Short takes on this week's news
551 government websites to be trimmed down to
26
The government is to close 551 government websites and create 26
larger one-stop sites to help save money and simplify citizen
access. The decision is outlined in a Transformational Government
progress report. Relevant information from the closed sites will be
transferred to direct.gov.uk and businesslink.gov.uk.
www.computerweekly.com/221082
IT skills gap is getting narrower, says
survey
Businesses reported fewer difficulties recruiting skilled IT
professionals in the second quarter of 2006, a survey by the sector
skills council E-skills UK revealed. The proportion of companies
reporting hard-to-fill vacancies fell from 25% to 12.5% between the
first two quarters of the year. Despite the fall, more firms
reported gaps in the skills of their existing workforce.
www.computerweekly.com/221158
Oracle issues advance warning of patches
Oracle last week gave users advance warning of 55 security
patches due out today (16 January) as part of its quarterly
security fixing schedule. It is the first time Oracle has issued
such a warning. The Critical Patch Update contains 55 new security
fixes across all products. Some of the vulnerabilities addressed in
the update affect multiple products.
www.computerweekly.com/221157
Standard Life signs Coda to replace
spreadsheets
Standard Life Investments has signed a contract worth £250,000
in software and services for Coda to replace spreadsheets with a
scalable platform. By using Coda, Standard Life Investments plans
to support transparent financial processes and improve
reporting.
www.computerweekly.com/
Hacking kit 'bypasses two factor security
tokens'
A hacking kit that allows fraudsters to capture confidential
information even when consumers protect their transactions with
secure two-factor tokens, is being circulated on the internet, says
security firm RSA. The universal man-in-the-middle phishing kit
allows fraudsters to capture victims' data by intercepting messages
before they are passed to genuine sites.
www.computerweekly.com/221156
Carolyn Kimber takes the chair at CMA
The Communications Management Association has appointed Carolyn
Kimber as its new chair. Kimber, former international
communications manager at Atlantic Container Line, said she plans
to work closely with regulator Ofcom to make sure the needs of the
business user become a priority.
www.thecma.com
Don't rush to deploy Vista, schools told
The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency has
warned schools and colleges against early deployment of Microsoft's
Windows Vista and Office 2007. It said the products do not offer
any new "must have" features that would justify the cost and risk
of early deployment.
www.computerweekly.com/221126
PayPal users to get two factor
authentication
Online payment service PayPal is planning to offer users a
password-generating key fob to deliver two-stage security to their
accounts. The planned device, an RSA token, would display a new
numeric one-time password every 30 seconds.
www.computerweekly.com/221159
Worldwide IT spending to top £750bn by 2010
Users spent £595bn on IT globally in 2006, and spending will
increase at a compound annual growth rate of 6.3% to reach £760bn
in 2010, according to IDC. The analyst firm said worldwide software
spending was expected to reach £172bn in 2010. The biggest IT spend
was predicted to come from service industries, manufacturing and
government, with healthcare, communications and government being
the fastest growing markets.
www.computerweekly.com/221124