CEO email fraud becoming rampant with hackers targeting high officials
In August 2015, a top official of one of the Indian regulators wrote a note to his IT team asking what they were doing to protect his emails. The official had enough reasons to be concerned as every decision that the regulator takes directly impacts the economy. The official’s fears weren’t unfounded too. Email hacking is now the leading information security concern among chief executives in India. Over the past one year, there has been a sharp uptick in email fraud. Hackers are increasingly targeting the top management of companies to retrieve confidential information, costing them millions of dollars. Tarun Wig, co-founder of Innefu Labs, an authentication security firm, says email hacking is the latest and probably one of the biggest challenges of information security. “In the corporate environment everyone is scared their email could be compromised, the impact of which could be on the professional or personal level.” Indeed, hacking of CEO mails is now rampant globally. According to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, a scam in which criminals impersonate the email accounts of CEOs has cost businesses around the globe more than $2 billion in just over two years. The FBI has seen a sharp increase in “business email crime,” a simple scam that is also known as “CEO fraud”, with more than 12,000 victims affected globally and a 270% increase in the number of identified victims and exposed loss since January 2015, including in India. Easy Targets: The targets are usually high-level executives (CEOs/ CFOs etc) at medium and large organisations. The attackers target businesses working with foreign suppliers or businesses that regularly perform international money transfers. In India, examples are legion. The CEO of a Noida-based organisation was blackmailed into paying $40,000 to a group of people who had hacked into his mail and found pictures of him in compromising positions. In January, one of the “unicorn” startups in India discovered that a malware had entered the system. The malware had surreptitiously lurked on the company’s systems, invisible to most eyes and targetted the email ids of the CEO, CFO and eight other senior executives. It then began sending emails to an unknown server in Europe. Fortunately for the company, “nothing important was compromised”. In another case, a well-known CEO of a big Indian company, who is now retired, was targeted. Last October, the CEO got a threatening mail from a person who claimed to possess private emails. Some mails were sent as proof. The sender demanded money for not making public the emails. The CEO called a cyber-security expert who found that a hacker had managed to access his emails while he was in Europe. The cyber security expert believed that this was a targeted attack. The security expert refused to share the detail whether or not the money was paid to the hacker or what were the contents of the email. “While globally BEC (business e-mail compromise) is on the rise India has been among the top targets for hackers in the last one year,” says Burgess Cooper, partner – information & cyber security at EY. Wig says the government too is vulnerable to hacking. “If I want to make money as a hacker I can just hack into 15-20 mail IDs and carry out stock market trading using insider information,” says Wig, who works with government and private companies to combat hacking. There have been several cases in the past of government agencies coming under the glare of hackers. Recently, the e-mail account of a finance ministry spokesperson was hacked. Last year, fear of Lalit Modi’s email hacking spooked critical government officials who were reported to be growing rapidly averse to electronic communication for fear of being intercepted or hacked into. In 2014, India ranked second on a list of countries most targeted for cybercrimes through social media, following the US. The National Cyber Security Policy of India, announced in 2013, aims to create 500,000 skilled workers in the field of cyber security in India by 2018. “Over 100 billion emails are exchanged every day, and not one of us has got any formal training about using them responsibly. CEOs are no different. Targeting them especially becomes easy as they are generally public faces,” said Saken Modi, CEO, Lucideus Tech, a cyber-security firm. Problem is many Indian companies have become bigger, the hackers are going after the emails of the top guns, say industry trackers. In March, Flipkart’s finance chief got an email from an account that looked similar to that of cofounder Binny Bansal, with an instruction to transfer $80,000 to a bank account. Flipkart said it was a spoof where the email originates from an outside source with a falsified name and address and that its email accounts were secure. “Data security is of utmost priority for Flipkart… We use Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to ensure data security,” says a company spokesperson. While Flipkart, a new-age company, may have put up safeguards against cyber threats, many others may not be prepared to handle such issues, with cyber criminals becoming more and more sophisticated. Callous Attitude: Experts say that often the top managers are quite careless. In one instance, the top boss of one of the biggest banks in the country was sitting in the lobby of a Mumbai five-star hotel and checking his bank statements in his emails after using the hotel’s WiFi. “When I pointed out to him that this could be dangerous, he just dismissed the whole thing saying I was being paranoid,” says a partner with a cyber-security consultancy who met the boss to exchange pleasantries. Experts say though there is concern among companies that their emails are prone to attack most of them are still quite casual about dealing with it in a planned manner. Many CEOs maintain more than one email thinking that security of one is not important. The opposite is true. “If a hacker can get into one account whose password your secretary knows, rest assured they can hack into all your
