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In times when cases of scam and <keyword id="20649571" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="spam-calls" source="keywords">spam calls</keyword> are on the rise, <keyword id="19951944" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Bharti Airtel" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Bharti Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword>’s new AI-powered spam detection system has identified 51 million potential spam calls and 1.6 million <keyword id="23471655" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="malicious-SMS" source="keywords">malicious SMS</keyword> messages in Rajasthan—all in just the first 10 days since its launch. This technology, rolled out at no additional cost to <keyword id="19896909" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Airtel" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Airtel" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Airtel">Airtel</keyword> customers, promises to offer real-time protection against scammers and fraudulent links. Marut Dilawari, CEO of Bharti Airtel in <keyword id="19898913" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajasthan" source="keywords">Rajasthan</keyword>, shared the news on Tuesday, revealing the breakthrough solution that’s already making a significant impact. “For this, Airtel has built a centralized database of blacklisted URLs, and every SMS is scanned in real-time by a state-of-the-art AI algorithm to caution users from accidentally clicking on suspicious links,” he explained as per PTI. <h2>How the tool works </h2> Airtel’s AI-powered system works quietly in the background, scanning every incoming SMS for potentially dangerous links. When a suspicious link is detected, users are immediately alerted, helping them avoid accidentally falling victim to <keyword id="19939895" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="phishing-scams" source="keywords">phishing scams</keyword> or malicious websites. This isn’t just about blocking irritating spam—it also protects users against cybercriminals targeting unsuspecting customers. What sets Airtel’s solution apart is its extensive database of blacklisted URLs, which is constantly updated to ensure real-time protection. The AI system analyses every message before it reaches the customer. Airtel is the first telecom provider to roll out such an AI-driven spam protection system for its users, a move that places it ahead in the battle against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. The best part? It’s completely automatic and free for all Airtel users, with no need for customers to install additional apps or sign up for extra services. Dilawari talked about how important this solution is in today’s digital age. “The threat of scams, fraud, and malicious communications has become a growing concern for customers. In view of this, Airtel has introduced an AI-powered solution which equips all Airtel customers in Rajasthan with a powerful shield against the schemes of cybercriminals and scammers,” he told PTI. <h2>Spam calls are on the rise </h2> With phishing attempts and spam calls on the rise, especially in regions with high mobile penetration like Rajasthan, customers have been increasingly vulnerable to fraudsters. Whether it’s a fraudulent link promising a fake lottery win or a robocall posing as a government agency, the tactics are becoming more devious—and difficult to detect. Airtel’s move to integrate AI into its security systems is not only a step forward for telecom providers but also a much-needed layer of protection for millions of customers. As digital fraud continues to evolve, proactive measures like these will become essential in keeping users safe. (With PTI inputs)

AI helped Airtel detect 51 million spam calls in 10 days, all details

Cybersecurity firm <keyword id="412137" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kaspersky">Kaspersky</keyword> has detected a new version of the <keyword id="8794922" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ginp-banking-trojan">Ginp banking Trojan</keyword>, and it is more powerful than it was before. The <keyword id="54201" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Malware">malware</keyword> was first detected in October last year and now, a new version has been spotted. What is a banking trojan? A banking trojan is a program that tries to obtain confidential information about users and clients using banking and payment systems. The trojan often intercept OTPs from banks to make a payment without the victim noticing. What is Ginp? Ginp is a banking trojan and when it was first spotted, it used to send the victim’s contacts to its creators, stole card data and intercepted text messages. Now, it has started sending users messages and push notifications to get the user to open banking apps. The notifications are designed in a way that the user expects to see a form for entering card details. It then overlays the app with a phishing window to steal user data. For this, it uses the phone’s accessibility functions that allows it to see the screen and tap buttons or links. As per the <a href="https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/ginp-mobile-banking-trojan/32478/">report</a>, in one such instance, a user was sent a notification from the Play Store. The notification said – “We are missing your credit or debit card details. Please use the Play Store app to add them securely.” When the user clicked on the notification, a form to enter the card details was shown to him. However, this form was not sent by Google Play and any information entered here would directly go to the malware creators. Similarly, fake SMSes from banks are also being sent to users, warning them that suspicious activity has been detected on their accounts. The trojan is able to create fake SMS with any text from any sender. How to protect yourself from banking trojans? <ul><li>Do not click on links in text messages if the message seems suspicious to you. </li><li>Download apps only from the Play Store and do not install apps from unknown sources. </li><li>Do not give accessibility permission to any app that does not require it. </li><li>Be careful while giving apps the permission to access SMS. </li><li>Do not click on suspicious push notifications. </li></ul>See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/new-android-flaw-bluefrag-exploits-your-phones-bluetooth-to-send-malware/articleshow/74060573.cms">New Android flaw Bluefrag exploits your phone's Bluetooth to send malware</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/scammers-whatsapp-stealing-money-how-to-protect/articleshow/72976604.cms">Scammers are now using WhatsApp to steal money - here’s how you can protect yourself</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/new-malware-on-the-rampage-might-target-jio-users-next/articleshow/71819198.cms">New malware on the rampage might target Jio users — and uninstalling it won’t help</a>

