Computer Weekly articles from January 2009

Computer Weekly archives from January 2009

Special Report.
January 13, 2009... Security as a service: how are the patterns of risk and reward changing? In seeking to provide a detailed response for the above questions, views have been sought from the wide community of experts that make up the BCS Security Forum...

Special Report.(security as a service )
January 13, 2009... Security as a service: how are the patterns of risk and reward changing? Security as a service can provide cost savings and accelerated implementation cycles, just as software as a service (SaaS), writes John Pescatore, vice-president and...

Special Report.(Microsoft's Silverlight)
January 13, 2009... What is it? Microsoft's Silverlight is a .Net-based plug-in for creating rich internet applications (RIAs). Inevitably dubbed a "Flash killer", Silverlight is promoted by Microsoft as "cross-browser, cross-platform, and cross-device",...

Special Report.(security as a service)
January 13, 2009... Security as a service: how are the patterns of risk and reward changing? The latest buzzwords are security as a service, writes Raj Samani, ISSA UK. The term refers to the delivery of traditional security applications as an internet-based...

Special Report.(security as a service)
January 13, 2009... ComputerWeekly.com's Security Think Tank puts information security questions to a group of experts in the field. This page compiles all those questions with links to the experts' answers. Our security panel comprises experts from: (ISC)2,...

Special Report.(outsourcing security)
January 13, 2009... Security as a service: how are the patterns of risk and reward changing? It is now over a year since we tested corporate attitudes towards outsourced security services and found that many Corporate IT Forum members were routinely...

News.(BT Group PLC)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... BT expects to deploy the controversial Phorm advertisement-serving technology following a "brief" period of analysis of the results of its third trial. Phorm said today, "Following the successful completion of analysis, both of the trial...

News.(anti-counterfeiting trade agreement )
January 13, 2009... Negotiators in Paris are putting the final touches on a controversial global anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA) that is expected to criminalise the possession and use of copyright materials by unlicensed owners. The international...

News.(internet service providers )(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Internet service providers and frequent download users can rest easy for a while longer afternegotiators of a secret agreement on anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (Acta)missed a self-imposed deadline of Christmas 2008. In addition,...

News.(British Computer Society help policers at 2012 Olympic Games in London)
January 13, 2009... The British Computer Society (BCS) has set up a specialist thinktank to help police and others fight increasingly sophisticated online fraud ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The BCS Cybercrime Forensics Specialist Group was a...

News.(Virgin Media Group Ltd. CEO Neil Berkett)
January 13, 2009... The business model that governs the very fast broadband network market will have to change to allow players in the supply chain to earn an adequate return, says Neil Berkett, Virgin Media's CEO. Speaking at the launch of Virgin Media's...

News.(government to let private sector run Big Brother)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... MacDonaldBigBrother Government plans to let the private sector run the controversial Big Brother database to track all UK citizens' electronic communications have come to light.. Alan West, Home Office minister for security and...

News.(Colette Bowe to replace David Currie as chairman of Ofcom)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Colette Bowe, who chaired Ofcom's Consumer Panel from its inception in 2003 to December 2007, is to replace David Currie as chairman of Ofcom. Her appointment, which must be ratified by parliament, caps a long career in Whitehall and the...

News.(United Kingdom government to create digital jobs)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... The government will create "digital jobs" and support the roll-out of high-speed broadband networks as part of a plan to fight the recession, the prime minister said yesterday. Speaking to the Observer newspaper, Gordon Brown compared his...

News.(trends in online fraud)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Citizens can now look up online crime maps to see crime trends in the areas covered by each of the UK's 43 police forces, the Home Office announced today. The maps should be available on each police force's website and be maintained by the...

News.(chief information officers)
January 13, 2009... CIOs are squeezing their existing and future suppliers for more value as the devaluation of the pound against the US dollar and the euro lead to massive increases for computer hardware. Anson Chuang is CIO for the specialist IT procurement...

News.(Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
January 13, 2009... Officials at HM Revenue and Customs are grateful to services company EDS for settling a three-year legal dispute with compensation worth more than [pounds sterling]70m. But would such a legally-experienced supplier have settled if not for...

