Thursday, March 28

Tag: Cyber security

How to Protect Your Small Business from Cyber Threats
Tech

How to Protect Your Small Business from Cyber Threats

If you’re like many small business owners, you might think you don’t need to worry about cyber attacks. Eighty-two percent of small business owners have said that they don’t think they need to implement cybersecurity measures because they don’t think their company information is worth stealing. Think again. Small businesses are very vulnerable to cyber threats, precisely because they think they’re not worth a hacker’s time. Data breaches affecting large companies may get all the press, but big corporations like Target and even government agencies know they’re at risk, and they have the budget to to easily implement comprehensive and sweeping threat detection and prevention plans. Small businesses are easier targets because many don’t even bother with cybersecurity measures, and the inf...
Pentagon awards Microsoft $10 Bn ‘War Cloud’ Deal
USA

Pentagon awards Microsoft $10 Bn ‘War Cloud’ Deal

The Pentagon has awarded Microsoft a USD 10 billion cloud computing contract called JEDI. The contentious bidding process for the contract pitted Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle, among others, against one another. Bidding for the huge government contract has attracted more attention than usual, sparked by speculation early in the process that Amazon would be awarded the deal. Tech giants Oracle and IBM pushed back with their own bids. Oracle also challenged the bid process in federal court but lost. The resulting system will store and process vast amounts of classified data, allowing the US military to use artificial intelligence to speed up its war planning and fighting capabilities. The Department of Defence emphasized in an announcement that the process was fair and followed ...
Avast CEO to step down; annual results miss expectations
News

Avast CEO to step down; annual results miss expectations

Cyber security firm Avast’s long-time chief executive officer is stepping down, the company said on Wednesday as it reported marginally lower-than-expected adjusted revenue and earnings in its first annual results since listing in May. Avast said Vince Steckler plans to retire in 2019 after 10 years in the top job and will be succeeded by Ondrej Vlcek, currently president of the company’s consumer business. Steckler, widely considered to be the architect of Avast, led the company through the major acquisition of AVG and its listing on the London Stock Exchange. He is credited with having grown the company’s revenues from under $20 million to over $800 million. He will step down on June 30 but will remain available in an advisory capacity for another year. Vlcek, who started a...
Isreal seeks help from India and others to build cyber sheild
MIDDLE EAST, News

Isreal seeks help from India and others to build cyber sheild

Middle East country Israel is partnering with several countries including India to develop state-level cyber shields via its nodal agency Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD). According to Yigal Unna, director general, INCD, Isreal garners 20% of the total global private investments in cybersecurity and is now looking to strengthen its partnership with global nations to make its cyber world safer and more robust. Speaking in the context of increasing cyber threats, Unna said that they are becoming “bigger in quality and volume”. Unna further said that country's securing cyberspace of the country is one of the main objectives of the directorate, which today is a consolidated body after the merger of the National Cyber Authority and the National Cyber Bureau. Isreal strongly ...
Indian Government Issued Warning Against These 42 Chinese Mobile Applications
News

Indian Government Issued Warning Against These 42 Chinese Mobile Applications

Earlier this week, Indian government as per some reliable inputs has found that these 43 Android and iOS apps developed by Chinese developers are reportedly either "spyware or other malicious ware." A country wide advisory has been sent to all field formations of the Army and paramilitary forces warning of a cyber attack through mobile phones. The advisory comes in the wake of inputs received by the Union Home Ministry from agencies like the R&AW and NTRO. The advisory says, "As per reliable inputs, a number of android/IOS apps developed by Chinese developers or having Chinese links are reportedly either spyware or other malicious ware. Use of these apps by our force personnel can be detrimental to data security having implications on the force and national security." However ...
Kaspersky CEO Says He Would Leave If Russia Asked Him To Spy
USA

Kaspersky CEO Says He Would Leave If Russia Asked Him To Spy

The founder of Moscow-based anti-virus software company Kaspersky Lab said on Tuesday he would quit Russia if its intelligence agencies ever asked his company to spy for it. CEO Eugene Kaspersky said accusations his software had been used by Russian spies to steal American secrets had caused the company’s revenue to decline in North America, but said it was still growing in other parts of the world. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has banned government agencies from using Kaspersky Lab software, after concluding that the company’s anti-virus software had been used to copy sensitive files with American secrets. The company and its founder Eugene Kaspersky have strongly denied they ever cooperated with Russian intelligence, although they have said their software inadvertent...
80 Customised Phones with Reliance Jio SIM Cards Given to Top Indian Government Officials
INDIA, News

