When apps attack, no secret’s safe

Chennai: You may fiercely guard your e-privacy by installing anti-virus software and desisting from downloading anything on your smart phone, but someone somewhere may still have access to some of your data. 

    If a friend or acquaintance has compromised his own privacy while downloading an app, he could have inadvertently put you at risk just because you were in his contacts list. Welcome to the new world of app permissions and malicious software, where increasingly the user is not in command of his own data. 
    There are two ways in which we expose ourselves: One, by accidentally touching a strategically placed ad on an app; two, by inadvertently authorizing an app to access your data without understanding the permissions it seeks. 
    As per a 2012 report by a digital security firm, Bit9, more than two-thirds of all Android apps seek at least one high-risk 'permission' and one-fourth access your private information like email and contacts. 
    "Applications ask for a number of permissions which they may not really need. Most of us don't bother to understand what giving access to an app means to our privacy and we just go ahead and click install," says cyber forensics expert K Rama Subramaniam. 
    Virtually every app asks for permission to access your mobile phone data of varying degrees, from location to address book to even text messages. 
    The Facebook app asks for permission to access almost everything, including your microphone. The Google Plus app takes permission to read your call log, take pictures and videos, and record audio. This does not mean these app developers mine your data, though they can. Fortunately, the big players have behaved responsibly. In 2011, Google took about 50 apps off its Android market after complaints of data theft. It again removed more than 20 apps this year for similar activities. 
MADWARE EATS INTO YOUR PRIVACY DO'S AND DON'TS TO SECURE YOUR DATA 
Don't install apps from unknown sources Don't store critical passwords and PIN numbers on your mobile phone Read all permissions sought carefully before installing apps Go through the privacy policy, however lengthy it may be, before you click 'I agree' If you see unusual calls or unwanted data usage, check for the erring apps Ads on free apps can be harmful 
Chennai: Not owning a smart phone doesn't guarantee immunity against data theft either. Cyber criminals can still easily reach your data since in a world where your privacy is intricately woven into your social groups like friends and colleagues, any breach in their accounts can lead to loss of your private information. 
    Smart phones are prime targets because of the sheer amount of information stored in them. According to cyber security firm Symantec, 69% of Indians access the internet, including work e-mails, through mobile phones. Users also store passwords and card details on their phones so once access is granted to an invasive app, nothing is hidden from the attacker's eyes. 
    Advertisements running inside a huge number of free apps today aren't safe either. Though in most cases they are just promotions, they can also be used to disguise viruses, trojans and links to damaging websites. And they are often carefully placed on the screen so that you are likely to click them while playing a game or chatting. "Known as 'madware', short for mobile adware, their numbers have grown by 55% every month since July 2011," says Symantec managing director Shantanu Ghosh. 
    Not only do these ads have the potential to steal your information, they also drain the mobile battery faster and eat up your 2G/3G data plan because the ads need to keep changing every few seconds. "Madwares collect browsing information like history and bookmarks, and send the information to a remote server on the internet controlled by a stranger," says Mahendra Negi, COO of Trend Micro, a software security company. 
    And it is not just the cleverness of the attacker that is making it possible; it's your careless that aids the theft. "This year is expected to be a watershed year for madware, as advanced mobile technology will create new opportunities for cyber criminals," says Ghosh. 
As AP polls near, netas turn to hackers 
Hyderabad: In the run up to elections in Andhra Pradesh next year, a few politicians are using technology to checkmate their political foes by keeping tabs on their daily messages, e-mails and even telephonic conversations by hacking into smartphones. This has led to around150 professional hackers in Hyderabad being in great demand. 
    Some politicians said they are extremely worried at the situation. "I have stopped replying to mails from my phone and have started using my official mail to only contact my officers," D Sridhar Babu, minister for civil supplies told TOI. 
    Offered amounts starting from Rs 1 lakh, hackers have been approached to hack into MLAs, MPs and even ministers' smartphones, a few hackers told TOI. "These kinds of enquiries are becoming common now, especially since elections are round the corner," a hacker said. "I was asked whether I can hack into a top politician's mail id and get access to his mails. The person also said that I will get whatever amount I demand. But I flatly refused these offers and politely told him that this is unethical and I cannot do it," he added.
    It takes a hacker close to a week or two at the most to prepare a special code and send it in the form of mail or an application link to the target. Once the link is clicked, or the application is downloaded, the hacker has complete control over the computer or smartphone. TNN

