The Daily News is brought to you by George Spafford, Principal Consultant at Pepperweed Consulting, LLC.  Pepperweed is nationally recognized as a leader in IT Management and was recently recognized as one of the Inc. 500 fastest growing privately-held companies.  For more information, check out our website at www.pepperweed.com or call 888 229-0145. Please let us know if you see stories you think should be included in the next issue of the Daily News, and feel free to forward this email on to others.

 

Do you need a public speaker at your next IT-related event?  If so, please contact me at george.spafford@....  A number of programs are available including one hour presentations, keynotes, executive awareness sessions and so on all revolving around technology business, the management of IT, ITIL, and risk management.

 

" The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it's the same problem you had last year.” – John Foster Dulles

 

The Picks of the Day

31 Days Lost Each Year Putting Out IT Fires

“Business managers in the United Kingdom lose 31 working days—more than 10 percent of the year—putting out fires that result from bad management of IT systems, according to a study released June 4 by Partners in IT, a U.K.-based service management company.”

http://www.careers.eweek.com/article/31+Days+Lost+Each+Year+Putting+Out+IT+Fires/209472_1.aspx?kc=EWKNLCSM061907STR1

[Thanks Gene!]

 

Project Manager Planet

Jupitermedia has launched a new website on project management.

http://www.projectmanagerplanet.com   

 

Global Warming: How Do Scientists Know They’re Not Wrong?

“From catastrophic sea level rise to jarring changes in local weather, humanity faces a potentially dangerous threat from the changes our own pollution has wrought on Earth’s climate. But since nothing in science can ever be proven with 100 percent certainty, how is it that scientists can be so sure that we are the cause of global warming?”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20070716/sc_livescience/globalwarminghowdoscientistsknowtheyrenotwrong

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit

IT Compliance Institute

The ITCI is a great source for news and resources on compliance issues.  Dan Swanson’s audit checklist on governance plus many other nuggets are available there.

http://www.itcinstitute.com/

 

PCAOB, Aussies Link Up on Audit Probes

“The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission both signed on to a protocol statement aimed at boosting cooperation in overseeing auditors and public accounting firms that practice in the two regulators’ jurisdictions”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/9498348/c_9499054?f=alerts

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

Making the Right Decisions

“It is a common scenario for applications to be purchased without first undergoing proper requirements definition only to find out later that they were the wrong choice. Instead of rushing to buy, the business and IT need to work together to understand what is needed and then make the correct decisions.”

http://www.projectmanagerplanet.com/tools/article.php/3688871

 

From Software to System to Service

“For programmers, the software development lifecycle (SDLC) spells out the organization’s standards surrounding the creation and maintenance of applications.  The system development lifecycle took the application creation concept a step further to include the combination of software and hardware. The typical system development lifecycle covers matters such as requirements definition, development practices, testing, deployment, etc.   While all of these are good, the problem is they follow the traditional hardware and software orientation. Instead, we need to think about IT Service Management (ITSM) and the services we are provisioning to the business. Instead of a system development lifecycle, we need to be focusing on the service development lifecycle.”

http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3688261

 

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Sarbanes-Oxley takes blame for America’s corporate ills

“Larry Ribstein, a law professor at the University of Illinois, wears his hate for the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 on his sleeve. On his blog he sells a T-shirt featuring a clothes line clipped with two socks, one labeled Sarbanes, the other Oxley, with the caption ‘Hanging business out to dry.’”

http://www.financialnews-us.com/?page=ushome&contentid=2348324266

 

Security and Risk Management

Study: 90% of companies fail compliance

“Clear link between better controls and fewer data loss incidents”

http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/security/cybercrime/news/index.cfm?newsid=4044

 

Rapid Deployment Teams:  Bringing Structure to Crisis

New DHS article on the need for rapid response teams to assess and manage during a crisis.

http://www.homelanddefensejournal.com/e-newsletter/2007/Jun07_RapidDeploymentTeams.pdf

 

GAO: Few Serious Data Breaches

“A study by a congressional agency finds that breaches of sensitive personal information are frequent across industries, but few examined cases resulted in identity theft. Consequently, Congress should consider a risk-based approach if it mandates consumer notification of data breaches, according to the report from the Government Accountability Office.”

http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/html/news/NewsStory.cfm?articleId=15438

 

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

Michigan Funds HIE Efforts

“The Michigan state government has awarded more than $4.5 million in grant funds to support regional health information exchange initiatives across the state.”

http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/html/news/NewsStory.cfm?articleId=15425

 

Advisors to HHS: Expand Privacy Rule

“An advisory body to the Department of Health and Human Services is calling for quick action to expand the scope of health care-related entities covered under the HIPAA privacy rule.”

http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/html/news/NewsStory.cfm?articleId=15441

 

Where in the world is Google Health?

“Up to now, Google Health has used its mighty search engine to rank the popularity of health-related websites in discrete categories, such as cardiac arrhythmia or dry eye. But the blogosphere is alive with rumors that Google's health-care plans extend far beyond that to include the development of a new kind of personal health record (PHR).”

http://www.memag.com/memag/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=440180

 

Minnesota mandates all-electronic claims

“Minnesota has become the first state to require that all health-care providers and all payers file claims electronically. Starting in 2009, every physician office in Minnesota, including the smallest ones, will have a choice of using a practice management system, hiring a billing service, or filing claims on the Web portals now offered by the state Medicaid agency and some private payers.”

http://www.memag.com/memag/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=440178

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

Japanese nuke plant leaked after earthquake

“A strong earthquake struck northwestern Japan on Monday, causing a radioactive water leak and fire at one of the world's most powerful nuclear power plants and turning buildings into piles of lumber. At least eight people were killed and hundreds injured.”

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/16/japan.quake.ap/index.html

 

Officials: More leaks at nuclear plant after quake

“Officials at the world's biggest nuclear power plant acknowledged Tuesday there had been more radiation leaks after an earthquake in Japan that killed nine people and forced thousands from their homes.”

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/17/japan.quake.reut/index.html

 

Outsourcing / Globalization / International

How Sweet The Recovery

“July marked the ten year anniversary of the onset of the Asian currency crisis. A decade down the road, the frontline crisis nations – Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines – appear to be flush with health. Asian Development Bank (ADB) president Haruhiko Kuroda endorsed this view at a speech commemorating the onset in Manila.”

http://www.cfoasia.com/archives/200707-04a.htm

 

Smoke and Mirrors

“So what is China’s real environmental policy? Is it the policy of the central government, which vows to make dramatic changes? Or is it the policy of the local governments – a group so pro-business in Jiangsu province, at least, that it could jail and beat a peaceful environmental activist, and keep him in prison even after events proved he was not an alarmist?  The answer, experts say, is both.”

http://www.cfoasia.com/archives/200707-02.htm

 

Will Outsourcing Fly?

“Why has the Asian outsourcing market been so sluggish? Fundamentally, say both outsourcers and CFOs, it’s harder to build a convincing business case here. These days, most – but not all – of the service providers’ back office facilities are in Asia, to take advantage of cheap skilled labor. But most Asian companies already have finance employees working in low-cost environments.”

http://www.cfoasia.com/archives/200707-01.htm

 

Economics / Business / Misc.

Poll: Americans Recognize Growth Abroad

“The survey of 1,030 U.S. investors showed that just 38 percent of Americans believe the United States will be the leading economic power in the next 10 years. Forty-five percent said China would take that role, with less than 5 percent of investors believing India, Russia or Germany would become the global economic leader.”

http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewContent.act?clipid=15788785&mode=cnc&tag=3.5721%3Ficx_id%3DD8QE4J080

 

Report: Demand to Outpace Crude Supplies

“Conventional crude oil supplies won't keep up with growing global demand in the next 25 years and other fuels from ethanol to liquefied coal and oil from tar sands will be needed to close the gap, says a draft oil industry report.”

http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewContent.act?clipid=15788786&mode=cnc&tag=3.5721%3Ficx_id%3DD8QE1M1G0

 

End Notes

Titles and links to articles written by George Spafford are listed at:  http://spaffordconsulting.com/articles.html

 

Please feel free to forward the Daily News on to your colleagues.

 

If you have news or feedback you’d like to share, please send an email to george.spafford@....

 

To subscribe, please send an email to:  SGC_Daily_News-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To unsubscribe, please send an email to:   SGC_Daily_News-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC, was founded by IT professionals who recognized a need for quality IT Management tools and specialists peaked in their implementation and use. Today, Pepperweed is nationally recognized for its unique ability to provide optimal infrastructure and process designs and to deliver on the promise of those designs through hands-on implementation of selected technologies. Recently listed as one of the Inc. 500 fastest growing, privately held companies, Pepperweed is one of the largest IT Management practices in the U.S.

 

Archives of the Daily News newsletter are available at http://www.spaffordconsulting.com/dailynews.html .

 

_____________________________________________

George Spafford
Principal Consultant
ITIL Service Manager, IPRC, CISA

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC®
Office:  269-556-9597
Mobile:  269-208-1832

FAX:  208-978-6295
George.Spafford@...

 

 

The Daily News is brought to you by George Spafford, Principal Consultant at Pepperweed Consulting, LLC.  Pepperweed is nationally recognized as a leader in IT Management and was recently recognized as one of the Inc. 500 fastest growing privately-held companies.  For more information, check out our website at www.pepperweed.com or call 888 229-0145. Please let us know if you see stories you think should be included in the next issue of the Daily News, and feel free to forward this email on to others.

 

Do you need a public speaker at your next IT-related event?  If so, please contact me at george.spafford@....  A number of programs are available including one hour presentations, keynotes, executive awareness sessions and so on all revolving around technology business, the management of IT, ITIL, and risk management.

 

"All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.” – Sun Tzu

 

The Picks of the Day

Podcast:  ID Theft Laws: What You Need to Know

“Compliance with new ID theft laws could have dramatic effects on businesses and consumers. In this OnSecurity podcast, Lisa Vaas chats with Eric Greenberg, chief security portfolio engineer for Unisys, about what you need to know.”

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2162574,00.asp?kc=EWKNLHCR080107STR2

[Very well done.  A lot of info in a 16 minute podcast.]

 

Webcast:  Optimizing Change Management

Presented live on August 8, 2pm EDT, 11am PDT and available as an archive there after

Organizations have implemented change management to meet regulatory compliance requirements and to manage risk. At this stage, groups should go back and review the process for efficiency and effectiveness. Attend this webcast and learn what information Change Management needs, the benefits of multiple change models, information that Change Management should share with other areas and metrics for consideration.

