Cyber-spies hack computers of 3 RP gov’t offices

Cyber-spies hack computers of 3 RP gov’t offices

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By DAVID DIZON/ abs-cbnNEWS.com | 03/30/2009 6:18 PM

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Suspected cyber-spies from the Chinese mainland have hacked into computers of at least three government offices in the Philippines as well as the Asian Development Bank office based in Manila, Canadian researchers said over the weekend.

In the study titled “Tracking Ghostnet: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network”, the research team Information Warfare Monitor said a cyber spy network based almost entirely in China has hacked into computer networks around the world, stealing classified information from governments and private organizations in more than 100 countries including the Philippines.

The Ottawa-based think tank, composed of SecDev Group and University of Toronto’s Munk Center for International Studies, said the cyber-espionage network compromised 1,295 infected computers in 103 countries. Thirty percent of the infected computers are considered high-value and include the ministries of foreign affairs of Iran, Brunei, Bangladesh, Latvia and Indonesia.

In the Philippines, the cyber-espionage system has infected one computer in the Department of Foreign Affairs, two computers in the Department of Science and Technology, one computer in the Bureau of International Trade Relations of the Department of Trade and Industry and at least one computer in the Asian Development Bank.

Two computers in the Embassy of Thailand in the Philippines were also infected with malware that allows hackers to steal sensitive data and take control of the computers. The study said the embassy computers were most likely infected in August 2008 after a spike in malware infections spread across 46 countries.

The cyber-espionage ring also infected computers of the Associated Press office in the United Kingdom, the Office of the Dalai Lama in India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretariat in Indonesia and Malaysia.

The Department of Justice on Monday said the alleged hacking of government computers in the foreign affairs, trade and industry and science and technology departments is a matter of national security.

“If you hack diplomatic exchange, that will affect national security,” Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez told reporters.

Gonzalez said he will order an investigation as soon as he receives confirmation of the alleged hacking incident.

DFA Spokesman Ed Malaya said the department “takes seriously reports such as this, and will carefully look into its details, including the methodologies used to arrive at their observation.”

“As part of due diligence, we will undertake all measures to maintain and ensure the integrity of our IT systems,” he added.

Cyber-espionage

The Canadian team said the GhostNet system directs infected computers to download a Trojan known as gh0st RAT that allows attackers to gain complete, real-time control of the computers. The infected file is usually a seemingly harmless Word or PDF file which, once opened, unleashes malicious code on the machine.

The code exploits a vulnerability in the user's computer, and uses it to order the computer to connect with a server somewhere else in the world. Once infected, hackers can search and download files and covertly operate microphones and web cameras attached to the computer.

The study found that the network was based almost exclusively in the Hainan province in China, although the researchers stopped short of saying the Chinese government was involved in the system.

In the study, the research team said it had not been able to ascertain the type of data obtained by the attackers apart from the basic system information and file listings of the documents.

It noted, however, that the system was focused on the governments of South and Southeast Asian nations.

“Many of the high confidence, high-value targets that we identified are clearly linked to Chinese foreign and defense policy, particularly in South and South East Asia. Like radar sweeping around the southern border of China, there is an arc of infected nodes from India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Vietnam, through Laos, Brunei,
Philippines, Hong Kong, and Taiwan,” the study noted.

The group, however, said the malware could have been deployed “by a random set of infected computers that just happens to include high profile targets of significance to China, collected by an individual or group with no political agenda per se.”

It said a single individual or group of individuals such as criminal networks could have targeted the high value computers for profit. It also did not discount the possibility that the network of infected computers could have been targeted by a state other than China, but operated physically within China to mislead authorities.

The researchers say their findings should serve as a wake-up call to policy makers, as they "demonstrate the relative ease with which a technically unsophisticated approach can quickly be harnessed to create a very effective spynet.” -- With reports from RG Cruz and Marieton Pacheco, ABS-CBN News

Dalai Lama thanks India for 50 years of hospitality

Dalai Lama thanks India for 50 years of shelter

17 hours ago

NEW DELHI (AFP) — The Dalai Lama thanked India on Monday for sheltering him and thousands of other exiled Tibetans who have been forced to flee their homeland in China over the last 50 years.

The Tibetan exile community has been based in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala since 1959, when the Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader, escaped over the Himalayas following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

"We are extremely grateful to this country for the past 50 years, for what the Indian government and the Indian public have done for us," the 73-year-old Buddhist monk told reporters in New Delhi.

"India has extended maximum help to the Tibetan community," he said at the opening of a photography exhibition to mark the anniversary of the uprising.

