St. Aloysius B.Ed College welcomes 17th batch of students
Mangaluru: St. Aloysius B.Ed College, a leading institute for teacher education in the city, welcomed its 17th batch of students recently.
The programme commenced with introductory remarks by Preethi Pais, vice-president of the Students’ Council, followed by the College choir offering a prayer song.
Principal Dr. Farita Viegas, in her welcome speech, said, “The first day of new students in the College is one of the important days that initiate the transition of students. A teacher education programme is not just to earn a degree to get a job, but a course that is designed to prepare teacher candidates competent to face the challenges of the developments and trends of a dynamic society. The crux of the entire process of teacher education lies in its curriculum, which is sensitive to develop in pre-service teachers an understanding about the philosophy of education, child psychology, educational management, teaching skills, creating learning environments and a capacity to observe and analyze.”
Speaking on the occasion, Rev. Fr. Dr. Praveen Martis SJ, director of the College, narrated the evolution of Jesuit Education in India and, later, in Mangaluru. He highlighted the importance of the core values of Jesuit Education, namely, competence, compassion, commitment, conscience, creativity, character and collaboration. He also spoke on the significance of these values in the lives of teachers and students in forming a harmonious society.
Elizabeth Sebastian, who belonged to the 2019-21 batch, motivated the new students by sharing her experience, speaking on how the programme helped her improve her teaching skills and refine her talents.
“Teaching has always been the most sought-after and respected profession. Teachers shoulder a huge responsibility of enlightening the lives of students and opening the minds to a world of possibilities. B.Ed is an excellent course that helps trainees and teachers gain an in-depth understanding of the world of education. Teacher proficiency would enable the teachers to meet the requirements of the profession and face the challenges in the future,” she added.
The programme ended with the singing of the College anthem.
College staff members and family members of the new students attended the event.
Sandhya, staff in-charge, compered the programme.
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CERT-In warns of ‘ghostpairing’ attack targeting whatsApp users, flags high-risk account takeovers
New Delhi: India’s national cybersecurity agency, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), has issued a high-severity alert warning WhatsApp users of an active account takeover campaign using a new technique known as “GhostPairing," in an advisory released on December 19.
CERT-In said cybercriminals are exploiting WhatsApp’s device-linking feature to gain unauthorised access to user accounts without the need for passwords or SIM card swaps, as reported by The Indian Express. The attackers, the agency warned, deceive users into entering pairing codes, which silently grants control of the account to a malicious device.
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According to CERT-In, the GhostPairing method works by tricking victims into approving an attacker’s browser as a trusted linked device. The advisory said, “The attack manipulates users into granting access through a pairing code that appears legitimate." It further added that once access is granted, attackers can fully operate the account through WhatsApp Web.
Last month, the Department of Telecommunications directed messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram to implement continuous SIM binding which required accounts to remain linked to an active SIM card. As part of this directive, companion web sessions are expected to be logged out periodically and re-authenticated using QR codes.
CERT-In said the GhostPairing campaign typically begins with a message appearing to come from a trusted contact, often reading, “Hi, check this photo”. The message contains a link designed to mimic a Facebook-style preview, and clicking the link leads users to a fake verification page, where they are prompted to enter their phone number and a code. Victims unknowingly allow attackers to link their WhatsApp account to an external device, by completing these steps,.
Once compromised, attackers can access messages, photos, videos and voice notes in real time, and can impersonate the victim to send messages to individual contacts or groups, the agency said.
The advisory also noted that WhatsApp currently allows multiple devices to be linked to a single account, a feature that is being misused in such attacks. In October, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs had flagged a related trend involving scammers using social media advertisements to lure users into linking their WhatsApp accounts.
While the government’s SIM-binding push is intended to limit such fraud, it has raised concerns among legal experts and digital rights groups, who argue that constant SIM verification, could affect privacy and disrupt multi-device usage, particularly for professionals.
To reduce risk, CERT-In has urged users to avoid clicking on suspicious links, even if they appear to come from known contacts, and to never enter phone numbers or verification codes on external websites claiming to be linked to WhatsApp or Facebook. Users have also been advised to regularly review the “Linked Devices” section within WhatsApp settings and immediately log out of any unfamiliar sessions.
For organisations relying on WhatsApp for communication, the agency has recommended security awareness training, closer monitoring for phishing attempts, and the establishment of clear response protocols to detect and contain account compromises quickly.
