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HP ProLiant DL380 (G5) | Sale
by Mbugua Njihia 02 Aug '14

02 Aug '14

I am selling a HP ProLiant DL380 Generation 5 (G5) server, available immediately Asking Ksh. 250,000 Regards, Mbugua Njihia

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Cyber Security Training
by Salesio Kiura 01 Aug '14

01 Aug '14

Having recognized the phenomenal challenge posed to Kenyan digital systems by emerging cyber security threats, the ICT Association of Kenya (ICTAK) has designed a comprehensive system security program for ICT professionals to enable them steer organizations towards excellence in ICT security. ICTAK is pleased to announce that the Third edition of CCSA training will run from 25th to 29th of August 2014 at the Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi. Modules to be covered are as per the advert and on the website regards, Salesio -- ===== Give thanks for everything since: *All works for good to those that love the LORD!*

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Apply to the Appwiz Challenge - 10 Days to go
by John Matogo 01 Aug '14

01 Aug '14

Dear colleagues. Only 10 days to go to submission closure of Safaricom Appwiz Challenge. Submissions close on *10th August 2014. * The Safaricom Appwiz challenge is an initiative started by Safaricom in order to provide local budding Mobile Technology based entrepreneurs with training and mentorship opportunities to scale their solutions Leveraging on Mobile Technology. It is now in its 2nd year after a successful run in 2013. The competition launched on 16th July 2014 and is currently open for submissions through the link http://developer.safaricom.co.ke . The categories for submission are as follows; 1. Mobile for good and community development 2. Financial Inclusion 3. Smart Business and Cloud innovation 4. Youth, Media and Entertainment 5. Infrastructure and utilities There will be an evaluation that will allow shortlisted applicants to demonstrate their prototypes as well as show their team structure and experience. 15 Finalist start-ups will be taken through an incubation process in partnership with @iBizAfrica after which final judging takes place on the 27th of November. The Grand Prize Winner will walk away with; KES. 1.5 Million (Payable in 3 instalments based on milestone achievement), Runner up – KES.1, 000,000 (Payable in 3 instalments based on milestone achievement) and a category winner of KES.200,000 (Payable in 2 instalments subject to achieving milestones). Do not miss out on your chance to launch your start-up in the Kenyan Market. Regards, John Matogo Manager Incubation Centre, @iBizAfrica Strathmore University P.O. Box 59857-00200 Nairobi, KENYA Tel: +254 070 303 4280 (direct line) Personal Mobile:+254 722 813 533 Skype: jmatogo Twitter: @jmatogo LinkedIn: http://tinyurl.com/avcn7qu Web: www.strathmore.edu and http://www.ibizafrica.co.ke/ -- Note: All emails sent from Strathmore University are subject to Strathmore’s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here <http://www.strathmore.edu/aboutus.php?id=184> to read the policy. "Visit our Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/StrathmoreUniversity>Page and Twitter <https://twitter.com/StrathU>Account".

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Sale: Used HP ProLiant DL380 G5 Server
by Mbugua Njihia 01 Aug '14