News.(survey on online fraud)(Survey)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Scotland and Northern Ireland are most at risk from e-crime and fraud, says the Federation of Small Business. In a survey of crime against businesses by Glamorgan University and published late last year, the FSB found that small...

News.(Tony Goode from Marks and Spencer PLC)
January 13, 2009... Tony Goode has few regrets about blowing the whistle on Marks & Spencer's plans to cut redundancy payments, which would have weighed heaviest on its longest-serving staff, even though it cost him his job. Speaking to Computer Weekly in his...

News.(government IT contracts)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Cost considerations could trump political sensitivities in future government IT contracts, opening the doorfor India-based IT services companies to win more public sector business. Alexander Simkin, senior analyst at market research firm...

News.(General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trades Union to accuse Marks and Spencer PLC)
January 13, 2009... The GMB trade union will accuse Marks & Spencer of systematically bugging its workers when it takes the retailer to an industrial tribunal over the sacking of whistleblower Tony Goode. The union will say that Eurosis, a company that...

News.(Bernard Madoff, founder of Bernard Madoff Investment Securities to be charged with security fraud)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... The world's biggest fraud, estimated to be worth about $50bn, could have been avoided if the US had introduced regulations to force firms to use technology to increase the transparency of financial transactions. Bernard Madoff, founder of...

News.(Colin Watson of web security company Watsonhall)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Colin Watson of web security company Watsonhall has produced a map of the agents, officers, actors and laws that affect web-enabled applications in the UK. The guide provides interested parties with a graphic description of nearly 250...

News.(IT infrastructure)(Survey)
January 13, 2009... A third of large UK companies are delaying infrastructure upgrades and software refreshes and turning to virtualisation, software as a service and cloud computing as the recession bites into IT budgets, says the National Computing Centre (NCC)....

News.(UK communications regulator Ofcom to issue new guidelines)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... UK communications regulator Ofcom has issued new guidelines that limit extra charges that communications suppliers levy on consumers for a range of events, notably early cancellation of contracts and for not paying by direct debit. Ofcom...

News.(Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000)
January 13, 2009... The government is to reassess its use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) and how and when to keep DNA profiles on the national DNA database. It will also delete immediately the DNA records of all subjects under 10 - the...

Networks.(TeliaSonera AB to launch cloud-based document management system)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... TeliaSonera will be the first mobile network operator to launch a cloud-based document management system for http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/2008/07/11/43744/apple-iphone-your-electronics-weekly-guide.htm Apple's iPhone. The white...

News.(virtualization )
January 13, 2009... Virtualisation technology is still immature and could cause security problems if deployed without adequate controls in place, says security firm Sourcefire. Around 38% of companies are using the technology, according to a YouGov survey of...

News.(growth in use of Wi-fi enabled smartphones)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Sales of the Apple iPhone and other Wi-Fi-enabled smartphones are driving growth in the use of Wi-Fi in the UK and the US, research reveals. In November, 8% of advertising requests in the UK were on Wi-Fi networks, up from 4% of requests...

News.(online shopping increased during Christmas)
January 13, 2009... Online market research house IMRG reported that 3.8 million people spent [pounds sterling]102m online on Christmas Day 2008. In the Christmas run-up, online shopping was later, longer and stronger than in 2007, it said. Christmas Day...

News.
January 13, 2009... Wii consoles, Sony Blu-ray high definition video players and televison sets, and Asus eee notebook PCs are the items most likely to fill stockings on Christmas morning, say AOL Shopping and the PriceGrabber.co.uk, the price comparison site. ...

News.(data protection laws)
January 13, 2009... Navigating the minefield of data protection laws is one of the biggest challenges facing chief information security officers (CISOs) in the UK and the rest of Europe. The difficulty lies in the fact that the laws that govern the authorised...

News.(internet service providers)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... The UK's internet service providers will from 15 March have to start collecting and storing details of all their customers' e-mail and other electronic communications for a year. The measures are necessary to fulfil the terms of the...

News.
January 13, 2009... Overheard at a New Year party, from a somewhat killjoy reveller: "Now now, even two beers can get you drunk you know!" Which led straight to this week's alphametic: With the constraint that BEER is an even number. Can you discover...

