Opinion
Opinion
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Changes to Computer Misuse Act will turn security professionals into criminals
The most recent changes to the Computer Misuse Act will give power to prosecute those who help or enable others to commit computer crime. Continue Reading
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Modern leadership techniques hinder crisis management
There is evidence that modern management techniques can make it more difficult to respond to a data security breach, writes Jonathan Armstrong, partner at international law firm Eversheds. Continue Reading
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Is it farewell to legacy systems?
The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living. An apt expression for the basic conundrum posed by all legacy... Continue Reading
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Maximising the value of IT to business
Maximising the value of IT to business By Colin Tyler, head of technology practice, OC&C Strategy Consultants In today's changing economic climate,... Continue Reading
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How to minimise risk of customer data loss and fraud
UK businesses must change their attitude to customer data protection or they risk misuse and potential loss of this information. Continue Reading
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Technology to weather the storm
Not just recession, but M&S recession, joked The Economist in its 5 July issue. The nation's talismanic food and clothing retailer had posted... Continue Reading
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When soft becomes hard for IT experts
Under-investment in skills training in the IT sector is having a major impact on the UK's ability to compete globally, writes Fiona Bates of training provider...
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The credit crunch: who dares, wins
IT professionals may be forgiven for feeling some apprehension as to what the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market and the ensuing global credit...
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Macs and Malware
Everybody but the anti-virus industry "knows" that there aren't any Mac viruses, so what, if anything, does an IT team need to do about Apple Macintosh security?...
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tom rogerson
The march towards the consumerisation of the IT used by large organisations is appearing irresistible, writes Tom Rogerson, chief technology officer, financial services Europe, Computer Sciences Corporation. Continue Reading
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Improving the relationship between development teams and their customers
You need your development team to be able to deliver what you need, when you need it, and to be able to respond to changes of all kinds on demand, write Ross Hamilton, director, and Joe Morrison, managing consultant, at Lab49 consultants. Continue Reading
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Plug your zero-day vulnerability gap
While a lot of time and effort goes into ensuring that networks are patched, the gap between vulnerability announcements and patch availability remains a serious and often costly issue for too many companies. Continue Reading
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Company blogs: ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08
Help us to identify the best IT blogs in the UK by voting for your favourite in the IT Company Blogs category. Continue Reading
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IT project management blogs: ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08
IT project management blogs: ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08 Continue Reading
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Wireless and mobile blogs: ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08
Help us to identify the best IT blogs in the UK by voting for your favourite in the Wireless and Mobile category. Continue Reading
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Programming and development blogs: ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08
Help us to identify the best IT blogs in the UK by voting for your favourite in the Programming and Technical category. Continue Reading
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CIO and IT director blogs: ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08
Help us to identify the best IT blogs in the UK by nominating your favourites in the CIO and IT Director Blogs category. Continue Reading
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IT lifestyle blogs: ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08
IT lifestyle blogs: ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08 Continue Reading
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IT security blogs: ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08
Help us to identify the best IT blogs in the UK by voting for your favourite in the IT Security category. Continue Reading
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Public sector IT blogs: ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08
Help us to identify the best IT blogs in the UK by voting for your favourite in the Public Sector IT category. Continue Reading
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Web 2.0 and business blogs: ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08
Help us to identify the best IT blogs in the UK by voting for your favourite in the Web 2.0 and Business category. Continue Reading
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What has Bill Gates ever done for us? Readers have their say
Gates opened up the market to easy-to-use software
Stephen Boulten, head of IT, Leek United Building Society
Bill Gates and Microsoft produced...
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Computer Weekly: beating the IT drum
Welcome to the new-look Computer Weekly, which is the latest result of our ongoing programme of research into the information needs of IT professionals. We... Continue Reading
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Banks should collaborate with customers to fight fraud
New provisions to the Banking Code means banks can now pass responsibility for card fraud to consumers if they do not have antivirus software or firewalls....
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BCS council seeks nominees
The BCS is looking for members who want to contribute to the development of BCS and its goal to make IT the profession of the 21st century.
For those...
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Computer science departments must reinvent themselves to avoid a business school takeover
Computer science departments must act quickly to meet the changing skills needs of the dynamic IT sector or risk a takeover from business schools. This would...
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Bill Gates: looking back on the road ahead
At the end of June, Bill Gates will finally stop doing the job he loves in order to concentrate on his philanthropic foundation. It is the end of an era that started with Microsoft Basic in 1975, continued with MS DOS in 1981, and exploded after ... Continue Reading
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Faulty software can lead to astronomic costs
Many factors compromise software development, leading to loss and exposure to risk that could dwarf the cost of the software itself.
The most common...
