iWorld
Spuul’s Bhojpuri bet for growth
MUMBAI: Every over the top (OTT) platform is raging about India’s diverse market and untapped opportunity. While others are testing the water with Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Marathi apart from the regular fanfare of English and Hind shows, Singapore based Spuul is going the Bhojpuri way as well.
The platform already had some Bhojpuri content but about six to seven months ago, it felt the need to renew its attention towards this deprived market since rural audiences are warming up to video content now.
Spuul content head Girish Dwibhashyam also thinks that as a high number of people from Bihar migrate to other parts of the country, Bhojpuri content has a market across the country as well as within the state. Cheaper data, affordable handsets have made the digital video space class agnostic. “Consumption from the hinterland has multiplied in the last one and half years. Bhojpuri has assured viewership not only in Bihar but also across India,” he says.
Currently, the platform is only focusing on Bhojpuri movies starring popular actors like Dinesh Lal Yadav. Dwibhashyam claims that the movies they have are the most popular ones of recent past produced by renowned production houses. Aashik Aawara, Nirahua Chalal Sasural 2, Sangram, Rakhtbhoomi, Action Raaja, Nehle Pe Dehla, Muqabala, Jaanam are some of the most popular Bhojpuri movies streaming on Spuul. As the platform has a huge diaspora audience too, it might add catch-up content in certain markets. Initially, the platform has seen a lot of traction from tier II, tier III cities.
“Right now our ultimate goal is to be a place where Bhojpuri speaking audience can come and watch videos, not only movies but also other kinds of content going forward. But at least when it comes to movies we want to be top for Bhojpuri speaking audience for the content in the language they speak,” he comments on the objective of revamping Bhojpuri library.
When it comes to content curation, the team focuses both on external analysis and internal data. The popularity of stars, the popularity of the movie, box office collection are among the major factors which act as a catalyst for adding a movie to the catalogue.
“Couple of years back we had Bhojpuri movies. We have some consumption numbers on the actors who have done well on our platforms. We keep improvising and regularly track which movies are being consumed in what way. When we started out with the catalogue of Bhojpuri movies six-seven months back, first we did a lot of observation to which stars are doing well, which movies, what type of movies are doing well. Then accordingly, we have added new movies,” he adds.
It has competition because ZEE5 and ALTBalaji are both foraying into this market as well. Moreover, content king YouTube has hundreds of viral Bhojpuri videos which get good traction. Hence, to cope with the upping competition in this market Spuul needs to update its library continuously.
But Dwibhashyam believes the growing Bhojpuri market has scope for multiple players. In addition to that, differentiating content will also play a key role. According to him, the Bhojpuri OTT market has not reached that stage where competition will start affecting the players.
For promoting its new catalogue, Spuul is primarily emphasising on digital marketing only. It has done a large number of digital ads targeting certain geographies and native speakers along with consumer PR. Other than digital, he claims Spuul has been mentioned in local newspapers recently which helped it to create a buzz in the local market.
Dwibhashyam thinks it is in the right direction based on the promising initial response. In a bid to gain a stronger foothold across the country, the OTT platform will soon announce an important development for Bengali content too.
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.