A malware is sending fake SMS to steal your banking details – Here’s how to protect yourself

<ul><li>An SMS worm claiming to help users in India book a slot to get the COVID-19 vaccine is making the rounds.</li><li>The malicious app link being circulated over text messages enables authorised access to private accounts, exposes personal data and has the ability to delete data without the victims knowledge.</li><li>New variants of SMS worms are rare, but this one — and its cousins — all seem to have been created by the same developer, according to an investigation conducted by cyber risk assessment firm Cyble.</li></ul>The official CoWIN mobile app has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/cowin-website-is-back-up-after-an-early-crash-finding-a-vaccination-slot-may-still-be-difficult/articleshow/82291583.cms">not been doing its job well</a>, which has forced users in India to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/coders-are-coming-up-with-new-ways-to-check-for-covid-19-vaccination-slots-on-cowin/articleshow/82383284.cms">look at alternatives</a> to check for available vaccination slots or even simply register for the vaccine. While there are many solutions helping genuinely, there are others who may not necessarily be looking out for the ‘greater good’ — like a new SMS worm promising to book a vaccination slot for you, but infecting your device with malware instead. So far, the penetration seems to be limited to Android users. <div type="image" title="cowin app fake_edited" msid="82389061" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Android SMS worm tries to spread via text messages as fake, free registration for Covid-19 vaccine &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The SMS worm is capable of enabling unauthorised access to private accounts, using the device for activities unaware to the user of the smartphone, exposing personal data and deleting data without the user’s knowledge. This means accessing Twitter and Facebook accounts, peeping into your photo gallery and contact list, deleting documents you may have wanted to keep around for a little bit longer and eating up your data — which can be particularly painful if you have limited data per day. The issue was initially brought to light by Malware researcher <a href="https://twitter.com/LukasStefanko/status/1387733166195150849">Lukas Stefano</a> and the <a href="https://twitter.com/malwrhunterteam/status/1387706612270440450">Malware Hunter Team</a>. It was then also confirmed by Australian cyber risk assessment firm <a href="https://twitter.com/AuCyble/status/1389135487340883970">Cyble</a>. “Our investigation indicated that this malware campaign is currently targeting India as the country struggles with the ongoing onslaught of the pandemic,” said Cyble in its report. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="A mysterious developer is creating similar apps with the same end goal" comment="subhead" text="A mysterious developer is creating similar apps with the same end goal">A mysterious developer is creating similar apps with the same end goal</cmsannotation> Cyble tried to track down the source of the fake app and found numerous abandoned repositories on Twitter. They list other apps that are similar but with different names. The end goal is the same for all of them — get the same permissions and enter from the same point. <div type="image" title="covid app fake 3_edited" msid="82389133" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Fake COVID-19 app asking for permission to access contacts&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> According to the investigators, it is likely that the same developer is behind all of these apps. “New variants of SMS worms for Android do not appear very often, and this particular variant is an interesting piece of malware and part of a unique attack,” said Cyble in its report. In addition to tricking people into installing the SMS worm and accessing sensitive information, there is also a direct monetary cost of this whole exercise on the victim. Since the worm is automatically sending messages to people on the victim’s contact lists, it could use up their balance depending on their phone plan — without the victim’s knowledge. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="How does the COVID-19 SMS malware work?" comment="subhead" text="How does the COVID-19 SMS malware work?">How does the COVID-19 SMS malware work?</cmsannotation> Users receive an SMS containing a malicious link that leads to a seemingly genuine website. Once an unsuspecting user clicks on the link, the worm’s code is now ready to execute on the device — that is, the smartphone has now been infected. <div type="image" title="covid app fake 2_edited" msid="82389102" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;SMS worm with malicious link &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Moreover, the malware sends a copy of itself to everyone on that person’s contact list. Some of the suspicious activities spotted include checking for devices that are connected to the phone through Bluetooth, sending text messages using SMS Manager, checking the status of the user’s SIM card and sending out queries around phone contact information. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/kangana-ranauts-twitter-account-has-been-suspended-for-violating-rules/articleshow/82384318.cms">Twitter cracks down on Bollywood star Kangana Ranaut — here's why it's significant in the debate over free speech on social media</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/coders-are-coming-up-with-new-ways-to-check-for-covid-19-vaccination-slots-on-cowin/articleshow/82383284.cms">Indian coders are working around the CoWIN app to help people bag the elusive vaccine slots</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/govt-slashing-customs-duty-and-cess-on-oxygen-concentrators-remdesivir-injections-and-covid-19-vaccines/articleshow/82372585.cms">To get more oxygen concentrators, Remdesivir injections and COVID-19 vaccines, India temporarily lifts customs duty and cess on imports</a>

A COVID-19 SMS malware is targeting users in India as they look for alternatives to CoWIN for vaccine registration