Register today at http://cp.jupiterweb.com/index.php/3896_default/

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit

IT Audit Checklist: Change Management

“This checklist offers:

§         187 specific checklist items to help assess your internal audit readiness

§         Controls derived from prominent standards/frameworks including ITIL, CobiT, and NIST

§         Pointers on audit planning, preparation, testing, and reporting

§         Clarification on what auditors want (and don't want) to see”

http://www.itcinstitute.com/display.aspx?id=2499

[This is authored by Dan Swanson and George Spafford]

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

Incident Decision Making and Cognitive Bias

“From an ITIL perspective, an Incident is a deviation from the normal operation of a system that impact, or may impact, the quality of a service. Rapid decision making around what has happened and how best to quickly restore service is critical as actions, or inactions, will affect customer satisfaction, costs, security and many other factors.”

http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3690326

 

Don’t Do It All At Once

“Some groups propose ‘big bang’ projects where they try to change the world in one fell swoop. It comes along like a siren song: "Do this and all will be fixed." Groups looking at the IT Infrastructure Library often here this song and dangerously steer towards hidden rocks. Rather than risk all, teams need to take a step back and consider a phased implementation that aligns with the needs of the business.”

http://www.projectmanagerplanet.com/leadership/article.php/3690846

 

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Contracts can't be changed online without notice, court rules

“A federal appeals court has ruled that companies can't change their contracts and post those revisions online without notifying customers first.”

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9028240&source=rss_news10

[Thanks Paul]

 

Count 'Em: 63 CFOs Convicted in Past Five Years

“The Department of Justice, which has said that at least 53 finance chiefs have been convicted in the five-year life of the President's Corporate Fraud Task Force, has provided CFO.com with a list of 53 individuals who either pled guilty or were found guilty. After recalculating to include other cases, CFO.com has confirmed another 10, bringing the total to 63 ex-CFOs who either pled guilty or were convicted by juries since July 9, 2002.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/9608130?f=alerts

 

Investors Say Sarbanes-Oxley Got It Right: Study

“As U.S. regulators and industry recognize Sarbanes-Oxley's fifth year this July 30, most investors (57 percent) in a new survey by Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management believe the requirements imposed by the law, holding CEOs and senior management personally accountable for the accuracy of their companies' financial disclosures, are about right, while one-third (31 percent) say its restrictions did not go far enough. Only eight percent say the law went too far.”

http://compliancehome.com/news/SOX/11111.html

 

Security and Risk Management

First Armed Robots on Patrol in Iraq

“Robots have been roaming the streets of Iraq, since shortly after the war began.  Now, for the first time -- the first time in any warzone -- the machines are carrying guns.  “

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/08/httpwwwnational.html

 

Continuity of Operations Plan

“A Continuity of Operations Plan (or Continuity of Government Plan) has been a part of government operations since at least the Cold War, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower provided by executive order various measures which were supposed to ensure that the government of the United States would be able to continue in case of nuclear war.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuity_of_operations_plan

National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/print/20070509-12.html

FEMA COOP Programs  http://www.fema.gov/government/coop/index.shtm [This has a lot of downloadable templates]

 

On Demand Webcast:  Data Backup and Recovery- Your Future Depends on it!

“Organizations face an enormous challenge when it comes to managing vast amounts of data. Two of the most critical challenges are data protection and data recovery.”

http://www.itbriefingcenter.com/programs/gartner_ironmountain_backup.html

 

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

U.S. Health IT Lags

“Patients in the United States, where healthcare is fragmented and Census figures indicate that nearly 45 million residents lacked health insurance in 2005, already pay the price.  Many avoidable costs are the result of a lack of information, and run the gamut from bills for unnecessarily repeated tests to potentially life-threatening care delays and medical errors, according to reports from the likes of research company Rand Corp. as well as physicians and patients on the ground.”

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2163269,00.asp?kc=EWKNLHCR080107FEA1

[Thanks Kurt]

 

Ideas Sought for I.T. Advisory Body

“The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is soliciting public comment on a successor for the American Health Information Community, an advisory body to the Department of Health and Human Services.”

http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/html/news/NewsStory.cfm?articleId=15550

 

Reports Assess RHIO Security

“The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has issued a set of reports that review and assess the variations in data privacy and security among 34 regional health information organizations.”

http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/html/news/NewsStory.cfm?articleId=15545

The report can be accessed at:  http://www.healthit.ahrq.gov/ [This also has a toolkit with templates for review.]

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

Radioactive Debate

“Climate change hardly qualifies as good news for anyone. But for advocates of nuclear energy, these are practically glory days. As the urgency of combating global warming has risen, even environmentalists and politicians who may have once chained themselves to the reactor gates are taking another look at the industry that has languished in regulatory and PR hell since the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20124497/site/newsweek/

 

Bird flu human cases stabilize, experts say

“The bird flu epidemic appears to have stabilized as far as humans go but several developing nations have not been able to stem its spread amongst poultry and domesticated birds, experts said Friday.”

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php?article_id=80465

 

U.S. Orders More Glaxo Bird Flu Vaccine

“British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline said the Department of Health and Human Services placed another order to buy bulk avian flu vaccine to fill the national stockpile in the event of a pandemic.”
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5025644.html

 

Lab leak fears over Britain's foot and mouth outbreak

“An urgent probe into Britain's foot and mouth outbreak homed in on an animal disease research laboratory Sunday amid fears of a virus leak, as other countries watched the potential crisis closely.”

http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=188308

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200708051441.htm

 

Outsourcing / Globalization / International

China-bashing pointless

“Bills are moving in Congress aimed at forcing China to cheapen its currency quickly. They represent bad ideas that could hurt the U.S. economy.  It’s in China’s interest to make its currency more expensive, and it is slowly doing so. Any official U.S. action aimed at producing an acceleration is likely to put the backs of Chinese officials up and could provoke retaliation.”

http://news.bostonherald.com/editorial/view.bg?articleid=1015237&srvc=home

 

China's booming economy polluting sea

“China's booming economy is wreaking havoc on the nation's coastal waters, with sewers often spilling right into parts of the sea reserved for tourism or aqua-farming, state media said Saturday. “

http://dailynews.muzi.com/news/ll/english/10047455.shtml

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=164991&version=1&template_id=45&parent_id=25

 

Economics / Business / Misc.

House slaps $16 billion in taxes on oil industry

“Declaring a new direction in energy policy, the House on Saturday approved $16 billion in taxes on oil companies, while providing billions of dollars in tax breaks and incentives for renewable energy and conservation efforts.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20124921/

 

Spinach — fuel of the future?

“One day the engine used by plants and photosynthetic bacteria to convert sunlight to chemical energy could power a cell phone or laptop, or help produce hydrogen fuel for cars and homes.”

http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewContent.act?clipid=20598759&mode=cnc&tag=3.5413%3Ficx_id%3D32901

 

Service Sector Grows, but at Slower Rate

“The U.S. service sector expanded in July though at a slower pace than the previous month, a trade group said Friday, suggesting that economic growth is moderating.”

http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewContent.act?clipid=20598758&mode=cnc&tag=3.5721%3Ficx_id%3DD8QPJRLG0

 

Spreadsheets Are Free

“The program, Calc, is a part of OpenOffice, the open-source business applications suite. The suite's available on several different operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. Like other OpenOffice applications, Calc is free of license fees. It can also be downloaded and installed on as many PCs as a user or enterprise requires.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/9607908?f=alerts

 

End Notes

Titles and links to articles written by George Spafford are listed at:  http://spaffordconsulting.com/articles.html

 

Please feel free to forward the Daily News on to your colleagues.

 

If you have news or feedback you’d like to share, please send an email to george.spafford@....

 

To subscribe, please send an email to:  SGC_Daily_News-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To unsubscribe, please send an email to:   SGC_Daily_News-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC, was founded by IT professionals who recognized a need for quality IT Management tools and specialists peaked in their implementation and use. Today, Pepperweed is nationally recognized for its unique ability to provide optimal infrastructure and process designs and to deliver on the promise of those designs through hands-on implementation of selected technologies. Recently listed as one of the Inc. 500 fastest growing, privately held companies, Pepperweed is one of the largest IT Management practices in the U.S.

 

Archives of the Daily News newsletter are available at http://www.spaffordconsulting.com/dailynews.html .

 

_____________________________________________

George Spafford
Principal Consultant
ITIL Service Manager, IPRC, CISA

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC®
Office:  269-556-9597
Mobile:  269-208-1832

FAX:  208-978-6295
George.Spafford@...

 

 

 

Well, time definitely flies.  It seems like I blinked and it is now April 9, 2008 already.  I had to put the newsletter on hold for a while due to a combination of classes, family and work.  In surveying the world these days there is much that is going on that I want to cover and relay.  Reflecting interests, the format and focus of the newsletter will be evolving as time goes on. 

 

If you have time and are inclined to send me an email and let me know how things are going, please do.  Also, if you would like to be removed from the email list, instructions are at the end.

 

Best wishes,

 

--George

 

 

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

 

Top Picks

Visible Ops Security

As some of you may know, Gene Kim, Paul Love and I published a new book entitled “Visible Ops Security”, which is published through the ITPI.  This book is about the need to integrate information security into the other IT functional areas so it can best help the organization succeed at attaining goals.  A great deal of work went into the book and I am hoping people both find it beneficial.

http://www.itpi.org/home/visibleopssec.php

 

IMF Sees US Falling Into Recession

“The world economy will slow sharply this year, according to an International Monetary Fund forecast, with the United States sliding into a recession amid housing, credit and financial slumps.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/09/AR2008040901154.html

The report is at:  http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit

Report Faults IRS Network Security

“The Internal Revenue Service has inadequate security controls over its routers and switches, jeopardizing sensitive taxpayer information, according to a report by the Treasury Department's inspector general.”

http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=27358

The report is online at:  http://www.treas.gov/tigta/auditreports/2008reports/200820071fr.html

 

Audit-Rules Convergence Plays Catch-Up

“Settling on a single set of auditing standards worldwide gets a lot less attention than the commingling of accounting standards, but is gaining ground.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11002824/c_11003041?f=alerts&x=1

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

Control & Process Reviews

“In response to a variety of needs including process improvement and regulatory compliance, organizations develop controls and processes. Many times they are aimed at preventing an error from happening again or are designed to enable the attainment of objectives.   Okay, good. The problem is the environments within which organizations operate foster a constant need to evolve. If processes are not updated, then they can slow or even halt progress and create organizational conflict. The problem we are discussing is compound.”

http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3732776

 

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Treasury's Plan for Regulatory Overhaul Annoints the Fed As Wall Street's Supercop

“While there are many aspects to the sweeping blueprint for redesigning financial markets regulation - two of the most critical parts are the proposed merger of the SEC with the CFTC and the move toward principle-based regulation.”

http://advancedtrading.com/blog/archives/2008/04/treasurys_plan.html

 

Security and Risk Management

U.S. Has Launched a Cyber Security 'Manhattan Project,' Homeland Security Chief Claims

“Speaking to hundreds of security professionals at the RSA security conference, Chertoff cited last year's denial-of-service attacks against Estonia, and hypothetical hack attacks on financial networks and air traffic control systems, as proof that a federal strategy was needed.”

