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Delhi bomb blast: Delhi Police writes to Telegram, here's why

Aseem — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 12:41:34 +0000

Delhi Police have contacted Telegram following a blast outside a CRPF school in the city. The officials wrote to the messaging app seeking information about a channel that shared CCTV footage of the incident. The channel, named ‘Justice League India,’ posted the footage shortly after the blast occurred on Sunday (October 20). According to a report by the news agency PTI, Delhi Police is probing a possible Khalistani link in the blast and have asked Telegram for details about the channel.
The police have also reached out to other social media platforms for information related to the incident. However, Telegram has yet to respond to the request.
Investigations of the bomb blast that ripped through a wall of the CRPF school in Rohini’s Prashant Vihar area are ongoing. However, No one was hurt in the blast but a signboard, hoardings of nearby shops and window panes of vehicles parked near the spot were damaged in the incident. The authorities are exploring all possible angles.
According to the FIR filed by the police (seen by PTI), as revealed the presence of a “white powder” at the blast site. The explosion, caused by an “unknown explosive substance,” is now being investigated further. Apart from this, police sources have also confirmed recovering CCTV footage showing a suspect near the school the night before the incident. This footage may provide crucial leads in identifying those responsible for the blast.

How this Telegram post may be related to the blast

A Telegram post claiming responsibility for the blast also surfaced on social media. The post, allegedly from pro-Khalistan separatists, claims the attack was in retaliation for the targeting of their members by Indian agents. Authorities are currently verifying the authenticity of the post and investigating the potential involvement of pro-Khalistani separatist groups.
The post which was shared by the Telegram post by “Justice League India” said: “If Indian coward agency and their master think they can hire filthy goons to target our members to silence our voice then they live in fools world. They can’t imagine how close we are to them and how capable we are to strike anytime #KhalistanZindabad #JLI.”
“The police has written to Telegram to the know details of the creator of the group – Justice League Indian – in which the CCTV of the blast was shared with a Khalistan Zindabad watermark on it,” a police source noted.
A suspect wearing a white T-shirt was captured on CCTV near the site of the blast the night before the incident. It is suspected that an IED was hidden in a pit near the CRPF school wall. A white powder found at the site is being analysed by the NSG to determine the bomb’s composition. The perpetrator may have chosen the spot to avoid harming people but still send a message, the officials added.

Star Health Says It Received $68,000 Ransom Demand After Data Leak

Ashish Singh — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 14:08:31 +0000

Star Health, India’s biggest health insurer, on Saturday said it had received a ransom demand of $68,000 from a cyberhacker in connection with a leak of customer data and medical records.

Star, which has a roughly $4 billion market cap, is battling a reputational and business crisis since Reuters reported on Sept. 20 that a hacker had used Telegram chatbots and a website to leak customers’ sensitive data, including tax details and medical claim papers.

The company, whose shares have declined 11%, has launched internal investigations and has taken legal action against Telegram and the hacker, whose website continues to share samples of Star customers’ data.

Star, which has previously said it is a “victim of a targeted malicious cyberattack“, on Saturday revealed for the first time that in August “the threat actor demanded a ransom of $68,000 in an email” addressed to the company’s managing director and its chief executive.

The statement came after Indian stocks exchanges sought clarifications from Star on a Friday over a Reuters report that the company was investigating allegations that its chief security officer was involved in the data leak.

Star reiterated on Saturday it has found no wrongdoing by the official, Amarjeet Khanuja, though the internal investigation is ongoing.

Telegram has declined to share the account details or permanently ban accounts linked to the hacker – an individual dubbed xenZen – “despite multiple notices issued in this regard,” Star said on Saturday.

Star said it has “sought the assistance” of Indian cyber security authorities to “help us identify” the hacker.

Telegram did not respond to a request for comment.

The Dubai-based messenger app has previously said it removed the chatbots when Reuters flagged them to the platform.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Star Health Says It Received $68,000 Ransom Demand After Data Leak

Ashish Singh — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 14:08:31 +0000

Star Health, India’s biggest health insurer, on Saturday said it had received a ransom demand of $68,000 from a cyberhacker in connection with a leak of customer data and medical records.

Star reiterated on Saturday it has found no wrongdoing by the official, Amarjeet Khanuja, though the internal investigation is ongoing.

Star said it has “sought the assistance” of Indian cyber security authorities to “help us identify” the hacker.

Telegram did not respond to a request for comment.

The Dubai-based messenger app has previously said it removed the chatbots when Reuters flagged them to the platform.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Star Health Says It Received $68,000 Ransom Demand After Data Leak

Ashish Singh — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 14:08:31 +0000

Star Health, India’s biggest health insurer, on Saturday said it had received a ransom demand of $68,000 from a cyberhacker in connection with a leak of customer data and medical records.

Star reiterated on Saturday it has found no wrongdoing by the official, Amarjeet Khanuja, though the internal investigation is ongoing.

Star said it has “sought the assistance” of Indian cyber security authorities to “help us identify” the hacker.

Telegram did not respond to a request for comment.

