iWorld
OTTplay ChangeMakers Awards 2023 honors entertainment industry changemakers with inaugural awards
Mumbai: OTTplay, India’s first AI-powered OTT subscription, recommendation, and content discovery platform, celebrated the achievements of changemakers in the entertainment industry at the inaugural of OTTplay Changemakers Awards presented by Real Fruit Juices & Beverage. The awards recognise prominent individuals and organisations in the entertainment industry that strive to make a positive impact on the world.
The award ceremony was a triumph witnessed on 26 March 2023, at the exquisite JW Marriott in Juhu, Mumbai.
The evening was a star-studded celebration full of elegance, glamour, and glitz. The award ceremony recognised 31 influential, creative, and innovative figures across 30 categories in the entertainment industry. The ceremony celebrated not only the artistic excellence of actors but also honoured trendsetters from regional cinema, business leaders, content creators, and tech enablers.
The award recipients represented a diverse range of talent, from actors and influencers to writers and directors. The night’s winners included:
- Changemaker of the Year Award: Guneet Monga
- Gamechanger of the Year Award – Male: Rishabh Shetty
- Pathbreaking Performance Award: Rajkumar Rao
- Entertainer of the Decade Award: Sunny Leone
- Most Promising Star of the year Award: Sayani Gupta
- Breaking Barriers in Cinema: Swastika Mukherjee
- All-rounder of the year: Priyamani
- Inspiring Filmmaker of the Year: Basil Joseph
“The primary objective of OTT play and the OTT ecosystem as a whole is to ensure that language is not a barrier. Cinema has no language; it’s sans borders, language and a lot of other barriers. What OTT play is attempting to do is bring content from all platforms, all languages, and all regions and recommend to the user content which can be consumed in any language as long as you have a taste for Cinema or Shows or anything creative,” elucidated OTTplay CEO and co-founder Avinash Mudaliar.
The glitzy evening created a thundering statement, collecting over 300 footprints and showcasing some of the trendiest celebrity red-carpet styles. The event, which took the internet by storm, was also heavily reported by the media. Actor Ritwik Dhanjani stepped into the shoes of the host, who dazzled audiences with his humour and charisma.
OTTplay transitions from a content discovery engine that curates content from over 60 Indian and international OTTs to a streaming platform that allows audiences to access their favourite content from 16 different OTT platforms with a single subscription. The premium subscription platform, OTTplay.
Premium, which includes the availability of over 20,000 shows, web series, and movies from 16 different OTTs at an affordable price, is truly standing tall to its claim, ‘Mazey karo multiply’.
iWorld
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.
