Continue reading »]]> Looks like the dark times for RIM and BlackBerry are showing no signs of respite. The TRA (Telecommunications Regulatory Authority) of the UAE, which regulates the telecom industry in the country is contemplating a ban on the e-mail, web browsing and messaging services on BlackBerry smartphones starting October 2010.

The ban, according to officials from UAE, will be issued in public interest. According to them, the current security protocols used in BlackBerry services makes the users of such services to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national-security concerns .

If you were unaware, unlike most normal phones, any BlackBerry device encrypts data sent using it first through its servers in Canada before it ends up where you intend to send it. This basically means that UAE cannot monitor what is being sent via BlackBerry phones in the country unless Canada and RIM somehow allows access to its data center. RIM was reportedly offered an alternative to open its own server within the UAE which the company rejected. This is believed to be the reason behind the plans to ban the entire bunch of BlackBerry services in the country.

Incidentally, UAE is not the only country that is contemplating a ban or imposing similar measures on RIM. India and now, even Saudi Arabia are talking tough regarding BlackBerry and its servers.

Continue reading »]]> Mumbai-based subscribers of Vodafone India might just love this one! The company has announced the launch of its music download service in the city and guess what? Vodafone says you would be able to download an entire song for a paltry Re. 1.

Now, all you need to avail this feature is to have a GPRS enabled handset, a Vodafone connection and access to Vodafone live. Both prepaid and post-paid users can access this service. Accessing the stuff you need via GPRS is the fastest and the easiest way to go about this. However, that doesn’t mean there are other options. The user, for example, can also choose to SMS the name of a song to a toll free number (111) to access the service.

The customer can choose to access this service and is eligible to download 5 songs per day. The songs are saved to a personal playlist titled “My Songs” on the Vodafone Live portal. Customers can also download the selected songs again – without having to pay for them again.

If you are a Vodafone Mumbai user, you might want to check out this service and listen to a plethora of tracks through it.

Now for the flip side. Vodafone hasn’t clarified how you would be charged for the actual download of the song. The Re. 1 is just the price of the song – minus the data charges. A song which can range from 2 to 6MB in size even if downloaded at a rate of 10 paise per 10kb adds up to a not so comfortable rate of Rs. 10 per MB.

I will update this when I get more info about this, meanwhile if our readers know something, feel free to share..

Continue reading »]]> Wonder where all those annoying spam messages come from? Who sends them? Well, you have got some answers here. Panda Security, a player in antivirus and preventive technologies segment, has stated in its report that India is the world’s number two spammer. Surprised? Even we were.

Panda Security has released a report stating that Brazil, India, Korea, Vietnam and U.S. head the list of countries from which most spam was sent during the first two months of the year 2010. With respect to the cities from which spam was being sent, Seoul was first in the list, followed by Hanoi, New Delhi, Bogota, Sao Paulo and Mumbai.

The five million emails analyzed by PandaLabs came from a total of almost one million different IP addresses. This shows that the spam is mostly sent from zombie computers belonging to a botnet. This way, the computers of the infected users themselves are those which send the spam. The cybercrooks have thousands of computers at their disposal, which do the dirty work for them.

Spam is nothing but a business and is used primarily either to distribute malware or sell/advertise all type of products. Therefore, as long as there are users, no matter if they are few, who trust these messages, it’s enough to continue betting on it.

Continue reading »]]> Cyber security researchers and analysts have uncovered the existence of a spy network based in China that was used to steal sensitive, classified government documents from India – as well data from the Dalai Lama’s office and the United Nations.

The “Shadow Network”, as this network is now known, has been traced to two people living in Chengdu, China.
China is largely believed to possess a Cyber Warfare Doctrine that is designed to achieve global “electronic dominance” by 2050. With a yearly budget of $55 million allotted for it and over 10,000 hackers working in tandem, China is second only to U.S. when it comes to cyber snooping prowess.

As more details emerge about the intentions of these hackers, it is clear that they had targeted the upcoming Commonwealth games in India. The idea was to make Commonwealth games an utter failure later this year. The plans included studying the network architecture of the entire Commonwealth games IT infrastructure. This includes ticket sales, online registration servers all of which would crash at the time of the inaugural ceremony. The hackers had also looked into tender documents for the Commonwealth games network infrastructure. Intelligence agencies feel this could be for studying vulnerabilities in the system for possible attacks.

As to how the latest attacks happened, the modus operandi was simple. Individuals in the ministries were sent emails from a genuine looking nic.in mail address. The email had a PDF attachment that was infected. Accounts on Twitter, Yahoo Mail, Google Groups, Blogspot and other social-networking sites were used to update compromised computers and to host malware, according to the report.

