Businesses Put On Alert As Fraud Attempts And Cyberattacks Are On The Rise

Deepfake technology that allows malicious actors to conduct fraud attempts and cyberattacks against businesses is on the rise again.

Businesses are being targeted at a more frequent rate than before as per reports from new research. This gives rise to a very important point of how many products and services are required to assist organizations in defending themselves against the likes of theft. And this can be done by stopping identity theft.

ID proofing platform ID R&D says that around 42% of companies have fallen victim to such attacks where actors disguise themselves to be someone else. Meanwhile, 37% claim they’ve been through some serious injection attacks. The latter is the name reserved for an attract where threat actors can bypass security protocols in a place like cameras.

Another method is by adding digital content in data streams. So as you can imagine, this sort of deep fake technology may help to overcome biometric authentication in certain cases. And in nearly half of the cases, fraud that arises due to chatbots is a huge threat.

All of this is linked to a lot of worries and pressure that firms are now feeling, explain experts. Around 90% of such companies and their clients are very worried about fraud arising but 84% of them were expressing a similar concern in terms of injection attacks. And by the looks of it, we might be seeing 20% successful account takeovers soon to counteract such technology.

Deepfake is the name given to highly sophisticated AI-powered technology. Users can produce some very convincing videos of others. And by adding this type of content with videos to a certain platform, they come up with something that’s unique and so the person being copied ends up saying or doing things that they may never have thought about.

The initial application was dangerous and so many actors ended up adding the faces of leading celebs into the adult video content.

Meanwhile, we also saw a number of apps that were more entertainment based. They began to produce fake videos of the likes of Trump who said a number of things that we would expect him to say. But in this case, it was all made up.

And then there were videos that showed how during the process of entertaining, some things might be a little dangerous and damaging. It’s hard on most occasions to see which video is real and which is made up. But as days go by, the problem continues to get worse and it seems to be no way out.

Now more than ever, it’s necessary to come up with the right solution to overcome such challenges before it’s too late, as revealed by experts.

As per the experts at ID R&D, the best solution forward is to have the ID Live Face Plus. This manages to do just that. But whether or not it’s the only solution forward, we’re not quite sure but for the time being, it’s better than nothing.

Illustration by pikisuperstar / freepik
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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Canadian Government Workers Asked To Delete TikTok As White House Gives Agencies 30 Days To Impose Ban Against The App

Things are not looking great for TikTok as the leading social media app is being ruled out as a threat to government employees in Canada and the US.

An official statement was sent out by the head of the Canadian Treasury Board. He says that all employees working in the government must delete it from official devices. Moreover, the justification provided had to do with a huge level of risk attached in terms of both privacy and security.

They feel it is the best precaution considering the high levels of threat linked to such apps collecting information from the government via mobile phones. In the same way, the statement went on to add how TikTok on such mobile phones gives rise to a type of data collection protocol that provides great access to content located on that same device.

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There was no indication mentioned about the platform compromising private data yet but the risk is high to the Canadian population and that’s why such respective measures are now coming into place.

On the other hand, the representative of TikTok Canada says the news is a huge disappointment as there was no move to discuss the matter with the company first.

But this is just one of the recent decisions taken by the government regarding the ban of TikTok on respective mobile phones. A similar decision was brought into place by the respective Europen Commission which informed all staff members to delete the application by March 15 on all devices owned by Government employees.

Similarly, the US Congress also spoke about some efforts made to ban the app across the nation and not only on devices owned by employees.

Yesterday, the White House told government agencies that they had just one month to make sure the leading app was removed from the entire system as well as devices owned by the government.

A memorandum would also be issued in this regard to make sure all vendors keep data owned by US officials safe and sound by getting rid of TikTok across the respective system.

But as one can expect, the news is not making TikTok happy. In fact, it’s giving rise to reports that it feels get instigated by the likes of misinformation with little to no truth attached.

In December of last year, we saw Congress vote to ban employees in the Federal Government from having the app on their devices. Similarly, it gave the current Biden administration a period of just two months to provide directives on this matter.

It is the latest crackdown against the app that is owned by Chinese parent firm ByteDance as many fear there is a huge national security threat looming where officials in the government may end up spying on US citizens.

