Daily News Archive

Wednesday, March 25th

"If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now.” – Woodrow Wilson

 

The Picks of the Day

Oops! Technician's error wipes out data for state fund

“Perhaps you've experienced that sinking feeling when a single keystroke accidentally destroys hours of work. Now imagine wiping out a disk drive containing an account worth $38 billion.  That's what happened to a computer technician reformatting a disk drive at the Alaska Department of Revenue.”

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/20/lost.data.ap/index.html

[Note the failure of multiple controls including their failsafe of tape baclkups.  This is yet another example of why proper control design that includes routine restoration testing is so important.  Due to other incidents like this at clients I authored a white paper on proper backup control design.  http://www.spaffordconsulting.com/Risk Mitigation Considerations for Data Backup Processes_gs_050606_v1d.pdf and also conducted a webinar http://www.complianceonline.com/ecommerce/control/trainingFocus?product_id=700181&category_id=30010 ]

 

Tripwire CTO Gene Kim Honored by Purdue University; Awarded Outstanding Alumnus in Computer Sciences

“…Gene Kim, has been named a 2007 Outstanding Alumnus by the Department of Computer Sciences at Purdue University. This annual award recognizes alumni who are proven leaders in their field and have demonstrated their commitment to furthering the development of technology.”

http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/070326/0230333.html

[Congratulations Gene!!]

 

How biotech is driving computing

“The most super of supercomputers are folding proteins, not crunching numbers. That's because the life sciences have overtaken physics as the source of the most challenging computing problems.”

http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/18/technology/futureboy0818.biz2/index.htm

 

Artificial Intelligence, With Help From the Humans

“Computers still do some things very poorly. Even when they pool their memory and processors in powerful networks, they remain unevenly intelligent. Things that humans do with little conscious thought, such as recognizing patterns or meanings in images, language or concepts, only baffle the machines.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/business/yourmoney/25Stream.html?em&ex=1175054400&en=27e0ef28a0f82746&ei=5087%0A

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit

KPMG Audit Committee Insight:  Oversight of Auditors

“To help audit committees address the challenges and opportunities of effectively overseeing a company’s auditors and the financial reporting process, KPMG’s Audit Committee Institute (ACI) conducted its Spring 2004 Audit Committee Roundtable series: Oversight of Auditors. Held in 33 cities throughout the United States, these dynamic roundtable discussions facilitated an interactive exchange of knowledge and insights among 2,900 audit committee members and executives.”

http://www.kpmg.com/aci/docs/ACI_HiLitsSprng_04_Web_FNL.pdf

 

FFIEC Internal and External Auditors – Comptroller’s Handbook

“This booklet discusses the OCC’s expectations for effective audit functions and will help examiners and bankers assess the quality and effectiveness of internal and external audit programs appropriate for a bank’s size, complexity of activities, scope of operations, and risk profile.”

http://www.ffiec.gov/ffiecinfobase/resources/audit/occ-hb-internal_external_audits-intro.pdf

 

Audit Committees—A More Visible and Demanding Role

“The audit committee’s responsibility to effectively oversee the integrity of the financial reporting process has become a mandate of the capital markets in the aftermath of the sweeping changes affecting corporate governance. This uncertain and rapidly shifting regulatory landscape has created intense and sharpening focus on audit committee members, whose role as protectors of investors’ interests now attracts higher visibility, higher expectations—and requires more commitment than ever.”

http://www.kpmg.com/aci/docs/Terrell_Reed.pdf

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

Webinar: The Butterfly Sanction: Preventing Unwanted Change in Compliance Systems
March 27, 2007 at 10am Pacific
“To stay on top of guidance related to Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, FFIEC, Basel II and other standards, as well as shifting business needs and evolving technologies, companies must constantly tweak, integrate, and otherwise modify critical systems. But change introduces risk. Even small technical tweaks can have unintended, even disastrous compliance consequences- a proverbial "butterfly effect" of technological interconnection and dependency.”
http://www.itcinstitute.com/events/eventDetails.aspx?eventId=42

 

Archived Webinar:  They Did What!? - Steps to Reducing Business and IT Miscommunication

“Nearly every IT manager has experienced a miscommunication with the business side that caused big problems -- and in many cases disasters. Not only is miscommunication between IT and the business almost universal, it can happen both ways. And while miscommunication will be with us as long as organizations hire people to work together, steps can be taken to reduce it.”

http://www.jupiterwebcasts.com/_archives/2007/webcast_03-19-07/index.html

The PowerPoint file is at:  http://www.spaffordconsulting.com/They%20Did%20What_gs_031907_v1f.ppt

 

