Amazing Iran

Check out these amazing pictures of Iran !

It is something that to be share and will show you an Iran that you never knew existed

At Dizin Mountain, Tehran

Shiraz Bazaar

At the Shahiran Palace

Tomb

Imam square

Creative- Vegetables Landscape

At Dizin Mountain

Iranians Food

HOW IMPORTANT THE SECURITY TOWARDS E-BUSINESS AND E-COMMERCE

As we understood, e-business and e-commerce is a business process that runs on the internet. The transactions is not limited to just buying and selling the products but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners. This time, I would like to discuss further, how important the security towards e-business and e-commerce in the perspective of company view. A security plan is a very important to the company in order to protect their assets hardware, software or systems while doing e-business.

Our business daily transaction are exposing us increasingly with the  wider use of the internet to service our customers, coordinate and conduct transactions with our vendors and suppliers as well. The integrated systems used by the group’s connectivity sometimes create free entry of viruses while the attached file being downloaded and contributed to security threats and risks issues. Thus, security plays very important role, to protect our cyber businesses transaction.

What are the security threats to e-commerce business transaction that we should know and to understand?  The assets must be protected to ensure secure e-commerce, including client’s computer, communication channel, and web commerce server including any hardware attached to the servers.

Did you know what is Malicious codes ? The computer viruses as worms and Trojan horses are examples of malicious code. A Trojan horse is a program which performs useful functions, but performs an unexpected action as well. Virus is a code segment which replicates by attaching copies to existing executable. A worm is a program which replicates itself and causes execution of the new copy. These can create havoc on the client side.

The next security threat is a Communication channel threats; The internet serves as the electronic chain linking a consumer (client) to an e-commerce resource (commerce server). Messages on the internet travel a random path from a source node to a destination node. The message passes through a number of intermediate computers on the network before reaching the final destination. It is impossible to guarantee that every computer on the internet through which messages pass is safe, secure, and non-hostile.

Server threats

The server is the third link in the client-internet-server trio embodying the e-commerce path between the user and a commerce server. Servers have vulnerabilities that can be exploited by anyone determined to cause destruction or to illegally acquire information.

Database threats: E-commerce systems store user data and retrieve product information from databases connected to the web-server. Besides product information, databases connected to the web contain valuable and private information that could irreparably damage a company if it were disclosed or altered. Some databases store username/password pairs in a non-secure way. If someone obtains user authentication information, then he or she can masquerade as a legitimate database user and reveal private and costly information.

Password hacking: The simplest attack against a password-based system is to guess passwords. Guessing of passwords requires that access to the complement, the complementation functions, and the authentication functions be obtained. If none of these have changed by the time the password is guessed, then the attacker can use the password to access the system.

As the conclusions, by knowing the above threat in the e-commerce industry can be considered as our guideline. It is slowly initiative to addressing security issues on the internal networks where it is a very important to everybody as the owner of the websites, blog or other social network. Educating the user on the security issues in Malaysia is still less compare to with the number of users. We have to educate ourselves and our children to ‘behave’ while using the internet.

On the other hand, as the owner we should understand, how important the business to invest for strong firewall. The main tool businesses use to protect their internal network is the firewall, a hardware and software will help you, to protect the users.

User also need to that the virus as ILOVEYOU can be successfully penetrated firewalled networks. The others virus is Melissa, KAK and IROK. Be careful and do not be threat.


Source : http://www.computer.org/csdl/proceedings/hicss/2002/1435/07/14350193.pdf
             Business Driven Technology, Palge Baltzan, 3rd Ed, McGraw-Hill
             http://www.ijcaonline.org/volume21/number5/pxc3873400.pdf

HOW CONVENIENT TODAY’S CONSUMERS GO FOR SHOPPING?

Today, the uses of internet become more popular in Malaysia. It is a virtual place, where people interact to share their ideas and build up the communities. Some people using the internet to do e-business promote a new way of doing business. The Internet is the world’s biggest shopping mall that allows enterprises to do their business with low cost involved, yet covering global market.

In Malaysia, we are lucky since our government is supported for those who are interested doing a e-business by offering package and grant, in order to encourage Malaysian to explore and experience to do a business beyond the boundaries.

