The News - July 20, 2008

Pepperweed Process Model Released

Best Practice Implementation Starter Kit for Over 20 Core IT Processes Provided Free of Charge to Organizations of All Sizes.

 Pepperweed is a company that values simplicity and takes great pride in being a trusted advisor to our customers and the IT Industry. Therefore, it becomes necessary for organizations to shift their attention to process improvement risk areas, like management commitment and cultural adoption, and spend less time on policy and process design. Pepperweed Process Model can make this shift a reality for every organization. 

 For the first time, organizations of all sizes will have access to Pepperweed’s “Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for IT” free process model, which provides IT process improvement and best practices starter content.

 The model offers valuable guidance on how to govern, manage, control, operate, and secure the IT function. It was designed with product neutrality in mind, simplifying alignment with mixed toolsets, which is the reality in most organizations.

Features 

Pepperweed’s Process Model offers itself as a best practice implementation starter kit. It offers:

• A foundation based on generations of Pepperweed intellectual property used in a variety of IT process improvement consulting engagements with Fortune 1000 companies.
• Integral tools for compliance auditors.
• Leverage for various IT frameworks and standards, including ISO/IEC 20000, ITIL, IBPL, ITGI, PMI, ISO 27001, COBIT, and BPMN.
• Policy levels for each process that details benefits, controls, goals, metrics, policies, roles, and specifications.
• Process diagrams and physical flow charts
• Detailed work instructions for cultural transformation. 

 For more information and to download your free copy of our 20 processes, please go to:

 http://www.pepperweedprocessmodel.com/

 Top Picks

5 Lessons Learned About Computer Security
“Reformed hacker-turned-security-consultant Kevin Mitnick served five years in federal prison for breaking into phone and software company networks. He talks about his past hacking exploits, computer security, and how he turned an illegal hobby into a useful career.”
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/071408-five-lessons-learned-about-computer.html?hpg1=bn
[ Mitnick raises a few interesting points in this very brief article. ]

Scientists: Humans and machines will merge in future
“A group of experts from around the world will hold a first of its kind conference Thursday on global catastrophic risks.  1 of 3  They will discuss what should be done to prevent these risks from becoming realities that could lead to the end of human life on Earth as we know it.”
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/07/15/bio.tech/index.html  

Book Recommendation

Critical Chain Project Management
Goldratt introduced Critical Chain as a means to successfully deliver projects on time and within budget by more effectively dealing with variation during the time it takes to deliver project tasks.  It is so powerful that a Japanese ministry is currently assessing mandating its use on all future projects.   
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0884271536?ie=UTF8&tag=georgespaffor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0884271536
Wikipedia article on Critical Chain Project Management:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Chain_Project_Management
Focused Performance’s Critical Chain FAQ:  http://www.focusedperformance.com/ccfaq.html

IT Audit / Internal Audit / Compliance

Lawsuit Threatens Sarbanes-Oxley Act
“A sideways challenge to the law is before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The question: whether the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, created by Sarbanes-Oxley to clean up the Enron-tainted auditing profession, is constitutional.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/19/AR2008071900106.html?nav=rss_business

Deloitte’s Audit Committee Risk Oversight Page
https://www.corpgov.deloitte.com/site/us/menuitem.6dc07b606d1d5056730459246cdf8a0c/  

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

Understanding the Potential Business Impact of Changes
“When assessing change requests it is important to understand the potential impact of a given change or a collection of changes.  While it is common to see IT groups assess the technical impacts, technology is only one dimension, albeit one that IT has the most experience with.  What we are more concerned about is the potential impact of a failed change to the organization.”
https://swarm.jupitermedia.com/itsmwatch/2008/07/understanding-the-potential-bu.html

SMART Objectives
Designing objectives that are useful takes some work.  Using the acronym “SMART” to remember Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound is a first step in doing so.  Read up on SMART objectives at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_(project_management)
http://importantprojects.com/archives/000145.php
http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/2006/03/11/setting-smart-objectives/
http://www.rapidbi.com/created/WriteSMARTobjectives.html
http://www.marchofdimes.com/files/SMART_objectives.pdf  

Security and Risk Management

Russian Coreflood Gang targets online bank accounts
“Call them the Coreflood Gang. A ring of cyber bank robbers from southern Russia has quietly perfected a way to get a beachhead inside company networks.  Once inside, it infects every PC within reach with a custom-made data-stealing program called Coreflood. The goal: go rip off bank accounts online.”
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2008-07-15-coreflood_N.htm

Unpatched Windows PCs fall to hackers in under 5 minutes, says ISC
“Other researchers, however, put average 'survival' time at around 16 hours”
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=cybercrime_and_hacking&articleId=9109938&taxonomyId=82&intsrc=kc_top

The Truth About Chinese Hackers
“These hacker groups seem not to be working for the Chinese government. They don't seem to be coordinated by the Chinese military. They're basically young, male, patriotic Chinese citizens, trying to demonstrate that they're just as good as everyone else. As well as the American networks the media likes to talk about, their targets also include pro-Tibet, pro-Taiwan, Falun Gong and pro-Uyghur sites.”
http://dsc.discovery.com/technology/my-take/computer-hackers-china.html
[ This was written by Bruce Schneier so you’d think he would have data / experience to back up his assertions.  When Chinese government hackers come up, there seems to be a lot of questionable FUD that appears as well. ]