An Introduction to Visible Ops

“Practitioners in information technology face pressures on many fronts. In addition to the demands to become more efficient, IT must now address challenges to maintain a secure state and comply with regulatory requirements. For example, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is forcing publicly held U.S. corporations to attest to the fact that internal controls are both in place and effective. IT operational best practices, such as the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), provide a framework to start defining repeatable and verifiable IT processes. However, as organizations attempt to use ITIL to begin their journey toward process improvement, they face a very difficult question: How and where do you start?”

http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/management/story/0,10801,95618,00.html

 

Webinar:  Aligning Via IT Service Management

April 12, 2007 - 2:00pm EDT, 11:00am PDT

IT Service Management (ITSM) stresses alignment with an organization's goals by focusing on services that meet business requirements. Ensuring that this happens is the goal of Service Level Management (SLM), the monitoring and management of key performance metrics and the bedrock of any Quality of Service framework. This webcast will provide an overview of ITIL, discuss how ITIL represents a quality management approach and will show why SLM is important.

 For more information and to sign up today visit http://cp.jupiterweb.com/index.php/3526_default/

 

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Sarbanes-Oxley – Courts dismiss challenge to PCAOB

“The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), and its oversight body, the PCAOB (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board), has won a major victory over those parts of US industry and government seeking to have it repealed, or significantly weakened. Last Wednesday, in a 14 page judgement, Judge James Robertson, a US District Court judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality and legality of Sarbanes-Oxley's creation of a separate body to oversee the accounting industry.”

http://www.chasecooper.com/News-Regulatory_Sarbanes-Oxley-2007-03-26.php

 

U.S. Cautions Foreign Companies on Iran Deals

“For all its efforts to apply economic and political pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, the United States has never used a potentially potent tool in its arsenal — penalties on foreign companies that assist Iran in producing oil and natural gas.  That may be about to change. The Bush administration has quietly been warning energy companies, including Shell, Repsol and SKS, the Malaysian oil company, as well as the governments of China, India, Pakistan and Malaysia, that penalties are possible if they pursue energy deals with Iran.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/21/business/worldbusiness/21sanctions.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1174939158-B1asTpfN/KvsiCxKscjGtw

 

Security and Risk Management

The Business Continuity Institute

http://www.thebci.org/

 

Directors & Boards – BCP Guidance

http://www.directorsandboards.com/html/Boardroom.html

 

Canadian Center for Emergency Preparedness

http://www.ccep.ca/ccepemcm.html

 

[The above security and audit links this issue are courtesy of Dan Swanson.  http://www.securitybenchmark.com/ ]

 

Healthcare / Bio-Informatics / Care Delivery Organizations (CDOs)

Health IT

“Healthcare organizations are rushing to implement information technologies for a variety of reasons including cost pressures and regulatory mandates.  This drive to implement electronic medical record (EMR) systems and the increasing level of automation in terms of data collection and medical devices is truly stunning for anyone watching it happen.  What is profoundly concerning to me is that this technology is being implemented at a breakneck pace and not all organizations are paying sufficient attention to processes.”

http://www.itpi.org/cs/blogs/itpi/

 

Big vendors don't plan to cut prices

“Despite the rising competition from companies offering certified EHRs for half of what the name-brand vendors charge, some of the latter say they have no plans to lower their prices.”

http://www.memag.com/memag/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=412490

 

Hospital association cites gains in health IT

“Hospitals are also increasing their use of health IT in general. Forty-six percent of respondents reported moderate or high use of IT in 2006, compared with 37 percent in 2005”

http://www.memag.com/memag/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=412493

 

Governor signs order on health information

“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order Wednesday to stiffen state mandates to adopt health information technology, make information on prices and care quality more available and increase accountability for public and private healthcare systems.”

http://eastbay.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2007/03/12/daily30.html

 

Are your medical records safe?

“In light of the multiple breaches of personal information held by state agencies in recent months, should Vermonters be concerned about the privacy and security of their medical records as the state moves forward with pilot programs in electronic medical records (EMRs) and health care information exchange?”

http://www.vermontguardian.com/local/032007/MedicalRecords.shtml

 

Privacy could be IT standards' deal-breaker

“Feldman's withdrawal follows on the footsteps of the second of two Government Accountability Office reports strongly criticizing the record of HHS and AHIC on privacy. The GAO found that the administration had produced some contradictory studies and vague policy statements but still had nothing approaching an overall strategy to ensure that privacy protections would be at the center of the national health IT network linking providers and payers.”

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070309/FREE/70308003/0/FRONTPAGE

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

Human error blamed for Queen of the North sinking

“The BC Ferries report on the sinking of the Queen of the North blames human error for the accident, which claimed two lives when the ferry went down along B.C.'s North Coast in March 2006.  The report singles out three crew members in charge of navigation and steering on the night of the sinking, saying they failed to make a required course change at Sainty Point.”

