According to the Financial Times, British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has terminated its agreement with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to run its IT service desk. However, both businesses maintain that the termination has nothing to do with a hack that occurred earlier this year. The decision ends a more than ten-year collaboration in which TCS oversaw a number of M&S’s technological operations. According to M&S, months before the hacking incident, in January 2025, a competitive procurement process was started, and the service desk contract was terminated in July.
In a statement quoted by the Financial Times, the retailer stated that M&S valued its collaboration with the TCS team and that TCS offers a variety of IT and technology services to the company. As is customary, M&S conducted a comprehensive process, trained a new supplier, and tested the market to find the best product available. M&S’ larger TCS connection is unaffected by this change, the company stated.
Speculations Still Signaling Towards Cyber Attack
According to prior reports, the contract’s termination was related to the April 2025 cyberattack that forced M&S to stop accepting online purchases and left numerous locations with empty shelves. According to British media, the attack may have reduced operating profits by as much as £300 million. TCS, however, denied rumours that it had anything to do with the hack.
Prior to the April cyber incident, the retailer had selected a different service provider through a standard competitive procurement procedure that had been started in January. The Indian IT company declared that the two issues were obviously unrelated. TCS clarified that the IT service desk contract was really a minor portion of its total relationship with M&S, calling reports that connected the two situations “misleading”.
The business still offers the retailer a number of technological and digital transformation services. TCS assured UK legislators in a statement that there was no proof of compromise throughout its client networks, which included M&S, Jaguar Land Rover, and other significant UK-based clients. TCS claimed that its systems were safe and that it provides services to over 200 clients in the UK who work in vital sectors like nuclear energy, water, and finance.
M&S’ Terms Attack as Sophisticated Impersonation
M&S Chair Archie Norman testified before the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee, characterising the April attack on M&S as a “sophisticated impersonation” effort directed at a third-party vendor. Since then, the store has strengthened its incident response and cybersecurity procedures.
One of India’s biggest exporters of technology services and a long-standing IT partner for numerous international retailers is TCS, a division of Tata Sons. Analysts believe the story underscores increased scrutiny on outsourced IT providers in the wake of high-profile cyber attacks in the banking and retail sectors, even though the company’s explanation seems to have allayed worries about its involvement in the M&S breach.
In order to prevent operational interruptions from undermining trust in digital transformation partnerships, industry experts anticipate that both firms will increase due diligence and openness in their supplier networks as cybersecurity constraints increase.
Quick Shots
•M&S has ended its IT service desk contract with TCS,
concluding a decade-long partnership.
•M&S stated the move followed a competitive procurement
process launched in January 2025.
•Reports linked the contract exit to the April 2025 hack that
disrupted M&S’s operations.
•TCS refuted any involvement in the breach, calling such reports
“misleading”.
Since password hackers have carried out a considerable number of “successful intrusions”, Google has advised the majority of its 2.5 billion Gmail users to reset their passwords and improve account security.
Users are being advised to adopt additional security measures, such as two-factor authentication, if they haven’t already, and to keep a close eye out for any unusual activity.
Common Hacking Tactics Targeting Gmail
Hackers frequently obtain Gmail passwords by fooling users into disclosing their two-factor authentication codes or by sending emails with links to phoney sign-in sites. According to Google research, barely one-third of users update their strong, one-of-a-kind passwords on a regular basis.
Google’s Advice for Stronger Account Protection
In addition, Google has urged users to strengthen their security procedures following a hack of its own Salesforce database. Google issued a warning in June that malicious actors were using social engineering attacks to fool people by pretending to be IT support staff members.
What Data Was Exposed?
The company claimed that this tactic was “particularly effective in tricking employees.” Although the hacking technique may be utilised for more severe attacks in the future, it primarily compromised publicly accessible data, such as contact information for small and medium-sized enterprises.
In a blog post published in June, Google stated that it thinks threat actors that use the “ShinyHunters” brand might be getting ready to establish a data leak site (DLS) in order to intensify their extortion efforts. It went on to say that these new strategies, which include those connected to the recent UNC6040 Salesforce data breaches, are probably meant to put more pressure on victims.
Who Are the ShinyHunters?
On August 8, it sent out an email to all users affected by this event. Originating from the Pokémon franchise, ShinyHunters was founded in 2020 and has since been connected to multiple high-profile hacks of companies such as Microsoft, AT&T, Santander, and Ticketmaster.
Google Blocking Unverified APKs from 2026
A big update that Google has revealed for Android might drastically affect how apps are deployed on the platform. The business will mandate that verified developers register all apps on certified Android devices beginning in September 2026. Users will no longer be able to sideload programs from unidentified or unconfirmed sources as a result.
Why Google Is Tightening App Security
Google claims that this action is intended to improve security and lower the possibility of malware, which is frequently distributed by hackers using APKs. The goal of the new regulation, according to Google, is “improving Android’s security to keep it open and safe.” The business contends that requiring developers to authenticate themselves will provide the ecosystem a crucial new level of accountability.