Special Report.(The Hyperconnected Workforce)(Book review)
January 13, 2009... The Hyperconnected Workforce By Mark Henshaw CISM CISSP CITP MBCS Global manager for information security strategy and planning at General Motors Web: http://www.linkedin.com/in/markhenshaw There is a phenomenon called "the...

Special Report.(Statements of Applicability )
January 13, 2009... As organisations go, there are those that welcome internationally recognised standards with open arms, and those that shy away citing cost or even applicability. However, there is a need for standards within all organisations, regardless...

Feature.
January 13, 2009... Chris Middleton profiles two very different approaches to so-called "wikinomics". One is a small not-for-profit organisation that happens to be the number four web destination in the world, and the other is a West Coast start-up intent on...

News.(Lenovo Group Ltd. to cut 2500 jobs)
January 13, 2009... Technology suppliers are slashing thousand of jobs around the globe as they go into economic survival mode. Chinese computer maker Lenovo started 2009 by announcing plans to cut 2,500 jobs or 11% of its workforce to help it through the...

News.(Rebecca George on gender balance in IT industry )(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Rebecca George is approaching the problem of the gender balance in the IT industry in a new way. It is not just women who are alienated by IT's traditional working culture, she says, but young men too, and something needs to change if the...

Business & technology.
January 13, 2009... IT services firm Accenture has been ramping up its internal usage of Web 2.0 technologies, as part of its "Collaboration 2.0" initiative. The initiative calls for the extensive use of "web mashup" technology. This is behind Accenture's...

Business & technology.
January 13, 2009... The Highways Agency is working with Google to make traffic data available for use within the Google Maps traffic feature. The traffic feature creates a colour-coded layer of the average speeds on England's motorways and major A road network...

Business & technology.(Gartner Inc. to launch its annual European software)
January 13, 2009... Two years ago analyst Gartner launched its annual European software jamboree with a big push on Web 2.0. According to Gartner, enterprise application mashups were to rely on a range of technologies that IT departments could already...

Business & technology.(Tillamook County Creamery Association to use Web 2.0 technology)
January 13, 2009... A huge dairy cooperative in the US, which supplies the likes of Wal-Mart, Safeway and Costco, has taken hold of Web 2.0 technology in order to reengineer its whole business. In particular, the organisation's usage of wiki-style online...

Feature.
January 13, 2009... It seems like a bit of a mystery how open source software ever sees the light of day. The idea of a large number of people working for glory and the greater good rather than recompense seems too idealistic to be true. In the early days...

Recruitment.(Ajax)
January 13, 2009... What is it? Before Ajax, Rich Internet applications (RIAs) meant Flash. The first use of the term may have been in a 2002 paper on Flash MX, by Macromedia's Jeremy Allaire. The Flash platform has a number of advantages over Ajax, since...

Special Report.(security as a service)
January 13, 2009... Security as a service: how are the patterns of risk and reward changing? Security as a service, if implemented and managed properly, can allow enterprises, and in particular the smaller business, to outsource essential security tasks for...

Special Report.(security as a service)
January 13, 2009... Security as a service: how are the patterns of risk and reward changing? Overall, both the sum of risks and the sum of rewards stay constant, they are just distributed differently in the client-provider relationship, writes Ionut Ionescu...

News.(Antikythera Device)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... A new working model of the mysterious 2,100-year-old astronomical calculator/computer, known as the Antikythera Device, has been unveiled. The device, pieces of which were found in a shipwreck a century ago, is often described as the...

News.(Panasonic Consumer Electronics Co. to demonstrate 3D high definition plasma home theatre system at Consumer Electronics Show)
January 13, 2009... Panasonic demonstrated the world's first 3D high-definition plasma home theatre system at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. The 3D full HD plasma home theatre system enables the viewing of "true-to-life" 3D full HD...

News.(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Apple has issued the latest application stability and security update to its main operating system, which includes at least 15 security fixes. The Mac OS X 10.5.6 Combo Update is for all users running the Mac OS X Leopard platform. It...

