Symantec has confirmed the existence of a new zero-day vulnerability in Adobe Flash which could allow attackers to remotely execute code on a targeted computer. Since details of the vulnerability are now publicly available, it is likely attackers will move quickly to exploit it before a patch is issued.Details of the vulnerability surfaced following a cyberattack against the controversial Italian hackers-for-hire firm Hacking Team. Proof-of-concept code for exploit of the vulnerability was part of a large cache of internal information leaked by the attackers. Given the source of the proof-of-concept code, it is possible that this vulnerability has already been exploited in the wild. Following its disclosure, it can be expected that groups of attackers will rush to incorporate it into exploit kits before a patch is published by Adobe.Analysis by Symantec has confirmed the existence of this vulnerability by replicating the proof-of-concept exploit on the most recent, fully patched version of Adobe Flash (18.0.0.194) with Internet Explorer. Successful exploitation could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected computer.Symantec regards this vulnerability as critical since it could allow attackers to remotely run code on an affected computer, effectively allowing them to take control of it.Adobe has issued a security advisory to address this critical vulnerability (CVE-2015-5119), and confirmed it has been identified in Adobe Flash Player 18.0.0.194 and earlier versions for Windows, Macintosh and Linux. Adobe added it is aware of reports that an exploit targeting this vulnerability has been published publicly. Adobe expects to make updates available on 8 July 2015.
Read More
How GPU tech can help public servants serve the community more efficiently and economically, writes Vishal DhuparThe ministry of urban development is in full swing to bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for smart cities to reality in 100 locations across India that will be modernized, equipped and administered using adaptive and intelligent technology.While Rs 48,000 crore have already been allocated for the development of these Smart Cities, IDC has predicted that India's ICT sector will get a minimum infusion of Rs. 2000 crore to back the mega project. Research also shows widespread interest in development of smart urban centers, with almost one-fifth of cities in Asia Pacific having started collaborative operations to deal withinfrastructural, managerial and environmental problems.The concept of Smart Cities means different things to different people. Essentially, a smart city is an urban center with intelligent physical, social, and institutional infrastructure that can be sustained in tandem with economic activity and growth. The infrastructure of such a city will typically be equipped with systems aimed at better management of energy resources, water, transport and traffic, safety and security.A report by McKinsey warned that by 2030, about 600 million people will reside in Indian cities. With inadequate planning, the quality of life in urban areas is bound to decline. To deal with rapid urbanization, the master plan for development of smart cities has to account for growth in population, businesses, and therefore, the spurt in public amenities and infrastructure, traffic, carbon footprint, so and so forth. Today’s urban planners need the computing capability to simulate the impact of these gradual changes over time against the assimilated physical data, so that they can tweak their models to allow for growth.The first challenge encountered by urban planners is sifting through large volumes of data to make intelligent, informed, accurate and swifter decisions.Technology is an enabler for planned urbanisation and the development of all sustainable smart cities.From centralised control systems which provide real-time input on availability of water, electricity, healthcare and education to effective management of traffic, weather prediction, pollution control, disaster management and emergency response – everything in a smart city relies on powerful computing.This is where GPUshave taken the driving seat.Graphics processing units (GPUs) are built from ground up to handle tasks in parallel and are optimised for compute-intensive tasks. From oil exploration to cancer research. From Bollywoood Studios to weather modelling. From diamond cutting to helping farmers:GPUs offer superiorcomputing capabilities everywhere. The popular Shazam music-search application uses a GPU to rapidly search and recognise songs from its 27-million track database, in a matter of seconds!The same power of GPUs will play a critical role in building and sustaining smart cities. Take the example of disaster recovery and emergency response. When cyclone Hudhud hit Indian coasts, authorities had to track the weather conditions to get the correct assessment of the impact on-ground. For this they had to rely on satellite images.However, processing these images could take hours, if not days. GPUs can not only condense the time taken but also help in providing a better synopsis of the exact situation. Speed and accuracy in such situations can save millions of lives.Urban Planning:As India’s urban areas become ever more densely populated, reducing energy consumption and mitigating air pollution will be critical. However, understanding the complex interactions among green assets, projects, the environment and urban microclimates on citywide scales is a complicated challenge.Urban planners are using inexpensive and fast modeling tools that run on GPU technology to create life-size simulations of varied demographic environments. These are interactive and immersive simulations that can be mapped against dynamic changes such as energy consumption or pollutant dispersion within an entire landscape. Armed with visual insight into these changes, planners can anticipate the impact of change to design future-ready models or policies for urbanization that minimize