Morning Tidings

Tag: target

  • Data Breach: Indian Government Sector Top Target for Hackers As Cyber-Attacks Rise by 95% in Second Half of 2022

    Data Breach: Indian Government Sector Top Target for Hackers As Cyber-Attacks Rise by 95% in Second Half of 2022

    New Delhi, Dec 30: The number of cyber attacks targeting the Indian government sector increased by a whopping 95 per cent in the second half of 2022 compared to the same period last year, a report showed on Friday.

    The attacks on the Indian government intensified to the point where it became the country that was most frequently targeted in this sector in 2022.

    This expansion is the result of the hacktivist group Dragon Force Malaysia’s #OpIndia and #OpsPatuk campaigns, according to cyber-security firm CloudSEK. Data Breach: CERT-In Warns Indian Users Against Phishing Attacks via LastPass.

    Numerous hacktivist groups joined and supported these campaigns, which laid the path for subsequent ones. However, this increase has other causes besides the growing hacktivism.

    “Government agencies in India have become popular targets for extensive phishing campaigns,” the CloudSEK report mentioned.

    The primary motive of most of the threat actors is exfiltrating data and selling it for monetary benefits, yet it is not the only reason they target governments.

    This change is clearly evident from the emergence of various APT groups and hacktivist campaigns over the last decade.

    Ransomware groups were also very active in this industry, accounting for 6 per cent of the total incidents reported, with LockBIT as the most prominent ransomware operator.

    India’s premier healthcare institute AIIMS suffered a massive ransomware attack which cripped its network for several days.

    Also, data of around three crore travellers registered with the Indian Railways has been hacked and reportedly put on sale on the Dark Web, as per reports.

    The Railways later denied the claims of a suspected data breach from servers of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). IRCTC Data ‘Hacking’: Railway Ministry Denies Reports of Information Leak, Says Suspected Breach Not From IRCTC Servers.

    The Twitter handle of the Ministry of Jal Shakti (Water Resources) was also hacked twice in December, promoting fake cryptocurrency giveaway scam.

    According to the report, India, the US, Indonesia and China continued to be the most targeted countries in the past two years.

    Together, these four countries accounted for 40 per cent of the total reported incidents in the government sector.

    (The above story first appeared on Morning Tidings on Dec 30, 2022 11:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website morningtidings.com).

  • Hackers Increase Abuse of Google Ads Platform to Target Users Searching for Popular Software Products

    Hackers Increase Abuse of Google Ads Platform to Target Users Searching for Popular Software Products

    New Delhi, December 29 : Hackers have increased their abuse of the Google Ads platform to target users searching for popular software products. Among the software products being impersonated include Grammarly, Slack, Dashlane, Audacity, ITorrent, AnyDesk, Libre Office, Teamviewer, Thunderbird, and more, reports Bleeping Computer.

    “The threat actors clone official websites of the above projects and distribute trojanised versions of the software when users click the download button,” the report mentioned. The Google Ads platform helps advertisers promote pages on Google Search. Drone Delivery: Amazon Starts Delivering Orders by Drones in US States, Aims To Fly Out Packages to Customers Within 60 Minutes.

    Users looking for original software products on a browser without an active ad blocker are likely to click on malicious links “because it looks very similar to the actual search result”.

    “The moment those ‘disguised’ sites are being visited by targeted visitors, the server immediately redirects them to the rogue site and from there to the malicious payload,” explained Guardio Labs. Those rogue sites are practically invisible to visitors. India Aspires To Be $5 Trillion Digital Economy, Tech and Data Protection Guardrails 2023 Awaited.

    If Google detects that the landing site is malicious, the campaign is blocked and the ads are removed. The malware payload, which comes in ZIP or MSI form, is downloaded from reputable file-sharing and code-hosting services such as GitHub, Dropbox, or Discord’s CDN.

    “This ensures that any anti-virus programmes running on the victim’s machine won’t object to the download,” the report mentioned. Guardio Labs recently observed a campaign where the threat actor lured users with a trojanised version of Grammarly. The malware was bundled with the legitimate software.

    (The above story first appeared on Morning Tidings on Dec 29, 2022 11:47 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website morningtidings.com).

