#FactCheck - "Deepfake Video Falsely Claims of Elon Musk conducting give away for Cryptocurrency”

Introduction:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) focuses on threats and is an intelligence-driven agency with both law enforcement and intelligence responsibilities. The FBI has the power and duty to look into certain offences that are entrusted to it and to offer other law enforcement agencies cooperation services including fingerprint identification, lab tests, and training. In order to support its own investigations as well as those of its collaborators and to better comprehend and address the security dangers facing the United States, the FBI also gathers, disseminates, and analyzes intelligence.

The FBI’s  Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Functions combating cybercrime:

1. Collection: Internet crime victims can report incidents and notify the relevant authorities of potential illicit Internet behavior using the IC3. Law enforcement frequently advises and directs victims to use www.ic3.gov to submit a complaint.
2. Analysis: To find new dangers and trends, the IC3 examines and examines data that users submit via its website.
3. Public Awareness: The website posts public service announcements, business alerts, and other publications outlining specific frauds. Helps to raise awareness and make people become aware of Internet crimes and how to stay protected.
4. Referrals: The IC3 compiles relevant complaints to create referrals, which are sent to national, international, local, and state law enforcement agencies for possible investigation. If law enforcement conducts an investigation and finds evidence of a crime, the offender may face legal repercussions.

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Alarming increase in cyber crime cases:

In the recently released 2022 Internet Crime Report by the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the statistics paint a concerning picture of cybercrime in the United States. FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 39,416 cases of extortion in 2022. The number of cases in 2021 stood at 39,360.

FBI officials emphasize the growing scope and sophistication of cyber-enabled crimes, which come from around the world. They highlight the importance of reporting incidents to IC3 and stress the role of law enforcement and private-sector partnerships.

About Internet Crime Complaint Center IC3:

IC3 was established in May 2000 by the FBI to receive complaints related to internet crimes.

It has received over 7.3 million complaints since its inception, averaging around 651,800 complaints per year over the last five years. IC3's mission is to provide the public with a reliable reporting mechanism for suspected cyber-enabled criminal activity and to collaborate with law enforcement and industry partners. 

The FBI encourages the public to regularly review consumer and industry alerts published by IC3. An victim of an internet crime are urged to submit a complaint to IC3, and can also file a complaint on behalf of another person. These statistics underscore the ever-evolving and expanding threat of cybercrime and the importance of vigilance and reporting to combat this growing challenge.

What is sextortion?

The use or threatened use of a sexual image or video of another person without that person’s consent, derived from online encounters or social media websites or applications, primarily to extort money from that person or asking for sexual favours and giving warning to distribute that picture or video to that person’s friends, acquaintances, spouse, partner, or co-workers or in public domain. 

Sextortion is an online crime that can be understood as, when an bad actor coerces a young person into creating or sharing a sexual image or video of themselves and then uses it to get something from such young person, such as other sexual images, money, or even sexual favours. Reports highlights that more and more kids are being blackmailed in this way. Sextortion can also happen to adults. Sextortion can also take place by taking your pictures from social media account and converting those pictures into sexually explicit content by morphing such images or creating deepfake by miusing deepfake technologies.

Sextortion in the age of AI and advanced technologies:

AI and deep fake technology make sextortion even more dangerous and pernicious. A perpetrator can now produce a high-quality deep fake that convincingly shows a victim engaged in explicit acts — even if the person has not done any such thing. 

Legal Measures available in cases of sextortion:

In India, cybersecurity is governed primarily by the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act). Addressing cyber crimes such as hacking, identity theft, and the publication of obscene material online, sextortion and other cyber crimes. The IT Act covers various aspects of electronic governance and e-commerce, with providing provisions for defining such offences and providing punishment for such offences.

Recently Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 has been enacted by the Indian Government to protect the digital personal data of the Individuals. These laws collectively establish the legal framework for cybersecurity and cybercrime prevention in India. Victims are urged to report the crime to local law enforcement and its cybercrime divisions. Law enforcement will investigate sextortion cases reports and will undertake appropriate legal action.  

How to stay protected from evolving cases of sextortion: Best Practices:

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• Report the Crime to law enforcement agency and social media platform or Internet service provider. 
• Enable Two-step verification as an extra layer of protection.
• Keep your laptop Webcams covered when not in use.
• Stay protected from malware and phishing Attacks.
• Protect your personal information on your social media account, and also monitor your social media accounts in order to identify any suspicious activity. You can also set and review privacy settings of your social media accounts.

Conclusion:

Sextortion cases has been increased in recent time. Knowing the risk, being aware of rules and regulations, and by following best practices will help in preventing such crime and help you to stay safe and also avoid the chance of being victimized. It is important to spreading awareness about such growing cyber crimes and empowering the people to report it and it is also significant to provide support to victims. Let’s all unite in order to fight against such cyber crimes and also to make life a safer place on the internet or digital space.

References:

• https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2022_IC3ElderFraudReport.pdf
• https://octillolaw.com/insights/fbi-ic3-releases-2022-internet-crime-report/
• https://www.iafci.org/app_themes/docs/Federal%20Agency/2022_IC3Report.pdf

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Introduction

In the advanced age of digitalization, the user base of Android phones is high. Our phones have become an integral part of our daily life activities from making online payments, booking cabs, playing online games, booking movie & show tickets, conducting online business activities, social networking, emailing and communication, we utilize our mobile phone devices. The Internet is easily accessible to everyone and offers various convenient services to users. People download various apps and utilize various services on the internet using their Android devices. Since it offers convenience, but in the growing digital landscape, threats and vulnerabilities have also emerged. Fraudsters find the vulnerabilities and target the users. Recently, various creepy online scams such as AI-based scams, deepfake scams, malware, spyware, malicious links leading to financial frauds, viruses, privacy breaches, data leakage, etc. have been faced by Android mobile users. Android mobile devices are more prone to vulnerabilities as compared to iOS. However, both Android and iOS platforms serve to provide safer digital space to mobile users. iOS offers more security features. but we have to play our part and be careful. There are certain safety measures which can be utilised by users to be safe in the growing digital age.

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User Responsibility: 

Law enforcement agencies have reported that they have received a growing number of complaints showing malware being used to compromise Android mobile devices. Both the platforms, Android and Google, have certain security mechanisms in place. However, cybersecurity experts emphasize that users must actively take care of safeguarding their mobile devices from evolving online threats. In this era of evolving cyber threats, being precautious and vigilant and personal responsibility for digital security is paramount.

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Being aware of evolving scams

1. Deepfake Scams: Deepfake is an AI-based technology. Deepfake is capable of creating realistic images or videos which in actuality are created by machine algorithms. Deepfake technology, since easily accessible, is misused by fraudsters to commit various cyber crimes or deceive and scam people through fake images or videos that look realistic. By using the Deepfake technology, cybercriminals manipulate audio and video content which looks very realistic but, in actuality, is fake. 
2. Voice cloning: To create a voice clone of anyone's, audio can be deepfaked too, which closely resembles a real one but, in actuality, is a fake voice created through deepfake technology. Recently, in Kerala, a man fell victim to an AI-based video call on WhatsApp. He received a video call from a person claiming to be his former colleague. The scammer, using AI deepfake technology, impersonated the face of his former colleague and asked for financial help of 40,000. 
3. Stalkerware or spyware: Stalkware or spyware is one of the serious threats to individual digital safety and personal information. Stalkware is basically software installed into your device without your consent or knowledge in order to track your activities and exploit your data. Stalkware, also referred to as spyware, is a type of malicious software secretly installed on your device without your knowledge. Its purpose is to track you or monitor your activities and record sensitive information such as passwords, text messages, GPS location, call history and access to your photos and videos. Cybercriminals and stalkers use this malicious software to unauthorisedly gain access to someone's phone devices.

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Best practices or Cyber security tips:

• Keep your software up to date: Turn on automatic software updates for your device and make sure your mobile apps are up to date.
• Using strong passwords: Use strong passwords on your lock/unlock and on important apps on your mobile device.
• Using 2FA or multi-factor authentication: Two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication provides extra layers of security. Be cautious before clicking on any link and downloading any app or file: Users are often led to click on malicious online links. Scammers may present such links to users through false advertisements on social media platforms, payment processes for online purchases, or in phone text messages. Through the links, victims are led either to phishing sites to give away personal data or to download harmful Android Package Kit (APK) files used to distribute and install apps on Android mobile phones.‍
• Secure Payments: Do not open any malicious links. Always make payments from secure and trusted payment apps.  Use strong passwords for your payment apps as well. And secure your banking credentials.‍
• Safe browsing: Pay due care and attention while clicking on any link and downloading content. Ignore the links or attachments of suspicious emails which are from an unknown sender. ‍
• Do not download third-party apps: Using an APK file to download a third-party app to an Android device is commonly known as sideloading. Be cautious and avoid downloading apps from third-party or dubious sites. Doing so may lead to the installation of malware in the device, which in turn may result in confidential and sensitive data such as banking credentials being stolen. Always download apps only from the official app store.‍
• App permissions: Review app permission and only grant permission which is necessary to use that app. ‍
• Do not bypass security measures: Android offers more flexibility in the mobile operating system and in mobile settings. For example, sideloading of apps is disabled by default, and alerts are also in place to warn users. However, an unwitting user who may not truly understand the warnings may simply grant permission to an app to bypass the default setting.‍
• Monitoring: Regularly monitor your devices and system logs for security check-ups and for detecting any suspicious activity.‍
• Reporting online scams: A powerful resource available to victims of cybercrime is the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, equipped with a 24x7 helpline number, 1930. This portal serves as a centralized platform for reporting cybercrimes, including financial fraud.

