#FactCheck - Manipulated Image Alleging Disrespect Towards PM Circulates Online

Introduction

Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, announced that rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act are expected to be released by the end of January. The rules will be subject to a month-long consultation process, but their notification may be delayed until after the general elections in April-May 2024. Chandrasekhar mentioned changes to the current IT regulations would be made in the next few days to address the problem of deepfakes on social networking sites.

The government has observed a varied response from platforms regarding advisory measures on deepfakes, leading to the decision to enforce more specific rules. During the Digital India Dialogue, platforms were made aware of existing provisions and the consequences of non-compliance. An advisory was issued, and new amended IT rules will be released if satisfaction with compliance is not achieved.

When Sachin Tendulkar reported a deepfake on a site where he was seen endorsing a gaming application, it raised concerns about the exploitation of deepfakes. Tendulkar urged the reporting of such incidents and underlined the need for social media companies to be watchful, receptive to grievances, and quick to address disinformation and deepfakes.

The DPDP Act, 2023

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP) 2023 is a brand-new framework for digital personal data protection that aims to protect individuals' digital personal data. The act ensures compliance by the platforms collecting personal data. The act aims to provide consent-based data collection techniques. DPDP Act 2023 is an important step toward protecting individual privacy. The Act, which requires express consent for the acquisition, administration, and processing of personal data, seeks to guarantee that organisations follow the stated objective for which user consent was granted. This proactive strategy coincides with global data protection trends and demonstrates India's commitment to safeguarding user information in the digital era.

Amendments to IT rules

Minister Chandrasekhar declared that existing IT regulations would be amended in order to combat the rising problem of deepfakes and disinformation on social media platforms. These adjustments, which will be published over the next few days, are primarily aimed at countering widespread of false information and deepfake. The decision follows a range of responses from platforms to deepfake recommendations made during Digital India Dialogues.

The government's stance: blocking non-compliant platforms

Minister Chandrasekhar reaffirmed the government's commitment to enforcing the updated guidelines. If platforms fail to follow compliance, the government may consider banning them. This severe position demonstrates the government's commitment to safeguarding Indian residents from the possible harm caused by false information.

Empowering Users with Education and Awareness

In addition to the upcoming DPDP Act Rules/recommendations and IT regulation changes, the government recognises the critical role that user education plays in establishing a robust digital environment. Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar emphasised the necessity for comprehensive awareness programs to educate individuals about their digital rights and the need to protect personal information.

These instructional programs seek to equip users to make informed decisions about giving consent to their data. By developing a culture of digital literacy, the government hopes to guarantee that citizens have the information to safeguard themselves in an increasingly linked digital environment.

Balancing Innovation with User Protection

As India continues to explore its digital frontier, the junction of technology innovation and user safety remains a difficult balance. The upcoming Rules on the DPDP Act and modifications to existing IT rules represent the government's proactive efforts to build a strong framework that supports innovation while protecting user privacy and combating disinformation. Recognising the changing nature of the digital world, the government is actively participating in continuing discussions with stakeholders such as industry professionals, academia, and civil society. These conversations promote a collaborative approach to policy creation, ensuring that legislation is adaptable to the changing nature of cyber risks and technology breakthroughs. Such inclusive talks demonstrate the government's dedication to transparent and participatory governance, in which many viewpoints contribute to the creation of effective and nuanced policy. These advances reflect an important milestone in India's digital journey, as the country prepares to set a good example by creating responsible and safe digital ecosystems for its residents.

Reference : 

• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/govt-may-release-personal-data-bill-rules-in-a-fortnight/articleshow/106162669.cms?from=mdr
• https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/dpdp-rules-expected-to-be-released-by-end-of-the-month-mos-chandrasekhar-124011600679_1.html 

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Executive Summary:

On July 4, 2024, a giant password dump,  “RockYou2024” was posted on a cybercrime marketplace containing 9,948,575,739 plain-text credentials. This blog explains the technical aspects of this leakage and its consequences in the sphere of information security. 

RockYou2024 is a list of passwords obtained from different data breaches ranging over the course of more than twenty years. It integrates older passwords with the lexical database with the additional passwords from the recent hacks, thereby, cumulating the database of genuine and existing passwords. The compilation is said to contain data from more than 4,000 databases putting the tool in the hands of potential attackers. RockYou owns the name to this type of attack since a data breach attacked a social media company named , “RockYou'' and released  3.2 million users’ passwords as a .txt file. Since then, the term gained a common meaning connected with mass password data breaches. 

Technical Implications:

• Credential Stuffing Attacks: The RockYou2024 list comprises a great number of actual passwords that increases the likelihood of credential stuffing attacks. With this, the attackers help themselves with an opportunity to try to gain unlawful access into several online accounts that a user may have, particularly ones where an individual re-uses the same password. 

• Brute-Force Attacks: The collection is extensive for brute force attack on systems that have no protection against such exercise. This is especially the case for devices and services that are exposed to the internet and which may use either weak or factory-set alphanumeric codes. 

• Password Cracking: Web compilations that include such lists are often employed by security specialists and penetration testers who use John the Ripper or Hashcat to check the password’s strength or the system’s susceptibility to attacks. 

• Machine Learning Models: The dataset could be used to create machine learning models for password prediction or analysis, which would only lead to further better methods to be used in the attacks. 

Countermeasures / Mitigation:

Below are the technical risk/process operating proposed to reduce the risks associated with RockYou2024: 

• Password Hashing: It is necessary to ensure that all the passwords required to be saved should be encrypted in one of the most secure algorithms like bcrypt, Argon2, or PBKDF2 along with a reasonable number of iterations. 

• Salt and Pepper: The features for both salting and peppering should also be enabled to complicate the cracking of passwords even after the hashed password databases have been procured. 

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Ensure the usage of complex passwords in addition to deploying MFA across all the technological systems and services within the company. 

• Password Strength Policies: Adhere to  password policies for features  like the length, strength of the passwords and the change in password frequency. 

• Rate Limiting and Account Lockouts: Inactivity methods must be used on consecutive attempts to log in and to the temporary lock out after so many attempts in a bid to discourage brute force attacks. 

• Monitoring and Alerting: There should be measures in place to monitor for any violations such as login tappings or a form of credential stuffings and there should be alerts, where securities risks are likely to arise, in real time. 

• API Security: The following proper API security measures that will result in the prevention of the following attacks; rate limiting, input validation, and token. 

• Web Application Firewalls (WAF): To defend against threats from the internet for potential credential stuffing or brute-forcing the authentication process, utilize WAFs to operate at the application layer. 

Analyzing the Impact:

To understand the potential impact of RockYou2024, organizations should assess the possible effects of RockYou2024, such as: 

• Conduct Password Audits: LeakYou2024 scan current passwords database with RockYou2024 (in ethical and safe methods) and see which accounts have been compromised. 

• Implement Continuous Monitoring: If this is a monthly or weekly event then there must be new information on data breaches and act on it concerning new security changes. 

• Educate Users: Continued security consciousness training, regarding the effective protection of an individual’s password in combination with a password generator. 

• Perform Penetration Testing: It is suggested to conduct penetration testing at least twice a year to find out if there are vulnerabilities in the systems and applications in the current use. 

Conclusion:

The RockYou2024 leaked password database is a serious security risk; it contains almost 10 billion account credentials. This unprecedented leak further increases the exposure to credential stuffing, brute force and password cracking attacks. To deal with these threats, organizations need to have measures that include password hashing, multi-factor authentication, password strengthening and password audit. Patching, user awareness, bandit activities are imperative to prevent future invasions and strengthen the cyber security posture.

References :

• https://statanalytica.com/blog/rockyou-2024-txt-password/
• https://dig.watch/updates/rockyou2024-password-leak-exposes-nearly-10-billion-unique-passwords
• https://complexdiscovery.com/rockyou2024-leak-nearly-10-billion-passwords-exposed-heightening-cybersecurity-risks-for-businesses/

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Introduction

In this ever-evolving world of technology, cybercrimes and criminals continue to explore new and innovative methods to exploit and intimidate their victims. One of the recent shocking incidents has been reported from the city of Bharatpur, Rajasthan, where the cyber crooks organised a mock court session This complex operation, meant to induce fear and force obedience, exemplifies the daring and intelligence of modern hackers. In this blog article, we’ll go deeper into this concerning occurrence, delving into it to offer light on the strategies used and the ramifications for cybersecurity.to frighten their targets.

The Setup

The case was reported from Gopalgarh village in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, and has unfolded with a shocking twist -the father-son duo, Tahir Khan and his son Talim Khano — from Gopalgarh village in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, has been fooling people to gain their monetary gain by staging a mock court setting and recorded the proceedings to intimidate their victims into paying hefty sums. In the recent case, they have gained 2.69 crores through sextortion. the duo uses to trace their targets on social media platforms, blackmail them, and earn a hefty amount.

An official complaint was filed by a 69-year-old victim who was singled out through his social media accounts, his friends, and his posts Initially, they contacted the victim with a pre-recorded video featuring a nude woman, coaxing him into a compromising situation. As officials from the Delhi Crime Branch and the CBI, they threatened the victim, claiming that a girl had approached them intending to file a complaint against him. Later, masquerading as YouTubers, they threatened to release the incriminating video online. Adding to the charade, they impersonated a local MLA and presented the victim with a forged stamp paper alleging molestation charges. Eventually, posing as Delhi Crime Branch officials again, they demanded money to settle the case after falsely stating that they had apprehended the girl. To further manipulate the victim, the accused staged a court proceeding, recording it and subsequently sending it to him, creating the illusion that everything was concluded. This unique case of sextortion stands out as the only instance where the culprits went to such lengths, staging and recording a mock court to extort money.  Furthermore, it was discovered that the accused had fabricated a letter from the Delhi High Court, adding another layer of deception to their scheme.

The Investigation

The complaint was made in a cyber cell. After the complaint was filed, the investigation was made, and it was found that this case stands as one of the most significant sextortion incidents in the country. The father-son pair skillfully assumed five different roles, meticulously executing their plan, which included creating a simulated court environment. “We have also managed to recover Rs 25 lakh from the accused duo—some from their residence in Gopalgarh and the rest from the bank account where it was deposited.

The Tricks used by the duo
The father-son The setup in the fake court scene event was a meticulously built web of deception to inspire fear and weakness in the victim. Let’s look at the tricks the two used to fool the people.

• Social Engineering strategies: Cyber criminals are skilled at using social engineering strategies to acquire the trust of their victims. In this situation, they may have employed phishing emails or phone calls to get personal information about the victim. By appearing as respectable persons or organisations, the crooks tricked the victim into disclosing vital information, giving them weapons they needed to create a sense of trustworthiness.
• Making a False Narrative: To make the fictitious court scenario more credible, the cyber hackers concocted a captivating story based on the victim’s purported legal problems. They might have created plausible papers to give their plan authority, such as forged court summonses, legal notifications, or warrants. They attempted to create a sense of impending danger and an urgent necessity for the victim to comply with their demands by deploying persuasive language and legal jargon.
• Psychological Manipulation: The perpetrators of the fictitious court scenario were well aware of the power of psychological manipulation in coercing their victims. They hoped to emotionally overwhelm the victim by using fear, uncertainty, and the possible implications of legal action. The offenders probably used threats of incarceration, fines, or public exposure to increase the victim’s fear and hinder their capacity to think critically. The idea was to use desperation and anxiety to force the victim to comply.
• Use of Technology to Strengthen Deception: Technological advancements have given cyber thieves tremendous tools to strengthen their misleading methods. The simulated court scenario might have included speech modulation software or deep fake technology to impersonate the voices or appearances of legal experts, judges, or law enforcement personnel. This technology made the deception even more believable, blurring the border between fact and fiction for the victim.

The use of technology in cybercriminals’ misleading techniques has considerably increased their capacity to fool and influence victims. Cybercriminals may develop incredibly realistic and persuasive simulations of judicial processes using speech modulation software, deep fake technology, digital evidence alteration, and real-time communication tools. Individuals must be attentive, gain digital literacy skills, and practice critical thinking when confronting potentially misleading circumstances online as technology advances. Individuals can better protect themselves against the expanding risks posed by cyber thieves by comprehending these technological breakthroughs.

What to do?

Seeking Help and Reporting Incidents: If you or anyone you know is the victim of cybercrime or is fooled by cybercrooks. When confronted with disturbing scenarios such as the imitation court scene staged by cybercrooks, victims must seek help and act quickly by reporting the occurrence. Prompt reporting serves various reasons, including increasing awareness, assisting with investigations, and preventing similar crimes from occurring again. Victims should take the following steps:

• Contact your local law enforcement: Inform local legal enforcement about the cybercrime event. Provide them with pertinent incident facts and proof since they have the experience and resources to investigate cybercrime and catch the offenders involved.
• Seek Assistance from a Cybersecurity specialist: Consult a cybersecurity specialist or respected cybersecurity business to analyse the degree of the breach, safeguard your digital assets, and obtain advice on minimising future risks. Their knowledge and forensic analysis can assist in gathering evidence and mitigating the consequences of the occurrence.
• Preserve Evidence: Keep any evidence relating to the event, including emails, texts, and suspicious actions. Avoid erasing digital evidence, and consider capturing screenshots or creating copies of pertinent exchanges. Evidence preservation is critical for investigations and possible legal procedures.

Conclusion

The setting fake court scene event shows how cybercriminals would deceive and abuse their victims. These criminals tried to use fear and weakness in the victim through social engineering methods, the fabrication of a false narrative, the manipulation of personal information, psychological manipulation, and the use of technology. Individuals can better defend themselves against cybercrooks by remaining watchful and sceptical.