CYBER PROTECTION BODY IN INDIA

1. The National Cyber Coordination Center (NCCC)  has received in-principal approval from Cabinet  Committee of Security  on 19 January 2014. Though the project was in pipeline since May 2013,  it did come in force.

2. The NCCC will be like one point for monitoring all incoming and outgoing traffic on Internet in the country, through the ISP. The in-principle approval has rolled out a bigger plan to keep an eye in internet traffic. Then it will go to Cabinet Committee  for Economic Affairs for allotment and release of funds. The NCCC will work closely with the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) in Central Bureau of Investigation to tap cases of illegal online money transfer.

3. Responsibility of the NCCC:

The NCCC would be responsible for,

             a. Cyber Intelligence

             b. IP traffic Analysis.

             c. Screening all forms of Meta data.

             d. Cyber security.

            e. Coordination between various Intelligence agencies.

            f. Streamline Intelligence gathering and

            g. Alert all affected agencies during Cyber attack.

4. Points of Concern:  Though the NCCC will be concentrating on meta data, ordinary netizens are likely to feel naked to the prying eyes of government. They may feel cheated because

 a. No clear privacy laws.

 b. Lack of transparency in intelligence gathering.

5. There are various government agencies setup for coordination between various intelligence gathering agencies. But the political issues has hampered the working of these agencies. For example National Cyber Security Policy 2013 released in August is yet to be ratified.

6. Conclusion:

Being optimistic, one wishes all the best to this new organisation as the efforts are on to recruit professionals to the tune of fifteen lakh for raising Cyber Army to counter Chinese and US threats. Now the Government  of India  has declared to setup the NCCC by March 2014. The NCCC will coordinate with the National Disaster Management Authority and the Indian Metrological Department to execute the five-year project worth Rs. 1,305 crore.

THIN RED LINE :HACKER OR SECURITY PROFESSIONAL

1. There is a very fine line between being an ethical hacker and unethical criminal gaining access to confidential user data and username and passwords. They use them not only to gain an access for personal gains, make money but also they have become Hacker-On-Hire.
2. Its not limited to two penny criminals looking for making quick buck. There are highly qualified, hi- tech professional making it full time activity. then live examples are the recent arrest of a techie in Allahabad, UP, India. An MCA graduate, and software professional, he used his skills to develop a software  and programme to hack the websites. He had acquired the ID and password of the website of  North Malaka-based businessman who runs a multi-recharge website, after stealing the database. Apart from mobile and DTH charge, he had also shopped online. He was arrested on 18 February 2014 from Civil lines by cyber cell of Allahabad Police. Ref http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/Techie-turns-hacker-held/articleshow/30584488.cms

CYBER PROTECTION BODY IN INDIA

1. The National Cyber Coordination Center (NCCC)  has received in-principal approval from Cabinet  Committee of Security  on 19 January 2014. Though the project was in pipeline since May 2013,  it did come in force.

2. The NCCC will be like one point for monitoring all incoming and outgoing traffic on Internet in the country, through the ISP. The in-principle approval has rolled out a bigger plan to keep an eye in internet traffic. Then it will go to Cabinet Committee  for Economic Affairs for allotment and release of funds.

3. Responsibility of the NCCC:

The NCCC would be responsible for,

            a. Cyber Intelligence

            b. IP traffic Analysis.

            c. Screening all forms of Meta data.

            d. Cyber security.

            e. Coordination between various Intelligence agencies.

            f. Streamline Intelligence gathering and

            g. Alert all affected agencies during Cyber attack.

4. Points of Concern:  Though the NCCC will be concentrating on meta data, ordinary netizens are likely to feel naked to the prying eyes of government. They may feel cheated because

 a. No clear privacy laws.

 b. Lack of transparency in intelligence gathering.

5. There are various government agencies setup for coordination between various intelligence gathering agencies. But the political issues has hampered the working of these agencies. For example National Cyber Security Policy 2013 released in august is yet to be ratified.

6. Conclusion:

Being optimistic, one wishes all the best to this new organisation as the efforts are on to recruit professionals to the tune of fifteen lakh for raising Cyber Army to counter Chinese and US threats.

