#FactCheck -Truth Behind the Viral Snake Rain Video: AI-Generated, Not Real

The Equitable Growth Approach of AI and Digital Twins

Digital Twins can be simply described as virtual replicas of physical assets or systems, powered by real-time data and advanced simulations. When this technology is combined with AI, the impact it has on enabling real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, optimised operations, and improved design processes through the creation of virtual replicas of physical assets becomes even greater.  The greatest value of AI is its ability to make data actionable. And when combined with digital twins, these data can be collated, analysed, inefficiencies removed, and better decisions can be taken to improve efficiency and quality. 

This intersection between AI and Digital Twins holds immense potential for addressing key challenges, particularly in countries like India, which is rapidly embracing digital adoption to achieve its economic ambitions and sustainability goals. According to Salesforce’s most recent survey on generative AI use among the general population within the U.S., UK, Australia and India, 75% of generative AI users are looking to automate repetitive tasks and use generative AI for work communications. India is particularly looking towards a rapid digital adoption, economic ambitions, and sustainable developments to be achieved through AI adoption. This blog discuss the intersection of equitable growth, sustainability, and AI-driven policies in India.

Sustainability and the Path Ahead: Digital Twin and AI-Driven Solutions 

India faces sustainability challenges which are mainly associated with issues such as urban congestion, the rising demand for energy along with climate change and environmental degradation. AI and Digital Twins provide solutions for real-time simulations and predictive analysis. Some of the examples are its applications in sustainable urban planning such as smart cities like the Indore Smart City Initiative and traffic optimisation, energy efficiency/optimisation through AI-driven renewable energy projects and power grid optimisation and even water resource management through leak detection, equitable distribution and conservation.

The need is to balance innovation with regulation, particularly, underscoring the importance of ethical and sustainable deployment of AI and digital twins and addressing data privacy with AI ethics with recent developments such as the India’s evolving AI policy landscape, including the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence and its focus on AI for All, regulatory frameworks such as  DPDP Act and the manner in which they address AI ethics, data privacy, and digital governance.

The need is to initiate targeted policies that promote research and development in AI and digital twin technologies, skill development and partnerships with the private sector, think tanks, nonprofits and others. Also, collaborations at the global level would include aligning our domestic policies with global AI and sustainability initiatives and leveraging the international frameworks for climate tech and smart infrastructure. 

Cyberpeace Outlook

As part of specific actions, policymakers need to engage in proactive governance to ensure the responsible use and development of AI. This includes enacting incentive schemes for sustainable AI projects and strengthening the enforcement of data privacy laws. Industry leaders must support equitable access to AI and digital twin technologies and develop tailored AI tools for resource-constrained settings, particularly in India. Finally, researchers need to drive innovation in alignment with sustainability goals, such as those related to agriculture and groundwater management.

References

• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/artificial-intelligence/technologies-like-ai-and-digital-twins-can-tackle-challenges-like-equitable-growth-to-sustainability-wef/articleshow/117121897.cms 
• https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/generative-ai-statistics/
• https://www.mdpi.com/2673-2688/4/3/38 ‍
• https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/generative-ai-for-digital-twin-energy-utilities

Introduction

The Online Lottery Scam involves a scammer reaching out through email, phone or SMS to inform you that you have won a significant amount of money in a lottery, instructing you to contact an agent at a specific phone number or email address that actually belongs to the fraudster. Once the agent is reached out to, the recipient will need to cover processing charges in order to claim the lottery reward. Upfront Paying is required in order to receive your reward. However, actual rewards come at no cost. Additionally, such defective 'offers’ often contain phishing attacks, tricking users into clicking on malicious links.  

Modus Operandi

The common lottery fraud starts with a message stating that the receiver has won a large lottery prize. These messages are frequently crafted to imitate official correspondence from reputable institutions, sweepstakes, or foreign administrations. The scammers request the receiver to give personal information like name, address, and banking details, or to make a payment for taxes, processing fees, or legal procedures. After the victim sends the money or discloses their personal details, the scammers may vanish or persist in requesting more payments for different reasons.

Tactics and Psychological Manipulation

These fraudulent techniques mostly rely on psychological manipulation to work. Fraudsters by persuading the victims create the fake sense of emergency that they must act quickly in order to get the lottery prize. Additionally, they prey on people's hopes for a better life by convincing them that this unanticipated gain has the power to change their destiny. Many people fall prey to the scam because they are driven by the desire to get wealthy and fail to recognize the warning indications. Additionally, fraudsters frequently use convincing language and fictitious documentation that appears authentic, hence users need to be extra cautious and recognise the early signs of such online fraudulent activities.