Dharamshala serves as the Dalai Lama's base. It also houses the Tibetan parliament, offices of the government-in-exile, and schools and cultural centres that teach the Tibetan language and traditions.

China has ruled Tibet since 1951, after sending in troops to "liberate" it the previous year

India predicts China war by 2017

India predicts China war by 2017
Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:25:14 GMT

The US and India have expressed concern over growing Chinese army power in the region.

The Indian army has predicted a war with its nuclear-armed neighbor China by 2017 as Beijing continues to strengthen its military muscle.

A secret military exercise, called 'Divine Matrix', by the Indian troops visualized a war scenario with China, the Hindustan Times reported Saturday.

"A misadventure by China is very much within the realm of possibility with Beijing trying to position itself as the only power in the region," a senior army officer told the daily following the maneuver.

An Indian military's assessment has outlined that Beijing would rely on information warfare (IW) to bring New Delhi down on its knees.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Pentagon released a report warning that China was busily trying to arm its forces with weapons that can be used to nullify the superiority of any naval and air power that could disrupt the balance of region.

China is concerned about growing ties between Washington and New Delhi. A controversial deal allowing India access to civilian nuclear technology has not been well-received among Chinese officials.

New Delhi, meanwhile, is suspicious of Chinese relations with India's long-time rival Pakistan.

India and China fought a brief but bloody war over border dispute in 1962 with a decisive victory for the Chinese.

Dragon’s Shadow over Arunachal

Beware of the dragon
I. Ramamohan Rao

Dragon’s Shadow over Arunachal
by R.D. Pradhan.
Rupa.
Pages 192. Rs 395.

IN March this year, the Tibetans in India observed the 50th year of the escape of the Dalai Lama from Tibet following the Chinese occupation of Tibet. They expressed the hope that the Tibetans, who are presently living in their homeland, would be able to live in peace and freedom.

It was perhaps, unintentional but timely, that we have a new book written by the first Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, R.D. Pradhan, entitled Dragon’s Shadow over Arunachal.

During his assignment between 1987 and 1990, Ram Pradhan and his wife travelled all over Arunachal by road and air, met people of all the 16 districts, each distinct from the other in its own way. They interacted with the tribal chiefs without patronising them. Pradhan was able to carry forward the efforts of Sir Verrier Elvin and the officers of the Indian Frontier Administrative Service in instilling in the people with a sense of belonging to India.

He discovered that many tribes from Arunachal, while having distinct traditions, had strong links with the rest of India. That there are temples associated with Bhishma, that Lord Krishna had married Rukmini, an Idu-Mishmi girl, and that every year on Makar Sankranti day on January 14, people from far off came to Parasram Kund, near Tezu, on the Lohit river for a holy dip.

As Governor, Pradhan studied India’s border problem with China.`A0Many have blamed Jawaharlal Nehru for trusting China. He entered into an agreement on Tibet in 1954 and helped China being ushered into the non-aligned meet at Bandung in 1955. Nehru’s efforts were directed to make China a strong friend of India, even though he was skeptical of Chinese intentions.

That Nehru was skeptical about China is brought out in the remark he made to G. Parthasarathi, who called on him on March 18, 1958, just before he left for China as Ambassador: "So, GP, what has the foreign office told you: Hindi Chini bhai bhai?`A0Don’t you believe it! I don’t trust the Chinese one bit, despite Panchsheel and all that. The Chinese are arrogant, devious, hypocritical and thoroughly unreliable. In fact, they have deliberately chosen to be anti-Indian. Your brief from me, therefore, is to be extremely vigilant about all Chinese intentions, policies and actions towards us."

Pradhan says Nehru was not naive in his personal assessment of China.`A0After the Longju incident in August 1959, in his letter to the Chief Ministers on October 1, 1959, he foresaw the tension erupting into conflict and warned the Army. The author quotes Kautilya to say that it is left to the genius of a country’s leadership to make "an ally or an adversary of a neighbouring state". Nehru made consistent efforts to turn China from an adversary to a friend, but he failed.

Nehru could never live down the wrong judgment he made about Chinese intentions to wage war against India in 1962. He died on May 27, 1964, a disillusioned man bequeathing the border issue to his successors. The Chinese were not able to deflect Indira Gandhi in 1971 when India decided to support the Mukti Bahini in Bangladesh. Over the years, India has gradually strengthened its economy and defences.

