Buzz About 5G and What It Means for Cybersecurity?

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The buzz around 5G is reaching a fevered pitch – barely a day goes by where it isn’t in the news. We’ve heard about the data capacity and speed increases, lower latency and lower power consumption. But what exactly does 5G means?

According to Babak Beheshti, IEEE Member and Interim Dean, College of Engineering and Computing Sciences, New York Institute of Technology, “The very design philosophy of 5G is based on network heterogeneity. This means that the network can be a combination of technologies such as Wi-Fi® and LTE.”

The meaning of 5G depends on the context of the discussion, but it’s likely to include a combination of technologies. This heterogeneity makes security more complex. However, there are already some exciting developments in the pipeline for 5G and IoT device security.

“According to T-Mobile US, 4G information being carried across mobile networks was not always encrypted. In 5G, end-to-end encryption is intended to provide much stronger safeguards for data privacy,” Beheshti says.

“Since IoT devices don’t often have robust user interfaces, using a QR code lets manufacturers create security protocols that can be operated without the use of a keyboard. The QR code is just a way to encode data. Basically, you’re encoding a public key that then can be used to establish and bootstrap trust. Only the peer device that has the private key can decode that”, says Dorothy Stanley, IEEE Member and Chair of the IEEE 802.11 Working Group

So upcoming security technologies are promising. What can consumers do to make sure their current IoT setups are secure?

For Kayne McGladrey, IEEE Member and Director of Security and Information Technology at Pensar Development, “Consumers should use the ‘guest’ network of their home Wi-Fi routers as a dedicated network for IoT devices, so if one of those devices were compromised, the threat actor can’t easily pivot to more valuable data.” That’s the case for newer devices, he says. “For older, cheap, IP-based security cameras and digital video recorders (DVRs), the easiest way to secure them is to recycle them responsibly as there often are no security updates available.” The ability to update devices over their lifetime is essential to security, and should factor into buying decisions, he says.

Han Guangjie, IEEE Senior Member and professor at Hohai University, seconds this point: “Check and update the IoT device firmware. If IoT devices have exploitable vulnerabilities, manufacturers often identify and fix problems before the hacker can access the device’s environment.”

The XZ+ Variants of Tiago and Tigor Now Compatible with Apple CarPlay

Tata Motors’ best-selling hatchback – Tata Tiago and much-celebrated sedan, the Tigor are now being offered with Apple CarPlay. The update has been made available for the XZ+ variants for the both the cars. Existing owners of these variants can visit the nearest Tata Motors Service Center to get their infotainment systems upgraded with the latest version of the Apple CarPlay.

This new update has now equipped both these vehicles with a holistic connectivity experience. Tata Motors launched the new Tata Tigor and the XZ+ trim of the Tiago last year with a 17.78cm touchscreen infotainment unit, which was compatible only with Android Auto until recently. These cars also saw the additions of attractive headlamps and alloy wheels, among other features. With Tata Motors rolling out Apple CarPlay compatibility for the infotainment system, iPhone users can now explore their car’s connectivity features to the fullest.

The Tiago XZ+ price starts from Rs 5.71 lakh, the Tigor XZ+ price starts from Rs 6.75 lakh (all prices ex-showroom Delhi).

TECNO Celebrates Free Spirit of Youth in its First Brand Campaign of 2019 ‘Shine in AnyLight’

TECNO the fastest growing offline camera-centric smartphone brand of TRANSSION Holdings with presence in over 50+ countries, made its inroads in the country in April’17. As the brand is celebrating its two-year anniversary in the Indian market today it announced the commencement of the first brand campaign for the year viz. “Shine in Any Light” on the back of the recently launched CAMON i4. The 360-degree marketing campaign will start from 2nd May’19.

The campaign ‘Shine in Any Light’ includes a series of three documentary style films featuring Vicky Roy - A Rag Picker turned street photographer, Chandani Srivastava - A Street Dancer turned Choreographer, and Toshada Uma - The Hairless Style icon celebrating individuality and strength of mind and people who believe in paving their own way in life against all odds.  Each films visuals are a storytelling of ‘Shine in AnyLight’ factor of these individuals for whom Life is all about living their passion and following their dreams no matter the darkness.  The first film to go on-air is of Vicky Roy, the Ace Photographer and rest two will follow shortly.