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/rsa_conference/index.html

 

Symantec Statistics and Malware's Mushroom Cloud

“Initially, I set out to write this blog about the security risks involved with the misperception of numerical data, and the problems with conventional wisdom.  However, my internet readings led me slightly off course, in pursuit of understanding some recent malware statistics.”

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/26769

 

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

Medicare, Medicaid cut deep into health care IT

“CIOs in the health care industry say looming Medicare and Medicaid cutbacks remain one of the top challenges facing their industry, at a time when many of them are already being forced to trim their IT budgets.”

http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid183_gci1307948,00.html?track=NL-973&ad=632067&asrc=EM_NLN_3407523&uid=3121061#

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

American Airlines canceling hundreds of flights to re-inspect MD-80s

“American Airlines confirmed in mid-afternoon that it was grounding most of its MD-80 fleet to re-inspect a wiring harness to a hydraulic pump in a wheel well.”

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/04/american-airlines-canceling-hu.html

 

Pressure to build green data centers will intensify, say IT execs

“Rising energy costs and the need to consolidate IT infrastructure will force business managers to re-evaluate data retention policies and learn how much power every device in their data center consumes, said IT executives today on a panel at Computerworld's Storage Networking World conference.”

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9075978&intsrc=news_ts_head

 

Outsourcing / Globalization / International

Logistics News: Once You Outsource Distribution or Transportation Functions, Can You Ever Go Back?

“If you outsource key logistics processes, can you ever go back?  That’s the question Adrian Gonzalez of ARC Advisory Group asked in a recent research note, after saying he noticed a small trend towards some companies pulling formerly outsourced logistics functions back in house.”

http://www.scdigest.com/assets/On_Target/08-04-08-1.php?cid=1598

 

Economics / Business / Misc.

Don't Blame NAFTA for Downturn, Many Economists Say

“The escalating debate over the future of free-trade agreements promises to be a stark fault line in the campaign. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the presumptive Republican nominee for president, is an unabashed supporter of free trade, and the Bush administration is pushing for a free-trade agreement with Colombia.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/08/AR2008040803294.html?nav=rss_business

 

 

End Notes

The News is brought to you by George Spafford, Principal Consultant at Pepperweed Consulting, LLC.  Pepperweed is nationally recognized as a leader in IT Management Consulting.  For more information, check out our website at www.pepperweed.com or call 888-229-0145. Please let us know if you see stories you think should be included in the next issue of The News, and feel free to forward this email on to others.

 

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_____________________________________________

George Spafford
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ITIL Service Manager, IPRC, CISA

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC®
Office:  269-556-9597
Mobile:  269-208-1832

FAX:  208-978-6295
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"Courage is as often the outcome of despair as of hope; in the one case we have nothing to lose, in the other, everything to gain ” – Diane de Pointiers

 

Top Picks

Windows is 'collapsing,' Gartner analysts warn

“In a presentation at a Gartner-sponsored conference in Las Vegas, analysts Michael Silver and Neil MacDonald said Microsoft has not responded to the market, is overburdened by nearly two decades of legacy code and decisions, and faces serious competition on a whole host of fronts that will make Windows moot unless the software developer acts.”

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9076698&pageNumber=1

 

Sucking It Up

“Here's a consequence of escalating oil prices that many businesses have yet to contemplate, or don't want to: The supply-chain management strategies spawned during the last 20 years — quick transport, lean inventories, and a growing reliance on low-cost, offshore labor — may not make good business sense anymore.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/10918113/c_11042248?f=alerts

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit

FAA Auditing of Airlines Criticized at Hearing

“In the recent audits, to determine if the airlines are complying with F.A.A. orders, ‘we found we had achieved 99 percent compliance, but it’s the other 1 percent that keeps me up at night,’ Mr. Sabatini said.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/business/11hearing-web.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

[I find the FAA debacle fascinating.  It’s a textbook example of what can happen when audit looses objectivity, there is management over-ride, and loss of guidance in terms of tone-from-the-top.  Basically, we are seeing what happens when audit fails.]

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

Emergency Changes Shouldn't Change Anything

“The ITIL change management process is intended to balance the risks associated with making a change against the risks to the organization of not making the change. To do this, it recommends a series of controls that help manage risk including the formal submission of requests for change, creation of change records, scrutiny of requests, testing, and so on.  These steps, of course, take time and during a crisis, time is a scarce commodity. To facilitate the ability to respond quickly, while still supplying a modicum of risk management, ITIL recommends that one or more emergency change models be created.”

http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3735976

 

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

PCAOB Pings Grant Thornton on Lax Testing

“Grant Thornton didn't do enough testing to support some of its 2006 audit opinions, according to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's most recent inspection report of the second-tier independent audit firm.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11042016/c_11042248?f=alerts

 

Security and Risk Management

You won't guess who's the bad guy of ID theft

“Surprisingly, the real villains in Zero Day Threat are not the identity thieves themselves, despite their unsavory lives of crime. Rather, the villains are supposed pillars of communities: bankers, credit-bureau managers and computer makers who enable the burglars, and who could ameliorate the identify-theft crisis but, instead, look away in the name of larger corporate profit.”

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/books/2008-04-13-zero-day-threat_N.htm

 

Virtualization's Dark Side

“The decision to switch to virtualization is easy enough: As companies discover that the process can consolidate hardware and save space, energy and money, virtualization is sweeping through the world's desktops and data centers. Now comes the hard part: keeping a new and largely untested IT world safe from hackers and data breaches. “

http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/09/virtualization-rsa-malware-tech-virtualization08-cx_ag_0409virtual.html?partner=alerts

 

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

U.S. Biotechs On Sale

“Takeda, Japan's biggest drug company, is buying Cambridge, Mass.-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals for $8.8 billion, or $25 a share. That's a 50% premium and a price Millennium stock hasn't seen in more than five years.  The deal signals a new reality for U.S. biotech companies: While increasingly risk-averse U.S. investors avoid stocks of small and mid-size biotechs, foreign firms are buying.”

http://www.forbes.com/business/pharma/2008/04/10/pharmacuticals-millenium-takeda-biz-healthcare-cx_mh_0410takeda.html

 

VA data center outage hobbles VistA again

“The Veterans Affairs Department suffered a regional outage of its Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) because of a hardware problem at its Denver data center, a VA official said today.”

http://www.fcw.com/online/news/152251-1.html

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

Passengers sue Southwest over missed inspections

“Four passengers have filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines, saying the company broke its contract with travelers by carrying them on planes that missed safety inspections over a period of about six years.”

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-04-15-passengers-sue-southwest_N.htm

 

Reports: Data on Vioxx was misused

“Corporate and government documents from Vioxx lawsuits indicate that the drug's maker, Merck & Co., apparently downplayed evidence showing the painkiller tripled the risk of death in Alzheimer's-prone patients, researchers report today”

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2008-04-15-vioxx-drug-conflicts_N.htm

 

Outsourcing / Globalization / International

China's economy slows, inflation still high: govt

“China's economy slowed in the first quarter of the year while inflation lingered at 12-year highs as food prices continued to soar, the government said on Wednesday.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080416/ts_afp/chinaeconomygrowthquarter_080416074950

 

Economics / Business / Misc.

Rate of home foreclosures expected to get worse

“The nation's already alarming pace of home foreclosures is poised to accelerate through the rest of the year, according to RealtyTrac, which reported Tuesday that foreclosure filings jumped 57% in March from March 2007.”

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2008-04-15-foreclosure-filings-march_N.htm

 

End Notes

The News is brought to you by George Spafford, Principal Consultant at Pepperweed Consulting, LLC.  Pepperweed is nationally recognized as a leader in IT Management Consulting.  For more information, check out our website at www.pepperweed.com or call 888-229-0145. Please let us know if you see stories you think should be included in the next issue of The News, and feel free to forward this email on to others.

 

Titles and links to articles written by me are listed at:  http://spaffordconsulting.com/articles.html and if you have news or feedback you’d like to share, please send an email to george.spafford@....

 

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_____________________________________________

George Spafford
Principal Consultant
ITIL Service Manager, IPRC, CISA

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC®
Office:  269-556-9597
Mobile:  269-208-1832

FAX:  208-978-6295
George.Spafford@...

 

 

 

"A lie has speed, but truth has endurance.  ” – Edgar J. Mohn

 

Top Picks

Dan Swanson’s Security Resources: #1

Dan has a new effort under way:  “Each week over the coming months, I plan to highlight leading security resources and initiatives that will support your efforts to improve security practices within your organization. Each column, I will highlight a half dozen leading security focused resources covering various aspects of information security management.”

http://blogs.itworldcanada.com/security/2008/04/18/dan-swansons-security-resources-1/

 

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit

For the PCAOB, It's "Independence Day"

“Introduced last July, the first proposal would replace an interim independence standard that helps define what independence is. Meanwhile, the other proposal approved on Tuesday creates standards for working on the personal income taxes of a client company's CFO.  The changes would provide auditors with clearer direction on how to demonstrate to a client's audit committee that the audit firm is independent.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11080013?f=alerts

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

 Benefits of a Definitive Media Library (DML)

“The DML is a secure library where software that has been properly reviewed and authorized is stored. While ITIL makes a point of describing a physical repository, it could also be a carefully secured network storage system as well. Furthermore, depending on an organization's needs, there could be multiple physical and logical DMLs, but what is important is that there needs to be well defined procedures for managing the DML.”

http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3729141

 

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Ahead of the Bell: Internet Regulation

“The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will review whether several incidents over the past year were based on legitimate business policies, or unfair and anticompetitive practices that signal the need for more regulation.”

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5719649.html

 

Security and Risk Management

The New E-spionage Threat

“The U.S. government, and its sprawl of defense contractors, have been the victims of an unprecedented rash of similar cyber attacks over the last two years, say current and former U.S. government officials.”

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_16/b4080032218430.htm?campaign_id=rss_null

 

Cybercrime takes back seat to brand as CSO priority

“Reputational damage is top of mind for information security leaders again. According to a global survey of more than 7,500 security professionals, 71 per cent said that avoiding harm to brand was their top priority, ahead of other hot topics, such as maintaining customer data privacy, controlling identity theft, and protection against breaches of laws and regulations.”

http://www.cio.co.uk/concern/security/news/index.cfm?articleid=2761&pagtype=allchantopdate

 

Hackers hit one in 10 big companies: study

“Thirteen percent of large businesses have detected unauthorised outsiders, said the study drawn up by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, published at the Infosecurity Europe show in London.  That represents a 10-fold increase in the last two years, warned the report.”