01 Aug '14

*Asking price:* Ksh 250,000, Available immediately ( spec sheet - http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=c04286057 ) The HP ProLiant DL380, the world's largest selling server, delivers on its history of design excellence with enterprise-class uptime and manageability, proven 2-way Intel Xeon performance, and 2U density for a variety of rack deployments and applications. - *Processors:* - Dual-core Intel® Xeon™ 5000 and 5100 series processors with 4MB Level 2 cache for blazing performance; systems support up to 2 processors (2 processors standard on all Performance models) - Preconfigured Performance models save valuable deployment time at a discounted bundle price - Intel 5000P chipset - *Memory: * - Up to 32 GB PC2-5300 Fully Buffered DIMMs (DDR2-667) with 4:1 and 2:1 interleaving available, online spare and mirrored memory capabilities *NOTE: *Memory DIMMs in systems with the Front Side Bus (FSB) running at 1333 MHz will run at 667 MHz and in systems with a FSB running at 1066 MHz or 667 MHz the memory DIMMs will run at 533 MHz. - *Storage Controller: * - Performance Models: Smart Array P400 Controller with 512MB battery-backed write cache (RAID 0/1/5/6) - Base Models: Smart Array P400 Controller with 256MB cache (RAID 0/1/5) - Entry Models: Smart Array E200 Controller with 64MB cache (RAID 0/1) - *Internal Drive Support: * - (8) small form factor (SFF) hot-plug drive bays to support Serial-attached SCSI (SAS) and Serial ATA (SATA) drives - *Network Controller: * - Embedded Dual NC373i Multifunction Gigabit Network Adapters with TCP/IP Offload Engine, including support for Accelerated iSCSI through an optional ProLiant Essentials Licensing Kit - *Expansion Slots:* - Four available PCI-Express slots, optional mixed PCI-X / PCI-Express configurations available - *USB Ports:* - USB 2.0 support - 5 total ports: (2) ports up front; (2) ports in back; (1) port internal - *Redundancy:* - Fully redundant hot plug fans - Hot plug power supply with optional redundancy (Included in Performance models) - *Management:* - New Integrated Lights-Out 2 featuring Integrated Remote Console with KVM over IP performance over shared network access - HP Power Meter and Power Regulator for ProLiant, delivering integrated power monitoring and server level, policy based power management with industry leading energy efficiency and savings on system power and cooling costs. - Automatic Server Recovery (ASR), ROM Based Setup Utility (RBSU), HP System Insight Manager, Status LEDs including system health and UID and SmartStart - System Insight Display on the front bezel for quick and easy server diagnostics - *Form Factor: * - Rack (2U), (3.5-inch) - *Deployment/Serviceability:* - Quick Deploy Rail System includes sliding universal rails, an ambidextrous cable management arm and quick release levers for fast and easy serviceability - Tool-less access to all system components for easy in rack serviceability

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Nicholas Wilcox (Unilever Vice President-IT) visit to Strathmore, @iBizAfrica
by John Matogo 30 Jul '14

30 Jul '14

Dear colleagues. Tomorrow, 31st July 2014, the Global Vice President -IT of Unilever will be visiting @iLabAfrica and @iBizAfrica at Strathmore University from about 10am. He is keen on seeing the projects that the team at @iLabAfrica has been working on and also seeing some of the ventures launched by entrepreneurs in @iBizAfrica. He will also give a public talk on "mobile enabling business" in the University Auditorium from 11am to 12noon. You are welcome to attend. Regards, John Matogo Manager Incubation Centre, @iBizAfrica Strathmore University P.O. Box 59857-00200 Nairobi, KENYA Tel: +254 070 303 4280 (direct line) Personal Mobile:+254 722 813 533 Skype: jmatogo Twitter: @jmatogo LinkedIn: http://tinyurl.com/avcn7qu Web: www.strathmore.edu and http://www.ibizafrica.co.ke/ -- Note: All emails sent from Strathmore University are subject to Strathmore’s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here <http://www.strathmore.edu/aboutus.php?id=184> to read the policy. "Visit our Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/StrathmoreUniversity>Page and Twitter <https://twitter.com/StrathU>Account".

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THE BIRTH OF A CITY – A PHOTO ESSAY ON THE HISTORY OF NAIROBI
by Eric Osiakwan 30 Jul '14

30 Jul '14

http://www.theeagora.com/birth-city-photo-essay-history-nairobi/?utm_conten… Eric here Eric M.K Osiakwan +233244386792 "Accraboy" 4 Skype @eosiakwan 4 Twitter about.me/ericosiakwan

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Problems with laptops in schools
by Andrea Bohnstedt 29 Jul '14

29 Jul '14

http://www.wnyc.org/story/why-hoboken-throwing-away-all-its-student-laptops… Regards, Andrea

