GOVERNMENT CYBERSECURITY AGENCY
SBI-led banking alliance comes together to mount a defence to AI threats
Indian Banks' Association, led by State Bank of India, is developing a strategy for cybersecurity in the AI era. The initiative focuses on improving coordination among banks and facilitating timely information sharing. Increasing digitalization has expanded the potential for cyberattacks, urging immediate measures to mitigate risks.
India cybercrime agency warns financial firms on AI attacks
"These attacks are financially motivated and are being carried out with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents leading to machine speed compromise," the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre said in an advisory made public on Wednesday.
Cert-In gets Mythos access, being careful with testing: Officials
Government agencies cannot download the AI’s source code or weights for running on their own, completely isolated or ‘air-gapped’ systems. Instead, to use Mythos, they must send their proprietary data, code, or network blueprints over the internet to Anthropic’s cloud servers.
Italy says cyberattack on supermarket fridges had limited impact
A hacking attack on Monday hit fridges and freezers from Sweden to Belgium, forcing stores to throw away food in an incident that echoed a similar attack in France last month.
UK cyber chief says the UK will face AI cyberattacks on critical infrastructure by 2028
The UK's National Cyber Security Center warns of potential AI-driven cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure by 2028. Increased sophistication in cyber activities from states like China and Russia poses significant risks. Past incidents highlight vulnerabilities in key sectors such as manufacturing and energy. Organizations must invest in cybersecurity measures to protect against these emerging threats. Failure to act could jeopardize essential services and compromise national security.
OpenAI’s India user base doubles; Rapido GOV quadruples
Happy Tuesday! India has become ChatGPT’s largest market globally, with its user base doubling. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
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Govt mulls giving Cert-In enforceable powers to mandate patching
Last month, two critical flaws in the PHP programming language, discovered with the help of AI, created worldwide panic as hackers targeted the vulnerabilities millions of times, and led to governments including the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan taking down public websites. PHP powers 69.3% of websites worldwide.

Binance’s $6.3 billion hack dwarfs Bybit's $ 1.5 billion breach: Is cryptocurrency theft getting bigger?
Binance has recently reported a major security breach impacting approximately $6.3 billion in digital assets. After the hack, the exchange temporarily suspended withdrawals while assessing their security systems. Hackers allegedly linked to North Korea have raised concerns about the effectiveness of security measures in cryptocurrency exchanges. Investigators are working to trace the stolen funds and recover as many assets as possible.

'New Cold War'? Supermarket freezers hacked in six European countries, food worth millions spoiled. Who's behind it?
A wave of cyberattacks has struck supermarket refrigeration systems across several European nations, including Belgium, Sweden, Luxembourg, and Estonia, raising serious food safety alarms. These breaches allowed unauthorized access to cooling units, causing hazardous temperature increases that threaten product integrity. Experts are voicing concerns about the rising risks associated with connected technologies, while investigators work diligently to pinpoint the perpetrators and safeguard against future breaches.

Hospital balance sheet: How AI could cut costs and improve efficiency
As hospitals grapple with soaring costs in drugs, supplies, and labor, the integration of AI emerges as a vital necessity.

Who are the hackers suspected in Binance's $6.3 billion crypto theft? Are they state-backed groups?
Binance's $6.3 billion hack: The $6.3 billion theft from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has drawn attention to North Korea's suspected role in major cyberattacks. Blockchain intelligence firms believe a North Korean hacking group called TraderTraitor was behind the incident. However, Binance has not confirmed the identity of the attackers, and investigations are still underway.

Cyberattacks hit NBFCs; Pine Labs Q2 profit zooms
Cyber criminals are targetting smaller NBFCs with specialised AI toolkits. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.

AI-powered cyberattacks siphon ₹300 crore from small NBFCs in two months
Recent cyberattacks have inflicted an estimated loss of ₹300 crore on Indian NBFC, with around 150 fraud cases reported. Focus has shifted towards identifying Chinese hacking platforms and AI toolkit involvement in these incidents. Exploiting operational weaknesses, these cybercriminals persistently launch their attacks, leading to urgent calls for NBFCs to bolster their cybersecurity frameworks to fend off further threats and safeguard their operations.

DHS data leak: Agency responds after massive breach exposes details of 41,000 officials, including ICE personnel
DHS data leak: A recent data breach exposed personal information of 41,000 Department of Homeland Security officials, which was published online. The hacktivist group, Department of Peace, claimed responsibility, stating that the information was obtained from Okta's system. The leaked data contains employee names, offices, contact information, and their specific assignments within the agency. Department of Homeland Security is actively addressing this situation and has acknowledged the potential breach.