Several users of the <keyword id="6354731" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="state-bank-of-india">State Bank of India</keyword> (<keyword id="13222" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="SBI">SBI</keyword>) have been targeted with a phishing scam where hackers have flooded them with <keyword id="10848567" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="suspicious-text-messages">suspicious text messages</keyword>, requesting them to redeem their SBI credit points worth Rs 9,870. The link associated with the text messages redirects the <keyword id="6370973" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="User">user</keyword> to a <keyword id="101322" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="fake-website">fake website</keyword> and on the <keyword id="1592405" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="landing-page">landing page</keyword>, the user is asked to submit personal information along with sensitive financial details like card number, expiry date, CVV and Mpin in a 'State Bank of India Fill Your Details' form. According to the investigation by New Delhi-based think tank CyberPeace Foundation along with Autobot Infosec Private Ltd, the website collects data directly without any verification and is registered by a third party instead of having the registrant organisation name of State Bank of India, making it all the more suspicious. "Moreover, according to SBI, they never communicate with their customers via SMS or emails containing links with regard to the user's account. Any reputed banking entity also does not use Wordpress like CMS technologies on their official website for security reasons," the foundation said. The personal information sought on the malicious website is name, registered mobile number, email, email password and date of birth. After the form is submitted, the user is directed to a "thank you" page. "The domain name of the website can be traced to India, and the registrant state was found to be Tamil Nadu," the report mentioned. According to the report, it was observed that the form takes user inputs without performing basic validation of data type. For example, the registered mobile number field, which should only accept numerical values also accepts text input. This can also be confirmed from the source code, where the input type for the field is mentioned as 'text' instead of 'number' or 'tel'. "The email password field shows the entered password in clear text instead of keeping the characters hidden. A similar source code observation is noted," it added. "The card number field accepts an infinite number of digits instead of only 16 digits, which SBI cards usually have. All these instances of negligence clearly indicate bad coding practice," the foundation said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ratan-tata-is-reportedly-exiting-lenskart-with-returns-of-28-times-the-investment/articleshow/81268916.cms">Ratan Tata is exiting Lenskart with returns of almost five times the investment</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/explained-the-nue-licence-for-payments-that-tata-ambani-and-bezos-have-applied-for/articleshow/81268434.cms">EXPLAINED: The NUE licence for payments that Tata, Ambani and Bezos have applied for</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/elon-musks-starlink-satellite-internet-is-coming-to-india-heres-how-you-can-pre-book-your-connection/articleshow/81268052.cms">Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet is coming to India – here's how you can pre-book your connection</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/elon-musk-and-reliance-industries-mukesh-ambani-compete-in-energy-storage-skytran-and-hyperloop/articleshow/81266903.cms">Elon Musk is facing a challenge from Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani in India⁠— both in energy and transportation</a>

Hackers are going after SBI users with a scam that offers credit points worth ₹9,870

<ul><li><keyword id="19897633" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Telegram" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Telegram" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Telegram">Telegram</keyword> has come under the scanner of the Indian government for gambling and extortion.</li><li>The messaging app is being investigated over its alleged misuse in criminal activities.</li><li>Telegram founder <keyword id="21332555" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pavel-Durov" source="keywords">Pavel Durov</keyword> was recently arrested in Paris by the French authorities.</li></ul>Pavel Durov, the co-founder and the chief executive officer of popular messaging platform Telegram was arrested in Paris earlier this month. The app has now come under the scanner in India. According to a <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/technology/telegram-being-investigated-in-india-over-extortion-gambling-concerns-article-12806508.html">report</a> by Moneycontrol, Telegram is being investigated by the government over its alleged misuse in criminal activities such as gambling and extortion. The ongoing investigation could also end up with Telegram being banned in India as per a government official. "The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) and MeitY have been looking into P2P communications on Telegram," said a government official to Moneycontrol. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112798622" title="Upcoming IPOs to look out for this week – Premier Energies, ECO Mobility and more" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> According to the report, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is investigating criminal activities such as extortion and gambling on the platform. <h2>Why has Telegram come under the scanner now?</h2>While Telegram has been blamed for such activities in the past, the investigation might have gained steam as the UGC-NET exam paper was reportedly being sold on Telegram for ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 after being leaked. Durov, 39, was detained by the French authorities at the Bourget Airport. Durov was wanted under a French arrest warrant due to the lack of moderation on Telegram, which allegedly led to the platform being used for money laundering, drug trafficking and sharing pedophilic content. The arrest was criticised by several people, including Tesla cofounder Elon Musk. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/premier-energies-ipo-price-band-to-risk-factors-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/112803763.cms">Premier Energies IPO – Price band to risk factors, all you need to know</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/upcoming-ipos-to-look-out-for-this-week-premier-energies-eco-mobility-and-more/articleshow/112798622.cms">Upcoming IPOs to look out for this week – Premier Energies, ECO Mobility and more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/govt-warns-about-fake-sms-warning-users-to-update-their-pan-what-it-is-and-how-to-stay-safe/articleshow/112795812.cms">Govt warns about fake SMS asking users to update their PAN – what it is and how to stay safe</a>

Telegram comes under the scanner in India for extortion and gambling – will it be banned in India?