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E-mail Routing via Smart Host...
by Michael Bullut 28 Jul '14

28 Jul '14

Greetings Team, Any I.S.P.s in the market that do e-mail routing via smart host? If so, does subscribing to this service carry a financial implication? Warm regards, Michael Bullut. --- *Cell:* *+254 723 393 114.**Skype Name:* *Michael Bullut.* *Twitter:* * @Kipsang <http://twitter.com/Kipsang/> * *Blog: http://www.kipsang.com/ <http://www.kipsang.com/>* *E-mail:* *main(a)kipsang.com <main(a)kipsang.com>* *---*

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Human-flesh search engines
by Grace Githaiga 28 Jul '14

28 Jul '14

Listers, I found this article quite interesting. I must warn you though that it is long:). Read on. Human-flesh search engines have become a Chinese phenomenon: they are a form of online vigilante justice in which Internet users hunt down and punish people who have attracted their wrath. The goal is to get the targets of a search fired from their jobs, shamed in front of their neighbors, run out of town. It’s crowd-sourced detective work, pursued online — with offline results. ...Human-flesh searches highlight what people are willing to fight for: the political issues, polarizing events and contested moral standards that are the fault lines of contemporary China. ...The focus on censorship also obscures the fact that the Web is not just about free speech. As some human-flesh searches show, an uncontrolled Internet can be menacing as well as liberating. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Human-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r…

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Fw: Fwd: Hacked DP & KDF Twitter Accounts: Understanding Hacker Motivation
by Matunda Nyanchama 27 Jul '14

