Centre Proposes New Bills for Criminal Law

Key points: Data collection, Protecting Children, and Awareness

Introduction

The evolution of technology has drastically changed over the period impacting mankind and their lifestyle. For every single smallest aspect, humans are reliable on the computers they have manufactured. The use of AI has almost hindered mankind, kids these days are more lethargic to work and write more sensibly on their own, but they are more likely interested in television, video games, mobile games, etc. School kids use AI just to complete their homework. Is it a good sign for the country’s future? The study suggests that Tools like ChatGPT is a threat to humans/a child’s potential to be creative and make original content requiring a human writer’s insight. Tools like ChatGPT can remove students’ artistic voices rather than using their unique writing style.

Does any of those browsers or search engines use your search history against you? or How do non-users tend to lose their private info on such a search engine?

Are there any safety measures that one’s the government of a particular country taking to protect their people’s rights?

Some of us might wonder how these two fancy-looking world merge and into, Arey they a boon or curse?

So here’s the top news getting flooded all over the world through the internet,

“Italian Agency impose strict measures on OpenAI’s ChatGPT”

Italy becomes the first Western European country to take serious measures about using Open AI ChatGPT. An Italian Data Protection agency named Garante has set mandates on ChatGPT. Garante has raised concerns about privacy violations and the inability to verify the age of users. Garate has also claimed that the AI ChatBot is violating the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In a press release, Garante demanded OpenAI take necessary actions.

To begin with, Garante has demanded that OpenAI’s ChatGPT should increase its transparency and give a comprehensive statement about its data processing practices. OpenAI must specify between obtaining user consent for processing users’ data to train its AI model or may rely on a legitimate basis. OpenAI must maintain the privacy of users’ data.

In addition, ChatGPT should also take measures to prevent minors from accessing the technology at such an early stage of life, which could hinder their brain power. ChatGPT should add some age verification system to prevent minors from accessing explicit content. Moreover, Garante suggests that OpenAI should spread awareness among its users about their data being processed to train its AI model. Garante has set a deadline of April 30 for ChatGPT to complete the given tasks. Until then, its service should be banned in the country.

Child safety while surfing on ChatGpt

Italian agency demands age limitation to surf and an age verification method to exclude users under the age of 13, and parental authority should be required for users between the ages of 13 and 18. As this is a matter of security. Children might get exposed to explicit content invalidated to their age or explore illegitimate content. The AI chatbot doesn’t have the sense to determine which content is appropriate for the underage audience. Due to tools like chatbots, subjective things/information are already available to young students, leading to endangered irrespective of their future. As ChatGpt can hinder their potential and ability to create original and creative content for young minds. It is a threat motivation to humans’ motivation to write. Moreover, when students need time to think and analyze they get lethargic due to tools like ChatGPT, and the practice they need fades away.

Collection of User’s Data

According to some reports from the company’s privacy policy, OpenAI ChatGpt collects an assortment of additional data. The first two questions are for a free trial when a session starts. It asks for your Login, and SignUp through your Gmail account collects your IP address, browser type, and the data you put in the form of input, i.e. it collects data on the user’s interaction with the website, It also collects the user’s data like session time, cookies through third party may tend to sell it to an unspecified third party.

This snapshot shows that they have added a few things after Garante’s draft.

Conclusion

AI chatbot – Chatgpt is an advanced technology tool that makes work a little easier, but one surfing on such tools must stay aware of the information they are asking for. Such AI bots are trained to understand mankind, its job is to give a helping hand and not doltish. In case of this, some people tend to provide sensitive information unknowingly, young minds get exposed to explicit information. Such bots need to put some age limitations. Such innovations keep taking place, but it’s individuals’ responsibility what actions to be allowed to access their online connected device. Unlike the Italian Agency, which has taken some preventive measures to keep their user’s data safe, also looking at the adverse effect of such chatbots on a young mind.

Introduction

On the precipice of a new domain of existence, the metaverse emerges as a digital cosmos, an expanse where the horizon is not sky, but a limitless scope for innovation and imagination. It is a sophisticated fabric woven from the threads of social interaction, leisure, and an accelerated pace of technological progression. This new reality, a virtual landscape stretching beyond the mundane encumbrances of terrestrial life, heralds an evolutionary leap where the laws of physics yield to the boundless potential inherent in our creativity. Yet, the dawn of such a frontier does not escape the spectre of an age-old adversary—financial crime—the shadow that grows in tandem with newfound opportunity, seeping into the metaverse, where crypto-assets are no longer just an alternative but the currency du jour, dazzling beacons for both legitimate pioneers and shades of illicit intent.