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Everyday superheroes
Everyday superheroes John Dovey President UK corporates BT Global Services Among all the items about the sub-prime crisis and the credit crunch, one news story really caught my attention. Continue Reading
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The economics of Software Testing
The challenge facing any software development manager is how to balance the natural tension that exists between time, cost and quality. On top of this, programmes also have to balance the three organisational elements of corporate strategy, delivery... Continue Reading
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Consultant roles demand communication skills
What does it take to be a successful consultant? Continue Reading
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Hardware reputation and the online fraud arms race
Banks are used to arms races. In the 1960s and 1970s the easiest way to for thieves to get hold of a bank's money was to turn up in person at branches with a gun and demand cash. So banks placed their workers behind bulletproof glass. This forced ... Continue Reading
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Customer relationship management: happy customers = profitable customers
Customers, clients, consumers, call them what you will but without them, you don't have a business, writes Jason Nash, product solutions marketing manager,...
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IT will be critical factor in airline survival
You do not have to be a financial analyst to work out that airlines are going through pretty rough times at the moment. Continue Reading
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PCI: a matter of timing
PCI is a subject on which reams have been written already, but in my recent work I have seen it in a different light. For all the technical advice given - and to a large extent practiced - the one thing a project manager should be most aware of ... Continue Reading
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Government services online are a real benefit
If you believed everything you read in the media, you could be forgiven for thinking that every major government IT programme is unwanted and unloved. Yet...
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Blogosphere denial can hurt your business
Technology moves fast. But you know that. It is your job, after all. Even so, sometimes it catches us all by surprise. Web logs, or blogs as they have become known, are barely a decade old as a publishing medium, but they are part of the mainstream ... Continue Reading
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Legal uniformity needed to tackle data breaches
The clamour for specific security-breach legislation in the UK following the breach at Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs and more recent announcements by major corporations needs to be given more thought. Continue Reading
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Security forecast: mobile devices
Although historically little interest has been shown in security threats to mobile devices compared with that posed to PCs, the tables have recently started to turn. The Centre for the Protection of Critical National Infrastructure (CPNI) has stated... Continue Reading
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Is data the CIO's responsibility?
The challenge of maintaining high-quality data has been around since the proliferation of the database, but it is still an issue that affects a wide variety of businesses and the public sector, writes Colin Ricard of DataFlux. Continue Reading
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Opinion: HP’s acquisition of EDS leaves questions unanswered
Although Hewlett-Packard's acquisition of EDS was expected, the premium that HP paid was unexpected, and potentially unwarranted, given EDS's recent track-record and a depressed outsourcing market. Continue Reading
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Web 2.0 blows a hole in business
The explosion in Web 2.0 applications - social networking, blogs, wikis, Second Life sites, and so on - has made them a key target for cyber criminals... Continue Reading
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ISF: Extend the security perimeter
By and large, corporates have solved the problem of protecting the security of workstations against malware in their own internal environment... Continue Reading
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ISACA: Constantly mutating challenge
The idea that enterprises have made great progress in locking down their infrastructure to protect end-users from malware may not be totally accurate... Continue Reading
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ISSA: Traditional controls inadequate
There is a common misconception that because an organisation has anti-virus, it must be safe, writes Raj Samani, vice president of ISSA Continue Reading
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Gartner: Control devices and encrypt data
As new and improved technologies appear in the mobile markets, and are adopted by businesses, so new threats... Continue Reading
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Tif: Boundaries are blurring
The idea that a boundary exists between "locked down" IT systems inside the corporate network and everything else operating outside it does not make as much sense as it once did... Continue Reading
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Transforming NHS services requires flexible evolution, BCS delegates say
"There is no point in informatics trying to enable a change in one direction when budgets are encouraging maintenance of the status quo," said Sheila Bullas, secretary of the BCS's Health Informatics Forum, at a recent BCS leadership debate on ... Continue Reading
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BCS: Audit and educate
Attend the likes of InfoSec to ensure you are up to date with the latest products and then seek the advice of an expert consultant to help in cutting through the snake oil ... Continue Reading
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NCC: It's all about layers
Working outside an organisation's physical domain brings certain responsibilities with it and the road warrior must take caution along in the kit bag... Continue Reading
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Outsourcing: cost reduction in an economic slowdown
With the dust from the credit crunch yet to settle, and real signs of tighter economic conditions ahead, most companies will be looking to rein in their spending in 2008. Continue Reading
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If film directors can insure against failure, why not project managers?