the carbon footprint generated by a city, and locate green infrastructure more strategically. Governance: The services of hundreds of individuals in the local governance and municipal bodies keep a city ticking round the clock. How can GPU tech help these public servants serve the community more efficiently and economically?Many workers in departments such as public works, education, healthcare, or fire brigade are constantly on the move or located in remote areas, and it might be difficult to assemble everyone in one place on short notice. Through GPU-aided delivery of optimized graphics and videos over the Cloud to their workstations or smartphones, local governance bodies can remotely and conveniently train employees. By enabling them to share visual information directly to the workstations or smartphones of employees, public departments can cut down training costs and ramp up their efficiency.Surveillance & Security: Maintaining law & order is a daunting task for many cities that are often ill-equipped to fight the spiraling crime rate. Authorities mostly rely on intelligence gathering and assessment from CCTV systems, satellites, and better surveillance technologies to monitor sensitive locations on a 24x7 basis. The timeliness and accuracy of this is critical. GPUs can help reduce both, the cost and time taken, to convert raw data collected from surveillance and deliver actionable insight in real time.For instance, the video feed from a surveillance camerais grainy and has to be matched against a visual database of known offenders. In large crowds, probably only part of an object or a person’s face would be captured by cameras. GPUs accelerate the image processing and change detection power of surveillance systems, helping them analyze even moving images at breakneck speed.Implementation of GPU tech is most amenable to the sustainability of smart cities, and many governance and infrastructure related projects can benefit from the technology. Premier research and education institutes such as IITs, top universities, and the Dept. of Space are already using them. The ability of GPUs to transform the vision for urban landscapes is being investigated by engineers and scientists in India, and is likely to attract the attention of top decision makers in government too.The author, Vishal Dhupar is Managing Director, South Asia, NVIDIA
Read More
A digitally connected India will bring "tremendous power" in the hands of citizens by connecting them to the rest of the world, Ratan Tata said on Friday (03 July), lauding the government's 'Digital India' programme. "I'm delighted that the Prime Minister has decided to give so much preference and priority to the fact that India will be a digitised nation," Tata said here at the launch of an initiative to deepen Internet usage among rural women. "Internet will help educate India, will give access to livelihood to many women who do not have a formal livelihood, help reach out commerce to far parts of India," he said. Tata Trusts, chaired by Ratan Tata, has tied up with Google and Intel to help women access the internet in large numbers under this initiative .Called “Internet Saathi”, the programmewill allow rural women and their communities to use the Internet and benefit from it in their daily lives.The initiative will provide basic training on the usage and benefits of Internet for women through specially designed Internet cycle carts which will be used to visit areas in villages where women can easily access and also learn more from the Internet.Built on the back of a cycle, the Cart is modeled on India's traditional distribution system that is used to carry everything from ice-cream to industrial supplies. The initiative will kick off from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Jharkhand and will be rolled out across the country eventually reaching out to over 4500 villages and 5 lakh women and rural communities across rural India over the next eighteen months. The internet Cart would be available in the village for a minimum of two days every week for over a period of four to six months.3-way InitiativeThe initiative will also be supported by Intel who has been a long term partner of Google India’s Helping Women Get Online initiative. “We believe that the vision of Digital India will empower every Indian citizen with equal opportunities irrespective of cast, creed and gender. At Intel we believe that skill development and innovation are imperative for realizing the Digital India vision and we are very proud to collaborate with Google and Tata Trusts on the ‘Helping Women Get Online’ initiative especially as we celebrate the Digital India Week.” said, Debjani Ghosh, Vice President SMG, Managing Director- South Asia, Intel. The three-way initiative comes on the heels of Digital India programme launched on Wednesday by Modi, who pitched for a digital revolution in the country. Modi also exhorted the industry to boost domestic production of electronic devices, which account for second largest imports, under the 'Make in India' programme. Country's top industrial houses have pledged to invest over Rs 4.5 lakh crore under 'Digital India'. Reminiscing how people were forced to wait for up to 10 years to get a phone connection during his childhood, Tata said deeper penetration of the phone has empowered the entire population now. Benefits in terms of finding one's identity, self-respect and access to knowledge because of the phone are "unbelievable", he said. Executives from Google said even though growth in women users is out-pacing that of men in urban areas, women account for only a tenth of the total rural Internet users. Under the "Internet Saathi" programme, 1,000 specially designed bicycles having connected devices will give villagers an experience of Internet over a period of four to six months. The initiative aims to cover 4,500 villages over the next 18 months, starting with Gujarat, Rajasthan and Jharkhand and targets to reach out to about five lakh women.
