HENCY R SHAH AND ASSOCIATES

500 million Whatsapp users, including from India, at risk of data breach According to a Cybernews report, WhatsApp data from nearly half a billion users in 84 countries, including India, may have been compromised and sold online. According to the report, it investigated a data sample after a post on a "well-known hacking community forum" claimed to be selling an up-to-date database of 487 million WhatsApp users and discovered that the claim was most likely true, implying that 25% of the total 2 billion monthly active users worldwide could be at risk. Leaked phone numbers could be used for any number of reasons, including marketing and phishing. The report said more than 32 million of the leaked records were from users in the US, followed by the UK (11 million). The most affected nations include Egypt (45 million), Italy (35 million), Saudi Arabia (29 million), France (20 million), Turkey (20 million), and Russia (10 million). In India, the report added, more than 6 million Wh...

India’s G20 presidency will be inclusive, decisive, action-oriented India will formally begin its G20 presidency on December 1 and host the next summit in New Delhi in September 2023. India will make the G20 a “catalyst for global change” and its presidency of the group in 2023 will be inclusive and action-oriented. As the G20 presidency was handed over to India by Indonesia, Modi said the country will work for collective action on global challenges such as food and energy security. In an address at the closing session, Modi noted India is taking charge of the G20 at a “time when the world is simultaneously grappling with geopolitical tensions, economic slowdown, rising food and energy prices and the long-term ill-effects of the pandemic”. “Together, we will make the G20 a catalyst for global change,” he added. India’s theme of G-20 chairmanship – ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’. Modi said India will strive to ensure the G20 “acts as a global prime mover to envision new ideas and a...

Digital Rupee is the future of money Almost nine months after the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman first spoke about the digital currency in parliament, the digital rupee was launched in India. The pilot project launched by the RBI is for wholesale transactions in the bond market. The retail phase for the customers, however, will be launched sometime later. Digital Rupee or CBDC is a new digital form of money issued by central banks. The digital rupee rollout is a big step ahead in India’s digital transformation. It will be an excellent opportunity for India since it will potentially increase the ease of doing business, as well as improve resilience and security of the entire payments infrastructure. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that the first pilot in Digital Rupee - Retail segment is planned for launch within a month in select locations. The central bank said that nine banks -- State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank,...

  Drinik Malware Now Targets 18 Indian Banks   A new upgraded variant of Drinik Android trojan is targeting 18 Indian banks and stealing personal and bank account information from the victims.  Drinik has been circulating in India and operating as an SMS stealer since 2016,   The new campaign Drinik is impersonating the Income Tax Department of India and targeting potential victims across 18 Indian banks to steal their income tax credentials. The latest variant of the malware, found in August, is being distributed as an APK file (iAssist.apk) that is integrated into the iAssist app for Android. It lures victims to claim an instant tax refund, tricking them into submitting personal details such as full name, Aadhar number, PAN number, and financial information. The phishing scam is targeting 18 Indian banks, including the State Bank of India by abusing Accessibility Service. This way, it obtains the necessary ...