The metaverse, by virtue of its design, is a canvas for the digital repaint of society—a three-dimensional realm where the lines between immersive experiences and entertainment blur, intertwining with surreal intimacy within this virtual microcosm. Donning headsets like armor against the banal, individuals become avatars; digital proxies that acquire the ability to move, speak, and perform an array of actions with an ease unattainable in the physical world. Within this alternative reality, users navigate digital topographies, with experiences ranging from shopping in pixelated arcades to collaborating in virtual offices; from witnessing concerts that defy sensory limitations to constructing abodes and palaces from mere codes and clicks—an act of creation no longer beholden to physicality but to the breadth of one's ingenuity.

The Crypto Assets

The lifeblood of this virtual economy pulsates through crypto-assets. These digital tokens represent value or rights held on distributed ledgers—a technology like blockchain, which serves as both a vault and a transparent tapestry, chronicling the pathways of each digital asset. To hop onto the carousel of this economy requires a digital wallet—a storeroom and a gateway for acquisition and trade of these virtual valuables. Cryptocurrencies, with NFTs—Non-fungible Tokens—have accelerated from obscure digital curios to precious artifacts. According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, an astonishing figure surpassing US$100 million in NFTs were usurped between July 2021 and July 2022. This rampant heist underlines their captivating allure for virtual certificates. Empowers do not just capture art, music, and gaming, but embody their very soul.

Yet, as the metaverse burgeons, so does the complexity and diversity of financial transgressions. From phishing to sophisticated fraud schemes, criminals craft insidious simulacrums of legitimate havens, aiming to drain the crypto-assets of the unwary. In the preceding year, a daunting figure rose to prominence—the vanishing of US$14 billion worth of crypto-assets, lost to the abyss of deception and duplicity. Hence, social engineering emerges from the shadows, a sort of digital chicanery that preys not upon weaknesses of the system, but upon the psychological vulnerabilities of its users—scammers adorned in the guise of authenticity, extracting trust and assets with Machiavellian precision.

The New Wave of Fincrimes 

Extending their tentacles further, perpetrators of cybercrime exploit code vulnerabilities, engage in wash trading, obscuring the trails of money laundering, meander through sanctions evasion, and even dare to fund activities that send ripples of terror across the physical and virtual divide. The intricacies of smart contracts and the decentralized nature of these worlds, designed to be bastions of innovation, morph into paths paved for misuse and exploitation. The openness of blockchain transactions, the transparency that should act as a deterrent, becomes a paradox, a double-edged sword for the law enforcement agencies tasked with delineating the networks of faceless adversaries.

Addressing financial crime in the metaverse is Herculean labour, requiring an orchestra of efforts—harmonious, synchronised—from individual users to mammoth corporations, from astute policymakers to vigilant law enforcement bodies. Users must furnish themselves with critical awareness, fortifying their minds against the siren calls that beckon impetuous decisions, spurred by the anxiety of falling behind. Enterprises, the architects and custodians of this digital realm, are impelled to collaborate with security specialists, to probe their constructs for weak seams, and to reinforce their bulwarks against the sieges of cyber onslaughts. Policymakers venture onto the tightrope walk, balancing the impetus for innovation against the gravitas of robust safeguards—a conundrum played out on the global stage, as epitomised by the European Union's strides to forge cohesive frameworks to safeguard this new vessel of human endeavour.

The Austrian Example 

Consider the case of Austria, where the tapestry of laws entwining crypto-assets spans a gamut of criminal offences, from data breaches to the complex webs of money laundering and the financing of dark enterprises. Users and corporations alike must become cartographers of local legislation, charting their ventures and vigilances within the volatile seas of the metaverse.

Upon the sands of this virtual frontier, we must not forget: that the metaverse is more than a hive of bits and bandwidth. It crystallises our collective dreams, echoes our unspoken fears, and reflects the range of our ambitions and failings. It stands as a citadel where the ever-evolving quest for progress should never stray from the compass of ethical pursuit. The cross-pollination of best practices, and the solidarity of international collaboration, are not simply tactics—they are imperatives engraved with the moral codes of stewardship, guiding us to preserve the unblemished spirit of the metaverse.