E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods or services over the internet. E-commerce refers only to online transactions. While e-business, derived from the term e-commerce, is the conducting of business on the internet, not only buying and selling but also customers and collaborating with their business partners.

The difference between e-commerce and e-business is that, e-business refers to online exchange of information as internet banking services provided by Bank Islam, Maybank2u and Affin On-line allowing their customers to review their banking, credit card and mortgage accounts transaction.

E-Commerce dive business processes by using the World Wide Web. It has been seen as a potentially growing business for today’s market. The traditional limitation of doing business soon will be replacing by technology for consumers to purchase goods and services. The services offered by bankers using the electronic payment provide opportunities for shoppers or consumers doing transaction online at anytime, anywhere and anyone. This is will bring many benefits for both companies and consumers. Personally,

I myself now pay all my bills online and never visit banks, post office and other telco company to pay my bills. Even to buy my stuffs as tudung, muslimah wear, handbag, perfumes and my supplements. My orders will be placed electronically and the product will be produced and shipped out without the cost of middlemen. 

I’ve seen, the e-commerce slowly eliminates my traditional way to purchase and manage my life better, which is less time-consuming. At the same time, e-commerce helps my company  doing effective business transaction by issuing purchase orders, obtaining approvals and tracing invoices via online compared to before, it lead to high transaction costs.

By having e-commerce and e-business, customers can reach a company on the internet globally for 24 hours. It creates new markets and segments, allow customers to make wise purchasing decisions and increases business competitiveness. Selling online would eliminate the costs involved in rental or buying a business space or building. Virtual server space would substitute for the costs of ideally located shop lots.

To those busy working mother (and the same time studying) likes me, sometime rarely that I have the ample time to go to shopping even for myself. So that I would prefer to go shopping online and visit the e-shop, preferably the local Malaysia business because to me, it more secure and trusted. E-shop is a version of retail store where I can shop at any hour without have to leaving my kids, office even during waiting my lecturer come to the class. I can visit the e-shop by using my phone, as long as supported by the internet to online.

E-commerce also helps the consumers to do the interactive communications with sellers, fast order delivery and more customization through online shopping. Product information in the internet is more compact and ranges from various sites. Users have more opportunity to choose and compare products as what they want to purchase or easily find and select specialized products not limited to in Malaysia but worldwide. As a Malaysian e-business entrepreneur, it provides more business opportunity to go global and international by promoting services and products in better quality and more variety of goods. By using website, social media networking will help the products information’s easy to be viewed by customers. In Aseans countries, Malaysia are still behind if we compared to Singapore.  The online transaction in Malaysia is not as popular as in developing countries.

As e-business growth and improve from day to day, we as a user will experience the advantage and disadvantages using online transaction for shopping or business transaction. 

The benefits is, it highly accessible where the service is 24/7, if the e-business and e-commerce business provider provide a quality service and goods, it can increase and create customer loyalty, convenience and it also will increase a global reach when the customers keep posting a good comments to the social networking as Facebook, Twitter and Blogs. Significantly, the benefits to the businesses, it will help also seller to reduce their costs since there is low operation costs. Sometimes, they (sellers) do not have a shop but only online catalogue.

The facts, this e-business and e-commerce transaction will keep increasing tomorrow  The challenges in using the e-business as a customers is, how the online transaction can protects our financial security and personal information’s from illegal or harmful goods because sometime occurs a cyber-fraud, besides that, it also will increase our liability. Not all the internet user, aware about the internet commerce law. The company should provide the privacy systems with safeguard to protect their customers. Due to the expending of e-business and e-commerce, we as a customer, should be aware and know what our right is.

Source : Business Driven Technology, Palge Baltzan, 3rd Ed, McGraw-Hill
             http://umepublication.um.edu.my/filebank/published_article/1849/173.pdf
             http://www2.sis.pitt.edu/~spring/papers/CurStateE-B.htm

WHAT IS IT OUTSOURCING?

Have you experienced called any customer service centre before? Did you know that the customer service centre nowadays for a certain company has been outsourced to others company?