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jWOM675vgynNVkEsGortoH5BEEoQ

 

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

Vendors, stakeholders aim to dispel privacy myths about EHRs

“Healthcare IT vendors and other stakeholders at a recent Capitol Hill briefing sought to dispel what they called ‘privacy myths’ concerning electronic health records. “

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9093

 

Electronic Personal Health Records Raise Privacy Concerns

“A controversial issue has been raised by researchers writing in the International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management. The issue revolves around electronic personal health records (PHRs), which could be used, among other things, to reduce medical errors.  But the advent of electronic PHRs raise questions about the ownership of patients’ medical test results and personal health information and how such ownership affects privacy,  personal liberties and freedom of information.”

http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/2937

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

This Year's Flu Vaccine Predictions Failed

“This year’s predictions were the most unsuccessful compared to last 3 seasons. Flu vaccine was only 44% effective this season, according to CDC. Even those who followed all directions for getting flu vaccination had higher risk for getting the disease.”

http://www.emaxhealth.com/90/21783.html

 

Cutting down solar costs with satellite imagery

“Sungevity, Kennedy's company, has come up with a Web-based system for evaluating the solar potential for a given home through satellite data. Customers log onto Sungevity's site and provide an address and some information about their monthly electrical bill.”

http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9922124-54.html

 

Outsourcing / Globalization / International

Product development is globalizing rapidly: Forrester

“According to Forrester Research, the Product Development space is currently witnessing rapid globalization, ultimately shaping an ecosystem where firms leverage both development approaches – captive as well as outside partners – to cope with rising costs, skill-shortage, attrition and project failures in product design work. This ecosystem is swiftly gaining ground as firms having mid-size to large captive Offshore Product Development (OPD) set-ups realize the benefits of this approach.”

http://www.ciol.com/EC/News-Reports/Product-development-is-globalizing-rapidly-Forrester/22408105415/0/

 

2 Outcomes When Foreigners Buy Factories

This piece talks about foreign direct investment in the US and how in some places it is creating jobs and spurring growth while in others there are decisions to shutter US plants and move production elsewhere.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/business/07sale.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

 

Economics / Business / Misc.

Companies Give "Web Search" a New Meaning

“The growth of social-networking Web sites makes it easier for job-seekers of all ages to find jobs. But new technology is also making it easier for companies — as well as individuals — to vet each other.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11078461?f=alerts

 

Knowing rights if flight's canceled may get you a seat

“Fliers could see more disruptions, similar to those experienced by more than 300,000 people on American Airlines two weeks ago, as the Federal Aviation Administration finishes a second phase of maintenance records audits through June 30. United, Delta and Southwest have also grounded planes within the past month.”

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-04-21-rule-240-canceled-flight_N.htm?csp=34

 

End Notes

The News is brought to you by George Spafford, Principal Consultant at Pepperweed Consulting, LLC.  Pepperweed is nationally recognized as a leader in IT Management Consulting.  For more information, check out our website at www.pepperweed.com or call 888-229-0145. Please let us know if you see stories you think should be included in the next issue of The News, and feel free to forward this email on to others.

 

Titles and links to articles written by me are listed at:  http://spaffordconsulting.com/articles.html and if you have news or feedback you’d like to share, please send an email to george.spafford@....

 

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Archives of The News newsletter are available at http://www.spaffordconsulting.com/dailynews.html .

 

_____________________________________________

George Spafford
Principal Consultant
ITIL Service Manager, IPRC, CISA

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC®
Office:  269-556-9597
Mobile:  269-208-1832

FAX:  208-978-6295
George.Spafford@...

 

 

 

 

"'I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” – Albert Einstein

 

Top Picks

OGC unveils new logo to red faces

“It cost Ł14,000 to create, but clearly no-one at the smart London design outfit that came up with the new logo for HM Treasury thought to turn it on its side.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/24/nogc124.xml

[You just can’t make this stuff up!!]

 

Who Moved My Cheese

“What I came to realize was that in most cases my discomfort was because I didn’t have the level of experience with v3 that I did with v2.  Someone moved my cheese, so to speak, and knocked me out of my comfort zone for a good reason.”

http://blog.itsmwatch.com/

[ITSM Watch now has a blog that I, Sharon Taylor and others will be posting entries.]

 

Travel group warns: Corporate data at risk from laptop searches at border

“The warning follows a recent ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that basically upheld the right of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials to search laptops and other electronic devices at U.S. borders without reasonable cause or suspicion.”

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9081358&source=rss_topic17

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit

The Beginning of the End of GAAP

“FASB chairman Robert Herz announces that a public forum, slated for June, will kick off an effort to move American companies to international accounting standards.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11318747?f=alerts

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

Using ITAM to Save Money in Tough Times

“ITAM is a proven means to manage costs and improve the quality of services provisioned by IT, not to mention better risk management by avoiding potential software fines. In fact, the vast majority of organizations see true ROI within a year’s time and then on-going savings from there.”

http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3744536

 

New set of IT Governance rules announced: ISO standard will carry the number ISO/IEC 38500

“After the initial announcement of the new ISO standard as ISO/IEC 29382 (working title), the ISO organization now determined the formal number to be ISO/IEC 38500. The unique new set of IT Governance rules will be presented at a seminar on May 26, in Amsterdam.”

http://en.itsmportal.net/en/node/15762

 

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

To Err Is Human, and Common

“Marlene Plum, of the University of Utah, and Teri Lombardi Yohn, at Indiana University, looked at 3,744 restatements from 2003 to 2006 and found that, across companies of all sizes, simple human error on the part of internal staff is to blame 56 percent of the time. Not that vexing accounting standards are a nonissue: they finish a strong second, responsible for 38 percent of restatements.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11080109?f=insidecfo

 

Security and Risk Management

Report: small merchants biggest threat to credit card fraud

“The quarterly report belies the popular perceptions that using credit cards online is riskier than using them at a physical store and that large merchants' huge wealth of data make them primary targets for credit card fraud. Rather, it points a finger at traditional small merchants, such as storefronts and fast food outlets.”

http://www.scmagazineus.com/Report-small-merchants-biggest-threat-to-credit-card-fraud/article/109595/

 

Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS)

Was published April 18, 2008

https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/tech/pa-dss.htm

 

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

 Department Focus: Quality--Quality on the Front End

“Many hospitals are discovering that preventing infections and other complications costs a lot less than treating them.”

http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/209246/topic/WS_HLM2_MAG/Department-Focus-QualityQuality-on-the-Front-End.html

 

Healthcare IT plays key role in curing diseases, researchers say

“Over and over again at the Bio-IT World Conference in Boston this week, researchers, providers, pharmaceutical companies and vendors alike hailed the role of electronic data exchange as central to the advances being made in disease research.”

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9124

 

Privacy, shmivacy: How many people can see your medical records?

“Between 2006 and 2007, hospital data breaches exposed more than 1.5 million names attached to personal health information. That is according to a patient data security study undertaken jointly by Kroll’s Fraud Solutions in Nashville and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, with offices in Chicago, Ann Arbor and Washington, D.C.”

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=87383

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

China on alert over deadly child virus

“China's Health Ministry strengthened surveillance and dispatched specialists to the eastern Anhui province as the death toll from a virulent virus climbed to 22, the Xinhua News Agency reported.”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/03/china.virus/index.html

 

The Greening of America – A special Report from CFO Magazine

http://www.cfopub.com/guides/guide.cfm/10007226?f=insidecfo&x=1

 

Outsourcing / Globalization / International

Confessions of a (Former) IT Scoundrel

“Study the ways this information technology services provider has failed its clients—and you'll know the warning signs”

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2008/tc2008051_076548.htm?campaign_id=rss_tech

 

IDC Says Indian IT Revenues to Double by 2012

“India's information technology and IT-enabled services industry will more than double in size by 2012, led by a fast-expanding domestic market, according to a report released on Wednesday.   The industry's revenues, including those from export markets, will reach Rs 5.3 trillion (132 billion dollars) in 2012, from Rs 2.46 trillion last year, said the report by market-research firm IDC India. “

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2008/gb2008051_392546.htm?campaign_id=technology_AK

 

Economics / Business / Misc.

Hunting for oil beneath the ice

“The combination of falling reserves and $100-plus oil is sparking a frenzy of oil and gas activity in Alaska the likes of which hasn't been seen since the state's initial oil boom more than three decades ago.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/01/news/companies/hunt_for_oil.fortune/index.htm?cnn=yes

 

Forget gas: Get ready for $4 a gallon milk

“Higher costs for feed and fuel are driving farmers to cut back on milk production - and that means higher prices.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/02/news/economy/milk_prices/index.htm

 

End Notes

The News is brought to you by George Spafford, Principal Consultant at Pepperweed Consulting, LLC.  Pepperweed is nationally recognized as a leader in IT Management Consulting.  For more information, check out our website at www.pepperweed.com or call 888-229-0145. Please let us know if you see stories you think should be included in the next issue of The News, and feel free to forward this email on to others.

 

Titles and links to articles written by me are listed at:  http://spaffordconsulting.com/articles.html and if you have news or feedback you’d like to share, please send an email to george.spafford@....

 

To subscribe, please send an email to:  SGC_Daily_News-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To unsubscribe, please send an email to:   SGC_Daily_News-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Archives of The News newsletter are available at http://www.spaffordconsulting.com/dailynews.html .

 

_____________________________________________

George Spafford
Principal Consultant
ITIL Service Manager, IPRC, CISA

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC®
Office:  269-556-9597
Mobile:  269-208-1832

FAX:  208-978-6295
George.Spafford@...

 

 

 

Hello everyone,

 

A number of readers have pointed out that the Telegraph’s URL regarding the funny OGC logo doesn’t work.  In visiting the site, it appears that the URL has changed.  The new URL is:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1901656/OGC-unveils-new-logo-to-red-faces.html

 

Best wishes to all,

 

--George

 

_____________________________________________

George Spafford
Principal Consultant
ITIL Service Manager, IPRC, CISA

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC®
Office:  269-556-9597
Mobile:  269-208-1832

FAX:  208-978-6295
George.Spafford@...

The information contained in electronic transmissions is confidential and may be subject to protection under US law. An electronic transmission is intended for the sole use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, distribution or copying of the message is strictly prohibited. If you received a message in error, please contact the sender immediately by replying to the e-mail and delete the material from any computer. Note that attachments sent are protected from known viruses by Symantec AntiVirus.

 

 

"If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected. ” – Sun Tzu

 

Top Picks

Who Says it’s Easy to Make Billions

Steve Ballmer was egged during a presentation at university in Hungary

http://www.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9947314-16.html

 

Does Efficiency in the Data Center Give Us What We Need?

“While driving efficiency is clearly the right thing to do, industry and government agencies must consider a more holistic view on the cause and effect in the IT industry. It is important to understand what the drivers are to the perceived problem of IT power consumption.”

http://www.missioncriticalmagazine.com/CDA/Articles/Features/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000340120

[This is a very interesting article.]

