Technology

Cyber fraud:

You can be the next victim

by Gamini WARUSHAMANA

“Internet users face high risk of hacking, scam and various types of outside attacks to sensitive information of organisations but most computer users are unaware of such attacks,” said Senior Information Security Engineer of Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Response Team (SLCERT) Rohana Palliyaguru.

Palliyaguru said that people should report to SLCERT if a suspicious incident is happening in their computer systems, web sites or if they are receiving e-mails or doubtful transactions from their credit cards. The basic objective of setting up SLCERT is to receive such information, analyse them and take appropriate measures.

Computer frauds cause huge financial losses as well as damage the reputation of business organisations and individuals.

“Incidents happen in large numbers but users do not know that they have been victims.

Today SLCERT receives around 10-15 notifications of incidents per month.

The objective of our awareness program is to enable computer users to identify such incidents,” he said.

SLCERT was established in 2006 as a private limited company under the ICTA. It is a part of the e-Sri Lanka initiative.

The initial objective of SLCERT is to receive computer security responses from users.

However, later it evolved to a national organisation that provides computer security measures for government organisations, computer security awareness, vulnerability assessments, computer security policy development and for adopting compliance measures.

SLCERT is a member of Asia Pacific CERT and a full member of the Forum of Incident Response Security Team (FIRST).

SLCERT is also involved in forensic analysis of digital evidence and support the police and law enforcement authorities in handling computer criminals, provide computer evidence in cases such as credit card frauds, identification of fake passports and ID cards.

Palliyaguru said that the most frequently reported incident is website defacements.

In this case hackers enter into someone’s website and change the contents.

Websites of commercial organisations, political organisations and government institutions are frequently victimised.

If SLCERT receives information of such attacks we can investigate and find the cause of the incident.

Then a forensic investigation can be done to identify the person involved in the hacking, the reason for hacking and recoup the computer system minimising damage.

SLCERT also can consult organisations and provide solutions to prevent such cyber attacks to websites and information systems.

In some instances it is difficult to find the hackers because experienced hackers do not leave evidence and log details.

“To generate information we need the IP address of the website from the internet service providers, for which we need a court order. Some incidents are complicated and we need help of CERTs in other countries to find information. Sometimes the victim is in Sri Lanka but the offending machine is in another country or vice versa.

Phishing of websites is another frequent incident and in this case the server is compromised by an attacker without the knowledge of the owner.

If the attacker is in another country sometimes we get information from CERT in that country.

Phishing happens frequently in websites of banks and other organisations who are involved in online transactions.

But they do not report such attacks because it damages their image.

However, in developed countries this reporting system is well developed and a lot of information is received by CERTs and therefore they can take security measures and alert others on potential threats and take precautions.

Huge financial frauds are taking place in cyber space, the most recent incident is the lottery for US visa.

It charged US$ 10-15 per application and a lot of people who were victimised paid the money.

E-mail scaming is another threat and it is a dishonest attempt to trap you into parting with your money.

They may also approach you using different techniques using the media such as newspaper advertisements, magazines, journals and on line advertisements.

In ATM Card Scams the victim is promised an ATM card with which the victim can withdraw millions of dollars (including a large daily withdrawal limit) at any location that accepts ATM cards.

However, the victim must pay a fee to receive the card. If it is ever received, it will not work. A ‘Replacement Card’ will be offered, again for a fee.

In Disaster Scams the scammer says someone has been killed in a plane crash, earthquake, tsunami, or other disaster, leaving a large sum of money behind which can be claimed by the targeted victim or split between the targeted victim and the scammer on the condition that the scammer is advanced the monies necessary to process the transaction.

In Lottery Scams the scammer says the target has won a lottery, but fees and taxes must be paid before the proceeds can be released.

Work-at-Home Scam: Promises steady income for minimal amount of work, in medical claims processing, envelope-stuffing, craft assembly work, or other jobs. There is an enrolment fee that should be paid in advance.

Palliyaguru said that computer security can be ensured by adopting best practices.

You should use strong pass word protection, at least a password with eight characters including a mix of capital and simple letters, numbers and symbols and also you should change your password at least every six months.

This will avoid tracking. Secondly avoid using pirated software.

