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Hackers use the call forwarding scam to gain WhatsApp accounts.

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Hackers use the call forwarding scam to gain WhatsApp accounts.

There is a method that enables attackers to take over a victim’s WhatsApp account and view their contact list and private conversations.

The technique depends on WhatsApp’s ability to provide a one-time password (OTP) verification code through voice call and the automated call forwarding services offered by mobile carriers.

Utilizing the MMI code
The founder and CEO of the digital risk management firm CloudSEK, Rahul Sasi, tweeted some information about the technique and claimed that it is used to hack WhatsApp accounts.

Testing by BleepingComputer revealed that the approach is effective, despite a few drawbacks that a determined attacker may get over.

A victim’s WhatsApp account can be hacked in a matter of minutes, but the attacker must have the victim’s phone number and be ready to use some social engineering.

According to Sasi, an attacker must first persuade the target to call a number that begins with an MMI code that the mobile carrier set up to facilitate call forwarding.

Depending on the carrier, a different MMI code may redirect calls to a terminal to another number whenever the line is busy or there is no reception, or only when the line is congested.

These codes begin with the symbols star (*) or hash (#). They are widely available, and according to our research, they are supported by all of the main mobile network operators.

The MMI code in front of the 10-digit number instructs the mobile carrier to divert all calls to the phone number supplied after it while the victim’s line is busy, according to the researcher, who claims that the 10-digit number belongs to the attacker.

The attacker starts the WhatsApp registration process on the victim’s device after deceiving them into forwarding calls to their number, selecting the option to get the OTP via voice call.

Once they have the OTP code, the attacker can set up two-factor authentication (2FA) for the victim’s WhatsApp account on their smartphone, preventing the account’s rightful owners from regaining access.

a few warnings
Although the technique appears straightforward, as BleepingComputer discovered through testing, getting it to function takes a little more work.

First, the attacker must utilise an MMI code that sends all calls, independent of the condition of the target device (unconditionally). For instance, call waiting may result in the hijack failing if the MMI only forwards calls when a line is busy.

The target device also received text messages during testing from BleepingComputer telling it that WhatsApp was registered on another device.

If the attacker also uses social engineering and engages the target in a phone call for just long enough for them to hear the WhatsApp OTP code over voice, users could not notice this warning.

A minor annoyance that can necessitate more social engineering is that the attacker must use a different phone number than the one used for the redirection if call forwarding has already been enabled on the victim device.

The mobile operators’ activation of call forwarding leaves the target user with the clearest indication of suspicious activity because a warning is displayed on the screen upon activation and doesn’t go away until the user acknowledges it.

Threat actors still stand a decent chance of succeeding despite this prominent warning since the majority of users are unfamiliar with the MMI codes or the mobile phone settings that prohibit call forwarding.

Despite these barriers, dishonest individuals who are skilled at social engineering can create a scenario that enables them to keep the victim occupied on the phone until they obtain the OTP code for setting up the victim’s WhatsApp account on their device.

Using mobile services from Verizon and Vodafone, BleepingComputer examined this technique and came to the conclusion that an attacker with a convincing scenario is likely to hijack WhatsApp accounts.

According to publicly available data, Sasi’s post refers to the cell providers Jio and Airtel, each of which had more than 400 million subscribers as of December 2020.

It’s simple to defend against this kind of assault by enabling WhatsApp’s two-factor authentication feature. Every time you register a phone with the messaging app, this function requires a PIN, preventing fraudulent users from taking over the account.

 

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Banarasi Silk Sarees: Traditional as well as Charming

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Banarasi Silk Sarees: Traditional as well as Charming

The most important event in a woman’s life is her wedding, and she wants to dress and appear her best for this special day. The bride must dress in large, bulky sarees or lehengas for the mehndi ceremony reception, one of many traditions that precede and follow Indian wedding ceremonies. We all have busy lives, though, and it’s possible that we won’t have enough time to visit various stores and make the actual purchase of sarees. It makes perfect sense in this situation to purchase wedding sarees online.

One of any Indian woman’s most prized possessions is a Banarasi Saree. These sarees have received praise not just in India but also outside. Every girl would want to own and utilise something as soft, smooth, and uniquely Indian as Banaras. These stunning sarees are being woven by hundreds of weavers in the historic city of Varanasi.

The ancient craft of creating banarasi has truly been passed down from one generation to the next and is still thriving today. These sarees are considered to have become more popular during the Mughal era. In order to produce the distinctive pattern that now distinguishes Banarasi sarees, Persian and Indian designs were combined.

People from royal houses were the only ones who wore Banarasi Silk Saree Buy Online in the past. These were once worth several lakhs of rupees because they were constructed with genuine silver and gold strings. A saree could sometimes take a weaver a whole year to complete. But now that simple threads are being used, even the common man can buy it.