Festive Season and Uptick in Deceptive Online Scams

As the festive season begins, there is a surge in deceptive online scams that aim at targeting innocent internet users. A few examples of such scams include, free Navratri garba passes, quiz participation opportunities, coupons offering freebies, fake offers of cheap jewellery, counterfeit product sales, festival lotteries, fake lucky draws and charity appeals. Most of these scams are targeted to lure the victims for financial gain.

In 2023, CyberPeace released a research report on the Navratri festivities scam where we highlighted the ‘Tanishq iPhone 15 Gift’ scam which involved fraudsters posing as Tanishq, a well-known jewellery brand, and offering fake iPhone 15 as Navratri gifts. Victims were lured into clicking on malicious links. CyberPeace issued a detailed advisory within the report, highlighting that the public must exercise vigilance, scrutinise the legitimacy of such offers, and take precautionary measures to shield themselves from falling prey to such deceptive cyber schemes.

Preventive Measures for Lottery Scams

To avoid lottery scams ,users should avoid responding to messages or calls about fake lottery wins, verify the source of the lottery, maintain confidentiality by not sharing sensitive personal details, approach unexpected windfalls with scepticism, avoid upfront payment requests, and recognize manipulative tactics by scammers. Ignoring messages or calls about fake lottery wins is a smart move. Verifying the source and asking probing questions is also crucial. Users are also advisednot to click on such unsolicited links of lottery prizes received in emails or messages as such links can be phishing attempts. These best practices can help protect the victims against scammers who pressurise victims to act quickly that led them to fall prey to such scams.

Must-Know Tips to Prevent Lottery Scams

●     It is advised to steer clear of any communication that offers lotteries or giveaways, as these are often perceived as too good to be true.

●     It is advised to refrain from transferring money to individuals/entities who are unknown without verifying their identity and credibility.

●     If you have already given the fraudsters your bank account details, it is crucial to alert your bank immediately.

●     Report any such incidents on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in or Cyber Crime Helpline Number 1930.

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Introduction

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The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act 2023 of India is a significant transition for privacy legislation in this age of digital data. A key element of this new law is a requirement for organisations to have appropriate, user-friendly consent mechanisms in place for their customers so that collection, use or removal of an individual's personal data occurs in a clear and compliant manner. As a means of putting this requirement into practice, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a comprehensive Business Requirements Document (BRD) in June 2025 to guide organizations, as well as Consent Managers, on how to create a Consent Management System (CMS). This document establishes the technical and functional framework by which organizations and individuals (Data Principals) will exercise control over the way their data is gathered, used and removed.

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Understanding the BRD and Its Purpose

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BRD represents an optional guide created as part of the "Code for Consent" programme run by MeitY in India. The purpose of the BRD is to provide guidance to startups, digital platforms and other enterprises on how to create a technology system that supports management of user consent per the requirements of the DPDP Act. Although the contents of the BRD do not carry any legal weight, it lays out a clear path for organisations to create their own consent mechanisms using best practices that align with the principles of transparency, accountability and purpose limitation in the DPDP Act.

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The goal is threefold:

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1. Enable complete consent lifecycle management from collection to withdrawal.
2. Empower individuals to manage their consents actively and transparently.
3. Support data fiduciaries and processors with an interoperable system that ensures compliance.

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Key Components of the Consent Management System

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The BRD proposes the development of a modular Consent Management System (CMS) that provides users with secure APIs and user-friendly interfaces. This system will allow for a variety of features and modules, including:

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1. Consent Lifecycle Management – consent should be specific, informed and tied to an explicit purpose. The CMS will manage the collection, validation, renewal, updates and withdrawal of consent. Each transaction of consent will create a tamper-proof “consent artifact,” which will include the timestamp of creation as well as an ID identifying the purpose for which it was given.
2. User Dashboard – A user will be able to view and modify the status of their active, expired or withdrawn consent and revoke access at any time via the multilingual user-friendly interface. This would make the system accessible to people from different regions and cultures.
3. Notification Engine – The CMS will automatically notify users, fiduciaries and processors of any action taken with respect to consent, in order to ensure real-time updates and accountability.
4. Grievance Redress Mechanism – The CMS will include a complaints mechanism that allows users to submit complaints related to the misuse of consent or the denial of their rights. This will enable tracking of the complaint resolution status, and will allow for escalation if necessary.
5. Audit and Logging – As part of the CMS's internal controls for compliance and regulatory purposes, the CMS must maintain an immutable record of every instance of consent for auditing and regulatory review. The records must be encrypted, time-stamped, and linked permanently to a user and purpose ID.
6. Cookie Consent Management – A separate module will enable users to manage cookie consent for websites separately from any other consents.

