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Non-Life

‘They hit you hard’: How DarkSide became powerhouse of ransomware attacks

Where once criminals had to play psychological games to trick people into handing over bank passwords and have the technical know-how to siphon money out of secure personal accounts, now virtually anyone can obtain ransomware off the shelf and load it into a compromised computer system using tricks picked up from YouTube tutorials or with the help of groups like DarkSide.

“Any doofus can be a cybercriminal now,” said Sergei A. Pavlovich, a former hacker who served 10 years in prison in his native Belarus for cybercrimes. “The intellectual barrier to entry has gotten extremely low.”

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Group health insurance startup Plum raises $15.6mn Series A funding led by Tiger Global

The group health insurance market in India, which is almost 50% of the total $3.5bn health insurance market, has seen an annual growth of about 25% in the last few years and is doubling every three years. Group health insurance products cover about 90 mn Indians, but are expected to cover more than 500mn Indians by the end of this decade..With over 600 organisations on-boarded, Plum has been witnessing a growth rate of 110% quarter-on-quarter

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Govt announces scheme to provide pension for dependents of COVID-19 victims

Besides family pensions, insurance benefits under the Employees” Deposit-Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme have been enhanced and liberalised. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said these steps will help mitigate financial difficulties faced by these families.

To help these families live a life of dignity and maintain a good standard of living, the benefit of the Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) pension scheme for employment-related death cases is being extended to even those who have died due to Covid, the PMO said in a statement.

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African Swine Fever continues to wreak havoc in Mizoram

The ASF outbreak has caused a loss of Rs 18.60 crore to the farmers of the state, said Dr Lalhmingthanga, the Joint Director (Livestock Health) at the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Department.

The first pig death due to ASF was reported on March 21 at Lungsen village in south Mizoram’s Lunglei district, bordering Bangladesh, he said.

Since then the dreaded pig disease has spread to nine districts — Aizawl, Lunglei, Mamit, Serchhip, Lawngtlai, Khawzawl, Hnahthial, Siaha and Champhai.

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After Colonial attack, energy companies rush to secure cyber insurance

Insurers are preparing to increase cyber insurance premiums by 25% to 40% across many industries because of the number of claims, insurance companies and brokers have said. But energy companies should expect rate increases at the higher end of the spectrum as the Colonial attack exposed their vulnerabilities and exposed insurers to losses.

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Burnout and depression spiral among India’s traumatised doctors

The number of doctors for every 10,000 people in India has fallen to around nine in 2019 from 12 in 1991, according to data on World Health Organization’s website, while the country’s health expenditure was just 3.54% of GDP, lower than countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, China and Kenya.

India must now strengthen its health system by investing in hard infrastructure and human resources and making its data transparent, said Yamini Aiyar, the president of the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research.

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Digital divide is there but incorrect to say villages are left out, says CoWIN chief

“The very fact more than half the population in the age group of 45+ are walk-ins and are getting vaccinated, it is proof enough of inclusivity of the system. Obviously problem is occurring in 18- 45 age group because of the fact that supply of vaccine is low. Let me tell you this problem is also a temporary problem, this problem will go away let’s have a little bit of a patience,” he added.

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