References :http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/cyber-protection-body-pushes-ahead/article1-1174753.aspx

Your Email Account Was Hacked: What to do

3 Things To Do If Your Email Account Was Hacked

TIP1:
Change your password right away.
 Hacking is in the news almost every day, but the danger is still the same. Choose a new password, and make sure it isn't one of these.

TIP 2:
Switch up log-in credentials for any account with the same password.

This point is especially true if you used the compromised Yahoo email address as your username, The Washington Post noted. Even a similar email address may not beafe; after all, "it's not a big leap for hackers to think that you may be both jdoe@yahoo.com and jdoe@gmail.com."

TIP 3:
Watch for spam.

The hackers job is togather names and email addresses most recently contacted by the compromised accounts, therefore if you get a fishy email from someone you don't know, it could be spam. Don't open it, don't reply to it and definitely don't click any links in the message.
http://www.autoworldnews.com/articles/6049/20140131/3-things-to-do-if-your-yahoo-email-was-hacked.htm

Child abuse and cyber bullying

Child abuse and cyber bullying are danger lurking in abyss of cyberspace. Three tips
1. Restrict website access
2. Keep an eye on what your child surfs on internet.
3. Dint hesitate to report to Cyber crime cell, if you feel something's wrong.
Happy hunting and safe surfing.

10 Worst Password Mistakes That We Make Often

10 Biggest Password Mistakes People Make

Posted by ketty rose in Not the Top Lists | 0 comments

Jan 4, 2014

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I do keep my all precious things and hard copies in lockers as all people do but when we talk about online security, one of the coolest techniques to have your online security conceded and offer yourself to ferocity by a hacker is to have a bad password. All of us should know the dense passwords that entire stand between us and a possible security instance. Still, a part of that many people end up influenced with a virus or with an immense credit card notice because they decayed to track the ABCs of password safety. For a brief consideration, here are the 10 biggest password mistakes people make:

10. Applying an observable password

A number of people use some obvious passwords e.g. ‘1234567’, Imissu’ and ‘princess’. Hence your individual name is also a mutual optimal and off course anybody annoying to hack your account will check for these easy-going choices.

9. Practicing the same password everywhere

People reuse their same password for many accounts.  Though this habit is suitable for the user, it likewise means that one account breach interprets into several account openings. Therefore, if you use a similar password for your Gmail, online bank account and eBay as well, you are alluring hackers to comfort themselves to your personal life.

8. Not consuming extra safety features

One of the mostly avoided mistakes is that many people don’t use the additional safety services while many services offer two-factor verification, where as well as demanding a fixed password, you also need additional one-time password, which can be referred via text message or bred via a hardware security nominal. Google bids that option when signing into your account. In this way, even if somebody discerns your main password, they quiet won’t be able to admittance the service.

7. Having a too short password

Sometimes people create a short password to keep it in their minds every time but they forget that a lengthier password is more secure as compare to a short one as every additional character makes the password tougher to blemish. A password containing 20 characters might be inflexible to remember, but 12 characters are certainly feasible.

6. Sharing passwords with others

I have many friends and all of them are trustworthy. We share almost our all belongings with each other but I never share my password with any as it seems to share your too personal locker-keys. But I have observed many fellows who trusted their buddies in the matter of password sharing and the conclusion was lose, fake and prangs as well.

5. Not using safe browsing terms

Whenever people become online on open networks and don’t use HTTPS, it’s riskily cool for those with criminal committed to snip their passwords. So, always check out the HTTPS Everywhere extension to exploit security.

4. Using “secret” queries that many people already identifies

The “secret questions” are the interrogations that sites ask you when you sign up for a check in situation your password is ever lost or you want to alternate your account info. There are many renowned examples of accounts that have been hacked for the “hackers” have security inquiries that are very easy to reply simply by observing their social media accounts.

3. Not keeping machine up when others use it

It happens for several times that someone asks if he can hurriedly use your machine to become online, and your answer is “yeah! Why not”. I congratulate your friendliness, but make sure you defend your secrecy as your friend or asking fellow might establish something you’d slightly they didn’t.

