Terrorism Watch

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement faces a major test this weekend as it tries to muster another huge crowd following criticism over a recent violent airport protest and as concerns mount over Beijing’s next move. Ten weeks of protests have plunged the international finance hub into crisis with the communist mainland taking an increasingly hardline tone, including labelling the more violent protester actions “terrorist-like”. Chinese state media have put out images of military personnel and armoured personnel carriers across the border in Shenzhen, while the United States has warned Beijing against sending in troops, a move many analysts say would be a reputational and economic disaster for China. The nationalistic Global Times newspaper said there would not be a repeat of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, in which hundreds -- or even thousands -- are believed to have been killed, if Beijing moves to quash the protests. “The incident in Hong Kong won’t be a re

United Nations, Aug 16 (PTI) India on Friday told Pakistan that it has to stop terrorism to start talks as the UN Security Council held a rare closed door meeting to discuss revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Briefing the media following the conclusion of the informal meeting requested by China and Pakistan, Indian envoy to the UN Syed Akbaruddin said India's position was and remains that matters related to the Article 370 of the Constitution are entirely an internal matter of India and these have no external ramifications. Without naming Pakistan, he said there are some who are trying to project an "alarmist approach" to the situation in Kashmir, which is far from the ground realities. "Stop terror to start talks," he asserted. On the Chinese and Pakistani envoys' remarks after the UNSC meeting, he said, "For the first time after the end of Security Council consultations, we noted that two states (China and Pakistan) who

At least 5 people were killed and 15 injured in a bomb blast at a mosque in Pakistan's Balochistan province on Friday, August 16. The explosion took place at a mosque in Kuchlak, near Quetta.  Quetta Mosque bombing, Balochistan Twitter The injured have been shifted to nearby hospitals and an emergency has been declared at Civil Hospital Quetta. The area has been locked down by police. A bomb disposal squad will arrive at the spot, reports said.  According to reports, the explosive was planted inside the mosque. "The blast was carried out through a timed device that was planted under the wooden chair of the prayer leader," said Quetta's Chief of Police Abdul Razzaq Cheema told Reuters. There was no immediate claim for the deadly blast, but Pakistani armed groups have been blamed for such attacks in the past. Balochistan has been facing regular violence in recent years, with similar attacks by the Baloch separatists and Pakistan Taliban. Source  https://

KUALA LUMPUR:  Malaysia  can revoke the Permanent Resident (PR) status of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik should it be proven that his actions harmed the country's 'well-being,' country's Prime Minister  Mahathir Mohamad  said on Friday.  Mahathir said the government will first wait for the results of the police investigation into the alleged inflammatory remarks made by him against minorities in Malaysia, reported Malay Mail.  "He (Naik) has PR status. We can take that away if he does something that is detrimental to the well-being of the nation," said Mahathir. "At this moment, the police are investigating if he is doing that or not. If he is doing it, then it is necessary for us to take away his PR status," he said.  Malaysian authorities have initiated an investigation against Naik over his intent to provoke a peace breach by allegedly making sensitive remarks on Hindus and Chinese residing in Muslim-majority nation.  Get Breaking N

While announcing the go-ahead for the free Wi-Fi scheme on Thursday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that with 11,000 hotspots, the project will be the biggest initiative of its kind not just in India but the world. Once rolled out, the facility will allow smartphone and PC users to avail free Internet services within a 50-metre radius at parks, mohalla clinics and markets. The facility might take another three months to kick-off, but it has already unleashed a barrage of cyber security concerns - as it comes at a time when more than 75% of cases registered with Delhi Police's cyber cell last year remain unsolved. Cyber experts fear that the free Wi-Fi in public places could act as an invitation to cyber criminals who hide beneath the veil of the Internet's anonymity and therefore, identifying the culprit will prove difficult for investigators. "The scale of the hotspots has the potential of providing fodder to cyber criminals unless the g

Recently, a federal judge in New York dismissed the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) civil lawsuit against Russia, Wikileaks, and others stemming from the 2016 cyber-attack on the DNC. While much of the media attention has focused on the judge’s decision that, under the First Amendment, Wikileaks and other “second-level participants” could not be held liable for publishing documents stolen from the DNC, there has been scant attention paid to how and why the Russian government—the “primary wrongdoer,” according to the Judge—was found not legally liable for the cyberattack. The decision should concern all Americans who care about protecting our nation from state-sponsored cyber-attacks. While the United States government has certain tools to punish state-sponsored cyberattacks against American targets—including sanctions, diplomatic action and sometimes criminal indictment—these options cannot force a foreign state to pay compensation for the damage caused by cyberat

MANILA   -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) will strengthen its cyber-patrolling to curb illegal and terrorism-related activities in online platforms. Brig. Gen. Dennis Agustin, PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) director, said this measure includes thorough gathering of information and details to thwart any possible illegal activities.  "We are now looking into some online sites that may serve as a platform to promote and provide open grounds to plot and exhibit violence and terrorism," Agustin said. The PNP-ACG has also conducted a probe on a Philippines-based website that is being linked to the recent mass shooting incident in the United States that left more than 20 people dead. Agustin, in a report, revealed that the present owner of "8Chan" or Infinite Chan/Infinity Chan" Jim Watkins is probably still in the Philippines but has since moved out of his leased apartment. The website 8Chan, which allegedly contains racist posts and comm