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Twitter blocked around 30 mobile carriers due to Elon Musk's bot fears, per Platformer.</li><li>But this meant many real users were also denied access to the app on Sunday.</li></ul>Elon Musk accidentally blocked real Twitter users as the platform denied access to hundreds of thousands of accounts in an attempt to reduce bot numbers, <a href="https://www.platformer.news/p/how-elon-botched-his-war-on-bots">Platformer reported.</a>Around midnight Saturday, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-gives-up-top-spot-forbes-list-arnault-lvmh-2022-12">world's second-richest person</a> tweeted: "The bots are in for a surprise tomorrow."Hours later, the main telecom providers in India and Russia – plus the second-biggest in Indonesia – were all blocked from Twitter.Roughly 30 mobile carriers, primarily in eastern Asia, were all cut off from the app as part of Musk's attempt to limit spam. Instead of identifying individual accounts, Twitter identified mobile networks which were associated with large bots networks, Platformer reported.It first blocked SMS messages used for two-factor authentication, before preventing access to Twitter completely.Musk's concern about bots was a prime issue as he tried to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter-lawsuit-to-enforce-acquisition-takeover-deal-2022-7">pull out of the deal to acquire Twitter</a> over the summer. His lawyers also argued that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter-bots-employees-lawsuit-2022-8">Twitter was hiding staff responsible for calculating how many accounts were bots</a>.He had <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1526465624326782976">claimed</a> that 20% of users were fake or spam, but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-data-scientists-didnt-find-many-bots-twitter-hid-2022-9">Musk's own data scientists found the number to be around 5% to 11%.</a>Sunday's ban only lasted for a bit more than an hour, before the telecom companies passed their customers' complaints onto the social network. On the company's Slack, a Twitter engineer shared an email from one of the companies, Platformer reported. One employee said: "I expect more emails like this to hit our peering queue tomorrow."Another replied: "We blocked a fair few huge carriers, so I would expect so."The telecom companies were told the issue was due to "routing configuration changes" as Twitter staff quickly undid the block.Musk had also demanded employees explain why a specific account had been able to impersonate him, per Platformer. The hacked account had been able to share crypto scams because it was verified.One employee said that Twitter's content moderation tool used to identify spam "has been unstable for at least a week now."Twitter did not immediately reply to Insider's request for comment.

Elon Musk tried to get rid of Twitter bots by blocking hundreds of thousands of accounts, but accidentally impacted many legitimate users

Cybercriminals are trying to lure Indian users into revealing important personal information with a new report on Monday warning that suspicious messages asking users to submit an application for the disbursement of income tax refund have been doing the rounds, with a link that directs users to a webpage looking like the income tax e-filing web page. The targeted banks in the campaign include the <keyword id="6354731" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="state-bank-of-india">State Bank of India</keyword>, ICICI, HDFC, <keyword id="6355975" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="axis-bank">Axis Bank</keyword> and <keyword id="62034" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Punjab-National-Bank">Punjab National Bank</keyword>, revealed an investigation by New Delhi-based think tank CyberPeace Foundation along with cybersecurity services firmAutobot Infosec. The suspicious links originate from the US and France, said the report, adding that the campaign is collecting personal as well as banking information from the user and getting into this type of trap could cause a massive financial loss for the users. The shared link with the SMS has no domain name and is not linked with the Indian government. All IP addresses associated with the campaign belong to some third party dedicated cloud hosting providers, said the report. The whole campaign uses plain http protocol instead of the secure https. This means anyone on the network or internet can intercept the traffic and get the confidential information in plain text to misuse against the victim. It asks users to download an application from a third party source instead of Google Playstore. The application asks to provide administrator rights and unnecessary access permissions of the device. On opening the link http://204.44.124[.]160/ITR, users are redirected to a landing page that is mostly similar to the government income tax e-filing website. On clicking the green 'Proceed to the verification steps' button, users are asked to submit personal information such as full name, PAN, Aadhar number, address, pincode, date of birth, mobile number, email address, gender, marital status and banking information like account number, IFSC code, card number, expiry date, CVV/CVC and card PIN. Additionally, the bank name is automatically detected from the IFSC code entered in the form. After submission of data, users are redirected to a page where they are asked to confirm the entered data. Clicking on the green 'confirm' button directs users to a fake banking login page almost similar to the official one. It asks for the username and password for online banking. After these details are entered, for the next step, users are asked to enter a Hint question, Answer, Profile password and CIF number. Once submitted, a mobile verification section with instructions provided to download an android application (.apk file) appears, to complete the ITR verification. Here, users are deliberately instructed to grant all device permissions to the particular application, the investigation revealed. The application, called Certificate.apk, starts downloading upon clicking the green 'Download' link. The overall layout and functionalities of the web page used in the campaign are similar to the official e-filing site to lure laymen, said the report. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/bank-employees-in-india-on-strike-today-and-tomorrow-but-mobile-and-net-banking-services-are-working/articleshow/81505273.cms">Bank employees on strike today and tomorrow — ATMs, net and mobile banking likely to be the only relief</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/indias-personal-data-protection-law-versus-europes-gdpr/articleshow/81504058.cms">Being GDPR compliant doesn't necessarily make companies ready for India's upcoming data protection laws</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/stripe-the-most-valued-startup-in-the-us-to-offer-payment-services-to-indias-merchants-after-its-latest-fundraise/articleshow/81504106.cms">Stripe, the most valued startup in the US, to offer payment services to India’s merchants after its latest fundraise</a>

