Information Management Journal articles from March 2007

Information Management Journal archives from March 2007

Making 2007 the "Year of Security".(IN FOCUS: A Message from the Editors)
March 1, 2007... Last year was dubbed "The Year of the Breach" by SDC Magazine, and news reports thus far this year indicate that data security is continuing to be a serious problem. For example, TJX Cos. Inc., which operates the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls...

More spam stuffs inboxes.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
March 1, 2007... Spam has taken over most e-mail users' inboxes so much that nine out of 10 e-mails sent worldwide are now junk messages, according to several Internet security firms. For example, U.S. e-mail security company Postini said 2.5 billion spam...

NASA, Google agree to share data.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Soon, Internet users will be able to explore the universe from their computers. Thanks to a data-sharing deal between NASA and Google Inc., anyone with an Internet connection can track space shuttle flights or...

ID thieves targeting Universities.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... When it comes to being vulnerable to data breaches, institutes of higher learning have earned high marks. According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC), U.S. universities suffered more than 50 of the 300-plus data breaches that...

Ohio strengthens open-records law.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
March 1, 2007... A new Ohio law requires public officials to know more about the state's open records law or face the possibility of being sued for not obeying it. In December 2006, Ohio Gov. Bob Taft signed a bill that requires all state and local public...

EPA delays additional library closures.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Environmental Protection Agency )
March 1, 2007... After closing several of its scientific libraries in Kansas City, Kansas, Chicago, Dallas, and three other cities with little explanation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in late 2006 that it would delay plans to close...

Canada reviews PIPEDA.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act )
March 1, 2007... Since Canada passed its privacy law--the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)--in 2001, the privacy commissioner has conducted more than 350 investigations into apparent breaches. That's the good news. The...

DOJ expands law enforcement database.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Department of Justice)
March 1, 2007... Thanks to the U.S. Justice Department's ambitious expansion of its law enforcement database, police officers nationwide soon will be able to access and search millions of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration...

EU invests in secure communications.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The European Commission (EC) said it will invest 210 million [euro] (about $271 million U.S.) to create a communications infrastructure that will be able to respond to the growing need for secure information exchange...

Firms not ERM-savvy, study shows.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Electronic Records Management )
March 1, 2007... According to a recent AIIM study, most organizations still are not up-to-speed on managing electronic records. The Industry Watch study on Electronic Records Management (ERM), sponsored by Xerox Global Services, found that end users--more...

Congress passes pretexting law.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
March 1, 2007... Pretexting--the act of impersonating an individual to obtain their telephone and other personal records without their consent--is now a federal crime in the United States. In late 2006, Congress enacted legislation--the Telephone Records...

Data growth driving archival efforts.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
March 1, 2007... What is driving organizations' archival activities today? According to the second annual BridgeHead Software Information Lifecycle Management Audit, the top three priorities are disaster recovery/business continuity, data growth, and regulatory...

Louisville destroys court documents.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
March 1, 2007... It sounds like a scene from a Hollywood thriller: a group of burly strangers enter the Louisville, Kentucky, courthouse and quickly and quietly haul away all microfilm and microfiche records from 2001 and older and subsequently destroy them....

Ottawa must relocate archives.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The clock is ticking for the city of Ottawa, which must find a new home for its archives before its current lease expires at the end of the year. The Ottawa Citizen reported that when the lease at the former city hall on Sussex Drive, now...

Calling all deep throats.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
March 1, 2007... Aspiring Woodwards and Bernsteins soon may need to look no further than the Internet to find information powerful enough to topple world leaders and governments. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] According to a Federal Times report, a new...

French UFO reports go digital.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Unidentified Flying Object)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The French government takes "little green men" sightings seriously--so seriously that the country's National Space Studies Centre (CNES) will put its UFO archive online this spring, according to Reuters. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A group...

Governments to boost IT spending.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Research firm IDC is predicting a big ramp-up in government spending on IT systems this year. A Global Insights report from IDC says government IT spending worldwide will increase by $9.1 billion in 2007 to reach $150 billion and will continue...

Blame it on Sarbanes-Oxley.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... A recent study, "CEE the Future: Building the Compliance-Enabled Enterprise," from the Business Performance Management (BPM) Forum and AXS-One Inc., surveyed chief executive officers (CEOs) about critical compliance issues. According to...

11 best practices for effective RM.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(records management )
March 1, 2007... As companies increasingly look to records management solutions to help them comply with an ever-growing list of laws and regulations, it is critical to have a good records management plan from the start. Open Text Corp., a provider of...

Historic NARA documents now online.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)(National Archives and Records Administration )(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and Footnote Inc., a subscription-based Web company, have partnered to post online selected historical records from NARA's vast holdings. According to a Footnote press release, the...

Archives not up to digital preservation.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
March 1, 2007... Most academic institutions lack the resources to establish and maintain their electronic records, according to a study by Tufts University and Yale University Library, "Fedora and the Preservation of University Records Project." Funded by...

Is the end of SOX near? Businesses have long complained that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is too costly and burdensome. How far will the SEC go to appease them and other critics?(ON THE EDGE: The Use & Misuse of Information)
March 1, 2007... Jim Clark, chairman of online photo company Shutterfly Inc., recently announced he was leaving the firm because of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). According to the Associated Press, Clark said the law has taken reform too far and was...

Auditing an organization's RIM program: a RIM program audit is a valid checkup that every organization needs to ensure that is operating at its unique, optimal health level.(RIM HEALTH CHECK)(records and information management )(Report)
March 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When people are sick, their bodies experience an information management crisis. Essentially, the critical supporting components of the body's defense mechanisms are not getting the right information at the right time...

The RIM manager's role in supporting major business changes: during major organizational changes--mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and closings--quality recordkeeping should never be an organizational afterthought.(Report)
March 1, 2007... The economic necessity of being shrewdly competitive in today's global markets drives many organizations to expand, contract, grow, or reduce entire product lines or organizational divisions very rapidly. As markets change and financial...

Strategies for merging recordkeeping systems: the critical role that records play in business operations demands that acquired records be thoroughly assessed and their integrity assured before their conversion and deployment to a new system.(Report)
March 1, 2007... Corporate mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures play an increasingly prominent role in today's business world. Large-scale operational assets change hands as corporations realign their organizational structure and operational scope to better...

DIRKS: putting ISO 15489 to work: any records manager using ISO 15489 to develop a new program or evaluate an existing one should become familiar with the DIRKS implementation process.(Setting Standards)(Developing and Implementing a Recordkeeping System)(Report)
March 1, 2007... International standards are fast becoming a staple of records management programs and practices around the world. These standards make extensive knowledge and expertise available from seasoned records professionals for the benefit of the...

Digital conversion projects: a decision-making checklist: determining what paper to convert and whether to outsource are the critical first steps in a successful backfile conversion project.(Tech 101)
March 1, 2007... When implementing a document management system (DMS), many organizations are faced with the task of converting their paper documents into scanned images that can be stored in and retrieved from the DMS for use. The two initial major decisions...

Archives classic updated to address today's technology challenges.(Understanding Archives and Manuscripts)(Book review)
March 1, 2007... TITLE: Understanding Archives & Manuscripts EDITOR: James M. O'Toole & Richard J. Cox PUBLISHER: Society of American Archivists PUBUCATION DATE: 2006 LENGTH: 255 pages PRICE: $49 SOURCE: www.archivists.org When...