  • India Set To Miss 2022 Solar Target by 27%, Says Report

    New Delhi, April 12:  India is projected to fall “well short” of its target for 2022 of having 100 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar capacity, largely due to slow uptake of rooftop solar, a new report by JMK Research and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said on Tuesday.

    As of December 2021, India’s cumulative installed solar capacity was 55GW, with grid-connected utility-scale projects contributing 77 per cent and the balance coming from grid-connected rooftop solar (20 per cent) and mini or micro off-grid projects (three per cent).

    With just eight months of 2022 remaining, only about 50 per cent of the 100GW target, consisting of 60GW of utility-scale and 40GW of rooftop solar capacity, has been met.

    Approximately 19GW of solar capacity is expected to be added in 2022 — 15.8GW from utility-scale and 3.5GW from rooftop solar. “Even with this capacity addition, about 27 per cent of India’s 100GW solar target would be unmet,” says report co-author Jyoti Gulia, Founder, JMK Research.

    The report projects that by December 2022 there will be a 25GW shortfall in the 40GW rooftop solar target, compared to just 1.8GW in the utility-scale solar target.

    “Utility-scale solar capacity addition is on track. India is set to achieve nearly 97 per cent of its 60GW target,” says Gulia. “This makes it imperative to have a more concerted effort towards expanding rooftop solar.” NASA Finds Novel Ways To Track Climate Change and Groundwater Loss Across Planet.

    Headwinds ranging from pandemic-induced supply chain disruption to deeply rooted policy restrictions have impeded the growth of India’s rooftop solar (onsite solar power) and open access solar (offsite solar) installations.

    “The anticipated 27GW shortfall from the 2022 solar target can be attributed to a string of challenges which are slowing overall progress on renewable energy targets,” says co-author Vibhuti Garg, Energy Economist and Lead India, IEEFA. On the current trajectory, the report finds India’s solar target of 300GW by 2030 will be off the mark by about 86GW.

    These challenges include: regulatory roadblocks; net metering limits; the twin burdens of basic customs duty (BCD) on imported cells and modules and issues with the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM); unsigned power supply agreements and banking restrictions; financing issues plus delays in or rejection of open access approval grants; and the unpredictability of future open access charges.

    “Central and state government policies and regulations must be aligned to support the solar sector overall, and especially the ailing rooftop and open access segments of the market,” says co-author Akhil Thayillam, Senior Research Associate, JMK Research.

    The report proposes short- and long-term measures to get India back on track to meet solar targets. The short-term measures include uniform policies to apply nationally for at least the next five years and consistent regulations for net metering and banking facilities, also to apply nationally.

    In the long-term, stricter enforcement of the renewable purchase obligation and improved financial health, and potentially privatisation, of distribution companies (discoms).

    In rooftop solar, state-level efforts such as Gujarat’s Surya Scheme need to be replicated by other states in the short-term to help in boosting capacity, says Gulia.

    “It is also likely that the government, in the short-term, will push aggressively for expediting solar capacity addition to achieve the 100GW target by 2022 by re-allocating some of the unmet rooftop target to utility-scale generation.”

    (The above story first appeared on Morning Tidings on Apr 12, 2022 08:48 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website morningtidings.com).

  • Twitter To Soon Roll Out Trusted Friends Feature, Will Allow To Target Tweets Towards Specific Audience

    Twitter To Soon Roll Out Trusted Friends Feature, Will Allow To Target Tweets Towards Specific Audience

    New Delhi: Micro-blogging site Twitter has revealed two concepts for upcoming features, including ‘trusted friends’, that would allow users to target tweets toward specific audiences without having to switch accounts or change privacy settings. The first would enable people to designate “trusted friends” so some tweets would only be visible to that group. Twitter Users Can Now Use Security Keys As the Only Form of 2FA on Mobile and Web: Report.

    The idea is similar to Instagram’s “close friends” feature for Stories. According to an image shared by Twitter designer Andrew Courter, Twitter’s version would allow users to toggle the audience much like the way you can choose who can reply to you, reports Engadget.

    He added that “perhaps you could also see trusted friends’ Tweets first” in your timeline, which would offer another alternative to the chronological or algorithmic “home” timelines Twitter currently offers.

    Another feature would allow people to take on different personas or “facets” from the same account. For example, a user could have a professional identity, where they tweet about work-related topics and a personal one that’s meant more for friends and family.