What's the difference between an IT project and bungee jumping? Answer: they are both pretty scary experiences,... Continue Reading
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Sustainability and the CIO
The management of ICT resources can have an enormous environmental impact, but many CIOs could be exposing... Continue Reading
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ComputerWeekly.com IT blog awards 08
Computer Weekly has launched a search for the best UK IT blogs, with its first ever IT blog awards. Continue Reading
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IT law and governance blogs: Computer Weekly IT Blog Awards
Help us to identify the best IT blogs in the UK by voting for your favourite in the IT Law and Governance category. Continue Reading
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Electronic information sharing is key to effective government
Over the past few years, the government has launched a number of initiatives to promote data sharing between public organisations including the NHS, Whitehall departments and police services. The government's determination to overhaul information ... Continue Reading
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Security Zone: managing your organisation’s social network footprint
As well as helping to minimise the chances of data theft and the ensuing bad publicity, information security professionals have a more proactive role in helping to protect their organisations in the 21st century, writes Paul Maloney, managing ... Continue Reading
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Infosecurity 2008 - Developing infosecurity career paths
Today more young professionals are choosing information security as a first career, bringing a post-graduate degree but little experience, writes John Colley, managing director EMEA of the International Information Systems Security Certification ... Continue Reading
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Infosecurity 2008 - New defence strategy in battle against e-crime
E-crime has evolved into a booming business. Viruses, malware and online crime have moved from hacking vandalism into a major shadow economy that closely mimics the real business world, including profit-driven organised cybercrime, writes Yuval ... Continue Reading
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Infosecurity 2008 - Complying with security regulations is not enough
The various legislation and industry standards that require businesses to protect sensitive data may drive us all a little nuts - the extra expense, investing the time to understand the new rules, business disruptions during the deployment process, ... Continue Reading
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Infosecurity 2008 - Taking security into your own hands
Fingerprint biometrics is emerging as the authentication method of choice for access to enterprise data, applications and networks, writes Jim Fulton, vice-president of DigitalPersona. Continue Reading
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Infosecurity 2008 - Spam techniques reach new levels of sophistication
Despite the proliferation of anti-spam solutions on the market, spam volume has reached epidemic proportions, writes Dan Hubbard, vice-president of security research at Websense. Continue Reading
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Infosecurity 2008 - IT governance critical to addressing information risk
Information and its conduits provide the lifeblood of the modern business, writes Alan Calder of IT Governance .... Continue Reading
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Infosecurity 2008 - Seamless security for roaming workers
Work for many of today's employees is no longer restricted to the traditional 'nine-to-five' work day or the office environment. In our age of high-speed internet communications, more and more people can travel routinely for work or telecommute from... Continue Reading
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The battle for internet advertising
The massive market for online advertising is one that affects every internet user. Many ISPs, search engines and websites depend on advertising revenue for funding, and in the absence of those funding sources would either have to pass on additional ... Continue Reading
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Be sure of making the complete case
Governments and administrations are transient. And however complex, they are simple when compared with the complexities that surround how ID cards may be taken to and applied by the population. ID cards are only part of the identity management ... Continue Reading
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Benefits to the citizen have yet to be proven
In asking whether the government has got the business case for ID cards right, we need to understand precisely what that business case is, writes Geraint Price of Information Security Group, Royal Holloway, University of London. Continue Reading
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Now is the time for action
The key to this topic for me was a quote from Home Secretary Jacqui Smith: "Individuals to have as much control and ownership of their own data as possible," writes Andrea Simmons, consultant forum manager, BCS Security Forum. Continue Reading
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Global village to impact on working practices
According to Howard Grosvenor, managing consultant at people performance specialist SHL, global changes will have a great impact on the way we work in the future. UK employees will need to be flexible enough to continually work across time zones, ... Continue Reading
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Database administration security strategy
Given the vital importance of the information held within corporate and government databases it is surprising that the security of these databases is often of unknown provenance. Continue Reading
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From infrastructure to innovation: the CIO thought revolution
Cloud-based platforms and developer tools are set to revolutionise the IT industry Continue Reading
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Infosecurity Europe 2008: Inside threat greater risk to data protection
IT security has fast become a data-centric issue. Data is the most valuable asset in an organisation and the IT department must protect it or find itself in the headlines like HMRC and the Ministry of Defence. But as companies adjust their data ... Continue Reading
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Security forecast: smartphones
The modern mobile phone comes in two basic varieties. The more secure version is a stripped down 2G phone with very little data functionality. There are still some issues related to 2G confidentiality. First is the possibility that someone will ... Continue Reading
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Infosecurity Europe 2008: Security governance and the wealth of nations
What possible link could there be between the writings of an 18th century economist and the management of information security in the 21st century? Continue Reading
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Catching the authorised hacker
A threat looming ever larger in the minds of IT leaders is the risk of data loss through inappropriate behaviour or... Continue Reading
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Seamless security for roaming workers
Work for many of today's employees is no longer the traditional nine-to-five day or the office environment... Continue Reading
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Which comes first: compliance, security or operability?
