SABKILEAK TO HELP FIGHT CORRUPTION

The disclosures made by WikiLeaks have given a blunt and candid assessment of how American foreign policy is conducted. On Right Left and Centre, Wikileaks revelations has not only embarrassed America and exposed America's Diplomatic secrets but also India and several other countries. WikiLeaks has succeeded in hitting the reset button on International relations and politics.
India has become a hot spot of corruption, what with mega scams like the CWG, 2G, and Adarsh scams breaking out impoverishing the country's exchequer by 100s of billions of rupees. Politicians, fat-cat industrialists, and bureaucrats have formed an unholy nexus, which is bleeding Mother India like never before. The rich is getting richer, while the poor is being pushed deeper into the abyss of abject misery and poverty. How can we tackle this problem? Do we need an Indian Julian Assange to lead a crusade against our corrupt netas and babus?
In a way WikiLeaks has helped the common people to know the true faces of their politicians and leaders. Though it seems to be a wonderful source of true information, unfortunately the Indian government has made it an offence to own any website based on the lines of WikiLeaks.
Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal, who specialises in cyber law, points out that starting a site like WikiLeaks could make the owner liable to paying a fine of up to Rs 5 crore per contravention under the IT (Amendment) Act, 2008. One may even attract a criminal liability of three to ten years in jail under various statutes and the Indian Penal Code.
“At one side where the government gives each and every individual the right to freedom and information, on the other side they are restricting the citizens from their expression. Is this justified? There should be a media like WikiLeaks in India which will expose the corrupt practice of our leaders,” says Amar Pawar, a BPO employee.
As per the RTI Act, information sought had to provided to the citizen within a period of maximum 30 days, but citizens in our country have to wait for more than two years to elicit any information from concerned departments. List of pending cases runs in thousands and remains without addressed. Since the voice of the common people goes unheard most of the times, their issues remain unnoticed. A journalists group plans to come up with a website named www.sabkileak.com which would be solely based to inspire transparency, exposure of evils for wider interest of nation; and thereby to bring blots on our system to books. Several cases go pending even though government officials and contractors have access to skeletons-in-the-cupboard, they find it risky to approach courts or journalists or any civilian out of the purview of government service on the grounds of safety of their interest. Thus, www.sabkileak.com shall facilitate relaying of such material uploaded by such government servants; who wish to expose evils in the system.
“People must get to know the truth of their leaders and its government. This can lead to bad apples being dropped off from the basket. Policies that have direct influence on you can be debated with justice. The country can eventually move forward due to its transparency. I would support www.sabkileak.com since it is serving the nation for betterment,” says Chandrashekhar Shetty, a resident of Bhandup.
When AV contacted some of the personalities, here is what they said:
YP Singh, Ex-IPS officer - Looking at the corruption rate, there is a need of WikilLeak like website. I welcome www.sabkileak.com which will help the people to know the true faces of corrupt politicians. People are aware of corruption happening in the governance but no one protest or take any action against it. SabkiLeak will help to strengthen the people’s power to fight against corruption.
Shaina NC, BJP spokesperson Mumbai Unit - If SabkiLeak is for the welfare of the people then it would be fine but if it is used for blackmailing purpose then it would turn as a huge problem. I welcome this website and hope to see it soon.
Abbas Kazmi, Advocate - SabkiLeak should be handled by a strong and prominent personality. If these types of website come into existence, then hundreds of corruption cases will come into light. This will help the country to grow at a faster rate.
Amin Solkar, Advocate - Initially RTI proved to be a powerful tool to curb the issue of corruption to a great extent. But, today hundreds of RTI cases are pending. SabkiLeak will help the nation to overcome this barrier.
Vijay Mukhi, Cyber Expert - It is a great move. This will help the common people to know how corrupt their leaders are. Thus, it will help nation to bring the issue of corruption to.
 one of the best news by journalists

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Outlaws of Technology!

