Hacker attacks women's rights/press freedom website @IWMF

Washington, DC --- The website of the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) suffered a complex brute-force attack last Friday, Sept 5. The website that features the work of the IWMF and promotes the empowerment of women journalists worldwide, was defaced and most of its original content destroyed.

Using password-cracking software, a hacker operating from Turkey attacked iwmf.org, a Wordpress-based website, with over 3,000 login attempts until gaining access to its backend. The hacker replaced the IWMF's extensive website with a single page displaying the message "Hacked - Good Bye Admins" and installed malicious code to block anyone else from logging in. The website was fully restored and functional less than 36 hours after the attack was detected.

The severity of the breach, as well as the hacker's advanced methods and systematic approach, suggest that this incident was a targeted attack against the IWMF and its mission to strengthen the role of women in the media.

Digital threats against women journalists have become a growing concern in recent years. A study on Violence and Harassment against Women in the News Media, published by the IWMF and the International News Safety Institute earlier this year, shows that nearly 20% of women journalists who participated in the study had experienced tapping, hacking and/or digital security threats. The IWMF has increased its efforts to raise awareness for this issue, in addition to including digital security training in select IWMF reporting fellowships.

About the IWMF

Founded in 1990 by a group of prominent U.S. women journalists, the International Women's Media Foundation is a Washington-based organization that is dedicated to strengthening the role of women journalists worldwide. The IWMF believes the news media worldwide are not truly free and representative without the equal voice of women. The IWMF celebrates the courage of women journalists who overcome threats and oppression to speak out on global issues. The IWMF's programs empower women journalists with the training, support and network to become leaders in the news industry. For more information, please visit iwmf.org, follow @IWMF on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.

Please direct all media inquiries and interview requests to IWMF Communications Strategist Anna Schiller, aschiller@iwmf.org, +1 202 567 2613. 

Invitation To @SheLeadsAfrica's Showcase

Buy your tickets today for the She Leads Africa Entrepreneur Showcase on 20 September in Lagos 



She Leads Africa's Entrepreneur Showcase is a platform that introduces the continent's most promising female entrepreneurs to investors, accelerators, and mentors looking to invest in the next generation of African talent.
Looking for new and diverse entrepreneurs and ideas to invest in?
Want to learn how to build and grow your startup?
Curious about the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Lagos?


If you answered yes to any of these questions join us to learn how young entrepreneurs have scaled their businesses, what investors are looking for in new ideas, and be there to watch 10 entrepreneurs pitch their game changing ideas.

September 19th: Private networking event with finalists, judges, entrepreneurs, angel investors, and venture capital companies

September 20th: Entrepreneur showcase with young entrepreneurs panel, pitch competition, and cocktail reception

ENTREPRENEUR SHOWCASE
20 September at 2:00pm

FROM IDEA TO BUSINESS: YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS PANEL
Join 4 young entrepreneurs who have successfully taken their passions and turned into growing businesses that have raised investment and scaled to new markets.




PITCH COMPETITION:
More than 380 entrepreneurs from 27 countries applied for just 10 finalist spots and the chance to pitch their businesses in front of a panel of experienced entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and financiers who understand what it takes to build a successful business in Africa.


Companies:

1. Afrocentric Bamboo Limited designs, develops, and markets bamboo bikes and frames and related products and services. 
2. Banke Kuku Textiles designs African inspired luxury fabrics and accessories for the fashion, interiors and soft furnishings markets. 
3. Fashpa.com is an online retailing platform, dedicated to providing African consumers with access to fashion and lifestyle brands. 
4. Lizzie's Creations develops mobile and web applications uniquely aimed at the development and education of women and children in Africa. 
5. Loue 1 Voiture is the first online platform that enables you to reserve a car from big and small car hire companies in Morocco. 
6. Mamalette is a website and information portal dedicated to the needs of Nigerian parents and parents to be. 
7. MKP Fast Foods creates youth employment in SA by operating a low cost, scalable mobile kitchen for a growing chicken brand, Galito's. 
8. Night Bus is a safe, cool way of getting around town at night. We enrich the party experience by bringing people closer to brands they love. 
9. Rare Customs connects SME's to emerging African tourism and investment trends. 
10. Thandos provides a platform that empowers aspiring African artists to design women's fashion footwear that is comfortable, convenient and affordable. 

