Tech
APICTA SUSPENDS BASIS IT ASSOCIATION FOR 2 YEARS
Published
3 years agoon

Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Executive Committee (EXCO) has suspended BASIS IT Association for 2 years due to the lack of cooperation,noncompliance to the clear directive of the EXCO regarding the requirement for participants to attend in person and the disruption caused due to their late stage withdrawal of the APICTA Awards program held December 7 – 11, 2022 in Islamabad, Pakistan.
APICTA was not immune to the global impact of COVID-19 and as a result no in-person
APICTA events were held in 2020 and 2021. A joint virtual award program was held for the
very first time for these two years. On March 30, 2022, Pakistan won the bid to host
APICTA Awards in Islamabad and following key decisions were made at the APICTA EXCO
committee meeting:
- Ratified that the APICTA event for 2022 in Islamabad be held physically.
- If by the event date (December 7 to 11, 2022) a member economy had governmentimposed
travel restrictions due to COVID-19, all participants from that member economy
could opt to attend virtually. - As for the Primary and Secondary Student category, it was made known to all member
economies that the students could participate virtually or physically. - With this context several meetings were held including a crucial meeting on November 8,
2022, where Bangladesh was represented by BASIS.
At the meeting, the host economy, Pakistan, through P@SHA, the organiser of APICTA
2022, together with APICTA EXCO, offered the following to each economy:
a) Visa applications made through P@SHA for all participants from every economy to ease
the burden of applying directly, if they wish to.
b) Assistance where required from any government department or relevant diplomatic
channel to ease in the process of visa application.
c) Subsidies including discounts for lodging for all judges travelling from various
economies and in some instances, airline fare discounts.
Chairman APICTA, Mr. Stan Singh said, “despite all of this, Bangladesh through BASIS did
not take advantage to explore this opportunity so that all judges and participants who were
registered to attend could travel with ease and economically to Islamabad.”
On November 19, 2022, APICTA Secretariat received a letter from BASIS expressing in the
letter that they were still “waiting” for APICTA EXCO’s response on their request to attend
virtually. However, the APICTA EXCO were confused over this strange and lapsed request
as the matter was resolved at the November 8, 2022 meeting, but nevertheless APICTA
EXCO responded soonest on November 20, 2022 expressing to BASIS that there was no
actions or decisions pending from APICTA EXCO and that it was not only made clear at the
November 8 meeting of the decision, but reiterated the decision in that, unless there was
any travel restrictions due to COVID-19, all participants (excluding students) must attend in
person.
BASIS was also offered additional time to register entries, even though the entry date into
the judging system was already closed. Despite all of the support that was offered, there
was no response from BASIS after the email which was sent from APICTA EXCO on
November 20, 2022.
On November 21 & 22, 2022, the APICTA Secretariat with P@SHA, wrote to every
participant from all economies respectively, informing them that unless their economy still
had travel restrictions due to COVID-19, that physical attendance was mandatory. In the
same correspondence, it was reiterated that Primary and Secondary Students Categories
could participate virtually. In the days leading up to the Awards, some of the participants
from Bangladesh were actually applying for Pakistan visas and making travel plans to
Islamabad. However, they informed P@SHA that BASIS requested them not to attend
physically but rather virtually because APICTA EXCO had agreed for Bangladesh to do so.
said, “once judging schedules and other logistics were finalised, Bangladesh withdrew completely on the eve of the event from the awards program, without giving any notice whatsoever and silently, which caused chaos and wreaked havoc in the scheduling causing the host economy to re-schedule the entire program, and this was against the harmony of APICTA.”