Clean Energy Should Power Asian Century Emphasise on regional energy markets, utilise shale gas reserves

Asia's rise is increasingly considered a foregone conclusion, yet the extent to which the region will prosper hinges on its ability to feed its voracious appetite for energy. Asia faces a seemingly irreconcilable paradox: if it can somehow secure sufficient energy resources to maintain robust growth, it will decisively boost rising global CO2 levels in the process, with enormous economic and social costs. If developing Asia maintains 6% annual growth, its share of world GDP will increase from 28% to 44% by 2035, with the energy consumption rising to 56% over the same timeframe. Consumption needs could be even greater, as Asia's leaders face the imperative of ensuring affordable energy for the poor. Yet, getting people connected will require a fivefold increase in yearly energy investments.  Carbon Blot  The region's desperate need for more energy is problematic for other reasons. The region may possess a quarter of world coal reserves, but it has only 16% of conventional gas reserves and 15% of technically recoverable oil and natural gas liquids. To bridge this gap, it will have to triple oil imports by 2035, rendering it even more vulnerable to external energy price shocks. If Asia maintains its current energy mix, coal use will increase by 81%, oil consumption will double, and natural gas use will more than triple. This would raise energy-related CO2 emissions to more than 20 billion tonnes — nearly the level seen by climate change experts as barely globally sustainable — by 2035. In effect, Asia's emissions alone would swamp global targets. The truth is that Asia must act now if it wants power inclusive, sustainable growth this century. Replacing inefficient general fuel subsidies with targeted subsidies, as pioneered by Indonesia, should be the first step. Consumer fuel subsidies impose a tremendous burden on public budgets, exceeding 4% of GDP in Bangladesh and Pakistan, and 2% in India and Indonesia. Those who benefit from subsidies — and invariably resist scrapping them — are rarely the poor. We should not underestimate the importance of behavioural change in managing demand. After Fukushima, Japan succeeded in curbing electricity demand through the Setsuden ("saving electricity") movement, lowering peak usage by 15% during the summer of 2012.  Hail Shale  Delivering cleaner energy is also key. In less than a decade, generating capacity rose from negligible to 82 gigawatts (GW) for wind and to 20 GW for solar, with great potential to further expand both. But many experts predict that it will take decades for them to be commercially cost competitive. Asia can't and shouldn't wait, however. The only way forward is to make conventional energy cleaner and more efficient now. One feasible possibility is for Asia to utilise its reserves of shale gas to offset coal use. Indications are that China has the world's largest shale gas resources – nearly 20% of the total. With India and Pakistan possessing sizeable shale gas reserves, unconventional gas could provide a cleaner bridge to a future that is less dependent on fossil fuels. Asia faces a dilemma over nuclear power after Fukushima. But if nuclear energy is replaced by current energy mix, CO2 emissions from Asia's power sector would rise 8-13% higher by 2035. More than anything, regional integration of energy markets can have great benefits. Connecting electricity and gas grids across borders can create economies of scale that improve efficiency. The region must strive to establish a Pan-Asian Energy Market by 2030, aspiring to the degree of regional cooperation that currently prevails in Europe. The reality is that Asia is on an unsustainable path where growth trumps environmental costs. But eventually this imbalance will erode Asia's gains. Action is needed if the Clean Asian Century is to be more than just a slogan.  The writer is chief economist, ADB