{"id":15248,"date":"2021-05-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/17-05-2021\/darkside-ransomware-attack\/"},"modified":"2021-05-17T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T00:00:00","slug":"darkside-ransomware-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/17-05-2021\/darkside-ransomware-attack","title":{"rendered":"DarkSide Ransomware Attack"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>In News<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation( FBI) officially confirmed that <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>DarkSide was responsible for compromising Colonial Pipeline&#8217;s networks.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"border-collapse:collapse; border:none; table-layout:fixed; width:624px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color:#fff2cc; border-bottom:1px solid #000000; border-left:1px solid #000000; border-right:1px solid #000000; border-top:1px solid #000000; vertical-align:top\">\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>DarkSide Group<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">DarkSide is an Eastern Europe-based c<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>ybercriminal hacking group<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> that targets victims using<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong> ransomware and extortion<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The group has claimed that it is <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>apolitical and is only concerned about making money<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> and has claimed that it also <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>donates some of its proceeds to charities.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The DarkSide group appeared to have a code of conduct that prohibits attacks against hospitals, hospices, schools, universities, non-profit organizations, and government agencies.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>About\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Recently, the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Colonial Pipeline <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">(the operator of one of the largest fuel pipelines in the USA) announced that it had been hit with a<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong> ransomware attack<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">, in which criminal groups lock up <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>computer systems and hold data hostage<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> until the victim pays a ransom.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">In response, the company protectively shut down its pipeline.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:square\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The pipeline carries <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>2.5 million barrels a day &#8211; 45% <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">of the East Coast&#8217;s supply of diesel, petrol and jet fuel.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The company has reportedly paid a ransom amount of $5 million in Bitcoin to retrieve its files.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/4Z8Jd2ih-vWqLzdlhCnlrC11BQ5gOiuxAiXTJ37v8e97kN9OwrBK-uD1IO0aRNEXcX2UVWndDrzqBUqSYFN2qCqxccS5bSGCpuDrvsCVHKu8v9Jzn5ejYDdYS2_fQwzS6QCq7n5K\" style=\"height:389px; width:480px\" \/><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/business-57050690\" style=\"text-decoration:none\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#1155cc\"><strong><u>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Image Courtesy: BBC<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Impact On Oil Prices<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Oil prices rose in response to the attack on Colonial Pipeline with the price of Brent <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>crude rising to $69 per barrel.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The temporary shortage also led to an increase in pump prices in the US with the average national price of petrol rising to over $3.0 per gallon, the highest level since 2014.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The disruption led to a gas s<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>hortage across the east coast<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> with customers facing long lines to<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong> purchase fuel and many pumps <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">running out of petrol and diesel as panic buying led to customers <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>purchasing larger quantities of fuel<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Crude oil prices have risen despite a surge in Covid-19 infections in Asia due to <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>expectations of increasing crude oil demand from the US<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> and Europe leading to further upward pressure on auto fuel prices.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Impact on India:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">India, the world&#8217;s third-biggest oil importer and consumer\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:square\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Rising oil prices are posing fiscal challenges for India, where heavily-taxed retail fuel prices have touched record highs in some parts of the country.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:square\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The increase in oil prices will increase the country\u2019s import bill, and further, disturb its current account deficit (excess of imports of goods and services over exports).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Measures Need To Be Taken<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">There is a need to move towards <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>fortifying approache<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">s to<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong> prevent attacks <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">including employing a z<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>ero-trust security framework<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> in enterprise networks.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">A zero-trust approach means anything is suspected whenever any activity is done on the network, and every user, including the CEO, will have to be verified time and again.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Other measures such as<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong> Cloud Access Security Brokers (CPAB),<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> which act as intermediaries between users and cloud service providers, could \u201cgive teeth\u201d to an <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>overall cybersecurity strategy.