Kerala Cyber Crime Prevention Call Centre & Web Portal Released

Kerala Cyber Crime Prevention Call Centre & Web Portal http://www.cyberkeralam.in has been released by Kerala Chief Minister on 30th July 2007 by 10.30 AM at PR Chamber of Govt. Secretariate Thiruvananthapuram. This programme is one of the project of Kerala State IT Mission with the technical help of the Cyber Forensic Division of C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram to detect cyber crimes, its prevention and to give advice to the general public.

Cyber crimes are becoming a nuisance in the society especially crimes such as cyber stalking and cell phone stalking. Many of the victims are not aware about the cyber crimes and its manifestations. The objective of this programme is to create awareness among the people about various types of cyber crimes, its impact in the society and educate the public in prevention of cyber crimes.


The web portal will give awareness about cyber attacks, virus, torjan, various security tips & tricks. It also have a forum to discuss about various cyber related matters by the general public, IT expert and law enforcement officials. The Call Centre provide you with facilities for asking expert opinion regarding any cyber crime and through the forum people can discuss various issues in cyber crimes.

This portal will function as the interface to public to provide them help in dealing with cyber crimes. It also envisages providing information regarding cyber security and cyber forensics to people of Kerala. Any victim of cyber crime can report the crime through this portal. The complaint will be handled by the Resource Centre for Cyber Forensics, CDAC, Thiruvananthapuram.


Resource Centre for Cyber Forensics was established at C-DAC, Thiruvananthapuram, as the state-of-the-art research centre for Cyber Forensics, by Dept. of Information Technology, Govt. of India to conduct Research and Development, Training and Technical Services in Cyber Forensics.


Source: cyberkeralam.in, cyberforensics.in

Cyber Crime – Hacking - Software Engineer arrested from Chennai

Cyber Crime – Hacking - Software Engineer arrested from Chennai

One M.S. Ramasamy, a 37 year old Software Engineer from Avadi, had arrested on 27.07.07 by the Chennai Cyber Crime Police on charges of hacking and stealing confidential and proprietary information from the server of a US IT Company. He was a former employee of that IT Company. Police framed charges under Section 66 of the IT Act, 2000 which dealing with Hacking and Section 408 of the IPC which dealing with Criminal Breach of Trust by Clerk or Servant.

In its press release Chennai Police said that Mr. Ramasamy had reportedly hacked into the company’s headquarter computer system when he was working as an Engineer in Caterpillar India Private Limited during January and February this year.

The accused accessed the company’s server located at Peoria in Illinois, US, by using another employee’s User ID and password and downloaded confidential information. A closed circuit camera recorded the activities of the sever room. By analyzing the server log and the visuals from the camera Police tracked the accused. Police arrested the hacker from an IT Company at Hosur, where he was employed. The Police confiscated the hard disk and pen drive containing the files.

Source: Hindu

Cyber Crime Prevention Call Centre & Webportal will launch by Kerala CM

Cyber Crime Prevention Call Centre & Web Portal will launch by Kerala Chief Minister on 30th July 2007 by 10.30 AM at PR Chamber of Govt. Secretariate Thiruvananthapuram. This programme is one of the project of Kerala State IT Mission with the technical help of the Cyber Forensic Division of C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram to detect cyber crimes, its prevention and to given advice to the general public. Kerala Police Hi-Tech Cell is also linked with this programme. The web portal will give awareness about cyber attacks, virus, torjan, various security tips & tricks. It will also has a forum to discuss about various cyber related matters by the genral public, IT expert and law enforcement officials. The Call Centre will give advice to the general public about the cyber crimes and its prevention and reporting of cyber crimes incidence.

Source: PRD Govt. of Kerala.

iPhone Hacked Successfully - Security Firm Says

iPhone Hacked Successfully - Security Firm Says

A vulnarabilty has found in the Apple Inc.'s iPhone handset that can help an attacker to gain access to the private data stored on it. This flaw has found by a team of security expert of Independent Security Evaluators (ISE). Hackers could gain access to the iPhone through a wireless access point or through a website controlled by the attacker. This was the first major security incident reported.

Numerous hackers have been working to gain access to the iPhone in order to activate certain features or to allow it to be used on cellular networks. However, this is the first major exploitation of an iPhone security flaw.

The expolit is delivered via a malicious web page opened in the Safari browser on the iPhone, ISE said on its Website. There are several methods that an attacker utilize to get a victim to open such a webpage.

