Obama’s cyber order mirrors India’s net security framework

....India's top security brass has claimed that the Obama administration came up with an executive order that resembles India's cyber security initiatives after it had failed to get the Cyber Security Bill approved in the US Senate....

...A document issued by security brass of the country, which was reviewed by ET, cites at least 12 instances where the US order mirrors India's cyber security framework that was drafted in 2011. These include setting out a cyber security policy, defining critical infrastructure, information sharing between departments and protection of civil liberties....

.....However, Obama's order is silent on identifying enemy infrastructure. ET reported in December of 2011 about India's cyber security framework, which includes mapping of cyber systems of other countries, including their internet gateways, routers, IT system layouts, and web routing patterns.... 
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Attackers use Skype, other IM apps to spread Liftoh trojan

....Users receiving shortened URLs in Skype instant messages, or similar IM platforms, should be wary of a new trojan, called Liftoh....

.....So far, it has primarily infected users in Latin America, said Rodrigo Calvo, a researcher at Symantec.......

......The malicious URLs have been clicked on more than 170,000 times, according to Symantec.....

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Government wants more Indian software for better cyber security

..The country's top security agencies are not happy that they have to rely on foreign-made security software from the likes of Symantec and McAfee to protect India's critical information technology infrastructure.....

........According to the minutes of the meeting reviewed by ET, officials raised concerns that the currently used security software are not foolproof and can leave critical information vulnerable to attackers...

.......The push for Indian-made security software comes at a time when there is a rise in cyber attacks by renegade and state-sponsored groups looking to gain access to government corporate networks........

...."The intent is good, but the government needs to understand that developing a security product requires a lot of time and R&D-related expenses," said Sanjay Dhawan, technology leader at the Indian arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. 

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Govt plans cyber security coordinator

Govt plans cyber security coordinator:
"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday described outer space and cyber space as two emerging security challenges for India. "

To combat such threats, the government will soon create a national cyber security office for a coordinated response. The decision is aimed at implementing a national architecture on cyber security.


... China has made rapid progress in non-conventional warfare.  The People’s Liberation Army maintains a brigade of hackers, which targets websites around the world, an Army official said.

In 2007, China also demonstrated its capability to destroy satellites in the orbit, triggering shock wave around the world.

The prime minister gave clear indications of the government’s seriousness on how to deal with these threats. ....


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Norwegian company names Indian firm for global cyber offensive? - Times Of India

A Norwegian cyber security firm has alleged that a sophisticated cyber attack infrastructure appears to originate from India, conducted by private actors with no evidence of state-sponsorship. Norman Shark, Norwegian firm, has also named an Indian company that is known to work with Indian military and intelligence as one of the possible suspects behind the attacks.

The Indian company, Appin Security Group, which figures in the report, has rubbished the claims, saying it was "totally false and very imaginative". The company pointed out that the report itself mentions "we are not implicating or suggesting inappropriate activity by Appin. ..

... A senior government official said that one Indian intelligence agency had filed a report with the government a few months ago accusing Appin of wrong doings and probably compromising details of security vulnerability of one of its clients. "It is incorrect that Appin had placed details on any server which was accessible to people or in any manner it could be compromised. Appin always follows industry standard protocols for protecting data," Appin told TOI. ..

.. The Norman Shark report, titled "Operation Hangover", said the Indian network seems to have targeted victims in over a dozen countries. "Specific targets include government, military and business organizations. ....


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Now you can be a freelance cyber cop - Times Of India

The Kerala police are mooting a corps of freelance cyber personnel to crack complex online crimes with a view to bridging acute shortage of talent in uniform...


The police will allow aspirants to express interest through its FB page, Netizen Police. Or mail at spintsec@gmail.com or a text to 9497996927.

"A panel will analyse each application and do a background check. Only those who clear the parameters will be allowed to serve us. There won't be any remuneration. They can work on their personal computer," Jayanath said.