Many newlyweds wear a Banarasi silk saree on their special day because it meets the requirements of a wedding saree. The sarees are a favourite among upcoming brides because of their brilliant diversity and exceptional designs. The saree can be found in a wide range of colours, including orange, red, imperial blue, purple, blue, green, and others.

The patterns and designs of the Banarasi sarees have undergone a great deal of trial and error. Sarees with extraordinary designs that reflect elegance and grace are the end result. These sarees are a treat to wear because of their lovely and elaborate embroidery.

A Banarasi saree never quits trying to make a woman look good. It makes a fashion statement right away. This is one saree that has endured for many generations and has remained unaffected by changes in the fashion industry. Banarasi silk sarees are now sold all over the world. It is now simpler than ever to buy sarees from the comfort of your home thanks to the extensive selection available online. Buy one from one of the many stores and take pleasure in its rich splendour. To make sure you are receiving a good value for your money, check its validity before purchasing.

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Release of Google Chrome 88: Farewell to Flash Player and FTP assistance

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Release of Google Chrome 88: Farewell to Flash Player and FTP assistance

Today, January 19, 2021, Google released Chrome 88 to the Stable desktop channel, which contains security updates and the much awaited removal of Adobe Flash Player.

Chrome 89 is the newest Beta version, Chrome 88 has been moved to the Stable channel, and Chrome 90 will be the Canary version.

Users using desktop versions of Windows, Mac, and Linux can upgrade to Chrome 88 by selecting Settings -> Help -> About Google Chrome. When a new update becomes available, the browser will then check for it automatically and install it.

Removal of Flash Player from Chrome
On January 12th, 2021, Adobe Flash Player will no longer be supported, hence Google has totally removed Flash from the browser.

Organizations will no longer be able to use Enterprise policy to re-enable Flash Player in Google Chrome as a result of this change.

Since 2017, Google has been alerting consumers to the impending demise of Adobe Flash Player and recommending businesses to stop utilising it in their environments.

With this modification, Flash Player is no longer supported by the main platform for running Flash content.

FTP support was dropped
Due to its limited usage and lack of support for proxy or encrypted (FTPS) connections, Google decided to remove FTP support (ftp:/) from Chrome.

Because only “.1-.2%” of Chrome users actually utilise the FTP protocol, Google has been attempting to get rid of it since 2014.

With the introduction of a new “chrome:/flags/#enable-ftp” flag that determines whether or not FTP support is enabled, Google started deprecating FTP support with the release of Chrome 80.

In order to ensure that there would be no issues with accessing content on FTP sites during the epidemic, Google restored FTP support once more on April 9th, reversing the previous decision to disable it by default in Chrome 81.

“We will “undeprecate” FTP on the Chrome stable channel in light of the present problem. FTP, for instance, will resume operation “Asanka Herath, a Google software engineer, commented on a Chromium issue topic.

The browser no longer offers any FTP support as of the release of Chrome 88.

enhanced controls for the dark mode
Although Google Chrome has long supported operating system dark mode settings, not all of its controls have been converted to a dark mode style. Scroll bars and form controls are some of these controls.

With Chrome 88, the browser now uses a dark mode theme to display scroll bars and form controls.

increased protection against tabbing assaults
In order to prevent “tabnabbing” assaults, Chrome 88 will automatically apply the “noopener” context to links that open in new tabs when a user clicks on them. This attack technique is referred to as “tab-napping” by Google.

A security flaw called “tabbing” enables a freshly opened page to use javascript to send the user to a different URL from the one they were originally on. Any URL the threat actor chooses, such as phishing pages or pages that automatically download malicious files, might be used as the redirected URL.

HTML links can have a rel=”noopener” property added by web designers to stop a new tab from changing the referring page using JavaScript.

With the introduction of Google Chrome today, any links that open in a new tab will instantly have the rel=”nooopener” attribute applied to them.

New Tab search demonstration
The long-awaited capability of being able to search through all of your open tabs finally arrives in Chrome 88. When activated, a small down arrow will appear in a circle, and clicking it will launch a search dialogue.

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SPANISH DELIVERY APP GLOVO RAISES $121M FROM SWISS REAL ESTATE FIRM STONEWEG TO BUILD OUT DELIVERY-ONLY CONVENIENCE STORES FOR SUB-30 MINUTE DELIVERY TIMES (MACARENA MUNOZ MONTIJANO/BLOOMBERG)

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SPANISH DELIVERY APP

Macarena Munoz Montijano / Bloomberg:

Spanish delivery app Glovo raises $121M from Swiss real estate firm Stoneweg to build out delivery-only convenience stores for sub-30 minute delivery times  —  – Stoneweg will build, refurbish property to help Glovo expand  — Glovo’s orders for convenience items have surged 300%

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