Conceptualised & executed by CreativeLandAsia, the campaign is targeted towards the youth of the country that is free and open-minded. They are the ones that do not get influenced and are rather liberal about the choices they make in life. It is from this attitude that stemmed the core campaign idea of 'Shine in any light’ focusing on the belief that for Indian youth life is not just lived, it is performed. Deep inside everyone there is piece of extraordinary waiting to be seen which can be discovered through TECNO’s ‘AnyLight camera’ lens, which help the consumer shine their best in any circumstance.

Commenting on the launch of the TVC Mr. Arijeet Talapatra, CEO, TRANSSION India said, “TECNO being a consumer-centric brand, listening and understanding the voice of our customers forms a part of our very DNA. We are committed to design products for the youth for whom ‘Life is a performance’ and this performance needs to be presented to the world in the best possible way. With CAMON i4, we have brought the best of smartphone camera technology to our consumers with a unique proposition of capturing superb photos with the help of a 16MP AI selfie and AI triple rear camera powered by Night Algorithm 2.0 and Super Quad Flash light making photos shine brighter no matter what the darkness. To strengthen the product launch we are kick starting our brand campaign #TecnoShineInAnyLight from 2nd May.  The campaign celebrates the free spirit of ordinary individuals who braved all odds to become successful in their passion areas and that TECNO smartphones enable the consumers to shine, no matter the darkness. No matter what light, you always keep shining.”

On the launch film Ms. Sudeepa Ghosh, Executive Creative director said, "The new campaign 'Shine in any light' speaks about three people who have struggled their way through adverse situations and have reached a point in their lives where they've become an inspiration for countless others. In a land of 1.3 billion people, there are those hiding behind their dreams, fighting for some bytes on social media. And then there are those who shine with perseverance, talent and grit."

To build the awareness for the #TECNOShineInAnyLight campaign and reach out to our core audience the brand has taken an aggressive approach of launching the campaign across touchpoints of TV, digital, on-ground & retail. The TV campaign will be available across 28 channels covering news, entertainment, movies like Colors, Sony Sab, &TV, Sony Max and regional channels like ABP Bangla, Star Jalsha to name a few.  The campaign will be further amplified on Social and digital platforms. To help consumers get a first-hand experience of the “AnyLight” camera smartphones the brand will carry on-ground activities covering 100+ towns enabling direct face-to-face engagement with 1 mn + consumers on-ground through-out the campaign period.

Amazon Global Selling Program Targets $5 Billion in E-commerce Exports from India By 2023

At the launch of the second edition of Amazon Exports Digest, Amazon has announced that its Global Selling program has now achieved the significant milestone of crossing $1 billion in e-commerce exports sales from India in just three years since its launch in the country! Launched with just a few hundred sellers in May 2015, more than 50,000 Indian exporters are now part of the Amazon Global Selling program, selling over 140M ‘Made in India’ products to Amazon customers across the globe through its marketplaces worldwide such as Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, etc.

“Six years ago, we started operating in India with a vision to enable every motivated Indian seller to reach customers across India and every country in the world. Amazon launched the Global Selling program in India four years ago, aligning with this vision. The program has scaled up extensively since then and has reached a cumulative $1 billion annualized from India. This program is helping government’s vision on exports, encouraging ‘Made in India’ products go global and enabling over 50,000 Indian MSMEs to reach the doorstep of 300MM+ global customers without leaving their homes. Over the next five years ‘India to Global’ has the potential to become huge and Amazon is confident that the Global Selling program will hit the $5 billion mark by 2023 fueling the growth of lakhs of Indian manufacturers, exporters and small enterprises.” said Amit Agarwal, Senior Vice President and Country Head, Amazon India.

He added, “The multiplier impact of this growth on the Indian economy will be significant with new infrastructure built-up, employment generation especially as the successful micro, small and medium-sized enterprises will in-turn reinvest in their local communities – creating jobs and supporting local economy- and thus boosting the entire ecosystem around them.”