    According to the images, users could have the option of making anyone persona public or private, and new followers would be able to choose which “facet” they want to see tweets from.

    Courter also revealed a new concept for filtering replies that would allow users to choose specific words or phrases “they prefer not to see.” Then, if a user who is replying or mentioning the user tries to use one of those words or phrases, Twitter will let them know the words go against that person’s preference.

    According to the images shared, the feature wouldn’t prevent anyone from sending a tweet using the offending words, but it would make it less visible to the person on the receiving end. The idea is similar to other kinds of anti-bullying nudges Twitter has employed in the past, but would go a step further as each user could set their own conversational “boundaries.” Courter noted that “we’re not building these yet” and the company is seeking feedback on the designs.

    (The above story first appeared on Morning Tidings on Jul 02, 2021 12:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website morningtidings.com).

  • Chinese-Speaking Hackers Target Uyghur Muslims in China, Abroad Through Fake E-Mails From UN and Human Rights Group

    Chinese-Speaking Hackers Target Uyghur Muslims in China, Abroad Through Fake E-Mails From UN and Human Rights Group

    Beijing, May 28: Members of the Uyghur community in China and abroad are being targeted in surveillance efforts by “Chinese-speaking” hackers through the use of fake emails from the United Nations (UN) and a human rights group, according to cybersecurity researchers.

    A joint collaboration between cybersecurity groups Check Point Research and Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team concluded with ‘low to medium confidence’ that the effort was carried out by Chinese-speaking hackers, reported The Hill. China Used ETIM’s Designation as Terrorist Group for Genocide of Uyghurs: Human Rights Campaign For Uyghurs.

    The hackers were targeting Uyghurs in both China and Pakistan using malicious emails designed to trick individuals into installing a back door into Microsoft Windows software to allow the hackers to collect information and further carry out attacks, said the researchers.

    According to them, the emails were sent under the guise of the UN Human Rights Council or from a fake human rights organization known as the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation.

    “We believe that these cyberattacks are motivated by espionage, with the endgame of the operation being the installation of a back door into the computers of high-profile targets in the Uyghur community,” said Lotem Finkelsteen, the head of threat intelligence at Check Point, in a statement to The Hill.

    “The attacks are designed to fingerprint infected devices, including all of its running programs. From what we can tell, these attacks are ongoing, and new infrastructure is being created for what looks like future attacks,” Finkelsteen added.

    The findings also said that the attacks, which target both members of the Uyghur community and the organisations supporting them, are likely still ongoing.

    According to The Hill, Facebook announced in March that it had disrupted efforts of Chinese hacking groups to target and surveil members of the Uyghur community in China and other countries through installing malware on mobile devices.

    China has been rebuked globally for cracking down on Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, with a handful of countries, the latest being Lithuania, terming the human rights abuses on the ethnic minorities as ‘genocide’.

    After years of denying the existence of the internment camps in Beijing, China in 2019 described the facilities as residential training centres that provide vocational training for Uyghurs, discourage radicalisation and help protect the country from terrorism.

    However, several media reports and former detainees have said that those in the camps are detained against their will and subjected to political indoctrination, routinely face rough treatment at the hands of their overseers and endure poor diets and unhygienic conditions in the often overcrowded facilities.

    Former detainees have also described being subjected to torture, rape, sterilization, and other abuses while in custody.

    (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, Morning Tidings Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)

  • IL&FS increases debt collection target to ₹ 5,000 crore

    IL&FS increases debt collection target to ₹ 5,000 crore

    The board and management of the scandal-ridden IL&FS has raised its estimates of gross debt collection by FY22 to ₹ 5,000 crore, up from the earlier estimate of ₹ 56,000 crore.

    The raised estimate represents a resolution of around 62% of the total fund-based and non-fund based group loans of around ₹ 99,000 crore till October 2018, when the predecessor board dissolved after the scandal.

    The new group, as part of its quarterly update process on the progress of the group reconciliation process, revealed on Thursday that it had so far addressed a group loan of ₹ 43,000 crore. Chairman Uday Kotak said, ‘Of the total debt of Rs 43,000 crore addressed so far, the% represents about 71% of the total revised target value of Rs 61,000 crore and 44% of over ₹ 99,000 crore’. , Stating that given the challenges, the new board has made reasonable progress to fulfill its mandate.

