More than 300 verified mobile phone numbers, including of two serving ministers, over 40 journalists, three opposition leaders and one sitting judge besides scores of business persons and activists in India could have been targeted for hacking through an Israeli spyware sold only to government agencies, an international media consortium reported on Sunday.
The problem, says Chandrasekaran, arises from the lack of access to services, including healthcare, education and financial services.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, headed by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, had called representatives of Facebook to hear their views "on the subject of safeguarding citizens' rights and prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms including special emphasis on women security in the digital space," according to agenda of the meeting.
The Madras High Court on Thursday stayed the operation of certain sub-clauses of the recently introduced Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Indian start-ups raised issues, such as blockages in international wire transfers, disruptions due to threshold limits on withdrawals, lack of communication from US agencies, and the need for preferential access to credit, in a meeting with the government over the fallout of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for electronics and information technology, held a virtual meeting with over 450 members from start-ups, venture capitalists, and investors who have been directly affected by the closure of SVB. He assured them that the IT ministry would put together a list of suggestions and give it to the finance minister on behalf of start-ups.
Overall mobile phone production was about 68 million in 2014, increased to 100 million in 2015 and 350-400 million in July 2016.
Pegasus, which is capable of attacking both Android and iOS, has been around for three years and is considered one of the most sophisticated spyware in the market.
Whenever there is an evaluation scheme, it is human tendency to score as high as possible. None would like to highlight their shortcomings, and everyone likes to highlight their positives. This is what is happening in this context of rankings as well, points out Profesor N Ravichandran.
India doesn't have a data protection law or a dedicated law on cybersecurity. Also, there is no specialised law on privacy. Experts say this complicates the scenario for businesses as they continue to be liable for breach in client data even when employees work out of the home.
India on Friday said it was concerned over the developments around Taiwan and called for avoiding "unilateral actions" to change the status quo in the region, days after China held its biggest-ever military drills around the self-ruled island following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to it.
Those on H-1B visas have to find a new job within 60 days or head back to India.
The government has refused to exempt the digital news content of mainstream television channels and print media from the ambit of the the IT Rules, 2021 and asked them to take 'urgent steps' to comply with the provisions of the digital media rules immediately.
'Hacking of an ID or an account will have the same impact on a user in a city and one in a small town.' 'Security is like a railroad, you create it to last for every customer.'
Indian rupee, which earlier this week touched an all-time low, is likely to remain under pressure and may test new levels as a fallout of the US Federal Reserve indicating more interest rate hikes, experts said. The aggressive rate hikes will dampen demand and increase the possibility of a recession in the US. This could accelerate the pace of capital outflows, weaken the rupee and raise the threat of imported inflation.
The government, however, dismissed allegations of any kind of surveillance on its part on specific people, saying it 'has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever'.
'The entire idea behind the serial bomb blasts was to strike fear in the minds of Indians.' 'I don't think the blasts were targeted to derail the Indian economy; the idea behind the blasts was retribution.'
Kerry is scheduled to head to India later this month for the fourth annual US-India Strategic Dialogue.
No lives were lost after cyclone Biparjoy made landfall. Preparations for Biparjoy were not only extensive, they were also telecast far and wide. Ahead of the cyclone's landfall, Shyam G Menon observes there was considerable publicity on how much the government was geared up to face the storm and its aftermath.
It's the second time Nasscom has projected single-digit growth in a decade.
Shortly after a controversy erupted over government's plans to snoop on every message sent through WhatsApp, SMS, e-mail or any such service, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology clarified that social media websites and applications will be exempted from the purview of the draft National Encryption Policy.
According to sources, the two fund managers allegedly made illicit gains worth Rs 150 crore to Rs 200 crore through front-running.
Parliament has cleared the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023, recently. The objective of the Act is to invite investments from the private sector, including foreign companies, for mining minerals such as lithium and other critical minerals. Other than lithium, some of these minerals were classified as atomic minerals, including beryl and beryllium, niobium, titanium, tantalum and zirconium.
Syed Abdul Mueed is the third son of the Hizb chief to have been sacked from the government job.
The NCW has written to the Delhi Police to expedite its action in the case against the 'Bulli Bai' app, floated for trolling and harassing the victims, to ensure that such crimes do not recur.
The Delhi police on Sunday registered a case based on a complaint filed by a woman journalist alleging that she was being targetted by an unidentified group of people on a mobile application named 'Bulli Bai' created on GitHub platform.
Absence of comprehensive data protection and privacy laws will be barriers in the government's digitalisation drive.
Sorabjee had been honoured with Padma Vibhushan in 2002 for his defence of the freedom of expression and the protection of human rights.
Experts say it is difficult to determine country of origin where most products are manufactured and sold, as part of a complex global value chain.
Sixteen major contracts worth nearly $14 billion to be renewed by June 2018 but uncertainty looms large.
Banks are also weighing the option of hiring experts for help in specialised areas.
Online booking started on February 18 but the site soon crashed.
The I-T department will rely on data analytical tools and run models to separate black money holders and genuine taxpayers based on the large data base being shared by banks.
'India has a lot of potential, not just in commercial aspects, but also in hiring of people and sourcing of products.'
A whopping Rs 62,476 crore has been "illegally" transferred by smartphone maker Vivo to China in order to avoid payment of taxes in India, the Enforcement Directorate said Thursday, as it claimed to have busted a major money laundering racket involving Chinese nationals and multiple Indian companies. This money is almost half of Vivo's turnover of Rs 1,25,185 crore, it said without stating the time period of the transaction. The crackdown on the leading Chinese company came after the federal probe agency found that three Chinese nationals, all of whom "left" India during 2018-21, and one other person from that country incorporated as many as 23 companies in India in which they were also helped by a Chartered Accountant, Nitin Garg.
'The recent correction in indices has made the markets cheaper to invest for the long term.'
No longer a discretion of the tax administrator, the audit of returns filed by taxpayers is now based on a selection by algorithms, notes Tarun Bajaj.
Telcos propose licence regime for apps like WhatsApp, Skype.
There are millions of Indian women who avoid the responsibility of managing their finances due to a variety of reasons, including cultural and social conditioning.
After three consecutive years of infusing huge funds, foreign portfolio investors retreated from the Indian equity markets in a big way in 2022 with the highest-ever yearly net outflow of nearly Rs 1.21 lakh crore. The huge outflow, which surpasses by a big margin the previous record of Rs 53,000 crore net withdrawal in 2008, came amid aggressive rate hikes by central banks globally but 2023 is expected to be better on positivity about overall macroeconomic trends in India, experts said. Apart from global monetary tightening, volatile crude, rising commodity prices along with Russia and Ukraine conflict led to an exodus of foreign money in 2022.
The Army on Tuesday said it was prepared to give an appropriate response to any adverse aggressive designs of China in the Ladakh sector, maintaining that the integrity of the country was being ensured through physical patrolling and technical means.