Moreover, the country’s chief of Security mentioned how these are the necessary measures required to make sure the digital infrastructure in place is as safe as can be. He also said the country would do whatever it takes to make sure the security, as well as the privacy of the American population, is as safe as possible.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

38% of Americans Say They’re Worried About What AI Might Do

AI is the most cutting edge form of technology out there, which means that there is no telling what shape it might take in the future. When the rotary telephone was first invented, no one could have imagined the smartphones that it would eventually evolve into well over a century later. What’s more, the rate of progress of tech has started to change, which means that AI could undergo such a dramatic type of transformation far more quickly than might have been the case otherwise.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 38% of Americans are saying that they are currently worried about AI for various reasons. In spite of the fact that this is the case, 46% said that they were neither enthusiastic nor were they concerned. Rather, their feelings fell somewhere in the middle of the two. As for the people that are simply excited, they comprise 15% of survey respondents.

Knowing more about AI might get people more excited because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up unveiling its massive potential in the future. 21% of people who claimed to have a high awareness of AI claimed said that they were excited about it popping up everywhere, while only 12% of those who cited low awareness ended up saying the same.

There is a bit of a consensus on two things, however. Firstly, a majority of Americans or 59% to be precise have acknowledged that AI will most likely become central to the manner in which they live their lives at some point or another in the future.

Secondly, as many as 73% agreed that any development that occur in the field of AI would have to be monitored. This is useful since it will help people to ensure that AI is not being used for any malicious purposes, something that can be a real problem if steps are not taken to prevent it from happening. AI is already being used maliciously, and something needs to be done to stop that.

H/T: PewResearch

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

4 Day Work Week Improved Sleep Quality for 40% of Workers

The concept of a four day work week might seem strange to some, but in spite of the fact that this is the case it has the potential to provide a number of different advantages to people all around the world. A trial for a four day work week has been occurring in the UK, and it has indicated that people who can work four days a week instead of five end up sleeping better than might have been the case otherwise.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that a survey of around 2,900 workers who have been participating in the trial revealed that 40% experienced better sleep quality. However, 15% actually reported that their sleep quality decreased, with 45% saying that their sleep quality remained more or less the same as it was before.

One of the most astounding revelations from this trial was that around 92% of companies stated that they would be willing to continue with the four day week because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up improving work life balance.

There are likely practical reasons for them to want to keep the shortened workweek as well, and given the sleep advantages it might be worth it. Companies can lose up to $1,967 per worker per year due to fatigue, which suggests that a four day work week could actually help them save money.

38% of US based workers said that they are fatigued. 45% of workers participating in the four day work week trial stated that they don’t feel as fatigued as they used to. This could translate to massive financial benefits for companies that are willing to take the step, and 18 companies in the UK have already decided to do so.

One out of every 3 Americans sleep fewer than 7 hours a night. This can cause significant long term health problems. Such findings make the 40 hour work week seem like a problem, since it can lead to things like a reduced life expectancy.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

This Study Finds a Correlation Between Having Rich Facebook Friends and Good Heart Health

The people that you are friends with online can often be useful in several ways. People often try to befriend wealthy people through Facebook because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing them to build some kind of professional network. A study conducted by the American College of Cardiology revealed that this might also result in better heart health than might have been the case otherwise.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that around 900,000 deaths from heart attacks were analyzed during this study. 57% of these deaths could be connected to one extent or another to the wealth of that person’s friends on Facebook.

One thing to note here is that correlation does not always equal causation. In spite of the fact that this is the case, the findings of this study are certainly interesting with all things having been considered and taken into account. They seem to suggest that social networks that get you in touch with wealthy people can somehow give you a healthier heart, although the direct mechanism by which this occurs is not exactly obvious right now.

This could be quite helpful to know since it would allow doctors to better predict who is at greater risk of heart attacks and other types of cardiac related maladies and conditions. Predicting these sorts of things beforehand can have a strong impact on allowing the person in question to recover more quickly, along with providing options in terms of preventing the heart attack from happening to begin with.