I n order to study the comparison the between the hackers and crackers, it is important to understand the respective definitions. While apparently the words hacking and cracking seems synonymous, yet there exist certain points of distinctions between the two and the meaning of the words will always be heated topics of debate. Since the very dawn of the civilization, man's hunger to attain the unattainable have went on opening new horizons in almost every aspects of life, and the technology is of no exception to this nature of human. A cracker is a technical person who has mastered the art of breaking systems, often not for acquiring knowledge, by the dint of few programs and softwares used as tools. They are more interested in the system's security without the need of great deal of knowledge, thereby not benefiting much. On the other hand, a hacker who cracks and hacks systems is not only interested in breaking the security of the system but also in knowing about the system's details, by which he gains much more than by simply cracking systems. Unlike a cracker, a hacker generally does not have intention destroy data maliciously or to steel things. A cracker who is often termed to be a cyber burglar brings out significant harm to the network or steels the information like passwords or credit card numbers. A Trojan is capable enough to recognize and record even every single keystroke that you make. Hence even if you do not store any personal or financial records in your system, the hackers can still be able to obtain the information by recognizing the keystrokes.The computer hackers actually trespass or circumvent artistically, yet scientifically into the other computer system with a hunger to know the programmable systems, how they perform and their internal structures, while cracking is slight different in sense. Cracking means to break off the computer's security system. This is a subject matter of hard-core science with an aesthetic undertone of artistic skill that has attracted a few millions of teenagers and young adults all over the world. Delving deep into the concepts, we can compare the hackers and crackers. A hacker is a person who commits the fraudulent act or the penal offense of exploring into the other computers in order to know the details of the programmable system and how they work. On the other level, a cracker is a person just more secretive as compared to the hacker. The cracker breaks through the system's security and proves to be far more dangerous than the hackers who just quench his or her thirst by simply discovering the workings of a system. Hence the crackers can potentially be much more perilous as compared to the hackers. While it is often believed that the hacking is simply exploring into the other computer system with an intention to know how the programmable system works, which is not a fraudulent task unless any sort of vandalism and theft is done by this, another huge section stands strictly against the view and look at the act from the view point of a crime.

a dark side hacker ?

Thanks to Hollywood, black hat hackers have become the iconic image of all hackers around the world. For the majority of computer users, the word hacker has become a synonym for social misfits and criminals. Of course, that is an injustice created by our own interpretation of the mass media, so it is important for us to learn what a hacker is and what a black hacker (or cracker) does. So, let's learn about black hat techniques and how they make our lives a little more difficult.

</p>What Is Black Hat Hacking?

A black hat hacker, also known as a cracker or a dark side hacker (this last definition is a direct reference to the Star Wars movies and the dark side of the force), is someone who uses his skills with a criminal intent. Some examples are: cracking bank accounts in order to make transferences to their own accounts, stealing information to be sold in the black market, or attacking the computer network of an organization for money. Some famous cases of black hat hacking include Kevin Mitnick, who used his black hat hackers skills to enter the computers of organizations such as Nokia, Fujitsu, Motorola and Sun Microsystems (it must be mentioned that he is now a white hat hacker); Kevin Poulsen, who took control of all the phone lines in Los Angeles in order to win a radio contest (the prize was a Porsche 944 S2); and Vladimir Levin, which is the handle of the mastermind behind the stealing of $10'000,000 to Citigroup.

</p>Differences Between White Hat And A Black Hat Hacker

The difference between black hat and white hat hackers is that white hat hacker uses their skills and knowledge as a way to defend someone from attackers. That means that white hat hackers offer their services to corporations, public organizations and educational institutions. These services include a complete revision of their computer network security, implementation of new security systems (they may be hardware or software), user training and future recommendations. All these measures will be able to combat unauthorized hacking; black hat hackers, however, will continue trying.

</p>How To Defeat The Attempts Of A Black Hat Hacker

In order to survive in the World Wide Web, there are certain things that we need to know in order to endure. The first one is that each computer user is responsible for his machine and the data that it contains. It doesn't matter if a transnational spends hundreds of millions of dollars in IT security if an absent-minded employee downloads and installs unauthorized software or falls into the email scheme of black hat hackers.

</p>Basic Knowledge

So, the first thing that we need to know is that computers, and networks, are like houses. If they don't have the windows and doors properly secured, anyone can enter. There are thousands of hackers in the internet looking for computers with unsecured entrances. Even worse, they have programs making the search for them. If you consider that there are hundreds of millions of computers in the world, then it is highly probable that an important percentage of them aren't properly secured.

</p>Firewall

In order to secure our "house", we need to have a firewall installed and properly configured. A firewall is like a lock that assures that all the entrances to your computer are properly closed, so no one from the outside can access it.

</p>Anti Virus Software

Another useful piece of software is the antivirus. Antivirus have been around since the first personal computers since viruses have always existed. Unfortunately, the internet has generated a demographic explosion and now they wander, freely, through the net. There are several software packages in the market, so test the ones with which you feel more comfortable and stay with the one that is more convenient for you.

</p>Regular Updates

The next step is to update your operating system, especially if it is Windows XP. Ninety percent of the worldwide operating system market is owned by Microsoft. For that reason, it is the preferred choice for crackers in the entire world. They are constantly looking for ways to bypass the security of this operating system, looking for weaknesses of all kind (even in something as innocent as the Media Player). In order to stop them, maintain your operating system updated.