2. Not varying passwords habitually

Sometimes a number of people don’t change their passwords regularly whether frequently changing passwords guarantees that you’re fewer helpless. So, set manually a calendar appointment to appraise your passwords and keep it up.

1. Not to apply a password administrator

The prime mistake ranking here 1st as is not to use aPassword Manager. Using a password supervision system confirms that you can attain most of the other objectives on this list effortlessly. There are many password managing systems out there; find one you’re contented with and practice it. Likely writing passwords in any file document or an account could be also dangerous as anyone can have access with an ease. Any information that is easy to find, such as your birthday, as part of your password is conveniently reachable. Hope this list of 10 biggest password mistakes people make will help you all while applying passwords or sitting online at any strange network.

50 Best Hacking Tools!

1. Which is the best tool for hacking?
2. How do I sniff the traffic? should I use the wireshark or is there a better software for it? If yes , then which one?
3. How do I crack the password? what are the options available to me? Should I go for Brute Force or Dictionary attack?
4. How do I secure my data? Do i encrypt it or keep it on separate disk?
5. How do I protect my system from hacking? 
6. How do I detect and prevent the Intrusion? Which the best Intrusion prevention System?
7. All these question answered by following link, giving at least 50 options provide by efytimes.

http://goo.gl/GYzeSC

Yahoo Mail Resets Passwords of Some Users after Hacking Attack

Don’t be surprised if you receive an SMS from Yahoo Mail asking you to reset your password. The Webmail service is undertaking measures to effectively block attacks on its system. You may also receive an email notification in your other email accounts informing you to do so.

Yahoo has discovered what it calls as a ‘coordinated effort’ to possibly gain access to a number of Yahoo Mail accounts. This may mean that some accounts have already been compromised. Thus, it has decided to reset passwords of possibly compromised users.

Read more at http://www.morningnewsusa.com/yahoo-mail-resets-passwords-of-some-users-after-hacking-attack-237790.html#H5PE4MTq6uAoCEoj.99

Public Wi-Fi also a spying tool, Snowden documents show in new Canada scandal

1. Here’s a new and potentially explosive twist to our ongoing surveillance saga: according to CBC News, documents obtained by NSA leaker Edward Snowden show that the Canadian signals intelligence agency has been using public Wi-Fi, such as that found in some Canadian airports, to spy on travelers.
2. This is big because the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) is not supposed to spy on Canadians, just like its partners in the other “Five Eyes” espionage ring – the U.S., U.K., Australia and New Zealand – aren’t supposed to spy on their citizens.

Read full article at http://gigaom.com/2014/01/31/airport-wi-fi-also-a-spying-tool-snowden-documents-show-in-new-canada-scandal/

Webmail Forensics – Digging deeper into Browsers and Mobile Applications

1. Almost everyone who uses the Internet has a web-based email account. Many people have two or more, so the likelihood of a forensic investigator coming across a case involving webmail communication is very high. While law enforcement examiners can ask service providers for the email contents through a court order, corporate and non-government examiners have to rely on what evidence is left on the computer or mobile device.
2. The three largest webmail providers are Google’s Gmail, Microsoft’s Hotmail/Outlook.com, and Yahoo Mail. Together they account for well over one billion users. Each provider offers some unique features but they’re generally all quite similar in implementation from a forensics standpoint. This article will discuss how webmail artifacts are stored and investigated on a PC or laptop, mobile devices, and other applications that support and store webmail evidence.

Internet Explorer

Since Internet Explorer (IE) is installed by default on most Windows installations, it’s likely the most commonly used and should always be searched when looking for webmail—or any browsing artifacts for that matter. Depending on the version of Windows and IE installed, the evidence will be stored in different locations. The locations are listed below:

• WinXP – %root%/Documents and Settings/%userprofile%/Local Settings/Temporary Internet Files/Content.IE5
• Win Vista/7 – %root%/Users/%userprofile%/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary Internet Files/Content.IE5
• Win Vista/7 – %root%/Users/%userprofile%/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary Internet
• Files/Low/Content.IE5
• Win8/IE10 – %root%/Users/%userprofile%/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/History

Note: Internet Explorer 10 is available on Windows 7 as well. If IE9 was installed and then upgraded to IE10, there will be two sources of evidence (the index.dat file from IE9 and the database within the webcache folder for IE10).

