Hackers, ahoy!

Yeah well, Pune is cool too...

December 7, 2007

H/l: Hackers descending at city's ICC on Sunday
Intro: Country’s first computer hackers’ convention happens this week at Pune
CORRESPONDENT

From: Vrushali Lad

Mumbai: Reinforcing the city’s IT status, the country’s first ever convention for computer hackers – Club Hack – is all set to roll this Sunday at the International Convention Centre. Sadly, only computer systems geeks are invited and if you couldn’t make it this year, you can try in 2008.

Speaking to The Herald yesterday, founder of Club Hack, Rohit Srivastava said, “We got a great response to the convention, and from the papers we received since we opened entry in August this year, we have finalised 13 speakers. Of these, two are coming from overseas.”

The biggest boost to the endeavour, he said, was that of the 200 attendees pencilled in for the event, nearly 150 are Puneites. “We received a phenomenal response from techies in the city, as also other places like Bangalore and Hyderabad. We are hopeful that the one-day convention would be fruitful.”

Since the convention centers around the highly-sensitive area of computer system expertise – hacking, which is normally associated with cyber crime – the city’s police force will also be present in some number to “prevent any untoward incidents”.

Hackers are an exclusive band of people that are difficult to trace because they are not officially affiliated with any organisation. Said Rohit, who provides consultancy and training in information security, penetration testing and cyber crime investigation, “Some of the attendees are CEOs of top IT companies, while others are security researchers or even virus research analysts. We will have talks of one hour each on two parallel tracks.”

In today's tech-savvy world, hackers are in great demand by companies who hire them specifically for hacking purposes. "Through our convention, we would not be promoting the illegal aspects of hacking, but would be focussing on the technical and skills aspect. We are looking at presentations on Information Security," explained Tarun Chandel, Mumbai coordinator for the event.

Box:
What to expect at the convention:
- Amish Shah – The future of automated web application testing
- Ajit Hatti – Legiment techniques of IPS/ IDS evasion
- Chetan Gupta – Mining digital evidence in MS windows
- David Hulton – Faster PwninG assured: cracking crypto with FPGAs
- Dror Shalev – Crazy toaster: can home devices turn against us?
- Gaurav Saha – Vulnerabilities in VoIP products and services
- Rahul Mohandas – Analysis of adversarial code: the role of Malware kits
- Rohas Nagpal – 7 years of Indian IT Act: best cases
- Shreeraj Shah – Hacking web 2.0: Art and Science of vulnerability detection
- Sunil Arora – Backdoor 2.0: hacking Firefox to steal his web secrets
- Varun Sharma – Subtle security flaws: why you must follow basic principles of software security
Umesh Nagori – the future of automated web application testing
Visit http://www.clubhack.com/ for more details

Unmeritorious, technically deficient...phoooeeey!

December 5, 2007

H/l: State gets 5/13 on lake conservation proposals
Intro: Centre approves only five proposals; terms remaining as ‘technically deficient’
CORRESPONDENT

From: Vrushali Lad

Mumbai: The state will not be too happy with scoring just five out of 13 on the polluted lakes front. Looking to include 13 of its prominent polluted lakes under the National Lake Conservation Project (NCLP), Maharashtra has got approval on only five lakes.

The NCLP is a centre-initiated project for conservation and management of polluted lakes in the country, and under the project, funds are released in a phase-wise manner for the cleaning and upkeep of polluted lakes, as also the monitoring of pollution and closing down of polluting industrial units if any.

In the last approval phase during 2004-2005, 31 lake proposals received sanction under NCLP and funds of Rs 400 lakhs were approved. However, of the 13 proposals submitted by the government of Maharashtra to the Ministry of Environment and Forests earlier this year, only five have been approved for Rs 24.25 crores funding.

Minister for Environment and Forests, Namo Narain Meena informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply yesterday, that of the 13 proposals received, eight were rejected on grounds of being technically deficient or not falling within the mandate of the NLCP.
“However, five proposals for conservation have already been approved at a total estimated cost of Rs 24.25 crores.

The state government has been asked to scrutinise the remaining proposals at their level, keeping the NLCP guidelines in view and also to explore the possibilities of inclusion of some of these lakes in the State Conservation Plan through the state budget available for the purpose,” Meena informed the Sabha in the reply.

Ah, yes. We never thought of this one.

December 4, 2007

H/l: Airhostesses new conduits in passport scams?
Intro: 72 airhostesses under scanner; 1 arrested for attempting illegal passage of businessman to US
CORRESPONDENT

From: Vrushali Lad

Mumbai: Airline hostesses looking to transport relatives to the US and UK, for pleasure or for business, will be a worried lot from now on. A Jet Airways airhostess working in Mumbai was nabbed last week by crime branch officials for attempting an illegal passage of Ahmedabad businessman Rajesh Trivedi (32) to the US.

