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Aabid Surti and Biren Ghose to be honoured at Animation Masters Summit 2022
Mumbai: Renowned artist, writer and activist Aabid Surti and animation industry veteran and Technicolor Creative Studios country head Biren Ghose will be honoured at the 2022 edition of the Animation Masters Summit that will be held virtually between 23-27 May.
Organised by Toonz Media Group, the five-day summit will include sessions by stalwarts in the fields of media and entertainment across the world. Google India country head Sanjay Gupta will deliver a keynote address at the inaugural session. The master sessions in the following days will be led by well-known artists and creators including Belgian director-producer Paul Demeyer who has worked on shows like “Mission Force One,” “The Rocketeer” and “The Rugrats” series and film, Emmy award-winning composer Wendel Harris, best known for supervising the music for the Netflix sitcom “Family Reunion,” Ravishankar Venkateswaran maker of the first Sanskrit animation feature “Punyakoti,” Ogilvy India chief creative officer Sukesh Nayak and NFT ecosystem GuardianLink co-founder and chief technology officer Arjun Reddy.
“Animation Masters Summit is Toonz’s flagship annual event where we provide a platform for young artists and students to interact with veterans in the field art and entertainment,” said Toonz Media Group CEO P Jayakumar. “The AMS awards have been instituted to honour legends in the field of art. Aabid Surti is a true legend in this regard, having made his mark in multiples streams of art from painting to cartoon, to writing. After a scintillating career of more than 60 years, he continues to work tirelessly focusing more on social and environmental issues now. He is an inspiration for not just artists but for everyone. It is a privilege for us to present this year’s Legend Award to Surti.”
“Biren Ghose, who is being awarded the Special Contribution Award, has helped build the AVGC ecosystem in India with his visionary leadership. As a mentor and industry spokesperson, he also played a significant role in fostering a strong and cohesive animation and VFX community in India,” added Jayakumar.
At 87, Aabid Surti, has made significant contributions towards popularising cartoons and graphic novels in Indian languages in a career spanning over six decades. He is the creator of several memorable characters such as ‘Dhabbuji,’ ‘Inspector Azad,’ ‘Doctor Chinchu’ and the much-loved Indrajal comic superhero ‘Bahadur.’ A prolific author, he bagged the National Award in 1993 for his short story series titled “Teesri Aankh.” Having passed out of one of India’s oldest art institutions the JJ School of Art in Mumbai, Surti is also an acclaimed painter known for experimenting and developing innovative and critically acclaimed painting techniques. In recent years, Surti has made a mark with his trailblazing activism in water conservation through his organization Drop Dead Foundation, which was started as an initiative to provide free plumbing service for residents in suburban Mumbai. Surti personally leads his NGO in fixing an average of around 400 taps a year after visiting close to a thousand homes.
Technicolor Creative Studios country head and industry leader, Biren Ghose is a prominent figure in the Indian AVGC (Animation Visual Effects Gaming and Comics) scene. As a thought leader and business head of some of the most prominent entertainment companies, Ghose has made significant contributions in the growth and development of the AVGC ecosystem in India over the years. He also holds several important roles in government and quasi-government agencies, institutions and trade bodies.
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Meta warns 200 users after fake Whatsapp spyware attack
Italy-targeted campaign used unofficial app to deploy surveillance spyware.
MUMBAI: It looked like a message, but it behaved like a mole. Meta has warned around 200 users most of them in Italy after uncovering a targeted spyware campaign that weaponised a fake version of WhatsApp to infiltrate devices. The attack, first reported by Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata, relied on classic social engineering with a modern twist: persuading users to download an unofficial WhatsApp clone embedded with surveillance software. The malicious application, believed to be developed by Italian firm SIO through its subsidiary ASIGINT, was designed to mimic the real app closely enough to bypass suspicion.
Meta’s security teams identified roughly 200 individuals who may have installed the compromised version, triggering immediate countermeasures. Affected users were logged out of their accounts and issued alerts warning of potential privacy breaches, with the company describing the incident as a “targeted social engineering attempt” aimed at gaining device-level access.
The malicious app was not distributed via official app stores but circulated through third-party channels, where it was presented as a legitimate WhatsApp alternative. Once installed, it reportedly allowed external operators to access sensitive data stored on the device turning a simple download into a potential surveillance gateway.
According to Techcrunch, Meta is now preparing legal action against the spyware developers to curb further misuse. The company, however, has not disclosed details about the specific individuals targeted or the extent of data compromised.
A Whatsapp spokesperson reiterated that user safety remains the top priority, particularly for those misled into installing the fake iOS application. Meanwhile, reports from La Repubblica suggest the spyware may be linked to “Spyrtacus”, a strain previously associated with Android-based attacks that could intercept calls, activate microphones and even access cameras.
The episode underscores a growing reality in the digital age, the threat is no longer just what you download, but where you download it from. As unofficial apps become increasingly convincing, the line between communication tool and covert surveillance is getting harder to spot and far easier to exploit.