Quick
Shots
•Hackers carried out “successful
intrusions” into Gmail accounts.
A software developer from Bengaluru has been taken into custody on suspicion of taking part in a huge cryptocurrency theft that targeted CoinDCX, a well-known Indian exchange, and cost INR 379 crore. Neblio Technologies, the parent firm of CoinDCX, submitted an official complaint, according to police, which prompted the breakthrough.
On July 26, the Whitefield CEN Crime Police arrested Rahul Agarwal, 30, a native of Haridwar, Uttarakhand, who now resides in Carmelaram, Bengaluru.
Investigators discovered that his workplace laptop’s private login credentials had been used during the security breach, leading to his detention.
How the INR 379 Cr Theft Unfolded?
It has been reported that the investigation started when Hardeep Singh, the vice-president for public policy at CoinDCX, went to the authorities to investigate suspicious activity on the site. An unnamed individual gained access to the CoinDCX system at 2:37 am on July 19 and transferred one USDT—a stablecoin based on the US dollar—to an external wallet.
Company Probe Leads to Developer’s Laptop
The break became more severe hours later. Approximately $44 million (approximately INR 379 crore) had been moved to six different cryptocurrency wallets by the time the activity was discovered.
The corporation conducted an internal investigation as a result of this widespread syphoning. Rahul Agarwal’s official laptop was the sole device that seems to have been compromised, according to the company’s internal inquiry.
Police confiscated the device and started interrogating Agarwal in light of this discovery. Agarwal admitted to “moonlighting,” or doing freelance work for several clients outside of his regular job, but denied any direct involvement in the theft.
According to him, he was given assignments by three or four private clients, but he had no idea who they were or what kind of access they had.
Freelance Work, WhatsApp Calls, and a German Link
Upon closer examination of Agarwal’s actions, it was discovered that his bank account had an unidentified INR 15 lakh deposit. Agarwal allegedly told police that he had received a WhatsApp call from a German number when he was questioned.
He did not specify how the files were used or who sent them, but the caller allegedly told him to fill out some of the files that were sent to him. The authorities have not ruled out the potential that Agarwal’s credentials could have been used remotely to carry out the intrusion, either through malware or by outside criminals abusing his freelance work.
Police officials are still looking into the origin of the German connection, the INR 15 lakh bank deposit, and whether any other people or foreign connections were involved in the theft, even though Agarwal is still in custody.
Authorities Investigate Deeper Network, Wallets, and Security Lapses
Authorities are also investigating whether internal cybersecurity protocol flaws at CoinDCX had a role in the attack and how the hacker escalated access from a single USDT transaction to a comprehensive multi-crore steal. The identities of the six cryptocurrency wallets used in the crime are being investigated, and the Rs 379-crore stolen sum has not yet been located.
According to a research group, the number of businesses and organisations impacted by a security flaw in Microsoft Corp.’s SharePoint servers is growing quickly, with the number of victims more than six times increasing in a matter of days.
Dutch Firm Reveals Surge in SharePoint Exploits
According to estimates from Eye Security, a Dutch cybersecurity firm that detected an early wave of the attacks last week, hackers have gained access to approximately 400 government organisations, businesses, and other organisations.
Its prior estimate, which it gave to Bloomberg News on 22 July, was about 60. The majority of victims are in the United States, followed by Mauritius, Jordan, South Africa, and the Netherlands, according to the security firm. According to a previous Bloomberg article, one of those compromised was the National Nuclear Security Administration, the US organisation in charge of creating and managing the country’s nuclear weapons stockpile.
The hacks, which coincide with increased tensions between Washington and Beijing over international security and trade, are among the most recent significant breaches that Microsoft has at least partially attributed to China.
Over the course of several decades, the US has frequently denounced China for purported efforts that have stolen corporate and government secrets. In an email to Bloomberg News, Vaisha Bernard, a co-owner of Eye Security, indicated that the company believes the actual figure may be significantly higher because there may be numerous additional covert techniques to breach systems that do not leave any evidence.
Other opportunistic adversaries continue to take advantage of servers that are weak, and this is continually evolving. According to Bernard, many companies involved in government, education, and technological services are among those hacked in the SharePoint hacks. In South America, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, the number of victims was lower.
How the SharePoint Flaw Was Exploited?
The security holes provide hackers access to SharePoint servers and the keys they need to pretend to be users or services, which might give them deep access to infiltrated networks and allow them to steal private information.
Although experts warned that hackers might have already gained access to numerous servers, Microsoft has released updates to address the vulnerabilities. On July 22, Microsoft accused Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon, two Chinese state-sponsored hackers, of being responsible for the attacks. According to Microsoft, these were also abused by another Chinese hacker collective known as Storm-2603.