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/03/26/bc-ferry.html?ref=rss

 

China, Norway, U.N. sign climate change agreement

“China, Norway and the U.N. Development Program signed an agreement on Monday to develop programs to combat the effects of climate change in China's rural areas, including the melting of glaciers in Tibet.  The programs will help provincial governments assess potential risks caused by climate change and develop ways to respond, the UNDP said in a statement.”

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2007-03-26-tibet-glaciers_N.htm?csp=34

 

States work to reduce global warming

“As more and more states band together to fight global warming, their efforts are moving beyond mere symbolism and becoming big enough to make a real dent in the problem, analysts and environmental groups say.  More than half of the nation's 50 states — including populous California, Texas and New York — have joined together in regional coalitions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, boosting the use of renewable energy and improving energy efficiency.”

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-03-25-states-greenhouse_N.htm?csp=34

 

Poor countries battle WHO over bird flu

“The World Health Organization might guarantee that poor nations get access to bird flu vaccines in the event of a pandemic, the top WHO flu official said Monday, hoping to end a dispute triggered by Indonesia's decision to stop sharing virus samples.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070326/ap_on_he_me/bird_flu_vaccine_war_7

 

Outsourcing / Globalization / International

India’s Banks Are Seen as Antiquated and Unproductive

“India’s drive to become a global economic powerhouse faces a huge roadblock in its inefficient, largely state-controlled financial system, analysts say. Two-thirds of India’s banking business is conducted through less than 5 percent of its branches, and its growing corporate sector has headed overseas for financial advice and loans.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/business/worldbusiness/23india.html

 

China Scrambles for Stability as Its Workers Age

“The proportion of people 60 and older is growing faster in China than in any other major country, with the number of retirees set to double between 2005 and 2015, when it is expected to reach 200 million. By midcentury, according to United Nations projections, roughly 430 million people — about a third of the population — will be retirees.  That increase will place enormous demands on the country’s finances and could threaten the underpinnings of the Chinese economy, which has thrived for decades on the cheap labor of hundreds of millions of young, uneducated workers from the countryside.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/world/asia/22china.html?ref=worldbusiness

 

When Outsourcing Goes Bad

“Yes, you can bring back a service into your company, but the procedure is much more painful than outsourcing, and suggests there might have been a problem with the original outsourcing decision.”

http://www.manufacturing.net/article/CA6427098.html

 

Protecting IP in Offshore Outsourcing

“Like other technology-intensive industries, the medical device industry is actively hunting for scientific and engineering talent abroad. Having long benefited from the global outsourcing of labor and manufacturing, the medical technology industry is expanding the role of global outsourcing to the higher-level functions of product engineering, design, and technology development.”

http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/archive/07/03/026.html

 

India bucks global outsourcing trend

“While worldwide information-technology (IT) firms witnessed an overall fall in new outsourcing contracts in 2006, Indian companies, such as Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Wipro, saw their market share increase by more than 14 times in the past four years, according to a new study.”

http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IC27Df01.html

 

China's Hu eyes energy imports on Russia visit

“Chinese President Hu Jintao held crucial talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin as part of a global drive to secure new energy sources for China.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070326/wl_asia_afp/russiachinadiplomacy_070326185547

 

Economics / Business / Misc.

Foreclosures to spike as new rates kick in

“About 1.1 million additional home foreclosures are expected over the next six years as adjustable-rate mortgages - which made home buying more affordable to U.S. buyers in recent years - reset to higher payments, according to a study by research firm First American CoreLogic.”

http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/19/news/economy/bc.usasubrime.reset.reut/index.htm?postversion=2007031910

 

Latin America lender wary of U.S. recession

“A recession in the United States seems unlikely but cannot be ruled out, Latin America's largest lender warned Monday, saying the region's 2007 economic prospects depended on its northern neighbor.”

http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/19/news/international/bc.usa.recession.iadb.reut/index.htm?postversion=2007031906

 

Where to get business advice – free

“Whether you've got a great idea for a business, are struggling to get your business off the ground or have an established firm in need of a turnaround, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) can be valuable resources that don't cost a thing.”

http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/13/smbusiness/smallbiz_developementcenters/index.htm?postversion=2007031518

 

Tech IPOs: They're back!

“Judging by the number of companies that have already filed or indicated that they might, 2007 is shaping up to be the biggest year for initial public offerings in the tech world since the end of the dotcom bubble in 2000. “

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2007/03/01/8401021/index.htm?postversion=2007022015

 

Star Trek's 'Q' Says Science Fiction And Technology Can Change The World

Actor John de Lancie loves his Apple laptop and wants better voice recognition so he doesn't have to use the remote to change the TV.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=IPPC0S4HDK2EGQSNDLPSKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=198100537