Today, all the company strives to achieve the maximum profits and try to minimize of their operation costs in order to meet the business target.  The effort in minimizing the operation costs included as minimum of employees hiring to do simple and repetitive tasks which not contributed to the sales (example to receive complaints, arranging products warranty, troubleshooting) and reduce spending on computer software and hardware.

Some of the company using the outsource service for tasks as accounting, company secretary, auditor, human resource, despatch, customer service and IT department. Why the company tend to outsource for their certain business activity? Is the outsourcing idea is workable?

Since we are now engaging in the IT revolution era, I would like to discuss and focus more on benefit of outsourcing in information system (IS) and technology service. Why? Because IT department is more challenging due to fast changes in the software, hardware, application and to have an excellent in-house programmer is advantage or burden to the company?

Let we understand first, what is the concept of outsourcing. According to Baltzan, outsourcing is an arrangement by which one organization provides a service or services for another organization that chooses not to perform them in-house. Typically, the outsourced process of function is a non-core business activity. The outsourced services can range from high-volume, repetitive processes such as electronic transaction processing to more customized services such as a help desk.

Some of the company said, outsourcing as a strategic technique that to help them align with technology initiatives and business goals with more on cost effective and this is will allow them to concentrating on company core business activities and keep abreast with rapid IT technological development. Significantly, reducing the operating costs may include applications, assets, people and other resources.

The main reasons why outsourcing become more popular service now is because everybody go globalization, the internet, growing economy and low unemployment rate, technology and deregulation. While there is many benefits associated with IT outsourcing include it will increased quality and efficiency of a process, service or functions, reduced operating expenses, focusing resources on core profit-generating.

Malaysia government too is outsourcing most of the important national projects such as Smart School, Human resources management Information Systems and e-procurement project. IT outsourcing also practices among the top commercial banks in Malaysia. Nevertheless, total outsourcing is only successful if there is a tight and well-monitored contract or agreement between the sourcing firms. To the outsourcer, they perceived potential of cost savings and shifting the burden or risk to the service provider or vendor in order to gain access to the cutting edge technology. The main reason for outsourcing was to access better or acquire more skills.

According to Husnayati in her research, examining factors influencing IT outsourcing success in Malaysia organization, Bumiputera Commerce Bank is the first bank in Malaysia to outsource its IT function, with a USD250 million 10-year contract with EDS in 1999.  Other major IT outsourcing contracts in the private sectors is include Maybank with 1.3 billion deal, the RM440 million Malaysian Airline System Berhad (MAS) deal, and Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) RM 32 million extension contract.

While the Malaysian public sector experience a drastic beginning with outsourcing, largely driven by Malaysia’s strategic framework known as National IT Agenda (NITA) formulated in 1996 and the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). Among early Malaysia government’s large-scale systems integration projects were for Malaysia Postal Office and Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad for Permodalan nasional Berhad (PNB).

I also would like to share; there is a three type of outsourcing. Onshore (process engaging another company within the same country for services), Nearshore (contracting an outsourcing arrangement with a company in a nearby country) and Offshore (using companies from developing countries to write code and develop systems and the country is geographically far away).

There are currently three categories of outsourcing countries as the leaders (countries that are leading the outsourcing industry as Canada, India, Ireland, Israel and Philippines), the up-and-comers (country beginning to emerge as outsourcing options as Brazil, China, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia and South Africa) and the rookies (countries that are just entering the outsourcing industry as Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Thailand and Ukraine).

The choosing of outsourcing company is based on the certain critical criteria like the expertise that they had, costs of labor, English language proficiency, highly skilled labor pool, low political and financial risk, telecommunication infrastructure, educational system, number of technology students graduates from universities, favourable cost structure and supporting by government. If we look at Malaysia, we are currently in the position of the up-and-comers category. Please refer to table 1 for detail.