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">India\u2019s oil and gas PSUs were making efforts to beef up <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>security, and that organisations <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">managing <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>critical infrastructures<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> such as pipelines and refineries were required by the government to implement certain security measures.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"border-collapse:collapse; border:none; table-layout:fixed; width:624px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color:#fff2cc; border-bottom:1px solid #000000; border-left:1px solid #000000; border-right:1px solid #000000; border-top:1px solid #000000; vertical-align:top\">\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Ransomware Attack<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">A ransomware attack is a <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>cyberattack using malware<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> that encrypts the victim\u2019s files and requires users to <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>pay a ransom to decrypt the files.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It is often designed to spread across a network and target database and file servers, and can thus quickly paralyze an entire organization.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It is a <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>growing threat, generating billions of dollars<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> in payments to cybercriminals and inflicting significant damage and expenses for businesses and governmental organizations.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-2QVXTX1rOzBNz0iEqEY-ze6BZfQZQe2bwtcQlNI_xDebGl6lSBi_GQPTaoc2_KLFocz_qXNcvMLgEAMGau5UmHO3vWTx0ImfGcc0GYZKWtnMAOA74eyTgPizSohm5ei5veYy0UW\" style=\"height:278px; width:572px\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/figure\/Ransomware-Lifecycle-4_fig1_339617849\" style=\"text-decoration:none\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#1155cc\"><u>Image Courtesy: Research gate\u00a0<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>How to Defend Against Ransomware?<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Back up your data<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">. The best way to avoid the threat of being locked out of your critical files is to ensure that you always have backup copies of them, preferably in the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>cloud and on an external hard drive<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Secure your backups<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">. Make sure your backup data is not accessible for modification or deletion from the systems where the data resides.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Ransomware will look for data backups and encrypt or delete them so they cannot be recovered, so use backup systems that do not allow direct access to backup files.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Use security software and keep it up to date.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> Make sure all your computers and devices are protected with comprehensive security software and keep all your <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>software up to date<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Practice safe surfing.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> Be careful where you click. Don\u2019t respond to emails and text messages from people you don\u2019t know, and only download applications from trusted sources.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">This is important since malware authors often use social engineering to try to get you to install dangerous files.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Only use secure networks<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">. Avoid using public Wi-Fi networks, since many of them are not secure, and cybercriminals can snoop on your internet usage.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Implement a security awareness program.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> Provide regular security awareness training for every member of your organization so they can avoid phishing and other social engineering attacks. Conduct regular drills and tests to be sure that training is being observed.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Safeguards Available In India Against Cyber Threats\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Information Technology Act, 2000 (Amended in 2008)<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">: It is the main law for dealing with cybercrime and digital commerce in India.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) was created under Section 70A of IT Act 2000 to protect Cyberinfrastructure.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>CERT-In (Cyber Emergency Response Team, India)<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">: It is National Nodal Agency for Cyber Security and is Operational since 2004<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>National Cyber Security Policy, 2013: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The policy provides the vision and strategic direction to protect the national cyberspace.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Cyber Swachhta Kendra<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">: Cyber Swachhta Kendra helps users to analyse and keep their systems free of various viruses, bots\/ malware, Trojans, etc.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">: Launched in 2018, It is an apex coordination centre to deal with cybercrimes.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Cyber Surakshit Bharat: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It was launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy) in 2018 with the aim to spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>The Cyber Warrior Police Force<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">: It was organised on the lines of the Central Armed Police Force in 2018.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/world\/darkside-blamed-for-gas-pipeline-attack-says-it-is-shutting-down-7315902\/\" style=\"text-decoration:none\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#1155cc\"><u>Source: IE<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In News Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation( FBI) officially confirmed that DarkSide was responsible for compromising Colonial Pipeline&#8217;s networks. DarkSide Group DarkSide is an Eastern Europe-based cybercriminal hacking group that targets victims using ransomware and extortion The group has claimed that it is apolitical and is only concerned about making money and has claimed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15249,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[114,26],"class_list":["post-15248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-cyber-crime-security","tag-gs-3"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/99366current-affairs.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}