Isn’t it high time that we pull up our socks and deal with this grave security threat?

Continue reading »]]> Mohit Sharma

Apr 03, 2010

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hacker-held-for-duping-job-aspirants/599464/

The Delhi Police arrested a professional hacker on Friday who led a gang which allegedly duped hundreds of youths by promising them jobs as technicians and airline crew.

Police identified the accused as Amritesh and said they are raiding several places in Delhi to nab his associates.

Amritesh, the police said, had hacked a popular job website — he would find out probable victims and stay in touch with them until they paid money for the promised job.

Police sources said at least 25 students who were cheated by the gang approached the Safdarjung Enclave police on Friday, alleging they have been duped of lakhs of rupees.

Abhinav, a student, said, “Amritesh promised me a job with a popular airline for Rs 80,000. He even gave me joining letters printed on the airlines’ letterheads and affidavits. He also arranged meetings with a person who claimed to be the HR head of the airline. He said I could join work in January.”

Continue reading »]]> Source: http://www.fakingnews.com/2010/03/himesh-beats-phoonk-2-declares-10-lakh-challenge-for-his-album/

Actor, singer, composer, and heartthrob Himesh Reshammiya has bettered Ram Gopal Varma’s 5 lakh rupees Phoonk 2 challenge and has offered 10 lakh rupees to anyone who can take up his Aansuon Ka Dard challenge. Aansuon Ka Dard is the name of the upcoming album of Himesh and it contains 10 brand new songs sung in different styles, with and without nose, by the legendary singer.

Continue reading »]]> IANS / PTI

The Hindu

March 2010

http://beta.thehindu.com/business/article193044.ece

There have been attempts to hack into the government computer network, but till date there has been no loss of vital information, says Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology Sachin Pilot.

“Yes, there have been attempts but I can categorically say that not one attempt has been successful,” the minister said. “The government’s computer network system, maintained by the National Informatics Centre, is highly efficient,” Mr. Pilot told IANS in an interview.

Earlier this year, hackers tried to penetrate government computers in vital ministries including the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA). These attacks, officials said, originated in China.

According to the Computer Emergency Response Team, a cyber security advisory and referral agency of the Department of Information Technology, 570 Indian web sites were defaced by hackers during January this year, against 271 during the like month of last year.

During the whole of last year, a total of 6,023 cases of defacement were reported.

The agency also said that during January, out of 246 cyber-security incidents, as 63 percent related to spamming, 18 to phishing, 8 percent to malicious viruses, 76 percent to unauthorised scanning and the rest to other categories.

Former NSA M.K. Narayanan, who is currently West Bengal governor, had stated that his office and other government departments were targeted on the same date that U.S. Defence, Finance and Technology companies, including Google, reported cyber attacks from China.

The hackers had sent an e-mail with a PDF attachment containing a Trojan virus. But the virus, which allows hackers to download or delete files, was detected and officials were told not to log on until it was eliminated.

Mr. Pilot pointed out that such hackers were usually scanning the entire system to find weak spots. “But our people are very efficient and well trained. Safeguards have ensured that national security has not been breached.”

The Ministry of External Affairs and Indian embassies have instituted stringent protocol on the use of e-mails by serving officers, which includes frequently changing passwords and using e-mails only for routine communication.

Besides, the ministry has instituted a periodic security review of all computers to ward off cyber threats.

Continue reading »]]> TNN

01 February 2010

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-needs-a-separate-cyber-police-force-Moily/articleshow/5521142.cms

NEW DELHI: India urgently needs a well-trained special police force to deal with cyber crimes and it must be equipped and trained to deal with all kinds of internet bugs, law minister Veerappa Moily said on Sunday.

“India does not have a specific police force to deal with cyber crimes and implementation of laws against crimes in the virtual world. India needs it urgently following the footsteps of US and South Korea,” Moily said at an interactive seminar for judges, heads of police forces and prosecution of states here.

He said there were many impediments that needed to be overcome soon. While a vast majority of the police force or prosecutors in the country had no experience of tackling cyber crime, judges too lacked experience in appreciating evidence in such cases. As cyber crime knows no geographical boundary, the absence of international cooperation between police forces adds to the woes of victims and lets the culprit go scot free, he said.

It was attorney general G E Vahanvati who pointed out the danger potential of cyber crime as was shown by `Trojan horse’ and `I love you’ bug and said cyber crime was not limited to the web world but had been extended to mobile phones, which could be used to bombard a victim with messages and send illicit MMSes.

Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan said cyber crimes caused irreparable damage to the victims though it may not involve inflicting of physical pain. “Someone’s bank account can be wiped off depriving him of life-long savings and others can face huge loss of reputation when his face is morphed and put in an obscene video on the net,” he said while emphasising on sensitisation of the police, prosecutors and judiciary about the consequences of the crime.

Supreme Court judge and Cyber Law Enforcement Committee chairman, Justice Altamas Kabir, said the attending DGPs and judges should make efforts to understand the nitty-gritty of the anti-cyber crime law enacted by the country in the shape of IT Act, 2000. However, he said going by the growing ingenuity of cyber criminals, there was a need for expanding the definitions of various crimes listed in the law.

Continue reading »]]>

Continue reading »]]> Noida. A consortium of supernatural creatures has voted Indian news channel India TV as the best news channel of the last decade. The winner was chosen after thousands of bhoot (ghosts), pishaach (devils), djinn (genies), him-maanav (yetis), taantrik (black-magicians), chudail (vamps), daayan (witches), etc. took part in an occult poll conducted by Faking News. Only Hindi news channels were selected for voting by the consortium in the first round.

“Watching India TV is awesomeness.” said the paataal ka bauna (the dwarf from the underground) as he expressed his deepest delight after the results of the poll were announced, where India TV grossed more than three-fourth of the total valid votes polled. Vampires and other members of the consortium belonging to the Telangana region didn’t participate in the poll to register their protest for the formation of a separate state.

“I am pretty sure our bhoot brethrens from Telangana would have voted no differently.” said the kapde churane wala bhoot (the ghost who stole your clothes), expressing confidence that the results would have been no different either ways. “There is a near unanimity among all of us on the issue of India TV. We all love when they break news.” added the cloth-stealing ghost.

One of the thousands of news stories of India TV that Chudails love to watch again and again

Your email:

 

When asked why these allegedly ghoulish creatures loved India TV so much, all the ghosts and witches started laughing devilishly. They laughed continuously for around two hours, pausing thirteen times in between to take commercial breaks, before their leader, the pyaaz maangne wali chudail (the onion loving witch) spoke up.

“We used to love Ramsay Brothers, but those guys stopped producing quality movies and moved to television with Zee Horror Show. But even that show stopped when the world moved into 21^st century. Our TRPs were falling like crazy. And then, the 9/11 attacks happened; the world got besotted with terrorists thereafter. We were like, what-the-fuck, nobody seemed to be terrified of us anymore. Some of the good people like David Icke tried to blame 9/11 on people like us, but no one took them seriously. We were so depressed.” said the onion loving witch, as other members of the consortium nodded in agreement.

The members surprisingly revealed that they were not so upbeat when Rajat Sharma launched the channel in 2004. They thought it was just another news channel for human beings. But their interest level went up when they saw Shakti Kapoor molesting a girl on India TV. Excited at the scenes, the members decided to become patrons of India TV.

“Our loyalty paid off. Soon we were back in news and business.” said the witch, grinning and smiling like SPS Rathore. The members vehemently denied that they had any stake in India TV. “We are poor people; we can’t invest or buy stakes in your modern businesses. But if we had money, we surely would have invested in India TV.” admitted the witch.

All the witches, ghosts, vampires, black-magicians, devils, etc. have wished all the best to India TV for the new year and the new decade.

Source: http://www.fakingnews.com/2009/12/chudails-vote-india-tv-as-the-best-news-channel-of-last-decade/

Continue reading »]]> CRPCC TEAM with inputs from PIB and PTI

October 27, 2009

The Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008 comes into force from 27 October 2009. The amended act provides for tightening procedures and safeguards for monitoring and interception of data to prevent computer and cyber crimes.

“The IT (Amendment) Act 2008 came into force today,” an official statement said.

Besides monitoring and interception, the amended Act also makes Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), a body created as per the act of parliament. CENRT-In has been provided with wider powers and responsibilities to deals with computer security and various situations arising from cyber attacks.

The IT (Amendment) Act 2008 was passed by both the houses of Parliament on December 22 and 23, 2008. The Act was notified after the assent of President on February 5, 2009.

The amendment and notified rules pertaining to various sections of the act, dealing with Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information, Blocking Access of Information by Public and Monitoring and Collecting Traffic Data.

The Information Technology Act was enacted in 2000 with a view to provide legal recognition to e-commerce and e-transactions, to facilitate e-governance and prevent computer-based crimes.

However, the rapid increase in the use of internet has led to a spate in crime like child pornography, cyber terrorism, publishing sexually explicit content in electronic form and video voyeurism. So, penal provisions were required to be included in the Information Technology Act, 2000.

