Anti-virus products not good enough to beat computer viruses

The anti-virus industry has a dirty little secret: Its products are often not very good at stopping viruses. Consumers and businesses spend billions of dollars every year on anti-virus software. But these programmes rarely, if ever, block freshly-minted computer viruses, experts say, because the virus creators move too quickly. That is prompting start-ups and other companies to get creative about new approaches to computer security.
"The bad guys are always trying to be a step ahead," said Matthew D Howard, a venture capitalist at Norwest Venture Partners who previously set up the security strategy at Cisco Systems. "And it doesn't take a lot to be a step ahead."

Computer viruses used to be the domain of digital mischief-makers. But in the mid-2000s, when criminals discovered that malicious software could be profitable, the number of new viruses began to grow exponentially. In 2000, there were fewer than one million new strains of malware, most of them the work of amateurs. By 2010, there were 49 million new strains, according to AV-Test, a German research institute that tests anti-virus products. The anti-virus industry has grown as well, but experts say it is falling behind. By the time its products are able to block new viruses, it is often too late. The bad guys have had their fun, siphoning out a company's trade secrets, erasing data or emptying a consumer's bank account.

A new study by Imperva, a data security firm in Redwood City, California, and students from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is the latest confirmation of this. Amichai Shulman, Imperva's chief technology officer, and a group of researchers collected and analysed 82 new computer viruses and put them up against more than 40 anti-virus products, made by top companies like Microsoft, Symantec, McAfee and Kaspersky Lab. They found that the initial detection rate was less than 5%.

On average, it took almost a month for anti-virus products to update their detection mechanisms and spot the new viruses. And two of the products with the best detection rates - Avast and Emsisoft - are available free; users are encouraged to pay for additional features. This despite the fact that consumers and businesses spent a combined $7.4 billion on anti-virus software last year - nearly half of the $17.7 billion spent on security software in 2011, according to Gartner.

"Existing methodologies we've been protecting ourselves with have lost their efficacy," said Ted Schlein, a security-focused investment partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. "This study is just another indicator of that. But the whole concept of detecting what is bad is a broken concept."

Part of the problem is that anti-virus products are inherently reactive. Just as medical researchers have to study a virus before they can create a vaccine, anti-virus makers must capture a computer virus, take it apart and identify its "signature" - unique signs in its code - before they can write a programme that removes it.

That process can take as little as a few hours or as long as several years. In May, researchers at Kaspersky Lab discovered Flame, a complex piece of malware that had been stealing data from computers for an estimated five years. Mikko H Hypponen, chief researcher at F-Secure, called Flame "a spectacular failure" for the anti-virus industry. "We really should have been able to do better," he wrote in an essay for Wired.com after Flame's discovery. "But we didn't. We were out of our league in our own game."
Symantec and McAfee, which built their businesses on anti-virus products, have begun to acknowledge their limitations and to try new approaches. The word "anti-virus" does not appear once on their home pages. Symantec rebranded its popular anti-virus packages: Its consumer product is now called Norton Internet Security, and its corporate offering is now Symantec Endpoint Protection.

BPO companies report decline in women workforce: Assocham

ITeS-BPO companies  have registered a significant decline in work productivity during the last fortnight as one in three female workers have either reduced working hours after sunset or quit jobs after the Delhi bus rape incident, says a quick random survey undertaken by Assocham Social Development Foundation (ASDF).

In Delhi-NCR alone, BPO-ITeS have been affected to the extent of 40 per cent. There are about 2,200 ITeS and BPO units in this region, where over 2.5 lakh women work.

What's more, the incident has impacted the productivity of the women workforce not only in Delhi-NCR region but also in major cities like Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur and Dehradun. Assocham surveyed 2,500 women and they said it was due to long hours and shift jobs.

The survey says that nearly 82 per cent of the women respondents said they have started leaving early after the sunset. The anxiety is more among those women who travel by buses, chartered buses, three-wheelers and metro is the most after sunset. About 89 per cent of those participating in the survey in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Faridabad said they have begun insisting on leaving offices on time, immediately after duty hours.

Majority of the respondents of Delhi-NCR marked the atmosphere not comfortable enough for them to work in BPO and ITeS sector, with some 67 per cent calling it 'bad'.

Assocham secretary-general D S Rawat said in a release that security is one of the major concerns for women who are working in the BPO, KPO and ITeS sectors. "The odd hours of work and the long distances of travel make women quite prone to difficult and often dangerous situations," he said.

A large proportion of the respondents (62 per cent) in Delhi-NCR are satisfied with the security arrangements made within and outside workplace, though approximately 38 per cent of the respondents answered in the negative.

In the absence of proper transport facilities by the organisation, commuting becomes a difficult task involving long hours. Nearly 82 per cent of females said they fear travelling in public transport at odd hours, especially at night, in comparison to only 22 per cent of men.