If you use pirated software hackers can insert a piece of software in to that software and run it without your knowledge and obtain information from your computer.

You should avoid sending sensitive information through unencripted emails.

Anti-virus software should be used and updated regularly.

Today genuine antivirus software are available at affordable prices.

You should not respond to scam e-mails and if you respond, you have nothing to gain but everything to lose.

Use a browser with anti phishing features.

It can warn you about bogus sites. Use e-mail software with anti phishing features. It can warn you about bogus e-mails. Run anti-malware or anti-spyware software and keep it updated on a daily basis.

You must also remember to verify any requests for money, Palliyaguru said.

Suzuki Laptops launched

Suzuki laptops and netbooks were launched by Network Communications (Pvt) Ltd, the ICT arm of the Adam Group of companies.

The company specialises in suzuki motor vehicles. Its brand of laptops and netbooks are specially designed for home and business requirements.They are affordable, and give the expected performance, said a spokesman for Network Communications.

“Suzuki offers a broad family of laptops and netbooks for a variety of uses. This includes high performance laptops for watching movies, playing music, sharing photos, extreme gaming and business office needs. Suzuki also offers ultra-portable laptops and netbook PCs that are lightweight and can be used almost anywhere. For any kind of lifestyle,at home or the office, Suzuki delivers an outstanding choice of laptops to suit your needs”, he said.

Suzuki laptops come with additional features such as intergrated web camera for video chatting, Wi-Fi technology for connecting to a wireless network or an internet hot spot, Bluetooth and memory card reader making technology fun.

Suzuki laptops are equipped with a special High Definition Light Emitting Diode (HD-LED) display with almost zero radiation which saves battery life. The laptop could be used for more hours without charging.

ITI on quality control for herbal drugs

Traditional knowledge on herbal drugs is invaluable in the Asian region.

If used properly it will open a million dollar global market.

A cinnamon bark

However, knowledge on herbs and today’s lifestyles has imposed limitations on the processing and use of these ‘old fashioned’ substitutes.

In addition the rules and regulations imposed by relevant authorities on efficacy and safety limited the local and international consumer markets for herbal drugs and cosmetics.

Therefore standardisation and quality control of herbal drugs for efficacy and safety has been identified as an important aspect which needs attention of the scientists as well as the regulators in this part of the world.

Identifying the need to disseminate knowledge researchers of the Herbal Technology Section (HTS) of the ITI organised a certificate course on quality control and standardisation of herbal drugs.

The course comprised of theory as well as practical sessions covering key topics from the need of quality control to analysis of contaminants in products and raw materials.

Need for quality control, substitution and adulteration of herbal drugs, efficacy and safety, global trends and foreign markets for Ayurvedic drugs, standardisation techniques, good agricultural practices and regulations related to the registration of herbal drugs were discussed in the first session.

In the second session, the focus was on practical training. Participants were trained on authentication of medicinal plants using macro and micro morphology, chromatographic analysis/chemical fingerprinting (TLC, GC and HPLC), chemical analysis, analysis of contaminants (pesticide residues, heavy metals, aflatoxin, microbiological purity) and marker compound isolation identification.

The course was a major step towards this important and new area of herbal drugs.

With technological development in the world,people started using synthetic drugs and cosmetics as opposed to natural products. But most of these synthetic materials have failed in the test of time and now people are looking for natural herbal substitutes used by our ancestors.

Fenner power transmission products for South

by Sapumali GALAGODA

Asgiriya Technologies (Pvt) Ltd the sole agents for Fenner power transmission products will establish itself in the South and then move to the North and East, said Director Col. Saliya Udugama.

He said that Fenner produts were available in the market earlier and is a well known brand worldwide,therefore introducing the produts in Colombo was easy. Appointing dealers in the South has now begun.

Fenner products include belt drives, vee belts, wedge belts, chain drives, couplings, pulleys and sprockets are ideal for medium and large scale machinery used in estates and the industrial sector, said Col. Udugama.

The product imported from UK is price competitive but not cheap.He said that the main advantage of using Fenner products is low down time.

In addition the company also markets Coopers bearings for shipping and industrial sectors and UPS batteries for the Information Technology sector.

The Fenner brand started life over 145 years ago in 1861 when Joseph Henry Fenner (J.H.Fenner) started his company to manufacture horse hair and leather power transmission belts.

