Jay Bavisi, President, EC-Council, addressed leading figures in government, industry, and academia at the US National Security Agency’s CISSE Colloquium 2013, warning academic minds to introduce cyber vaccination programs via secure coding education.

New Delhi, June 17, 2013: Jay Bavisi, President, EC-Council, warned thought-leaders from across the world- namely, from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the finest academic minds of the NSA’s centers of academic excellence of the worsening Cyber Plague at the Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education (CISSE Colloquium). The event was hosted by the University of South Alabama in Mobile Bay on June 10, 2013. The CISSE Colloquium was created in 1997 to provide a forum for dialogue among leading figures in government, industry, and academia.

Bavisi continued by linking the results of a recent national level secure coding competition being conducted in India with nearly five thousand participants, Code Uncode, to the continuing plague of insecurity. Findings from the  preliminary rounds of Code Uncode competition decisively prove there is a serious lack of knowledge in secure coding practices that could be a causative source of security breaches around the world.

The Colloquium is active throughout the year and holds an annual conference in June. Conference information is available on the Colloquium website at http://www.cisse.info. The Colloquium board consists of members such as Brenda Oldfield, formerly the Director of the National Cyber Security Division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; William Maconachy, PhD and former deputy senior computer science authority at the National Security Agency (NSA); as well as Daniel P Shoemaker, PhD, and Principal Investigator and Senior Research Scientist at UDM’s Center for Cyber Security and Intelligence Studies.

About EC-Council

EC-Council (International Council of E-Commerce Consultants) is one of the world’s largest certification bodies for Information Security professionals. EC-Council is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in various information security and e-business skills. It has been certified by American National Standards Institute to meet its ANSI 17024 standard. It is the owner and creator of the world famous Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI) and EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA)/License Penetration Tester (LPT) programs, and as well as many others programs. These programs are offered in over 92 countries and over have trained over 120,000 & certified more than 60,000 security professionals through a training network of over 500 training partners globally.

Individuals who have achieved EC-Council certifications include those from some of the finest organizations around the world such as the US Army, the FBI, Microsoft, IBM and the United Nations.

To be held from at Mumbai, India from 6^th Feb – 8^th Feb 2014, WTCE is the only platform for the Hot Beverage sector in India attracting a global trade audience

The 2^nd Edition of “World Tea & Coffee Expo” (www.worldteacoffeeexpo.com), India’s only trade fair dedicated to the Tea & Coffee sectors, is being held at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, India from Thursday 6^th Feb 2014 to Saturday 8^th Feb 2014. In view of the enthusiastic response from Exhibitors and Visitors – both Indian as well as International – the 2^nd edition is being held at a bigger venue to accommodate larger number of Exhibitors and visitors. This event will also include a Conference, Workshops and Seminars which will be addressed by industry leaders from India and abroad. Over a 100 Exhibitors from 8 countries are likely to display their products and technologies related to the Hot Beverage sector to an audience of 6000 decision makers from about 15 countries.

India is witnessing a growth in its Domestic Tea & Coffee consumption largely thanks to the mushrooming of upmarket cafes and retail chains which are mostly frequented by students and young professionals exposed to western way of life. The coffee retail business in India is valued at over Rs 8 billion and growing at 6% annually with the potential space for nearly 3,000 coffee retail outlets. The Indian tea industry – pegged at Rs 6000 crore – is the second largest in the world. As the domestic demand for Tea gets stronger manufacturers and brands are investing in modernization and improving quality in order to consolidate gains and improve global competitiveness. Wider health awareness is making people opt for the health benefits of Herbal/Green tea as against aerated drinks which have adverse health impact in the long run.

In addition to showcasing of brands, products, machinery & technologies, a business-to-business (b2b) match-making program will form an integral part of WTCE’s 2014 show strategy. Sentinel Exhibitions Asia P Ltd, the organizer, has also planned an aggressive national and international marketing campaign designed to attract the largest number of buyers. The 2014 edition has a larger budget for promotions and advertising which will include leading local & national Newspapers, Trade Magazines, Direct mailing, TV Channels, Bus Backs, Hoardings etc. Offline and Online PR too will be given a lot of emphasis.