Judges Panel:




Prizes:
Cash prize of 10,000 USD for first place, 5,000 USD for second place, 1,000 USD for third place
2 meetings with legal advisor from a premier law firm to discuss incorporation, corporate structures and copyrights
Meeting with 2 executive directors of a leading merchant bank to discuss business plans and fundraising
Consultation on brand development with Etisalat in-house marketing team
Year long subscription to full suite of Google Apps for Business tools
6 month communications and media strategy from Africapractice, a leading strategy firm
6 month access to Capital Square co-working space
Free business line for one year (including voice and data)
Interviews with major media outlets
Access to prominent venture capitalists, angel investors and other leading professionals to serve as mentors and sponsors

There are two types of tickets available:
General Admission: N5,250

- Access to the Young Entrepreneurs Panel, Entrepreneur Showcase and Cocktail Reception on Saturday 20 September

VIP: N10,500

- Access to the private networking event with the judges, finalists, angel investors, and venture capital funds on Friday 19 September

- Access to the Young Entrepreneurs Panel, Entrepreneur Showcase and Cocktail Reception on Saturday 20 September

The event is being supported by a number of organisations most prominently Huawei, GTBank and Laurent Perrier. Tickets can be purchased online at afritickets.com or requested by emailing info@sheleadsafrica.org

Purchasing a VIP ticket automatically enters you into the SLA raffle. 10 VIP ticket holders will win a free ride in a luxury car to both events courtesy of Afrocabs, our official ride partner. Winners will also receive a free outfit from Eve & Tribe.

Mara Mentor One-on-One

Mara Mentor One-on-One Event Set to Hold in Abuja

Would you like to be mentored by Nigeria's most successful business leaders?

Applications are now open for six-month business mentorship placements as Mara Mentor plans to host the sequel to its exceedingly successful Mara Mentor One-on-One Lagos event, where over 60 young Nigerian entrepreneurs won business mentorship placement under top Nigerian business leaders. An initiative of Mara Foundation, the Mara Mentor One-on-One business pitch session, which has recorded great success in Africa, having been held 10 times across the continent, is now set to hold in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, on the 14th of October 2014.

Register on the Mara Mentor entrepreneurship community and apply now for a chance to win a six-month mentorship placement under Nigeria's finest entrepreneurs. 

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CcHUB releases 2nd edition of the “How I Use My Phone” Research Series

CcHUB's Mobile Experience Centre released a 2nd edition of the "How I Use my Phone" series, this time targeted at Nigerian working professionals.

"How I Use my Phone" is a CcHUB research aimed at gathering market research intelligence around mobile phone usage patterns in Nigeria.

The aim of this series is to provide open access to information that will prove useful to the general public; albeit for different purposes (such as knowledge acquisition, research, projects, product development etc.)

This survey is a sequel to it's first series, the focus of which was to find out how market traders use their mobile devices.

For more information on the infographic released view here

Full link: http://www.cchubnigeria.com/mxlab/how-i-use-my-phone-nigerian-professionals/

Download Pdf version of infographic here

About Co-creation Hub (CcHUB)

Co-Creation Hub (www.cchubnigeria.com) is Nigeria's first open living lab and pre-incubation space designed as a multi-functional, multi-purpose space where work to catalyze creative social tech ventures take place. The HUB serves as a place for technologists, social entrepreneurs, government, tech companies, impact investors and hackers in and around Lagos to co-create new solutions to Nigeria's social problems.

10 People You Will Meet In A "Danfo" Bus...

One day, we'll travel to Abuja by train [LOS-ABV]. And I'll get to write a travelogue. But until then, enjoy this piece on some interesting people I see (meet) whenever I travel by Danfo [those yellow buses], around Lagos:

1. The co-driver: In a Danfo bus, you'll normally find a driver, bus conductor and other passengers. Among these other passengers is a co-driver i.e. a self acclaimed one. You'll often hear him from the back seats giving orders to the driver on where to follow, how to step on the brake, how to swerve onto a new lane etc. And the driver most often respond: "Na you dey drive?" Or "You wan collect steering for my hand?"

2. Red Alert: Imagine yourself inside a danfo bus and the driver is running on what seems like a top speed. Then all of a sudden you hear a voice break into your chain of thoughts. More like a scream: "Ahn ahn, driver you wan kill us?" Or "Driver please take it easy o. I never marry." Sometimes the co-driver doubles as a "red alert". Other times another passenger plays that role. The main goal is to caution the driver so that we can all arrive safely.

3. Preacher man: Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. With the preacherman in your bus, you can barely hear yourself think. Forget about receiving calls in that bus. If you do, you will hear the person on the other line asking, "are you in church?". The good thing about a preacherman in your danfo bus is that you get reminded that heaven and hell is real. "If we all die now, where will you go? Heaven or hell?" Some passengers stare at him in anger. Why should you say if we all die now? Yes, of course we want to make Heaven. No we won't die in this danfo bus.

4. The pervert: One day I was in a danfo bus and I heard a woman say in a loud voice "if you try that again I will slap you." She was referring to the young man sitting beside her. The story was that the man was rubbing his elbow against her breast. You can't really tell who is rubbing what because some of these buses are usually so jam-packed. The best thing is to position yourself well. But if you are unlucky you might fall victim of false accusation, this time a reversed psychology- one day, an older man pissed at the way a woman was protecting her frontage bluntly asked, "who wan touch your breast?" According to him, he has more than that at home. Silence.

5. "Do you know who I am": This man or woman tells us in a danfo bus that he or she is a very important person so the bus conductor must not argue with him/her over N10 change. Enough said.