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit / Compliance

The Real Price of Payoffs, According to E&Y

“Even though more companies are being caught using bribery to gain business, the illicit practice appears to be increasing — as is the cost of being caught.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11398463?f=alerts

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

Using ITAM to Save Money in Tough Times

“With the current economic downturn in progress, IT organizations are under tremendous pressure to reduce costs yet still increase the value of the services they are delivering. IT asset management (ITAM) is a way of doing this.”

http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3744536

 

Don’t Forget Organizational Change

“The reason for this is need is because when we talk about changing existing processes or adopting new processes, we are actually talking about making changes that will impact the lives of employees and the culture of the organization. When implemented, these process changes will range from minor to major and how employees perceive the costs, benefits, and risks to themselves will impact the initiative’s ultimate level of success or failure.”

http://blog.itsmwatch.com/gspafford.html

(This blog post has links to a few articles on organizational change)

 

ADKAR Organizational Change Management Tutorial

“ADKAR is a goal-oriented change management model that allows change management teams to focus their activities on specific business results.  The model was initially used as a tool for determining if change management activities like communications and training were having the desired results during organizational change. The model has its origins in aligning traditional change management activities to a given result or goal.”

http://www.change-management.com/tutorial-adkar-overview.htm

(Thank you for sending this Paul!)

 

Security and Risk Management

New attack trend pushes POS encryption to the fore

“The relatively scant attention that retailers have paid to securing their point-of-sale systems over the past few years is making the POS setups increasingly attractive targets for cybercrooks who are looking to steal payment card data.”

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9086898&source=rss_news50

 

Security Manager's Journal: Security measures have to be reasonable

“If you're an information security manager, you have to apply security smarts to your information security model — sensible security that's in line with your organization's business, applicable legislation and available resources.”

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=317285&source=rss_news50

 

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

Contemplating RHIOs: What Health Systems Need to Know

“The number of regional health information organizations (RHIOs) created in the United States has been increasing annually. Many hospitals and health systems engage in RHIOs to improve patient care quality and safety. But deciding to collaborate in such an organization can be a difficult decision for any health system.”

http://health-care-it.advanceweb.com/editorial/content/editorial.aspx?CC=72135

 

Google Gets Into Health

“The search king announced Monday that consumers can now upload their medical records to Google Health, its closely-watched health information site.”

http://www.forbes.com/ebusiness/2008/05/19/google-online-health-tech-ebiz_cx_wt_0519google.html?feed=rss_technology_ebusiness

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

The Symantec 2007 State of the Data Center Report

Respondentss identified human error as the number one cause of downtime.

http://www.symantec.com/about/news/resources/press_kits/detail.jsp?pkid=sdcreport

[It was released in October of 2007 and I just ran across it.]

 

Show me the Green

“Companies are trumpeting their environmental achievements — even if the motivation is to sell ‘green’ products rather than be green themselves.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11080084?f=alerts

 

Superefficient Frankencrops Could Put a Real Dent in Greenhouse Gas Emissions

“What some greens deride as Frankencrops are also the only serious hope for biofuels. Right now, their net carbon benefit is negligible. Corn engineered for high yields and low fertilizer will help, but even better will be plants under development whose stalks and leaves can easily be turned into fuel.”

http://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/magazine/16-06/ff_heresies_06genetic

 

Globalization / International

China Faces Economic Aftershocks

“As the initial chaos of the disaster zones is being replaced by an eerily orderly rescue and cleanup effort by the military, China's leaders are turning their attention to the survivors and the economic consequences of fear.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/18/AR2008051802372.html?nav=rss_world/asia

 

Economics / Business / Misc.

Who's to blame for $4 gas

“Prices have surged over the past four years - and there's a bunch of reasons why.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/20/news/economy/gas_price_history/index.htm?cnn=yes

 

End Notes

The News is brought to you by George Spafford, Principal Consultant at Pepperweed Consulting, LLC.  Pepperweed is nationally recognized as a leader in IT Management Consulting.  For more information, check out our website at www.pepperweed.com or call 888-229-0145. Please let us know if you see stories you think should be included in the next issue of The News, and feel free to forward this email on to others.

 

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George Spafford
Principal Consultant
ITIL Service Manager, IPRC, CISA

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC®
Office:  269-556-9597
Mobile:  269-208-1832

FAX:  208-978-6295
George.Spafford@...

 

 

 

 

"They can because they think they can.” – Virgil

 

Top Picks

Oil exec: Prices driven by 'fundamentals'

“The Senate Judiciary Committee called the hearing to explore the skyrocketing price of oil, which jumped over $3 a barrel Wednesday to a new record of over $132. The committee grilled executives from Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips Co., Shell Oil Co., Chevron  and BP as to how their companies can in good conscience make so much money, while American drivers pay so much at the pump.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/21/news/economy/oil_hearing/index.htm?cnn=yes

 

Fraud-prevention pitchman becomes ID theft victim

“Todd Davis has dared criminals for two years to try stealing his identity: Ads for his fraud-prevention company, LifeLock, even offer his Social Security number next to his smiling mug.  Now, Lifelock customers in Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia are suing Davis, claiming his service didn't work as promised and he knew it wouldn't, because the service had failed even him.”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/05/22/lifelock.flap.ap/index.html

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit / Compliance

TVA Needs to Address Weaknesses in Control Systems and Networks

GAO-08-526, May 21.

Report - http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-526

Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08526high.pdf

 

Balancing Act: A Risk Management Solution for Spreadsheets

“Every time an employee creates, accesses or manipulates spreadsheet data, errors can creep in — errors that often go undetected. Failure to effectively safeguard spreadsheets can expose companies to theft of critical data and serious, even catastrophic, financial losses. If companies hope to protect their most important spreadsheets and reduce human and electronic flaws, they need to adopt a Risk Intelligent approach.”

http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/article/0,1002,cid=207268,00.html?WT.mc_id=Podcast_email_117

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

ITSMwatch’s Blog

There are a lot of posts on a variety of topics at ITSMwatch.

http://blog.itsmwatch.com/

 

FMEA and You

“To properly evaluate a process or product for strengths, weaknesses, potential problem areas or failure modes, and to prevent problems before they occur, it may be necessary to use a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA).”

http://www.fmeainfocentre.com/guides/f0503_FMEA.pdf

 

Security and Risk Management

PCI DSS compliance: Web application firewall or code review?

“On June 30, Requirement 6.6 of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) -- whose goal is to ensure that Web-facing applications are protected against known attacks by either completing a code review or installing a Web application firewall (WAF) -- moves from a best practice to a requirement.”

http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com.au/articles/24726-PCI-DSS-compliance-Web-application-firewall-or-code-review-

 

E-Mail Security And Compliance Not Taken Seriously

“’75% of US companies are ‘concerned’ or ‘very concerned’ about protecting the confidentiality of personal identity and financial information in outbound email. 70% are ‘concerned’ or ‘very concerned’ about ensuring compliance with financial disclosure or corporate governance regulations. 68% are ‘concerned’ or ‘very concerned’ about ensuring that email cannot be used to disseminate company trade secrets or valuable intellectual property.’”

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/05/email_security.html

 

Six hours to hack the FBI (and other pen-testing adventures)

“It takes a lot to shock Chris Goggans; he's been a pen (penetration) tester since 1991, getting paid to break into a wide variety of networks. But he says nothing was as egregious as security lapses in both infrastructure design and patch management at a civilian government agency -- holes that let him hack his way through to a major FBI crime database within a mere six hours.”

http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=security&articleId=9087441&taxonomyId=17&intsrc=kc_feat

 

Cyber Terrorism Threat Growing, EU Agency Says

“ENISA said 30 percent of global trade is ‘digitally dependent’ and cited estimates that spam cost businesses about EU64.5 billion (US$101.43 billion) in 2007, double the 2005 figure. With only 6 percent of spam reaching mailboxes, ENISA said, the problem is perceived to be under control. However, it is growing in quantity, size and bandwidth and remains a costly problem.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20080527/tc_nf/59975

 

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

Check out those Medicare hospital ratings

“Officials there are spending $1.9 million for a one-day advertising blitz in 58 local markets, including Chicago, urging consumers to compare the quality of care at medical institutions.”

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/triage/2008/05/check-out-those.html

[Very interesting - they identified and reported on two stats they felt were key.]

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

Effects of Nanotubes May Lead to Cancer, Study Says

“Microscopic, high-tech ‘nanotubes’ that are being made for use in a wide variety of consumer products cause the same kind of damage in the body as asbestos does, according to a study in mice that is raising alarms among workplace safety experts and others.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/20/AR2008052001331.html?hpid=sec-health

 

Global News

Toyota revs up hybrid output

“Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) has emerged the world leader in hybrids with its hit Prius, which has sold more than a cumulative 1 million vehicles over the last decade. Sometime after 2010, it hopes to sell 1 million hybrids a year”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/27/news/international/toyota_hybrid.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008052707

 

Economics / Business / Misc.

Taxing oil profits: Proceed with caution

“While the debate about whether or not to tax Big Oil's profit rages on, there's also the debate as to who is best suited to bet on our future energy choices. The oil companies have been criticized for being shortsighted and not investing enough in renewable resources. Indeed, some want to use a windfall profits tax to fund renewable energy projects.  The counter argument to government sponsored R&D is that when it comes to new technologies, the market picks them best.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/06/news/economy/oil_profits_tax/index.htm?postversion=2008050612

 

Salamander-inspired therapy may aid injured vets

“Army Sgt. Shiloh Harris' doctors applied specially formulated powder to what's left of the finger in an effort to do for wounded soldiers what salamanders can do naturally: replace missing body parts.”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/05/26/regrowing.body.parts/index.html

 

End Notes

The News is brought to you by George Spafford, Principal Consultant at Pepperweed Consulting, LLC.  Pepperweed is nationally recognized as a leader in IT Management Consulting.  For more information, check out our website at www.pepperweed.com or call 888-229-0145. Please let us know if you see stories you think should be included in the next issue of The News, and feel free to forward this email on to others.

 

Titles and links to articles written by me are listed at:  http://spaffordconsulting.com/articles.html and if you have news or feedback you’d like to share, please send an email to george.spafford@....

 

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Archives of The News newsletter are available at http://www.spaffordconsulting.com/dailynews.html .

 

_____________________________________________

George Spafford
Principal Consultant
ITIL Service Manager, IPRC, CISA

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC®
Office:  269-556-9597
Mobile:  269-208-1832

FAX:  208-978-6295
George.Spafford@...

