Using incognito mode and VPN may still not ensure total privacy, according to expert
SVIMS Director and Vice-Chancellor B. Vengamma lighting a lamp to formally launch the cybercrime awareness programme conducted by the police department for the medical students in Tirupati on Wednesday.
An awareness meet on safe Internet practices was held for the students of Sri Venkateswara University University (SVU) and Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) here on Wednesday.
“Cyber criminals on the prowl can easily track our digital footprint, steal our identity and resort to impersonation,” cyber expert I.L. Narasimha Rao cautioned the college students.
Addressing the students in two sessions, Mr. Narasimha Rao, who is a Senior Manager with CyberPeace Foundation, said seemingly common acts like browsing a website, and liking and commenting on posts on social media platforms could be used by impersonators to recreate an account in our name.
Turning to the youth, Mr. Narasimha Rao said the incognito mode and Virtual Private Network (VPN) used as a protected network connection do not ensure total privacy as third parties could still snoop over the websites being visited by the users. He also cautioned them tactics like ‘phishing’, ‘vishing’ and ‘smishing’ being used by cybercriminals to steal our passwords and gain access to our accounts.
“After cracking the whip on websites and apps that could potentially compromise our security, the Government of India has recently banned 232 more apps,” he noted.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) B.H. Vimala Kumari appealed to cyber victims to call 1930 or the Cyber Mitra’s helpline 9121211100. SVIMS Director B. Vengamma stressed the need for caution with smartphones becoming an indispensable tool for students, be it for online education, seeking information, entertainment or for conducting digital transactions.
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Executive Summary:
As we researched a viral social media video we encountered, we did a comprehensive fact check utilizing reverse image search. The video circulated with the claim that it shows illegal Bangladeshi in Assam's Goalpara district carrying homemade spears and attacking a police and/or government official. Our findings are certain that this claim is false. This video was filmed in the Kishoreganj district, Bangladesh, on July 1, 2025, during a political argument involving two rival factions of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The footage has been intentionally misrepresented, putting the report into context regarding Assam to disseminate false information.
Claim:
The viral video shows illegal Bangladeshi immigrants armed with spears marching in Goalpara, Assam, with the intention of attacking police or officials.
Fact Check:
To establish if the claim was valid, we performed a reverse image search on some of the key frames from the video. We did our research on a number of news articles and social media posts from Bangladeshi sources. This led us to a reality check as the events confirmed in these reports took place in Ashtagram, Kishoreganj district, Bangladesh, in a violent political confrontation between factions of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on July 1, 2025, that ultimately resulted in about 40 injuries.
We also found on local media, in particular, Channel i News reported full accounts of the viral report and showed images from the video post. The individuals seen in the video were engaged in a political fight and wielding makeshift spears rather than transitioning into a cross-border attack. The Assam Police issued an official response on X (formerly Twitter) that denied the claim, while noting that nothing of that nature occurred in Goalpara nor in any other district of Assam.
Conclusion:
Based on our research, we conclude that the viral video does not show unlawful Bangladeshi immigrants in Assam. It depicts a political clash in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, on July 1, 2025. The claim attached to the video is completely untrue and is intended to mislead the public as to where and what the incident depicted is.
Claim: Video shows illegal migrants with spears moving in groups to assault police!
Claimed On: Social Media
Fact Check: False and Misleading
Executive Summary
A video showing people installing fencing along a border has gone viral on social media. In the clip, several individuals along with security personnel can be seen laying barbed wire fencing near a border area. The video is being shared with the claim that it shows fencing work underway on the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allegedly came to power in the state.
However, CyberPeace Research Wing investigation found the viral claim to be false. The video is not from a real incident and has been created using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Claim
An X user named “Gopal Sanatani” shared the viral video on May 26, 2026, with the caption:“Voting in the right place keeps the country secure. Now no outsider will be able to snatch the rights of Indian citizens.”The archived link to the post is provided below.
Fact Check
To verify the authenticity of the viral claim, we extracted several key frames from the video and conducted reverse image searches using Google. However, we could not find any credible information or authentic reports related to the visuals shown in the clip. We also searched using relevant keywords on Google, but no trustworthy news reports connected to the claim were found.
Upon closely examining the video, several visual inconsistencies became noticeable. At one point, an object resembling a piece of paper suddenly appears in a soldier’s hand and then disappears moments later. In another scene, a man installing the fencing appears to pass directly through the barbed wire and emerges unharmed, despite the sharp wires visible in the video. These irregularities raised suspicion that the clip had been artificially generated. To further investigate, we analysed the video using AI detection tools. The analysis conducted through Hive Moderation indicated a high probability — around 80 percent — that the video was AI-generated.
Additionally, the video was examined using another AI detection platform, “AI or Not,” which indicated nearly a 99 percent likelihood that the clip had been created using artificial intelligence.
Conclusion
Our investigation found that the viral video claiming to show fencing work along the West Bengal-Bangladesh border is fake. The footage does not depict a real incident and was generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
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Introduction
In July 2025, the Digital Defence Report prepared by Microsoft raised an alarm that India is part of the top target countries in AI-powered nation-state cyberattacks with malicious agents automating phishing, creating convincing deepfakes, and influencing opinion with the help of generative AI (Microsoft Digital Defence Report, 2025). Most of the attention in the world has continued to be on the United States and Europe, but Asia-Pacific and especially India have become a major target in terms of AI-based cyber activities. This blog discusses the role of AI in espionage, redefining the threat environment of India, the reaction of the government, and what India can learn by looking at the example of cyber giants worldwide.