..."Conditions for becoming honorary cops must be stringent but attractive enough for freelancers,"


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Indian computer authorities to investigate what led to $45 million ATM heist

Pune, India-based ElectraCard Services and enStage, a company with operations in Bangalore and Cupertino, Calif., were infiltrated by hackers who compromised prepaid debit cards, allowing them to steal $45 million from ATMs around the world, according to sources speaking to news service Reuters.

On Tuesday, Aabhas Pandya, a spokesperson for enStage, declined to confirm whether the company was struck, but said via email to SCMagazine.com that enStage “is in the midst of preparing a media statement” on the matter. ElectraCard did not immediately respond for comment.

Over the weekend, Gulshan Rai, director general of the Indian CERT, told Reuters that it was investigating “the technical aspect” of the attacks.

Read more: Indian computer authorities to investigate what led to $45 million ATM heist - SC Magazine

Large scale financial cybercrime, state affiliated espionage lead data breaches across world

CHENNAI: Financial cybercrime and state affiliated espionage have emerged as the leading causes of data breaches all around the world. Taking the top spot for all breaches in the Verizon 2013 Data Breach Investigations Report report is financially motivated cybercrime (75%), with state-affiliated espionage campaigns claiming the No 2 spot (20%) in the No. 2 spot include cyber threats aimed at stealing intellectual property - such as classified information, trade secrets and technical resources - to further national and economic interests.

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‘Police should look for the person who first uploaded actress MMS’

Mumbai: Experts feel that the city’s cyber police will find it difficult to track down the main accused who reportedly created the morphed MMS clip of actress Mona Singh and circulated it. Investigators should find out the person who first uploaded/circulated the MMS clip instead of trying to get the IP address of the computer used to upload the objectionable content, said cyber experts. 
    On Thursday night, Singh had lodged a complaint with the Versova police about the objectionable MMS clip that has gone viral

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But experts feel investigators should find out the person who first uploaded/circulated the MMS clip instead of trying to get the IP address 
    According to experts, the police should seek Singh’s help to trace the main source, the person and origin of the objectionable MMS clip 
    Victims of cyber crimes can approach the cyber crime cell at the police HQ, Crawford Market, or the cyber cell police station, BKC

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TeamSpy snooped on governments, big biz undetected for 10 years

Computer security researchers say they have uncovered a decade-long espionage campaign against governments, businesses and human-rights activists in Eastern Europe and beyond.

We're told the spying operation was partially pulled off by subverting TeamViewer - a legitimate tool for remotely controlling computers and holding meetings online. The snoopers installed the software on victims' Windows PCs and modified the code's behaviour with DLL hijacking to open a backdoor on the compromised machines. This successful tactic earned the campaign the nickname of TeamSpy and kept the hacking crew under the radar for years.

The researchers, who are based at the Laboratory of Cryptography and System Security (CrySyS Lab), said the spying team also used custom-built malware in days gone by.
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"The campaigns are a mix of targeted attacks and conventional cyber-crime activities, for example, banking crime operations such as the Sheldor campaign."

CrySyS Lab reckoned the attacks are the work of a small and technically skilled team that has grown more sloppy over the years as complacency set in.

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TeamSpy's modus operandi is similar to the approach taken by the hackers behind the earlier Red October attack, although the two operations are not thought to be directly linked. The TeamSpy crew usually roped in victims using so-called waterhole attacks based on planting malicious code on websites frequently visited by people working at targeted organisations. That attack code was also injected into advertising networks that ran across the targeted regions.

A detailed technical analysis by Kaspersky Lab of TeamSpy can be found here [PDF]. ®

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SOUTH KOREA UNDER CYBER ATTACK

SEOUL – Three South Korean broadcasters and two banks were hit by a major cyber attack this afternoon, in an apparently successful attack that has rendered system-wide computer networks unusable since 1400KST (0100EST).

KBS, MBC and YTN were all hit by the attack, as were Shinhan and Nonghyup banks, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. KBS staff member Luke Cleary tweeted a picture of his laptop screen, apparently showing a wiped operating system:

Although no evidence has thus-far been presented, a statement from the presidential office said they were investigating the possibility of North Korean involvement in the attack, and the military has upgraded its “info surveillance status” in response. Reuters, however, reported that a holding page from a hacking group know as the “Whois Team” appeared on an LG-owned website (see below video).