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox is a very popular browser and also stores its cache data in various locations based on the operating system installed. It’s installed as the default browser on many Linux distributions and is available for MacOS-X as well.

• WinXP – %root%/Documents and Settings/%userprofile%/Local Settings/Application Data/Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/*.default/Cache
• Win7/8– %root%/Users/%userprofile%/AppData/Local/Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/*.default/Cache
• Linux – /home/%userprofile%/.mozilla/firefox/$PROFILE.default/Cache
• MacOS-X – /Users/%userprofile%/Library/Caches/Firefox/Profiles/$PROFILE.default/Cache/

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is also one of the top 3 browsers used today. It is available for Windows, Linux, and MacOS-X. Google also makes the Chromium open source project available to Linux users and runs very similar to the regular Chrome package with some minor differences .

• WinXP – %root%/Documents and Settings/%userprofile%/Local Settings/Application Data/Google/Chrome/User Data/Default/Cache
• Win7/8 – %root%/Users/%userprofile%/AppData/Local/Google/Chrome/User Data/Default/Cache
• Linux – /home/%userprofile%/.config/google-chrome/Default/Application Cache/Cache/
• MacOS-X – /Users/%userprofile%/Caches/Google/Chrome/Default/Cache/

Check out full article at  http://articles.forensicfocus.com/2014/02/01/webmail-forensics-digging-deeper-into-browsers-and-mobile-applications/

Operation Endeavour: The Tip of the Iceberg?

In mid January 2014, reports began emerging of a cybersex ring that had recently been under investigation in the Philippines. Crime agencies across the UK, USA, Australia and the Philippines themselves have been working together since 2012 on a case codenamed Operation Endeavour, and recently results have started to be published in the media.

To date, the operation has seen twenty-nine arrests across twelve countries, with fifteen children identified as targets. The case is still ongoing, and more arrests are expected in the coming weeks. In the midst of a series of recent stories about child abuse both on the internet and offline, including the arrest of Lostprophets’ lead singer Ian Watkins, it may seem reasonable to conclude that the sharing of indecent content depicting children is at an all-time high. But is this true? Have the international legal authorities been seeing more crimes against children than ever before? And what challenges do they face when investigating such cases?

Backbone Security Expands World's Largest Digital Steganography Database

JANUARY 22, 2014 --

Fairmont, WV (PRWEB) January 22, 2014

1. Backbone Security, the global leader in advanced digital steganography detection and hidden information extraction tools, is pleased to announce the release of the latest version of their Steganography Application Fingerprint Database (SAFDB), which now contains over 1,225 steganography applications.
2. Developed in Backbones Steganography Analysis and Research Center (SARC), SAFDB is the worlds largest commercially available hash set exclusive to digital steganography applications.
3. The database is widely used by US and international government and law enforcement agencies, the intelligence community, and private sector digital forensic examiners and network security professionals to detect digital steganography applications on seized digital media and within inbound and outbound network traffic streams.

Full article at

Refrigerator Used to Launch Hacker Attack

1. An Internet security provider, Proofpoint, Inc., says it found the first example of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based hacking scheme that included at least one fridge, as well as thousands of computers, TVs, home-networking routers and multimedia centers.
2. The consumer goods were responsible for sending out more than a quarter of the 750,000 malicious emails delivered between December 23, 2013, and January 6, 2014, by unidentified cyber criminals.
3. Proofpoint says this kind of IoT-based cyber assault will only increase in coming years, with “significant security implications for device owners” and those targeted by hackers.
4. “Bot-nets are already a major security concern and the emergence of thingbots may make the situation much worse,” David Knight, general manager of Proofpoint’s Information Security division, said. “Many of these devices are poorly protected at best and consumers have virtually no way to detect or fix infections when they do occur. Enterprises may find distributed attacks increasing as more and more of these devices come on-line and attackers find additional ways to exploit them.”