The Redmond, Washington-based business has frequently accused China of being behind significant hacks. Tens of thousands of Microsoft Exchange servers were infiltrated in 2021 by a claimed Chinese operation. Another purported Chinese attack on Microsoft Exchange in 2023 exposed the email accounts of top US leaders. Following the 2023 incident, a US government review accused Microsoft of a “cascade of security failures.”
To make digital banking safer for all users, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released a draft of new regulations. Internet banking, mobile banking, and any other online services provided by banks are covered by the new regulations.
The new regulations require banks to provide consumers with clear options, allowing them to choose between using full transaction services or simply “viewing only” their accounts. People who only want a basic service, like a debit card, cannot be forced to adopt digital banking by their banks.
Applauding the move, Shikhar Aggarwal, Chairman, BLS E-Services Ltd stated, “The RBI’s proposal of New Digital Banking Guidelines to curb cyber fraud is a significant step toward safeguarding customers in the digital banking space. The guidelines introduce stronger fraud protection measures, ensuring banks comply with enhanced customer protection protocols, including limiting liability in cases of fraud.”
Adding further he opined, “A key highlight of the proposal is the prohibition on banks from displaying third-party products or services—including those from promoter groups or affiliated entities—on their digital platforms. This move aims to reduce conflicts of interest and enhance transparency. Additionally, banks offering mobile banking services outside dedicated apps must ensure network independence, allowing seamless access for customers across all telecom providers.”
Enhancing Consumer Consent & Data Transparency
Additionally, the RBI wants banks to obtain clients’ explicit consent before allowing them to use any digital services. Each and every consumer must be informed of all fees, how to contact support in the event of an issue, and how to receive transaction alerts via email or SMS. Another crucial fact is that without RBI approval, banks are not allowed to promote third-party products on their applications or websites, such as investment plans or insurance.
All banks must employ appropriate fraud detection systems and monitor anomalous transactions in order to prevent online fraud. In order to promptly identify any unusual activity, they should also research how clients typically spend their money. On July 21, the RBI shared these proposed rules. By August 11, 2025, the central bank wants banks, professionals, and the general public to submit their recommendations.
Sharing his views on the development, Tushar Sharma, Co-founder of Bondbay (platformed by Dexif Securities) stated, “We welcome the RBI’s proposed digital banking guidelines, which emphasise strong risk controls and customer consent. These measures highlight the critical importance of regulatory alignment—a clear, predictable framework empowers innovators to build securely and responsibly. As a fintech leader operating in the cloud ecosystem, I believe digital security isn’t just about compliance—it’s about smart design choices that embed trust. Tools like OTP-based logins, penny-drop account verifications, name-matching protocols, and Aadhaar-enabled video KYC offer robust, scalable ways to prevent fraud while ensuring smooth onboarding. These safeguards, when implemented thoughtfully, strike the right balance between user experience and security. The RBI’s consultative, forward-thinking approach signals that India is serious about creating a resilient digital financial backbone. By providing regulatory clarity and encouraging secure-by-design systems, the guidelines empower fintecs to innovate responsibly.”
What This Means for Digital Banking Users?
Users of online banking should anticipate more stringent security protocols and fewer unpleasant surprises if these regulations are implemented. They will be able to choose just the digital services they truly desire. Everyone will benefit from easier and more equitable banking since no one will be compelled to sign up for something they don’t need.
Banks to Implement DoT’s Fraud Risk Indicator
The RBI has instructed banks and payment institutions to incorporate the telecom department’s (DoT) financial fraud risk indicator (FRI) into their systems in light of the increasing number of cybercrimes.
The RBI guideline, released on June 30, seeks to use cutting-edge technologies to combat cybercrime. The DoT hailed the action as a turning point. In a statement, the DoT claimed that the RBI’s directives mark a turning point in the battle against financial crimes made possible by cyberspace and demonstrate the effectiveness of interagency cooperation in protecting individuals in India’s expanding digital economy.
FRI is a risk-based statistic that was introduced in May and links a cellphone number to the level of financial fraud. Data from DoT’s Chakshu platform, the government’s cybercrime reporting portal, and information provided by banks and financial organisations are used to highlight the numbers.
This makes it possible for the appropriate parties to take further consumer protection steps to stop financial frauds committed using high-risk mobile numbers.
Real-time FRI allows banks and other financial institutions to take preventative steps like rejecting suspicious transactions, warning or alerting clients, and postponing high-risk transactions.
The digital world has made our life easier and faster. Nowadays, anything is possible with just a click or a touch. It wouldn’t be wrong to say, that our life revolves around the internet. Every business, organisations, and companies are on the internet. However, with the increase in the use of the internet in the world, we have seen a drastic increase in cybercrime as well. Many organisations and faced cyber-attacks on them.