There was a distinct change in Chinese attitude towards India after the Sumdrong Chu incident in 1986 when India decided to open a post there in response to Chinese movements in the area. Efforts commenced to persuade Rajiv Gandhi to visit China.`A0

The author quotes what Chinese Foreign Minister Wu told H. K. Dua (then working for the Hindustan Times): "The objective of talks during Rajiv Gandhi’s visit could only be to arrive at an agreement on ‘principles’. Without such an agreement, he added, no border problem could ever be resolved."

Pradhan had the opportunity of briefing Rajiv Gandhi before his visit to China. The world witnessed the famous handshake of Deng Xiaoping with Rajiv Gandhi in Beijing in December 1988 followed by remarks to his ‘young friend’: "Starting with your visit we will restore our relations as friends." The agreement on ‘principles’ was worked out. The Joint Working Group set up then on the boundary question has been meeting ever since over two scores or more times.

The Chinese had agreed in 1988 that the two governments would identify where the Line of Actual Control is located along the Sino-Indian border. There has been no response by China on this matter for over two decades.

China has been laying claims to areas in Arunachal, particularly Tawang.`A0When it faced an international outcry before the Olympic Games, China expressed its appreciation of the Indian approach.`A0However, the tone changed soon after the conclusion of the games.

Pradhan points out that India has made the mistake of not developing infrastructure in the North East all these years.`A0The policy changed last year when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Arunachal, called it "Our land of the Rising Sun" and announced the implementation of projects costing Rs 100 billion.

The Chinese expressed displeasure over Manmohan Singh’s remarks, to which Pranab Mukherjee responded by saying that Arunachal was an integral part of India and the Prime Minister did not do anything that was not warranted by announcing schemes for the development of the region.

The author points out that unless we are careful "we may find the Dragon occupying physically the space in the North East. And the people of Arunachal face the threat".

Dalai Lama to pray for peace in India

New Delhi, March 28 (IANS) Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama will visit eight places of prayer and worship in the national capital Tuesday to pray for peace in India.
The Dalai Lama will go to the Gandhi Smriti, Acharya Sushil Muni Ashram, Chilla of Hazarat Nizamudin Aulia, Judah Hyam Synagogue, Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Mahabodhi Society of India and Birla Mandir, a statement from the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of the Dalai Lama said.

He will be accompanied by “some Indian friends” and “Tibetan colleagues”, the statement added.

“This will be first a gesture of gratitude and appreciation by his holiness on behalf of the Tibetan people on the 50th anniversary of his arrival into exile in India. It will also be a gesture, celebrating the diversity of India and its long history of inter-faith harmony.”

The day will also mark the culmination of the week-long Thank You India festival organised here to commemorate 50 years of the Tibetan community in exile.

The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 and his government-in-exile, which is not recognised by any country, is based in the Indian hill town of Dharamsala

IBMgmt Transcript for Week 10 - HGU

GLOBAL BUSINESS:

Global Business consists of transactions that are devised and carried out across national borders to satisfy the objectives of individuals, companies, and organizations. These transactions take on various forms, which are often interrelated.Primary types of international business are import-export trade and foreign direct investment (FDI). The latter is carried out in varied forms, including wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures. Additional types of international business are licensing, franchising, and management contracts.

STAGES IN PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN PLANNING:

When planning a promotional campaign, need to keep in mind that a campaign generally consists of three desired outcomes:
- Promotional message reaches the intended and targeted audience. - Message is understood by the audience. - Message stimulates the recipients and they take action.

Seven Stages:
Determine the target audience
Determine campaign objectives
Determine the budget
Determine media strategy
Determine the message
Determine campaign approach
Determine campaign effectiveness

PLANNING PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS:

Target Audience:
Cause related marketing.
Global image campaigns.
Research to determine multi-market target.


CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES:

1. Global Objectives
- General guidelines and control for broad based campaigns.
2. Regional Objectives.
3. Local Objectives
- Specific and measurable targets (awareness, image, market share) for individual markets.


THE BUDGET:

1. The promotional budget links marketing objectives with media, message, and control decisions.
2. Acts as a control mechanism.


MEDIA STRATEGY:

1. Development of media schedule
a. Target audience characteristics
b. Campaign objectives
c. Budget.

2. Media vehicle chosen based on
a. Media availability in market.
b. Product or service offered.


PRODUCT INFLUENCES:

Product advertising restrictions
a. National consumer protection registration.
b. Advertiser’s responses.

AUDIENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

Strategy is to reach the intended target audience with the minimum of waste.
Media distribution.

GLOBAL MEDIA:

1. Print publications.
2. Pan-regional Radio and TV
3. Important global media characteristics
4. Advertisers in Global Media.