Trivedi, a computer professional, reportedly paid Rs 20 lakhs for a passport and visa, and was to pose as airline hostess Alia Rizvi’s (24) husband. Alia received some part of the money, and her role was to help in processing a fake marriage document and apply to the US Consulate for a visa.

Following this arrest, and after the US Consulate in Mumbai alerted cops since they “thought something was amiss” with Rizvi’s application to take her “husband” to the US on a “business trip”, crime branch officials have brought all such applications pending with the Consulate and made by airhostesses under its scanner.

As per figures furnished by the Consulate, said a senior official, 72 airline hostesses working with various reputed airlines have applied for the passage of their relatives to the US. “We are not saying that all these applications are fraudulent, but we are investigating each application for credibility,” he said.

However, quipped Rakesh Maria, joint police commissioner (crime), “The airlines are not to be blamed for their staff’s misdemeanours. That airhostesses are the middlemen for such scams shows individual entrepreneurial spirit.”

In this scam, Maria said, the crime branch has already arrested the main culprit, one Altaf Sayyad, an agent functioning out of a suburban office, apart from two other agents, one in Mira Road and the other in Ahmedabad. “We are still ascertaining if there more agents and middlemen involved,” he said yesterday.

Eight passports have been seized in this connection, apart from fake stamps and visas. “This same group has sent three people in this year to the US,” Maria added. In a related case, the crime branch has cracked down on one Aslam Panchal who is responsible for making 45 fake passports and for sending as many people to the UK in two years.

You STILL without a voters' card? Join the gang.

December 3, 2007

H/l: 3 crore voters still without ID cards
Intro: Electoral office hopes to finish the process by January 2008
CORRESPONDENT

From: Vrushali Lad

Mumbai: In a state with exactly 6,90,66,242 eligible electors, as per the office of the Chief Electoral Office, it is a bit unfortunate that only three crore voters have got their ID cards for the Assembly elections in 2009.

“But this is an ongoing programme, and we hope that by January 1, 2008, all assembly constituencies would be covered,” said Debashish Chakrabarty, newly-appointed chief electoral officer, Maharashtra state.

Chakrabarty was speaking to media persons at Mantralaya yesterday, and announced that throughout December 2007, his office would be involved in the summary revision of electoral rolls. “This year, the process was a bit delayed but we are confident of finishing on the appointed date,” he assured.

There are 25,46,527 new electors in the state, with 3,54,557 deletions. “There has been a net addition of 21,91,970 electors,” Chakrabarty said, explaining that these additions have taken the number of electors in the state to over six crores. “182 constituencies have already received the photo Ids,” he said.

During this month, citizens are advised to get enrolled if their names are missing from the list, make objections or bring to notice any mistakes in ID cards issued or even apply for inclusion online (see box).

So far, the office has partly completed the draft publication of electoral rolls containing photographs of each elector. “So far, of the 288 assembly constituencies, we have finished this particular work in 108 constituencies. We will complete this part of the process by June 2008,” Chakrabarty said.

“I advise that wherever these draft rolls have already been published, electors must check if their photograph is correctly used,” he added. Of the 108, the process has been completed in three Pune districts - Indapur, Baramati and Junnar.

Box:
- December 4, 2007: Publication of draft roll
- December 4 to 19, 2007: Dates for receiving claims and objections at designated locations
- December 8 and 9, 2007: Special campaign dates
- January 31, 2008: Final publication of rolls
In case of any discrepancies, contact your Electoral Registration Officer or Designated officer. Online applications are accepted only in constituencies with municipal corporations.

Mohalle mein kaisi maara maar hai...

I refuse.
Yes, I got your point.
I still refuse.
That makes you unhappy? Shucks, that's bad.
Look, don't tell me what to do. I'm not telling you not to protest or effect a ban.
Yeah well, bite me. I'm still here.
So just because I said 'mochi' you thought I was talking about you? Why didn't you think I was referring to you when I said 'sonar'?
Oh, though. I wonder what the sonars are thinking.
Or, for that matter, the halwais.
Or even those who set up stalls in the village bazaars. One more protest coming up, if not two or three.
I think my dalit brethren are more educated now than they used to be. More skilled, with access to more opportunity in education and in the workplace.
I know a lot of the supposed dalits, who are making more money than I am, are more talented, are richer and who're going places with the sheer force of their personality. Or karma, if you prefer it.
So why the intolerance?
And why go out of your way to take offense?
Especially when none was meant? I'm sure none was meant.
At least the Censor Board didn't spot it.
I mean, seriously.
I could take offense to the song, too. It's basically about a girl who's up to no good.
So by your yardstick, all of womanhood's dignity is at stake.
Which would be set right if the song itself was deleted.
The way your dignity was restored when two lines of a song, which is at best a mediocre song, were deleted.
Makes me wonder why your dignity, standing in life and basic existence are threatened by one word here, another line there.
Hate to say this, but now I probably understand how some of the 'oppression' happened.