Amazon today released the second edition of its annual Export Digest, revealing a growth of 56% in the number of global sellers from India in 2018. Amazon's international marketplaces also saw a rise of 55% in the selection of Indian products offered globally and 71% growth in sellers who are part of Fulfilled by Amazon program this year vis-a-vis last year. Amazon Exports Digest in its second edition, reveals interesting insights and reflects significant increase in demand for Indian products across global marketplaces, growth of Indian exporters selling globally, and most popular and emerging product categories offered by Indian exporters abroad.

This year’s report also includes performance numbers about growth of Indian sellers exporting to Australia, a new marketplace for Indian sellers which was added as part of Global Selling Program in 2018. Within a short span of time, more than 500 Indian exporters are now offering over 12M products to customers across Australia. The report also highlights the growth of the Global Selling B2B program which allows Indian exporters to serve business customers across the globe. The Global Selling B2B program in just one year has over 6000 Indian B2B sellers.

The Annual Exports Digest showcases top Indian states & cities with international exporters and most popular product categories abroad. Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana emerged as the leading states with most international exporters on Amazon in 2018. Home, Books, Apparel, Jewelry, Kitchen and Health & Personal Care witnessed a huge demand from international customers across ethnicities.

2018 has been a breakthrough year for the Amazon Global Selling program in India which accelerated with partnerships with various trade bodies such as FICCI, CII, FISME and with export associations from Tiruppur, Karur, Agra, Surat, Guwahati and other towns and cities to empower micro, small & medium enterprises. Connecting Indian sellers to customers worldwide, Amazon has a dedicated team as part of the Global Selling program which currently enables thousands of exporters of all sizes and scale to sell across eleven Amazon marketplaces worldwide.

Gopal Pillai, Vice President, Seller Services, Amazon India said, “Amazon Global Selling program is a unique initiative that enables MSMEs to reach over 300MM global customers, empowering them with tools and technology and leveraging Amazon infrastructure in destination countries. It’s interesting how the program has scaled in the country, with more than 80% of these exporters coming from non-metro and tier 2 and below cities. Amazon wants to expand and grow the program further to bring more and more small businesses to unleash the potential of ‘Make in India’ initiative by enabling e-commerce exports and leveraging global customer access.

Amazon Exports Digest 2019 highlights-

Overall growth:
• Amazon witnessed a growth of 56% in the number of e-commerce exporters from India in 2018
• Amazon's international marketplace saw a phenomenal increase of 55% in selection of Indian products offered globally
• 71% growth in Indian exporters using Global Fulfilment by Amazon (Amazon’s own fulfillment channels)
• Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh emerged as the top 5 states with most e-commerce exporters
• New Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai, Indore and Surat topped the charts with most e-commerce exporters along with emerging cities such as Cuttack, Darjeeling, Kankroli, Peermade, Rampura Phul with exporters selling globally
• Emerging product categories- Art and Crafts, Musical Instruments, Baby Products, Video DVD, Pet Products
• Major sale events – Prime Day saw an increase of 69% in number of sellers, Cyber Monday saw an increase of 30% in seller base and Black Friday also witnessed an increase of 30% in seller numbers

Region-wise top emerging categories exported:

• North India – watches, camera, pet products, outdoors, home entertainment
• South India – board games, shoes, home entertainment, sports gear, camera bags
• East India – watches, furniture, personal care appliances, tools, electronics
• West India –  Arts & Crafts, Music, Luggage, Videos & DVDs, Personal Care Appliances

Top 5 cities in the US from where Indian sellers are receiving maximum global orders from and the top Indian products bought in the US:

• Top 5 cities - New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Brooklyn, Houston
• Top Indian products – Home, Health & Personal Care, Books, Beauty, Apparel

Top 5 cities in Europe from where Indian sellers are receiving maximum global orders from and the top Indian products bought in Europe:

• Top 5 cities –London, Manchester, Berlin, Madrid, Rome
• Top Indian products – Home, Health & Personal Care, Books, Office Products, Wireless

Top 5 cities in Asia Pacific from where Indian sellers are receiving maximum global orders from and the top Indian products bought in Japan:

• Top 5 cities – Tokyo, Beijing, Osaka, Busan, Seoul
• Top Indian products – Sports, Toys, PC, Musical Instruments, Health & Personal Care

