
Google strengthens AI-powered fraud detection and security efforts in India
In India, which is seen as a digital-first nation, fraud related to UPI grew 85 per cent year-over-year to nearly $11 billion last year. In response to increasing incidents of digital arrests and frauds—where scammers impersonate officials to extort money via video calls and fraudulent loan apps—Google is addressing these threats through the new Charter.
'India's digital journey continues to unlock incredible opportunities, but alongside that, we've also seen a rise in the sophistication and aggression of the threat landscape,' said Heather Adkins, Vice President of Engineering, Google Security, addressing a packed audience comprising media ecosystem partners, and government representatives. 'If the threats are moving at machine speed, we must react at machine speed as well.'
Adkins explained that Google's Safety Charter is built on three fundamental pillars: protecting end users from online fraud, ensuring cybersecurity for governments and organizations at the enterprise level and building AI in a responsible and ethical way.
During the summit, the company announced that Google Pay, one of the leading UPI-based payment apps in India, issued 41 million warnings against transactions suspected to be potential scams.
Google Messages, which comes preinstalled on many Android smartphones, uses AI-powered Scam Detection, helping protect users from over 500 million suspicious messages each month.
Meanwhile, Google piloted its Play Protect programme in India last year, claiming it has blocked nearly 60 million attempts to install high-risk apps. This effort has prevented the installation of over 220,000 unique malicious apps across more than 13 million devices.
Adkins, a founding member of Google's security team who has been with the company for over 23 years, also highlighted how Google is leveraging artificial intelligence to detect threats.
'This is where AI comes into the fight—where humans might take days or weeks to detect a threat, we've been able to deploy Gemini to detect it in a fraction of the time,' she said. 'This isn't just about fixing the problem; it's about reacting quickly.'
'Using Gemini, we have improved threat identification by 300 percent,' she continued. 'It's like a super-fast detective, sifting through layers of information to find the needle in the haystack that unlocks a deeper understanding of the threat.'
Google has partnered with the Ministry of Home Affairs' Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to raise awareness about cybercrimes, the company said in a blog post. This collaboration builds on Google's existing efforts, including the launch of its online fraud identification program, DigiKavach, which debuted in 2023 to curb the harmful effects of malicious financial apps and predatory loan apps.
Anuj Bhatia is a personal technology writer at indianexpress.com who has been covering smartphones, personal computers, gaming, apps, and lifestyle tech actively since 2011. He specialises in writing longer-form feature articles and explainers on trending tech topics. His unique interests encompass delving into vintage tech, retro gaming and composing in-depth narratives on the intersection of history, technology, and popular culture. He covers major international tech conferences and product launches from the world's biggest and most valuable tech brands including Apple, Google and others. At the same time, he also extensively covers indie, home-grown tech startups. Prior to joining The Indian Express in late 2016, he served as a senior tech writer at My Mobile magazine and previously held roles as a reviewer and tech writer at Gizbot. Anuj holds a postgraduate degree from Banaras Hindu University. You can find Anuj on Linkedin.
Email: anuj.bhatia@indianexpress.com ... Read More
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Mint
10 minutes ago
- Mint
The Bitcoin is full of contradictions. It could still climb some more.
Bitcoin is in the midst of another historic rally. Can it continue? Your guess is as good as anyone's. The bearish arguments, so far proved wrong by the market, haven't changed. The bullish arguments remain as mercurial—and contradictory—as ever. The original cryptocurrency is having another great year, with its price up more than 27%. On Friday, Bitcoin traded at $119,023, up 0.5% for the day, and only about 3% below its July 14 all-time high of $123,166. The price peg's Bitcoin's total market cap at $2.3 trillion. If Bitcoin were a stock, that would rank it sixth in the S&P 500, behind Google parent Alphabet and in front of Meta, according to FactSet data. Given all the excitement, Wall Street analysts are scrambling to put a target price on the surging asset. On Thursday, Citigroup Global Markets offered investors a framework for understanding Bitcoin's price, based on criteria like demand and macro-economic factors. 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But can this potent mix of scarcity and demand continue? While the number of Bitcoins is fixed, there is no limit on the number of copy-cat coins. CoinMarketCap tracks more than 18 million coins, according to its website, with a total market value of $1.5 trillion. So far the SEC has cleared spot ETFs for only the two most valuable cryptos: Bitcoin and Ethereum. But boosters of offerings such as XRP, Litecoin and Solana are clamoring for their own spot ETFs. Washington's new crypto-friendly attitude suggests they will soon get them. Of course, a flood of new crypto ETFs won't necessarily dampen investors' appetite for Bitcoin. Bitcoin's status and mystique as the original crypto has so far ensured it remains more valuable than its many imitators. But the potential flood does suggest that hype, more than limited supply, is what supports Bitcoin's price. Arguments for why investors should own Bitcoin (other than price speculation) are also shaky. Unlike stocks and bonds, Bitcoin doesn't throw off any cash flows. No matter, supporters have long argued. Bitcoin still has a role in your portfolio as a store of value, a form of 'digital gold." It's a view that has led some large investing firms (including Bitcoin ETF sponsors BlackRock and Fidelity) to advocate investors should consider devoting at least a small share of their overall portfolio, say 1% to 2%, to Bitcoin, to boost diversification. The Bitcoin-as-diversifier notion mirrors the longstanding arguments made in favor of owning actual gold—but there are problems with this thesis too. It's true that returns for Bitcoin and gold have resembled one another over the past year. They are both in the midst of big rallies. But, then so are plenty of risk-on assets, notably U.S. growth stocks, led by big U.S. technology names. 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India Today