SBI, ICICI, HDFC, Axis Bank, PNB and the Indian IT department targeted in phishing scam

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="1275203" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Telegram">Telegram</keyword> is a secure option for messaging due to several features it offers, although there are some weaker areas in its overall security when comparing it to other messaging apps.</li><li>Usage of the chat platform Telegram has skyrocketed as WhatsApp users flock to alternative platforms amid <keyword id="6355135" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Privacy">privacy</keyword> concerns.</li><li>Here's what you need to know about Telegram's level of security and how it measures against other privacy-concerned apps.</li></ul>Privacy concerns related to sharing data with Facebook drove a sea of users away from WhatsApp and toward other chat platforms, including Telegram, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/telegram-hits-500-million-users-after-whatsapp-backlash-2021-1">which hit 500 million active new users this month</a>. However, that begs the question: Is Telegram secure?Thankfully, from features like encrypted cloud storage to self-destructing messages that sound like something out of a spy movie, the answer is mostly yes.Here's some more information about what those measures mean, how they make Telegram secure, and where it falls short compared to a few of its most prominent competitors.<h2>Telegram uses encryption, although not as extensively as some platforms</h2>Unlike its competitor Signal, Telegram doesn't by default apply end-to-end encryption to messages, which prevents any message intercepted by a third party from being interpretable. However, you can opt to have end-to-end encryption by using Telegram's "secret chat" option.Despite the fact that end-to-end encryption isn't standard, <a href="https://telegram.org/faq?setln=uz#q-what-is-this-39encryption-key-39-thing">Telegram says its two-chat system is the most secure solution for their widely-used app</a>. It toggles between Cloud and Secret chats to protect all kinds of users, relying on a standard encrypted cloud storage system based on server-client encryption - called MTProto encryption.The cloud storage system does have its setbacks. All of your content on the app is stored in the cloud, making it accessible across devices, but also lessening your control over the information being shared. This potentially poses a security risk. <div type="image" title="Telegram in App Store" height="3712" width="5568" msid="80593454" hostid="261"></div><h2>Telegram's secret chat option has other security features for the more privacy-concerned user, including self-destructing messages</h2>In addition to the end-to-end encryption, secret chats also leave no trace on Telegram servers, don't allow forwarding, and can be sent as <a href="https://telegram.org/blog/now-you-see-me" target="_blank" rel="noopener">self-destructing messages</a>. Secret chats are also separate from the Telegram cloud, and instead can only be accessed via the device of origin. They are encrypted by another layer of security, found in client-client encryption. <h2>Compared to its competitors, Telegram does fall short security-wise in a few areas</h2>Although end-to-end encryption is an option, it's been a criticism of Telegram that that type of encryption isn't the default setting - as it is for Signal, for instance.Telegram's secret chat option can also only be held between two people, meaning there's a lack of end-to-end encryption for group chats.And unlike Signal, Telegram doesn't comprehensively encrypt metadata. Telegram collects your IP address, which Signal does not, and can link your phone number, contact list, and user ID back to you. This backfired in 2016 <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-cyber-telegram-exclusive-idUSKCN10D1AM">when the user information of 15 million Iranians was exposed by an Iranian group of hackers called Rocket Kitten</a>. It was not confirmed whether the security breach was the work of Iranian government officials, but many of the targets were identified as political activists. Additionally, a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-deepfake">deepfake</a> bot scandal took place on Telegram in 2020, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/deepfake-nude-revenge-porn-telegram-bot-2020-10">where users on Telegram channels exchanged nudes powered by the DeepNude software</a> - meaning fake nudes of women were computer generated from images taken off social media and were used for trading purposes.Sensity, a security company that uses AI software to detect deepfakes, uncovered more than 100,000 images on the app and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/20/21519322/deepfake-fake-nudes-telegram-bot-deepnude-sensity-report">found that around 70% of users were located in or around Russia</a>. Similar to WhatsApp and Signal, it is suggested that you turn on two-step verification for the app to prevent account hijacks, which are made possible by hackers gaining access to your SMS code. You can also change your privacy settings in the app so that only your contacts have access to your phone number and profile information, instead of the "everybody" setting. <h2>Tech-savvy users can test Telegram's security themselves due to the program's open source aspects</h2>One thing security advocates applaud about Telegram is that anyone with enough expertise can look under the hood at Telegram's source code, protocol, and API - although the complete picture is proprietary and not fully open source.Telegram also supports verifiable builds, meaning experts can check for themselves that the Telegram code published on GitHub is identical to the code powering the apps you download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.<a href="https://telegram.org/faq#q-what-if-my-hacker-friend-says-they-could-decipher-telegram-mes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Telegram has said</a> that anyone with a verifiable claim that they can decipher Telegram messages can win $300,000 in its Cracking Contest.Smaller bounties are offered as well if a tip results in a change in code or configuration.<h2>Related coverage from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-reference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Reference</a>:</h2><ul><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-a-telegram-account">How to make a Telegram account and start using the popular group chatting app</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-delete-telegram-account">How to delete your account on the Telegram messaging platform, which wipes all your data upon deletion</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-add-people-on-telegram">How to invite people to Telegram, create group chats, and add new members on desktop and mobile</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-join-telegram-group">How to find and join groups on the Telegram messaging app, with or without an invite link</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-signal">What to know about Signal, the secure messaging app that keeps all of your conversations private</a></h3></li></ul>