Read full article at http://www.allgov.com/news/unusual-news/refrigerator-used-to-launch-hacker-attack-140119?news=852202

Mobile Device Forensics: The New Frontier

Mobile Device Forensics: The New Frontier

Tuesday, January 14, 2014 - 10:56

iDiscovery Solutions

Brandon Leatha

Arnold Garcia

 

 

Mobile devices are no longer seen as a “gadget” or “toy” only used by technology-savvy executives. It is becoming increasingly common for corporate employees at all levels to rely on a tablet, smartphone, or other mobile device as their primary means of corporate communications. In some cases, employees are choosing to ditch the PC or laptop altogether, making the mobile device a significant source of unique ESI that may be relevant to investigations, litigation, or government inquiries.

 

Read full article at  http://www.metrocorpcounsel.com/articles/26979/mobile-device-forensics-new-frontier 

Police get tool for patrolling social media

1. Criminals are not always the smartest people. Most don’t tip off the police by bragging about a bank robbery on YouTube, but criminals do use social media to communicate, and police are paying attention.
2. In a move that law enforcement officers might “like,” LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ Social Media Monitor will allow police to watch all social media channels to look for signs of criminal activity. As a new feature of the larger LexisNexis Accurint for Law Enforcement platform, Social Media Monitor lets law enforcement agencies discover risks and threats by leveraging social media. The system can target critical incidents such as gang violence, drug dealing, crimes against children and human trafficking.
3. The program is already being beta tested at several agencies and local police forces across the county.
4. According to LexisNexis, the impetus to create the program was a survey of 1,200 law enforcement officers that showed that four out of five of them research social media when pursuing cases. And when challenged, the use of social media sites as evidence for search warrants held up in court 87 percent of the time. But without a dedicated social media tool, officers are on their own when conducting investigations.
5. Social Media Monitor can alert officers to potential areas of concern and help them identify posts or tweets within specific geographic locations. By entering a few search terms, law enforcement personnel are provided with a social canvas within minutes, adding a virtual dimension to traditional public records data. In a recent demonstration, LexisNexis officials showed how monitoring the Twitter feeds of gang members could help them learn code words, drug drops, meeting locations and criminal trends within cities or even larger demographic areas.
6. Social Media Monitor is a Web-based platform with no software to install. It can work within specific geographical or jurisdictional areas and comes with a dashboard that allows officers to filter search results as needed.
7. The program looks to be an elegant way of searching the huge ocean of social media and could empower individual officers as well as whole groups and departments. I plan to follow-up with a full report on how the program is working once local officers have some more time with this fascinating piece of emerging technology. They may have a few success stories to share as well.
8. Read More at http://goo.gl/b1qTU4

Digital forensic tools dig up hidden evidence faster

nShare

Digital forensic tools dig up hidden evidence faster

• By GCN Staff ,Jan 15, 2014

Government investigators and law enforcement officials filtering and searching for forensic evidence on computers can be overwhelmed by the frequency and complexity of digital investigations.
AccessData, a developer of stand-alone and enterprise-class digital investigation tools, has added features to its Forensic Toolkit that offer greater visibility into digital elements and artifacts left on computers to help ensure evidence is not missed.
Forensic Toolkit (FTK) version 5.1 now includes native support for Microsoft’s Volume Shadow Copy (VSC), a technology that allows taking manual or automatic backup copies or snapshots of data at a specific point in time over regular intervals. 
Now investigators can “easily identify and quickly examine ‘digital artifacts’ across different points in time, while leveraging all of the advanced features of FTK,” said Brian Karney, AccessData’s COO and president.