80 Customised Phones with Reliance Jio SIM Cards Given to Top Indian Government Officials

New Delhi: At least 80 high-end Google Pixel “customised” phones with Reliance Jio SIMs have been given to top bureaucrats on a “trial” basis to ensure secure communication among them, according to a person in the IT ministry. The home ministry had drawn up a list of 100 officials from multiple ministries for the purpose, and 80 of these Google Pixel phones have been handed out so far, the person aware of the matter said. The rest 20 units are in the pipeline, he added. The project is at a ‘pilot’ stage and the sample distribution is for measuring the performance and security of the device. The Google Pixel phones were found to be compliant with the specifications given by the home ministry, and the “customisation” of the 4G phones was undertaken by the Centre for Development of Adva...
Cyber Security Startup Sequretek Raises $2 Million
FUNDING

Cyber Security Startup Sequretek Raises $2 Million

Cyber security start-up Sequretek today said it has raised funding from GVFL and Unicorn India Ventures. While the company did not disclose the size of the funding, sources said Sequretek has raised under USD 2 million in fresh funding in the series A. The Mumbai-based company plans to use the funds for further building on intelligence within their current product offerings and foray into new markets within India and outside, Sequretek said in a statement. Launched in 2013 by Anand Naik, Sequretek offers a suite of products and services to enterprises for securing information. Its clients include HDFC Bank, IDBI Federal, HDFC Limited and NCDEX as well as companies in sectors like retail, pharma and IT-ITeS. The founders had pumped in about Rs 4.5 crore in 2013 and raised USD...
IIT Bombay Incubated Lucideus Tech Raises Funds From Angel Investor
FUNDING

IIT Bombay Incubated Lucideus Tech Raises Funds From Angel Investor

Cyber security service provider Lucideus Tech has received angel funding from Amit Choudhary, director of Motilal Oswal Private Equity Advisors. The start-up, which was incubated by IIT-Bombay, has previously received funding from Anand Chandrasekaran (former Snapdeal chief product officer) and Flipkart chief financial officer Sanjay Baweja. It helps enterprises assess risks to their IT infrastructure. "Typically, our angel investors have invested in the range of about USD 50,000-100,000 individually," Lucideus co-founder and CEO Saket Modi said without disclosing the size of the latest round of funding. Lucideus will use the funds for expanding its team and business operations. "The funding has also to do more with the mentorship that our angel investors provide. We have st...
Vahanalytics Raises $200000 Seed Funding From Venture Catalysts
FUNDING

Vahanalytics Raises $200000 Seed Funding From Venture Catalysts

Vahanalytics, a tech-driven startup aimed at making Indian roads safer and better has raised USD 200, 000 through Venture Catalysts, India's first Seed Investment and Innovation Platform. The investment was led by prominent VCats angels Vikram Lakhotia and Anirudh Damani. With driverless smart cars increasingly being explored as a viable medium to improve the on-road transportation efficiency by tech giants around the world, the investment into Vahanalytics is aimed at addressing a global problem on a local scale. Speaking on the investment, Dr. Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Co-founder, Venture Catalysts, said, "Data analytics in transportation using telematics is the need of the hour. The space is extremely exciting and opens the door for almost limitless possibilities for implementation. The...
Apples Cook Meets PM Modi, Concluded a Four Day Trip to India
News

Apples Cook Meets PM Modi, Concluded a Four Day Trip to India

On last day of his maiden trip to India, Apple CEO met PM Modi on Saturday. Showing interest in making Apple products in India, the global technology giants chief Tim Cook discussed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the "possibilities of manufacturing" and tapping the young talent pool in the country. On his maiden visit to India, the Apple CEO also discussed with Modi issues regarding cyber-security and data encryption. "Cook shared Apple Incs future plans for India. He spoke of the possibilities of manufacturing and retailing in India. He appreciated the breadth of young talent in India and said the youth have significant skills which Apple would like to tap," an official statement said. The head of the US-based Apple, which makes iconic iPhones and Mac computers, has al...
Meet Reuben Paul, A 9-Year-Old Indian Boy Who Is Both A CEO And Cybersecurity Expert!
Story

Meet Reuben Paul, A 9-Year-Old Indian Boy Who Is Both A CEO And Cybersecurity Expert!

At his age, boys are just stepping into the fantasy world of Hogwarts and beginning to identify with the Wimpy Kid, but Reuben Paul has his eyes on the rain the green code rain of The Matrix. The third-grader is already an accomplished hacker, app developer, cybersecurity expert, and, not surprisingly, CEO of a game development firm, Prudent Games. In hacker circles, he is also a respected speaker, who shares his wisdom from the dais while standing on a chair hidden behind the lectern. On Thursday, the smiling nine-year-old from Austin, Texas was back in action at Ground Zero Summit 2015, a meeting of cybersecurity experts and researchers, at one of the biggest hacker conferences in the world. Last year, he had delivered his keynote on November 14, Children's Day, but this time he's her...