Bharat National Cyber Security Exercise, 2024 - Harmonising Efforts in the Indian Cybersecurity Space

Executive Summary:

Given that AI technologies are evolving at a fast pace in 2024, an AI-oriented phishing attack on a large Indian financial institution illustrated the threats. The documentation of the attack specifics involves the identification of attack techniques, ramifications to the institution, intervention conducted, and resultant effects. The case study also turns to the challenges connected with the development of better protection and sensibilisation of automatized threats. 

Introduction

Due to the advancement in AI technology, its uses in cybercrimes across the world have emerged significant in financial institutions. In this report a serious incident that happened in early 2024 is analysed, according to which a leading Indian bank was hit by a highly complex, highly intelligent AI-supported phishing operation. Attack made use of AI’s innate characteristic of data analysis and data persuasion which led into a severe compromise of the bank’s internal structures.

Background

The chosen financial institution, one of the largest banks in India, had a good background regarding the extremity of its cybersecurity policies. However, these global cyberattacks opened up new threats that AI-based methods posed that earlier forms of security could not entirely counter efficiently. The attackers concentrated on the top managers of the bank because it is evident that controlling such persons gives the option of entering the inner systems as well as financial information. 

Attack Execution

The attackers utilised AI in sending the messages that were an exact look alike of internal messages sent between employees. From Facebook and Twitter content, blog entries, and lastly, LinkedIn connection history and email tenor of the bank’s executives, the AI used to create these emails was highly specific. Some of these emails possessed official formatting, specific internal language, and the CEO’s writing; this made them very realistic. 

 It also used that link in phishing emails that led the users to a pseudo internal portal in an attempt to obtain the login credentials. Due to sophistication, the targeted individuals thought the received emails were genuine, and entered their log in details easily to the bank’s network, thus allowing the attackers access. 

Impact

It caused quite an impact to the bank in every aspect. Numerous executives of the company lost their passwords to the fake emails and compromised several financial databases with information from customer accounts and transactions. The break-in permitted the criminals to cease a number of the financial’s internet services hence disrupting its functions and those of its customers for a number of days. 

 They also suffered a devastating blow to their customer trust because the breach revealed the bank’s weakness against contemporary cyber threats. Apart from managing the immediate operations which dealt with mitigating the breach, the financial institution was also toppling a long-term reputational hit. 

Technical Analysis and Findings

1. The AI techniques that are used in generation of the phishing emails are as follows: 

•  The attack used powerful NLP technology, which was most probably developed using the large-scaled transformer, such as GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer). Since these models are learned from large data samples they used the examples of the conversation pieces from social networks, emails and PC language to create quite credible emails. 

 Key Technical Features: 

•  Contextual Understanding: The AI was able to take into account the nature of prior interactions and thus write follow up emails that were perfectly in line with prior discourse. 
•  Style Mimicry: The AI replicated the writing of the CEO given the emails of the CEO and then extrapolated from the data given such elements as the tone, the language, and the format of the signature line. 
•  Adaptive Learning: The AI actively adapted from the mistakes, and feedback to tweak the generated emails for other tries and this made it difficult to detect. 

2. Sophisticated Spear-Phishing Techniques

Unlike ordinary phishing scams, this attack was phishing using spear-phishing where the attackers would directly target specific people using emails. The AI used social engineering techniques that significantly increased the chances of certain individuals replying to certain emails based on algorithms which machine learning furnished. 

 Key Technical Features: 

•  Targeted Data Harvesting: Cyborgs found out the employees of the organisation and targeted messages via the public profiles and messengers were scraped. 
•  Behavioural Analysis: The latest behaviour pattern concerning the users of the social networking sites and other online platforms were used by the AI to forecast the courses of action expected to be taken by the end users such as clicking on the links or opening of the attachments. 
•  Real-Time Adjustments: These are times when it was determined that the response to the phishing email was necessary and the use of AI adjusted the consequent emails’ timing and content. 

3. Advanced Evasion Techniques

The attackers were able to pull off this attack by leveraging AI in their evasion from the normal filters placed in emails. These techniques therefore entailed a modification of the contents of the emails in a manner that would not be easily detected by the spam filters while at the same time preserving the content of the message. 

Key Technical Features: 

•  Dynamic Content Alteration: The AI merely changed the different aspects of the email message slightly to develop several versions of the phishing email that would compromise different algorithms. 
•  Polymorphic Attacks: In this case, polymorphic code was used in the phishing attack which implies that the actual payloads of the links changed frequently, which means that it was difficult for the AV tools to block them as they were perceived as threats. 
•  Phantom Domains: Another tactic employed was that of using AI in generating and disseminating phantom domains, that are actual web sites that appear to be legitimate but are in fact short lived specially created for this phishing attack, adding to the difficulty of detection. 