1. An attacker controlled wireless access point:

The iPhone connects to wireless Internet access networks, such as Wi-Fi, an attacker could create a network with the same name and encryption method as one the handset already uses. The attacker could then substitute a Web page with exploit code to gain access to the phone.

2. A misconfigured forum website:

A link planted on an unedited or unmoderated online forum, an attacker could cause the exploit to run in any iPhone browser that viewed the thread.

3. A link delivered via e-mail or SMS:

A link sent by SMS or e-mail to use make use of the flaw and gain access to the handset.

The ISE said that when the iPhone's Safari browser opens a malicious Web page, malicious code can be run on the phone via the flaw, allowing the attacker to read the iPhone's SMS log, address book, call history, and voicemail information, which are also then sent to the attacker. It could send the user's mail passwords to the attacker, send text messages that sign the user up for pay services, or record audio that could be relayed to the attacker.

Source: nytimes

iPhone Hacked Successfully - Security Firm Says

iPhone Hacked Successfully - Security Firm Says

A vulnarabilty has found in the Apple Inc.'s iPhone handset that can help an attacker to gain access to the private data stored on it. This flaw has found by a team of security expert of Independent Security Evaluators (ISE). Hackers could gain access to the iPhone through a wireless access point or through a website controlled by the attacker. This was the first major security incident reported.

Numerous hackers have been working to gain access to the iPhone in order to activate certain features or to allow it to be used on cellular networks other than AT&T Inc.'s. However, this is the first major exploitation of an iPhone security flaw.

The expolit is delivered via a malicious web page opened in the Safari browser on the iPhone, ISE said on its Website. There are several methods that an attacker utilize to get a victim to open such a webpage.

1. An attacker controlled wireless access point:

The iPhone connects to wireless Internet access networks, such as Wi-Fi, an attacker could create a network with the same name and encryption method as one the handset already uses. The attacker could then substitute a Web page with exploit code to gain access to the phone.

2. A misconfigured forum website:

A link planted on an unedited or unmoderated online forum, an attacker could cause the exploit to run in any iPhone browser that viewed the thread.

3. A link delivered via e-mail or SMS:

A link sent by SMS or e-mail to use make use of the flaw and gain access to the handset.

The ISE said that when the iPhone's Safari browser opens a malicious Web page, malicious code can be run on the phone via the flaw, allowing the attacker to read the iPhone's SMS log, address book, call history, and voicemail information, which are also then sent to the attacker. It could send the user's mail passwords to the attacker, send text messages that sign the user up for pay services, or record audio that could be relayed to the attacker.

Source: nytimes

Kerala Chief Minister's fake profiles in Orkut.com

Cyber Police have received a number of complaints against social networking sites like Orkut that’s teeming with fake profiles of women and Ministers of Sate.

In a recent development, the State Police have requested ‘Google’ to provide the IP address and other details of fake profile creators. This will stop cyber crimes to a great extent. Fake profiles inviting the company of women have been the major attraction in Orkut recently.

The first complaint registered by the Police was from Adarsh, a web developer in Kochi. He found that another profile has been created with his name, photograph and phone number. The issue became grave when he found that the other person has been posting obscene pictures and messages in this profile. The Police was successful in tracing the culprit.

There’s another group targeted by fake profile-makers - ministers. Profiles of Co-operation Minister G Sudhakaran - describing him as a friend and a man of eccentricities - are already in Orkut. This is in addition to a number of communities (groups of members on specific topics) on him.

While some of them merely give his personal profile, a few have gone to the extent of terming him a ‘lunatic’. Profiles of the Chief Minister are also available online.

Even though there has been a flood of Cyber Crimes, Police find it difficult to deal with them as only a few complaints come under the Information Technology (IT) Act. ‘‘Section 65 of the IT Act identifies hacking as a crime. In Section 66, unauthorised access is a crime and Section 67 identifies exhibition of pornographic materials as a crime.

Source: Newindpress

Fake website in the name of AKG Centre

The State Police Hi-Tech Cell have come across a website viz. www.akgcentre.org.in - registered neither by the CPM nor with its knowledge.

The Thiruvananthapuram City Police have registered a case and the efforts are on to find out the culprit behind which the portal was registered with the assistance of Hi-Tech Cell.