 

 

 

 

 

"I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think” –  Socarates

 

Top Picks

New Book:  Software Security Engineering:  A Guide for Project Managers

 “Software that is developed from the beginning with security in mind will resist, tolerate, and recover from attacks more effectively than would otherwise be possible. While there may be no silver bullet for security, there are practices that project managers will find beneficial. With this management guide, you can select from a number of sound practices likely to increase the security and dependability of your software, both during its development and subsequently in its operation.”

http://www.sei.cmu.edu/publications/books/cert/software-security-engineering.html

http://www.softwaresecurityengineering.com/

http://www.cert.org/podcast/show/20080527allen.html

[ Congratulations Julia!! ]

 

IT Governance International Standard – ISO/IEC 38500 Under Development

George’s note, ISO/IEC 38500 will hopefully be published in the next couple of months finally giving some standards guidance around what “IT Governance” is.  The ISO website doesn’t really have much info yet other than to say it is under development.  When it is published, I will send out links.  As many purists will point out “IT Governance” is really about management – not necessarily governance per se.  True “governance” is the venue of the Board and senior management.  It will be interesting to see what comes out in the new standard as we look at the dual mission of IT – to assist with the creation and protection of value.

Current ISO Page: http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=51639

Good commentary on it:  http://itgov.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/new-iso-standard-for-it-governance-isoiec-38500/

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit / Compliance

Compliance Programs' New Mantra: Value Preservation And Value Creation

This is an interesting interview of Richard H. Girgenti, the National Practice Leader of KPMG LLP's U.S. Forensic Practice, the Partner in Charge of the Forensic Practice for the Americas region, and a member of the Board of Directors of KPMG LLP.

http://www.metrocorpcounsel.com/current.php?artType=view&artMonth=June&artYear=2008&EntryNo=8400

 

Getting International Compliance Policies Right

“How can a global company ensure that it generates a meaningful, international, compliance policy? Such polices need to be applicable across the corporate universe but encompass local differences adequately. This might seem to be a simple question but it often presents a raft of difficulties for compliance officers.”

http://www.metrocorpcounsel.com/current.php?artType=view&artMonth=June&artYear=2008&EntryNo=8341

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

Tool Selector has a link to The Forrester Wave: Service Desk Management Tools Q2 2008

“In this research brief, Forrester evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of 13 service desk management tool vendors. The 96-criteria evaluation found that BMC Software's Remedy IT Service Management, CA, HP, and IBM lead the pack for large enterprises because of the depth and breadth of their offerings that integrate the service desk into a complete IT service management framework.”

http://www.toolselector.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=3054

 

The Underperformer Paradox

It is paradoxical that frequently, those most in need of assistance are the last to see it.

http://blog.itsmwatch.com/

[May 29, 2008, ITSMWatch blog post]

 

CD Set at Amazon:  Beyond the Goal: Eliyahu Goldratt Speaks on the Theory of Constraints (Your Coach in a Box)

I often am asked about Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt and his work on the Theory of Constraints.  For those who like to listen to lectures, he released a fascinating audio CD set in the fall of 2005.  As Dr. Goldratt is such a prolific author, what I like about Beyond the Goal is that it synthesizes many of his ToC ideas as he is presenting them to a conference of software industry executives.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1596590238?ie=UTF8&tag=georgespaffor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1596590238

 

6 reasons government IT projects fail

“Failed government IT projects occur with alarming frequency. In some respects, these failures share much in common with botched private sector initiatives. For example, failures in both environments are primarily a function of poor management rather than bad technology.”

http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?p=792&tag=nl.e539

 

Security and Risk Management

Unifying Governance, Risk and Compliance

“GRC is not so much a tool or methodology as it is a management philosophy for bringing these different disciplines together and dealing with them as a unified whole, both inside and outside of IT functions.”

http://www.ciostrategycenter.com/cio/Reg/law/unifying_governance_risk_compliance/

 

Sci-Fi Writers: New Tech Will Bring More Security Challenges

“If IT security professionals think they have challenges now, they should wait until new technologies such as quantum computing and devices embedded in skin arrive in the not-so-distant future, three science-fiction writers said Monday.”

http://www.cio.com/article/377716/Sci_Fi_Writers_New_Tech_Will_Bring_More_Security_Challenges

 

Bruce Schneier Q&A: The Endless Broadening of Security

“With this endless broadening of security has come an endless broadening of ambition. Schneier is launching launch the Workshop on Security and Human Behavior—an effort to bring together the brightest thinkers from any number of disciplines: Economists, technologists, psychologists, even poets will be there. The goal is no less than to launch a new academic discipline.”

http://www.csoonline.com/article/373414/Bruce_Schneier_Q_A_The_Endless_Broadening_of_Security

 

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

 Health Care Leaders Gather to Gain New Safety, Risk Management Insights From Aviation Industry Experts

“As health care organizations continue to wrestle with better ways to improve patient safety and communications, they are finding inspiration from the skies - the aviation industry.”

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080602/clm097.html?.v=62

 

Medical ID theft can injure finances, endanger lives

“Of the 8.3 million Americans who were victims of identity theft in 2005, 3 percent, or 249,000, said someone had obtained medical treatment and services using their personal information, according to the Federal Trade Commission's 2006 Identity Theft Survey Report, the most recent.”

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-perfi_02bus.ART0.State.Edition1.3a6ab43.html?npc

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

A chilling global warming forecast

“There's always a new report about global warming, but the one released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with its charts on optimal temperatures for soybeans and peanuts, is downright creepy in its detail. This isn't your usual futuristic fodder, with vague but dire predictions. The USDA report is more frightening because it states matter-of-factly the practical changes in farming, forestry and water that are transforming the landscape now and will do so again over the next few decades.”

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-warming2-2008jun02,0,5120050.story

The report is at:  http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4-3/default.php

 

Mars on the brain? Red Planet pioneers to face cosmic mind trip

“The simulated expeditions were made, in part, to research ways to live and work on the Red Planet. But they also revealed something else: what personality types might best be suited to make the 35 million-mile journey and who would be better off watching from Mission Control.”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/06/02/space.psych/index.html

 

NASCIO behind green IT with strong statement, action plan

“The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) came out strongly yesterday on the importance of environmentally sound IT, telling its CIO members they must play a critical role in reducing their states' carbon footprints and issuing a 17-page brief on ways to do that”

http://searchcio.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid182_gci1315301,00.html?track=NL-981&ad=643255&asrc=EM_USC_3761885&uid=3121061#

 

Global News

Four Play

“Like other major accounting firms, E&Y is a loose partnership of national firms. Although they share the same logo and stationery, legal liability and control remain a country-level affair. E&Y executives say the move to consolidate its 87 practices is a response to the needs of its increasingly global client base.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11465466?f=alerts

 

Major Economies Slowing

“Conditions are getting tougher in some of the world's major economies.  Figures out yesterday suggest that China's huge manufacturing sector might be slowing because of sluggish sales to the US and Europe.  Data released on Friday reveal static demand from US consumers, who account for 70% of economic activity in the world's biggest economy. “

http://au.biz.yahoo.com/080601/27/1rnr4.html

 

From the ruins, Chinese begin to rebuild lives

“Fan Jianping, chief economist for the State Information Center, told the official Xinhua News Agency that the quake will cost the Chinese economy more than $86 billion. Only 5% of property losses are covered by any kind of insurance, says the Shanghai Daily newspaper.”

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-06-01-china_N.htm

 

Economics / Business / Misc.

Americans take 41 million fewer flights, survey shows

“Nearly half of American air travelers would fly more if it were easier, and more than one-fourth said they skipped at least one air trip in the past 12 months because of the hassles involved, according to an industry survey.”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/05/30/airtravel.decline.ap/index.html

 

Adobe’s Acrobat.com could be an Office killer; Will interface matter?

“Adobe has tied together its online office suite with the beta of Acrobat.com and the user interface is the big differentiator. What remains to be seen is whether online office users care about aesthetics.”

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=8969&tag=nl.e539

 

End Notes

The News is brought to you by George Spafford, Principal Consultant at Pepperweed Consulting, LLC.  Pepperweed is nationally recognized as a leader in IT Management Consulting.  For more information, check out our website at www.pepperweed.com or call 888-229-0145. Please let us know if you see stories you think should be included in the next issue of The News, and feel free to forward this email on to others.

 

Titles and links to articles written by me are listed at:  http://spaffordconsulting.com/articles.html and if you have news or feedback you’d like to share, please send an email to george.spafford@....

 

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_____________________________________________

George Spafford
Principal Consultant
ITIL Service Manager, TOCICO Jonah, IPRC, CISA

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC®
Office:  269-556-9597
Mobile:  269-208-1832

FAX:  208-978-6295
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"Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.” – Winston Churchill

 

Top Picks

Fliers in for pain as airlines pack it in

“A USA TODAY analysis of fall airline schedules shows the nation's most popular vacation destinations will be among the biggest air-service losers. Many flights to Honolulu, Orlando, Las Vegas and other favorite vacation venues have vanished or will soon because cheap tickets bought by tourists don't cover the cost of getting there.”

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2008-06-03-airlines-cuts-flights-fares_N.htm

 

Homes in foreclosure top 1 million

“The Mortgage Bankers Association's first quarter report showed that a record 2.5% of all loans being serviced by its members are now in foreclosure, which works out to about 1.1 million homes. That's up from the 2% of loans, or about 938,000 homes, that were in foreclosure at the end of 2007.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/05/news/economy/foreclosure/index.htm?postversion=2008060510

 

Book Recommendation

The Goal by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt

This is the book that started it all.  Basically Dr. Goldratt had been developing finite capacity scheduling software and became increasing interested about what made companies “tick”.  After studying them for a while he decided to write a business novel that would allow him to set forth some of his ideas inside a love story.  Many of his peers thought it was a bad idea and the writer was so disbelieving that he insisted on being paid up front versus on a percentage – and that was a huge mistake.  The Goal has gone on to sell over 5 million copies worldwide and the Theory of Constraints has been proven to work across diverse industries and organizations.  Today, readers have to options, they can get the book or an audio CD.

The book is at:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0884271781?ie=UTF8&tag=georgespaffor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0884271781

The CD is at:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1565114248?ie=UTF8&tag=georgespaffor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1565114248

The book in Japanese is at:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4478420408?ie=UTF8&tag=georgespaffor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=4478420408

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit / Compliance

Is Sox a Failure?

“After the recent collapse of Bear Sterns, and the litany of other problems that other financial institutions are having controlling their balance sheets, taking write offs, and losing shareholder value, I have to ask. Has the SOX regulation and the massive investment to training corporate executives failed us?”

http://www.trainingindustry.com/fsc/articles.asp?id=8165

[ Thank you for sending this Ari! ]

 

Hello, Goodbye

“BearingPoint Inc.'s new CFO, Eileen Kamerick, has resigned after just three weeks on the job.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11520785?f=alerts

[ They must be really challenged. ]

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

The Challenges of RCA in ITIL and the “New” Deming Cycle

“Proactive problem management (pPM) and root cause analysis (RCA) is the right path but you may find open revolt along the way, writes ITSM Watch columnist Jan Vromant of Deloitte Consulting.”

http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3751206

[ Great article Jan! ]

 

IT in Support of the Business

“IT Service Management is about creating and delivering services that meet the needs of the organization.  In this regard, IT is an enabler of the business and cuts in IT will affect other areas.  Rather than arbitrary cuts, organizations must make careful efforts to understand what is operating and what is planned.”

https://swarm.jupitermedia.com/itsmwatch/2008/06/it-in-support-of-the-business.html

 

Security and Risk Management

Experts speculate on what could have caused Walter Reed Hospital's data breach

“Though Walter Reed has not made a formal statement about exactly what went wrong with the May 21 breach of identifiable patient data from one of its computers, experts like Dietz speculate it could have easily happened with the use of peer-to-peer applications like instant messaging.”

