Ethical Hackers

India: an army of ethical hackers

To paraphrase an old saw: It takes a geek to catch a geek. That's the logic behind a new Indian response to the growing threat of cyber war, anyway. Indian authorities were stunned by the impact of the Stuxnet virus on Iran's nuclear facility at Natanz last year.

Now, in the wake of repeated assaults on Indian company and government web sites, an organization of self-professed "white hat" hackers is recruiting its own army. “If you see the statistics, less than 15 percent of Indians use the internet, but we are already No. 1 when it comes to virus infections and we are No. 2 in cyber crimes,” said Rajshekhar Murthy, an Indian hacker and entrepreneur. Last month, at Malcon — the malware conference Murthy founded in 2010 — the security expert's nonprofit Information Security and Analysis Center (ISAC) unveiled plans to create a national registry of hackers with the training to protect the country's critical electronic infrastructure.

Called the National Security Database (NSD), the body will accredit and train hackers who pass an exam that will cost about $500 a whack.

“The NSD is a project to address the broader need, not just to identify the best security professionals in India,” said Murthy. The idea is to identify “where these professionals can assist the country not only in solving cyber crimes but in addressing policy issues and assisting in reforms to create better governance of IT security across critical infrastructure projects.”

At a curtain raiser for next year's Global Cyber Security Summit in New Delhi, Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal called for just such a community of ethical hackers last week.

And for good reason. Already, a drive to eliminate corruption and increase efficiency through e-governance had made many government services vulnerable to attack, and Sibal aims to introduce a bill in parliament this session mandating that all government services be automated.

"To combat cyber crimes and make the cyberspace secure, there is a need for greater government-to-government collaboration on sharing of information, global vision to deal with hackers, legal framework that addresses the requirements at the global, and wider public-private collaboration," Sibal told reporters last month.

Last year, state-owned ONGC found some of its oil rigs had been infected by Stuxnet — and only narrowly escaped catastrophe because they operate on ABB, not Siemens, systems, according to a recent report in India's Tehelka magazine. Similar virus problems were detected at a power generation facility in Gujarat and a communications satellite providing the feed to state-owned Doordarshan television and several DTH broadcasters.

And researchers from the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto claimed in 2010 that Chinese hackers had cracked Indian government computers to dig out sensitive information related to defence, foreign affairs and the Dalai Lama, according to another report.

But can a team of rogue operators compete with state-sponsored cyber espionage?

When Stuxnet hit Iran, experts immediately fingered Mossad and the CIA because the man-hours needed to create the complex worm more or less guaranteed it was a state-sponsored project. And one of the biggest failures of India's intelligence agencies is that they rarely listen to each other — much less to outsiders who.

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Kepler-22b

Kepler-22b: NASA discovers most 'Earth-like' planet yet

NASA scientists have identified a new planet they believe to have several similarities to Earth. Kepler-22b, named for the Kepler planet-hunting telescope it was spotted with, is the first planet to be confirmed beyond our solar system in what the Guardian called the "Goldilocks zone:" not too hot, not too cold, and therefore possibly habitable.



The planet is 2.4 times the size of Earth. It orbits a star similar to the Earth's sun and is believed to have a surface temperature of around 22 degrees Celsius, according to NASA. Astronomers say Kepler-22b's temperate climate makes it possible that it possesses liquid water, CNN reported.

More from GlobalPost: Double sun "Star Wars" planet discovered by NASA Kepler program scientist Douglas Hudgins described the discovery as "a major milestone on the road to finding Earth's twin." NASA still does not know what the planet is made of, however; it could be predominantly rock, gas or liquid. Scientists have "no idea" about the typical composition of planets of this size, Kepler deputy science team lead Natalie Batalha said, since there is no precedent in our own solar system.

Since Kepler-22b is about 600 light years - or 3,600 trillion miles - from Earth, the chances of any earthlings ever making it there are slim.