"In the survey, none of the women said that they had lodged a formal complaint to any kind of authority. There is a big difference therefore, in the crime reported and the actual experiences of women. Crime statistics only reflect those crimes that are reported to the police. Therefore, violence experienced by women on public transport never enters the crime statistics, even though it is serious and rampant," added Rawat.

In 2011-12, the IT industry had 52 per cent women in its workforce compared to 32 per cent in 2008-09. At the entry level, in 2007-08, 48 per cent were women compared to 62 per cent in 2011-12. The findings reveal that the BPO workforce is relatively young, the majority being less than 30 years. The mean age of the women employees in BPOs has been found to be 21 to 28- years, adds the Assocham survey.

How technology powers supply chain

Supply chain is about managing a network of several interconnected businesses that are involved in the process of delivering the product to the end customer. Throughout this process, flow of information from one stage to another plays a crucial role as it ensures effective decision-making at the planning and execution stages.

When it comes to the flow of information, no other tool or resource can do it as quickly and accurately as technology. This is true when it comes to supply chain as well.

Today, technology in supply chain is much more than just computers. It includes varied aspects, right from factory automation, enhanced communication devices, data recognition equipments to other types of automated hardware and services.

Companies have also started using technologies like advanced versions of speech recognition, digital imaging , radio frequency identification (RFID), real-time location systems (RTLS), bar coding, GPScommunication , Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), etc to improve their processes.

These IT-enabled infrastructure capabilities not only help organisations achieve higher efficiency, but also reduce cycle time, ensure delivery of goods and services in timely manner and improve overall supply chain agility.

Use of technology in three arenas
Organisations use technology in three broad areas namely transaction processing, supply chain planning and collaboration, and order tracking and delivery coordination. In transaction processing, companies employ technology to increase efficiency of information exchanged regularly between various supply chain partners. Typically, in this area, technology enables easy order processing, sending dispatch advice, tracking delivery status , billing, generating order quotes, etc.

Technology also helps in supply chain planning and collaboration, thereby improving the overall effectiveness of the process. Here, technology is used to share planning-related information like customer feedback, demand forecasting, inventory level, production capacity and other data. This helps in managing waste and inconsistency arising out of unpredictable and logistically demanding markets. According to Mr Prashant Potnis, GM - IT and Systems at Spykar Lifestyle Pvt Ltd, "Statistical capabilities enabled by technology like importing historical sales data, creating statistical forecasts, importing customer forecasts, collaborating with customers, managing and building forecasts, etc. bring accuracy to a company's demand plans."

Lastly, technology is also useful for order tracking and delivery coordination, as it monitors and coordinates individual shipments, ensuring delivery of the product to the consumer without errors.

Employing technology at all these levels no doubt comes at a cost. However, apart from reducing physical work, technology improves the quality of information, expedites information transfer, and increases and smoothly manages the volume of transactions. Yogesh Shroff, Finance & Supply Chain Director at Nivea India Pvt Ltd, agrees. "A combination of process changes and use of advanced technology can help companies gain better returns on marketing and sales investments, reduce cost, strengthen relationships across the value chain and retain customers," he says.

While most companies have employed technology to manage their supply chain today, they have realised that conventional methods have to be pushed beyond their peripheries to sustain in highly competitive environments and fields. If applied correctly, technology holds the potential to turn supply chain into a major differentiating factor for any company.

Acer to launch 7-inch Android 4.1 tablet at Rs 7,999 in India: Report

The competition in the budget tablet market seems to be getting hotter. Acer is reportedly all set to launch its upcoming Iconia Tab B1 for Rs 7,999 in India. The tablet is speculated to be rolled out in early 2013.

Previously, Wall Street Journal quoted a source as saying that Acer was working on a $99 tablet that will have a 7-inch screen with 1024x600presolution and run on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). A US Federal Communications Commission(FCC) application for the tablet revealed others specifications of the Google Nexus 7 rival, including 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 512MB RAM, 8GB onboard storage, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi as well as microSD support.

Though it made an appearance at US FCC, the tablet according to WSJ, is aimed primarily at emerging markets. Images of Acer Iconia Tab B1 surfaced on a Serbian forum and were confirmed to be real by WSJ's source.

Earlier in November, Asus-manufactured Google Nexus 7 was launched at Rs 19,999 in India, much higher than expected, considering that the device sells for $199 in US. According to a CyberMedia research, Micromax was the leader in the Indian tablet market in second quarter of 2012. In October last year, Manufacturers Association of IT predicts that the country's tablet market is set to grow by 40% till 2015-16, to 7.3 million units from 0.95 million units in 2012.

If Acer captures the attention of the Indian tablet buyers with its Iconia Tab B1, it is expected to give tough competition to Micromax's Funbook series, the leader in the tablet segment in India. It is widely expected that the Taiwanese manufacturer will showcase the device at Consumer Electronics Show, scheduled for Jan 8 to 11, 2013, in the US.