Expertise	Wireless applications
Major Customers	IBM, Shell, DHL, Motorola, Electronic Data Systems Corporation
Advantages	▪Good business environment with strong government support for   IT and communications industries. ▪Workforce has strong global exposure ▪World class telecommunication infrastructure ▪Over half of the 250,000 students in higher education major in     scientific or technical disciplines.
Disadvantages	▪Labor costs higher than India ▪Few suppliers, which limits business choices ▪Shortage of skilled IT talent

Overall, Malaysia views outsourcing as a value added service to generate revenues and also a means of improving IT performance. Since 1995, Asia Pacific is the leading outsourcing market. Malaysia and Singapore are the leading countries where interest level is high. To countries where the knowledge of English language is not good as Korea and China, they prefer to purchase technology and buy services. Yet outsourcing carries risks, loss of control, inflexibility and geopolitical uncertainty. Not all functions and process can or should be outsources, at least not without careful analysis of the advantages and disadvantages. When we decided to outsourcing, we need to be ready with the issue of security. It is because in the world heading towards border-less transactions and information communication technology, security is very fragile and crucial to the reputation of the company.

Source : Business Driven Technology, Palge Baltzan, 3rd Ed, McGraw-Hill
             http://www.it-innovations.ae/iit005/proceedings/articles/I_3_IIT05_Suhaimi.pdf
             http://www.wseas.us/e-library/transactions/computers/2010/89-744.pdf
             http://eprints.utm.my/5544/1/zurainismail06_EFIOS.pdf

         

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND GE13 SCENARIO IN MALAYSIA

How the internet and technology affected our politics in Malaysia? Consciously, we are being attacked by thousands of information towards the GE 2013. The explosion information happened through various medium.  The good infrastructure and facilities of technology advancement as internet, now taken place and these technology developments have had influence on the way, we as Malaysian to face the coming of GE13. About 13,105,407 million of total voters and can we imagine how is going to be when all the voters are using the internet to follow the GE13.

In simple definition, information technology is that we used to store, manipulate, distribute or create information while the technology is a mechanism, how the data is process.

I still remember, 23 years ago (I am 11 years old, in year of 1990’s) the GE scenario is very different compared to now. At that time, all the PRU information’s is only been discuss in the coffee shop, door to door and within local community. There is no I formation technology tools used to share about Malaysia GE. It is only just limited to press and television only. And there is not so much press available for us to get the latest information as well as TV channel. It is really limited.  

But today, I realised in the year of 2013, it is totally change. The explosion of information technology and technology device enhancement is killing us. Since the election comes around the corner, every now and then, we are keep been informed the status of GE13. Either throughout email, SMS, social media network and others medium, it is now works for 24/7. For many Malaysians who are now seemingly a better informed lot, they see this as facilities helping the candidates (government or oppositions) to do the campaign and have come out with their guns blazing to try and buy over as many voters as possible.

How the information technology has revolutionised political communication. Parties, candidates and voters use the internet to do their campaign. Today, there is a lot social media network been used by parties as the platform to disburse all the information regarding the GE13, to secure votes. The rapid technology advancement helps the voters to get the latest and update information towards their favourite’s candidates. They are creating a network of committees to support the campaign. They used blog as community chatting to share what in their minds and to convince floating voters. All the bloggers keep busy updating their blogs and share with voters about their opinion towards GE13. Some candidates choose electronics device as affective as social medium to approach the voters.

Today we have 7.7 currently using of smartphone with android and iOS application. Now, information transfer using the phone technology as Blackberry, Galaxy Samsung, I-Phone, IPAD, laptop more effective compared to the traditional way. The internet changing the way candidates approach voters with great speed on the election campaigns by aimed at specific groups of voters or targeting. The internet is seen as a chance to establish direct contact without the mediation of journalist. Nevertheless, the television and newspaper continues to play a role for the marketing campaign. Political parties and their candidates can launch election campaigns via the Internet, for instance by updating their blogs, home pages and social-networking services, including Facebook and Twitter.

Realize with the Malaysian capability spending on the smartphone plus with the IT facilities provided in Malaysia, there is a lot of company provide the android applications to be downloading by voters in order to help them being updated from time to time. The latest application is powered by local Malaysian company, Appandus Sdn Bd and can be downloaded by users via Google Playstore or Apple App Store. Appandus through the App, they prepare all the information regarding the GE2013 covered in 727 election locations that they gathered from Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) .