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<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">LookoutExfiltrated content included military photos with US army personnel</div></div></div><ul><li>Surveillanceware tools collected critical data from US, UK, and Australian officials and diplomats.</li><li>The hack, which was allegedly coordinated by Pakistani military members, collected sensitive photos, audio recordings, text messages, and could also disable a phone's reception.</li><li>The victims unknowingly gave access to images of US military hardware, photos of passports, details of diplomatic visits, and letters from senior officials.</li><li>In one instance a phishing message was sent via Facebook Messenger.</li></ul> The Pakistani military allegedly coordinated a surveillance operation which collected data from US, UK, and Australian officials and diplomats.Researchers from US mobile-security company Lookout found Western officials were unintentionally caught up in a data-gathering operation which used surveillanceware tools dubbed Stealth Mango (for Android) and Tangel (for iOS).<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image">LookoutUS military hardware.</div></div></div>In a <a href="https://info.lookout.com/rs/051-ESQ-475/images/lookout-stealth-mango-srr-us.pdf">report</a> released last week, Lookout researchers said they believe Pakistani military members were responsible for hacks targeting civilians, government officials, diplomats, and military personnel in Pakistan, India, Iraq and the UAE."These tools have been part of a highly targeted intelligence gathering campaign we believe is operated by members of the Pakistani military," the report read. "Our investigation indicates this actor has used these surveillanceware tools to successfully compromise the mobile devices of government officials, members of the military, medical professionals, and civilians."According to Lookout, which analyzed 15gb of compromised data, perpetrators largely targeted victims via phishing messages which linked to a third-party Android app store. Once a surveillanceware app was downloaded it was able to access text messages, audio recordings, photos, calendars, contact lists for apps including Skype, and the phone's GPS location. It also had the ability to detect when a victim was driving and turn off SMS and internet reception during that time.<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image">LookoutA letter from the Pakistan High Commission to the US Ambassador.</div></div>On at least one occasion the app store URL was sent via Facebook messenger which, according to Lookout, suggests "the attackers are using fake personas to connect with their targets and coerce them into installing the malware onto their devices."The individuals targeted in this campaign unknowingly gave hackers access to pictures of IDs and passports, the GPS locations of photos, legal and medical documents, internal government communications, and photos of military and government officials from closed-door meetings.Officials and civilians from the US and Iran, as well as British and Australian diplomats, were not targeted in the operation but their data was compromised after interacting with Stealth Mango victims.<h2>Some of the victims' compromised data included:</h2><ul><li>A letter from the United States Central Command to the Afghanistan Assistant Minister of <keyword id="6354810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="defense">Defense</keyword> for Intelligence</li><li>A letter from the High Commission for Pakistan to the United States Director of the Foreign Security Office Ministry of Foreign Affairs</li><li>Details of visits to Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan by Australian Diplomats</li><li>Details of visits to Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan by German Diplomats</li><li>Photos of Afghan and Pakistani military officials</li></ul>It's unknown when Stealth Mango was launched, but its latest release was made in April 2018.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">LookoutAustralian diplomat's travel details in Pakistan.</div></div></div>Lookout believes it was created by freelance developers with physical presences in Pakistan, India, and the United States, but actively managed by actors in Pakistan who are most likely members of the military.The main developer is thought to be a full-time app creator. Lookout suspects he once worked for a company based in Sydney, Australia. On LinkedIn, most of the company's employees are based in Pakistan.When contacted by Lookout, Google said the apps used in this operation were not available on the Google Play Store, but "Google Play Protect has been updated to protect user devices from these apps and is in the process of removing them from all affected devices." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-narcos-sicario-get-wrong-about-drug-cartels-mexico-2018-5">Here's what 'Narcos' and 'Sicario' get right and wrong about drug cartels</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Pakistani military allegedly hacked phones belonging to US, UK, and Australian officials and diplomats