Top 5 cities in Australia from where Indian sellers are receiving maximum global orders from and the top Indian products bought in Australia:

• Top 5 cities – Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Portland
• Top Indian products – Books, Home, Beauty, Apparel, Health & Personal Care

Amazon unveiled its Global Selling program in India in May 2015 in an attempt to provide transformative opportunities for Indian sellers and help them grow & scale through e-commerce exports.  Currently, over 50,000 Indian manufacturers, traders and brands are using this platform to sell their offerings across eleven Amazon marketplaces worldwide. Through the program, Amazon provides the most comprehensive suite of services to sellers of all sizes and scale to enable them to sell across the globe. These services have been created to meet their specific requirements at every stage of their business lifecycle.

To smoothen the selling experience for MSMEs, Amazon offers fulfilment services under the program that allows sellers to focus on their product and pricing, offers imaging and cataloging support to sellers by getting their photo shoots done as per Amazon standards at nominal costs, provides access to third parties that can provide tax guidance services and other export related modalities by connecting them to concerned advisory agencies.

Furthermore, through its various spike sale events across the world, Amazon provides a lucrative platform for Indian sellers to engage with global audiences. Whether it’s Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, Amazon enables thousands of sellers to delight global customers with wide selection, greater value and a reliable and trustworthy shopping experience.

To enable sellers to familiarize themselves with the tastes & preferences of the destination country and to launch relevant selection, Amazon’s global teams also help sellers understand the demand patterns in various countries. The team also gives guidance on how sellers can improve discoverability of their products on each marketplace. Some of this includes guidance on the type of deals they can run, the kind of advertisements they can run on these platforms and how they can use social media channels to drive awareness about their listings on the various marketplaces. 

First of its Kind Bamboo Art Exhibition to be Held by Uravu in Bangalore

‘Hiraeth: A Pining for the Past’, a first of its kind 6 day exhibition of bamboo installation organized by ‘Uravu Indigeneous Science and Technology Study Centre’ will be held from May 2-7 at Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishat, Bangalore. The event will be inaugurated on May 2 at 4 pm by internationally acclaimed painter and Artist-Curator Bose Krishnamachari. The event is presented by Eleganz Interiors, pioneers in the general contracting business.

‘Hiraeth’ is an exploration in bamboo that aims to reinforce the credentials of bamboo as a sustainable medium of art. Lenin.CP, the chief designer at Uravu aims to recreate the forms and frames of life in bamboo. He expresses it through the idea of water and the flora and fauna of watery village lives.

‘Hiraeth’ is expected to set a platform for a series of exhibitions to be held at Chitra Kala Parishat, Bangalore, to showcase distinct artistic possibilities in bamboo that that would establish bamboo’s potential as a serious material of art.

Uravu is a not for profit, non-governmental organisation that strives for rural empowerment through sustainable solutions. Established in 1996, URAVU works with people, governments and businesses to facilitate initiatives with the   prime motive of sustainable development and implements focused end-to-end programs in the bamboo sector.

‘Hiraeth: A Pining for the Past’ is presented by Eleganz Interiors. Eleganz is a strategic management company specializing in interior solutions on a pan-India level pioneering in civil interiors and allied services.

Companies Empowering SMEs with Superior Technology in India

Technology has emerged as a key enabler in the economy today, helping businesses achieve economies of scale and scale up their ventures. However, while India is covering significant leaps in digitalisation and other advanced technologies, not every business enjoys an easy access to the same. To bridge the gap between the burgeoning Indian enterprises and the latest technology, several tech companies have come up with their unique offerings.

Let’s take a look at these ventures that help small businesses successfully ride the growing wave of technology and achieve business growth.

Cybage: Ensuring Digital Excellence & Better Value per Unit Cost

Catering to the enterprise business segment, Cybage works at applying digital platforms, techniques and technologies to enable more profitable business models. It solves complex problems for businesses by using new-age advancements in cloud, data analytics, mobility, social collaboration, and e-commerce. Furthermore, the tech enterprise helps small businesses through its scientific, data-driven system called DecisionMinesTM that removes the risks in the methodology and provides more predictable outcomes while ensuring better value per unit cost.