Financing India $1 at a time

Washington, Mar 25 (PTI) India received remittances to the tune of USD 45 billion in 2008, making it the top recipient ahead of neighbouring China, according to a World Bank report.
However, remittances would decline by five to eight per cent this year to USD 290 billion, World Bank's 'Migration and Development Brief' said.

India received USD 45 billion in remittances last year followed by China, which got USD 34 billion, the bank said in a statement.

The other nations to receive high remittances include Mexico (USD 26 billion), Philippines (USD 18 billion) and Poland (USD 11 billion).

"Remittances will fall to USD 290 billion in 2009, from the last year's high of USD 305 billion.

"Even with a drop of 5-8 per cent, remittances will still outstrip private capital flows, expected to fall by half in 2009, and official development aid, typically around USD 100 billion," the multilateral lending agency said.

According to the World Bank, remittances flowing to developing countries from Russia, South Africa, Malaysia and India are "especially vulnerable to the rolling economic crisis". PTI

A video to watch

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=12582289&ch=4226720&src=news

MBA-teaching - build the person NOT the skills only

I just received this article. It certainly made my day. I had been teaching all these days and had been wondering if I had been doing the right things for the students. This article certainly supports my initiatives and vision of MBA-teaching - build the person NOT the skills only.

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Are MBAs the Problem?
9:00 PM Monday March 16, 2009
by Julia Kirby

It took only a few months, and now the search for culprits behind the current economic mess has arrived on campus. What caused the recession? America's business schools. As the New York Times points out, some of the most prominent poster children for the crisis and bailout are financial sector leaders who learned their management chops at top-ranked MBA programs. Naturally the question arises: just what are these people teaching?

As someone who's seen quite a lot of what business school professors focus on, I'm convinced that the curriculum is part of the solution, not the problem.

It still might be true that an MBA holder is more likely to focus too narrowly on investment returns--to the detriment of the greater good--than a non-MBA would. But it's not what they're learning that causes this, rather it's who they are. I say this in light of a concept that is familiar to educated managers: self-selection bias.
Why is it, after all, that aspiring managers choose to earn an MBA? Sure, they may deplore their current knowledge deficit, having gained skills in only one business function and industry.

But whether that's true or not, they've certainly figured out that the MBA offers an attractive return on investment. That payback can happen in different ways. The low-risk option is to enroll in a relatively inexpensive program on a part-time basis (especially when tuition reimbursement is available from one's employer). A higher risk, higher return option is to enroll in a top-ranked school, quit your job, move your family and pay maximum tuition for a chance to earn an elite degree.

You see where I'm headed. The type of person who has the appetite for this second kind of risk-reward equation--plus the brains to excel in a rigorous academic setting--is the same type that Wall Street firms have been so eager to hire. The financial sector hasn't valued people for what they learned in their top-tier business schools, but for the kind of intestinal fortitude that got them there, their willingness to make huge sacrifices, and the drive they have to attain that MBA, at nearly any cost.

That's suggests a correlation between the MBA and the financial sector meltdown, but not causation. So does that let top MBA programs off the hook? Not at all. As B-schools consider what to teach and how to teach it, they need to keep this self-selection bias in mind.

When building an MBA program, a great B-school used to ask: What does the average manager need to become a great manager? Now the B-school has to ask: What does the average manager who's motivated to enroll in a top-ranked MBA program need to become a great manager?

IBMgmt Transcript For Week 9 - HGU

ENTRY STRATEGIES: CHAPTER 7

When an organization has made a decision to enter an overseas market, there are a variety of options open to it. These options vary with cost, risk and the degree of control which can be exercised over them. The simplest form of entry strategy is exporting using either a direct or indirect method such as an agent, in the case of the former, or counter trade, in the case of the latter. More complex forms include truly global operations which may involve joint ventures, or export processing zones. Having decided on the form of export strategy, decisions have to be made on the specific channels. Many agricultural products of a raw or commodity nature use agents, distributors or involve Government, whereas processed materials, whilst not excluding these, rely more heavily on more sophisticated forms of access. These will be expanded on later.

MAJOR TYPES OF ENTRY STRATEGIES:

1. Exporting Strategies:
1. Indirect Exporting
2. Direct Exporting

· Independent Distribution.

· Sales Subsidiary.

2. Local Production
1. Licensing

· Company lacks time and knowledge for other strategy.

· Market potential may be too small.

2. Franchising

· Marketing program to include branding, logo etc. (a special form of licensing).

· Method of operation and other support.