Phase of exuberance in e-commerce sector over: Mohandas Pai
From a period of exuberance, India’s e-commerce sector has entered a reality check phase with players focussing on cost cutting and business viability as investors seek performance, tech investor T V Mohandas Pai said today. Pai, ex-CFO of software major Infosys, said 2015 was a year of exuberance as a lot of money flowed into the sector but it is no longer the scene now. “Now, the funds have become very costlier. Now, they (investors) are demanding performance. Capital is also becoming scarce driven by interest rates in the US and potential meltdown in demand in China. Europe is not growing and Japan is not doing well and there is fear. “That’s why venture capital flows have come down. They (investors) have become very selective. People are now beginning to ask questions as to when e-commerce business will be viable and when they will create a sustainable business and value for the money they have put in. That’s good news”, he told . Many e-commerce players believed that if they go on giving fat discounts and sell more, they would get more revenues and higher valuation. “That model is not sustainable,” added Pai, co-founder of Aarin Capital. Now, investors are demanding performance. “Some sanity is coming (in the e-commerce space). E-commerce players should build business based upon efficiency and not upon steep discounting. Discounting can be there to the extent of savings they have compared to a conventional store. They are getting cautious and they are cutting costs, and that’s good news,” he said. As for whether some top Indian e-commerce players are overvalued, he said, “Whether they are overvalued or not depends on who is willing to pay money for that valuation. If they are raising capital, if somebody is paying money, then it’s fairly valued. It’s very difficult to make comments. Some funds write it down based on their model.” Pai does not think investment flows into the e-commerce play would slow down further. “Funding will come in for B2B and players with sustainable businesses and great technology. Direction of the funds may change. Funding will not come down in a substantial manner,” he said. Pai, who is also Chief Adviser to the Manipal Education and Medical Group, dismissed reports that hiring is slowing down and salary packages are being slashed in the sector. “Startups are also businesses. Some of them may succeed, many of them will fail. That’s the nature of the business. Nothing has changed in the last six months. Startups are coming, some of them are raising money, some of them are failing, it’s continuous,” he said.
Snapdeal co stole biz data: Paytm
A legal battle seems to be brewing between two leading Indian consumer internet firms. Online payments and commerce platform Paytm has filed a lawsuit against Snapdeal-owned Unicommerce, an e-commerce management software and fulfilment solutions provider, in the Delhi high court, sources aware of the development told TOI. Paytm, run by One97 Communication, has accused Unicommerce of accessing confidential business data on Paytm’s commerce platform via the sellers on this platform. Many sellers on Paytm’s platform use Unicommerce for managing orders and inventory across multiple marketplaces and carts. Paytm has also alleged that Unicommerce is using Paytm’s logo and name without any authorization. New Delhi-based online marketplace Snapdeal had acquired Unicommerce last year. When contacted, Paytm, Snapdeal and Unicommerce declined to comment saying the matter is sub judice. The hearing is expected to take place on Thursday. The development marks growing tensions between rival companies in the highly competitive consumer internet space. About a month ago, cab aggregator Uber had dragged rival Ola to court alleging that the latter was involved in false bookings and creating fake rider accounts on the former’s platform. Paytm and Snapdeal are rivals in two key business areas – payments and commerce marketplace. Snapdeal started as a marketplace and then acquired Freecharge for a play in the payments business. Paytm, backed by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, started as a digital payments platform and later entered the marketplace business. Marketplace players connect merchants to consumers through a digital platform. The information and data flowing through the platform is valuable and companies want to keep it private. “Data is of utmost importance as it provides valuable insights on consumer behaviour. Company-specific data getting into the hands of rivals can impact the business negatively,” said a legal expert tracking startups in India.
Centre to fund incomplete projects of JNURM
The Centre will fund all incomplete projects approved under the phased-out JNURM during 2005-12 in which 50 per cent finances have been released and progress achieved, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was told at a meeting held here today. The funding will be done under the newly-launched Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), she was told by officials at the meeting. Launched in 2015-16, the total allocation for J&K for the AMRUT mission for the period of five years is Rs 744 crore. At the meeting on urban development, Mehbooba asked policymakers to think out-of-box to address emerging challenges of urbanization in the state as she underlined the need for proper planning and management to ensure planned development, basic amenities and a decent urban life to its people. Expressing concern over the present state of urban planning and management, the Chief Minister called for a systemic overhaul and suggested a series of measures to provide efficient infrastructure,solid waste management and building capacities of municipalities so that the minimum service guarantees to the people are provided in a hassle-free manner.