Till date, solutions by Cybage has yielded successful results for industries in diverse verticals like Media & Entertainment, Online Retail, Travel & Hospitality, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, and Technology. Cybage a worthy partner to technology startups, mid-size companies, and Fortune 500 corporations alike, and a proud partner of several industry leaders like Microsoft, AWS, Adobe, and Oracle.

Qlik: Empowering businesses through data management & analytics

Helping businesses make complete sense of business data, Qlik offers an end-to-end businesses intelligence, data management and analytics platforms. Solutions offered by Qlik have been instrumental in achieving a deeper understanding of customer behaviour, reimagining businesses processes, discovering newer revenue streams while balancing the risks with rewards.

With Qlik Sense Enterprise, enterprises have access to a full-spectrum of flexible and scalable analytics use-cases on a modern multi-cloud platform and Qlik Sense® Cloud enables your group or team to get analytics up and running fast. Qlik has its presence in more than 100 countries and serves over 48,000 customers in key Verticals including Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, BFSI, amongst others, and its clients include TCS, United Nations, HDFC Life, Lupin Pharmaceuticals and more.

Telebu: Enterprise Communication Made Easy

Telebu solves the critical need of timely and efficient communication for the fast-growing enterprises. Even if the teams are remotely spread out, Telebu’s complete suite of enterprise communication products including audio conferencing, bulk SMSs etc. ensure time- and cost-efficient communication without any lags.

With its marquee product and audio conferencing solution, grptalk, Telebu allows instant conferencing (dial-out calls) for enterprises with 3 to over 10,000 participants. The cost-effective solution removes any delays in conference calls, with the participants only having to answer the call from the bridge, not requiring any pin code, password etc.

Other enterprise solution products by Telebu include bulk text and voice SMS solution, in-bound and out-bound call centre software, emergency alert system, and API platform. The technology solutions by Telebu serve businesses of varying scale, right from start-ups, MSMEs, to multinational conglomerates.

Amplify.ai: AI-driven Virtual Assistants

Being the industry’s first and only enterprise-class AI-driven engagement platform, Amplify.ai provides conversational virtual assistants to digital businesses. The global platform has tied up with a number of social media platforms including Facebook, FB Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, and so on for seamless deployment of virtual assistants over these platforms. The same can also be deployed to proprietary website of a business using its API (Application Program Interface).

The virtual-assistant-led approach helps businesses to drive better engagement with their customers as compared to conventional marketing channels such as emails and phone calls. Lately, the brand has also partnered with Google’s AdLingo to further bring conversational AI to display advertising. Till date, the Silicon-Valley-based start-up has led more than 2 billion engagements with more than 100 million end-customers across the globe.

HT Media Ltd Acquires 51 Percent Stake in Next Mediaworks Limited

HT Media Limited (HTML) has acquired 51% majority stake in Next Mediaworks Limited (NMW), which operates seven FM radio stations across major metros [through its subsidiary Next Radio Limited (NRL)], under the brand “Radio One”, including some in international genre. NRL’s FM stations across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune and one more have now come into HTML fold.  This has positioned HTML as the strongest radio player, with three stations each in the biggest metro markets of Delhi & Mumbai and two stations each in Bengaluru, Chennai & Kolkata. Apart from the above, key metro market of Pune has also got added to the network.

HT Media Limited, along with Next Radio Limited, now has 22 stations, and a national footprint spanning 15 cities.

Harshad Jain, CEO – Radio & Entertainment Business of HTML has been named as CEO of NMW/NRL. He will lead all the three brands of Fever FM, Radio Nasha and Radio One. Talking about the development, Mr. Harshad Jain said, “This acquisition aims to provide the widest array of content, music and advertising options for our listeners and advertisers. Needless to mention, the combined set-up will provide growth opportunities for the talented employees on both sides. The company is now detailing the synergies of operations both at the front and the backend.”

While Fever FM and Radio Nasha are leaders in the Hindi contemporary hit radio (CHR) and retro radio space respectively, Radio One is a pioneer in the international format.

HT Media Limited is the printer & publisher of three leading dailies of the country viz. “Hindustan Times”,  “Mint” and “Hindustan” (through subsidiary company), and operates popular Hindi FM Radio channels “Fever FM” and “Radio Nasha”.