Mr. Singh continued to say, “this action taken by Bangladesh was reckless, unacceptable,
and untenable to APICTA EXCO and against the spirit of APICTA. The actions from BASIS
has never happened in the history of APICTA and we were all profoundly upset over this
matter. At the APICTA EXCO meeting in Islamabad, this matter was discussed and every
EXCO member at that meeting felt such action taken by BASIS was truly reckless,
unacceptable and a decision was taken to give BASIS the opportunity to explain their
actions. The response from BASIS was assigned to an APICTA EXCO sub-committee
ONLY to investigate the facts and carry out due diligence on the matter. The sub-committee
shared their findings and recommendations to the APICTA EXCO who then unanimously
decided to suspend BASIS as a member of APICTA for a period of two (2) years. In
addition, in the past we never had any issues arising with any of the BASIS leadership”
In addition, APICTA EXCO is compelled to address and clarify some of the statements
which have been circulating in the public domain:
i. Nepal had requested a leave of absence for a period from APICTA following a major
earthquake and the APICTA EXCO accepted their request and will welcome them back
when they are ready to do so and APICTA wishes them well.
ii. APICTA welcomes any new member economies, and several economies within and
outside the Asia Pacific region have shown keen interest in APICTA membership. The
EXCO reviews each application on a case-to-case basis.
iii. The core APICTA goals and objectives are always maintained – that is, promoting
growth in every member economy and providing them with every opportunity to
showcase the best examples of ICT innovations in government, businesses, community,
and individuals alike.
Over the last few years, APICTA has introduced other elements to the eco-system of
APICTA by adding initiatives like Business Matchmaking, Students Exchange, Startups
Networking etc. In addition, enabling all participants to experience the culture of the host
economy via wonderful social and tourism opportunities whilst providing and facilitating
networking and business opportunities for them, and as the technology landscape changes,
APICTA will continue in its endeavour to make changes to add to the value chain.
Mr. Inserra concluded by saying, “since its inception, every economy has had the
opportunity to host the APICTA event and Bangladesh did so successfully in 2017. It is
important to note that this suspension does not apply to participants from Bangladesh,
whom we strongly felt were deprived the opportunity in Islamabad. As such they shall have
the same opportunity to participate in the upcoming APICTA Awards 2023 & 2024. APICTA
requires that all entries must come through a representative body of the member economy.
Since BASIS, as the incumbent member body representative is suspended, we will explore
other options with the assistance of the IT Ministry to ensure active participation from
Bangladeshi students, startups, IT companies and experienced category judges.”
APICTA will not be making any further comments regarding this matter
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Tech
Pre-Orders Open for Mojahidul Islam’s Latest Computer Book ‘AI Shikhun, Taka Gunun’
Published
1 month agoon
September 12, 2025
Technology writer and journalist Mojahidul Islam Dheow is set to release his new book, “AI Sikhun, Taka Gunun.”
Online pre-orders have already started, and the book is being published by Systech Publications.
In today’s digital age, we stand at a turning point—where simple keystrokes can turn into dollars, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming humanity’s newest coworker.
This book acts as a bridge, connecting learning with earning and blending investigative journalism with awareness-raising for general readers. The book is structured into three parts.
The first section is designed as an earning guide for young people. It explains how AI content prompts can create opportunities in the freelancing market and how small ideas can grow into significant income streams.
The second section serves as a hands-on investigative handbook for journalists, offering practical tips on using AI tools for data mining, verifying sources, and ensuring cybersecurity.
The third section is aimed at general readers. It presents the opportunities and risks of AI in simple language while also teaching methods for spotting deepfakes and identifying fake news.
Mojahidul Islam Dheow, a Computer Science graduate, has been writing and publishing technology-related books since 2003, with more than a dozen titles to his name.
His book “Web Database Application: MySQL–PHP” was the first Bangla-language book on website database and application development, earning him the Best Author Award in 2021. Dheow’s writing style is lively and accessible—sometimes deeply technical, sometimes witty and lighthearted. His words make readers feel as though they are casually learning new hacks while chatting with a friend.
This book is equally valuable for three key audiences: those who want to start freelancing but don’t know how to begin, journalists eager to learn the magic of AI-powered data tools, and everyday readers curious about how AI is reshaping our daily lives.
All in all, “AI Sikhun, Taka Gunun” is not just another book—it is a complete roadmap for surviving and thriving in the age of AI.