For more details – http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=53617

Continue reading »]]> By: Shashank Shekhar

Mid Day, Delhi

2009-08-20

Online job frauds just got bigger, smarter and more authentic.

A new batch of fake job offer letter emails specifically targets young IT professionals, and is being circulated by scamsters posing as HCL and Wipro employees.

The emails, promising job-seekers interview calls from these two IT giants, carry seemingly authentic employee codes, hologram of the companies and even the designation of the persons who have sent the letters.

The mails direct interested employees to deposit a nominal fee as ‘refundable interview security’ in a specific bank and also include the account number to make it look real.

Be warned: The advisory against fake job offers posted by HCL on its website.

Mail order

The email being circulated offering jobs at HCL, a copy of which is with MiD DAY, comes with the subject: “HCL Direct Recruitments Offer.” It reads, “The company has selected 32 candidates’ list for IT, Administration and Production departments, as well as is offering you to join as an executive/manager post in respective department.”

The email carries the contact details of two people K Rangnathan and Vikas Mehta who mention the mail is ‘confidential’ and is being sent to ‘candidates chosen from a well-known job portal’. The mail also mentions the two are part of the ‘HCL Human Resource Department’ and includes an employee code ID-11538 as well. “We are sending this mail on behalf of the IT company,” the letter adds.

The email asks professionals to deposit Rs 5,250 (in cash) as ‘refundable security’ in favour of the company’s senior Human Resource Department official Ajay Kumar Jha at any branch of the Punjab National Bank. The account number mentioned is 7200002466100.

It instructs job seekers to inform the department about the payment made by writing in at hcl.appointment@dr.com

The mail says after the fee has been deposited, the applicant will receive an offer letter with air tickets for the final interview at the HCL headquarters in Noida on August 24.

The alleged mail from Wipro says, “Wipro has 45 job vacancies in its facilities in Delhi, Bangalore, Noida and Pune.” This mail too includes similar cash deposit instructions. It also promises to repay expenditures the candidate incurs during the direct interview with company officials.

Almost real

Cyber security experts are alarmed at this smart duplicity. They point out that fraudsters have created a database and are selectively targeting a specific audience, in this case, software engineers.

“Scamsters are cashing in on the economic slowdown. But they have become smarter. These mails are so authentic it is hard to make out they are fake.”

Worried firms

While the emails fool youngsters, the companies being framed are worried as well. The two IT firms have strongly condemned the mails. A senior HR official from HCL confirmed they have received complaints and queries about fake job offers. “Criminals are tarnishing our image even though the company has no role in it. We welcome people to approach us to complain against such nuisances. We take such matters very seriously and are working with the police to curb such malpractices,” said the official.

A vice-president of Wipro’s Talent Acquisition department, said, “Wipro advertises job openings on its career website, on registered job portals, staffing partners and through media advertisements.

The advertisements carry the Wipro logo and the Wipro email ID.”

Even HCL has posted an advisory warning against fake job offers on its official website. The advisory says, “It has been found that unscrupulous individuals/ placement agencies have been enticing candidates with job opportunity at HCL. HCL wishes to state that the company has never charged money for recruiting candidate nor does the company have authorised agency or firm for recruiting candidate.”

Continue reading »]]> Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched Bhuvan, an Indian equivalent of Google Earth on August 12.‘Bhuvan’ means ‘Earth’ in Sanskrit. The launch of Bhuvan coincides with the 90th birth day of Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai, the great visionary of Indian space program. The beta version of Bhuvan was launched by Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in New Delhi at a function organized by Astronautical Society of India.
Some interesting features of Bhuvan are:

• A free web based geoportal with medium to high resolution Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite imagery superimposed over entire India on 3D globe.
• Bhuvan Plug-in is needed to use the application and the same can be downloaded from the Bhuvan website.
• Bandwidth-friendly.
• Following data is available on Bhuvan.
  • Satellite imagery (LISS III , LISS IV along with metadata and Multi- temporal Data from OCM & AWiFS).
  • Value added information (NADAMS – National Agricultural Drought Monitoring System), Output of flood studies for certain areas.
  • Thematic information (Wastelands,Soils,watershed,water resources related maps).
  • Base layers (administrative boundaries,transport layers,water bodies, etc).
  • Census information.
  • Metadata.
• Limitations:
  • To download plug in, registration is necessary.
  • Does not display data in real-time.
  • In the current version, adding personalized data is not possible.
  • Runs only on windows system and is optimized for IE 6 or higher.

View an interesting video clip: ISRO launches ‘Bhuvan’ desi version of Google Earth

Read more from Press Information Bureau.

For more details, log on to Bhuvan.