Read More
Australian coffee manufacturer, FreshFood signed a pact with global enterprise software vendor, Ramco Systems to replace its legacy system with a mobile-based postmodern ERP. Ramco’s partner, Megasoft played a vital role in this engagement.Share of Ramco System has seen a 14 per cent jump immediately after the contract has been signed, BSE reported.John Elliott, Business Director – ANZ, FreshFood Management Services Pty. Ltd., said, “Having expanded into multiple facets including manufacturing, trading, marketing, field force integration and distributing coffee in all its forms, we needed a technology partner who can integrate our businesses and power its future growth. In Ramco, we found a platform which is comprehensive and scalable to meet both our current and future business needs.”FreshFood will be implementing a comprehensive ERP suite including finance, supply chain, production, maintenance, sales and shipping, and CRM. Also, it has plans to implement Equipment Rental Management software from Ramco to manage and keep track of large number of coffee machines – rented/leased to business partners.Ramco's end-to-end solution will streamline FreshFood's business functions, and will enable a seamless flow of information, provide much needed process integration, resulting in improved speed of business.Ken Kwek, Finance Head, FreshFood Management Services Pty. Ltd., added, “Ramco ERP will help us reset our processes with best practices, which will then lead to improved efficiency and better operational insights. It will help us move towards dashboards and role-based workspaces, adoption of mobility, flexible advanced reporting, and vastly improved management by exception in real time. We are delighted to begin this journey with Ramco and Megasoft.”Ramco ERP on Cloud as a post-modern and single integrated ERP platform has been delivering significant innovation, cost savings, and superior business processes to organizations, globally. Ramco’s focus on innovations in usability, context-awareness, mobility, overall flexibility, apart from comprehensive set of functionality has enabled smooth transitions possible for customers. Virender Aggarwal, CEO, Ramco Systems, said, "As a relatively new vendor in the market, we beat global brands and are replacing a well-established legacy vendor at FreshFood. With Cloud and postmodern ERP gaining traction, there is a good market opportunity opening up for replacement of legacy systems.”
Read More
Facebook has just launched its 2G-friendly app on Android. The social giant says demand for the app is strong in India and many have downloaded through workarounds even before it’s been available officially on the Play Store. Facebook Lite’s Vijay Shankar talks about how Lite is different from regular and Facebook’s plans for the app.
Read More
Atos, digital services company, has completed the acquisition of Xerox's ITO (Information Technology Outsourcing) business. The net purchase is priced $ 966 million (€ 811 million), composed of $950 million and an additional amount of $50 million following the occurrence of certain events prior to closing, plus $100 million representing the estimated present value of future tax benefits to Atos.Net debt items and closing adjustments amounted to $ 134 million to be confirmed within 90 days.Since the announcement of the acquisition in December 2014, Atos and Xerox ITO teams have worked together to ensure operational readiness on the first day after closing. As a result, Atos now has the ability to offer its European and US clients the necessary presence to better support their digital transformation needs anywhere in the world. Atos will leverage the Xerox ITO customer centric approach and Atos’ industrial capacities and portfolio of cutting-edge services and technologies, particularly in Cloud, Big Data, Cyber-security, and in High Power Computing to support clients handle the massive volumes of data generated in the digital world.Thierry Breton, Chairman and CEO, said, “Today marks a major step in the development of the Atos Group, as we welcome 9,600 Xerox ITO employees to Atos. With the US now our largest market, we have a stronger and more balanced global presence, which combined with our digital skills, allows us to be the trusted partner for our clients’ digital journey anywhere in the world.”The net purchase price totaled $966 million (€ 811 million), composed of $950 million and an additional amount of US$ 50 million following the occurrence of certain events prior to closing, plus $100 million representing the estimated present value of future tax benefits to Atos. Net debt items and closing adjustments amounted to $134 million to be confirmed within 90 days.With circa $2 billion revenue, North America becomes the largest geography for Atos where it is now ranked number 9 in ITO services.Atos today enters into a worldwide strategic collaboration with Xerox – a global business services, technology, and document management company – and becomes one of Xerox’s primary IT services providers.Michel-Alain Proch, Group SEVP, who has been appointed CEO for North America operations added: “Together with Xerox teams, we have worked extensively to be ready from day one post-closing and we are now fully operational to ensure continued delivery of services to our clients while at the same time leveraging the combined strengths of the two groups for profitable growth.”