Full article at http://goo.gl/P3xjUB

Cops: Stamford Man Busted with Over 500 Child Porn Images on Computer

1. Stamford Police announced late Thursday the arrest of a 43-year-old man on charges that he was in possession of more than 500 images of child pornography on his computer.  
2. According to Lt. Diedrich Hohn, the Stamford Police Department's Digital Forensics Unit (DFU), in collaboration with the States Attorney's Office, conducted an investigation into Efrain Martinez-Guiterrez after the DFU received information in October 2013 that hundreds of images of child pornography were being downloaded at his 31 Stephen Street address. 
3. On January 9, 2014, DFU executed a search warrant at the location and discovered numerous computers that could have been responsible for the downloads, Hohn said. The computers were seized, along with phones and thumb drives that belonged to multiple residents of a basement apartment there. It was then extensively analyzed, Hohn said. 
4. Hohn said it was determined the computer belonging to Martinez-Gutierrez contained over 500 images of child pornography on his hard drive. An arrest warrant was applied for and the suspect was located and arrested on January 16, 2014. 
5. Martinez-Gutierrez was charged with first-degree possession of child pornography, importing child pornography and obscenity. He was held in lieu of a $75,000 bond. 
6. Hohn acknowledged the work of Officers Kevin McKay and Mark Sinise for their "diligent work on this sensitive investigation."

details of more than 18,000 members of the ‘Verified' Eastern European cyber crime forum were leaked by a rival gang.

18,000 suspected cyber criminals 'shopped' by rival gang

18,000 suspected cyber criminals 'shopped' by rival gang

A major breakthrough in the fight against global cyber crime has come after details of more than 18,000 members of the ‘Verified' Eastern European cyber crime forum were leaked by a rival gang.

The information, held on a stolen database uploaded to Sendspace, includes the identities, passwords and IP addresses of 18,894 suspected criminals, as well as their private messages discussing crimes, which supposedly include online fraud attacks against British, American and Australian banks.

Experts say this is the first time such a goldmine of information has come into the hands of police and intelligence agencies, giving them the chance to catch some of the world's most notorious cyber criminals. It also could allow them to infiltrate other cyber crime forums by using shared passwords.

Read full report at http://www.scmagazineuk.com/18000-suspected-cyber-criminals-shopped-by-rival-gang/article/328803/

Do you know who is stalking your child on the internet?

The arrest of a Red Bank man accused of soliciting nude pictures of a 13-year old girl on Facebook has opened up the discussion about local cyber sex crimes.

WDEF recently spoke to a local undercover detective who specifically investigates crimes committed over the internet.The internet is not safe. It's a great tool and great resource for information and for learning but there's another side to the internet," the detective said.

That was revealed when James Renfro, 21, of Red Bank allegedly tried to get a 13-year old girl to send him nude pictures of herself on Facebook. According to the detective, that cyber crime was only the tip of the iceberg.

"What I've often see is a man posing as a female child or female teen trying to get another female teen to send pictures for a teen lesbian site or teen sex site," the detective said.

According to authorities, there has been an increase in children downloading free apps on their mobile internet devices that allows them to text to chat-rooms that may often have child predators.

"I've had a lot of those cases where you're just in a chat-room or you're on one of these text-apps and you get solicited for sending nudity to them," said the investigator.

Authorities say parents need to keep a closer eye on their child's internet activity because there is always someone in cyberspace looking for a victim.

"It's almost like taking your child to a state prison and asking can your child go into the sex offender unit and spend the day," said the detective.

According to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, one in 25 children ages 10 to 17 receive an online sexual solicitation from an adult. 4% of cell phone carrying teenagers say they have sent sexual material via text messaging while 15% of cell pone carrying teenagers say they have received sexual material via text messaging.

Source : http://www.wdef.com/content/news/crime/story/Do-you-know-who-is-stalking-your-child-on-the/Zevs5Q0ZIUGxNTMrmNfweA.cspx

"In our high school, almost everyone in the 11th and 12th grade did it"

1. It's easy to tell which kids in this town have helped to make it a global center for criminal hacking and Internet scams.
2. They're the pupils who come to school wearing the best clothes and gold jewelry in a region of Romania where chickens are raised in yards and roads are full of potholes.
3. This is how the Romanians have expressed their hacking operations carried out of US firms.

read full story at http://goo.gl/mAlrHl