Conclusion

The clarion call of the metaverse invites us to venture into its boundless expanse, to savour its gifts of connection and innovation. Yet, on this odyssey through the pixelated constellations, we harness vigilance as our star chart, mindful of the mirage of morality that can obfuscate and lead astray. In our collective pursuit to curtail financial crime, we deploy our most formidable resource—our unity—conjuring a bastion for human ingenuity and integrity. In this, we ensure that the metaverse remains a beacon of awe, safeguarded against the shadows of transgression, and celebrated as a testament to our shared aspiration to venture beyond the realm of the possible, into the extraordinary.

References 

• https://www.wolftheiss.com/insights/financial-crime-in-the-metaverse-is-real/ 
• https://gnet-research.org/2023/08/16/meta-terror-the-threats-and-challenges-of-the-metaverse/
• https://shuftipro.com/blog/the-rising-concern-of-financial-crimes-in-the-metaverse-aml-screening-as-a-solution/

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Introduction:

With the rapid advancement in technologies, vehicles are also being transformed into moving data centre. There is an introduction of connectivity, driver assistance systems, advanced software systems, automated systems and other modern technologies are being deployed to make the experience of users more advanced and joyful. Software plays an important role in the overall functionality and convenience of the vehicle. For example, Advanced technologies like keyless entry and voice assistance, censor cameras and communication technologies are being incorporated into modern vehicles. Addressing the cyber security concerns in the vehicles the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has proposed standard Cyber Security and Management Systems (CSMS) rules for specific categories of four-wheelers, including both passenger and commercial vehicles. The goal is to protect these vehicles and their functions against cyber-attacks or vulnerabilities. This move will aim to ensure standardized cybersecurity measures in the automotive industry. These proposed standards will put forth certain responsibilities on the vehicle manufacturers to implement suitable and proportional measures to secure dedicated environments and to take steps to ensure cyber security. 

The New Mandate

The new set of standards requires automobile manufacturers to install a new cybersecurity management system, which will be inclusive of protection against several cyberattacks on the vehicle’s autonomous driving functions, electronic control unit, connected functions, and infotainment systems. The proposed automotive industry standards aim to fortify vehicles against cyberattacks. These standards, expected to be notified by early next month, will apply to all M and N category vehicles. This includes passenger vehicles, goods carriers, and even tractors if they possess even a single electronic control unit. The need for enhanced cybersecurity in the automotive sector is palpable. Modern vehicles, equipped with advanced technologies, are highly prone to cyberattacks. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has thus taken a precautionary measure to safeguard all new-age commercial and private vehicles against cyber threats and vulnerabilities.

Cyber Security and Management Systems (CSMS)

The proposed standards by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) clarify that CSMS refers to a systematic risk-based strategy that defines organisational procedures, roles, and governance to manage and mitigate risks connected with cyber threats to vehicles, eventually safeguarding them from cyberattacks. According to the draft regulations, all manufacturers will be required to install a cyber security management system in their vehicles and provide the government with a certificate of compliance at the time of vehicle type certification.

Electrical vehicle charging system

Electric vehicle charging stations could also be susceptible and prone to cyber threats and vulnerabilities, which significantly requires to have in place standards to prevent them. It is highlighted that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), a designated authority to track and monitor cybersecurity incidents in India, had received reports of vulnerabilities in products and applications related to electric vehicle charging stations. Electric cars or vehicles becoming increasingly popular as the world shifts to green technology. EV owners may charge their cars at charging points in convenient spots. When you charge an EV at a charging station, data transfers between the car, the charging station, and the company that owns the device. This trail of data sharing and EV charging stations in many ways can be exploited by the bad actors. Some of the threats may include Malware, remote manipulation, and disturbing charging stations, social engineering attacks, compromised aftermarket devices etc.

Conclusion

Cyber security is necessary in view of the increased connectivity and use of software systems and other modern technologies in vehicles. As the automotive industry continues to adopt advanced technologies, it will become increasingly important that organizations take a proactive approach to ensure cybersecurity in the vehicles. A balanced approach between technology innovation and security measures will be instrumental in ensuring the cybersecurity aspect in the automotive industry. The recent proposed policy standard by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) can be seen as a commendable step to make the automotive industry cyber-resilient and safe for everyone.

References:

• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/road-transport-ministry-proposes-uniform-cyber-security-system-for-four-wheelers/articleshow/105187952.cms
• https://www.financialexpress.com/business/express-mobility-cybersecurity-in-the-autonomous-vehicle-the-next-frontier-in-mobility-3234055/
• https://www.gktoday.in/morth-proposes-uniform-cyber-security-standards-for-four-wheelers/
• https://cybersecurity.att.com/blogs/security-essentials/the-top-8-cybersecurity-threats-facing-the-automotive-industry-heading-into-2023

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