Microsoft wins court approval to topple 'botnet' 
February 26, 2010
Source:  REUTERS

BANGALORE: Software giant Microsoft Corp has won a US court approval to deactivate a global network of computers that the company accused of spreading spam and harmful computer codes, a media report said.

A federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, granted a request by Microsoft to deactivate 277 Internet domains, which the software maker said is linked to a "botnet", the paper said.

A botnet is an army of infected computers that hackers can control from a central machine. The company aims to secretly sever communications channels to the botnet before its operators can re-establish links to the network, the paper said. Microsoft on Monday filed a suit that targets a botnet identified as Waledac, the paper said.

Judge Brinkema's order required VeriSign Inc, an Internet security and naming services provider, to temporarily turn off the suspect Internet addresses, the paper said. Microsoft could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters outside regular U.S. business hours.

On Feb 18, Internet security firm NetWitness said in a report that a new type of computer virus is known to have breached almost 75,000 computers in 2,500 organizations around the world, including user accounts of popular social network websites.

Wipro starts probe into $4 million fraud
February 26, 2010
SOURCE : TNN

BANGALORE: Embezzlement by employees is seen to be a common phenomenon among Indian companies. And some say even the $4 million that a Wipro employee is said to have embezzled is a relatively ordinary figure.

Wipro is now instituting a high-level internal probe, and is said to have even mandated Ernst & Young to verify the audited accounts. Experts say the reason for such frauds typically is lax controls.

Kashi Memani, former chairman and managing partner of Ernst and Young India, said such frauds happen when a company does not conduct regular internal audits, do not have in place a tight set of internal controls and most importantly, when they decentralize the power of checks and balances to people down in the hierarchy.

"It is very important for companies to change the set of people who have access to accounts on a regular basis. But, one must be careful not to change people either too soon or wait for too long. Many a time people who have for long earned the company's trust of handling accounts, tend to misuse this trust," Memani said.

Several of these factors appear relevant in Wipro's case. The embezzler, one Anoop Kumar Agarwal, who committed suicide last December in Bangalore, is said to have joined the company in 2006 and later promoted as an assistant manager in the finance department. Agarwal, reports say, used stolen passwords to transfer money into his personal account.

Wipro Info edges out Satyam to bag Rs 100-cr PSB deal
February 26, 2010
SOURCE: ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: Wipro Infotech, the domestic arm of Wipro Technologies, on Wedneday, bagged a Rs 100-crore IT contract from Punjab & Sind Bank, to integrate its branches with an IT network and implement Infosys’ core banking solution. The contract was earlier awarded to Satyam, which failed to deliver on time, resulting in the contract getting dissolved.

The tender was issued in 2009 and a new vendor was chosen for the 10-year IT contract. “Our customers will be able to access online and mobile banking soon. They will be able to buy and sell shares from online repositories. The first phase will cover 500 branches,” said GS Vedi, chairman & managing director, Punjab and Sind Bank.

The IT deal was awarded to erstwhile Satyam Computer Services in August 2006, but they were not able to fulfil some criteria, a bank official said, prompting the bank to change its vendor. Mahindra Satyam, however, said that they did some work for the bank in the past, but the scope of the new contract includes new services, too.

PSB had already automated many branches, but they were not interlinked so far. Wipro will e-enable about 923 branches of Punjab and Sind Bank with Infosys’ Finacle software for banking.

Wipro Infotech has already rolled out core-banking solutions for UTI Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank. For Punjab and Sind Bank, Wipro will procure both hardware and software.

“The contract includes 24x7 management of the underlying IT infrastructure of the bank,” said Anand Sankaran, senior vice-president and business head, India and Middle East, Wipro. “We will also carry out commissioning and management of the data centre and the disaster recovery centre apart from providing service and support.”

The tie-up assumes significance in view of the bank’s objective to become a Rs 1,00,000-crore bank by 2011 by increasing its branch networks and services.