4. Exploitation of Human Vulnerabilities

This kind of attack’s success was not only in AI but also in the vulnerability of people, trust in familiar language and the tendency to obey authorities. 

Key Technical Features: 

•  Social Engineering: As for the second factor, AI determined specific psychological principles that should be used in order to maximise the chance of the targeted recipients opening the phishing emails, namely the principles of urgency and familiarity. 
•  Multi-Layered Deception: The AI was successfully able to have a two tiered approach of the emails being sent as once the targeted individuals opened the first mail, later the second one by pretext of being a follow up by a genuine company/personality. 

Response

On sighting the breach, the bank’s cybersecurity personnel spring into action to try and limit the fallout. They reported the matter to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) to find who originated the attack and how to block any other intrusion. The bank also immediately started taking measures to strengthen its security a bit further, for instance, in filtering emails, and increasing the authentication procedures. 

 Knowing the risks, the bank realised that actions should be taken in order to enhance the cybersecurity level and implement a new wide-scale cybersecurity awareness program. This programme consisted of increasing the awareness of employees about possible AI-phishing in the organisation’s info space and the necessity of checking the sender’s identity beforehand.

Outcome

Despite the fact and evidence that this bank was able to regain its functionality after the attack without critical impacts with regards to its operations, the following issues were raised. Some of the losses that the financial institution reported include losses in form of compensation of the affected customers and costs of implementing measures to enhance the financial institution’s cybersecurity. However, the principle of the incident was significantly critical of the bank as customers and shareholders began to doubt the organisation’s capacity to safeguard information in the modern digital era of advanced artificial intelligence cyber threats. 

 This case depicts the importance for the financial firms to align their security plan in a way that fights the new security threats. The attack is also a message to other organisations in that they are not immune from such analysis attacks with AI and should take proper measures against such threats.

Conclusion

The recent AI-phishing attack on an Indian bank in 2024 is one of the indicators of potential modern attackers’ capabilities. Since the AI technology is still progressing, so are the advances of the cyberattacks. Financial institutions and several other organisations can only go as far as adopting adequate AI-aware cybersecurity solutions for their systems and data. 

 Moreover, this case raises awareness of how important it is to train the employees to be properly prepared to avoid the successful cyberattacks. The organisation’s cybersecurity awareness and secure employee behaviours, as well as practices that enable them to understand and report any likely artificial intelligence offences, helps the organisation to minimise risks from any AI attack.

Recommendations

1. Enhanced AI-Based Defences: Financial institutions should employ AI-driven detection and response products that are capable of mitigating AI-operation-based cyber threats in real-time. 
2.  Employee Training Programs: CYBER SECURITY: All employees should undergo frequent cybersecurity awareness training; here they should be trained on how to identify AI-populated phishing. 
3.  Stricter Authentication Protocols: For more specific accounts, ID and other security procedures should be tight in order to get into sensitive ones. 
4.  Collaboration with CERT-In: Continued engagement and coordination with authorities such as the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and other equivalents to constantly monitor new threats and valid recommendations. 
5.  Public Communication Strategies: It is also important to establish effective communication plans to address the customers of the organisations and ensure that they remain trusted even when an organisation is facing a cyber threat. 

Through implementing these, financial institutions have an opportunity for being ready with new threats that come with AI and cyber terrorism on essential financial assets in today’s complex IT environments.

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Starting on 16th February 2025, Google changed its advertisement platform program policy. It will permit advertisers to employ device fingerprinting techniques for user tracking. Organizations that use their advertising services are now permitted to use fingerprinting techniques for tracking their users' data. Originally announced on 18th December 2024, this rule change has sparked yet another debate regarding privacy and profits.

The Issue

Fingerprinting is a technique that allows for the collection of information about a user’s device and browser details, ultimately enabling the creation of a profile of the user. Not only used for or limited to targeting advertisements, data procured in such a manner can be used by private entities and even government organizations to identify individuals who access their services. If information on customization options, such as language settings and a user’s screen size, is collected, it becomes easier to identify an individual when combined with data points like browser type, time zone, battery status, and even IP address.

What makes this technique contentious at the moment is the lack of awareness regarding the information being collected from the user and the inability to opt out once permissions are granted.