The applications is easy to be used with great features. The social media network as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, We Chat, What’s App has been used to approach voters as their ‘electronic leaflets’ by uploading the photos and biographies of the candidates, electoral programmes, agenda and their promised.

But other traditional medium as television, radio and press are more interactive and the content of the information’s may different compared to the online version of information. But it is a big challenge to SKMM and Cyber Security to monitor the internet used during this GE13. All the information’s exploded must be screen to avoid misused and ethics.

Overall, we can conclude that the parties used the internet communication tool to complement but no way had substitutes of offline activities since it is easy to engaging with cyber-volunteers to circulate their message and it is cost effective compared to the printed materials.

Malaysians still put their trust in traditional media as their officially and main source of information. 

Sources : http://appandus.com/
               http://www.spr.gov.my/
               http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Digital1/Story/A1Story20130430-419358.html
               http://www.sv.uio.no/isv/english/people/aca/runekarl/index.html
        Business Driven Technology, Palge Baltzan, 3rd Ed, McGraw-Hill

ETHICS WHILE USING THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The advancement of IT tools and computer today's is not solely a technological issue. It has affects in a variety of areas ranging from ethical to social and legal. Beside the benefits brought by the technology advancement, problems also arise. Both use and abuse of information technology have increased. Especially, when the current technology explosion.

The misuse of computer and information technology and unethical behaviour towards this facilities have caused to losses to the business and society. People are usually do not realize that sometimes they are not practised the ethical or IT code of conducts. Especially who had good knowledge and experienced in information technology and practitioners as well. They do not equip themselves with good ethics and do not practise do and don’ts while using the IT.

Ethics is a principles and standards that guide our behaviour toward other people. According to Quinn (2006), ethics is the philosophical study of morality, a rational examination into people’s moral beliefs and behaviour. To protect the moral and avoid the misused of the IT, computer ethics is currently practising as part of the core curriculum for all computer science majors. The need of students to understand the basic cultural, social, legal and ethical issues in the discipline of computing today is a vital.

As the owner of the business and user of the information technology, do you know how to handle the scenario as when you found your employees search the organizational databases for sensitive corporate and personal information to the outsiders? (Example; in private hospital, the patient record is being sell to the insurance company), when the company collect, buy and use information without checking the validity or accuracy of the information? (Example; bankers and car dealers), when the individuals create and spread viruses that cause trouble for those using and maintaining IT systems, when the individual or your friends hack into computer systems to steal propriety information or your employees destroy or steal propriety company information such as schematics, sketches, customer lists and financial reports?

By understanding of our rights, concepts and terms related to ethical issues also is very important for us to know. Perhaps we are more protected.

Pirated Software is the unauthorised use, duplication, distribution or sale of copyrighted software.

Copyright is the legal protection afforded an expression of an idea such as a song, video game and some types of proprietary documents.

Example of scenario in Malaysia is, KRU Productions was initiate and launched the campaign against the piracy of local artist towards their songs album supported by Malaysia Government.

Intellectual Property is the intangible creative work that is embodied in physical form.

Example of scenarios that related to the IP case is, Jason R is a designer and posted a Star Wars web site. Once the site started receiving 40,000 hits a day, he received a call from Luca Film asking him to shut it down. He later posted excerpts of the phone conversation on his web site. Luca Film later was flooded with angry e-mail messages from fans who felt the company was exerting totalitarian control over products to which they felt a deep personal connection.

Counterfeit Software is the software that that is manufactured to look like the real thing and sold as such.

Example of scenario in Malaysia is, to protect their products Hewlett Packard was implant the security chip in every their cartridges, to avoid the imitation and controlling of their products in the market. It is also to show how the technology will help us to protect the product imitation. 

As a user, using the information technology, we should understand our rights towards the ethical issue. The law provides guidelines in many of this area, but how far the laws can help us to practice ethics while using the information technology. One way an organization can begin dealing with ethical issues is to create a corporate culture that encourages ethical considerations and discourages dubious information dealings.

Source : http://iacis.org/iis/2010/119-128_LV2010_1431
Source : http://www2.unescobkk.org/elib/publications/ethic_in_asia_pacific
Source : Business Driven Technology, Palge Baltzan, 3rd Ed, McGraw-Hill