Techshots' Weekly Cybersecurity Newsletter

Welcome back, readers!

This edition of our newsletter will discuss everything that took the tech world by storm, focusing mainly on cybersecurity and how it affects people.

Firstly, let's talk about Google's big launch - Google Gemini

Google Gemini, a new multimodal general AI model, was launched last night. Gemini's most basic models are text in and text out, but more powerful models like Gemini Ultra can work with images, video, and audio. As Gemini gains more senses, it will become more accurate and grounded in the process, said the tech giant.

To note, OpenAI launched ChatGPT nearly a year ago, and soon it became the biggest thing in AI. Google wants to be the best in the game. So, is Gemini better than ChatGPT? As per reports, it is only the "Ultra" version of Gemini that Google claims can beat ChatGPT. Early reports confirm that Ultra does beat ChatGPT-4 narrowly in many categories.

Which product are you more likely to use? Tell us in the comments section.

Onto other news now!

WhatsApp banned over 75 lakh 'bad' accounts in India

Meta-owned WhatsApp enforced India's IT rules and banned 7,548,000 accounts in India throughout October. "We are an industry leader among end-to-end encrypted messaging services in preventing and combating abuse. In addition to our safety features and controls, we employ a team of engineers, data scientists, analysts, researchers, and experts in law enforcement, online safety, and technology developments to oversee these efforts," said WhatsApp.

Indian govt banned 'dark patterns' on online shopping platforms

India has banned the use of "dark patterns" on e-commerce platforms. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) identified 13 dark patterns, which can deceive customers and manipulate their choices. The guidelines apply to all platforms offering goods and services in India, including advertisers and sellers. Some of these dark patterns include false urgency, basket sneaking, confirm shaming, forced action, subscription trap, interface interference, bait and switch, drip pricing, disguise advertisement, nagging and trick questions.

Ratan Tata has issued a warning about his fake video

Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata called out a post from a user by the name of Sona Agrawal that used a fake interview of him in a video recommending investments. In the fake video, Mr Tata addresses Sona Agrawal as his manager. "A recommendation from Ratan Tata for everyone in India. This is your chance to exaggerate your investment right today risk-free with a 100 per cent guarantee. Go to the channel right now," read the caption of the video post.

Ransomware gang claimed attack on India's aerospace research lab

The notorious ransomware gang LockBit has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack targeting India’s state-owned aerospace research lab, National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL). The group posted eight purportedly stolen documents, including confidential letters, an employee’s passport and other internal documents. NAL is one of the most high-profile companies attacked by LockBit recently. Its most recent victims include Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC, British postal service and courier company Royal Mail and pharma giant Granules India.

This is all for this week's Newsletter. If you wish to read about a particular topic do write to me at [email protected].