“The circumstantial evidence points towards North Korea, but that’s also the perfect cover for someone wanting to attack South Korea and cause mischief,” North Korea Tech blogger Martyn Williams told NK NEWS.

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Other Links of same story :

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/

http://www.northkoreatech.org/

http://www.scmagazine.com

http://www.symantec.com

UP police to set up crime cells in districts

In an effort to ensure speedy investigation of complicated criminal cases, the Uttar Pradesh police has decided to set up cells of its crime branch at the district-level on the lines of Delhi and Maharashtra.

"The government order (GO) for setting up of these cells has already been issued", ADG law and order, Arun Kumar told reporters here.

...

From now on, special operation groups (SOGs) have been scrapped in the districts while the special investigating teams have been merged with crime cells, the ADG said.

"Special weapon and tactics teams will also work under the crime cells", Kumar said, adding that he has discusses ways and means of better functioning of these cells with the district police chiefs.

...

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Britain and India to agree cyber crime joint taskforce

Britain and India are expected to agree to set up a joint task force to fight cyber crime, a move London hopes will help it safeguard the personal banking and mobile phone data of millions of Britons, much of which is stored on Indian servers.

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It said India was set to have one of the biggest online populations by 2015 with an expected 300 million users - larger than the United States and up from the 137 million users already in India today.

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Cybercrime-as-a-Service – A Very Modern Business

By Vishak Raman on 7 March, 2013

Cybercrime business includes a complete range of deliverables, from attack tools and methods, consulting, services, advertising, and a myriad of programs that serve as the ‘product.’

Cybercrime business includes a complete range of deliverables, from attack tools and methods, consulting, services, advertising, and a myriad of programs that serve as the `product'. The more features or the more complex the service offered, the higher the price. A worrying new phrase has entered the lexicon of cybercrime - Crime-as-a-Service (CaaS). While the term is self-explanatory it more than adequately describes how cybercrime in the 21st Century has become commoditised. 

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Just as with any other business, there are products and services available to be sold to customers. These include; Consulting services such as botnet setup ($350-$400); Infection/spreading services (~$100 per 1K installs); Botnets and Rentals - Distributed Denial of Service or DDoS ($535 for 5 hours per day for one week), email spam ($40 / 20K emails) and Web spam ($2/30 posts); Crimeware Upgrade Modules. SpyEye Modules as an example, range anywhere from $500 upwards to $10K. SpyEye is a prolific banking botnet that emerged in 2010 and can be upgraded to enable advanced features for money laundering.

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Cyber crimes on the rise, but few pursue case to court

ByA Subburaj, TNN | Mar 15, 2013, 01.16 AM IST

COIMBATORE: Though cyber crimes are on a steady rise in Coimbatore and the police cell dealing with it receives numerous complaints every week, a peculiar situation is emerging with petitioners refusing to proceed with the case after the person who sent the offensive data through email or mobile phone is identified and made to confess the crime.

"In most cases, the suspect is someone known to the petitioner and the petitioner is satisfied with an apology from the offender once we locate the criminal. Petitioners are preventing us from registering FIRs and ensuring a closure to the case by moving the court,'' says a senior police officer working with the Cyber Crime Cell.
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The issues range from extra marital affairs to property disputes and clashes between family members,'' adds Ravichandran.
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Though as many as 451 cases were reported in 2012, FIRs were registered in only 12 cases. In 2011, 1250 cases were reported but FIRs were filed only in 28 cases. In 2010, 508 cases were reported but FIRs were filed only in eight cases. In 2009, 93 cases were filed but FIRs were recorded in just three cases.
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Chinese hackers breach DRDO systems; steal cabinet committee on security files