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9362

 

GAO: Sensitive healthcare data still at risk

“Sensitive information remains at risk at 24 of the nation’s federal agencies, including some that handle healthcare data, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Among the 24 agencies found lacking on the security front were the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.”

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=7306

 

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

ONC puts forth plan for transforming healthcare with IT

“The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has released plan for advancing healthcare information technology. The stated aim: Using the power of IT to transform healthcare.”

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9319

The 2008-2012 Strategic Plan is online at:  http://www.hhs.gov/healthit/resources/reports.html

 

Testimony on healthcare IT highlights privacy, connectivity

“Business, government and healthcare leaders testifying before a Congressional subcommittee on Wednesday pressed for passage of healthcare IT legislation.  They also called on Congress to make privacy paramount.”

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9363

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

NASA's own watchdog: Agency misled on global warming

“In a report released Monday, NASA's inspector general office called it "inappropriate political interference" by political appointees in the press office. It said that the agency's top management wasn't part of the censorship, nor were career officials.”

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jun02/0,4670,NASACensor,00.html

The report is at:  http://oig.nasa.gov/investigations/OI_STI_Summary.pdf

 

Air Force: Moisture caused $1.4 billion bomber crash

“The crash probably could have been avoided if knowledge of a technique to evaporate the moisture had been disseminated throughout the B-2 program, Maj. Gen. Floyd L. Carpenter, who headed an accident investigation board, said Thursday.”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/06/crash.ap/index.html

 

Global News / Business / Economics

World needs $45 trillion energy plan

“The world needs to invest $45 trillion in energy in coming decades, build some 1,400 nuclear power plants and vastly expand wind power in order to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to an energy study released Friday.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/06/news/international/japan_iea.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008060609

http://uk.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUKSP11179420080606

Presentation is at:  http://www.iea.org/Textbase/techno/etp/ETP_2008.pdf

Energy Technology Perspectives Page is at:  http://www.iea.org/Textbase/techno/etp/index.asp

 

Ex-military men think it’s best to hold hands with China

“Today a group of retired military officials met to discuss their experiences, activities, and interactions with Chinese military leaders. Known as the ‘Sanya Initiative’, the intention of visiting China was to foster better communication and understanding between the United States and China without necessarily promoting a political agenda.”

http://talkradionews.com/2008/06/ex-military-men-think-it%E2%80%99s-best-to-hold-hands-with-china/

 

US News / Business / Economics

Summer airfares double, triple, quadruple

“This week, six (American, (AMR) United, (UAUA) Delta, (DAL) Northwest, (NWA) Continental, (CAL)US Airways (LCC)) raised prices again for flights on many domestic routes where there's no non-stop competition from low-fare carriers. The result, says travel price guru Tom Parsons of BestFares.com, is that the cheapest tickets available on many routes in July are 100% to 300% higher than a year ago.”

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2008-06-04-non-stop-fares_N.htm

 

Soaring fuel prices drive some to try four-day workweeks

“Escalating gas prices are prodding businesses and local governments to take a drastic step to curb costs: Many are cutting back to four-day workweeks, with employees generally working four 10-hour days instead of five eight-hour days.”

http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2008-06-01-work-week-four-day-gas-prices_N.htm

 

Looking Closely at Coal

“Coal will continue to be the engine that carries the nation forward. But it will have to be re-invented to comport with changing environmental and economic standards.”

http://www.energycentral.com/centers/energybiz/ebi_detail.cfm?id=517

 

Unemployment soars to 5.5%

“The unemployment rate took its biggest jump in more than two decades in May as employers once again cut jobs, according to a government report Friday.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/06/news/economy/jobs_may/index.htm?cnn=yes

 

End Notes

The News is brought to you by George Spafford, Principal Consultant at Pepperweed Consulting, LLC.  Pepperweed is nationally recognized as a leader in IT Management Consulting.  For more information, check out our website at www.pepperweed.com or call 888-229-0145. Please let us know if you see stories you think should be included in the next issue of The News, and feel free to forward this email on to others.

 

Titles and links to articles written by me are listed at:  http://spaffordconsulting.com/articles.html and if you have news or feedback you’d like to share, please send an email to george.spafford@....

 

To subscribe, please send an email to:  SGC_Daily_News-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

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The RSS feed is at:  http://rss.groups.yahoo.com/group/SGC_Daily_News/rss

 

Archives of The News newsletter are available at http://www.spaffordconsulting.com/dailynews.html .

 

_____________________________________________

George Spafford
Principal Consultant
ITIL Service Manager, TOCICO Jonah, IPRC, CISA

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC®
Office:  269-556-9597
Mobile:  269-208-1832

FAX:  208-978-6295
George.Spafford@...

 

 

 

 

 

"Common-sense is part of the home-made ideology of those who have been deprived of fundamental learning, of those who have been kept ignorant. This ideology is compounded from different sources: items that have survived from religion, items of empirical knowledge, items of protective skepticism, items culled for comfort from the superficial learning that is supplied. But the point is that common-sense can never teach itself, can never advance beyond its own limits, for as soon as the lack of fundamental learning has been made good, all items become questionable and the whole function of common-sense is destroyed. Common-sense can only exist as a category insofar as it can be distinguished from the spirit of enquiry, from philosophy. ” – John Berger

 

Top Picks

CleanMPG.com

This website has lots of tips to get the best gas mileage out of whatever type of car or truck you drive.  You may have heard the term “hypermiling”, which means to get the most you can from your vehicle and there are people beating their EPA stickers.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/

[ Interesting note – the day that CNN ran a story on the site it was so buried with traffic that the forum server repeatedly responded with a “server too busy” message. ]

 

Olympic visitors' data is at risk

“National security agencies are warning businesses and federal officials that laptops and e-mail devices taken to the Beijing Olympics are likely to be penetrated by Chinese agents aiming to steal secrets or plant bugs to infiltrate U.S. computer networks.”

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2008-06-10-olympicspy_N.htm?csp=34

 

Study: Arctic warming rate could triple

“Rapid Arctic sea ice loss could triple the rate of warming over northern Alaska, Canada and Russia and trigger permafrost thawing that unleashes extremely potent greenhouse gases, according to a new study.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25081131/

 

Book Recommendation

Normal Accidents by Charles Perrow

This is a great introductory book to accident theory relating to complex accidents.  He uses Three Mile Island, Fermi, Bhopal and other incidents to introduce the reader to a number of fascinating concepts about how accidents come about and how simply saying “human error” is not appropriate.  This is definitely a book I recommend to people interested in gaining new perspectives on how accidents can occur.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691004129?ie=UTF8&tag=georgespaffor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0691004129          

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit / Compliance

Comp Consultant to Pay for Backdating

“Harvey Benenson, former advisor to Cablevision, will be the first to do so. He owes $2 million as part of a $34.4 million settlement in a lawsuit brought by investors.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11525586?f=alerts

 

It's Your Loss. (Maybe.) Now Explain It.

“The Financial Accounting Standards Board has proposed substantially increasing the amount of information that companies are required to provide to investors about potential future losses. The new rule could have a dramatic impact on how companies disclose potential liabilities in their financial reports, particularly when it comes to lawsuits.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11525749?f=insidecfo

[ This could include lawsuits stemming from information security issues as well and not it would require some specifics about the dollar amount plus qualitative info. It’s definitely an interesting article. ]

 

Global Technology Audit Guides (GTAGs)
The Institute of Internal Auditors and their author teams have developed some great guidance on a variety of topics including IT controls, change & patch management, privacy, IT auditing, IT vulnerabilities, etc.
http://www.theiia.org/guidance/technology/gtag/

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

Metrics and Behavior

“Metric selection takes careful planning and selection.  All too often we take a junior IT person who can use a report writer, hand them a copy of a list of ITSM metrics and tell them to generate a report that shows these.  That is really a shame because metrics are an integral part of the processes that we implement and improve.  What we’ve learned is that metrics need to be planned and managed for a variety of reasons.”

https://swarm.jupitermedia.com/itsmwatch/2008/06/metrics-and-behavior.html

 

Demand for Data Puts Engineers in Spotlight

“In Silicon Valley, the stars have long been charismatic marketing visionaries and cool-nerd software wizards. By contrast, mechanical engineers who design and run computer data centers were traditionally regarded as little more than blue-collar workers in the high-tech world.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/technology/17data.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin

 

Security and Risk Management

Tripwire has a Blog

Tripwire now has a blog and are covering a variety of topics including virtualization.

http://www.tripwire.org/blog

 

DarkReading

This is an interesting security news website.

http://www.darkreading.com/

 

Emergency Management: Observations on DHS's Preparedness for Catastrophic Disasters
GAO-08-868T, June 11, 2008.
The report is at:  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-868T

Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08868thigh.pdf

 

Security hole in software exposes world's utilities to Net attacks

“Attackers could gain control of water treatment plants, natural gas pipelines and other critical utilities because of a vulnerability in the software that runs some of those facilities, security researchers reported Wednesday.”

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/hacking/2008-06-11-utlities-net-attacks_N.htm?csp=34

 

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

For hospitals, Sarbanes Act a shot in arm

“Big nonprofit hospital systems -- with their billion-dollar budgets and lucrative ventures -- are run much like corporations.  Now some of these systems are tackling something that has become a part of daily life for publicly traded companies: the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.”

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080609/BUSINESS09/806090315/1109/BUSINESS09

 

Upgrade health care digitally

“Congress can lead the effort to make health care more accessible and affordable by encouraging the use of information technology (IT), coupled with initiatives to improve efficiency. This is a concept that manufacturers know well.”