Firstly we need to understand what a cyber-attack is. A cyber-attack can be defined as a malicious activity or planned attempt by any organization or an individual to steal or corrupt the information of the system of another organization or individual. Cybercriminals or hackers generally use various methods to attack the system; some of them are malware, ransomware, phishing, denial of service, and other methods. In this article, we will talk everything about India being the third most cyber-attacked nation and what steps the Government has taken. So, let’s take a look at them.
Cyber attacks are done in many forms by criminals and hackers and some of them are defined below:
Malware
Malware can be known as malicious software, which includes spyware, viruses, worms, and ransomware. Malware violates laws and launches a network through a vulnerability, generally happens when a person clicks on a minacious link or email attachment that then installs the risky software into your system without your permission. Once this software attacks your system, the malicious software can manage to do things such as install some more malicious and additional harmful software, can obtain and spy on all the information present on the hard disk, can disrupt some components of the system, and can block your access to manage some important components of a computer network.
Phishing
It is a cyber-crime in which a target receives an Email, telephonic call, or a text SMS by someone who pretends to be a lawful organization or institute to lure the targets into providing essential data and sensitive information such as banking details, credit cards, and debit card details, personal information, and various account passwords. Then these details are used by the attacker to access the information-which can further result in financial loss, cyberbullying, cyber blackmailing, and identity theft.
Man-In-The-Middle Attack
This cyber-attack is also known as eavesdropping, takes place when attackers insert themselves in between transactions of two-party. Once the attacker interrupts the traffic, they can rectify and steal information. On less secure public Wi-Fi, attackers can indulge themselves between a visitor device and the network through the same Wi-Fi connection. Without having an idea, the user passes all information through the attacker- after the malware reaches inside the device, the attacker can install malicious software to steal all of the victim’s data.
Denial-Of-Service Attack
DoS is a cyber-attack that is meant to shut down a server, network, and machine by making them inaccessible to the right users. DoS floods the target with traffic, or it just sends irrelevant information that triggers a crash of the server or network. Sometimes attackers can also use multiple compromised devices to attack. This is known as Denial-of-service (DoS).
SQL Injection
Structured Query Language Injection is a cyber-attack that takes place when the attackers insert the malicious coding inside the server that takes over the SQL and forces the system server to disclose the crucial information and data. SQL Injection destroys the database, and the attacker can modify or delete the data stored in the database, causing persistent changes to the application behavior or content.
DNS Tunneling
It is the most damaging DNS attack. Domain Name Systems turns into a hacking weapon. DNS tunneling is a cyber-attack where the hacker or attacker encodes the information of other protocols or programs in DNS queries and responses. DNS tunnelling generally holds data payloads-which can be added to an attacked DNS server and is used to control applications and remote servers.
Reasons Behind Cyber Attacks
There are several reasons why these cyber attacks take place and they are:
To gain business financial details.
To gain customer financial information (for example- Bank details).
To gain product design or trade secrets.
To gain login credentials and email addresses of various customers or staff.
Cyber-warfare: It is a war caused by the Internet to leak information.
Biggest Cyber Attacks in India
SIM Swap Scam
In Mumbai, two hackers were arrested for transferring almost 4 crore rupees from various bank accounts in August 2018. They illegally transferred money from the bank accounts of numerous individuals just by gaining SIM card information. Both the hackers blocked individual SIM cards, and with the support of fake documentation, they pulled out transactions with the help of online banking. Various company accounts were also on the target.
Hacking of Indian Healthcare Websites
In 2019, Health Care websites became the target of cyber-attack. As confirmed by US-based cybersecurity firms, hackers broke in and invaded a leading India-based healthcare website. The hackers were able to steal the information of about 68 lakh patients as well as doctors.
Hacking of UIDAI Aadhaar Software
In 2018, around 1.1 billion Aadhaar cardholders’ personal information was breached. According to data by UIDAI, more than 210 websites leaked the essential Aadhar details online. Data leaked included Aadhaar, mobile numbers, PAN, bank account numbers, IFSC codes, and mostly all the personal data of all individual Aadhaar cardholders. If it was not quite shocking, some anonymous hacker was selling the Aadhaar information of individuals for 500 rupees through WhatsApp.
ATM System Hacked
In 2018, cyber attackers targeted the ATM servers of Canara Bank. Almost around 20 lakh rupees were stolen from various accounts of Canara Bank account holders. There were around 50 targets estimated according to information provided by the source. The cyber attackers were able to steal the ATM details of around more than 300 account holders. Hackers were using skimmed devices to wipe out the information from debit cardholders. The transactions made by hackers from various accounts amounted from 10,000 rupees to a maximum amount of 40,000 rupees.
Cosmos Bank Cyber Attack in Pune
Attacked by hackers in the year 2018. The cyber-attackers pulled off almost 94.42 crore rupees from Cosmos Cooperative Bank, which shook the entire banking sector of India. Hackers were able to steal huge amounts by hacking the ATM server of the Bank and gathering the information of debit cardholders and visa details. Hackers from around 28 countries immediately withdrew all the money as soon as they were informed.
