail messages from spouses and children of those targeted. The information derived both from social media and private "cloud" data. The Twitter account @_0rbit published the links every day last month, along the lines of an advent calendar with each link to new information hidden behind a "door". The account, which calls itself G0d and has now been suspended by Twitter, was opened in mid-2017 and purportedly has more than 18,000 followers. It described its activities as "security researching", "artist" and "satire and irony" and said it was based in Hamburg.

20-year-old suspect held over massive German politician data hack

data-hack

Data Hack, News on Data Hack, stories on Data Hack, articles on Data Hack, Data Hack stories at Wion, Data Hack news, Data Hack latest news