The study also suggests that giving people tips on how they can improve their social networks could reduce the prevalence of poor heart health. It remains to be seen whether the findings of this study can truly be applicable in the real world, but chances are that there is something worthwhile that people can glean from it. If the findings are valid, they could indicate the importance of social media platforms like Facebook.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Musical Notes, PINless Chat Restoration and More: Here’s What Instagram Has in Store

It seems like Instagram is the only thing keeping Meta relevant right now, with the social media juggernaut struggling to stay afloat due to countless factors. Hence, it makes sense that Meta would want to pack Instagram full of as many features as possible.

There are three in particular that might be right around the corner with all things having been considered and taken into account. The first of these features, as per Alessandro Paluzzi, involves restoring chats that you might have lost.

Users have generally needed to generate a PIN that would get sent to their phone, but with all of that having been said and now out of the way it is important to note that they will now be able to restore chats with just their Google accounts. This has the disadvantage of not providing end to end encryption, but in spite of the fact that this is the case it will still make restoring chats way easier than might have been the case otherwise.

The second upcoming update has to do with the Explore page. The Add Yours feature allows users to customize their stickers, and this section is getting a shortcut that users can access through the Explore page. This will aid users in adding stickers to their stories without having to go through too much navigation or tapping.

Finally, the third feature might be the most exciting of all because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up bringing more music to Instagram. Users will soon have the ability to share up to sixty seconds of music in the form of Notes.

This is clearly an attempt to compete with TikTok, since the rising social media platform has made music a big part of its appeal. Instagram would obviously want to stay on par, so these musical notes are going to be an important aspect of its strategy moving forward.

These three updates show that Instagram still has a lot more to offer. It will be interesting to see how users respond when they get rolled out eventually.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Apple User Accuses Company Of Being Unhelpful After Her iPhone Was Stolen

A woman is accusing tech giant Apple of being unhelpful after her device was stolen last year in November at a bar located in Manhattan.

She says that a suspect ran off with her device after snatching it from her. Moreover, she assumed Apple would be reassuring and assist her with the entire process of recovery but that was not the case.

Reyhan Ayas who hails from Istanbul works as a leading economist at an intelligence firm called Revelio Labs. At the start, she spoke to the WSJ about an investigation regarding how iPhone robbers were on the rise and they tried to lock people out from their respective Apple devices via the likes of a passcode.

After using the user’s password, they would change it and start stealing money from their respective bank accounts.

A recently held interview with tech giant Insider spoke about how the suspect was simply standing out of the bar with her phone when the culprit and came took her iPhone 13 Pro Max. As per the account of the incident, he saw her using the phone and entering the password at a particular point in time. And that’s when he kept eyeing her, looking for the perfect moment to steal the device.

Hence, the 31-year-old was left with no choice but to borrow another individual’s device to try and locate the woman using her ‘Find My iPhone’ Function. But she was already locked out of the device by that period, she had no idea what to do and what was going on.

Therefore, the only thing that made sense to her at that point in time was filing a complaint with the police and showcasing alerts for requests for a password reset and more credentials for logins. This was right after her device ended up getting stolen.

Insider was seen reviewing the police report as well as the alerts generated in this case.

Since she did not have any access to the account owned by Apple, she couldn’t even make a login through a MacBook device. Therefore, she alerted the support team at Apple who told her to attain another SIM and another device. Despite doing all of this, she wasn’t able to gain access to the account.

Over the past one day, she had $10,000 taken away from her bank’s account as per a recently published bank statement that was seen by Insider. Therefore, the only way out was to open up a new ban account and shift her respective funds into it.

This whole time, she was trying to seek support from the Apple Store team. But as per her experience, they failed to assist her in all respects, She applied for an Apple Credit Card but didn’t get it easily.

The woman elaborated on how the company’s team kept on asking her if she tried ‘to find my iPhone’ and was getting really frustrated by that point in time. She says that obviously she tried it and her whole life was being torn down. But all these people wanted to ask was this.

Another one of her most recent chats highlighted how one Apple Rep explained to her that there wasn’t any way to get access to the iCloud account. She slammed the firm and says that they claim to be so helpful and secure but when it comes down to helping users, they’re far from excelling.

We won’t lie about the matter being highly disturbing and concerning. As explained by one former officer at the NYPD, so many similar crimes are taking place over the past two years in various US states and it’s about time tech giants like Apple got their act together.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World