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<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/">iStock</a></div></div></div>The hacking software that completely takes over an Apple iPhone and turns it into a mobile surveillance device is pretty terrifying.Built by a shadowy company called <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nso-group-2016-8">NSO Group</a>, the software called "Pegasus" - discovered after being used against a human rights activist in the United Arab Emirates - forced Apple to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-issues-fix-for-major-ios-security-flaw-2016-8">issue a critical software update</a> on Thursday to protect its users worldwide.Updating iOS to the current 9.3.5 version is crucial for all users, since Pegasus is designed to infect a person's phone and it is virtually impossible to detect."The software leaves absolutely no indicators of compromise to the user," Mike Murray, vice president of security research and response at <a href="https://www.lookout.com/">Lookout</a>, a mobile security firm that researched the threat with CitizenLab, told Business Insider.One of Murray's fellow researchers told him of how advanced Pegasus is: "Once you get this software on your phone, it's not your phone anymore."<h2>'This is a real exploit happening in the wild against real people'</h2>The revelation of Pegasus started with a text message on Aug. 10.A text sent to the iPhone 6 of Ahmed Mansoor, <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/ahmed-mansoor-selected-as-the-2015-laureate-martin-ennals-award-for-human-rights-defenders/">a prominent human rights</a> activist in the United Arab Emirates, promised "new secrets about torture of Emiratis in state prisons" with a link. Though the phone number it came from was faked, and the text's claims were interesting, <a href="https://citizenlab.org/2016/08/million-dollar-dissident-iphone-zero-day-nso-group-uae/">he didn't click.</a>"I could tell that these were unusual SMS's," Mansoor <a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/ahmed-mansoor-million-dollar-dissident-government-spyware">told</a> Motherboard. "And I wouldn't go and [click on] that."Instead, he sent it to CitizenLab researchers Bill Marczak and John Scott-Railton, who used their own phone to click the link themselves - and then track what would happen next."What we were looking at were three chained together iOS zero days," Murray told BI. After clicking the link, the Safari browser quickly opened and then closed. "That's the only indication the user will ever have," Murray said.But in the background, Pegasus was calling back to servers controlled by its creators, then downloading its malicious software, jailbreaking the device, and quickly infecting every aspect of the phone from messaging software to its repository of WiFi passwords with three "zero day" vulnerabilities, or unfixed bugs that can be exploited by hackers.After CitizenLab brought in Lookout to help in discovering what Pegasus could do, the researchers immediately called Apple to report it."This is a real exploit happening in the wild against real people," said Murray, noting that neither research group submitted it through Apple's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/technology/apple-will-pay-a-bug-bounty-to-hackers-who-report-flaws.html">official bug bounty program</a>, which could have earned them upwards of $200,000."This wasn't about money. This is about real people in the world being attacked."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">AP</div></div></div><h2>'I think it is an arms race'</h2>In their research, Citizen Lab and Lookout realized that Pegasus was designed to do two things: completely take over all aspects of the iPhone, and operate like a "ghost" that a user would never be able to see."The joke with spyware is 'suddenly my battery goes from 6 hours to 30 minutes,'" Murray said. "Pegasus doesn't do that."What it does do is gather an incredible <a href="https://info.lookout.com/rs/051-ESQ-475/images/lookout-pegasus-technical-analysis.pdf">amount of data on an affected user</a>. Every single text message, calendar entry, email sent through Gmail, or WhatsApp message is vacuumed up and sent back to whoever is behind the spying. It constantly updates and sends the user's location from the phone's GPS. And it even fully downloads the user's various passwords and steals the stored list of WiFi networks and passwords the phone connects to.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://citizenlab.org/2016/08/million-dollar-dissident-iphone-zero-day-nso-group-uae/">Leaked Hacking Team Emails via CitizenLab</a>A screenshot from NSO Group's Pegasus Working Station software, showing locations of infected devices (as of March 2012).</div></div></div>Not surprisingly, it can intercept audio from calls, to include those made through WhatsApp and Skype, or the microphone can be remotely turned on to listen in. "Your smartphone today is the new walkie-talkie," NSO Group cofounder Omri Lavie <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/1.574805">told</a> the Financial Times in 2013.<div data-slide="5" id="nsos-pegasus-spy-tool-transforms-a-variety-of-phones-into-mobile-listening-stations-5">"We're a complete ghost," he <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/08/01/can-this-israeli-startup-hack-your-phone/">told</a> Defense News of his sophisticated spy software. "We're totally transparent to the target, and we leave no traces."</div>Since its discovery, Murray said, the NSO command-and-control servers the researchers found Pegasus communicating with have all been taken down. But it has built-in protections for updating these servers, so it's likely this discovery may be nothing more than a bump in the road for the company behind it."The level of stealth it has, [and] the level of protections it has against its own infrastructure being destroyed or itself being discovered is quite incredible," Murray said. "I think it speaks to the sophistication of the threat ... this was designed to maintain persistence and maintain the compromise a lot longer than what you typically see in a lot of malware.When asked whether a hardware solution, such as <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/edward-snowden-phone-2016-7">Edward Snowden's proposed case for the iPhone</a>, may be what users need to protect themselves, Murray said it would make it "harder" for attackers, but dismissed claims it could be a silver bullet."I think it's an arms race," he said. "As soon as we try and do it with hardware, the sophisticated attacker is simply going to work harder to blend into the background.""People are patching up certain holes and they're just finding new holes," Blake Kotiza, vice president of sales for Privoro, a manufacturer of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/privoro-phone-case-2016-8">anti-spying hardware for the iPhone</a>. "It's a continuous game of cat and mouse."Apple released an update to its mobile operating system iOS on Thursday, which fixes the three zero-day exploits that were uncovered. Users who update to iOS 9.3.5 are, for now, protected against Pegasus. An Apple spokesperson also confirmed to Business Insider that the latest update to the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ios-10-new-features-coming-to-your-iphone-2016-6">iOS 10 beta software</a> is protected as well.Murray's company, Lookout, <a href="https://www.lookout.com/products/personal">also has an app</a> that scans phones for security threats, which can now tell users whether their device has been compromised."Now that we know what to look for, it's much more effective," Murray said.But <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nso-group-2016-8/">the company behind Pegasus is still in business</a>, and it's likely working hard to find another way to break into the iPhone, which is believed to have been vulnerable going all the way back to iOS 7. It had previously demonstrated hacks on Blackberry and Android devices."It's the best out there we've seen," Murray said. "Who knows what other shady groups are still out there lurking, waiting to be discovered."<div id="categorypromo" style="border:1px solid silver; min-height:90px; padding:10px;vertical-align:top;"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/25-big-tech-predictions-for-2016?IR=T&amp;utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=ctgr&amp;utm_term=ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions&amp;utm_content=iphone_ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions&amp;utm_campaign=iphone_ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions"></a> EXCLUSIVE FREE REPORT: 25 Big Tech Predictions by BI Intelligence. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/25-big-tech-predictions-for-2016?IR=T&amp;utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=ctgr&amp;utm_term=ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions&amp;utm_content=iphone_ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions&amp;utm_campaign=iphone_ctgr_leadgen_2016-predictions">Get the Report Now »</a></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-a-dea-agent-did-when-asked-to-try-drugs-2016-8">EX-UNDERCOVER DEA AGENT: What I did when drug dealers asked me to try the product</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="w1MGxlMjE6hH45aq4Ag4Q590qZgMWztE" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Inside 'Pegasus,' the impossible-to-detect software that hacks your iPhone