Global Weekly Cyber Attacks per Organisation
Steps Taken by Indian Government
To counter these attacks, the Government of India has taken a few steps to secure companies and organisation from being victim.
Personal Data Protection Bill
The bill implies the processing and storage of any critical data related to individuals living only in India. It majorly states that the sensitive and essential personal information of the individual should be stored locally; however, it can only be processed abroad under some terms and conditions. The bill also focuses on making social media companies more accountable and urging them to solve issues related to the spread of irrelevant and offensive content on the internet.
Website Audit
Surrounded by the rising number of government website hacking, data theft, email phishing, and privacy breach cases in India, the Indian government has taken initiatives to conduct an audit on all of the websites and applications of the government. Under this initiative by the Indian government, around 90 security auditing organizations have been enlisted by the government for auditing the best practices of information security of the Indian government data.
CERT-In
The advancing Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), which is responsible for operating the national agency for handling cybersecurity, has helped in decreasing the rate of cyber-attacks on government networks and servers in India. The implementation of cybersecurity awareness and anti-phishing training across Indian government organizations and agencies has assisted employees working in technological department of government sectors in fighting cybercrimes. Apart from spreading awareness of the hazard caused by phishing attacks to the public, CERT-In has issued advisories and alerts regarding the latest cyber countermeasures and vulnerabilities to counter and tackle them.
Cyber Surakshit Bharat
India aims to strengthen the cybersecurity ecosystem in coordination with the government’s vision for making Digital India. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has come up with the Cyber Surakshit Bharat movement. This program is in association with the National e-Governance Division of India. Indian governance system has transformed digitalization rapidly; therefore, the requirement of good governance is important. With such an initiative by the government, there would be an increase in awareness against cybercrime and building the capacity for securing the CISOs and the frontline IT staff across all government organizations in India. Apart from just awareness, the first public-private partnership also includes a series of some workshops to make government employees fight against cybercrimes and help professionals with cyber security health tool kits to take down cyber threats.
Conclusion
Cyber-attacks have now become a weapon to launch attacks on different organisations. Mainly they are done to attain secrets of organisations or Governments. Unfortunately, because of this India has become prone to cyber-attack and in 2020, it recorded 1.16 million breaches alone. Some steps have been taken to counter these attacks, however more and more strong cyber security is needed.
FAQs
Which countries get cyber attacked the most?
Top 3 countries that cyber attacked the most are:
Japan
Australia
India
What do you mean by Cyber Attacks?
A cyber-attack can be defined as a malicious activity or planned attempt by any organization or an individual to steal or corrupt the information of the system of another organization or individual.
Which country is the best for cybersecurity?
Sweden has suffered the lowest rate of malware infection. It is considered as one of the best country with cybersecurity.
There has been a lot of recent incidents related to data breaches from different companies which include the top companies in and around the country. The most recent data breach was reported by the well-known airline of India, Air India. Let’s look at the information about the data breach faced by the airline.
Air India has conveyed that the data of millions of passengers have been compromised due to a cyber attack and it involves the personal data of the passengers registered between 26 August 2011 and 20 February 2021.
The airline has announced that the data breach had taken place due to a breach from the SITA passenger service system and the data breach involved the information of around 45 lakh passengers.
What is SITA?
SITA is a technology based company which is located in Switzerland. The company specializes in information technology and air transport communications. The country that was started with a 11-member airline now has a customer base of 2,500 customers in more than 200 countries across the globe.
Some of the services offered by the company include reservation systems, passenger processing, etc. In the year 2017 Air India had entered into a deal with SITA to enable the airlines to join Star Alliance by updating its IT infrastructure.
In the month of March, Air India had communicated that SITA had been under a cyberattack in the last week of February which led to the leakage of personal information of its passengers.
The company in a statement had mentioned that the data of around 45 lakh passengers have been compromised due to the cyber attack from across the world. The personal data that were registered in between 26 August 2011 and 20 February 2011 have been compromised.
The company has conveyed that the data that were breached during the cyber attack included the name, date of birth, contact details, passport information, ticket information, frequent flyer data and even the credit card information.
Steps taken by Air India after the Data Breach
The airlines have conveyed that it would launch an investigation into the incident. Other than this they have conveyed that, they have taken steps to secure the compromised servers, engaging certain external specialists of data security incidents, resetting passwords of its frequent flyer programme and contacting the credit card customers.
This data breach would affect you as an individual only if you have used to airline services in between the mentioned dates. The important point is that the credit card information has also been compromised and it can be a threat to your credit card.
However, Air India has assured its passengers that they were no evidence of any misuse of the compromised data, the airline has asked everyone to change the passwords of their confidential data which includes your credit card password and frequent flyer programme.
FAQ
What data got leaked in the Air India data breach?
