#FactCheck-Mosque fire in India? False, it's from Indonesia

Introduction

The Pahalgam terror attack, which took place on April 22, 2025, was a tragic incident that shook the nation. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) formally took over the Pahalgam terrorist attack case on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Following India's strikes on Pakistan, tensions between the two countries have heightened, leading to concerns about potential escalation, including the risk of cyber attacks and the spread of misinformation that could further complicate the situation.  It is crucial for corporations, critical sectors, and all netizens in India to stay proactive and vigilant against cyber attacks, while also being cautious of the risks of misinformation. This includes protecting themselves from being affected and avoiding the inadvertent or deliberate spread of false information.

Be Careful with the Information You Consume and Share

It is crucial to note that the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has alerted citizens to stay cautious of fake narratives being circulated by Pakistani handles. Through an official fact check, PIB debunked several misleading claims aimed at undermining India’s internal stability and security forces. Citizens are urged to verify any suspicious content via PIB Fact Check before sharing it further. As social media becomes a hub for viral content, netizens must be cautious about the information they consume and share. Misleading information, old videos, false claims, and misinformation flood the platform, making it essential to be mindful of the content you consume and share, as spreading unverified content can have severe consequences.

CyberPeace Recommends Following Crucial Cyber Safety Tips to Stay Vigilant Against Potential Digital Threats:

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• Do not open/download any video file you receive in social media groups or from unknown sources.
• As per several media reports, a video file named "Dance of the Hilary" is being circulated, which may be intended for a cyber attack on India. Please refrain from clicking, downloading, or sharing any such file. Additionally, there are reports of suspicious files circulating on WhatsApp, including tasksche.exe, OperationSindoor.ppt, and OperationSindhu.pptx. Do not download or open any of these files, as they may pose a serious cyber threat. 
• To receive accurate alerts, you can enable government notifications on your iPhone. Go to Settings > Notifications and scroll down to Government Alerts. Make sure all the toggles under Government Alerts are turned on. This will allow you to receive timely information and important alerts from government agencies, and your device will display critical notifications to keep you informed and safe.
• Turn off automatic media download in WhatsApp to reduce the risk of downloading potentially harmful files.
• To protect your privacy, disable location services on apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, and X unless absolutely necessary.
• Refrain from sharing sensitive information like government data, confidential details, or personal records on unsecured devices or networks.
• To avoid misinformation and manipulation during conflict, verifying and cross-checking the news before sharing it with anyone is crucial. Stay updated with official news updates, and be cautious while sharing information.

Conclusion

In times of heightened tensions, all of us need to stay vigilant, protect our digital spaces, and verify the information we encounter. Together, we can safeguard ourselves from cyber threats and misinformation, ensuring the safety, stability, and digital security of our nation. As proud citizens, let us unite to protect both our physical and digital well-being.

References

• https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pakistan-has-unleashed-propaganda-machine-in-response-to-successful-operation-sindoor-ib-ministry/article69549084.ece
• https://sambadenglish.com/national-international-news/india/centre-asks-people-to-stay-alert-against-misinformation-in-social-media-9048169
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLHo_Vd1_H0&t=19s

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Introduction

Cybersecurity threats have been globally prevalent for quite some time now. All nations, organisations and individuals stand at risk from new and emerging potential cybersecurity threats, putting finances, privacy, data, identities and sometimes human lives at stake. The latest Data Breach Report by IBM revealed that nearly a staggering 83% of organisations experienced more than one data breach instance during 2022. As per the 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report by Verizon, the total number of global ransomware attacks surged by 13%, indicating a concerning rise equal to the last five years combined. The statistics clearly showcase how the future is filled with potential threats as we advance further into the digital age.  

Who is Okta?  

Okta is a secure identity cloud that links all your apps, logins and devices into a unified digital fabric. Okta has been in existence since 2009 and is based out of San Francisco, USA and has been one of the leading service providers in the States. The advent of the company led to early success based on the high-quality services and products introduced by them in the market. Although Okta is not as well-known as the big techs, it plays a vital role in big organisations' cybersecurity systems. More than 18,000 users of the identity management company's products rely on it to give them a single login for the several platforms that a particular business uses. For instance, Zoom leverages Okta to provide "seamless" access to its Google Workspace, ServiceNow, VMware, and Workday systems with only one login, thus showing how Okta is fundamental in providing services to ease the human effort on various platforms. In the digital age, such organisations are instrumental in leading the pathway to innovation and entrepreneurship. 