This is unlike Google’s standard system of data collection through permission requests, such as accepting website cookies—small text files sent to the browser when a user visits a particular website. While contextual and first-party cookies limit data collection to enhance user experience, third-party cookies enable the display of irrelevant advertisements while users browse different platforms. Due to this functionality, companies can engage in targeted advertising.

This issue has been addressed in laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union (EU) and the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 (India), which mandate strict rules and regulations regarding advertising, data collection, and consent, among other things. One of the major requirements in both laws is obtaining clear, unambiguous consent. This also includes the option to opt out of previously granted permissions for cookies.

However, in the case of fingerprinting, the mechanism of data collection relies on signals that users cannot easily erase. While clearing all data from the browser or refusing cookies might seem like appropriate steps to take, they do not prevent tracking through fingerprinting, as users can still be identified using system details that a website has already collected. This applies to all IoT products as well. People usually do not frequently change the devices they use, and once a system is identified, there are no available options to stop tracking, as fingerprinting relies on device characteristics rather than data-collecting text files that could otherwise be blocked.

Google’s Changing Stance

According to Statista, Google’s revenue is largely made up of the advertisement services it provides (amounting to 264.59 billion U.S. dollars in 2024). Any change in its advertisement program policies draws significant attention due to its economic impact.

In 2019, Google claimed in a blog post that fingerprinting was a technique that “subverts user choice and is wrong.” It is in this context that the recent policy shift comes as a surprise. In response, the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office), the UK’s data privacy watchdog, has stated that this change is irresponsible. Google, however, is eager to have further discussions with the ICO regarding the policy change.

Conclusion

The debate regarding privacy in targeted advertising has been ongoing for quite some time. Concerns about digital data collection and storage have led to new and evolving laws that mandate strict fines for non-compliance.

Google’s shift in policy raises pressing concerns about user privacy and transparency. Fingerprinting, unlike cookies, offers no opt-out mechanism, leaving users vulnerable to continuous tracking without consent. This move contradicts Google’s previous stance and challenges global regulations like the GDPR and DPDP Act, which emphasize clear user consent.

With regulators like the ICO expressing disapproval, the debate between corporate profits and individual privacy intensifies. As digital footprints become harder to erase, users, lawmakers, and watchdogs must scrutinize such changes to ensure that innovation does not come at the cost of fundamental privacy rights

References

• https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/profit-over-privacy-google-gives-advertisers-more-personal-info-in-major-fingerprinting-u-turn
• https://www.ccn.com/news/technology/googles-new-fingerprinting-policy-sparks-privacy-backlash-as-ads-become-harder-to-avoid/
• https://www.emarketer.com/content/google-pivot-digital-fingerprinting-enable-better-cross-device-measurement
• https://www.lewissilkin.com/insights/2025/01/16/google-adopts-new-stance-on-device-fingerprinting-102ju7b
• https://www.lewissilkin.com/insights/2025/01/16/ico-consults-on-storage-and-access-cookies-guidance-102ju62
• https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm21g0052dno 
• https://www.techradar.com/features/browser-fingerprinting-explained
• https://fingerprint.com/blog/canvas-fingerprinting/
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/266206/googles-annual-global-revenue/#:~:text=In%20the%20most%20recently%20reported,billion%20U.S.%20dollars%20in%202024

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Introduction

Iran stands as a nation poised at the threshold of a transformative era. The Islamic Republic, a land of ancient civilisations now grappling with the exigencies of the 21st century, is now making strides in the emerging field of artificial intelligence (AI). This is not merely an adoption of new tools; it is a strategic embrace, a calculated leap into the digital unknown, where the potential for economic growth and security enhancement resonates with the promise of a redefined future.

Embarking on this technological odyssey, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in a conclave with the nation’s virtual business activists, delineated the ‘big steps’ being undertaken in the realm of AI. The gathering, as reported by the pro-government Tasnim News, was not a simple exchange of polite remarks but a profound discourse that offered an incisive overview of the burgeoning digital economy and the strides Iran is making in the AI landscape. The conversation deeply revolved around the current ecosystem of technology and innovation within Iran, delving into the burgeoning startup culture and the commendable drive within its youth populace to propel the nation to the forefront of technology.

Iranian AI Integration

Military Implications

The discourse ranged from the current technological infrastructure to the broader implications for the security and defense of the region. The Iranian polity, with its rich history that seamlessly blends with aspirations for the future, is acutely aware that the implications of AI reach far beyond mere economic growth. They extend into the very fibres of military might and the structure of national security. The investment in cyber capabilities in Iran is well-documented, a display of shrewdness and pragmatism. And the integration of AI technologies is the next logical step in an ever-evolving defense architecture. Brigadier General Alireza Sabahifard, Commander of the Iranian Army Air Defense Force, has underscored the pivotal role of AI in modern warfare. He identifies the ongoing adoption of AI technologies as a strategic imperative, a top priority fundamentally designed to elevate the air defense capabilities in Iran to meet 21st-century threats.