Dip in HIV+ numbers, eh?

November 30, 2007

H/l: State anything but protected from AIDS threat
Intro: Drop in HIV prevalence among pregnant women; but rise in numbers among CSWs and male homosexuals. Fresh HIV+ infection every 20 seconds
CORRESPONDENT

Mumbai: Probably due to wide publicity and free distribution of contraceptives such as condoms, people in Maharashtra are at least more aware of HIV and AIDS, and there is a discernable drop in HIV prevalence among pregnant women as compared to year 2004-2005.

However, what is alarming is that the state registers a fresh HIV infection every 20 seconds, and is still ranked second, along with Karnataka, in the numbers of HIV-infected persons found. As per the 2007 AIDS Epidemic Update issued by the UN and WHO, “Data from extended sentinel surveillance for 2006 shows declined HIV prevalence among pregnant women in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, but a higher prevalence among sex workers, and rising numbers of cases among injecting drug users and men having sex with men in these states.”

Even more worryingly, evidence points to higher figures of HIV prevalence in the western belt of Maharashtra, and also in areas of high industrial activity. The Health Education To Villages (HVET), an initiative in collaboration with the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI), states that apart from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra state shows the fastest transmission numbers for the virus.

The HVET’s explanation for the high numbers of HIV-positive persons in the state is that Maharashtra experiences a high 41 per cent of migrations annually, especially to the cities. Due to this or otherwise, the state has one of the highest numbers of HIV-infected commercial sex workers (50 to 60 per cent) and a huge 24 to 40 per cent hospital bed occupancy by HIV positive persons.

Maharashtra has registered higher numbers for adult HIV prevalence for the ages 15 to 49 for both sexes, at 0.62 per cent, higher than the national average of 0.36 per cent, as outlined in the National Family Health Survey 3 (NFHS 3). In this respect, the state has outranked Uttar Pradesh (0.07%) and Tamil Nadu (0.34%).

On the upside however, more people are now aware of the AIDS menace, as compared to previous years. As per NFHS 3, a high 89 per cent of urban women and 70 per cent of rural women are aware of HIV/AIDS, while 97 per cent urban men and 80 per cent rural men are aware of these. Condom use has also shot up in the state, and the primary sources of information are mass media.

Box:
- First HIV positive case in India reported in 1986
- Predominant route is hetero-sex
- 30 to 40% males above 16 years of age sexually active
- Most well established sex industry in state (brothel to non brothel)
(source: www.hetv.org)

Fat. So?

Weighty jump for state
intro: The state is fatter this year, with men, women and children causing a jump in overall weights, say doctors
CORRESPONDENT
From: Vrushali Lad

Mumbai: Wake up before your child crosses the great obesity divide on World Obesity Day today. As per a study initiated by Mumbai and Pune-based specialist Dr Shashank Shah in four schools in Pune this year, a huge 13 per cent of students surveyed for basal weight showed a tendency towards moderate obesity.

“The findings were stunning. After a 3 ½ month Body Mass Index (BMI) study, we found that these children, who came from well known schools in Pune and from upper middle class and rich families, were doing everything wrong. They had faulty eating habits to sedentary lifestyles, which were pushing them towards obesity,” Dr Shah told The Herald.

Dr Shah, who practices at Ruby Hall Clinic in Pune and Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai, even spoke about an eight-year-old boy he operated on this year in Mumbai. “The child weighed 115 kgs and we had to operate to get his weight down to a normal 50 kgs,” he said.

Nowadays, say city doctors, schools are more interested in providing computers than playgrounds to children. Also, our kids are being pinned down to a life of little or no exercise due to tuition classes, piles of homework and a string of TV serials to watch.

Overall, there is a 25 per cent jump in numbers of obese children in the country.

And while you worry about the health of your fattening kid, the National Family Health Survey 3 (NFHS 3) has some scary news for the state’s women. Out of the 8,315 households studied in Maharashtra, for adults aged 15 to 49, 27.4 per cent urban women are obese while 24.4 per cent urban men are obese. In the rural areas, eight per cent women and 8.3 per cent men are obese.
So why are obesity levels for working adults increasing?