The personal data of around 45 lakh passengers were leaked, which includes name, date of birth, contact details, passport information, ticket information, frequent flyer data and even the credit card information.
How did Air India faced a data breach?
Air India announced that the data breach had taken place due to a breach from the SITA passenger service system.
Who took over Air India?
Tata Sons Ltd were the frontrunner in acquiring Air India.
Conclusion
Cyberattacks have been reported frequently by different companies and are posing a serious threat towards the privacy of individuals. The rise in digitalization across the globe has led to an increase in the cyber crimes and cyber attacks by the criminals.
Upstox is the leading discount broker in the country. Upstox was formerly known as RKSV technologies. Upstox is backed by some of the top investors in the country which include Tiger Global and Ratan Tata. The company has nearly 30 Lakh users making it the second-largest stockbroker in the country.
Over the last few years, Upstox has increased its client base and ramped up its operations because of the easy availability of Smart Phones and cheap data prices. Recently Upstox had signed up with the Board of Cricket in India to be one of the sponsors of the Indian Premier League (IPL)
The company has announced and passed on an alert to their customer of the data breach. Let’s look at the further details of the data breach.
Retail broking firm and one of the leading discount brokers of the country Upstox had alerted its customers that there has been a data breach in the company. They have told that details such as contact data and KYC details of the customers have been breached.
A spokesman of the company through an email statement had said that the hackers’ group has put the sample of the data on the Dark Web. The spokesman of the company added on saying that for now, the company is not exactly sure about the certainty of the number of customers whose data has been exposed.
It is estimated that around 25 lakhs of its customers KYC data and contact numbers have been gained access by the hackers. This incident has happened in the midst of data breaches in some of the leading domestic companies and global giants such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Mobikwik.
The company has said that they had received receipts of emails that claimed unauthorized access to their databases. In response to it, the company has appointed a leading international cyber-security firm that will investigate the possibilities of the data breach of KYC details of customers. They would investigate on the KYC data stored in third-party data warehouse systems.
The spokesman of the company has added that as a proactive measure the company has taken steps to initiate multiple security enhancements which will particularly concentrate on the third-party warehouses.
The company has also taken steps to increase real-time monitoring to 24/7 and adding an additional ring-fencing to its network said the spokesman of the company.
He added that the company has ensured to restrict the access to the databases which has impacted in the breach. The company has also added multiple security enhancements at all third-party warehouses.
Upstox has taken measures to speed up its bug bounty programme to encourage the ethical hackers to stress-test its systems and protocols. This is a step taken by the company where it makes ethical hackers to hack into their systems to understand the vulnerabilities and identify the problems in the safety of the company’s data. This activity will be undertaken from time to time in regular intervals.
The company has taken an abundant caution towards the security of the customers. The company has taken the initiative to provide a secured password reset through OTPs for all its customers. The company has said that they take the safety of customers very seriously.
The CEO of the company Ravi Kumar has said that this time the company has strongly fortified its systems to the most highest standards to ensure higher safety.
The company has always made the customers to use unique passwords that are strong. They have ensured that the customers would change their passwords in regular intervals and stressed on not to share their OTPs with anyone.
The company has said that it has also taken steps to warn the customers about the online frauds and to double-check the legitimacy of the links and senders. They have asked the customers to keep a check on the OTPs they receive and the ones they have requested.
Upstox has always asked its customers to report and alert the service providers if they notice such activities.
The spokesperson of Upstox has said that, the funds and securities of all Upstox customers are safe and have been protected by the company.
Ravi Kumar who is the CEO and Co-founder of the company has also tweeted about it saying that funds and securities of the customers are protected and kept safe by the company.
FAQ
Is Upstox funded by Ratan Tata?
Yes. Upstox is an online discount stock broker backed by funding from Mr. Ratan Tata. He held 1.33% stake in the company As of Jan 2020.
Who is owner of Upstox?
Founders of RKSV Securities (Changed to Upstox Later) are Ravi Kumar, Raghu Kumar and Shrinivas Viswanath are the owner of Upstox.
Is Upstox SEBI registered?
Yes, It is registered with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as a stock broker.
Conclusion
These are the steps taken by Upstox regarding their data breach.
Password Managers are considered to be essential even if it for your personal use or a business. In the recent years with the increase of cyber crimes and various other cyber related activities, it is always wise to choose a password manager for your business or an enterprise. Let’s look at some of the reasons why password management is important for your business.
Your employees are most likely not to use any strong passwords. Most of them would not like to create new passwords and most likely they would choose to go with a simpler one. As we tend to forget passwords many of us use the password that we have already used across various platforms.
Nowadays with password-cracking software, it is easy to crack all the passwords and it is said that passwords which were considered strong and safe 5 years back are considered to be easy to crack now. Hence password manager is important for setting up of strong passwords and automation of logins.
