Today's Headlines - 03 August 2023
UIDAI is using AI to tackle payment frauds
GS Paper - 3 (ITC)
As more frauds related to the Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) come to the fore, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), has turned to artificial intelligence-based systems in a bid to limit the cases — this includes developing technologies around fingerprinting and facial recognition. The UIDAI has rolled out an in-house Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning technology-based Finger Minutiae Record – Finger Image Record (FMR-FIR) modality which is able to check the liveness of a fingerprint to detect the use of cloned fingerprint during the authentication process.
How does the Aadhaar fingerprint technology work?
The technology was rolled out in February this year and uses a combination of both finger minutiae and finger image to check the liveness of the fingerprint captured.
The measure was implemented after instances of people creating fake fingerprints using silicone to syphon off money from unsuspecting individuals’ bank accounts were reported.
The problem gets compounded on account of the fact that a large part of the AePS user base is in rural areas.
In effect, the AI-based technology is able to identify whether the fingerprint is from a real, or ‘live’ finger, or a cloned one.
Payment frauds on the rise
According to the Home Ministry, in the financial year 2020-21, 2.62 lakhs financial crimes, such as money laundering, bribery, corruption and different kinds of frauds, were reported. The number jumped to 6.94 lakhs in 2022, a report, released by the Standing Committee on Finance — headed by BJP MP Jayant Sinha — said.
Citing data it received from the supervised entities of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the committee noted that payment-related frauds are on the rise in India – In FY21, the volume of such frauds was a little over 700,000, which by FY23, increased to close to 20 million.
According to the information submitted to it by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), in the year 2022, out of 6,94,424 complaints related to financial frauds only in 2.6 per cent of cases an FIR was registered.
The details shared with Parliament revealed that between November 2021 and March 2023, more than 2,000 complaints related to AePS were received by the offices of the RBI’s ombudsman.
#upsc #news #headline #UIDAI #payment #frauds #ITC #adhaar #system #FMR #FIR #machine #work #syphon #rural #areas #RBI #reserve #bank #india #ombudsman #cases #financial #bribery #corruption #silicone #cloned #I4C #indian #cyber #crime #coordination #tackle
UIDAI is using AI to tackle payment frauds
GS Paper - 3 (ITC)
As more frauds related to the Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) come to the fore, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), has turned to artificial intelligence-based systems in a bid to limit the cases — this includes developing technologies around fingerprinting and facial recognition. The UIDAI has rolled out an in-house Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning technology-based Finger Minutiae Record – Finger Image Record (FMR-FIR) modality which is able to check the liveness of a fingerprint to detect the use of cloned fingerprint during the authentication process.
How does the Aadhaar fingerprint technology work?
The technology was rolled out in February this year and uses a combination of both finger minutiae and finger image to check the liveness of the fingerprint captured.
The measure was implemented after instances of people creating fake fingerprints using silicone to syphon off money from unsuspecting individuals’ bank accounts were reported.
The problem gets compounded on account of the fact that a large part of the AePS user base is in rural areas.
In effect, the AI-based technology is able to identify whether the fingerprint is from a real, or ‘live’ finger, or a cloned one.
Payment frauds on the rise
According to the Home Ministry, in the financial year 2020-21, 2.62 lakhs financial crimes, such as money laundering, bribery, corruption and different kinds of frauds, were reported. The number jumped to 6.94 lakhs in 2022, a report, released by the Standing Committee on Finance — headed by BJP MP Jayant Sinha — said.
Citing data it received from the supervised entities of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the committee noted that payment-related frauds are on the rise in India – In FY21, the volume of such frauds was a little over 700,000, which by FY23, increased to close to 20 million.
According to the information submitted to it by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), in the year 2022, out of 6,94,424 complaints related to financial frauds only in 2.6 per cent of cases an FIR was registered.
The details shared with Parliament revealed that between November 2021 and March 2023, more than 2,000 complaints related to AePS were received by the offices of the RBI’s ombudsman.
