India's CDAC, France's Atos Sign Rs 4.5-bn Deal for Supercomputer Network

India's Centre for Development of Advanced Computing and France's IT services company Atos Saturday signed a three-year industrial contract for designing, building and installing the BullSequana, its high-performance supercomputers, in the country.

The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Jean Yves Le Drian, French minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs and Ajay Prakash Sawhney, secretary - Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

It was signed between Hemant Darbari, Director General of C-DAC, and Pierre Barnab, chief operating officer - Big Data & Security at Atos.

Speaking at the ceremony, Jean said the agreement will deepen our bilateral ties.

"India and France have a strategic partnership and we are two nations that innovate a lot. It is true that supercomputers are a necessity and not a luxury. We often say that data for the 21st century is what oil was to the 20th century, we are using data in a massive way and that raises questions of ethics. India and France share not only interests but also values that require us to use technology for good for humanity," he said.

"India and France have the same vision of what cyberspace should and we would like to deepen our cooperation in areas of cyberspace in R&D or regulation for digital technology," Jean added.

This contract has been awarded to Atos under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), a scheme of Rs 45 billion, aimed at creating a network of over 70 high-performance supercomputing facilities for various academic and research institutions across India.

This contract is of special importance as Atos has become India's preferred industrial partner in a highly strategic field, according to a statement by the French Embassy.

The delivery of BullSequana supercomputers is expected to start in early next year, it said.

Infosys Signs Joint Venture with Japanese Hitachi, Panasonic Corp

IT major Infosys has announced the acquisition of majority stake in Hitachi Procurement Service (HPS), a fully owned subsidiary of Hitachi.

For the deal, aimed at setting up a joint venture between Panasonic, Pasona an Hitachi, the Bengaluru-based IT services will acquire 81% stake in HPS for JPY 2,762 million (approximately Rs 174 crore).

Other three companies in the JV will be minority stakeholders, as per the agreement. Hitachi will transfer 2% each to Panasonic and Pasona, and will hold the remaining 15%.

However, according to the company, the final amount paid for the deal depends on the closure of the deal. The transaction is an all cash deal.
The JV is expected to accelerate business process transformation leveraging digital procurement platforms for the local and global needs of Japanese corporations.

Procurement process

“This joint venture will help Japanese corporations transform their procurement processes using next-generation digital platforms, as we bring together the combined power of deep procurement expertise, technology, global expertise and local skills,” Ravi Kumar, President, Infosys said in a statement.

The transaction is expected to close on or before April 1, 2019 and is aimed at helping Infosys strengthen its presence in Japan and invest in local capabilities to serve the local and global needs of Japanese corporations.

Trend Micro Predicts More Sophisticated Attacks Will Dominate 2019

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today released its 2019 predictions report, warning that attackers will increase the effectiveness of proven attack methods by adding more sophisticated elements to take advantage of the changing technology landscape. The report, Mapping the Future: Dealing with Pervasive and Persistent Threats, highlights the growing threats faced by consumers and organizations that are exacerbated by the increasingly connected world.

“As we head into 2019, organizations must understand the security implications of greater cloud adoption, converging IT and OT, and increasing remote working,” said Greg Young, vice president of cybersecurity for Trend Micro. “Cybercriminals will continue to follow a winning formula – exploiting existing flaws, social engineering and stolen credentials – to drive profits. As both the corporate attack surface and unknown cyber threats increase, it’s more important than ever for organizations to put more resources behind employee education to help protect against these growing attacks.”

The role of social engineering in successful attacks against businesses and individuals will continue to increase throughout the year. Since 2015, the number of phishing URLs blocked by Trend Micro has increased by nearly 3,800 percent. This offsets the lessening reliance on exploit kits, which has decreased by 98 percent in the same time. Additionally, attackers will continue to rely on known vulnerabilities that remain unpatched in corporate networks for 99.99 percent of exploits, as this remains a successful tactic.