18 minutes ago
- India Today
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Business Standard
40 minutes ago
- Business Standard
India, Maldives sign 8 key deals across finance, digital, fisheries sectors
India and the Maldives on Friday exchanged eight key agreements covering a wide range of sectors, including Line of Credit, debt repayment, fisheries, digital transformation, and Unified Payments Interface (UPI), in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu. "Delighted to exchange eight Agreements related to Line of Credit, debt repayment, FTA, fisheries & aquaculture, digital transformation, pharmacopoeia and UPI in the presence of PM @narendramodi and President @MMuizzu today in Male," External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar posted on X. Confirming the development, the President's Office of the Maldives stated, "President witnesses exchange of key MoUs and agreements between the Maldives and India." The exchange of agreements set the tone for high-level discussions that followed, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Mohamed Muizzu took stock of the implementation of the India-Maldives Joint Vision for a 'Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership', with the Prime Minister reiterating India's commitment to deepening bilateral ties under its "Neighbourhood First" and Vision MAHASAGAR policies. PM Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Maldives, met President Muizzu at the President's Office in Male. President Muizzu appreciated India's commitment of being the First Responder for Maldives when it came to dealing with any crises. The two leaders discussed cooperation in the fields of development partnership, infrastructure support, capacity building, climate action and health. They also called for further strengthening defence and maritime security cooperation and, in this regard, noted the collaboration between the two countries under the Colombo Security Conclave. The two leaders also reviewed the economic partnership between the two countries. Prime Minister underscored that the proposed Free Trade Agreement and the Bilateral Investment Treaty would open new opportunities for both sides. Noting that the two countries must take advantage of the digital economy, especially to promote tourism, he welcomed the recent understandings on UPI adoption, acceptance of RUPAY card and trade in local currencies. The two leaders highlighted that the close development partnership between the countries was adding new value to the already strong people-to-people ties. The two leaders noted that, as Global South partners, they would continue to work on issues such as climate change, promotion of renewable energy, disaster risk reduction and weather science in the interests of the planet and its people. Prime Minister thanked President Muizzu for his strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack, and the solidarity extended to India in the fight against terrorism. The two leaders witnessed exchange of six MOUs in the fields of fisheries and aquaculture, meteorology, digital public infrastructure, UPI, Indian pharmacopoeia and concessional Line of Credit. The new Line of Credit offers Rupees 4850 crores [ approx $550 million] in support of infrastructure development and other activities in Maldives. An Amendatory Agreement for the existing LoCs was also exchanged. It reduces Maldives's annual debt repayment obligations by 40% [from $51 million to 29 million]. Both sides also exchanged Terms of Reference of the proposed Free Trade Agreement. The two leaders also virtually inaugurated a roads and drainage system project in Addu city and six High Impact Community Development Projects in other cities. Prime Minister handed over 3,300 social housing units and 72 vehicles for Maldives National Defence Force and Immigration authorities. Prime Minister also handed over two units of Aarogya Maitri Health Cube [BHISHM] sets to the Government of Maldives. With state-of-the-art medical equipment as part of the cube, it can provide medical aid to 200 casualties with in-built support to sustain a crew of six medical personnel for up to 72 hours. In keeping with their deep commitment to conserving nature, the two leaders planted mango saplings as part of India's "Ek Pedh Maa Ke Naam" [Plant for Mother] and Maldives's "Pledge of 5 million Tree Plantation" campaigns. Prime Minister reiterated India's commitment to support Maldives and its people, as per its requirements and priorities, and for the peace, progress and prosperity of the Indian Ocean region. Ahead of the meeting, Prime Minister was received by President Muizzu and accorded a ceremonial welcome at Republic Square. The meeting was marked by warmth and a reaffirmation of the deep-rooted friendship between the two nations. Prime Minister expressed heartfelt appreciation for the gracious hospitality extended to him and his delegation and conveyed his best wishes on the historic occasion of the 60th anniversary of the independence of Maldives as also on the special occasion of the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations. The two leaders reflected on the deep bonds of friendship and trust that have been built over centuries, strengthened by strong people-to-people ties. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)