The task of managing risk has changed dramatically, writes Raj Samani of ISSA UK... Continue Reading
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Secret questions blow a hole in security
It's a mystery to me why websites think "secret questions" are a good idea, writes Bruce Schneier, chief... Continue Reading
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Letter from Richard Thomas: End pernicious trade in personal data
The following is a letter by the information commissioner, Richard Thomas. It is reproduced from the Independent newspaper on 2 April 2008. Continue Reading
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How to be big but agile
The arguments for an agile approach to IT, particularly agile software development, are well established,... Continue Reading
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Security is a management issue
Many people in the UK still see security predominantly as an IT problem. But it's not it's a business one... Continue Reading
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Sometimes the real threat is right under your nose
Organisations often believe they need procedures to protect their databases from misuse by hackers outside the organisation, writes Jimmy Desai of law firm... Continue Reading
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Towards another dotcom boom?
At the University of Southampton's School of Electronics & Computer Science, we have just witnessed a major increase in computer science undergraduate numbers. In fact, our recent intake of 94 undergraduates, which is 20% higher than last year, is ... Continue Reading
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Tackling the network eavesdropping risk
Why do network security problems persist? While wireless network security issues continue to make current headlines, attention has been drawn away from the fact that wired networks are often affected by many of the same weaknesses. As a result, our ... Continue Reading
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It pays to ask your IT provider, but don’t demand
Ask any service provider and they will tell you about their struggles to manage the expectations of some clients, writes Phil Morris. Ask any IT professional and they will give an example of how their service providers just weren't doing what was ... Continue Reading
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Data Centres Europe 2008 open for registration
The BCS is the organisation sponsor for this year's 4th Data Centres Europe 2008 conference, which will be held 10 to 11 April, in London Continue Reading
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Get a grip on your IT assets
Licensing software should be simple. The IT department can keep track of IT assets such as desktop PCs, laptops and servers, so it should know what software is running. Unfortunately, the dynamics of business means software audits quickly go out of ... Continue Reading
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Making Projects Work spring school to teach management skills
The latest PROMS-G spring school, entitled Making Projects Work, will offer attendees the chance to improve their project management skills. Continue Reading
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Infosecurity Europe to showcase latest technology
Infosecurity Europe is Europe's number one dedicated information security event and yields a comprehensive convergence of information security professionals. It addresses today's strategic and technical issues in an education programme, and ... Continue Reading
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IBM patent row: ensure protection at the agreement stage
You do not expect to get sued when you buy IBM software, but that is exactly what happened to one US customer. Continue Reading
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RFID, data security and the law
The European Commission's new consultation on RFID... Continue Reading
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Look before you leap into renegotiating an outsource deal
The chancellor's downward revision of the 2008-09 UK growth forecast to 1.75%-2.25%... Continue Reading
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Is software as a service the answer for SMEs?
The more grey-haired among us grew up in an era before the personal computer, when our first experience of computing was often a teletype linked at just a few hundred bits/sec to a timeshared mainframe, writes Jim Norton. The dream in those days was... Continue Reading
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The business can't abdicate its project responsibility
A couple of years ago I was parachuted into a government project to review its requirements. The customer... Continue Reading
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CIOs can win with a high-octane strategy
CIOs working in the banking and financial services arena are continually dancing to a familiar tune: the relentless pursuit of efficiency as a key driver of sustainable business growth. That's a very simple thing to say - but damned difficult to ... Continue Reading
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System administrators are biggest risk to corporate data
My baby is leaving home, aged 23. We are now negotiating what he is legitimately allowed to take with him. First up is the TV. When you're setting up your own home, it's important to get your priorities right. The other main item is the door keys. ... Continue Reading
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Rising to the challenge of modern systems
With new technologies springing up at a prodigious rate, IT managers are under increasing pressure to satisfy growing demands, writes Jim Close, senior vice-president and UK country manager at Software AG. Continue Reading
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Information security: learn the lessons of the Sumo
Over the course of my career, it has become clear to me that Japan's national sport offers a perfect analogy for the current state of information security. Continue Reading
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Adding invoice automation to SAP adds up
Whether you're the chief finance officer, chief information officer or accounts manager, the financial, management and operational advantages of adding invoice automation to SAP certainly add up - to 60% cost and efficiency savings, writes Kurt De ... Continue Reading
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Speakers at BCS event unravel data privacy issues
"We need to question the assumption that the imperative to share personal data can only be thought of in terms of catering to the needs of society rather than safeguarding the privacy or confidentiality of the individual," said a delegate at the BCS... Continue Reading