“The full range of known and unknown threats can never be addressed by one single technology. In 2019, enterprises should not look for a silver bullet, but a mix of threat defense techniques that complement each other and work together,” said Nilesh Jain, Vice President, India and Southeast Asia, Trend Micro.

Trend Micro also predicts attackers will leverage these proven methods against growing cloud adoption. More vulnerabilities will be found in cloud infrastructure, such as containers, and weak cloud security measures will allow greater exploitation of accounts for cryptocurrency mining. This will lead to more damaging breaches due to misconfigured systems.

Attackers will also implement emerging technologies like AI to better anticipate the movements of executives. This will lead to more convincing targeted phishing messages, which can be critical to BEC attacks. Additionally, it is likely that BEC attacks will target more employees who report to C-level executives, resulting in continued global losses.

SIM swapping and SIM-jacking will be a growing threat to take advantage of remote employees and everyday users. This attack method allows criminals to hijack a cell phone without the user’s knowledge, making it difficult for consumers to regain control of their devices. Additionally, the smart home will be an increasingly attractive target for attacks that leverage home routers and connected devices.

L&T Infotech Hires Former Cognizant Executive Nachiket Deshpande as New Chief Operating Officer

IT services firm Larsen & Toubro Infotech has appointed former Cognizant senior executive Nachiket Deshpande as its Chief Operating Officer.

In his last role as the Senior Vice President & Global Delivery Head for the Banking and Financial Services unit at Cognizant Technology Solutions, he was responsible for global delivery and P&L across all services lines, products, and platforms, as well as driving large-scale skills transformation.

In a career spanning more than two decades, he has held management positions in the US, Europe, and Asia across delivery, practice building and client facing roles.

Sanjay Jalona, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, LTI, said, “Nachiket joins us at an exciting phase of LTI’s transformation as customers entrust us with solving their unique challenges. He brings extensive experience and diverse capabilities to continue our growth . On behalf of the entire organization, I welcome him to LTI and wish him unprecedented success with scaling operations, globally.”

Speaking about his appointment, Nachiket Deshpande, said, “LTI is at the forefront of building the next generation IT Services company, and I am excited to be part of this outstanding team. We will be bolstering the industry expertise and deep technology capabilities that have made LTI the growth leader in the sector.”

Nachiket brings more than 23 years of rich experience and holds a degree in electronics engineering from the College of Engineering, Pune, India.

Fashionable One – The Fashion Show 2018 Held at 1MG – Lido Mall

Curated by Bengaluru’s well known celebrity designer Ramesh Dembla, Fashionable One at 1MG – Lido Mall will take place on the 14th and 15th of December 2018 at 7pm. Madhurima Tuli, Bollywood and Sandalwood actress will amplify the glamour dose as she walks the ramp as the show stopper. 

Keeping a pulse on the fashion industry, Ramesh Dembla’s show will feature a trademark style that is modern, elegant but not conventional. The glitzy evening will also showcase the winners of the model hunt Ishana Yadav and Ibrahim Khan.

Commenting on the initiative, Suman Lahiri, Chief Operating Officer, 1MG -Lido Malls commented, “This December, temperatures will soar. We are absolutely thrilled and look forward a successful fifth edition. Being the signature annual fashion property, Fashionable One intends to uphold the hi-fashion quotient and appeal to the fashion connoisseurs of the city. We hope to grow bigger and better with every edition”.

Bhanu Praveen, Marketing Manager, 1 MG - Lido Mall added, “We are excited about the upbeat fashion show and hope to take the 5th edition of Fashionable One a notch higher with each passing year”.

Roby Varghese, Centre Manager, 1MG – Lido Mall commented, “It’s time for the community to get fashion forward this festive season with the latest in styles and trends from the multitude of brands across 1MG – Lido Mal”.