In 1921 Fenner began developing woven textile belting and was soon producing some of the finest transmission belting available in the market.

J.H. Fenner grew consistently to become one of the largest suppliers in the country and the name became synonymous with quality hard wearing products, a feature that remains a corner stone of the brand today.

Many other complimentary products have been added to the range over the years, developed in J.H.Fenner’s own research and development centers based on existing technology from around the world.

This led to the introduction of such industrial standards as vee and wedge belt drives, taper lock shaft fixings and mechanical variable speed drives.

The company formed the first nation-wide bearings and power transmission service in the UK.

The Fenner quality assurance intiative is a world-wide commitment to quality.

It is a guarantee to customers, wherever they are located, that the quality of the products will meet internationally recognised industry standards. Col. Saliya Udugama started his career in the army and then moved to Sri Lankan Airlines.

He retired and started Asgiriya Technologies with two other directors.

Fibre optic network commissioned at ITI

A new fibre optic network was commissioned at the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) facilitating next generation technology applications at the institute, said a spokesman for ITI. In addition a new SLTE-1 link was also installed to provide efficient communication links to the world and within the institute. These measures will provide accessibility to the ITI and its services, said the spokesman.

Under this project isolated buildings were connected using multimode optical fibre terminated to a layer 2 switch in each building.

To minimize the network traffic the entire transmission domain was divided into multiple VLAN’s to minimise the broadcast domain.

The communication infrastructure facilities were also enhanced via the installation of SLT E-1 link with 200 virtual direct lines with DID (Direct Inward Dialing) and DOD (Direct Outward Dialing). “This improved communication facility will help to improve our business through better communication with our customers.The modernisation work of the ITI computer network with optical-fibre was completed under the guidance of Consultant ICT, Dr.Nimal Ratnayake”, said the spokesman.

Google boss Eric Schmidt on use of social media

Young people may one day have to change their names to escape their previous online activity, Google boss Eric Schmidt has warned.

Schmidt told the Wall Street Journal he feared they did not understand the consequences of having so much personal information about them online.

The firm has been busy bolstering its social networking presence recently. Google has acquired Slide and Jambool, two firms specialising in providing services for social networks. Slide is a gaming firm, whilst Jambool provides virtual currencies and payments. Google has also reportedly invested in another social network gaming firm called Zynga.

Many believe the acquisitions are a sign that the search giant is about to launch another social network. Some commentators have already given the rumoured product a name: Google.me.

It already owns two other social networks; Google Buzz, launched in February 2010 and its first foray known as Orkut.

Buzz proved controversial when it linked up with people’s Gmail accounts without asking their consent, meaning that their contacts were publicly visible.

Chairman GMCL Victor Ratnayake launches the website

GMCL launches website

Grameen Micro Credit Company LTd (GMCL) has been in the forefront of extending its expertise to eradicate poverty in Sri Lanka by providing small scale loans to the poor to uplift their standard of living through self-employment projects for over 10 years from August 13 the company uses its acronym - GMCL for promotional purposes and launched its website.

GMCL is registered as a Finance Company with the Department of Supervision of Non-Bank Financial Institutions Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

It provides Micro Finance facilities through its islandwide integrated branch network of 48 branches, including the North and East.

iPhone at risk from security flaw

The PDF exploit currently only exists in theory, although experts say that could change Security firms are warning of a vulnerability in Apple’s iOS for iPhone, iPad and iPod.Symantec said that it could be exploited by remote attackers to take complete control of a vulnerable device.

Experts said that the threat, at present, only exists on paper but that Apple need to issue a fix before it becomes a reality.

Apple said that the company was aware of the report and was investigating. The problem lies in the way Apple’s Mobile Safari handles Adobe Acrobat PDF documents.

Courtesy BBC News

Photo Technica upgrades digital camera dept.

Photo Technica, upgraded the hardware and software of its digital camera service department recently. Managing Director Harsha Malvenna said, “Generally, technology improves on a daily basis, so does cameras and its software and hardware. We sell cameras with a warranty and furnish a reliable after sales service. We must maintain our camera repair system conforming to current standards. We installed new fault diagnosing equipment, acquired latest software and trained technical staff.