Business
Hacking has an evil twin! What is vibe hacking? Here’s how cyber frauds are misusing AI – The Times of India
As if cyber frauds were not enough, you will now have to deal with another evil of the AI era, vibe hacking!Cybersecurity experts are warning that AI is increasingly being misused by criminals to launch sophisticated cyberattacks. What started as “vibe coding,” a way to harness AI for productive tasks, now has a darker side: “vibe hacking.”AI developer Anthropic reported that its coding model, Claude Code, was recently exploited to steal personal data from 17 organisations, with hackers demanding nearly $500,000 from each victim, according to an ET report.Dark web forums now offer ready-made AI tools, called “Evil LLMs,” for as little as $100. Examples include FraudGPT and WormGPT, designed specifically for cybercrime. These tools can bypass safety measures and trick AI into leaking sensitive information or producing harmful content.A new AI agent called PromptLock can generate code on demand and decide which files to copy, encrypt, or access, raising the stakes even further.“Generative AI has lowered the barrier of entry for cybercriminals,” Huzefa Motiwala, senior director at Palo Alto Networks told ET. “We’ve seen how easily attackers can use mainstream AI services to generate convincing phishing emails, write malicious code, or obfuscate malware.”In simulations, Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 team demonstrated that AI could carry out a full ransomware attack in just 25 minutes, which is a whopping 100 times faster than traditional methods. Prompt injection, where carefully crafted inputs hijack a model’s goals, allows attackers to override security rules or expose sensitive data.Motiwala explained, “Attacks don’t only come from direct user prompts, but also from poisoned data in retrieval systems or even embedded instructions inside documents and images that models later process.”Research by Unit 42 found that certain prompt attacks succeed against commercial models 88% of the time.“AI has become a cybercrime enabler, and the Claude Code incident marks a turning point,” said Sundareshwar Krishnamurthy, partner at PwC India. “Cybercriminals are actively misusing off-the-shelf AI tools, essentially chatbots modelled on generative AI systems but stripped of safety guardrails and sold on dark web forums,” ET further quoted Krishnamurthy.Authorities in Gujarat have also cautioned that AI kits are being sold via encrypted messaging apps.“These tools automate everything from crafting highly convincing phishing emails to writing polymorphic malware and orchestrating social-engineering campaigns at scale,” said Tarun Wig, CEO of Innefu Labs. “Attackers can generate deepfake audio or video, customise ransomware, and even fine-tune exploits against specific targets.”Autonomous AI agents make the threat worse by remembering tasks, reasoning independently, and acting without direct human input.Vrajesh Bhavsar, CEO of Operant AI, pointed to risks from open-source Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. “We’re seeing vectors like tool poisoning and context poisoning, where malicious code embedded in open repositories can compromise sensitive API keys or data,” he said. “Even zero-click attacks are rising, where malicious prompts are baked into shared files.”Experts say AI developers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Google, must do more to prevent misuse.“They must implement stronger safeguards, continuous monitoring, and rigorous red teaming,” said Wig. “Much like pharmaceuticals undergo safety trials, AI models need structured safety assessments before wide release.”
Business
PM Kisan 21st Installment Live Updates: PM Modi To Release Rs 18,000 Crore To Nearly 9 Crore Farmers
PM Kisan 21st Installment Live Updates: The wait for the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi’s 21st installment is now going to be over today, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to release the next tranche of Rs 2,000 shortly at an event in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
“The prime minister will release the 21st installment of PM-KISAN on November 19, 2025, in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu,” according to PM Kisan’s portal.
As per the government data, Rs 18,000 crore will be transferred to nearly 9 crore farmers nationwide. Combined with state schemes, many farmers are receiving additional income buffers ahead of the agri season.
“This instalment comes at a crucial moment: rising input costs, mandi price volatility, and liquidity gaps continue to challenge small and marginal farmers. A deeper lens on how direct benefit transfers are influencing farm decisions, post-harvest management, storage choices, and credit dependency could make for a compelling industry story,” said Amith Agarwal, co-founder and CEO of StarAgri Warehousing & Collateral Management.
PM Kisan: How To Check Beneficiary Status?
1. Visit the official PM Kisan portal: https://pmkisan.gov.in
2. On the homepage, under the ‘FARMERS CORNER’, click on ‘Beneficiary List’.
3. Enter your state, district, sub-district, block, and village.
4. Click ‘Get Report’ to view the list of beneficiaries in your village.
New Delhi: Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella will begin a three-day visit to India on December 10.
The India-born tech leader will travel to Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai as part of his tour, during which he is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and other senior government officials.