News.(BASF IT Services B.V.)
January 13, 2009... IT outsourcing provider BASF IT Services has increased the number of trainees it is taking on, despite the economic slowdown. In 2009, BASF IT Services plans to take on 41 new trainees, three more than in 2008, and 15 more than in 2007. ...

News.(Department for Work and Pensions IT head John Priest to be awarded)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Veteran Department for Work and Pensions IT head John Priest has been awarded a CBE in the New Year's Honours list. Priest is deputy strategic sourcing director for corporate IT at the DWP, and was nominated in recognition of his public and...

News.(10 resolution of Gartner Inc. in 2009)
January 13, 2009... Analyst Gartner has tabled its "10 CIO resolutions for 2009" to help CIOs excel and deliver better personal and team outcomes beyond their core IT agenda. "The unfolding economic crisis of late 2008 has created a more challenging situation...

News.(China to block foreign websites during Olympics)
January 13, 2009... China has blocked a number of foreign websites which were previously available during the Olympics, including the Chinese version of the BBC news site. The Voice of America site in Chinese has also been blocked, reports the BBC. These...

News.(Cisco Inc. to extend its web conferencing and collaboration capabilities to Apple iPhone 3G device)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Cisco is extending its web conferencing and collaboration capabilities to the Apple iPhone 3G device with its Cisco WebEx Meeting Center and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace technology. A new Cisco WebEx meetings iPhone application, which is...

News.(Citigroup Inc. to merge its two units)
January 13, 2009... Banking giant Citigroup is expected to announce the merger of two ofmajor business units as it gears up to increase cross-selling opportunities. According to the Financial Times the joining up of the bank's investment and corporate banking...

News.(Department for Transport)
January 13, 2009... The Department for Transport(DfT)showed "stupendous incompetence" when implementing its shared services project, according to an influential group of MPs. The Public Accounts Committee, which oversees government spending, said the...

News.(Electronic Data Systems Corp. to settle agreement with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
January 13, 2009... EDS has made a lump sum payment of about [pounds sterling]25m to HM Revenue and Customs, three years after the department announced that the two sides had settled a dispute over the botched introduction of tax credits. The payment will be...

News.(UK government to contract with European Commission)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... The UK government has agreed with a European Commission plan to allow EU member states to share information held in citizen databases in criminal investigations. All 26 member states will be able to check data held in databases covering...

News.(UK Faster Payments Service )(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Confidence in the UK Faster Payments Service (FPS) has grown rapidly in the first six months according to figures released by payments association, Apacs. The FPS offers users the ability to make internet banking and telephone transfers...

News.(IT outsourcing )(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... This year has seen more credible alternatives to established IT outsourcing locations such India emerge,says analyst firm Gartner. The company has outlined its top 30 locations for offshoring IT, with four locations entering the group and...

News.(HCL Technologies to acquire Axon Communications Inc.)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Indian outsourcing supplier HCL Technologies has completed its [pounds sterling]440m takeover of UK SAP specialist Axon, in what is the largest overseas acquisition by an Indian IT firm. HCL beat rival Indian supplier Infosys Technologies...

News.(Websense Inc.)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Cybercriminals are targeting tax payers with phishing e-mails in the run up to the deadline for online tax returns on 31 January. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) warned in October 2008 against e-mails claiming recipients are in line for a tax...

News.(HMV Ltd.)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... HMV is rolling out the next stage of its "next generation" store revamps with online in-store kiosks planned for the chain. They will enable customers to download music onto USB sticks and search for product information including trailers,...

News.(International Business Machines Corp. to introduce Lotus Notes 8.5)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... At this week's Macworld, IBM has announced the availability of Lotus Notes 8.5 collaboration software with social computing features for all Mac OS X Leopard-powered computers. In addition, IBM's free Lotus Symphony document, spreadsheet...

News.(International Business Machines Corp. to cut jobs)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... IBM could be the latest technology firm to announce thousands of job cuts as a result of the global economic slowdown, says union Alliance@IBM. About 16,000 employees will be affected, with the layoff date expected to be 23 January,...