The Okta Breach

The last Friday, 20 October, Okta reported a hack of its support system, leading to chaos and havoc within the organisation. The result of the hack can be seen in the market in the form of the massive losses incurred by Okta in the stock exchange. 

Since the attack, the company's market value has dropped by more than $2 billion. The well-known incident is the most recent in a long line of events connected to Okta or its products, which also includes a wave of casino invasions that caused days-long disruptions to hotel rooms in Las Vegas, casino giants Caesars and MGM were both affected by hacks as reported earlier this year. Both of those attacks, targeting MGM and Caesars’ Okta installations, used a sophisticated social engineering attack that went through IT help desks.

What can be done to prevent this? 

Cybersecurity attacks on organisations have become a very common occurrence ever since the pandemic and are rampant all across the globe. Major big techs have been successful in setting up SoPs, safeguards and precautionary measures to protect their companies and their digital assets and interests. However, the Medium, Mico and small business owners are the most vulnerable to such unknown high-intensity attacks. The governments of various nations have established Computer Emergency Response Teams to monitor and investigate such massive-scale cyberattacks both on organisations and individuals. The issue of cybersecurity can be better addressed by inculcating the following aspects into our daily digital routines: 

• Team Upskilling: Organisations need to be critical in creating upskilling avenues for employees pertaining to cybersecurity and threats. These campaigns should be run periodically, focusing on both the individual and organisational impact of any threat.  
• Reporting Mechanism for Employees and Customers: Business owners and organisations need to deploy robust, sustainable and efficient reporting mechanisms for both employees well as customers. The mechanism will be fundamental in pinpointing the potential grey areas and threats in the cyber security mechanism as well. A dedicated reporting mechanism is now a mandate by a lot of governments around the world as it showcases transparency and natural justice in terms of legal remedies.  
• Preventive, Precautionary and Recovery Policies: Organisations need to create and deploy respective preventive, precautionary and recovery policies in regard to different forms of cyber attacks and threats. This will be helpful in a better understanding of threats and faster response in cases of emergencies and attacks. These policies should be updated regularly, keeping in mind the emerging technologies. Efficient deployment of the policies can be done by conducting mock drills and threat assessment activities.  
• Global Dialogue Forums: It is pertinent for organisations and the industry to create a community of cyber security enthusiasts from different and diverse backgrounds to address the growing issues of cyberspace; this can be done by conducting and creating global dialogue forums, which will act as the beacon of sharing best practices, advisories, threat assessment reports, potential threats and attacks thus establishing better inter-agency and inter-organisation communication and coordination.  
• Data Anonymisation and Encryption: Organisations should have data management/processing policies in place for transparency and should always store data in an encrypted and anonymous manner, thus creating a blanket of safety in case of any data breach.
• Critical infrastructure: The industry leaders should push the limits of innovation by setting up state-of-the-art critical cyber infrastructure to create employment, innovation, and entrepreneurship spirit among the youth, thus creating a whole new generation of cyber-ready professionals and dedicated netizens. Critical infrastructures are essential in creating a safe, secure, resilient and secured digital ecosystem. 
• Cysec Audits & Sandboxing: All organisations should establish periodic routines of Cybersecurity audits, both by internal and external entities, to find any issue/grey area in the security systems. This will create a more robust and adaptive cybersecurity mechanism for the organisation and its employees. All tech developing and testing companies need to conduct proper sandboxing exercises for all or any new tech/software creation to identify its shortcomings and flaws. 

‍Conclusion 

In view of the rising cybersecurity attacks on organisations, especially small and medium companies, a lot has been done, and a lot more needs to be done to establish an aspect of safety and security for companies, employees and customers. The impact of the Okta breach very clearly show how cyber attacks can cause massive repercussion for any organisation in the form of monetary loss, loss of business, damage to reputation and a lot of other factors. One should take such instances as examples and learnings for ourselves and prepare our organisation to combat similar types of threats, ultimately working towards preventing these types of threats and eradicating the influence of bad actors from our digital ecosystem altogether. 