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Conclusion:

The era of digitalisation has transformed our lives, with Android phones becoming an integral part of our daily routines. While these devices offer convenience, they also expose us to online threats and vulnerabilities, such as scams like deepfake technology-based scams, voice clones, spyware, malware, and malicious links that can lead to significant financial and privacy breaches. Android devices might be more susceptible to such scams. By being aware of emerging scams like deepfakes, spyware, and other malicious activities, we can take proactive steps to safeguard our digital lives. Our mobile devices remain as valuable assets for us. However, they are also potential targets for cybercriminals. Users must remain proactive in protecting their devices and personal data from potential threats. By taking personal responsibility for our digital security and following these best practices, we can navigate the digital landscape with confidence, ensuring that our Android phones remain powerful tools for convenience and connection while keeping our data and privacy intact and staying safe from online threats and vulnerabilities.

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References: 

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/explainer-why-android-devices-prone-online-scams-users-guard-against-it-2252066

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Introduction

Have you ever wondered how the internet works? Yes, there are screens and wires, but what’s going on beneath the surface? Every time you open a website, send an email, chat on messaging apps, or stream movies, you’re relying on something you probably don’t think about: the TCP/IP protocol suite. Without it, the internet as we know it wouldn’t exist. Let’s take a look at why this unassuming set of rules allows us to connect to anyone anywhere in the world. 

The Problem: Networks That Couldn't Talk to Each Other

The internet is widely called a network of networks. A network is a group of devices that are connected and can share data with each other. 

Researchers and governments began building early computer networks in the 1960s and 70s. But as the Cold War intensified, the U.S. military felt the need to establish a robust data-sharing infrastructure through interconnected networks that could withstand attacks. At the time, each network had different standards and protocols, which meant getting networks to communicate wasn’t easy or efficient. One network would have to be subsumed into another. This would lead to major problems in the reliability of data relay, flexibility of including more nodes, scalability of the interconnected network, and innovation.

The Breakthrough: Open Architecture Networking

This changed in the 1970s, when Bob Kahn proposed the concept of open architecture networking. It was a simple but revolutionary idea. He envisioned a system where all networks could talk to each other as equals. In this conceptualisation, all networks, even though unique in design and interface, could connect as peers to facilitate end-to-end communication. End-to-end communication helps deliver data between the source and destination without relying on intermediate nodes to control or modify it. This helps to make data relay more reliable and less prone to errors. 

Along with Vint Cerf, he developed a network protocol, the TCP/IP suite, that would go on to enable different networks across satellite, wired, and non-wired domains to communicate with one another.  

What Is TCP/IP?

TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol. It’s a set of communication rules that allow computers and devices to exchange information across different networks. 

It’s powerful because: 

• Layered and open architecture: Each function (like data delivery or routing) is handled by a specific layer. This modular design makes it easy to build new technologies like the World Wide Web or streaming services on top of it.
• Decentralisation: There's no single point of control. Any device can connect to another across the internet, making it scalable and resilient.
• Standardisation: TCP/IP works across all kinds of hardware and operating systems, making it truly universal. 

The Core Components

• TCP (Transmission Control Protocol): Ensures that data is delivered accurately and in order. If any piece is lost or duplicated, TCP handles it.
• IP (Internet Protocol): Handles addressing and routing. It decides where each packet of data should go and how it gets there.
• UDP (User Datagram Protocol): A lightweight version of TCP, used when speed is more important than accuracy, such as for video calls or online gaming.

Why It Matters

The TCP/IP protocol suite introduced a set of standardised guidelines that enable networks to communicate, thereby laying the foundation of the Internet. It has made the Internet global, open, reliable, interoperable, scalable, and resilient, — features because of which the Internet has come to become the backbone of modern communication systems. So the next time you open a browser or send a message, remember: it’s TCP/IP quietly making it all possible.

References

• https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/ARPANET
• https://www.internetsociety.org/internet/history-internet/brief-history-internet/ 
• https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/tcp-ip-model/ 
• https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/tcpip-network-administration/0596002971/ch01.html 

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