(Source: Sentinel PR)

Hiring through social media, whilst once seen as nascent, has now reached mainstream recruitment as a credible tool in a savvy recruiter’s toolbox. 85% of Indian jobseekers use some or the other online social networking platforms for finding a job, and find both Facebook friends and LinkedIn connections useful in finding jobs.

The integration of Facebook for recruitment can be seen as a game-changing social recruitment platform. It means that recruiters will now be able to connect with the largely untapped set of jobseekers, most of which fall in the junior to mid-level hires. The Shine MyParichay social bar enables a recruiter to be able to reach out to the personal networks of their employees, match the skills and requirements to those in the extended network, and use the referral feature to connect with potential candidates.

Commenting on this breakthrough innovation on Shine.com, Amit Garg, Business Head, Internet Business, HT Media, said, “With Shine.com, HT Media has focused on recruiter needs and strive for innovative solution which provides tremendous value in the recruitment industry. After our candidate database crossing the 1 crore mark and with 2 Lac Job Openings on site, we are now the world’s first job portal to integrate Facebook hiring solutions with our mainstream offering. Our latest survey with candidates suggests that 65% of respondents are more likely to use Facebook over LinkedIn for job search – we now have a product that bridges this opportunity between recruiters and candidates. Our strong technological capabilities and a focused team working on integrating social media for recruitment have been instrumental in creating this unique product for this space. ”

While talking about the idea behind the new campaign for this product, Rajan Bhalla, Group Marketing Head, HT Media Limited, said, “The communication challenge was to showcase, how the power of personal network can help you with your next job search and the campaign is crafted around this thought. The core proposition of ‘a friend can now help you get your next job’ is very simply articulated with the campaign idea of Yaar Tu God Hai. It’s a story of two friends and the way one helps the other in getting his dream job through the face book network represented through a human pyramid and a high energy hummable song – Govinda Ala Re. This is a very different and refreshing new take on the category normally associated with boss bashing and quitting because of not being paid well enough. We are positive that this campaign will strike an emotional chord with both the candidates as well as the recruiter fraternity. This will be a multimedia campaign comprising TV, Print, Digital and unconventional media. So catch it and discover a whole new world of job search.”

Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman of the Dentsu India Group, which was the creative agency behind this campaign, said,” The Shine.com film, conceptualized by the Dentsu Creative Impact team, brings alive the unique proposition of the brand through a very distinctive and memorable metaphor – that of a human pyramid of friends that helps one rise to the top, literally. In today’s connected world, social networking that helps one land one’s dream job is a powerful proposition. We’re really excited about our work on Shine.com and hope it works for the brand in the marketplace.”

Singapore-based mobile applications company, U2opia Mobile, with widespread operations across Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America, has brought on board TS Ramakrishnan as a technology advisor.

With more than two decades of experience in technology architecture, T.S. has previously worked with Facebook, Skype, Yahoo!, AdMob and Oracle. He also serves as an advisor to several promising technology start-ups in Silicon Valley and India.

In his new position, he will provide expert advice as well as insights into the smartphone applications space, which will help drive U2opia Mobile’s foray into the competitive apps space.

Commenting on the development, T.S. Ramakrishnan said ‘U2opia Mobile has made significant inroads in social mobility in the last 2 years, especially in the emerging markets, which larger technology companies are now looking to target. Their innovative edge positions them well as they gear up to bring more products to market that tap the social opportunity and I’m thrilled to be engaging with them at this exciting stage in their journey.’

T.S.  holds a BE degree in Computer Science from University of Madras, and an MS in Computer Science from the University of Alabama.