3. Local Manufacturing Base

· Contract Manufacturing

· Assembly

· Full-Scale Production

3. Ownership Strategies:
1. Joint Ventures
2. Strategic Alliances
3. Collaborative Strategies
4. Mergers and Acquisition
5. Portal or e-Business strategies.

ENTRY STRATEGY ANALYSIS:

1. Cost estimating.
2. Asset levels estimating.
3. Forecasting Profitability.

STRATEGY CONFIGURATION:

1. Most entry strategies combined with some of the various entry options.
2. Deciding on the best strategy mix is called strategy configuration.
3. Business is the set up of just one legal business unit.

EXIT STRATEGIES:

1. Its company’s decision to actually abandon the market.

2. Many do so for a number of reasons:

a. Failure to meet profit objectives.

b. Changes in political, economic or legal environment.

c. Pressures from home market.

d. Need to conserve necessary operating resources.

IBMgmt Transcript for Week 7 - HGU

STRATEGIC PLANNING: CHAPTER 6

Strategic planning is a management tool used to help an organization do a better job and to ensure that member of the organization are working toward the same goals, to assess and adjust the organization's direction in response to a changing environment. The selected strategy is implemented by means of programs, budgets, and procedures.

Implementation involves organization of the firm's resources and motivation of the staff to achieve objectives. The way in which the strategy is implemented can have a significant impact on whether it will be successful. In a large company, those who implement the strategy likely will be different people from those who formulated it. Care must be taken to communicate the strategy and the reasoning behind it. Otherwise, the implementation might not succeed if the strategy is misunderstood or if lower-level managers resist its implementation because they do not understand why the particular strategy was selected.

 

GLOBAL MARKETING EVOLUTION:

The scope of marketing is broadened when the organization decides to sell across international boundaries, this being primarily due to the numerous other dimensions which the organization has to account for.

When organizations develop into global marketing organizations, they usually evolve into this from a relatively small export base. Some firms never get any further than the exporting stage. Marketing overseas can, therefore, be anywhere on a continuum of "foreign" to "global". It is well to note at this stage that the words "international", "multinational" or "global" are now rather outdated descriptions. In fact "global" has replaced the other terms to all intents and purposes. "Foreign" marketing means marketing in an environment different from the home base, it's basic form being "exporting".

 

GLOBALIZATION DRIVERS:

 

1.     Market Factors: New consumer groups, developed infrastructures, globalization of distribution channels.

2.     Cost Factors: Avoiding cost inefficiencies and duplicated efforts.

3.     Environmental Factors: Reduced governmental barriers, rapid technological evolution.

4.     Competitive Factors: Rapid product innovation, introduction, distribution.

  

 

THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS:

The Strategic Planning should clearly define objectives and assessment of both internal and external situation to formulate strategy, implement the strategy, evaluate the progress, and make necessary adjustments to stay on track.

 

MARKET AND COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS:

 

1.     Need to understand the structure of the global market industry; the common features of customer requirements and choice factors.

2.     Internal Analysis: To examine the readiness.

 

FORMULATING GLOBAL MARKETING STRATEGY:

  

1.     Formulation begins with a series of strategic decisions.

2.     Choice of competitive strategy: Cost leadership, Differentiation, Focus.

3.     Country Market Choice:

a.     Concentration or diversification.

b.    Factors in country markets selection:

·         The stand-alone attractiveness of the market.

·         Global strategic importance of the market.

·         Possible synergies offered by the market.

BT-Brinjal damages liver, pancreas, intestinal and even inter-generational

India shouldn't approve Bt brinjal: Analyst
Press Trust Of India / Mumbai March 02, 2009, 0:09 IST

Genetically modified (GM) food, including the latest Bt Brinjal, affects human health in various ways and should not be approved by India, latest studies have confirmed.

“Bt Brinjal, like many other GM crops, has recently been shown by independent analysis to impact health adversely,” a well-known food and trade analyst Devinder Sharma said here.

When GM food was tested on rats, the results were alarming and should not be allowed to enter India,” Sharma, from the Delhi-based Forum for Food Security and Biotechnolgy, said.

“The evidence linked GM food showed stunted growth, impaired immune systems, damages to liver, pancreas, intestinal and even inter-generational effects. Latest studies have confirmed that GM foods affect fertility as well,” he added.

If the consumers do not raise their voices and question the decision, to be taken by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) to approve Bt brinjal (genetically modified using a gram positive soil swelling bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis), it would create health problems, he cautioned.

“Normal brinjal and the Bt variety will have similar appearance and you may not be able to distibgusih it. You will not be able to exercise your informed choice of not eating Bt brinjal,” Sharma cautioned.