Well known faces will walk the ramp and will feature the international and high end brands like Aldo, Hidesign, Marks and Spencer's, Fab India, DaMilano, FBB, Global Desi, AND, Smoor, Mac V, Ayesha, Konfo, Being Human others. Fashionable One is a signature annual fashion property of 1 MG – Lido Mall. The 2 day fashion extravaganza showcased the best of 2018’s styles from various fashion brands. In its 5th edition, in a row, the property has gone bigger and better each year.

‘Spell Bee League Carnival’ to be Held in the City this Weekend

Spell Bee League in association with NRN Aerospace Systems has organized “Spell Bee League Carnival”, a spelling fiesta for children on 16th December 2018 at The Kittur Rani Chennamma Stadium (Jayanagar), Bangalore. The daylong event will see over 1000 children from 1st – 10th standard participate in spelling competitions to win a grand prize of gifts worth 1 Lakh rupees. 32 Children will be selected for the Quarter Finals which will be held in the coming days

The event will also have a dedicated zone for parents where they will have access to a team of experienced mentors who will advise them on topics around parenting and career goals of children. Activities by International & National partner brands will include mind stimulating tasks for the future troopers. The event will also house a separate activity area for children, where a number of fun activities will be organized.

Speaking on the occasion, Madhu HS, Co-founder, Spell Bee League said “Spell Bee League Carnival is beyond just a spelling contest. We have taken this one notch higher with this event. Unique and innovative teaching techniques are gaining popularity across the globe. We have tied up with a few reputed partners who have been global leaders in the teaching domain. We aim to give children access to experiential and recreational activities that are way better than computer games and digital gadgets”

This program will be inaugurated by MLA of Jayanagar, Sowmya Reddy in the presence of local leaders and other dignitaries. The event will also mark the launch of #SpellBeeHive, a unique talent community for children of all age groups.

This event is being organized by Biz Wingz in association with NRN Aerospace Systems, Smart Kidz Club, School Travel App, Kydz Adda, Sanrakshan PTE Ltd Singapore, Faith Foundation Trust, PFA Wildlife Hospital, Hoopsters and Breathe Entertainment. Bengaluru’s leading radio station, Indigo 91.9 fm is the official radio partner for the event

To know more log on to www.spell-bee.com  or call on +91 9916843196

Entry Fees: 1200/-

Where: Kittur Rani Chennama Stadium

Time: 8am – 3pm

TVS Motor Company Unveils 50,000 Unit of the BMW 310cc Series Motorcycle

TVS Motor Company, a reputed manufacturer of two-wheelers and three-wheelers in the world, today, rolled out the 50,000 unit of the BMW 310cc motorcycle.  The motorcycle was rolled out from the Hosur plant of the company in the presence of Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad, and Mr. KN Radhakrishnan, Director & CEO, TVS Motor Company.

In April 2013, TVS Motor Company and BMW Motorrad signed a long-term strategic partnership to manufacture sub-500cc motorcycles for the globe. This collaboration has resulted in the launch of three products on the 310cc platform namely BMW G 310 R, BMW 310 GS and TVS Motor Company’s TVS Apache RR 310.

Commenting on this milestone, KN Radhakrishnan, Director & CEO, TVS Motor Company, said, “Today is a significant milestone in our journey with BMW Motorrad. Over the course of this six-year partnership, we have had an opportunity to create a common learning platform for both the companies resulting in the creation of aspirational products for the global market. It is heartening to see BMW’s foray into sub 500cc segment meet with positive response across the globe. We are delighted to be a part of this success story.”

Adding to that, Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad said, “Six years back, we took a crucial step with the decision to enter into the sub 500cc category in partnership with TVS Motor Company. In them, we found a perfect partner who have always stood for high quality and technology. We are delighted that we are rolling out the 50,000 unit of our 310 series motorcycles

in less than two years. This reaffirms our decision to offer BMW Motorrad quality-led premium products for the sub 500cc segment.”

The exports for these two BMW Motorrad models, BMW G 310 R and BMW 310 GS, commenced in December 2016 and today, they are being offered in more than 90 countries.