Sumesh Menon, co-founder and CEO of U2opia Mobile, said, “T.S.’s insights based on his rich experience in the world’s most transformative internet companies will help us make our products more intuitive, relevant and scalable. The mobile applications space is highly competitive and TS’s active guidance will help us create solutions that are highly targeted and robust.”

U2opia Mobile received Series A funding from Matrix Partners in 2011 for an undisclosed amount, following the launch of their flagship product, Fonetwish, which powers mobile access to Facebook and Twitter without an internet connection. They create products across the spectrum of handsets – from basic to feature to smartphones and provide solutions across 20 countries globally.

About U2opia Mobile

U2opia Mobile is a global provider of mobile applications that enable ubiquitous and customised access to the social internet. U2opia recognizes a distinct opportunity in consumer networking and social mobility and collaborates with global internet giants and telecom carriers across the globe to create solutions of compelling value. Since its pioneering launch in May 2011, its flagship product, Facebook for USSD, powers Facebook access over USSD, serving millions of users in over 18 countries and is one of the Top ranking Apps on Facebook. U2opia Mobile works with the largest and most innovative mobile operators in Asia, Africa & Latin America and is managed by an experienced team with deep understanding of consumer, internet and mobile ecosystems. With venture backing from Matrix Partners, U2opia Mobile runs operations from Singapore, Delhi and Dubai.

Vuclip provides insights into key brand metrics for mobile beyond click-through-rates to help brands achieve engagement and attention; Millward Brown study results revealed

Vuclip, the world’s largest independent mobile video and media company, today announced it now offers a solution to evaluate mobile campaign effectiveness. Vuclip has partnered with Millward Brown, a global leader in brand, media and communications, to give brand metrics that provide meaningful insights beyond click-through-rates. This enables brand advertisers to measure and optimize the brand metrics on mobile ad campaigns, allowing them to measure performance against their key marketing objectives and compare effectiveness against industry averages.

Reaching 45 million monthly users on 5,500 different mobile handsets, Vuclip has an unparalleled, global consumer base. This critical mass, combined with Millward Brown’s independent survey capabilities and robust analytics, allows Vuclip to analyse six metrics: top-of-mind brand awareness, brand familiarity, mobile ad awareness, brand association, brand favourability and purchase intent.

The AdIndex® Advertising Effectiveness Study

Vuclip and Millward Brown recently conducted an AdIndex® Advertising Effectiveness Study to assess the success of a mobile video advertising campaign on behalf of one of India’s leading toothbrush brands. The study included respondents from the 18-45 years age groups, with 41% belonging to the 25-34 years of age category. Respondents were segregated into two groups, one of which was exposed to a banner brand ad, while the control group was not. The study then analysed the six brand attributes mentioned above.

Advertisements displayed on the Vuclip site generated favourable opinion among the online audience. Purchase intent towards the brand was significantly higher post campaign exposure. Brand favourability was 7.9% higher among the exposed group compared to the control group, while purchase intent went up by 11.1%.

New Frontier for Mobile Advertising Metrics

“Mobile technology has become a ubiquitous part of our lives. Anywhere in the world, consumers turn to their mobile device for instant news, videos and product information. While brands have recognized this shift from ‘prime time’ to ‘real time’ advertising, mobile metrics have not kept up with the changes. Click-through-rates reveal little about brand engagement or purchase intent,” said Meera Chopra, Global Head & Vice President, Ad Sales at Vuclip. “By partnering with Millward Brown we have found a way to successfully apply traditional TV and online metrics to mobile. This gives brands the opportunity to measure the impact of their mobile initiatives against their overall marketing goals.”

Ritesh Dutt, Head Media Practice, India of Millward Brown commented, “As an industry leader, Vuclip is helping brands define success on the most important platform of our age – mobile. We are delighted that Vuclip has recognized our track record in mobile ad metrics and analysis. Through our partnership, we can help transform the way brands view mobile measurement and believe the impact will benefit the entire mobile ecosystem.”

(Source: Gutenberg PR)