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References: 

• https://hbr.org/2023/05/the-devastating-business-impacts-of-a-cyber-breach#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20the%20global%20average,legal%20fees%2C%20and%20audit%20fees.
• https://www.okta.com/intro-to-okta/#:~:text=Okta%20is%20a%20secure%20identity,use%20to%20work%2C%20instantly%20available.
• https://www.cyberpeace.org/resources/blogs/mgm-resorts-shuts-down-it-systems-after-cyberattack

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Introduction

The rise of unreliable social media newsgroups on online platforms has significantly altered the way people consume and interact with news, contributing to the spread of misinformation and leading to sources of unverified and misleading content. Unlike traditional news outlets that adhere to journalistic standards, these newsgroups often lack proper fact-checking and editorial oversight, leading to the rapid dissemination of false or distorted information. Social media transformed individuals into active content creators. Social media newsgroups (SMNs) are social media platforms used as sources of news and information. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center (July-August 2024), 54% of U.S. adults now rely on social media for news. This rise in SMNs has raised concerns over the integrity of online news and undermines trust in legitimate news sources. Social media users are advised to consume information and news from authentic sources or channels available on social media platforms.

The Growing Issue of Misinformation in Social Media Newsgroups

Social media newsgroups have become both a source of vital information and a conduit for misinformation. While these platforms allow rapid news sharing and facilitate political and social campaigns, they also pose significant risks of unverified information. Misleading information, often driven by algorithms designed to maximise user engagement, proliferates in these spaces. This has led to increasing challenges, as SMNs cater to diverse communities with varying political affiliations, gender demographics, and interests. This sometimes results in the creation of echo chambers where information is not critically assessed, amplifying the confirmation bias and enabling the unchecked spread of misinformation. A prominent example is the false narratives surrounding COVID-19 vaccines that spread across SMNs, contributing to widespread vaccine hesitancy and public health risks.

Understanding the Susceptibility of Online Newsgroups to Misinformation

Several factors make social media newsgroups particularly susceptible to misinformation. Some of the factors are listed below:

• The lack of robust fact-checking mechanisms in social media news groups can lead to false narratives which can spread easily. 
• The lack of expertise from admins of online newsgroups, who are often regular users without journalism knowledge, can result in the spreading of inaccurate information. Their primary goal of increasing engagement may overshadow concerns about accuracy and credibility.
• The anonymity of users exacerbates the problem of misinformation. It allows users to share unverified or misleading content without accountability. 
• The viral nature of social media also leads to the vast spread of misinformation to audiences instantly, often outpacing efforts to correct it.
• Unlike traditional media outlets, online newsgroups often lack formal fact-checking processes. This absence allows misinformation to circulate without verification, making it easier for inaccuracies to go unchallenged.
• The sheer volume of user engagement in the form of posts has created the struggle to moderate content effectively imposing significant challenges.
• Social Media Platforms have algorithms designed to enhance user engagement and inadvertently amplify sensational or emotionally charged content, which is more likely to be false.

Consequences of Misinformation in Newsgroups 

The societal impacts of misinformation in SMNs are profound. Political polarisation can fuel one-sided views and create deep divides in democratic societies. Health risks emerge when false information spreads about critical issues, such as the anti-vaccine movements or misinformation related to public health crises. Misinformation has dire long-term implications and has the potential to destabilise governments and erode trust in media, in both traditional and social media leading to undermining democracy. If unaddressed, the consequences could continue to ripple through society, perpetuating false narratives that shape public opinion.

Steps to Mitigate Misinformation in Social Media Newsgroups 

• Educating users in social media literacy education can empower critical assessment of the information encountered, reducing the spread of false narratives. 
• Introducing stricter platform policies, including penalties for deliberately sharing misinformation, may act as a deterrent against sharing unverified information. 
• Collaborative fact-checking initiatives with involvement from social media platforms, independent journalists, and expert organisations can provide a unified front against the spread of false information.
• From a policy perspective, a holistic approach that combines platform responsibility with user education and governmental and industry oversight is essential to curbing the spread of misinformation in social media newsgroups.

Conclusion 

The emergence of Social media newsgroups has revolutionised the dissemination of information.  This rapid spread of misinformation poses a significant challenge to the integrity of news in the digital age. It gets further amplified by algorithmic echo chambers unchecked user engagement and profound societal implications. A multi-faceted approach is required to tackle these issues, combining stringent platform policies, AI-driven moderation, and collaborative fact-checking initiatives. User empowerment concerning media literacy is an important factor in promoting critical thinking and building cognitive defences. By adopting these measures, we can better navigate the complexities of consuming news from social media newsgroups and preserve the reliability of online information. Furthermore, users need to consume news from authoritative sources available on social media platforms. 

References

• https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/sep/24/social-media-owners-survey-misinformation-online-news
• https://pirg.org/edfund/articles/misinformation-on-social-media/ ‍
• https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/mobile-based-social-media-what-is-cutting/77292