The Dubai-based messenger app has previously said it removed the chatbots when Reuters flagged them to the platform.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Star Health Insurance Reportedly Confirms Being Target of a Cyberattack Last Month, Claims Lost Data

Ashish Singh — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 05:18:18 +0000

Star Health, one of the biggest health insurance companies in India, has reportedly confirmed that it was the target of a malicious cyberattack that led to bad actors getting access to “certain data” illegally. The incident was first reported last month, but the insurer refused to make any comments before an internal investigation. The company is said to have filed a formal criminal complaint and has informed the insurance and cybersecurity regulatory authorities. Notably, a report claimed that the hackers used Telegram chatbots to leak the company’s data.

Star Health Reportedly Confirms Data Breach

The company told TechCrunch in a statement that it was indeed a target of a data breach incident. The acknowledgement comes almost two weeks after the incident was first reported. The Chennai-based insurance giant also highlighted that the hackers were able to gain access to “certain data”, however, it reportedly did not share details on if any customer data was breached.

Star Health reportedly stated that a forensic investigation of the incident is currently underway, which is being led by independent cybersecurity experts. The company is said to be working closely with the government and regulatory authorities in every stage of the investigation. Authorities concerning cybersecurity and regulatory departments have also been informed, the publication cited the company as saying.

Last month, the cyberattack on Star Health allegedly resulted in a massive data breach. As per the report, personal data belonging to 31 million policyholders as well as more than 5.8 million insurance claims were stolen by the bad actors. The data was later said to be leaked via messaging platform Telegram.

Hackers were said to have used autonomous chatbots on the platform to leak the data. The data reportedly contained information such as names, phone numbers, addresses, tax details, copies of ID cards, test results and medical diagnoses.

Days later, the Indian insurer filed a lawsuit against Telegram for allegedly facilitating in leaking company’s sensitive data. The Madras High Court ordered the instant messaging platform to block any chatbots and websites in India that made the data available online. Additionally, Star Health also filed a complaint against software giant Cloudflare for allegedly offering services to websites that were hosting the leaked data.

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Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Teases Upcoming NFT-Related Feature: Everything to Know

Ashish Singh — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 10:57:06 +0000

Telegram has been no stranger to controversy, from the arrest of its CEO, Pavel Durov, in August, to recent policy changes affecting global users. Now, the messaging platform is making headlines again by hinting at an upcoming NFT-focused feature, despite 96 percent of existing NFTs being considered inactive. While the launch timeline remains uncertain, this feature will be tied to Telegram’s new “Gifts” service, which allows users to send and receive animated images and personalized messages as celebratory stickers.

How are Gifts Related to NFTs

As per Durov, Telegram will soon deploy the ability to convert limited edition Gifts into NFTs. These digital collectibles will be based on Durov-backed TON blockchain.

“Users will then be able to auction and trade these tokenised gifts outside Telegram, with ownership recorded on the blockchain,” a post on Durov’s channel read. In addition, receivers of Gifts on Telegram will be allowed to display them on their profiles as well.

he rollout of this feature, expected “later this year,” could position Telegram as the first global messaging app to integrate NFTs into its core functionality. Competing platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram have yet to introduce key features related to virtual assets, leaving their users exposed to the financial risks of Web3’s volatility.

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital collectibles created on blockchain networks. These tokens can be based on a wide range of inspirations, including cartoon characters, music, art, animals, and games. Often, NFTs come with underlying monetary value, rewards, and exclusive privileges for their holders.

It is to be noted that 96 percent of NFTs currently have zero trading volume, low sales, and no activity on social media. A recent report by NFTEvening said that the average lifespan of an NFT is now 1.14 years, which is 2.5 times shorter than the average lifespan of traditional crypto projects.

Telegram’s Experiments with Web3

Earlier this year, Telegram launched an in-app store for games known as Mini Apps. Many popular games within the Telegram Mini Apps feature digital assets such as cryptocurrency and NFTs as integral components of their ecosystems.

In late September, Telegram-hosted game Hamster Kombat said that it will be introducing NFT mechanics into its game ecosystem by December 2024.

The messaging app, under Durov’s leadership, also recently served as a launchpad for ‘Dogs Coin’ — a memecoin that generated quite the buzz on social media in August this year. Between July and August this year, the Dogs ecosysem had managed to amass over 3.19 million community members. As of Monday, October 7 – Dogs Coin is trading at $0.0007346 (roughly Rs. 0.062), showed CoinGape.

“Telegram Mini Apps is an open platform for businesses to build and deploy crypto-friendly apps and games. It supports integrated crypto and fiat payments (via Google Pay and Apple Pay). TON projects have exclusive access to Telegram ads and can kickstart a performance marketing campaign with Telegram Ads to effectively acquire more users,” the website of the Ton blockchain explains, indicating that Telegram is likely to continue its support for Web3 games, features, and services.

In an official blog post, Telegram said that the animated images and customised messages part of the Gifts feature can be converted into ‘Stars’. Telegram now states that Stars will serve as in-app currency that can be used to buy mini apps services and support creators.