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The Hindu
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Technopark-based AI platform claims to have thwarted cyberattacks during India-Pak stand-off
Prophaze Technologies, a leading cybersecurity company headquartered in the Technopark here, has claimed to have successfully neutralised a series of large-scale Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks targeting India's high-value installations during the recent stand-off with Pakistan. The AI-powered Web Application and API Protection (WAAP) platform by Prophaze, deployed across key sectors, played a vital role in countering cyberattacks aimed at disrupting major installations like airports and financial institutions, according to a statement issued by the Technopark on Tuesday. DDoS means disruption of the traffic of websites or networks with an overwhelming amount of Internet traffic, like traffic snarls. Between May 5 and 9, multiple waves of DDoS attacks were detected from globally distributed botnets with traffic volumes peaking at 85 million malicious requests within a 10-hour window on May 9, signalling a dramatic escalation in cyberthreats targeting India's critical infrastructure. Hacktivist groups such as AnonSec, Sylhet Gang (SG), and Dienet publicly claimed responsibility for attempting to take down Indian government services. Vaisakh T.R., CEO and founder, Prophaze, said, 'Despite the scale and aggression of these attacks, there was zero downtime. All systems remained operational - denying attackers the disruption they intended. The first wave hit late May 5, targeting a major Indian airport. Prophaze's threat intelligence team identified consistent track IP patterns and unusual behaviours in real time, spanning globally,' he is quoted saying in the statement. This was not the first time Prophaze safeguarded national infrastructure. In April 2023, large-scale DDoS attacks on six major Indian airports and hospitals were neutralised through Prophaze's intelligent Layer 7 mitigation systems, minimising disruption and restoring operations swiftly. Hacker group Anonymous Sudan had targeted the websites of major airports and hospitals, attempting to cause DDoS at these establishments. According to Lakshmi Das, COO & co-founder of Prophaze, this recent attack was significantly more intense than the campaign by Anonymous Sudan in 2023. Ms. Das said, 'We had already implemented proactive defences leveraging our deployments within the sector, giving us a strategic edge to respond instantly and effectively.' In this latest attack, geo-fencing, IP profiling, and behavioural analysis enabled the start-up to isolate and neutralise the latest threat in record time, the statement said. By identifying repeated fingerprinting patterns across globally distributed botnets and applying custom WAF rules with real-time anomaly detection, the platform halted the attack within hours, it said. While some regional spikes in traffic were observed across India, critical operations remained uninterrupted, especially at high-value digital entry points. Founded in 2019 and incubated by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), Prophaze began its journey by securing a cloud-based HR solution provided by a third-party vendor for Bank of America to meet strict compliance requirements. MS. Das said, 'Prophaze was the world's first cybersecurity product company to deliver a Kubernetes-based Web Application Firewall (WAF) to an enterprise to address real-world security threats. We've continued to push boundaries recognised as a Representative Vendor in Gartner's 2025 Market Guide for WAAP and earlier, in 2024, for API Protection as well.' The company has also built strategic partnerships with leading global technology players, including Keltron, Deloitte, and Intel. 'We aim to become India's first cybersecurity unicorn. Our mission is to build globally competitive, AI-driven security systems rooted in trust and precision,' she said. The startup has 100-plus clients across the world with a global presence in the US, Australia, West Asia, and beyond, the statement said.