</p>Education in Security Techniques

Finally, if you are inside a company, assure yourself that the users are trained. They must be able to detect if they are being victims of cracker scam. It can be through the internet messaging system, an email or even an innocent looking PowerPoint attachment sent by a friend. People are the last line of defense against black hat hacking.Over time, black hat techniques have become more advanced and complex. Although there are computer software programs that can help a cracker in many ways, it is still a profession that requires a knack for computer software and hardware. So, as you may have noticed, black hat hackers will never disappear, which means that we need to have our computers, and our networks, prepared.

source- hackingalert

Doubting if you are a hacker? Remember phone booth era

By RICHARD GITONGA

 </p>
Over the past couple of months a new “ism” has been introduced to our vocabulary. Julius Assange of Wikileaks has brought the world’s attention to a form of Internet activism called hactivism. Hactivism is the process of hacking for a particular cause aimed at the greater good of society. Wikileaks has exposed confidential documents that have embarrassed many governments.

</p>There have been efforts by guilty actors to gag Wikileaks, but most have been unsuccessful. Even the initiative to pass legislation to block internet service providers and hosting facilities to restrict Wikileaks from using their networks failed. Hacking has been regarded as a profession that lingers on the fringes of criminality and fraud. There are different types of hackers, some of whom have a positive contribution to business and the society, and others who have a negative contribution to business. One category of hackers is the one referred to as “White Hats”. White hats are ethical hackers who work to protect a company’s information system. They have a good knowledge of information system security and the various tools used by malicious hackers. The Kenya Police should consider hiring white hats bearing in mind the recent attack on their website by cheeky local hackers.“Black Hats” on the other hand are malicious hackers who penetrate information systems with the intention of causing harm, either by corrupting data, stealing confidential information or simply infecting systems with viruses. Most western Governments public relations machinery have described Julian Assange as a black hat hacker. However, there are many who disagree with this description and feel that he is the quintessential white hat hacker whose actions are for the greater good of society. It may be interesting to note that it was Wikileaks that courageously brought to the world’s attention the massive looting of state corporations and government coffers by the leaders of the Kenyan Government a decade ago. “Grey Hats” are like some Kenyan politicians who have been described as “watermelons”.

<P>Grey hats alternate between being white hats and black hats. They are at times given contracts by institutions to conduct ethical hacking procedures to test the robustness of information security systems. However, in their spare time, they amuse themselves by hacking into vulnerable information systems. Most grey hats are very brilliant at computer technology, but tend to have eccentric tendencies.Just in case you thought that you have never been a hacker, consider the time that we had pay phones or what were once referred to as telephone booths. Many of us discovered the art of tapping the phone to mimic tone sounds in order to avoid paying for calls. If you engaged in this illegal activity, then you can describe yourself as once having been a “Phreaker”.

</p>Phreakers are hackers who penetrate communication systems or devices with the intention of illegally obtaining goods, for example, call card numbers or free telephone calls.Many young Kenyans who use the Internet have become accustomed to downloading tools that enable them to hack into peoples’ computers. These Kenyans can be described as “Script Kiddies”. Script kiddies are hackers who Then there are the “Software Crackers”. These hackers specialises in reverse engineering softwares. They are capable of introducing malicious code into software programmes which is then downloaded and installed by end users. Then there are the “Software Crackers”. These hackers specialises in reverse engineering software’s. They are capable of introducing malicious code into software programmes which is then downloaded and installed by end users.

Assange to reveal details of tax exiles

Swiss banker gives WikiLeaks founder data 'to educate society' about amount of potential tax revenues lost to offshore schemes. Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, on Monday pledged to make public the confidential tax details of 2,000 wealthy and prominent individuals, after being passed the data by a Swiss banker who claims the information potentially reveals instances of money-laundering and large-scale illegal tax evasion. In a carefully choreographed handover in central London, Rudolf Elmer, formerly a senior executive at the Swiss bank Julius Baer, based in the Cayman islands, said he was handing the data to WikiLeaks as part of an attempt "to educate society" about the amount of potential tax revenues lost thanks to offshore schemes and money-laundering. "As banker, I have the right to stand up if something is wrong," he said. "I am against the system. I know how the system works and I know the day-to-day business. I wanted to let society know how this system works because it's damaging society," he said. Elmer will appear in a Swiss court on Wednesday charged with breaking Swiss banking secrecy laws, forging documents and sending threatening messages to two officials at his former employer.

He denies the charges.