In Mumbai, a huge 34.6 per cent women are said to be obese, while men come a distant second at 25.1 per cent. “The rise of the IT industries and BPOs ensured that apart from longer working hours and lack of sleep, people would opt for off-the-counter junk food to save the time of packing lunches. More and more working people are having both meals out of the house, leading to more calories being consumed and no exercise to combat the spreading waistline, says Dr Shah.

On the other end of the spectrum, are men, women and children who are underweight and anaemic. As per NFHS 3, women with BMI lower than normal are 20.7 per cent in the urban areas, while their rural counterparts clock in a staggering 43 per cent. As for the men, 17.3 per cent urban men and 31.8 per cent rural men show low BMI. Of the state’s children, a huge 71.9 per cent are anaemic, while 39.7 per cent kids are underweight.

December is upon us

On the first day of December this year, yours truly completes 365 days of working for this organisation. Don't mind admitting this is a milestone for us, since I lasted precisely a) Six months at Times Response, my first job and b) 10 months at Mid Day, my second job when I quit the very same month they were doling out increments.

Oh well. Instead of things getting tougher, they actually got softer when I quit Job 2 to take up Job 3. One common thread is that I quit both my earlier jobs without having the next job in place, so that should indicate I am a bit of a risk taker. A useful quality in a reporter.

Also, contrary to what my bosses or colleagues or anyone else might think, I actually like working. And I love researching, even if it takes me two days to figure out a story and even if it eventually comes out as a single-column-no-byline thingy. What I don't like is people around me being useless and ending up wasting my time because they can't be arsed to work.

And also contrary to those who think they know me, think, I am seriously not that bothered about not having found a house yet, after umpteen tries and disappointments. I do not panic. I do not tear my hair. I keep looking. Yes, but I do inwardly swear at the prick who has a house near the one I live in with my parents and who decided, belatedly, not to sell. I hope he fries in oil.

But this year, I have generally been quite chuffed about life. Life's been good, life's been very exciting and harrowing and on an upwards, then downward spiral, but it has never been boring. Work is good most of the times, so is the family, and certainly so is the hubby. In fact, this year flashed by so quickly and so pleasantly, I am almost led into a sense of complacency that prompts me to think, My life will always be great because I am a great person born in great circumstances.

And with that Shiv Khera attitude to life, I shall now begin work for the day.

Intermediate enthusiast

Or rather, borderline maniac. That's me.

After a hard day's work, I returned to a silent home, an absent family, and a feeling somewhere that I would really like a hot cup of tea. After a mind-numbingly slow ride from Churchgate in a second class ladies' compartment (after ages, that), I took one look at the house, and instead of sighing miserably, changed into my tramp clothes and started working.

And as I hit the first key on the keyboard, all my boredom and fatigue just went away. And I had the most startling realisation - I can't stop working!

It's not like I'm too surprised, because having no work makes a grumpy bear out of me. But to actually feel happy having two stories to file for the next day, after filing a gazillion stories in office (and giving up on the remaining ones because I was tired) is surely not normal.

So that's me, people. I'm about to begin my first story already. A hot cuppa will get me started on the next one. Smokin'!

p.s.: Methinks the family should go away more often. The complete silence is actually helping me think.

Bhoof.

(Note: This post is dedicated to Poombashri, since she invented the word that is the title of this post. And also because this one word, to my mind, correctly sums up what I feel when I want to say 'Effing ___' but can't be arsed to.)

So anyway. There is nothing that takes the piss out of me faster than having no story to file on a Sunday. God knows there's nothing to file on a Sunday as it is, but this is crazy.

Also another thing to take the piss out of me is when I've been working/ goofing off/ sleeping with mouth open/ doing nothing internet-related and when I come back to check my Gmail, it very snootily tells me, 'You have been out of Gmail. You must log back in to enable services.' I swear if this was my kid hankering for constant attention and making me go out of the house and come back with a bucketful of candy just to get him talking to me again, I would hang him from the ceiling by his thumbs and whack his tush with a thin stick.

As it is, I punish Gmail by signing out entirely and logging onto Yahoo! with a :p directed at my fast-disappearing Gmail window. That generally fixes it.

Suffice it to say that Sunday takes the piss out of me. Why? Because nothing to do and no one to talk to in office have reduced me to playing Solitaire till my mouse finger hurts and I start being rude to my Gmail.

And also because there is no water in the loo because there's no one to start the motor. So it's actually great that there are other means to get the piss out of me, hyuk hyuk.