Microsoft server hack has hit about 100 victims, researcher says
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A sweeping cyberespionage operation targeting Microsoft server software compromised about 100 different organizations as of the weekend, one of the researchers who helped uncover the campaign said Monday.Microsoft on Saturday issued an alert about "active attacks" on self-managed SharePoint servers, which are widely used by government agencies and businesses to share documents within organisations. Dubbed a "zero day" because it leverages a previously undisclosed digital weaknesses, the hacks allow spies to penetrate vulnerable servers and potentially drop a back door to secure continuous access to victim organizations.Vaisha Bernard, the chief hacker at Eye Security , a Netherlands-based cybersecurity firm whichdiscovered the hacking campaigntargeting one of its clients on Friday, said that an internet scan carried out with the ShadowServer Foundation had uncovered nearly 100 victims altogether - and that was before the technique behind the hack was widely known."It's unambiguous," Bernard said. "Who knows what other adversaries have done since to place other back doors."He declined to identify the affected organizations, saying that the relevant national authorities had been notified. The ShadowServer Foundation didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.Another researcher said that, so far, the spying appeared to be the work of a single hacker or set of hackers."It's possible that this will quickly change," said Rafe Pilling, Director of Threat Intelligence at Sophos, a British cybersecurity firm.Microsoft said it had "provided security updates and encourages customers to install them," a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement. It was not clear who was behind the ongoing hack. The FBI said on Sunday it was aware of the attacks and was working closely with its federal and private-sector partners, but offered no other details. Britain's National Cyber Security Center said in a statement that it was aware of "a limited number" of targets in the United Kingdom.According to data from Shodan, a search engine that helps to identify internet-linked equipment, over 8,000 servers online could theoretically have already been compromised by hackers.Those servers include major industrial firms, banks, auditors, healthcare companies, and several U.S. state-level and international government entities."The SharePoint incident appears to have created a broad level of compromise across a range of servers globally," said Daniel Card of British cybersecurity consultancy, PwnDefend."Taking an assumed breach approach is wise, and it's also important to understand that just applying the patch isn't all that is required here."
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Time of India
16 minutes ago
- Time of India
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For 48-year-old Kakoli Chowdhury, charity literally began at home. Watching her mother help their domestic staffers and sponsor their kids' education imbibed in her an innate need to do the same. Little wonder then that Chowdhury is currently paying Rs.16,000 a month as coaching fee for her helper, Uma Maitri's son, who is in Class 12. This is only one of the many initiatives she has undertaken over the years to empower her household staffers, contributing and encouraging them to start savings and investments . Many others like Chowdhury have been stewarding a silent, overt crusade to support this economically vulnerable segment—maids, cooks, drivers, nannies—who help in the smooth running of households, but remain bereft of financial safety nets. The National Sample Survey Office (2011-12) has pegged the number of domestic workers in India at 3.9 million, with 2.6 million women, while the International Labour Organisation estimates this number to be much higher at around 20-80 million. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Project Management Artificial Intelligence Data Science Leadership CXO Degree Others Public Policy Digital Marketing MBA Product Management Cybersecurity Technology PGDM Data Science Finance Healthcare Operations Management Design Thinking Management others healthcare Data Analytics MCA Skills you'll gain: Project Planning & Governance Agile Software Development Practices Project Management Tools & Software Techniques Scrum Framework Duration: 12 Weeks Indian School of Business Certificate Programme in IT Project Management Starts on Jun 20, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Portfolio Management Project Planning & Risk Analysis Strategic Project/Portfolio Selection Adaptive & Agile Project Management Duration: 6 Months IIT Delhi Certificate Programme in Project Management Starts on May 30, 2024 Get Details This unorganised and marginalised sector has had few financial rights or economic security, with little or no long-term savings and funds to educate their children or retire in old age, no health insurance for medical needs or life insurance, and meagre knowledge about investing avenues. Women helpers are in a worse situation, many of them working as single mothers and sole bread winners. Best MF to invest Looking for the best mutual funds to invest? Here are our recommendations. View Details » While several government schemes, including those for life and health insurance, pension , affordable housing, etc., have been launched in the past few years to improve the financial security for this segment, not many domestic workers are aware of or know how to benefit from these (see table). 'There are thousands of welfare schemes that they don't know about. This is why, be it schemes or investing, it's important to first educate the households and employers, who can then help their domestic helpers,' says Roopa Venkatkrishnan, Director, Sapient Wealth, a Mumbai-based financial advisory and distribution firm. Venkatkrishnan has been walking the talk since 2004 by holding financial literacy sessions for both the households and domestic staffers. Going a step further is Bengaluru-based Haqdarshak ( a for-profit social enterprise, which helps low-income segments access government welfare schemes. It claims a digital database of over 7,500 state and central welfare programs—health and life insurance, disability pension, education subsidies, housing subsidies, among others—and offers a 'Yojana Card' that can tell the worker about the schemes he is eligible for. It could help your helpers if you can inform them about it. Apprising them of the government welfare schemes is not the only way you can help your domestic staffers. They need assistance on every front: identifying saving and investing options for their kids' education and medical needs, tech-enablement, budgeting advice, career guidance, and saving up for their old age. 'You don't necessarily need to become their financial adviser, but guidance in navigating the formal financial systems, hand-holding and helping them with forms or digital onboarding, explaining terms, or demonstrating digital tools can also lead to a tremendous improvement in their financial stability and well-being,' says Atul Shinghal, Founder and CEO, Scripbox. Mumbai-based Namrata Vishal Lodaya knows about hand-holding, having helped all her three maids and two cooks with financial advice on career, investment, entrepreneurship, savings and much more. 'I taught business skills to Varsha tai to help open her beauty parlour and offered Pushpa tai's daughter career guidance in fashion designing,' says the 40-year-old. Here are some areas you can also help the people who make a critical contribution in ensuring that your lives run smoothly. Savings & investments As a first step, if your helpers don't have a bank account yet, help them open one under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. There is no minimum balance to be maintained and account holders get a RuPay debit card. They also get a Rs.2 lakh accident insurance with RuPay card, an overdraft facility up to Rs.10,000, and eligibility for various government schemes with the account. Rashida, 40 Chawla pays an annual premium of Rs.12,617 for a Rs.4 lakh family floater health plan for Rashida and her two children. Shikha Chawla (right) 42, Noida Next, prompt them into investing their money instead of keeping it in bank. You could start them on simple instruments that are easy to understand, such as a recurring deposit, fixed deposit, Post Office term deposit or even the Public Provident Fund (PPF) (see table). For women, a good option is the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, and for their girl children, the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, both of which offer high interest rates. While Lodaya helped her maid, Priya, 39, open a bank account and fixed deposit, Chowdhury went a step ahead. She started a recurring deposit and Sukanya Samriddhi account by contributing Rs.10,000 for each account for her maid, Ram Dulari, and her daughter, in 2012. She also took other helpers to the post office to invest in Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) and National Savings Certificates (NSC). 'I always felt they should save more by investing in instruments that offer a higher interest rate, instead of keeping the money in bank,' says the Delhibased IT professional. Investment options for your domestic helpers Venkatkrishnan even advocates mutual fund SIPs for long-term savings and high returns. 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India.com
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Days after ED raid, Anil Ambani's BIG move, hundreds of senior leaders of Reliance Infra, Reliance Power hold meetings, plan next phase of…, focus on…
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The Hindu
16 minutes ago
- The Hindu
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