You will have to invest some of your time to create a unique password and most of them would randomly make a unique password. The carelessness of some employees may lead to the breach of data. Passwords aren’t considered secure unless and until it has 12 characters with a combination of upper, lower case, special characters, and numbers.
Some of them would take initiative and patience to create a unique password but they will have to ensure that they memorize them. Because of this the people again try to repeat the same passwords across different platforms.
Password managers have inbuilt algorithms that can generate unique passwords and store them securely which will let you use the platforms without remembering the passwords.
Remembering passwords
Most of the companies try to make a secure environment by asking the employees to change passwords after regular intervals. This sounds to be secure, but when put into practical use it is not.
When the employees are asked for a frequent password change, your employees would find it hard to remember and they would save the passwords for an easy access to it.
They may note it down in some platform or physically write it down. This is again considered to be risky. Whereas the password managers provide an option to not have to remember the passwords.
It is considered by the IT departments that the major task they undertake is retrieving the passwords on a daily basis. The employees may forget their passwords because of frequent changing of passwords or because they tried creating a unique password and couldn’t memorize it.
The retrieval of passwords would take a lot of time of the help desk and this is not a cost-effective task for a company. Whereas password managers have features where you wouldn’t have to remember or memorize your unique password.
Browser Password management
Most of the browsers offer a feature for password management. They will provide you an option to remember your passwords, so that you can easily log in to your frequently used platforms. But this is not a password manager and does not ensure safety. This feature is only for ease of use of the browser and to increase the number of people to use the browser.
It means that your login credentials and details are easily accessible by any hacker and are left out in the open.
Cost of data breach in India
Phishing attacks
Phishing attacks are the most effective ways through which cyber criminals try getting access to your login credentials. Phishing emails or forwarded messages would seem like its from a legitimate source. But that actually is a way to get access to your login credential and will solely capture your passwords.
Phishing Attack
It is most likely that a human being gets into a phishing attack than a password manager. Password managers will have a record of trusted websites and if the domain name doesn’t match, they wouldn’t provide the login credentials.
Multi-factor authentication and syncing of devices
You will most probably need to login through various devices such as mobile phones, desktops, tablets, etc. and there are no specific platforms or an application which will easily let you login through devices other than password managers. Password managers will provide an option to sync between various devices of your choice.
Two-factor authentication provides an extra layer of security to your passwords. It is a feature which is provided by various password managers which uses an extra step to access your login credentials such as answering a question or sending an OTP to your mobile phone. This will add an extra layer of protection to every data stored in your password manager.
FAQ
Is it good to have a password manager?
Many people re-use the same password on multiple websites. Password managers makes it possible and easy to use a different random password for every account.
Can malware change your password?
A malware in your computer with the help of the third party could reset your passwords on other websites and gain access to almost any of your online accounts.
What is the best Password Manager 2020?
LastPass is considered the best Password Manager, because of its ease of use convenience, security and price.
Conclusion
There are a lot more benefits of using a password manager for your business. It can be one of the effective tools which are required by your business.
Cybersecurity is at the tipping point entering 2021. Advances in AI and ML are accelerating its technological progress. Technology which can take us forward and empower us, can also show the flip side that is Cyber Crime. By creating cybersecurity systems that encourage diversity and value equality, we can help ensure that technology, innovation, and the future, will be better. We’ve listed technology used in cyber security in this article.
These evolving Cyber security technologies list can help protect your organization.
The future of cybersecurity is in high-speed quantum encryption as Cyber war-fare gets graver day-by-day.
If we look at some trends, then it’s observed that cybercrime is costing organizations on average $3.9 million of data breaches every year around the world. Global scalability of Cybercrime is becoming easier for attackers, as criminals find new business models. It is one of the reasons that 55% of the organizations work together with external partners to reduce security risks.
Technology and security go hand in hand. There’s always have been a war between data defenders and data thieves, so you have to take a stand and be infosec warriors. Here is list of top 5 emerging security technologies that may be of great help.
Top 5 Emerging Technologies That Are The Future Of Cybersecurity
Hardware Authentication
Hardware Authentication is the future of cybersecurity. This approach is used as user authentication that relies on a device like smartphones, laptops, or any hardware systems held by an authorized user. This could be in the form of a basic password or fingerprints to grant access to the device.
The dearth of usernames and passwords are well known, so, a more secure form of authentication is needed. Hardware authentication is an important feature for the Internet of Things (IoT), where a network wants to ensure that the thing trying to gain access to it is something that should have access to it.
One limitation of hardware authentication devices is that they can be lost or stolen, which can create login issues for users.
AI is compared as technology that appears to emulate human performance typically by learning, including conclusions, analyzing complex content, engaging in natural dialog with people, enhancing human cognitive performance and, the major one is replacing people on execution of non-routine tasks.