Roads ministry targets laying over 40 km of roads every day in 2016-17
The road transport and highways ministry has set an ambitious target of laying more than 40 km of roads every day in 2016-17, more than double the current pace. A senior official said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will construct 8,000 km in the fiscal year while the Industrial Development Corporation (NHIDCL), which lays roads in hilly areas, will construct 7,000 km. The roads award target has been set at 25,000 km against the 10,000 km awarded last year, the official added. “The construction target has been set at 15,000 km against the 6,000 km constructed last year. However, the budget for the current year has set the construction target at 10,000 km,” the official said. “We are confident of doing much better than the budget target set by the finance minister.” Of the total length of national highways targeted for award, 15,000 km would be awarded by NHAI and 10,000 km by NHIDCL, the ministry said in a statement. In 2015-16, the ministry was able to award 10,000 km of highway contracts worth Rs 1lakh crore. In the current budget, the road ministry has got an allocation of Rs 57,000 crore and NHAI has been allowed to raise tax-free bonds of Rs 15,000 crore. The ministry is also looking at additional options to raise funds through EPFO and LIC and by leasing out existing projects on tolloperate-transfer (TOT) model. “We are looking at awarding contracts worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore. We are already in talks with LIC and EPFO to raise Rs 1 lakh crore. The remaining amount would be raised through leasing out our already constructed national highways to pension fund and PE players under the TOT model,” the official said. ELECTRONIC TOLL: NHAI is making cashless payment mechanism (FASTag) operational at 275 toll plazas from Monday. FASTag will offer near non-stop movement of vehicles through toll plazas and convenience of cashless payments of toll fee with nationwide inter operable electronic toll collection services. India has 350 toll plazas. FASTag will become operational at the remaining toll plazas within a year. NHAI will give 10% cash back incentive on toll payments for FASTag users. According to a study by Transport Corporation of India and IIM Kolkata, Rs 60,000 crore is lost on account of delays at various check posts. NHAI has tied up with ICICI Bank and Axis Bank for the service. FASTag has a one-time fee of Rs 200 and is affixed on the wind screen of the vehicle.It employs RFID technology for making toll payments directly from the prepaid account linked to it. FASTag will be available on sale from selected toll plazas on national highways and designated branches of participating banks. These can be recharged by making payments through cheque or online. The minimum recharge amount is Rs 100 and the maximum is Rs 1 lakh for commercial vehicles.
Rs 11.4 lakh-crore worth projects stalled till March: ICRA
Owing to unfavourable market conditions, increased funding constraints and inadequate raw material linkages, nearly Rs 11.4 trillion worth of infrastructure projects were stalled as of March 31, says ICRA. According to the rating agency, though the number of stalled projects started declining since FY14, it took pace from the second half of 2015-16. Majority of the projects, which were stalled were from the private sector including from the sectors like steel, cement, aluminium, among others. “The Project Monitoring Group (PMG) of the government helped in resolving 353 projects worth Rs 11.7 trillion stalled over the last 3 years, which were particularly in power sector, but addition to projects accepted by PMG outpaced projects resolved,” ICRABSE 1.27 % said. The Group, which was set up in January 2013 in the Cabinet Secretariat to revive projects both in the public and private sector, had accepted 743 projects with an estimated cumulative investment of Rs 31 trillion till February this year. According to ICRA, another 390 projects with a cumulative investment of over Rs 19 trillion are still facing hurdles. “The growing number of stalled projects in the last two quarters, which are already high at 8 per cent of GDP is a matter of concern. While many projects were stuck for want of land or clearances, with the changing macro-economic scenario and weak commodity prices, viability and promoters’ interest to continue with the projects, have also declined,” ICRA Senior Vice-President Rohit Inamdar told reporters during a webinar. This apart, funding issues have also remained pertinent for infrastructure sector, which comprises the largest share of stressed advances for public sector banks – the primary lenders for infrastructure projects, he said. “Apart from reviving stalled projects, the implementation of the proposed plug-and-play model, which aims at awarding major projects after acquiring land and the requisite approvals, is expected to significantly reduce execution delays and attract higher private participation in the sector,” Inamdar said. He further noted that the recovery in the sector will be gradual as most players are still burdened with leveraged balance sheets even as the volume of stalled or slow moving projects remains sizeable. “Further, structural constraints like uncertainty in land acquisition, delays in approvals and inadequacy of long-term funding avenues, if not tackled expeditiously, will slow down recovery in the infrastructure sector,” Inamdar added.
E-toll starts from Monday! Now, make cashless payments at 275 toll plazas
You will be able to zip through toll plazas across the country from Monday as National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is making cashless payment mechanism (FASTag) operational at 275 toll plazas FASTag will offer near non-stop movement of vehicles through toll plazas and convenience of cashless payments of toll fee with nationwide inter operable electronic toll collection services. India currently has 350 toll plazas. FASTag will become operational at the remaining toll plazas within a year. NHAI will give 10% cash back incentive on toll payments for FASTag users. The cash back amount for a particular month will be credited back to the FASTag account at the beginning of the next month. A Transport Corporation of India and IIM Kolkata study said that Rs 60,000 crore was lost on account of various delays at check posts NHAI has tied up with ICICI bank and Axis bank for the service. FASTag has a onetime fee of Rs.200 and is affixed on the wind screen of the vehicle. It employs RFID technology for making toll payments directly from the pre-paid account linked to it. FASTag will be available on sale from selected toll plazas on national highways and designated branches of participating banks. These can be recharged by making payments through cheque or online. The minimum recharge amount is Rs100 and can be up to Rs.1 lakh for commercial vehicles.