Kepler uses the "transit method" to detect new planets, MSN said: it monitors stars' brightness and searches for minute dips in light levels when a planet crosses in front of the star. The $600-million observatory has detected 2,326 planets since it began operating in May 2009. Scientists will extrapolate its findings to estimate how many stars have potentially habitable planets orbiting them, Reuters said. Its astronomers are currently preparing a bid for more funding to extend their mission, which is due to end in November 2012.

Arthur Christmas

Arthur Christmas is a 2011 British/American 3-D computer animated fantasy comedy film produced by Aardman Animations and Sony Pictures Animation and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was released on November 11, 2011, in the UK and on November 23, 2011, in the USA.[5] The film was directed by Sarah Smith, and it features voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton and Ashley Jensen. Set in the North Pole, the plot tells about Santa's son Arthur Christmas, who must complete a mission before Christmas morning.

Tom Cruise Promoting 'Mission Impossible 4' In Mumbai

Hollywood Mega Star Tom Cruise came to India to promote his upcoming movie 'Mission Impossible 4'. He was spotted at the red carpet of the preview of his film with Bollywood celebrities like Anil Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan and Neil Nitin Mukesh. All the Celebs in an interview spoke about the legendary Dev Anand's death and were very shocked to hear the news.

Paramount Pictures’ Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol will open on 200 screens from December 14, two days before another 300 domestic screens pre-release the Tom Cruise-starring action picture on December 16.

Well before the wide theatrical release of Mission: Impossible 4 from December 21, Imax screens in the Netherlands will have a six day early release, compared to five days in the UK, three days in France and Poland, two days in Korea, Spain and Taiwan, and one day in various other countries worldwide.

It’s all part of a gamble by Paramount Pictures to build buzz for the blockbuster release on the Imax platform, before Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol lands in the local multiplex.

Besides the early engagement window, the Imax release of the fourth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise features around 30 minutes of scenes shot with Imax cameras, including one scene where Cruise scales the world's tallest building in Dubai.

Dhanush much more than 'Kolaveri Di'

Hindi film actor Abhishek Bachchan feels that it is unfair that people associate Tamil star Dhanush, who has an impressive body of work, just with the 'Kolaveri di' song.

"He is a very dear friend of mine, Dhanush. Very famous and very prominent actor from Chennai. Off late, unfortunately they only seem to know him because of 'Kolavari Di' but, he has done great work down there. He is a wonderful actor," said the 35-year-old actor.

'Kolaveri Di' has received over 17 million hits on Youtube till now and Abhishek terms it as one of the greatest hits of the year.

"I think it's outstanding and I think it's wonderful because it has been made by two very dear friends of mine, Dhanush and his wife Aishwarya. I think it's a fantastic song. He is a very talented guy and Anirudh, the music director has done a great job. I wish them all the best. It's one of the greatest songs of the year," said Abhishek who is awaiting his next release 'Players' by director duo Abbas-Mustan.

'Players', which is releasing Jan 6, also stars Bobby Deol, Bipasha Basu, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Sonam Kapoor.

Abhishek is also working on Rohit Shetty directed 'Bol Bachchan' and 'Dhoom 3'.

Actress Veena Malik

Actress Veena Malik To Sue FHM Magazine For $2 Million Over Naked Photo Shoot

Bollywood actress Veena Malik is to sue FHM India, alleging that photographs of her that appear in the latest issue were "tampered" with to make her look more naked than she actually was.

The Pakistani star has said that she feels "cheated and duped" by her cover shoots, which appears to show her in the nude.

Malik's lawyer Ayaz Bilawala told the BBC: "Ms Malik has been cheated and duped. She had a photoshoot, but there was no nudity. She had some clothes on. In the photos that were shown to her (for approval) she had her clothes on. She has suffered from a loss of reputation and we are demanding damages and withdrawal of the magazine from newsstands."

Denying these allegations, FHM India editor Kabeer Sharma responded: "We have seen the notice and forwarded it to our legal department for appropriate action. We are looking at various options, including filing a countersuit."

Malik's legal team have demanded that all copies of the magazine are withdrawn from stores, with the actress seeking $2 million (£1.25 million) in damages.