6. Political analyst: If you missed the news last night, and you have a political analyst riding the same danfo bus with you, may God bless your day. All is cool until he gets another politically conscious passenger to engage in the discourse. Sometimes their analysis is a comic relief. Other times depressing. Depending on the topic in focus. An elderly analyst tells the younger folks in the bus about the good old days. And the danger of having a "young" inexperienced president rule Nigeria.

7. GSM users: Sometimes, you enter a bus and everyone,  well almost everyone, is on their mobile phone making calls. The one screaming at the top of his voice...

8. Sleep-attack: How do people sleep through the journey? In the danfo bus? On the bumpy Lagos road? Forget it. You don't know what their story is about. Body no be wood o.

9. Networker: The guy tells you that you have beautiful brown eyes and soberly shares his story. What is yours? Blank stare.

10. Tribalism: If war breaks out in Lagos, it might start from a danfo bus. One minute you enter a danfo bus and you see us all sandwiched in the air-tight yellow buses and you sigh in relief.  The next,  you hear an argument from the back row and the next thing,  someone is yelling, throwing verbal punches at a particular tribe. End of story.

These are my first ten. There are more categories to meet.

It is no longer news that I love public transport. If you want to really see Lagos,  ride the danfo but bring your change.

Picture: I entered a bus in ogba (Lagos) and looked up in time to see that I was sitting beside an old colleague from Nasarawa. Danfo is cool like that.

Enjoy life. Take it easy.

Fwd: Press Release: Co-creation Hub Nigeria (CcHUB) Launches $500,000 Seed Investment Program

Co-creation Hub Nigeria (CcHUB) Launches $500,000 Seed Investment Program

CcHUB boosts its incubation program with the launch of a $500,000 seed investment fund to support early stage start-ups over the next two years. Start-ups will receive sums ranging from $10,000 - $25,000 to support business model experimentation  and operations. Initial beneficiaries of the seed program are Vacantboards, Truppr, Traclist, 500shops and GeniiGames. The announcement comes on the occasion of first anniversary of its incubation office which amongst other services provides entrepreneurs with mentorship, user testing, access to markets, office space and administration.

The initial beneficiaries of the seed investment went through CcHUB's Pre-Incubation program which identifies and supports aspiring technology entrepreneurs looking to address local market problems with relevant solutions. Through the $90,000 Tony Elumelu Foundation/CcHUB pre-seed fund, beneficiaries started out with a grant award of $5,000 each to support their ideas, build working prototypes, carry out initial market testing & proof their concepts. These ideas grew steadily, earning revenues, increasing their user bases and building partnerships hence needing a different kind of support.

'CcHUB incubation office launched in response to the need to provide business development, mentoring and funding support to start-ups that showed traction from our impactful Pre-incubation program. Our seed investment ensures startups have a sure footing post-Preincubation to concentrate on rapidly executing their plans and learning from the market' says 'Bosun Tijani, CEO & Co-founder of CcHUB.

'Discussions are already underway with investors to provide additional funding to two (2) of our initial beneficiaries and we hope to break the news in the coming months' remarked Tunji Eleso, Director of Incubation. We welcome startups looking to transform the way Nigerians live, play and do business to apply to join our portfolio via http://cchubnigeria.com/pre-incubation/ he further stated.

About initial beneficiaries

• Vacantboards (www.vacantboards.com) led by Tunji Also is an online outdoor advertising marketplace which enables one-click booking of outdoor advert spaces & tracking of advert campaigns.

• Truppr (www.truppr.com) founded by Bosun Tijani is a social tool that connects people with physical activities and teammates in cities across the world.

• Traclist (www.traclist.com) run by Emotu Balogun is an online marketplace that helps fashion retailers expose their inventory and allows customers all over Nigeria to buy from an wide array of  products.

• 500 shops (www.500shops.com) led by Clive Ayonye offers small and medium sized businesses the opportunity to set up a complete online store and accept orders in minutes.

• Genii games (www.geniigames.com) led by Adebayo Adegbembo delivers educative apps aimed at preserving and promoting African Culture and related subjects which include languages, etiquette and ethics.

About Co-Creation Hub Nigeria

Co-Creation Hub Nigeria is a social innovation centre dedicated to accelerating the application of social capital and technology for economic prosperity. We leverage a community of progressives – software developers, organizations, government officials, businesses, academics etc who bring their creativity and knowledge into play in crafting novel ways to address the myriads of social and economic challenges that impact the lives of Nigerians every day. These stakeholders form the core of the community of people interested in positively impacting Nigeria that we are building. This community interacts through our online platform and physically at the CcHUB space in Yaba, Lagos. For more information, visit www.cchubnigeria.com

For further enquiries:

Tunji Eleso

Director of Incubation, CcHUB

6th Floor, 294 Herbert Macaulay Way, Sabo, Yaba

tunji@cchubnigeria.com, info@cchubnigeria.com  

 

#Press Release#