AI technologies can be used to protect data against increasingly sophisticated and malicious malware, ransomware, and social engineering attacks. AI is not conscious yet, but there is likely a future in AI cognitive autonomy in predicting and mitigating cyber-attacks.
Rediscover the technology behind cybersecurity
If we look otherwise AI and ML go hand in hand in every respect. It basically gets a computer to act without much programming. It combines with AI and is one of the rapid automation of predictive analytics.
ML can provide the fastest way to identify new cyber-attacks, draw statistical inferences, and push that information to endpoint security platforms. Threat intelligence is one of the special cases where AI and ML can be an important functionality for cybersecurity. AI and ML could help with identity management by cross-checking the veracity of data across multiple fragmented databases. Hence, AI and ML are definitely the future of the cybersecurity.
% of AI Cybersecurity for the folloeing areas in organisation
Automated and Adaptive Networks
Automated networks can change the future of cybersecurity. Automation allows for scanning and monitoring of connected networks that can report on deviations and anomalies in real-time. The automatic updating of Defence framework layers i.e. network, endpoint, firewalls, payload and anti-virus; and diagnostic and forensics analysis for cybersecurity. AI and ML can be one of the major components and support applications of these networks.
Cyber Security Competence Survey in different areas
Blockchain Cybersecurity
It is one of the potentially strong cybersecurity technologies that’s rising stupendously. The blockchain technology works on the basis of identification between two transaction parties so this type of security works on the basis of peer-to-peer fundamentals. It offers authentication and resolving a single point of attack simultaneously.
With the help of blockchain technology, a security system used in a company can leverage a distributed public key infrastructure for authenticating devices and users. The use of Blockchain technology with AI can set-up a robust authenticated verification system to keep potential cyber threats at bay. It’s the future of cybersecurity.
Zero Trust model is a response to a breakdown in traditional security models. The zero-trust security model is based on the principle of maintaining strict access controls and not trusting anyone by default, even those already inside the network perimeter. The goal is to use authentication throughout the course to re-ensure security—but in a thoughtful and limited manner, to avoid unduly burdening the user. The key is to know when a re-authentication has actually become necessary due to some malicious or simply anomalous event taking place. This is how the combination of identity technology with application and API protection technology comes into play.
In spite of these technologies and many more upcoming smart cybersecurity techniques, organizations do face a lot of phishing scams. So, have you ever wondered how these Malware actually look like or what are the challenges?
Challenges That Organizations Face With Cybersecurity
Continuous Security Incidences And Breaches
Ineffective Responses And Security Protocols
Too Few Responders are Available for 24/7 Support
Employees are Afraid of Security Threats at Work
Many Organizations are still Unprepared For Security Threats
Phishing Scammers Target Senior Decision-Makers
Increased Weekly Volume of Suspicious Emails
Lack of Training about Security Threats and Scams
To Strengthen Cybersecurity
The upsurge in technology and digital connectivity and more and more cyber-threats has promulgated the need for smart cybersecurity. Smart Cybersecurity is an intellect reflex to manage risk by lessening security gaps that often occurred by reliance on manual processes that are impacted by a continual cybersecurity skills shortage and the administrative burdens of data security management.
A myriad of upcoming technologies can help us enhance cybersecurity and guide the increasingly malicious and disruptive cyber threat landscape.
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
Does cybersecurity have a future?
Cybersecurity is at the tipping point entering 2020. Advances in AI and ML are accelerating its technological progress. Technology which can take us forward and empower us, can also show the flip side that is Cyber Crime. By creating cybersecurity systems that encourage diversity and value equality now, we can help to ensure that technology, innovation, and the future, will be better.
Will cybersecurity die?
Cybersecurity will never die. Cybersecurity is at the tipping point entering 2020. Advances in AI and ML are accelerating its technological progress. Technology which can take us forward and empower us, can also show the flip side that is Cyber Crime. By creating cybersecurity systems that encourage diversity and value equality now, we can help to ensure that technology, innovation, and the future, will be better.
Is cybersecurity a good field?
Yes, definitely cybersecurity is one of the growing things in India. Cybersecurity is at the tipping point entering 2020. Advances in AI and ML are accelerating its technological progress.
Why AI is the future of cybersecurity?
AI is compared as a technology that appears to emulate human performance typically by learning, including conclusions, analyzing complex content, engaging in natural dialogs with people, enhancing human cognitive performance and, the major one is replacing people on execution of non-routine tasks. AI technologies can be used to protect data against increasingly sophisticated and malicious malware, ransomware, and social engineering attacks. AI is not conscious yet, but there is likely a future in AI cognitive autonomy in predicting and mitigating cyber-attacks.
Will AI take over cyber security?
No, AI technologies can be used to protect data against increasingly sophisticated and malicious malware, ransomware, and social engineering attacks but cannot fully overtake cybersecurity. AI is not conscious yet, but there is likely a future in AI cognitive autonomy in predicting and mitigating cyber-attacks.