Read More
Bengaluru-based IT infrastructure services company NxtGen Datacentre & Cloud Technologies has raised $13.5 million from International Finance Corporation (IFC), as part of series B funding for expansion activity.The financing will be used to complete a data centre project in Bengaluru and increase further investments into cloud infrastructure.A. S. Rajgopal, CEO, NxtGen, said, "This second round of funding, will enable us to further strengthen our growth plans in India and initiate our international strategy".NxtGen which provides cloud services and IT infrastructure service, has two data centres in India - in Mumbai and Bengaluru - and has offices in four major metros Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi. It has 105 employees and 200+ channel partners taking its services to market. And will expand it services across the globe such as Abu Dhabi and Sri Lanka.The Telecom, Media & Technology (TMT) group at IFC focuses its investments on mobile, broadband, and infrastructure sharing. Independent datacenters fit well into IFC's strategy as they are an integral critical component of the telecom infrastructure, and allow for the evolution of an IT ecosystem in local economies. IFC's TMT group has invested in five other datacenter companies in emerging markets - GDS/EDC-China, Teraco-South Africa, iXcellerate-Russia, DeNovo-Ukraine and Zenium-Turkey.Atul Mehta, IFC Director for Telecom, Media, and Technology, Venture Capitals and Funds, said, "Affordable and effective IT infrastructure colocation and cloud computing services are increasingly important for digital inclusion and economic development. Built to top industry standards, NxtGen's data centers will support India's growing need for data consumption, incur capital savings for businesses, and boost direct and indirect job creation."
Read More
India software market registered a stable year-on-year growth of 10.0 per cent on India Software Tracker for 2H 2014, revealed International Data Corporation (IDC).However, the market is expected to gain a steady momentum starting 2016 and beyond as deals would have closures and implementation would start. Some of the reasons for the stable growth include a steady double digit growth for the top vendors such as SAP, Microsoft, Oracle, IBM and Synopsys cornering more than 60 per cent of the total share. More investments are expected to pour in from sectors such as government, manufacturing and retail among others.“Some of the larger software vendors restructured their organisation in line with the emerging technologies and re-aligned their strategies to capture the mindshare in the growth markets such as SMB, cloud, analytics and mobility. This has worked quite well for them and they have managed to grow inspite of the uncertainty in the market," says Shweta Baidya, Senior Market Analyst, Software, IDC India.The Indian IT Software market is segregated into three primary markets which include Application Development Deployment (AD&D), Applications and System Infrastructure Software (SIS). The total AD&D market grew by 9.5 per cent year on year while applications market pegged a growth of 10.8 per cent year-on-year and SIS market grew by 8.5 per cent yyear-on-year during the second half of calendar year 2014.Some of the major transformational projects kick-started by the Government, including Digital India, Make in India, Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana etc. have already pushed the adoption in other sectors too. Further, Small & Medium Enterprises (SME) segment is the new sweet spot for most of the vendors who are trying to push their Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings among SMEs through their various partnerships.IDC expects the software market to grow at a healthy pace in the next five years (2015-2019) with a CAGR of 10.6 per cent. Some of the software categories that will trigger the uptake include mobile applications, in-memory analytics, database security and privacy, open source applications, DLP, encryption, application security among others.Operating System (OS) upgrades by customers along with bundled Office offerings and Office 365 uptake contributed to Microsoft growth during the review period. Oracle gained steady foothold across verticals which adopted cloud solutions to manage their workforce, and integrate their CRM applications with ERP to get a holistic view of their customers. SAP registered a robust growth owing to migration of its existing customers to SAP Cloud powered by its in-memory platform, SAP HANAManufacturing, Banking, Finance, Securities and Investment Services (BFSI), IT/ITeS and Communication & Media were the top verticals which invested in next generation solutions to gain a competitive edge in the market. Some other sectors that have shown strong inclination towards IT adoption includes retail, government, entertainment and hospitality sector.The Union Government has a clear focus on leveraging technology for transformational projects and help improve infrastructure, build smart cities, address urbanization, revive manufacturing sector among others.Manufacturing companies are making an effort to integrate social media platform with the back end systems to implement feedback during the production stage itself and enhance customer offerings. Telematics and Robotics are some of the other areas where the Manufacturing sector is beginning to display interest and discussions have started with the vendors for long term gains.Use of big data analytics in the retail industry has helped companies to track information generated across multiple platforms such as CRM, Supply Chain Systems, Sensor Data, e-mails, Adsense Analytics and the likes to identify the latest trends and buyer sentiments and re-align their inventory levels accordingly.
Read More