Saikat Datta l @saikatd

New Delhi: A successful Chinese hacking attack has caused what is arguably the biggest security breach in India with systems of hundreds of key DRDO and other security officials being compromised and leading to the leak of sensitive files related to the cabinet committee on security (CCS), the highest decision-making body for security issues of the government of India. 
The other stolen files recovered so far belong to the governments of the United States, Russia, and South Korea.
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As they continued to trace the breach, they discovered thousands of top secret CCS files, and other documents related to surface-to-air missile and radar programmes from DRDL, a DRDO laboratory based in Hyderabad, among many other establishments. 
Even the e-tickets of the scientists who had travelled to Delhi in February were found on the server. 
The intelligence officials also discovered documents of deals struck between DRDO and Bharat Dynamics Ltd, a defence PSU which manufactures strategic missiles and components. Some other recovered files were related to price negotiations with MBDA, a French missile manufacturing company.
But the shocking part was the extent of the hacking by the Chinese, believed to be officially sponsored. 
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Doctors used silicone fingers to fool fingerprint scanner

The story broke when Globo TV managed to get its hands on a video that shows 29-year old doctor Thauane Nunes Ferreira first clocking in at work by pressing her own finger onto the device, then doing the same for two colleagues by using silicone fingers.

In the footage, she seems uncomfortable doing it, and collecting the slips of paper that proved that those persons checked in. After having been arrested, she admitted to doing it for a while now, but pointed out that she was coerced into doing it by Jorge Cury, the head of the emergency room

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Software that tracks people on social media created by defence firm

A multinational security firm has secretly developed software capable of tracking people's movements and predicting future behaviour by mining data from social networking websites.

A video obtained by the Guardian reveals how an "extreme-scale analytics" system created by Raytheon, the world's fifth largest defence contractor, can gather vast amounts of information about people from websites including Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.

Raytheon says it has not sold the software – named Riot, or Rapid Information Overlay Technology – to any clients.
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The sophisticated technology demonstrates how the same social networks that helped propel the Arab Spring revolutions can be transformed into a "Google for spies" and tapped as a means of monitoring and control.

Using Riot it is possible to gain an entire snapshot of a person's life – their friends, the places they visit charted on a map – in little more than a few clicks of a button.

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The power of Riot to harness popular websites for surveillance offers a rare insight into controversial techniques that have attracted interest from intelligence and national security agencies, at the same time prompting civil liberties and online privacy concerns.

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n April, Riot was scheduled to be showcased at a US government and industry national security conference for secretive, classified innovations, where it was listed under the category "big data – analytics, algorithms."

According to records published by the US government's trade controls department, the technology has been designated an "EAR99" item under export regulations, which means it "can be shipped without a licence to most destinations under most circumstances".

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11 in custody, police expect more arrests in e-fraud case

MUMBAI: After the arrest of two more persons on Saturday in connection with the Rs 1 crore bank e-fraud, the number of people caught by theMulund police in the case has risen to 11.

The police expect even more arrests in the case, which involved the transfer of money from a cosmetics company director's current account to 12 bank accounts in the city, Navi Mumbai, Thane district and Uttar Pradesh in just 45 minutes. The account of the victim, Ankur Korani, was hacked into on January 29 between 9.15am and 10am.
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A woman identified only as Pillai (34) and a person named Kumar (24) were the latest to be arrested. They were caught on Saturday evening when they visited the Virar branch of a private bank to withdraw Rs 6 lakh each from their accounts.

"All those arrested used fake PAN cards, voter's identity cards, and electricity and telephone bills as address proof to open bank accounts," a police officer said. "The banks were negligent as they opened the account without any background verification. The RBI should take firm action against the banks' lethargic approach."
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Cops probe insider hand in Arun Jaitley call details case

NEW DELHI: The timely detection of a plot to obtain call details of senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley has averted a political storm, but, sources say, a scandal on the scale of the Amar Singhphone tapping case in 2005 can still arise if investigation reveals the involvement of police personnel in the conspiracy.
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The request mail was sent to telecom firm Airtel on January 17. Normally, telecom firms share details with police on receipt of official requests, but keeping in view Jaitley's stature, Airtel decided to cross check the authenticity of the request with police, saving them some blushes. 
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Police have learnt that the email ID of ACP (operations) Bhoop Singh was accessed by an unauthorized person, suspected to be a police officer. Officers of ACP rank and above can seek call details of a person from telecom companies. However, in the present case, senior officers were not aware of the email request. 
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