Securing networks and protecting data from breaching has become one of the crucial motives in an organisation. Cybercrime has eventually risen with the widespread use of emerging technologies and we have been witnessing data breaches and other hacks since a few years now. In this article, we list down 10 popular presentations on cybersecurity one must read on Slideshare. (The list is in alphabetical order) 1| Artificial Intelligence And Cybersecurity This presentation was published in March 2019 by Olivier Busolini, a cybersecurity professional who also works with AI in cybersecurity. This presentation includes a basic introduction to AI, an overview of AI technologies, an overview of machine learning underlying technologies, basics of deep learning, introduction to red and blue AI, emerging usages of blue AI, difficulties faced during developing AI solutions and tips for cybersecurity strategy. 2| Cyber Crime And Security This powerpoint presentation was pu

With the never stopping and ever evolving technology making strides in business outcomes, threat landscape has also evolved. Mobile phones and computer systems are too less of examples, smart assistants, autonomous cars and smart homes have totally changed the way we are. No doubt the technology has helped us with our ways but it has also increased the vulnerabilities in it. Malware attacks and data breaches making the headlines every other day have posed a big question for the technology leaders. A research put out by capgemini "reinventing cybersecurity with AI" finds out AI is the way out here. Let's see how AI helping with cybersecurity: With organisations being expected to increase the use of cryptography, they need to leverage modern day technology as Artificial Intelligence to prevent, detect and recover the threats. For instance, malware communicates and flows in an encrypted form on the web. In such a situation, those tools shall be

With every passing year, cybercriminals are getting smarter and are quickly adopting new and sophisticated technology to carry out cyberattacks innovatively. The intensity of the cybersecurity threats and attacks is also gradually increasing, making it more challenging for security admins to stay ahead of this cat-and-mouse game between the attackers and defenders. The global cybersecurity market has been booming over the past several years and is expected to grow from $127 billion in 2017 to $300 billion by 2024. Here are some of the key cybersecurity threats that you should watch out for the rest of 2019 to keep yourself informed about the latest threats. Hacking artificial intelligence defense — using AI tools Artificial intelligence is turning out to be a double-edged sword when it comes to cybersecurity. Organizations are trying to take advantage of AI technology to protect their systems. But at the same time, hackers are also equipping themselves with the novel

Money can’t buy love, but it helps you make the best of it. We spoke to people to find out how one can achieve financial independence, and even retire early, if you invest right. When Jagannath Moorthy got his first salary as a 20-something coder in 1993, he started on a journey of savings and investments which is bearing him fruit even today. “It was just Rs. 5500, but that was a huge amount in those days. The first thing I did with that money was buy a savings and investment plan,” he recalls with a smile. For Jaggu, as his family calls him dearly, his financial decisions were tied to emotions. It wasn’t just about the numbers, it was about his love for his family - his mother, wife and kids. When he was a teenager, his father passed away, leaving the family in financial turmoil. Jagannath Moorthy, started investing right at the very beginning of his career.   “My father lived in the moment. He did not think too much about money and enjoyed life. But my grandfat

UNITED NATIONS - U.N. experts say they are investigating at least 30 instances in 17 countries of North Koreans using cyberattacks to illegally raise money for its nuclear program — and they are calling for sanctions against ships providing gasoline and diesel to the country. Last week, The Associated Press reported that North Korea illegally acquired "as much as two billion dollars" from its increasingly sophisticated cyber activities against financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges, quoting the experts' summary.    Their lengthy report, recently seen by AP, reveals that neighboring South Korea was hardest-hit, the victim of 10 cyberattacks, followed by India with three, and Bangladesh and Chile with two each.    Thirteen countries suffered one attack — Costa Rica, Gambia, Guatemala, Kuwait, Liberia, Malaysia, Malta, Nigeria, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa, Tunisia and Vietnam, it said.  

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Blackwater security contractor was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for his role in the 2007 shooting of unarmed civilians in Iraq that left 14 people dead. Federal judge Royce Lamberth issued the sentence after a succession of friends and relatives requested leniency for Nicholas Slatten, who was  found guilty  of first-degree murder by a jury in December. Prosecutors charged that Slatten, 35, was the first to fire shots in the September 2007 massacre of Iraqi civilians at a crowded traffic circle in Baghdad. In all, 10 men, two women and two boys, ages 9 and 11, were killed. The defense had argued that Slatten and other Blackwater contractors opened fire only after they saw what they mistakenly thought was a potential suicide car bomber moving quickly toward their convoy. Defense attorney Dane Butswinkas described Slatten as "a person of high integrity" whose family members had served in the U.S. military for four generations. Sev

Since the Indian government revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and decided to split the state into two Union territories on August 5, Pakistan has repeatedly reached out to the world community to take up the issue but its efforts have gained little traction. Pakistan’s efforts to internationalise the Kashmir issue by linking it with ongoing talks between the US and Taliban to end the fighting in Afghanistan is tantamount to “blackmail”, people familiar with developments said on Wednesday. Since the Indian government revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and decided to split the state into two Union territories on August 5, Pakistan has repeatedly reached out to the world community to take up the issue but its efforts have gained little traction. Pakistan envoy to the US Asad Majeed Khan has hinted that the peace talks with the Taliban could be affected if his country redeploys troops from the Afghanistan border to the Indian frontier even as the Pakistani leaders

China said on Wednesday Hong Kong’s protest movement had reached “near terrorism”, as more street clashes followed ugly scenes a day earlier at the airport where demonstrators set upon two men they suspected of being government sympathisers. By nightfall, police and protesters were again clashing on the streets, with riot officers shooting tear gas almost immediately as their response to demonstrators toughens. Flights resumed at Hong Kong airport, which is one of the world’s busiest, after two days of disruptions. Thousands of protesters have occupied the airport for days, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of departures on Monday and Tuesday. Ten weeks of increasingly violent confrontation between police and protesters have plunged the city into its worst crisis since it reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997. China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing called the behaviour at the airport no different to terrorism and said it must be severely punished.