  • RBI has set a retail inflation target of 5.2% for the first half of FY 2012

    RBI has set a retail inflation target of 5.2% for the first half of FY 2012

    Earlier, the central bank had estimated retail inflation at 5.2% for the 2021 March quarter.

    The Reserve Bank on Wednesday said it expects retail inflation to be 5.2% in the first half of the current financial year and the target has been revised to 5% for the quarter ended March.

    While the headline inflation of 5% in February 2021 remains within the tolerance band, some of the underlined components are testing the upper tolerance level. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, while announcing the first monetary policy for the current financial year, on Wednesday said that going ahead, food inflation will severely depend on the temporary and special progress of the Southwest Monsoon.

    The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the key repo rate unchanged at 4% to support growth in the current situation.

    Shri Das said that there has been some relief from the incidents of domestic taxes on petroleum products through coordinated actions by the Center and the States.

    However, a combination of international commodity prices and logistic costs may increase input price pressures on manufacturing and services.

    “Keeping all these factors in mind, CPI inflation has been revised upwards to 5% in Q4 of FY15; 5.2% in Q1 FY2021-22; 5.2% in the second quarter of FY22 as well; 4.4% in Q3 and 5.1% in Q4 is roughly balanced, ”said Mr. Das.

    Earlier, the central bank had estimated retail inflation at 5.2% for the 2021 March quarter.

    The RBI has an order to keep inflation above 4% or with a bias of 2%.

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  • Government. 4% inflation target for RBI’s rate panel for 2021-26

    Government. 4% inflation target for RBI’s rate panel for 2021-26

    Centre’s decision ensures ‘continuity’, eliminating speculation on price stability goals

    A top finance ministry official said on Wednesday that the Center has decided to retain the inflation target of 4% with a tolerance band of +/- 2 percentage points for the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee.

    Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun said that under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1924, the inflation target for the period from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026 has been kept at the same level as Secretary of Economic Affairs Tarun had said Bajaj. . “So there is no change,” he said.

    He dismissed the question as to whether the focus was on core inflation or any other component of retail inflation and indicated that the structure would remain the same.

    Despite recent speech by high inflation prints beyond the 6% upper limit of the inflation target, economists welcomed continuity in the framework.

    Member of the Fourteenth Finance Commission and former Director M. Govinda Rao said, “The 2% limit as a flexible inflation target has worked quite well as a flexible inflation target and continuing with the same target will not disturb the monetary policy framework.” National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. “Inflation has breached the 6% mark in some time recently, but it has been during an exceptional situation in the economy,” he said.

    The ministry’s decision sparked speculation about considering the government’s lax inflation target to enable it to have a more growth-oriented focus in monetary policy, despite the high inflation seen in recent months for the central bank. The retention of the 4% target also suggests that the government is in agreement with RBI officials that there is no need to tamper with the inflation target.

    In the RBI report on currency and finance for 2020-21 released in February, officials emphasized that “the current numerical framework for defining price stability, that is, an inflation target of 4% with a +/- 2% tolerance band. “Was appropriate. For the next five years.

    And in December, Michael D. Patra, the deputy governor of the central bank oversees monetary policy, and co-author Harendra Kumar Behera stated in a paper: “The central tendency for the design and operation of monetary policy is the concept of inflation, from a variety of sources. Consequences of real inflation are expected to converge after short-term fluctuations. ”

    Citing a steady decline of 4.1–4.3% in trend inflation since 2014, the paper’s authors stated that a target set below the trend also provides a disregard bias for monetary policy because it is what the economy internally Will be overkill relative to what can bear. Order to achieve the goal. Basically, a target that is set above the trend also increases monetary policy and is prone to inflationary shocks and unbearable expectations.

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  • Disinvestment target achievable; LIC IPO IC to bring 1 lakh crore: CEA

    Disinvestment target achievable; LIC IPO IC to bring 1 lakh crore: CEA

    Stating that the disinvestment target of ₹ 1.75 lakh crore in 2021-22 is “ achievable ”, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) KV Subramanian said on Saturday that the proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO) LL would only be ₹ Can be prepared for 1 lakh crores. Government.

    He also said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has helped bring down inflation volatility and levels by targeting retail inflation.

    RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee has been mandated to maintain annual inflation of 4% by 31 March 2021, with an upper tolerance of 6% and a lower threshold of 2%. Speaking at a virtual conference organized by Jan Small Finance Bank, CEA said that the disinvestment target of FY 1.75 lakh crore for FY 22 was actually set at 10 2.10 lakh crore for the current financial year ending 31 March. is more. BPCL privatization and LIC were important contributors to the list. Estimates suggesting there-5,000-crore just ₹ 10,000 crore or more can only come from the privatization of BPCL. LIC IPO could fetch around ₹ 1 lakh crore, ”he said. Regarding the IPO of LIC, the Center has already amended the LIC Act passed by Finance Bill 2021 in Parliament.

    “These are the numbers (disinvestments) that are imminent receivables as work on many of these started and will be completed in FY22.”

    Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on privatization, he said that these are signature changes that are happening.

    Prime Minister Modi said last month that the government has no business and that his administration is committed to privatization of all public sector undertakings except the bare minimum in four strategic areas.

    Mr. Subramanian also emphasized that India needs more banks to fulfill its growth potential. He cited the example of the US, which has about 25,000-30,000 banks with a third of India’s population.

    He said that during 2022–23, it could remain at 6.5–7 percent and thereafter to 7.5–8 percent, helped by reform measures recently announced by the government.

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  • Quad Meat: China says ‘special blocks’ should not target ‘third party’

    Quad Meat: China says ‘special blocks’ should not target ‘third party’

    Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that exchanges and cooperation between countries should contribute to mutual understanding and trust between nations

    China said in a statement on Friday that the hour is coming earlier Quad summit leaders’ first summit – India, United States, Japan and Australia – Cooperation between nations should not be “the goals or interests of a third party” and countries should not “pursue particular blocks”.

    Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, “In response to a question about the Quad Virtual Summit,” cooperation and cooperation between nations should contribute to mutual understanding. “

    “We hope that the countries concerned uphold the principles of openness, inclusivity and consequences of victory, avoid pursuing particular blocks, and do things conducive to regional peace and stability,” he said.

    The first Quad leaders’ meeting is being closely followed in China and covered by state media, which has broadly framed it as a US-led effort with “China” as the “objective”. At the same time, Chinese experts have sought to reduce the importance of the meeting.

    Speaking to state broadcaster China Global Television Network, former People’s Liberation Army senior Colonel Zhou Bo, who was a frequent commentator on strategic affairs, said that “China should not take it too seriously.”

    “I can give you my comment on the quad in a comment,” he told the channel. [with regard to China] For the interests of the other three countries, “he said, referring to his various relations with China, particularly on trade.

    “If you ask all four if you are against China or is it an anti-China club, they say no,” he said, “My conclusion is that the quad is definitely because of China, although they are I will not say that it is against China. But if you see this club as a military alliance, India will completely deny it. [The Quad] Still evolving and getting in shape, but it is difficult for them to decide which path it will go, be it military or economic.

    At a meeting between the top diplomats in the US and China, to be held in Alaska on March 18 – Yang Jiechi, a member of the Politburo and director of the Central Committee on Foreign Affairs and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, will visit for talks. Foreign Ministry spokesman Antony Blinken and Secretary of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan – Mr. Zhao called the meeting a “high-level strategic dialogue”. This Mr. This was contrary to Blinken’s remarks that the meeting would not be the beginning of a strategic dialogue and that any engagement with China would depend only on “tangible” results.

    China has said it wants a reset with the new Biden administration, but has blamed it on Washington’s door for strained relations of the past four years. The Biden administration, in its statements so far, has suggested that some of the previous administration’s policies regarding China be continued, including trade. Mr. Blinken in his March 3 speech described relations with China as “the greatest geopolitical test”.

    Mr. Zhao said “China’s position on Sino-US relations is clear.” “We ask the US to look at China and Sino-US relations in a purposeful and rational manner, reject the Cold-War and zero-sum mentality, respect China’s sovereignty, security and development interests, and Stop interfering in China’s internal affairs. ” They said. “It should follow the spirit of phone calls between Chinese and American presidents, focus on cooperation, manage differences and bring back the Sino-US relationship for sound and stable development,” he said. Mentioned February. 11 calls between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.

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