The Print
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Print
Technopark-based AI platform claims to have thwarted cyberattacks during India-Pak stand-off
DDoS means disruption of the traffic of websites or networks with an overwhelming amount of Internet traffic, like traffic snarls. The AI-powered Web Application and API Protection (WAAP) platform by Prophaze, deployed across key sectors, played a vital role in countering cyberattacks aimed at disrupting major installations like airports and financial institutions, according to a statement issued by the Technopark Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday. Thiruvananthapuram, May 20 (PTI) Prophaze Technologies, a leading cybersecurity company headquartered in Technopark here, has claimed to have successfully neutralised a series of large-scale Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks targeting India's high-value installations during the recent stand-off with Pakistan. Between May 5 and 9, multiple waves of DDoS attacks were detected from globally distributed botnets with traffic volumes peaking at 85 million malicious requests within a 10-hour window on May 9, signalling a dramatic escalation in cyber threats targeting India's critical infrastructure. Hacktivist groups such as AnonSec, Sylhet Gang (SG), and Dienet publicly claimed responsibility for attempting to take down Indian government services. Vaisakh T R, CEO and Founder, Prophaze, said, 'Despite the scale and aggression of these attacks, there was zero downtime. All systems remained operational–denying attackers the disruption they intended.' 'The first wave hit late on May 5, targeting a major Indian airport. Prophaze's threat intelligence team identified consistent track IP patterns and unusual behaviors in real time, spanning globally,' he is quoted saying in the statement. This wasn't the first time Prophaze safeguarded national infrastructure. In April 2023, large-scale DDoS attacks on six major Indian airports and hospitals were neutralised through Prophaze's intelligent Layer 7 mitigation systems, minimising disruption and restoring operations swiftly. Hacker group Anonymous Sudan had targeted the websites of major airports and hospitals, attempting to cause DDoS at these establishments. According to Lakshmi Das, COO & Co-founder of Prophaze, this recent attack was significantly more intense than the campaign by Anonymous Sudan in 2023. Das said, 'We had already implemented proactive defences leveraging our deployments within the sector, giving us a strategic edge to respond instantly and effectively.' In this latest attack, geo-fencing, IP profiling, and behavioural analysis enabled the startup to isolate and neutralise the latest threat in record time, the statement said. By identifying repeated fingerprinting patterns across globally distributed botnets and applying custom WAF rules with real-time anomaly detection, the platform halted the attack within hours, it said. While some regional spikes in traffic were observed across India, critical operations remained uninterrupted, especially at high-value digital entry points. Founded in 2019 and incubated by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), Prophaze began its journey by securing a cloud-based HR solution provided by a third-party vendor for Bank of America to meet strict compliance requirements. Das said, 'Prophaze was the world's first cybersecurity product company to deliver a Kubernetes-based Web Application Firewall (WAF) to an enterprise to address real-world security threats. We've continued to push boundaries–recognised as a Representative Vendor in Gartner's 2025 Market Guide for WAAP and earlier, in 2024, for API Protection as well.' The company has also built strategic partnerships with leading global technology players, including Keltron, Deloitte, and Intel. 'We aim to become India's first cybersecurity unicorn. Our mission is to build globally competitive, AI-driven security systems rooted in trust and precision,' she added. The startup has 100-plus clients across the world with a global presence in the US, Australia, the Middle East, and beyond, the statement said. PTI TGB TGB ROH This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Business Insider
25-04-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Customer data unsafe, but financial systems remain unaffected in latest MTN cyberattack
According to MTN Group, there was a recent cybersecurity breach that resulted in some customers' personal information in some markets being accessed without authorization. The telecom powerhouse stressed that its core network infrastructure, billing systems, and financial services platforms are safe and fully functional, although it did not reveal the number of countries impacted or the extent of the hack. 'MTN Group would like to inform stakeholders that it has experienced a cybersecurity incident that resulted in unauthorised access to personal information of some MTN customers in certain markets,' the group said, as seen on its website. 'Our core network, billing systems, and financial services infrastructure remain secure and fully operational,' it added. An unidentified third party has allegedly accessed data pertaining to some MTN systems, the company further relayed. 'An unknown third party has claimed to have accessed data linked to parts of our systems. At this stage, we do not have any information to suggest that customers' accounts and wallets have been directly compromised,' it stated. In response to the attack, MTN promptly triggered its cybersecurity response processes. 'We are in the process of notifying affected customers in compliance with local legal and regulatory obligations,' it said. The firm has subsequently contacted the appropriate law enforcement authorities, including the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Hawks, South Africa's Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation. This recent breach is coming just months after MTN and other major mobile service providers in Africa, including Airtel and Uganda Telecom, were targeted by the hacktivist organization Anonymous Sudan. The 2024 cyber attack by Anonymous Sudan On February 6, 2024, several telecom companies were targeted with coordinated Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) assaults. The assaults momentarily hampered its main activities and were suspected to be politically motivated, making it one of the most infamous cyberattacks last year. Anonymous Sudan claimed responsibility for the assaults, claiming that they were directed at firms believed to be helping the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the current Sudanese civil conflict. 'We claim full responsibility for this attack because of Nigeria's government actions against Niger,' the group claimed at the time. 'They are attempting to cut power and are willing to participate in the French colonialistic planned invasion of Niger.' While MTN has not linked the new data leak to the February DDoS assault, the sequence of events raises concerns about Africa's increasingly vulnerable telecom infrastructure to politically fueled cyberattacks. Cybersecurity has become an increasingly pressing concern for African telecommunications companies, particularly those operating in various markets with substantial client bases.