#upsc #news #headline #UIDAI #payment #frauds #ITC #adhaar #system #FMR #FIR #machine #work #syphon #rural #areas #RBI #reserve #bank #india #ombudsman #cases #financial #bribery #corruption #silicone #cloned #I4C #indian #cyber #crime #coordination #tackle
Today's Headlines - 04 August 2023
CERT-In flagged Akira ransomware
GS Paper - 3 (ICT)
The central government’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issued an advisory flagging the emergence of a new ransomware called Akira. The Gurgaon police have also raised an alert about Akira.
What is Ransomware?
Ransomware is essentially a kind of malware — software used to gain unauthorised access to systems to steal data. This data can then be used by cyber criminals to demand a ransom.
Akira targets computer systems that run on Windows and Linux operating systems and is known to spread laterally across networks.
According to the advisory issued by the government, Akira steals personal data, encrypts it, and later extorts money from the victims.
In case a user refuses to pay, the ransomware actors threaten to release their data on the dark web.
What is Akira?
Akira is a new family of ransomware that was used for cyber attacks in the US and Canada in March this year.
This is different from the Akira ransomware that was flagged by Microsoft Defender Antivirus in 2017. In the US, the ransomware was reported to actively target several organisations and expose their sensitive data.
Akira uses a double-extortion technique to exfiltrate and encrypt data to increase the chances of extracting money from its victims.
It was first flagged in April, and a majority of its victims are from the US. The reason you are hearing about Akira right now is because of the number of organisations that it has impacted in the US and the latest advisory from the government.
How is Akira different from other ransomware?
Their routine includes exfiltrating data from hacked networks, then triggering encryption and posting a ransom demand.
Reportedly, once the gang is convinced that it has stolen enough data to extort money from the victim, they deploy Akira’s payload.
They Delete Windows Shadow Volume copies (a technology by Microsoft Windows that creates backup copies) from the devices using a PowerShell command: essential text-based instructions used to perform tasks, and manage systems, files, and settings.
After using the PowerShell command, the ransomware proceeds to encrypt a wide range of data file types and adds ‘.akira’ extension to them.
#upsc #news #headline #CERT #flagged #Akira #ransomware #ict #computer #emergency #police #cyber #linus #darkweb #victims #canada #antivirus #technique #shadow #powershell #system #software
CERT-In flagged Akira ransomware
GS Paper - 3 (ICT)
The central government’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issued an advisory flagging the emergence of a new ransomware called Akira. The Gurgaon police have also raised an alert about Akira.
What is Ransomware?
Ransomware is essentially a kind of malware — software used to gain unauthorised access to systems to steal data. This data can then be used by cyber criminals to demand a ransom.
Akira targets computer systems that run on Windows and Linux operating systems and is known to spread laterally across networks.
According to the advisory issued by the government, Akira steals personal data, encrypts it, and later extorts money from the victims.
In case a user refuses to pay, the ransomware actors threaten to release their data on the dark web.
What is Akira?
Akira is a new family of ransomware that was used for cyber attacks in the US and Canada in March this year.
This is different from the Akira ransomware that was flagged by Microsoft Defender Antivirus in 2017. In the US, the ransomware was reported to actively target several organisations and expose their sensitive data.
Akira uses a double-extortion technique to exfiltrate and encrypt data to increase the chances of extracting money from its victims.
It was first flagged in April, and a majority of its victims are from the US. The reason you are hearing about Akira right now is because of the number of organisations that it has impacted in the US and the latest advisory from the government.
How is Akira different from other ransomware?
Their routine includes exfiltrating data from hacked networks, then triggering encryption and posting a ransom demand.
Reportedly, once the gang is convinced that it has stolen enough data to extort money from the victim, they deploy Akira’s payload.
They Delete Windows Shadow Volume copies (a technology by Microsoft Windows that creates backup copies) from the devices using a PowerShell command: essential text-based instructions used to perform tasks, and manage systems, files, and settings.
After using the PowerShell command, the ransomware proceeds to encrypt a wide range of data file types and adds ‘.akira’ extension to them.
#upsc #news #headline #CERT #flagged #Akira #ransomware #ict #computer #emergency #police #cyber #linus #darkweb #victims #canada #antivirus #technique #shadow #powershell #system #software