According to the author, the book will help readers discover numerous exciting ways to earn with AI. These include offering writing services with AI content tools, managing brands and social media accounts, providing AI-powered SEO services, creating and selling custom GPTs, producing AI-generated art and images, affiliate marketing, optimizing paid advertising, offering translation and localization services, developing and selling AI-powered digital products, teaching and hosting online courses, building websites and running email marketing campaigns, creating AI chatbots for businesses, developing mobile apps, automating lead generation, managing and analyzing data, and even producing AI-powered YouTube content.
The printed price is 400 Taka. If pre-ordered, the book can be purchased at a 20% discount for 320 Taka at https://www.rokomari.com/book/504542/ai-shikhun-taka-gunun.
Tech
A10 Networks Expands its Cybersecurity Portfolio with Acquisition of ThreatX Protect
Published
7 months agoon
March 13, 2025
ThreatX Protect Addresses Critical Need to Protect Against Evolving Application and API Security Threats
To continue to help customers address the rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape, A10 Networks has acquired the assets and key personnel of ThreatX Protect expanding its cybersecurity portfolio with web application and API protection (WAAP). The acquisition is expected to be modestly accretive to A10’s earnings per share in 2025 and has closed.
Attacks against web applications and application programming interfaces (APIs) are on the rise and are a significant threat to enterprises. ThreatX Protect provides a unique WAAP solution using behavioral and risk profiling to help protect enterprises from evolving threats, including threats to AI applications, which can complement an AI firewall. Delivered as a software-as-a service solution, ThreatX Protect includes API protection, bot management and next-generation web application firewall.
“Expanding the A10 Defend security portfolio with ThreatX Protect gives our customers an additional tool in their strategy to protect against new and evolving threats,” said Dhrupad Trivedi, president and CEO, A10 Networks. “Our strategic focus is on helping enterprises secure their applications and networks from the growing number of threats today, as well as protecting the emerging AI use cases of the future. Adding WAAP to our solution set gives customers additional capabilities to help establish a strong security posture.”
“We are thrilled that A10 Networks has acquired certain assets of ThreatX, including the brand and the TX Protect WAAP solution to expand A10’s security portfolio,” said Gene Fay, CEO of ThreatX. “A10 has been a fantastic partner throughout this process, and we are confident that our customers and employees will thrive under their leadership.”
As a result of this transition, the remaining assets of ThreatX will be launched as Run Security with TX Prevent, the cutting-edge eBPF-based solution re-launched as RS Prevent.
ThreatX Protect supports A10’s strategy of helping customers deploy A10 security solutions in a hybrid approach to protect apps and APIs running anywhere – public cloud, private cloud, co- location facilities or on-premises. The A10 Defend portfolio of solutions provides DDoS protection, DDoS threat intelligence and web application, and now adds a full-featured WAAP solution all integrated into a single platform with end-to-end delivery and stronger security for mission-critical applications.
Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is consistent with A10’s stated strategy of expanding the Company’s security portfolio to grow in the enterprise market. The acquisition does not represent a material change to the Company’s 2025 financial outlook or long-term business model.
Tech
Empowering Youth and Transforming Lives: The Impact of ICT Pioneers in Bangladesh’s Digital Future
Published
10 months agoon
December 11, 2024
By Hamidur Rahman:
In Bangladesh, where unemployment often feels like a lingering shadow, a growing number of young people are chasing independence through the world of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Some carve their paths in freelancing, while others, armed with self-learning and sheer determination, rise from humble beginnings to build thriving careers.
One such story belongs to Samiul Islam of Mollapara village in Atgaon Union, Bochaganj Upazila, Dinajpur. Once a laborer at a small broiler chicken farm, Samiul barely scraped by on his modest earnings. Yet, with nothing more than an Android phone and a desktop bought on installment, he set out to change his life. Seven years later, he’s earning between 400,000 and 500,000 BDT each month, now the proud founder of RezCode BD — his own freelancing and IT training company.
Looking back, Samiul recalls 2017 as the turning point. “I worked at a poultry farm for only 6,000 taka a month. It wasn’t enough to support my family,” he said. That same year, on November 20, fate intervened.