Economic Implications

Yet, the Iranian pursuit of AI is not solely confined to bolstering military prowess. It is also pervasive in nurturing economic opportunity. President Raisi’s rhetoric touches upon economic rejuvenation, job creation, and the proliferation of financial and legal support mechanisms, all blurred into a cohesive vision that would foster a suitable environment for the private sector in the AI domain. The ambition is grand and strikingly clear — a nation committed to training several thousand individuals in the digital economy sector, signaling a deep-rooted commitment to cultivating a healthy environment  for AI-driven innovation.

The Iranian leader’s vision extends beyond the simple creation of infrastructure. It extends to the fostering of a healthy, competitive, and peaceful social milieu where domestic and international markets are within easy reach, promoting the prosperity of the digital economy and its activists. Such a vision of technological symbiosis, in many Western democracies, would be labelled as audaciously progressive. In Iran, however, withdrawing a major chunk of economic investments from the country's security state adds layers of complexity and nuance to this transformative narrative.

Cultural Integration

Still, Iran’s ambitious AI journey unfolds with a recognition of its cultural underpinnings and societal structure. The Nexus between the private sector, with its cyber-technocratic visionaries, and the regime, with its omnipresent ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is a tightrope that requires unparalleled poise and vigilance.

Moreover, in the holy city of Qom, a hub of intellectual fervour and the domicile of half of Iran's 200,000 Shia clerics, there burgeons a captivating interest in the possible synergies between AI and theological study. The clerical establishment, hidden within a stronghold of religious scholarship, perceives AI not as a problem but as a potential solution, a harbinger of progress that could ally with tradition. It sees in AI the potential of parsing Islamic texts with newfound precision, thereby allowing religious rulings, or fatwas, to resonate with the everchanging   Iranian society. This integration of technology is a testament to the dynamic interplay between tradition and modernity.

Yet the integration of AI into the venerable traditions of societies such as Iran's is threaded with challenges. Herein lays the paradox, for as AI is poised to potentially bolster religious study, the threat of cultural dissolution remains present. AI, if not judiciously designed with local values and ethics in mind, could inadvertently propagate an ideology at odds with local customs, beliefs, and the cornerstone principles of a society.

Natural Resources

Similarly, Iran's strategic foray into AI extends into its sovereign dominion—the charge of its natural resources. As Mehr News Agency reports, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is on the cusp of pioneering a joint venture with international tech juggernauts, chiefly Chinese companies, to inject the lifeblood of AI into the heart of its oil and gas production processes. This grand undertaking is nothing short of a digital renaissance aimed at achieving 'great reforms’ and driving a drastic 20% improvement in efficiency. AI’s algorithmic potency, unleashed in the hydrocarbon fields, promises to streamline expenses, enhance efficacy, and maximise production outputs, thereby bolstering Iran's economic bulwark.

The AI way Forward

As we delve further into Iran's sophisticated AI strategy, we observe an approach that is both vibrant and multi-dimensional. From military development to religious tutelage, from the diligent charge of the environment to the pursuit of sustainable economic development, Iran's AI ventures are emblematic of the broader global discourse. They mark a vivid intersection of AI governance, security, and the future of technological enterprise, highlighting the evolution of technological adoption and its societal, ethical, and geopolitical repercussions.

Conclusion

The multifaceted nature of Iran's AI pursuits encapsulates a spectrum of strategic imperatives, bringing the spearheads of defense modernisation and religious academics with the imperatives of resource allocation. It reflects a nuanced approach to the adoption and integration of technology, adjudicating between the venerable pillars of traditional values and the inexorable forces of modernisation. As Iran continues to delineate and traverse its path through the burgeoning landscape of AI, attending global stakeholders, watch with renewed interest and measured apprehension. Mindful of the intricate geopolitical implications and the transformative potential inherent in Iran's burgeoning AI endeavours, the global community watches, waits, and wonders at what may emerge from this ancient civilisation’s bold, resolute strides into the future.

References

- https://www.fdd.org/analysis/op_eds/2024/03/17/irans-president-wants-new-focus-on-artificial-intelligence/

- https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-792391

- https://www.ft.com/content/9c1c3fd3-4aea-40ab-977b-24fe5527300c

- https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-looks-ai-weather-western-sanctions-help-military-fight-cheap

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