IT hubs coming up in Andhra‘s Tier-II cities

The Andhra Pradesh government is taking steps to promote Information Technology in the state, Minister for Information Technology and Communications Ponnala Lakshmaiah said today.

Addressing a gathering after laying foundation stone for IT Incubation Tower at Rushikonda IT Park, the minister said the state government had planned to project Tier-II cities as next-generation IT hubs.

The state government is planning IT Incubation Towers in Kakinada, Tirupati Warangal and Kariminagar, as well as one in Visakhapatnam.

In 2003, Andhra Pradesh IT sector had only 334 firms which earned Rs 5,025 crore from exports and employed 50,000 professionals. Today, the exports had touched Rs 53,000 crore, as 1,250 IT firms employed as many as 3.25 lakh persons, he said.

The Minister also said the state government plans to promote Visakhapatnam as electronic hardware hub. The government is creating Electronic Manufacturing Clusters and one such cluster would be opened in Parawada in the district.

Vice-president of the Rushikonda IT Park Association O Naresh Kumar said steps should be taken to ensure uninterrupted power supply to IT companies.

Microsoft acquires start-up id8: Source

Microsoft bought start-upid8 Group R2 Studios as it looks to expand further in technology focused on the home and entertainment, a person familiar with the situation said.

id8 Group R2 Studios was started in 2011 by Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor Blake Krikorian. It recently launched a Google Androidapplication to allow users to control home heating and lighting systems from smartphones.

Krikorian's Sling Media - which was sold to EchoStar Communications in 2007 - made the "Slingbox" for watching TV on computers.

Krikorian will join Microsoft with a small team, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported the acquisition earlier. Microsoft also purchased some patents owned by the start-up related to controlling electronic devices, the newspaper added.

Krikorian and a Microsoft spokesman declined to comment.

Krikorian resigned from Amazon.com Inc's board in late December after about a year and a half as a director at the company, the Internet's largest retailer.

Mid-tier IT companies may give small increment in 2013

Faced with continuing uncertainty in their largest markets, US and Europe, mid-sized technology outsourcing companies will give out tepid pay hikes and cut down on their campus hiring in 2013.

Coming out of a slow year when the IT industrysaw slowing revenue growth thanks to clients being more cautious about technology spending, software services exporters such as Infinite Technologies, Mastek, Mahindra Satyam andInfotech Enterprises said the pay hikes could be as low as 5% this year.

Compared to double-digit pay hikes till a few years ago, salary increments in India's $100-billion (Rs 5.5 lakh crore) IT industry has been consistently declining since the financial crisis of 2008, from which US and Europe is yet to completely recover. "Wage hikes for IT employees will be lower than last year due to slowdown in the US and European markets and pricing pressure from clients there," said BVR Mohan Reddy, chairman and managing director of Hyderabad-based Infotech Enterprises, which employs about 10,000 people.

It had given out average pay hike of 15% to its offshore employees and 3% to employees in onsite locations in US or Europe. "Hiring too will be lower compared to last year," Reddy said.

Indian IT companies typically give out salary increases during the first three months of the financial year that starts in April while campus job offers are made in November-December. IT firms hire close to 1.5 lakh students from campuses every year. But with large companies unable to predict near-term growth with any degree of certainty, industry watchers say they are doubtful about robust growth among larger IT companies, let alone tier-II firms.
"There are no signs of de-growth as of now, but companies have clearly become more selective about hiring," said Aditya Narayan Mishra, head of staffing business at human resources firm Randstad India.

Hyderabad-based Mahindra Satyam, for instance, said it plans to cut down on its campus hiring by 50% in the coming year due to the unpredictable business environment.

"You can be sure that it will be a muted year," said Hari Thalapalli, chief people officer at Mahindra Satyam, which gave 6.5% hike to offshore and 1.5% to onsite employees last year.

Thalapalli's concerns are echoed by other executives in the industry such as Farid Kazani, chief financial officer at Mumbai-based Mastek who said that as of now things look "quite muted."

"We don't expect a major increase (in pay hike) due to the on-going pressure in the IT sector," Kazani said. With large firms such as Infosys and Wipro offering meagre hikes and postponing hiring decisions, Kazani said mid-tier IT firms find it easier to retain employees. "There is no pressure to hire or offer wage hikes." Mastek said it will take a final call on pay hikes in a month's time.

Last year, the country's second-largest IT exporter Infosys had delayed joining dates of over 20,000 freshers and did not give pay hikes to its over 150,000 employees during the normal schedule, citing volatility in business environment. Its cross-town rival Wipro gave 8% average wage hike to its offshore and 3% to onsite staff. This year it will be below 10%," said Upinder Zutshi, chief executive officer at Infinite. "The coming year will be challenging.