Understanding AI-Powered Cyber Espionage
Conventional cyber-espionage intends to hack systems, steal information or bring down networks. With the emergence of generative AI, these strategies have changed completely. It is now possible to automate reconnaissance, create fake voices and videos of authorities and create highly advanced phishing campaigns which can pass off as genuine even to a trained expert. According to the report made by Microsoft, AI is being used by state-sponsored groups to expand their activities and increase accuracy in victims (Microsoft Digital Defence Report, 2025). Based on SQ Magazine, almost 42 percent of state-based cyber campaigns in 2025 had AIs like adaptive malware or intelligent vulnerability scanners (SQ Magazine, 2025).
AI is altering the power dynamic of cyberspace. The tools previously needing significant technical expertise or substantial investments have become ubiquitous, and smaller countries can conduct sophisticated cyber operations as well as non-state actors. The outcome is the speeding up of the arms race with AI serving as the weapon and the armour.
India’s Exposure and Response
The weakness of the threat landscape lies in the growing online infrastructure and geopolitical location. The attack surface has expanded the magnitude of hundreds of millions of citizens with the integration of platforms like DigiLocker and CoWIN. Financial institutions, government portals and defence networks are increasingly becoming targets of cyber attacks that are more sophisticated. Faking videos of prominent figures, phishing letters with the official templates, and manipulation of the social media are currently all being a part of disinformation campaigns (Microsoft Digital Defence Report, 2025).
According to the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), the India Cyber Threat Report 2025 reported that attacks using AI are growing exponentially, particularly in the shape of malicious behaviour and social engineering (DSCI, 2025). The nodal cyber-response agency of India, CERT-In, has made several warnings regarding scams related to AI and AI-generated fake content that is aimed at stealing personal information or deceiving the population. Meanwhile, enforcement and red-teaming actions have been intensified, but the communication between central agencies and state police and the private platforms is not even. There is also an acute shortage of cybersecurity talents in India, as less than 20 percent of cyber defence jobs are occupied by qualified specialists (DSCI, 2025).
Government and Policy Evolution
The government response to AI-enabled threats is taking three forms, namely regulation, institutional enhancing, and capacity building. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 saw a major move in defining digital responsibility (Government of India, 2023). Nonetheless, threats that involve AI-specific issues like data poisoning, model manipulation, or automated disinformation remain grey areas. The following National Cybersecurity Strategy will attempt to remedy them by establishing AI-government guidelines and responsibility standards to major sectors.
At the institutional level, the efforts of such organisations as the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) and the Defence Cyber Agency are also being incorporated into their processes with the help of AI-based monitoring. There is also an emerging public-private initiative. As an example, the CyberPeace Foundation and national universities have signed a memorandum of understanding that currently facilitates the specialised training in AI-driven threat analysis and digital forensics (Times of India, August 2025). Even after these positive indications, India does not have any cohesive system of reporting cases of AI. The publication on arXiv in September 2025 underlines the importance of the fact that legal approaches to AI-failure reporting need to be developed by countries to approach AI-initiated failures in such fields as national security with accountability (arXiv, 2025).
Global Implications and Lessons for India
Major economies all over the world are increasing rapidly to integrate AI innovation with cybersecurity preparedness. The United States and United Kingdom are spending big on AI-enhanced military systems, performing machine learning in security operations hubs and organising AI-based “red team” exercises (Microsoft Digital Defence Report, 2025). Japan is testing cross-ministry threat-sharing platforms that utilise AI analytics and real-time decision-making (Microsoft Digital Defence Report, 2025).
Four lessons can be distinguished as far as India is concerned.
- To begin with, the cyber defence should shift to proactive intelligence in place of reactive investigation. It is not only possible to detect the adversary behaviour after the attacks, but to simulate them in advance using AI.
- Second, teamwork is essential. The issue of cybersecurity cannot be entrusted to government enforcement. The private sector that maintains the majority of the digital infrastructure in India must be actively involved in providing information and knowledge.
- Third, there is the issue of AI sovereignty. Building or hosting its own defensive AI tools in India will diminish dependence on foreign vendors, and minimise the possible vulnerabilities of the supply-chain.
- Lastly, the initial defence is digital literacy. The citizens should be trained on how to detect deepfakes, phishing, and other manipulated information. The importance of creating human awareness cannot be underestimated as much as technical defences (SQ Magazine, 2025).
Conclusion
AI has altered the reasoning behind cyber warfare. There are quicker attacks, more difficult to trace and scalable as never before. In the case of India, it is no longer about developing better firewalls but rather the ability to develop anticipatory intelligence to counter AI-powered threats. This requires a national policy that incorporates technology, policy and education.
India can transform its vulnerability to strength with the sustained investment, ethical AI governance, and healthy cooperation between the government and the business sector. The following step in cybersecurity does not concern who possesses more firewalls than the other but aims to learn and adjust more quickly and successfully in a world where machines already belong to the battlefield (Microsoft Digital Defence Report, 2025).
References:
- Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2025
- India Cyber Threat Report 2025, DSCI
- Lucknow based organisations to help strengthen cybercrime research training policy ecosystem
- AI Cyber Attacks Statistics 2025: How Attacks, Deepfakes & Ransomware Have Escalated, SQ Magazine
- Incorporating AI Incident Reporting into Telecommunications Law and Policy: Insights from India.
- The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023