In June 2017, Md. Mojahidul Islam — a pioneer of ICT journalism and digital education in Bangladesh — hosted a life-changing seminar in Dinajpur, 413 kilometers from Dhaka. The event brought together students, job seekers, and aspiring freelancers in a lively, interactive environment. From platforms like Upwork and Fiverr to skills such as graphic design, web development, and digital marketing, Mojahidul provided a practical roadmap to success. He shared tips on client communication, project management, and financial planning — and it was all completely free, ensuring no one was left behind.
For Samiul, the seminar and Mojahidul’s book Sombhabonamy Freelance Outsourcing: Internete Ghore Boshei Ay lit the spark. “It answered everything — what freelancing is, who can do it, what jobs are out there, how to get paid,” he said. The book also introduced him to platforms like Guru, Get a Freelancer, Rent a Coder, oDesk, and Elance. Nights after long shifts at the poultry farm, Samiul dove into YouTube tutorials, determined to build an online career.
In 2018, he moved to Dhaka for a textile mill job and used his wages to enroll in a web development course. But another obstacle appeared — he had no computer. His father took a loan from an NGO so Samiul could buy one. “That’s when my freelancing journey truly began,” he said.
His first job came that year on Fiverr — a $5 project. “I gave it my all and got a five-star review. After that, there was no turning back.” Today, alongside his earnings, Samiul runs RezCode BD to train others. “We provide 24/7 support so learners can gain confidence and learn client communication. Sometimes I even attend meetings for them,” he said. Four of his students now earn over 100,000 taka monthly. His goal? “I want to empower youth across Dinajpur — and eventually the whole country — with digital skills, and create jobs for at least 100 people.”
Samiul’s journey is one wave in a much larger tide of change — a movement that traces back to Mojahidul Islam’s decades-long mission. Long before Bangladesh’s ICT boom, Mojahidul recognized the power of digital literacy. Known affectionately as “Dheow,” he began IT journalism in 2000, writing for The New Nation, Ajker Kagoj, Computer Barta, and E-Biz, eventually becoming ICT Editor at The Daily Ittefaq in 2006.
In 2003, when computers were rare and the internet a luxury, he published the first Bengali-language books on essential ICT skills for unemployed youth. These covered everything from basic computer use and office applications to internet browsing, email, graphic design, and online safety. His accessible style brought technology into homes across villages, hills, and river islands — where English manuals and instructors were scarce.
Mojahidul’s works, including Practical Networking Handbook, Swapner Career, 7 Dine Web Design, Mastering E-Commerce, Mobile Phone Khutinati, and Freelance Outsourcing Possibilities, became lifelines for learners. Thanks to his guidance, hundreds of thousands of people opened their first email accounts, printed their first documents, or landed their first freelance job. Government agencies like the Department of Youth Development and BANBEIS incorporated his books into nationwide ICT training programs.
His impact is staggering — over 2.3 million students have gained ICT skills from his books, around 2 million learned email and office tools, 500,000 began accessing e-services, and at least 18,000 started freelance careers earning foreign currency. His influence extends beyond Bangladesh, reaching West Bengal and other Bengali-speaking regions.
Beyond authorship, Mojahidul has held key roles, serving as General Secretary of the Bangladesh ICT Journalists Forum in 2007 and later as President in 2019. He is a lifetime member of the Bangladesh Computer Society, active in the Internet Society, and involved in multiple journalist organizations. His professional training spans finance journalism in London, internet resource management, AI, cybersecurity, and data-driven reporting.
Recognized with awards including the Prominent ICT Journalist Award (2022), Digital Bangladesh Award (2022), IT Journalist of the Year (2022), and Best Author (2021), Mojahidul has judged competitions such as the CTIA Emerging Technology Awards in the US and spoken at events like NASA’s Space Apps Challenge.
For him, technology is not just a tool but a gateway to independence. His mission remains clear — to equip the youth of Bangladesh with the skills to thrive in a digital world. And as Samiul Islam’s story proves, a single seminar, a single book, or a single mentor can change the course of a life forever.

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