He refused to comment on the period of time covered by the data, contained on two compact discs, or the precise source of the information; nor would he give the names of any corporations or individuals whose details he was handing over, saying that the information needed to be "investigated" before it was released into the public domain. Assange, making his first public appearance since being bailed in December on sex assault allegations, for which Sweden is seeking his extradition, said he would pass the information to the UK'S Serious Fraud Office (SFO), examine it to ensure sources were protected, and then release it on the WikiLeaks site, potentially within "a couple of weeks". "Once we look at the data, yes, there will be full disclosure," he said. He would not be drawn on questions relating to the extradition case, which will be heard at Belmarsh magistrates court in south-east London on 7 February, or on other leaks the site has promised are forthcoming, including information involving a "big US bank", which many believe to be Bank of America.

The site was not yet fully functional, he said. "We are not open yet for public business. The volume of material that we would receive is too high for our internal mechanisms, but we are receiving in other ways, like this, in this manner," he said. The release of leaked US diplomatic cables, which the site originally released through the Guardian and four other international media organisations, would continue, however. Elmer said he was passing the information to WikiLeaks because he had previously approached universities with the information but it had not been followed up. He said his attempts to interest the Swiss media had resulted only in his being dismissed as "a paranoid person, a mentally ill person". "I was close to giving up, but then a friend of mine told me: 'There's WikiLeaks.' I looked at it and thought: 'That's the only hope I have to [let] society know what's going on.'" In 2008, he released to the site a much smaller collection of documents, also detailing the tax details of some of the bank's clients. Though the site has never published that information, Julius Baer succeeded briefly in shutting down Wikileaks.org before the site, supported by a number of US media and civil liberties organisations, succeeded in overturning the injunction. He also passed the information to the US tax authorities.

The data was later seen by the Guardian, which found "details of numerous trusts in which wealthy people have placed capital. This allows them lawfully to avoid paying tax on profits, because legally it belongs to the trust"; the data also "[appeared] to include several cases where wealthy individuals sought to use trust money as though it were their own". In a statement to the Observer on Friday, Julius Baer said: "The aim of [Elmer's] activities was, and is, to discredit Julius Baer as well as clients in the eyes of the public. With this goal in mind, Mr Elmer spread baseless accusations and passed on unlawfully acquired, respectively retained documents to the media, and later also to WikiLeaks. To back up his campaign, he also used falsified documents." A spokeswoman for the SFO said it would "consider allegations made to it to determine if the matter is within its jurisdiction and criteria for investigation or possibly for another authority to consider". © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2011

Top five IT companies to hire 1.8 lakh persons in 12 months, says Infosys

Indian IT sector seems to have come back to its record-breaking hiring days, with a top industry player Infosys projecting up to 1.8 lakh employees being hired by the five largest companies alone this year. “Growth is back and most companies are hiring in large numbers again. The top five companies are estimated to hire 1,60,000 to 1,80,000 new employees in the next 12 months,” Infosys CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan said here. Such large-scale hiring activities were last witnessed in 2007 by Indian IT companies, after which they had to cut back on hiring and even prune their existing headcount to cope up with the economic slowdown. “In 2008, the industry saw growth coming down to single digit. Most IT companies stopped hiring employees and stopped expanding,” Mr. Gopalakrishnan said at a discussion on ’sustainable Development Strategies’ organised by College of Architecture here last evening. Mr. Gopalakrishnan said that the growth was now back in the sector and the companies were expanding their headcount. He further said, “The IT industry has grown fast over the last 15 years. For example, the industry had about 1.50 lakh employees in 1993, around five lakh employees in 1999 and today, the industry employs around 2 million employees.” The highest-ever hiring in the IT space was seen in 2007, when more than four lakh jobs were created in Indian IT space by all the companies together. After that, the hiring fell to 2.5 lakh people in 2008 and further down to 1.5 lakh in 2009 and then just above one lakh in 2010. Industry estimates suggest that the overall hiring in India by all the IT companies together during 2011 could exceed or at least match the levels of 2007.

Besides Indian IT firms, global giants like IBM, Accenture and HP have also been hiring aggressively in the country in the past. Mr. Gopalakrishnan said that multinational corporations were also looking to India to expand their markets and to create back office function and many of them are looking at Tier II and III cities to expand. Emphasising the significance of infrastructure development in growth of these cities, he said an effective mechanism is essential to implement various development strategies. “Industry bodies, relevant NGOs, civic bodies must all have a role to play. For example, industry bodies will be able to mobilise participation by experts. Industry will be able to provide project and programme management expertise. Civic leaders will be able to mobilise public opinion. Thus I believe there is a higher chance of the initiatives getting implemented,” Mr. Gopalakrishnan said.

source-PTI