Based on intelligence, Air Cargo Customs officials in the city intercepted an export consignment that was destined for Thailand. As per the shipping bill, the cargo was meant to contain 250kgs of live mud crab. However, officials at the Air Cargo export shed opened and examined all the boxes.

According to senior officials, 10 of the 15 packages contained live Indian star tortoises, an endangered species. A total of 2,247 tortoises were handed over to the Tamil Nadu Forest department for rehabilitation.&nbsp;

As per the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Appendix 1, these tortoises are an endangered species and are covered under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

Found in scrub jungles across many states in India, these tortoises end up in East Asian countries as exotic pets, delicacies in restaurants, are used for making traditional medicine, kept at homes as a lucky charm etc. While the local villagers catch them in India for a petty sum, they are smuggled out and sold at a hefty price abroad.

Based on intelligence, Air Cargo Customs officials in the city intercepted an export consignment that was destined for Thailand. As per the shipping bill, the cargo was meant to contain 250kgs of live mud crab.

Based on intelligence, Air Cargo Customs officials in the city intercepted an export consignment that was destined for Thailand. As per the shipping bill, the cargo was meant to contain 250kgs of live mud crab. However, officials at the Air Cargo export shed opened and examined all the boxes. According to senior officials, 10 of the 15 packages contained live Indian star tortoises, an endangered species. A total of 2,247 tortoises were handed over to the Tamil Nadu Forest department for rehabilitation. As per the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Appendix 1, these tortoises are an endangered species and are covered under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Found in scrub jungles across many states in India, these tortoises end up in East Asian countries as exotic pets, delicacies in restaurants, are used for making traditional medicine, kept at homes as a lucky charm etc. While the local villagers catch them in India for a petty sum, they are smuggled out and sold at a hefty price abroad.

Over 2200 live, endangered tortoises rescued from Thailand-bound cargo

US tech giant Facebook said it has blocked 200 accounts operated by hackers in Iran linked to espionage operations which targeted western military, defence and aerospace personnel while using its platform.

The social networking site said Iranian hackers known as Tortoiseshell used various malicious tactics to identify their targets and infect their devices with malware to enable espionage.

"This activity had the hallmarks of a well-resourced and persistent operation," Facebook said, adding,"Tortoiseshell deployed sophisticated fake online personas to contact its targets, build trust and trick them into clicking on malicious links."

Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/idf-seeks-hikes-in-defence-budget-to-attack-irans-nuclear-program-398212/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The hackers used "fictitious personas" across multiple social media platforms to make them appear more credible, it said. The accounts posed as recruiters and employees of defence and aerospace companies.

The group created "tailored domains" to target aerospace and defence industries, Facebook revealed. They also spoofed domains of major email providers and mimicked URL-shortening services to conceal the final destination of the links.

The group used custom malware tools including full-featured remote-access trojans, device and network reconnaissance tools and keystroke loggers, it said.

Facebook said parts of malware was developed by Mahak Rayan Afraz (MRA), an IT company in Tehran with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Some personnel also claimed to work for hospitality, medicine, journalism, NGOs and airlines and leveraged various collaboration and messaging platforms to move conversations off-platform and send malware to their targets.&nbsp;

The hackers sometimes engaged their targets for months, Facebook said.

"The group created a set of tailored domains designed to attract particular targets within the aerospace and defence industries. Among them were fake recruiting websites for particular defence companies," Facebook revealed.

Facebook said the hackers&nbsp;targeted&nbsp;military personnel and companies in the defence and aerospace industries primarily in the US, and to a lesser extent in the UK and Europe.

(With inputs from Agencies)

US tech giant Facebook said it has blocked 200 accounts operated by hackers in Iran linked to espionage operations which targeted western military, defence and aerospace personnel while using its platform.

US tech giant Facebook said it has blocked 200 accounts operated by hackers in Iran linked to espionage operations which targeted western military, defence and aerospace personnel while using its platform. The social networking site said Iranian hackers known as Tortoiseshell used various malicious tactics to identify their targets and infect their devices with malware to enable espionage. "This activity had the hallmarks of a well-resourced and persistent operation," Facebook said, adding,"Tortoiseshell deployed sophisticated fake online personas to contact its targets, build trust and trick them into clicking on malicious links." Watch: The hackers used "fictitious personas" across multiple social media platforms to make them appear more credible, it said. The accounts posed as recruiters and employees of defence and aerospace companies. The group created "tailored domains" to target aerospace and defence industries, Facebook revealed. They also spoofed domains of major email providers and mimicked URL-shortening services to conceal the final destination of the links. The group used custom malware tools including full-featured remote-access trojans, device and network reconnaissance tools and keystroke loggers, it said. Facebook said parts of malware was developed by Mahak Rayan Afraz (MRA), an IT company in Tehran with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Some personnel also claimed to work for hospitality, medicine, journalism, NGOs and airlines and leveraged various collaboration and messaging platforms to move conversations off-platform and send malware to their targets. The hackers sometimes engaged their targets for months, Facebook said. "The group created a set of tailored domains designed to attract particular targets within the aerospace and defence industries. Among them were fake recruiting websites for particular defence companies," Facebook revealed. Facebook said the hackers targeted military personnel and companies in the defence and aerospace industries primarily in the US, and to a lesser extent in the UK and Europe. (With inputs from Agencies)

Iranian hackers used site to target military personnel in US, UK and Europe, says Facebook

tortoiseshell

Tortoiseshell, News on Tortoiseshell, stories on Tortoiseshell, articles on Tortoiseshell, Tortoiseshell stories at Wion, Tortoiseshell news, Tortoiseshell latest news