Nadella will start his visit in Delhi on December 10, move to Bengaluru on December 11, and conclude in Mumbai on December 12. This will be one of his several visits to India in recent years as Microsoft continues to expand its presence and strengthen its position in the fast-growing cloud and AI services market.
During his earlier visit in January this year, Nadella had announced a $3 billion investment to build cloud and AI infrastructure in India and to support skilling programmes.
At that time, he said India was becoming a global leader in AI innovation and stressed that Microsoft wanted to help make the country “AI-first.” The company also said it would train 10 million more Indians in essential AI skills by 2030.
Microsoft had already exceeded its 2025 target by training 2.4 million people within a year, with a majority of participants coming from Tier-II and Tier-III cities and 65 per cent of them being women.
Rival Google has also announced a major push in India, with a $15 billion investment to set up a state-of-the-art AI hub in Visakhapatnam.
The build-up to Nadella’s visit saw another important meeting on Tuesday, when Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal met Lisa Monaco, President of Microsoft Global Affairs.
After the meeting, Goyal posted on X that the discussion focused on Microsoft’s continued engagement in India and its support for AI-led innovation and infrastructure development.
He added that both sides also explored ways to strengthen the India–US partnership in AI, digital trade, and workforce skilling to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth.
Jefferies has initiated its coverage of WeWork India with a buy rating and a target price of Rs 790. Analysts said that the company is the largest flexible workspace operator by revenues in India. At about 17% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR), flexible workspace stock is growing at two times the pace of office stock, with room for further penetration. They said WeWork’s premium positioning helps command higher average revenue per member and margins than peers.Motilal Oswal Securities has initiated its coverage of PB Fintech with a neutral rating and a target price of Rs 2,000. Analysts expect PB Fintech to post a strong FY25-FY28 revenue, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) and profit after tax (PAT) CAGR of 35%, 156% and 56%, respectively, after factoring in a strengthening position in under-penetrated credit and insurance industries. However, they believe the stock is fairly valued, and all positives are priced in at current levels. Any possibility of commission restructuring by insurance companies due to the loss of input tax credit post GST exemption poses a key risk for the company’s top-line growth.Morgan Stanley has an overweight rating on Eternal (formerly Zomato) with the target price at Rs 427. They believe Eternal has the best risk-reward matrix and investors would use the current weakness to accumulate the stock. Like Eternal’s strategy of doubling down on customer market share as wallet share expansion can follow later. Theyassume a stress case of higher aggression could mean push out of profitability but this is not a game changer. They are assuming a stress case scenario where the stock would bottom out at Rs 280 – Rs 285.UBS has a buy rating on Max Healthcare Institute with the target price at Rs 1,550. Analysts expect the company’s brownfield capacity addition to drive growth and earnings. The management said that it recently commissioned a Mohali facility including an oncology facility. It’s also commissioning a facility at Nanavati hospital inMumbai.Also the construction activity at other new hospitals is progressing well. The management indicated that the issues related to cashless service for insurance patients has been resolved and mentioned there was no/only limited impact as patients shift from insurance to cash in such instances.Nomura has a neutral rating on Oil India with the target price at Rs 430. Analysts said the company’s July-Sept quarter was a soft one as volumes were impacted by external factors. The expansion work at Numaligarh Refinery was on track, with first crude intake expected next month and a meaningful volume uptick by the July-Sept quarter ofnext year. Analysts cut Oil India’s FY26 and FY27 profit estimates by 37% and 18%, respectively, to reflect: Lower gas sales volume, lower crude price realizations, higher depletion & depreciation expenses, and sharply higher exploratory write-offs and impairments.
Fantasy football free agent pickups: Believe in Brissett to replace your injured QB?
EU, OECD partners pledge more transparency on export finance in energy
Trump Claims He Averted Pakistan-India Conflict on the Brink of Restarting
-
Tech1 week agoFrom waste to asset: Turning ethanol production CO₂ into jet fuel
-
Tech4 days agoNew carbon capture method uses water and pressure to remove CO₂ from emissions at half current costs
-
Politics5 days agoBritish-Pakistani honoured for transforming UK halal meat industry
-
Sports3 days agoTexas A&M officer scolds South Carolina wide receiver after touchdown; department speaks out
-
Business4 days agoThese 9 Common Money Mistakes Are Eating Your Income
-
Tech1 week agoSecurity flaws in portable genetic sequencers risk leaking private DNA data
-
Business4 days agoWhat’s behind Rachel Reeves’s hokey cokey on income tax rises?
-
Politics6 days agoInternet freedom declines in US, Germany amid growing online restrictions