41,000 US Homeland Security employee names leaked in major hack
A significant data breach has exposed personal details of more than 40,000 Department of Homeland Security employees. The leaked information includes identities, contact details, and job titles of various officials. Distributed Denial of Secrets claims responsibility for releasing the data, asserting a right to access such information. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed it is actively addressing the breach while ensuring employee protection.

PHP scare sparks calls for urgent corp DPDP audits to plug all gaps
The incidents underline the need to identify gaps in companies’ security practices and clarify what constitutes reasonable safeguards before the law takes effect, they said. The DPDP Act is being implemented in phases, with a May 2027 deadline for full compliance obligations.

Social media norms, AI, deepfakes, chips among others on review list of parliamentary panel in 2026-27
The development comes as several incidents of age-inappropriate content, circulation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and alleged censorship on social media have been reported widely.

Anthropic IPO rocks Indian IT; Why Walmart is in no hurry to list Flipkart
Anthropic’s US IPO filing sent Indian IT stocks lower on Tuesday. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.

Cert-In and states rush to patch PHP flaws across govt portals
Last week, two critical cybersecurity flaws in the PHP programming language were discovered with the help of AI. Subsequently, Cert-In issued advised organisations to apply security patches. Thousands of state government portals, district administration websites, municipal corporation services, and public grievance redressal systems in India have historically relied on content management systems and frameworks based on the PHP programming language.

Prevention CERT-Inly better than cure
India is responding to cybersecurity challenges posed by the recent eMudhra incident and PHP vulnerabilities. Government agencies are conducting audits and investigations to strengthen digital security. The country is experiencing heightened cybersecurity risks due to its digital transformation and existing framework gaps. There are also concerns about unutilized funds and a shortage of cybersecurity talent. A broader approach is needed for transformative improvements in managing cybersecurity effectively.

'Tech debt coming due': AI-found flaw signals chaos ahead
The vulnerability to potential hackers was found by using a powerful model from OpenAI in one of the most high-profile demonstration of AI's cyber capabilities.

AI is finding software flaws faster, and so are hackers: Inside the PHP scramble
Governments and companies across Europe and Asia have taken services offline while they patch two vulnerabilities that researchers discovered with AI models, as exploitation attempts rise into the millions.

Australian agency mulled firing KPMG over data-handling rule breach, documents show
KPMG Australia breached its contract with Services Australia by transferring sensitive material outside the secure government environment, prompting consideration of termination of their engagement. Although no data breach occurred, Services Australia has not awarded new audit work to KPMG since the incident, which raised significant concerns about the firm's trustworthiness and compliance with data protocols.

Rush is on to patch a software vulnerability that could impact 70% of websites worldwide
Many government sites appeared to be functioning normally Thursday, but outages or limited service continued while security work was under way.

What is a PHP vulnerability? Security flaws prompt shutdowns of major websites amid global cybersecurity response
Two critical vulnerabilities in PHP have prompted the shutdown of several websites across multiple countries. Cybersecurity teams are actively working to secure these potentially affected systems using emergency fixes provided by the PHP Foundation. Major organizations, including Wikimedia and government sites in Finland and the Netherlands, have taken precautions. Researchers utilized artificial intelligence to identify these security flaws, showcasing both its benefits and risks.

From eMudhra to PHP: Breach spree hits tech infrastructure, AI emerges as threat multiplier
Recent cybersecurity incidents have raised concerns among companies and government agencies regarding digital certificates and critical software vulnerabilities. A security breach at eMudhra impacted its global digital certificate business but was managed promptly. Additionally, critical vulnerabilities in PHP temporarily led to the shutdown of various websites for security updates. A supply-chain attack compromised the LiteLLM Python package, affecting its users significantly.

Nvidia launches OpenShell Reference Architecture to contain AI agents
Nvidia said this architecture combines computing hardware, software and security tools to keep agents within defined boundaries aiming to address a part of the problem.

How an AI model discovered critical safety flaws in government websites
A significant number of websites, including those managed by the French government and Wikimedia, faced downtime due to identified vulnerabilities in PHP, a popular web development language. Cybersecurity experts from Wiz and Calif employed AI to pinpoint these urgent flaws. In response, PHP developers swiftly issued patches, urging users to promptly update their systems.

eMudhra breach: Netizens react as IT Ministry says impact on Indian sites ‘very limited’
Cybersecurity agency CERT-In warned that the compromised keys could let attackers issue fraudulent certificates for domains they do not control, impersonate legitimate websites and carry out attacks that intercept or modify encrypted communications.
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