<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_gEiU_FDxQ">RatedRR / YouTube</a></div></div>BOSTON (Reuters) - A German security company has uncovered a bug in the new <keyword id="6354606" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="iPhone">iPhone</keyword>'s software that it said enables hackers to overcome a safeguard allowing users to remotely wipe stolen or lost phones.
Berlin's Security Research Labs, known as SRL, said on Thursday that the vulnerability could potentially give criminals time to break into the Apple Inc phones, gain complete control of data, access email accounts and then potentially take over the user's bank accounts.
The research firm also said it has figured out an easier way to crack the iPhone fingerprint scanner than has been demonstrated thus far.
It published a video demonstrating the newly discovered flaws on its website https://srlabs.de/spoofing-fingerprints/
SRL, which this summer disclosed a major security flaw in SIM card technology that affected mobile systems around the globe, said it has shared its research with Apple's security team.
Apple declined to comment. The company sometimes refrains from discussing potential security bugs while it reviews research.
If SRL's findings are verified, this would mark at least the fifth security bug in the iPhone and its iOS operating system uncovered since July. Apple has already fixed some of those flaws, including one disclosed at a summer hacking conference that make the devices vulnerable to snooping.
The company has remained silent since concerns have been raised about the security of its "Touch ID" fingerprint scanner on its top-of-the-line iPhone 5S, which went on sale last month.
A German hacker known as Starbug was able to crack Touch ID within two days of its release. Several experts in mobile security and biometrics say they have independently verified his work.
<h3>ANOTHER WAY TO SKIN A CAT</h3>
Apple's "Find My iPhone" feature aims to thwart thieves and hackers. It lets users log into Apple's iCloud and wipe a device, giving victims a chance to disable the phone before criminals can gain access. It also prevents criminals from registering those devices to another account.
Ben Schlabs, an SRL project manager in biometric security, told Reuters he has identified a new method for preventing those features from being initiated.
He was able to put an iPhone 5S on "airplane mode," cutting off iCloud's ability to communicate with the device to initiate the features. That bought him time to create a "fake finger" to fool Touch ID.
He said he created a fingerprint mold using the same basic approach as Starbug, who took a photo of an iPhone user's fingerprint with a high resolution camera, printed it out on a plastic sheet, then etched the mold.
Schlabs used a previous-generation iPhone 4S to take the photo. Once he gained access to the iPhone 5S with the fake finger, he looked up the user's email address. He then went to Apple's website on an ordinary computer and instructed it to send credentials for resetting its password to the account of the phone's owner.
At that point, he turned off airplane mode for several seconds: just enough time to retrieve email, but not enough for the "Find My iPhone" feature to disable the device or initiate a wipe.
Once he reset the password, Schlabs said he was able to completely "own" the iPhone: he could take over accounts from outside email providers, and reset passwords by getting email providers to send SMS messages to the hijacked phone.
"Once you have access to the email, you can engage in total online identity theft. You can get bank credentials or anything else," Schlabs said.
Chris Morales, a hacking expert and research director with NSS Labs of Austin, Texas, said the growing research on Touch ID underscores what members of the security community have long known: biometrics are not as secure as passwords.
He said a facial recognition feature in Google Android operating system has been defeated using photos.
"As bad as passwords are, it's more secure to know something than to be something," Morales said. "Biometrics only extends security for people who are extremely lazy."
IPhone users can take steps to mitigate the potential for attacks using the newly identified approach, Schlabs said. For instance, users can adjust the phone's settings to prevent airplane mode from being activated when devices are locked.
Customers in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States can opt for two-factor authentication, which requires the user to enter a four-digit code that is sent to their iPhone or other device.
(Reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Edwin Chan, Martin Howell, Tiffany Wu and Phil Berlowitz)

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