Information Management Journal articles from January 2007

Information Management Journal archives from January 2007

Resolution redux.(IN FOCUS: A Message from the Editors)(Editorial)
January 1, 2007... It happens without fail. Every year, resolutions are made. On Jan. 1, promises to exercise, lose weight, quit smoking, or go back to school seem like such great ideas and so easy to accomplish. By Jan. 31, however, the lofty goals often have...

Medicare, Medicaid records exposed.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Computer weaknesses have left millions of Americans at risk of identity theft according to an Associated Press (AP) report. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently found 47 security vulnerabilities in the Centers for Medicare...

Reckless with records.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... According to research by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a San Diego-based consumer advocacy group, the number of records containing sensitive personal information involved in security breaches totaled 97,148,596 as of November 3, 2006. ...

Will SOX be de-clawed?(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 )
January 1, 2007... Since its existence, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX)--and specifically Section 404, which requires companies to publicly disclose more information about their internal financial controls--has been criticized. So, it should come as no...

Copiers can be compromised.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Companies that have protected their networks, computers, and facilities may think they're relatively safe from hackers. They are wrong. According to Newsweek, companies should be aware that copiers, printers,...

Tool deletes laptop data from afar.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2007... An August 2006 survey of 484 U.S.-based IT departments by the Ponemon Institute found that more than half of corporate laptops contain unprotected sensitive data--one in 10 is stolen of which 97 percent are never recovered. Further, 81 percent...

Libraries aim to archive web data.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The British Library and the National Library of New Zealand have developed a tool that will make it easier to collect and store information found online, which often disappears after only a few months. BBC News...

Survey points to tips for audit survival.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2007... Most companies would probably like to know what works and what does not when it comes to regulatory audits. Fortunately for them, the IT Policy Compliance Group, formerly The Compliance Security Council, made up of the Institute of Internal...

E-records live forever.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... In all but nine states, people who have been accused of or convicted of minor crimes or juvenile offenses have the right to have their criminal records erased, or expunged. But in the electronic age, records that have been digitized never...

Record-less e-mail.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A new web-based messaging system enables users to send and receive communications without any record of ever having done so. Void Communications' VaporStream system works in the same way as e-mail and instant...

Arizona firms must destroy records.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A new law requires Arizona businesses to start destroying records containing personally identifying information when they do not need them anymore. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A 2005 Federal Trade Commission report said the...

Real ID to cost $11 billion plus.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2007... A survey by the National Governors Association (NGA), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) says the federal Real ID Act will cost states more than $11 billion...

D.C. business records a mess.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Thousands of Washington, D.C., business license records were found in disarray in an open office, making them accessible to almost anyone, according to a recent District of Columbia inspector general report. The D.C. Examiner reported that...

Google expands news archives.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Google has expanded its news archive to include articles that are as old as 200 years. According to Silicon.com, the search giant's archive will include old material from original sources such as The Guardian, The...

Document destruction a crime in Victoria.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2007... It is now a crime in the Australian province of Victoria to destroy documents or anything else of any kind likely to be used as evidence in legal proceedings. Crimes (Document Destruction) Act 2006 (Vic) (Act) covers all kinds of documents,...

NARA declassification progresses.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(National Archives and Records Administration )
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In response to complaints that, since 1999, government agencies had removed more than 55,000 declassified documents from the National Archives' public shelves, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)...

Better protection for NARA facilities?(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(National Archives and Records Administration )(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... In 2003, Sandy Berger, the national security adviser to President Bill Clinton, stole classified documents from the National Archives and purposely destroyed some of them. He was fined $50,000, put on probation, and sentenced to community...

FOI laws growing worldwide.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Freedom of Information )
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Freedom of Information (FOI) laws are spreading like wildfire around the world. "Freedom of Information Around the World 2006: A Global Survey of Access to Government Information Laws," recently released by British...

Survey ranks cities by e-governance.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Seoul, South Korea is tops in the world for e-government, according to a survey from Rutgers University's eGovernance Institute and the Global ePolicy eGovernment Institute at South Korea's Sungkyunkwan University. The study evaluated...

Workplace data theft common in U.K.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Two recent surveys indicate that data theft by employees and managers in the United Kingdom is far too common. First, a report from IT security firm Prefix revealed that not only do many U.K. employees admit to stealing corporate data such...

Companies spying on employees.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When using their company computers, employees would do well to remember that they're not alone. Seventy-six percent of companies monitor employee Internet use, while 36 percent track content that employees send...

Pricey public records.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A recent report by The Herald-Dispatch revealed that West Virginia local and state law enforcement agencies are charging unusually high fees for access to public records. Most of the state's 55 sheriff departments and the state police...

Survey: document management key to IT strategy, yet cost is road block.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Effective document management is not easy, but it is definitely necessary for most companies, according to a recent survey. Xerox Corp. and International Communications Research (ICR) interviewed 250 senior-level IT professionals, and 75...

The Domesday Book goes digital.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... The 920-year-old Domesday Book has entered the 21st century. According to BBC News, the 11th century document, which chronicles the history of the survey of England, is now available online thanks to the work of the National Archives in...

Playing with electronic fire: those companies that do not implement an effective electronic information policy or properly manage their electronic records are risking everything.(ON THE EDGE: The Use & Misuse of Information)
January 1, 2007... Just how important is it for companies to properly manage corporate electronic information? Ask Prudential Equity Group, a subsidiary of insurance giant Prudential Financial Inc., that recently got burned by a $600 million settlement after...

Beyond features & functions: evaluating RM software alternatives in a real-world environment: prudent purchasers will consider a number of key issues before selecting a vendor for enterprise electronic records management software installations.(records management )
January 1, 2007... Too many organizations view electronic records management (ERM) software selection through a narrow lens. Some enterprises will create massive spreadsheet-based matrices with lists of features and functions broken down in minute detail. These...

Securing grants for RIM programs: with creative planning and careful research, RIM professionals may be successful in finding grant funding for a new project or initiative.(records and information management )
January 1, 2007... Securing a grant for a records and information management (RIM) project is a challenge because records are usually regarded as an institution's own responsibility, and programs offering records management grants and funding sources are limited....

E-discovery compels a seat for RIM at the counsel table.(records and information management)
January 1, 2007... The revised Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) regarding electronic discovery that went into effect Dec. 1, 2006, make it more imperative than ever for companies to have a sound, legally defensible electronic records and information...

Criteria for evaluating RFID solutions for records and information: RIM professionals should consider work environment, cost, compliance, interface capability, and scalability in determining whether RFID is right for their situation.(TechTrends)(records and information management )(radio frequency identification )
January 1, 2007... Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a rising star in the retail and supply chain industry, allowing companies to track millions of items at multiple levels. Although RFID also has been used for years to track physical records, its rising...

The electronic health record: what every information manager should know: records are a vital part of the patient care environment. Secure, accurate records are necessary, although increasingly challenging, as they migrate to an electronic environment.(CareerPath)
January 1, 2007... The need to better manage health information is indisputable. Since a 2000 report from the Institute of Medicine estimated that as many as 98,000 U.S. patients die annually due to preventable medical errors--many due to lack of access to...

Finding a connection with IT.(Integration and SOA: Concepts, Technologies, and Best Practices)(Book review)
January 1, 2007... TITLE: Integration and SOA: Concepts, Technologies, and Best Practices EDITOR: Beth Gold-Bernstein and Gary So PUBLISHER: ebizQ and webMethods PUBLICATION DATE: 2006 LENGTH: 144 pages PRICE: Complimentary copies available...