Raghuram Rajan warns against ‘euphoria’ over fastest-growing tag
Warning against being “euphoric” about India being the fastest-growing economy, RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on Wednesday sought to contextualise his “one-eyed king” remarks about India’s growth and said the country has a long way to go before it claims to have arrived. “As a central banker who has to be pragmatic, I cannot get euphoric if India is the fastest growing large economy,” he said. Seeking to explain his ‘one-eyed king’ comments, Rajan said his comments were “hung out to dry out of context” and even offered an apology to the visually-impaired for hurting them by the use of the proverb. Stating that the per-capita income of Indians remains lowest among BRICS, Rajan said, “We have a long way to go before we can claim we have arrived. We need to repeat this performance (economic growth) for 20 years before we can give each Indian a decent livelihood.” He also said India’s global reputation holds great promise, but is seen as a country that has under-delivered and that it should “implement, implement, and implement” the structural reforms. Speaking at the convocation of National Institute of Bank Management, Rajan said India is yet to achieve its potential growth though it is on the cusp of that and a substantial pick-up in growth can be achieved with pending reforms. Making a reference to his last week’s interview to a foreign publication where he likened India being the fastest-growing major economy to a case of the one-eyed man being king in the land of the blind, Rajan said his comments were interpreted as having denigrated the country’s success rather than emphasising on the need to do more. “… Every word or phrase that a public figure speaks is intensely wrung out of meaning. When words are hung out to dry out of context as in the newspaper headline, it only becomes a fair game for anyone who wants to fill in, meaning to create mischief,” he said. Finance minister Arun Jaitley had rebutted Rajan’s remarks, saying compared with the rest of the world, the Indian economy is growing much faster and, in fact, the fastest. Commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman too had not taken Rajan’s remarks lightly, saying better words should have been used. Rajan said commonly used words or proverbs can “most easily and deliberately be misinterpreted”. “If we are to have a reasonable public dialogue, we should read words in their context, not stripped of it,” he said. He, however, apologized to the visually-impaired whose association had criticised Rajan for using the proverb. “I do want to apologize to a section of the population that I did hurt with these words, that is the visually impaired, or the blind,” Rajan said. Queried for his take on India being the ‘bright spot’, Rajan during last week’s interview had said: “I think we have still to get to a place where we feel satisfied. We have this saying ‘In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king’. We are a little bit that way.”
Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy likely to function at Andhra University from this year
The Central government is making arrangements to operationalise Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE) from this year itself and as a part of it, the official visit of Joint Secretary of Ministry of Petroleum and Chemicals Sushmarath to Andhra University on Tuesday assumed significance. It is learnt that efforts are on to introduce first year B Tech and M Tech courses in Petroleum and Chemical Engineering from this July temporarily at the AU College of Engineering. About the admission process, the authorities would allow 60 seats each in two B Tech courses while 18 seats each in the two M Tech courses for which the Andhra University authorities have to make arrangements for class rooms, laboratories, library, seminar halls and other facilities. Joint Secretary from the Ministry of Petroleum and Chemicals Sushmarath initially held a meeting with Collector N Yuvaraj, In-charge Vice Chancellor Prof E A Narayana, Registrar Prof V Umamaheswara Rao and Principal of AU College of Engineering (A) Prof Ch V Ramachandra Murty at the In-charge Vice-Chancellor Chambers before leaving for a field visit. Later, they visited three buildings on the engineering college campus-including New Classroom Complex and Delta Studies Institute. HPCL Executive Director G Sriganesh, General Manager (HR) A S V Ramanan, Chief Manager K Nagesh and Deputy Manager G Sasibhushana Rao also accompanied the Joint Secretary in her field visit.
GAIL seeks interest in swapping out U.S. LNG supplies
GAIL (India) Ltd has been seeking to swap some of its contracted gas supplies from Sabine Pass Liquefaction in the United States to reduce shipping costs. GAIL has a contract to buy 3.5 million ton a year of liquefied natural gas from Sabine Pass on a FOB basis for 20 years. The supplies are expected to begin from the first quarter of 2018, a document posted on the company’s website showed. The Indian firm wants to swap LNG on a FOB basis with firms that have customers in countries in which LNG trade is not prohibited by US law and sanctions. In exchange GAIL is seeking equivalent supplies on a delivered basis at Indian regasification terminals at Dahej and Dabhol in western India. Trade sources last year told Reuters that GAIL has sold at least 0.5 million tons a year of LNG to Royal Dutch Shell.