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Roles and Responsibilities

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The BRD identifies the various stakeholders involved and their associated responsibilities.

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1. Data Principals (Users): The user has full authority to give, withhold, amend, or revoke their consent for the use of their personal data, at any time.
2. Data Fiduciaries (Companies): Companies (the fiduciaries) must collect the data principals' consents for each particular reason and must only begin processing a data subject's personal data after validating that consent through the CMS. Companies must also provide the data principals with any information or notifications needed, as well as how to resolve their complaints.
3. Data Processors: Data Processors must strictly adhere to the consent stated in the CMS, and Data Processors may only process personal data on behalf of the Data Fiduciary.
4. Consent Managers: The Consent Managers are independent entities that are registered with the Data Protection Board. They are responsible for administering the CMS, allowing users to manage their consent across different platforms.

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This layered structure ensures transparency and shared responsibility for the consent ecosystem.

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Technical Specifications and Security

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The following principles of the DPDP Act must be followed to remain compliant with the DPDP Act.

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• End-to-End Encryption: All exchanges of data with users must be encrypted using a minimum of TSL 1.3 and also encrypting within that standard.
• API-First Approach: API’s will be utilized to validate, withdraw and update consent in a secured manner using external sources.
• Interoperability/Accessibility: The CMS needs to allow for users to utilize several different languages (e.g. Hindi, Tamil, etc.) and be appropriate for use with various types of mobile devices and different abilities.
• Data Retention Policy: The CMS should also include automatic deletion of consent data (when the consent has expired or has been withdrawn) in order to maintain compliance with data retention limits.

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Legal Relevance and Timelines

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While the BRD itself is not enforceable, it is directly aligned with the upcoming enforcement of the DPDP Act, 2023. The Act was passed in August 2023 but is expected to come into effect in stages, once officially notified by the central government. Draft implementation rules, including those defining the role of Consent Managers, were released for public consultation in early 2025.

For businesses, the BRD serves as an early compliance tool—offering both a conceptual roadmap and technical framework to prepare before the law is enforced. Legal experts have described it as a critical resource for aligning data governance systems with emerging regulatory expectations.

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Implications for Businesses

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Organizations that collect and process user data will be required to overhaul their consent workflows:

1. No blanket consents: Every data processing activity must have explicit, separate consent.
2. Granular audit logs: Companies must maintain tamper-proof logs for every consent action.
3. Integration readiness: Enterprises need to integrate their platforms with third-party or in-house CMS platforms via the specified APIs.
4. Grievance redress and user support: Systems must be in place to handle complaints and withdrawal requests in a timely, verifiable manner.

Failing to comply once the DPDP Act is in force may expose companies to penalties, reputational damage, and potential regulatory action.

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Conclusion

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The BRD on Consent Management of India is a forward-looking initiative laying a technological framework that is an essential component of the DPDP Act concerning user consent; Although not yet a legal document, it provides an extent of going into all the necessary discipline for companies to prepare. As data protection grows in importance, developing consent mechanisms based on security, transparency, and the needs of the user is no longer just a regulatory requirement, but rather a requirement for the development of trust. This is the time for businesses to establish or implement CMS solutions that support this objective to be better equipped for the future of data governance in India.

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References

1. https://d38ibwa0xdgwxx.cloudfront.net/whatsnew-docs/8d5409f5-d26c-4697-b10e-5f6fb2d583ef.pdf
2. https://ssrana.in/articles/ministry-releases-business-requirement-document-for-consent-management-under-the-dpdp-act-2023/ 
3. https://dpo-india.com/Blogs/consent-dpdpa/ 
4. https://corporate.cyrilamarchandblogs.com/2025/06/the-ghost-in-the-machine-the-recent-business-requirement-document-on-consent/ 
5. https://www.mondaq.com/india/privacy-protection/1660964/analysis-of-the-business-requirement-document-for-consent-management-system 

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