News.(identity cards)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... The first identity cards have been issued to foreign nationals in Sheffield. On Wednesday, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith opened the first buildingwhere biometric enrolment will take place, which is in the Yorkshire city. Enrolment will...

News.(Microsoft Corp. to launch update for Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Microsoft has released the first update to its Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2. The update is said to have first been released to the company's closest partners. Significantly, the new version is marked as Release Candidate 1, or RC1, and...

News.(Internet Explorer)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Security experts are encouraging Internet Explorer users to switch browsers as a result of an unpatched security hole that could be used to steal their data. The bug was discovered in the browser last week and Microsoft says all versions...

News.(Internet Explorer 8)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... An unpatched security hole in Internet Explorer that is being exploited by hackers potentially affects all versions of the browser, Microsoft says. When the flaw was originally discovered it was thought it only affected Internet Explorer...

News.(Microsoft Corp. to reveal Internet Explorer patch)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... UK users can expect to get the Microsoft "out of cycle" Internet Explorer patch from 6pm tonight. Although Microsoft initially said only around 0.2% of Internet Explorer users had been exposed to the security flaw from visiting one of...

News.(software license)(Survey)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Almost one in five UK company directors do not take responsibility for the legitimacy of software in their business, research has revealed. A study commissioned by theUK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) found that 18% of directors do not...

News.(Isaca )(Organization overview)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... IT governance, control and security association Isaca turns 40 this year. The independent, non-profit professional association provides tools and guidance to help businesses comply with regulations, manage risks and get the most out of IT...

News.(demand for IT)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Demand for IT will defy the downturn and increase by 2% next year, according to the European Information Technology Observatory (EITO). The market research institute said the value of IT services and software in western Europe will grow by...

News.(Apple Inc. chief executive officer Steve Jobs)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs is being treated for a "hormone imbalance" but is staying on as the firm's CEO. Apple now admits that Jobs will not be addressing tomorrow's Macworld show in San Francisco because of the illness. ...

News.(data loss)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... The number of people affected by data losses worldwide could more than double in 2009, according to consultancy firm KPMG. The firm predicts as many as 190 million people may be affected by data breaches this year compared with 92 million...

News.(cyber attack)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Businesses with MiddleEast connections have been warnedto be on guard against cyber-attack as the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza strip escalates. Hacker groups from Iran, Lebanon, Morocco and Turkey have defaced a large...

News.(Microsoft Corp.)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Microsoft is still eyeing Yahoo's search business, but says a full buyout is definitely off despite the internet firm's low share value. Yahoo's share price has plummeted since Microsoft's offer of $33 a share in February last year, with...

News.(Marks and Spencer PLC to cut jobs)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Retail giant Marks and Spencer is rumoured to be cutting 1,000 store and head office jobs, which could include IT staff. The company would not confirm or comment on the job cuts, which were reported by the Times. The retailer is expected to...

News.(National Audit Office )(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... The government is wasting up to [pounds sterling]290m a year on poorly managed service contracts, including contracts for IT. The National Audit Office (NAO) published a report showing the public sector spent more than [pounds sterling]12bn...

News.(Turkish court to sentence hacker to prison)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... A Turkish court has sentenced a hacker to 30 years in prison for his role in the theft of 45 million identities from credit card transactions by nine US retailers including TJX. Ukrainian Maksym Yastremskiy was among 11 people charged by US...

News.(Transport for London to save 400million by restructuring IT )(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Transport for London (TfL) is hoping to save [pounds sterling]400m by restructuring its IT. The figure is part of its planned [pounds sterling]2.4bn "efficiency savings" announced earlier this year. TfL said its 10-year business plan would...

News.(Toshiba Corp. to join force with Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp.)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Toshiba is joining forces with Intel and Microsoft to bring PC multimedia content to larger TV screens. Toshiba is launching new LCD TVs, LCD TV/DVD Combos and standalone network players that support the Widget Channel applications...

News.(Toshiba Corp. to promote new technologies at Consumer Electronics Show)(Brief article)
January 13, 2009... Toshiba has been promoting its green credentials with a variety of new technologies at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Its Super Charge Battery - SCiB - is a rechargeable battery said to offer "excellent safety,...