Source: Newindpress

Seven Wonders of the World at a glance

Around 100 million Internet and telephone voters participated in a poll to select the new Seven Wonders of the World, among which are India's Taj Mahal marble mausoleum, the Great Wall of China, Brazil's Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Peru's Machu Picchu Inca trail and Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid.

The announcement was made at a star-studded ceremony here.

Following are some details about the new seven wonders:

The Taj Mahal


An icon of love, the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned it for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. Its construction began in 1632 and was completed in approximately 1648.

Built out of white marble and standing in formally laid-out walled gardens, the Taj Mahal is regarded as the most perfect jewel of Muslim art in India.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall is the world's longest human-made structure, stretching over approximately 6,400 km from Shanhai Pass in the east to Lop Nur in the west of China, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. It is also the largest human-made structure ever built in terms of surface area and mass.

The Wall was classified a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1986.

The statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro

Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The statue stands 32 metres tall, weighs 700 tonnes and is located at the peak of the 700-metre Corcovado Mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park, overlooking the city.
As well as being a potent symbol of Christianity, the statue has become an icon of Rio and Brazil.

The Incan ruins of Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu, a pre-Columbian city created by the Inca, is located above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, about 70 km northwest of Cusco. Forgotten for centuries by the outside world, although not by locals, it was brought back to international attention by archaeologist Hiram Bingham in 1911, who made the first scientific confirmation of the site and wrote a best-selling work about it.


The ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza in Mexico

Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilisation, located in the northern centre of the Yucatan Peninsula, present-day Mexico.

The Maya name Chichen Itza means "At the mouth of the well of the Itza". Although this was the usual name for the site in pre-Columbian times, it is also referred to in the ancient chronicles as Uucyabnal, meaning "Seven Great Rulers".

The pink ruins of Petra in Jordan

Petra is an archaeological site in Jordan, lying in a basin among the mountains, which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is famous for having many stone structures carved into the rock. The long-hidden site was revealed to the Western world by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.

Today, the Palace Tombs of Petra, with the 42-metre-high Hellenistic temple facade on the El-Deir Monastery, are impressive examples of Middle Eastern culture.

The Coliseum in Rome

The Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre, is a giant amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Originally capable of seating around 50,000 spectators, it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. The amphitheatre, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire, was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign.

Thieves using stolen credit cards to make donations

Some fraudsters have become generous with other people's money, donating to charities with stolen credit cards to verify the numbers are valid before selling them, the security firm Symantec Corp. said Friday on its blog.

They might seem like modern-day Robin Hoods, but they're really just cyber-robbers.

Unverified cards fetch up to $6 while verified cards can bring up to $18, said Javier Santoyo, a manager at Symantec. "Even the bad guys want to verify the other bad guys."

The verification method has become popular because the monitoring software at credit card companies may not question donations to charities, according the Symantec blog. Santoyo said the schemers usually donate less than $10.

American Red Cross spokeswoman Carrie Martin said, "This happens all the time. We have people at the Red Cross who deal with this type of activity."

Last month alone, the Red Cross refunded 700 fraudulent credit card transactions, Martin said. That figure doesn't include the transactions the charity blocked because they appeared fraudulent.

"There's a lot of red flags we look for," Martin said. For instance, the Red Cross automatically cancels any series of donations with the same e-mail address but a variety of credit-card numbers, Martin said.

Santoyo said that consumers should monitor their credit-card statements and question even a small transaction that appears to be unauthorized, as it could indicate the card number has been stolen.

The price thieves fetch for cards depends on whether it's been validated, the number of card numbers purchased, the credit line and how much additional information is available, such as the cardholder's address or the 3-digit security code on the card, said Johannes Ullrich, chief technology officer at the SANS Institute, a network security research and educational organization.



Author: RICHARD J. DALTON, JR.
Source: Newsday

iPhone vs Nokia N95, BlackBerry Curve, Treo, Samsung BlackJack

The much-hyped iPhone launched 10 days back internationally. Apple has released a smart phone matrix comparing the physical dimensions, talk time and battery life of some of the most popular smart phones that are available in the market today.

As per the matrix, Apple iPhone is the thinnest smartphone (half the thickness of N95 or Treo 750) with the largest screen size and Wi-Fi capabilities. [pdf]

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A new report in PCWorld has suggest that 19 million Americans have strong interest in buying the iPhone. 67 percent of those who were most inclined to purchase an iPhone are subscribers on other carrier networks.