27 Jul '14

FYI --------------- Information Security – Hacker Motivation By Dr Matunda Nyanchama, July 26, 2014 Business News » Information Security – Hacker Motivation Business News - Reading is FunDamental View on www.aganoconsultin... Preview by Yahoo By Dr Matunda Nyanchama, July 26, 2014 Reports indicate that Deputy President (DP) William Ruto’s twitter account has been compromised. This comes hardly two days after twitter accounts of the Kenya Defense Force (KDF) and that of its spokesman, Major Emmanuel Chirchir we compromised. It appears that it is the same group of hackers involved in both cases and clearly targeting the government. Indeed, using the DP’s twitter handle, the hackers posted a series of government sites that they had hacked. While we may not know the extent of damage inflicted, the embarrassment factor is big enough to require immediate and urgent action on the part of government. In social media, some people have expressed glee that these unlawful acts and are happy that the Jubilee government is being subjected to shame. As a “digital government”, some said, Jubilee should be better prepared to deal with such risks, adding that the government’s rhetoric doesn’t match reality. Whatever anyone thinks, all of us Kenyans should feel bad that such high-level exposure is happening to key national offices in the country. This is especially so when the country faces the monumental task in securing the country. The least we should do as citizens (whether allied to the government or opposition) is empathize and hope that the government would put in rapid measures to restore normalcy and trust that it can forestall further cyber challenges of the kind we have seen. If there is anything to learn from these incidents it is that time is nigh for rapid implementation of information protection measures! Information security needs to be prioritized as a matter of urgency. It is important that we prioritize attention in this area so as to forestall similar (and perhaps worse) happenings. Let’s remember that these hackers are not going away. We must expect that there will be continuous attempts at breaking into systems (be they government or private sector) by the large mass of hackers out there. Some would be copycat attacks while others would be fresh exploration of weaknesses of our systems accessible over the Internet. The hacker menace (whether internal or external to an organization) is real and is here to stay. The best we can do is be prepared to prevent, detect and respond to (deal with) the threat when it materializes. Indeed, the realistic course is make it as hard as one possibly make it for hackers to break into systems. There is more. There is no absolute security regardless of the amount of resources dedicated to system protection. A well-motivated hacker with an infinite resources (e.g. time and money) will break into a system however secure the system is deemed. We will be discussing protection techniques in the future. Before that, however, we need to understand what motivates hackers and why they continue to be a menace. Hacking has been around as long as computers existed. The menace has grown with the proliferation of the Internet and the Internet’s pervasive use. As the Internet reach grows, so also does the hacker threat. This is especially so given ease with which hackers, located in disparate locations, can collaborate and share attack techniques. Hackers are people who usually intrude into computer systems and manipulate these systems for their own ends. They are motivated by different interests, including the following: Thrill for personal satisfaction These are people who hack for the sake of hacking. They derive satisfaction from breaking into systems, for the fun the challenge the challenge presents and are motivated by anything other than the prize: breaking into systems. Some would then later brag about their escapades to their underground “communities” and in the process gain “respect” among their peers. One can imagine the hackers in the recent Kenyan hacks bragging about how they embarrassed our forces and the Deputy President of the nation! Quite, some “respect” it would earn these intruders. “Service to the Community” These break into systems believing that exposing flaws in the systems is good for the community. Clearly they enjoy their thrill but also understand that once a flaw has been exposed, the people concerned will fix it and thus leave society better off. There was once a story of a kid who broke into a bank, created an accounted and planted a malicious program that, on a nightly basis deducted small amounts of money from all the accounts and deposited the amounts in an account he created. Later, it is said, he presented the evidence to the bank management. And he hadn’t withdrawn a cent from the large amount of money he had accumulated. Now suppose that the hackers in the Kenyan cases intended “service to community”, they would rest easy that the government has woken up to the reality of exposure they face. Motivated by Malice Despite the above, my reading is that the people that hacked KDF and DP’s accounts were driven by malice. Even if they many not have gained access to sensitive KDF and DP information, the embarrassment in government ranks and across the country is palpable. As a result, some may question KDF’s ability to protect us when they cannot protect, as simple a thing as a twitter account. For the DP, the question I have had posed is: how could such a BIG office (with all the resources at its disposal) be so sloppy in the management of the DP’s communication channels. Malicious hackers usually do a number of things once they enter a computer. They may steal and (possibly) disclose sensitive information to unauthorized parties. For example, suppose such hackers gained access to the KDF’s battle strategy and plans. This would be treasure in the hands of an enemy. Now suppose that they proceeded to modify the plans and which plans are then transmitted to the battle field. The consequences could be dire and those in the field could be acting on modified information. Indeed, suppose the hacker had ability to interfere with the timely and accurate transmission of such information! They would clearly hamper execution of battle plans to the detriment of KDF! The term Information Warfare is becoming common place. This is where the theatre of war extends to cyberspace. Here hackers (working for parties in combat) target enemy targets in order to gain advantage in the field. A few years ago, Iranian nuclear facilities were infected by the stuxnet virus that paralyzed its nuclear centrifuges, clearly hampering the development of its nuclear program! In the commercial arena the world is becoming more and more competitive. Whoever stays ahead in terms of research and development, and translating the information to products and services could stay ahead economically. Now suppose the malicious hacker gets hold of such intellectual property! Industrial espionage is a reality today, whether by foreign or local parties. In a recent case, systems of a large retail chain in North America (Target) were compromised. The hackers gained access to the company’s customer base, including credit card information. Such information could be used for malicious purposes including credit card fraud. While the impact on the retail chain hasn't been quantified, clearly it suffered substantial brand image and (perhaps) to the advantage of its competitors. Final words: pervasive technology use requires clear understanding of information protection needs. These include developing strategies, policies, deployment and operation needs to assure systems protection. Of necessity these needs would encompass aspects of people, processes and technology. Dr Matunda Nyanchama is a Director and Managing Consultant at Agano Consulting Inc., an ICT services firm with offices in Canada and Kenya. He can be reached at mnyanchama(a)aganoconsulting.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matunda Nyanchama matunda(a)gmail.com; matunda(a)nsemia.com - Book Publishing - www.nsemia.com matunda(a)aganoconsulting.com - ICT Consulting - www.aganoconsulting.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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