Hackers snoop on mobile phones
“Planning to buy that fancy smart phone? A word of caution: Internet-enabled phones have gaping security weaknesses waiting to be exploited, warn cyber security experts. Any smart phone — including Blackberry, Windows Mobile, iPhone and Symbian phones — can be hacked by a nerd with a little bit of code and some cunning.”
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Hackers_snoop_on_mobile_phones/articleshow/3254547.cms

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

E-medical records: What seems to be the problem?
“Ultimately, technology isn't the problem. Granted, the health care industry has been held back by loose and overlapping technical standards and by poor interoperability among the different types of health information systems sold by hundreds of vendors. But the biggest obstacle may be a payment model that offers little financial incentive for most health care providers to invest in using electronic records internally, let alone share them with other providers.”
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=software&articleId=320828&taxonomyId=18&intsrc=kc_feat

U.S. health care not getting better
“In its second National Scorecard on Health System Performance the Fund gives the U.S. system 65 points out of 100. The New York Times kindly calls this a “D” but it doesn’t read like a passing grade…”
http://healthcare.zdnet.com/?p=1157  

Human Error / Safety / Environment

Scientific Consensus About Global Warming Takes Another Big Hit
“The Society previously declared: ‘The evidence is incontrovertible. Global warming is occurring.’ But the Society now says there is no scientific consensus to support that statement: ‘There is a considerable presence within the scientific community of people who do not agree with the intergovernmental panel on climate change conclusion that anthropogenic CO2 emissions are likely to be primarily responsible for global warming.’”
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,386481,00.html

A Disappointing Truth
“Al Gore gave a big speech about global warming last week. He was thunderous and prophetic. He said “the survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk.” He implored the nation to stop burning dirty coal, gas and oil — in just 10 years. In a policy context, that’s like sending the nation to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom.  So here’s a question: If the job is so huge and urgent, why is the ad campaign so pedestrian?”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/opinion/20sun3.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss  

Global News / Business / Economics

Chinese Outbound Investment: Dealing with Sinophobia
“Chinese firms are in an odd situation. Their increasing wealth means they can afford to make acquisitions. But they are increasingly regarded as unpalatable buyers.”
http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11737356?f=alerts

China’s Real Challenge
“The world's eyes will soon be on China. As millions watch the Olympic Games there this August, the nation will also be telling a refreshing story -- one that focuses on how it plans to increase its use of green energy.”
http://www.energycentral.com/centers/energybiz/ebi_detail.cfm?id=536
[ If China follows their announced plans, they will be #1 in terms of renewable energy within three years (by 2011).  That’s a marked change. ] 

Emergency Beijing Olympic pollution scheme kicks in
“Traffic restrictions and factory closures came into affect in Beijing on Sunday in a last ditch attempt to turn the often smokey and dusty Chinese capital into the promised pollution-free venue for next month's Olympics.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSPEK20436020080720?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews  

US News / Business / Economics

Clarifying Economics of Oil
This page hopefully clarifies some comments I made during a recent webinar on Governing Green IT.
http://www.spaffordconsulting.com/EnergyEconomicsClarification.html  

Kill-A-Watt from P3 International
If you are trying to understand energy consumption and what it costs to run a computer, or other device, Kill-A-Watt is a monitoring tool that can provide great data in your decision making.  At only $19.94, it can yield great data for decisions at home and at work.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009MDBU?ie=UTF8&tag=georgespaffor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00009MDBU  

Healthcare, next frontier for semiconductors
This is an interview of Freescale Semiconductor’s SVP of Business Development and Strategy.  It’s not about healthcare despite the title but does have some interesting discussions around the need to address power consumption in the short term as that can flex quickly but to increase energy supply, such as building a nuclear plant, can take 6-8+ years.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Interviews/Healthcare_next_frontier_for_semiconductors/articleshow/3234105.cms

Report: U.S. lagging in sci-tech grads
“A high-profile push by business groups to double the number of U.S. bachelor's degrees awarded in science, math and engineering by 2015 is falling way behind target, a new report says.  In 2005, 15 prominent business groups warned that a lack of expert workers and teachers posed a threat to U.S. competitiveness, and said the country would need 400,000 new graduates annually in the so-called STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields by 2015.”
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/07/15/science.degrees.ap/index.html

Bye-bye, Hummer? GM Targets $15b Cash Boost
“With Wall Street looking for General Motors to react strongly to long-term auto, truck, and SUV woes, GM didn't disappoint. CFO Ray Young and former finance chief Fritz Henderson, now its president, detailed a $15-billion liquidity program introduced earlier in the morning by Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner.”
http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11738042?f=alerts

Texas Approves a $4.93 Billion Wind-Power Project
“The planned web of transmission lines will carry electricity from remote western parts of the state to major population centers like Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The lines can handle 18,500 megawatts of power, enough for 3.7 million homes on a hot day when air-conditioners are running.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/business/19wind.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss