An Australian woman lost a whopping $780,000 and is currently living a homeless life. All these happened just because she was searching for love online! Annette Ford, a Perth-based woman in her late 50s, has lost all her life savings. At present, she is forced to couch-surf with complete strangers in Western Australia. She is struggling hard to secure accommodation in an affordable retirement village in Australia.
Every TikTok user right now is considering themselves as God’s favorite child. The short-form video making app just survived a federal ban and resurrected just like that within a couple of hours. The app is up and running once again in the US, and users are going crazy over this ‘miraculous’ incident. As promised, Trump has put a brief pause on the federal ban.
Donut lovers, this news may be a cause of concern for you all. The US-based donut company Krispy Kreme faced a cybersecurity incident last month. The attack on one of the world’s largest donut companies is a staggering reminder that threat actors are always on the move and are getting sophisticated – one attack at a time.
Android users, do you think apps that you download from the Google Play Store are completely secure and harmless?
On November 7, Canada finally joined the bandwagon and banned ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. The company is to wind down its operations in Canada by the end of 2024. The Canadian government cited national security concerns as the major reason behind this significant move. Authorities will be reviewing the last one-year worth of Canadian operations by TikTok.
What comes as a shock is that the TikTok app itself will continue to be accessible to Canadian users. The Canadian government wants to strike the right balance between tackling national security issues and avoiding abrupt disruption of user experience. Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) believes that using a specific app should be completely a matter of ‘personal choice.’
Francois Philippe Champagne, the innovation minister, urges Canadians to embrace safe and healthy cybersecurity practices. He believes that Canadian users must be well-versed with the potential risks related to using certain apps and platforms. They must be aware of how their personal data is being used by these applications. He requests that Canadian citizens refer to cybersecurity guidance offered by the Canadian government.
Governments across multiple nations believe that TikTok is compelled to share user data and other sensitive details with the Chinese government as per the Chinese Intelligence Law. The application got the limelight back in 2020 when the pandemic restricted people within their houses. Hundreds and thousands of users started using the app actively to create short videos. The world is divided into two parts: one that creates the videos and the other half that consumes the videos.
Since 2020, TikTok has been a bone of contention for global governments, which have been facing a huge dilemma– whether to ban the app owing to security concerns or let millions of users use their favorite application for entertainment, creativity, and whatnot.
The biggest concern is that CCP or the Chinese Communist Party may spy and gather data through TikTok. Experts believe that CCP has humongous capabilities to access sensitive data through its applications and different platforms. The Chinese authorities then use the same data to analyze, evaluate, study, and leverage it for their national interests.
Trump took a significant step back in 2020 by signing executive orders, forcing ByteDance to sell out TikTok to an American company. Next, Biden banned the app on all government devices. Now that Trump has once again won the elections, more stringent actions against TikTok and similar apps are highly likely.
On similar notes, the Canadian government also banned TikTok across all government devices and settings in February 2023. Also, under the 1985 Investment Canada Act, the authorities organized a broader and stricter national security review later in 2023.
Canadian officials believe that the personal data that CCP may access through TikTok can be used illegitimately and that the same can be weaponized, which will further give rise to issues like espionage and other similar malicious purposes.
India, too, banned TikTok and similar Chinese apps back on June 29, 2020, as violence peaked between the two countries at their border. The Indian government cited security concerns and violation of Indian user data by TikTok and proceeded to ban the app completely.
A spokesperson from TikTok stated that shutting down ByteDance will result in job loss for hundreds of local employees who work with ByteDance. Also, they mentioned challenging this move in the court. TikTok has been fighting legal battles against multiple countries to fight against the restrictions and bans.
Experts believe that the ban can affect the upcoming elections in Canada. Such a ban would be challenged on the grounds of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. To back their claim, the government will have to divulge sensitive data or share the tenuous details about national security concerns pertaining to TikTok. Both instances will prove to be quite tricky for the Canadian government.
Some people argue that the partial ban is ineffective, suggesting it should have been a full ban or not implemented at all. They believe that TikTok’s access to Canadian users still allows China to potentially access sensitive data, raising concerns about phishing protection and data security. Additionally, banning ByteDance’s corporate presence in Canada could worsen the issue, as there would be no accountable entity within Canada to address any harmful actions linked to TikTok.
Canada has introduced C-27, the legislation to combat the TikTok concern. It includes three different Acts- The Consumer Privacy Protection Act, The Electronic Documents Act, and The Artificial Intelligence and Data Act.
Are you planning to enjoy the airport lounge facility while you wait for your next flight? Pause for a second! You might end up losing your hard-earned money just like this Indian woman did at Bengaluru airport.
Are you all set to enjoy your summer holidays? Can’t wait to go out and finally enjoy your time off along a dreamy beachside? If yes, then you definitely need to see this!
Social Security Numbers are of paramount significance and help establish identity in a more proficient way. However, these Social Security Numbers are being exploited by threat actors to make quick money. The primary targets of this tax phishing and Social Security Numbers scam are self-employed filers and small business owners.
Even though businesses are bracing up for cyberattacks by embracing advanced security measures, threat actors somehow manage to stay ahead of the race by adopting smart, malicious tactics.
Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a time frame when the Muslim community practices fasting, works towards spiritual development, and organizes communal gatherings. However, Ramadan brings along an uncanny threat of increased cyber crimes.
Cybercrime instances have been increasing at an exponential rate in the past couple of decades. The expense of cybercrime is expected to go as high as $10.5 trillion by 2025!
Microsoft, the software giant, has time and again been exposed to cybercrime activities. It’s one of the top picks among phishing actors. The immense popularity of Microsoft across professional and personal setups makes it an absolute favorite among threat actors.
Threat actors have time and again proved their agility when it comes to devising new phishing tactics. They are always the first ones to hop onto the latest trends to exploit naive users. One such phishing activity that breaks into the bank accounts of innocent users is screensharing fraud.
WhatsApp, one of the most popular messaging apps, has once again become the target for phishing experts.
LinkedIn, one of the biggest professional networking and personal branding platforms, has once again become the center of attraction. And this time, the reason is phishing attacks!
The dream to relax and rejuvenate in a Mexican boutique hotel soon turned into a nightmarish experience for a traveler when they got scammed in the name of discounts!
In today’s fast-paced business landscape, where time is a precious commodity, email automation emerges as a powerful tool: it streamlines operations by automating repetitive email tasks, allowing employees to focus on strategic efforts like boosting sales and enhancing customer service, thus improving overall efficiency.
With the introduction of instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, TextNow, and Messenger, the use of text messages has gone down, but not as much. As per a study conducted by SMS comparison, 95% of text messages are read and responded to as early as within 3 minutes of being received. It’s also surprising to find out that the average open rate for an SMS is 98%, whereas that for an email is 20% (almost 5 times more probable).
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As cyber threats evolve, phishing remains a persistent and increasingly potent threat to organizations and individuals. Therefore, your organization’s urgent need to cultivate an informed and vigilant workforce cannot be overstated.
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Vishing, or voice phishing, can appear in various garbs, and strict adherence to cybersecurity best practices is required for its prevention.