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080611/OPINION02/806110326

[ This opinion piece was written by John Engler, the former three term governor of the state of Michigan. ]

 

U.S. life expectancy still trails 30 countries

“For the first time, U.S. life expectancy has surpassed 78 years, the government reported Wednesday.   The increase is due mainly to falling mortality rates in almost all the leading causes of death, federal health officials said. The average life expectancy for babies born in 2006 was about four months greater than for children born in 2005.”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/06/11/life.expectancy.ap/index.html

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

Poll: Stress of debt takes physical toll

“When people are dealing with mountains of debt, they're much more likely to report health problems, too, according to an Associated Press-AOL Health poll. And not just little stuff; this means ulcers, severe depression, even heart attacks.”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/06/09/stressing.over.debt.ap/index.html

 

Survey Finds Data Centers Lagging in Green Actions

“The report is the second in a two-part series of data center surveys asking more than 100 data center professionals about attitudes and actions on green IT.  In the latest survey, Aperture found that most inaction is due to data centers not having the right tools and processes in place.”

http://www.greenercomputing.com/news/2008/05/30/survey-finds-data-centers-lagging-green-actions

 

Vtital Signs of a Warming World

Interactive presentation at MSNBC.com with additional information (pictures and videos) depending on what you select.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19463513/

 

Global News / Business / Economics

China's Local Leaders Hold Absolute Power

“Despite three decades of widely heralded economic reforms, the party has clung tenaciously to its Leninist-inspired monopoly on politics. As a result, most of China's 1.3 billion people still live under the thumb of local party secretaries who are responsible only to the higher-level party officials who appoint them.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/09/AR2008060902530.html?nav=rss_world

 

28 Chinese Officials Cited for Quake Laxity

“The Chinese Communist Party has disciplined 28 officials and promoted 50 as a result of their performances during rescue operations after the devastating May 12 earthquake in Sichuan province, the party said Tuesday.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/10/AR2008061000577.html?nav=rss_world

 

How China's plastic bag ban works

“China's ban on free plastic bags has met with a mixed response since it took effect on June 1. However, the ban has been implemented fairly well, especially in supermarkets and large department stores across China.”

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90780/91345/6432630.html

 

US News / Business / Economics

Americans $1.7 trillion poorer

“Americans saw their net worth decline by $1.7 trillion in the first quarter - the biggest drop since 2002 - as declines in home values and the stock market ravaged their holdings.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/05/news/economy/fundflows/index.htm?postversion=2008060516

 

Banks vs. Consumers (Guess Who Wins)

“Often without knowing it, individuals agree in the fine print of their credit-card applications to arbitrate any disputes over bills rather than have the cases go to court. What consumers also don't know is that NAF, which dominates credit-card arbitration, operates a system in which it is exceedingly difficult for individuals to prevail.”

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_24/b4088072611398.htm?campaign_id=rss_null

 

Now This Really Is an Oil Shock

[Instead of blaming oil companies] “… consumers offered a much broader array of explanations for high prices, including lack of conservation, too much dependence on foreign oil, and war in the Middle East. They even included a couple of villains that hadn't popped up last year—the shrinking dollar and speculators driving up the price.”

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_24/b4088034596728.htm?campaign_id=rss_null

 

Tech giant Intel joins IBM and Applied in big solar bet

“While they have very early stage development in the works for some new and novel technology to reduce the manufacturing costs of solar cells, they are not sharing details. The Spectrawatt core business today will be about building a company to manufacture crystalline silicon based solar cells. In the near term the business will be buying wafers and manufacturing cells.”

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9971003-54.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=GreenTech

 

End Notes

The News is brought to you by George Spafford, Principal Consultant at Pepperweed Consulting, LLC.  Pepperweed is nationally recognized as a leader in IT Management Consulting.  For more information, check out our website at www.pepperweed.com or call 888-229-0145. Please let us know if you see stories you think should be included in the next issue of The News, and feel free to forward this email on to others.

 

Titles and links to articles written by me are listed at:  http://spaffordconsulting.com/articles.html and if you have news or feedback you’d like to share, please send an email to george.spafford@....

 

To subscribe, please send an email to:  SGC_Daily_News-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To unsubscribe, please send an email to:   SGC_Daily_News-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

The RSS feed is at:  http://rss.groups.yahoo.com/group/SGC_Daily_News/rss

 

Archives of The News newsletter are available at http://www.spaffordconsulting.com/dailynews.html .

 

_____________________________________________

George Spafford
Principal Consultant
ITIL Service Manager, TOCICO Jonah, IPRC, CISA

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC®
Office:  269-556-9597
Mobile:  269-208-1832

FAX:  208-978-6295
George.Spafford@...

 

 

 

 

 

"You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.   ” – Clay P. Bedford

 

Top Picks

Strategic Alignment Performance Study

“This comprehensive 48 page study supports a breakthrough in thinking about IT business alignment that rejects the notion of generic IT. Even for firms in the same industry, business strategies and key success factors may differ. This research report can help IT organizations frame strategic alignment analysis in terms of building and managing an IT organization with capabilities that best fit the strategic business need. IT can also help organizations optimize ongoing alignment by implementing processes and procedures that best predict top levels of performance alignment for each archetype.

 

The IT Process Institute conducted a study 269 North American IT organizations greater than $100 million in revenue from various industries, to determine specific practices that enable IT strategic alignment success. The survey collected data on nine value archetype attributes as well forty nine strategic alignment practices in five categories, and sixteen alignment performance measures.”

http://www.itpi.org/home/strategic_alignment_performance_study.php

 

Sarbox Isn’t the Only Problem with U.S. Public Markets

“Niederauer said companies are ‘voting with their feet’ and leaving U.S. markets also because of the fiercely litigious environment in the U.S. and because the U.S. has not yet adopted the International Financial Reporting Standards that most countries use. Though the changes that have been made to Sarbanes-Oxley implementation guidelines are a good start, he also noted that the U.S. needs to do its part to create a ‘barrier-free securities market.’”

http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/ssg/?p=339

 

Energy Information Administration.  Electric Power Monthly

This is a very interesting source of information about electrical production in the United States.  If you want to compare rates between states and see trends, this is the site to go to.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/epm_sum.html

 

Book Recommendation

Human Error by James Reason

This book was published in 1990 and provides an interesting framework of how to assess the manner in which we commit errors.  Definitely a recommended book!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521314194?ie=UTF8&tag=georgespaffor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0521314194

Read some of the book at google books by clicking here.

[ Note – I normally like to show the links for people reading this newsletter in text mode but the google books URL is a very long.  If you want to read the book but don’t have the link, just google “Human Error by James Reason” ]

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit / Compliance

Sloppy Spreadsheets: Readers Speak Out

“Today we present a ‘best of the worst’ selection from readers, from formatting faux pas to basic ignorance of good spreadsheet mechanics. The authors of our original article agreed to provide commentary on reader observations, and to suggest some possible corrections.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11525407?f=members_061908

 

Dying for a Date

“If the United States moves to adopt international accounting standards, who will teach them? What books will they use? And who will write the licensing tests for CPAs?”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11566491?f=members_061908

 

Audit bill slashed as BA quits NYSE

“British Airways has cut 30% from its audit bill after pulling out of the US stock exchange and dropping Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.”

http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/news/2219490/audit-bill-slashed-quits-nyse-4080404

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

So What are You Measuring?

“Metrics are great. We all know that we should be measuring things and generating reports with pretty charts right? There are numerous books on the topic of metrics for IT, tools that can generate reports with graphs and so on. The problem is that once all of that work is done and the reports are created, are they really worth anything?”

http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3752871

 

Statistical Process Control (SPC) Resources

Here are some resources on SPC concepts for groups looking to either implement or strengthen their reporting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_process_control

http://www.isixsigma.com/st/control_charts/

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2629285/Introduction-to-Statistical-Process-Control

http://webche.ent.ohiou.edu/che408/Introduction%20to%20Statistical%20Process%20Control.ppt#256,1,Introduction to Statistical Process Control

http://www.hanford.gov/rl/uploadfiles/VPP_4_SPC.ppt

http://www.qualitytrainingportal.com/resources/spc/  

 

Security and Risk Management

Security Wire Weekly: Risk management standards, secure software coding

“In this podcast, Jim Hietala, vice president of security at the vendor standards consortium Open Group, talks about a project underway to develop risk management standards. Also, SearchSecurity.com Executive Editor Dennis Fisher discusses the state of secure software development and whether software vendors will ever certify the security of their products.”

http://go.techtarget.com/r/3877475/3121061

 

Going Public

“When must a private company make its internal records available? That's a question digital-disk manufacturer BlueRay Technologies is facing — in court.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11439122?f=alerts

 

Legal liability for YouTube viewers

“Users of YouTube and other video-sharing sites could face $750 per clip penalties if they have watched a video that was uploaded without the copyright holder's permission.  Copyright infringement in the United States strict liability offense. What this means, is that users are liable when they illegally copy works, even if they're not aware that this is wrong, or that the work is protected by copyright.”

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13739_3-9936833-46.html?tag=sc.blog

 

DHS gives $80M to improve identification security

“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded $80 million in grants to help states improve the security of state-issued driver’s licenses and identification documents.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/06/23/daily1.html

 

Corporate Security Worldwide Fails Basic Tests

“Eighty-one percent of corporate endpoints probed by IT security and control product vendor Sophos failed basic security tests: They either lacked Microsoft security patches, their client firewalls were disabled, or they missed endpoint security software updates.”

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/147389/corporate_security_worldwide_fails_basic_tests.html

 

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

The new doctor-patient paradigm

“The Norman Rockwell image of the doctor-patient bond, typified by an all-knowing, paternalistic doctor focusing on an admiring patient, has evolved into something very different. Now it's a relationship in which patients, empowered by Internet-acquired information and buffeted by frequent changes in insurance coverage, have few qualms about challenging medical advice or moving on to the next physician. And no one has noticed this transformation more than doctors themselves”

http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/memag/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=522085

 

Perspective: Connecting hospitals and small physician offices

“Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), a Harvard teaching hospital and major medical institution based in Boston, is connecting four diverse, local physician offices to its community electronic health record (EHR) infrastructure and anticipates data sharing among the small offices by August.”

http://www.nhinwatch.com/news.cms?newsId=3564

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

Global warming a 'catastrophe' for north Russia by 2030 – expert

“By 2030 global warming and the melting of northern Russia permafrost could lead to a catastrophe destroying housing, infrastructure and forests, a first deputy emergencies minister said on Thursday. Speaking during a roundtable in the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, Ruslan Tsalikov said over a quarter of housing in north Russia could be destroyed along with local airports, underground storage facilities, including oil reservoirs, if Siberia's huge permafrost started to melt further.”

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080619/111285847.html

 

Global warming to spark increase in US wildfires

“Today much of the north-western US wilderness is already a tinderbox, but thanks to global warming, wildfires will be scorching even more land every year by the end of the century.”

http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/climate-change/mg19826615.500-global-warming-to-spark-increase-in-us-wildfires.html?feedId=climate-change_rss20

 

Iowa flooding could be man’s fault, experts say

“Enshayan, director of an environmental center at the University of Northern Iowa, suspects that this natural disaster wasn't really all that natural. He points out that the heavy rains fell on a landscape radically reengineered by humans.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25254541/

 

Global News / Business / Economics

China stresses price stability after fuel hikes: official

“China's top economic planner has urged local authorities to ensure goods prices remain stable after the government hiked fuel prices by as much as 18 percent.  The National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on its website that local officials should closely monitor liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas, whose prices were not increased.”

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g7kHWORencA5W13G58y_3RnAeCVw

 

China probes hundreds of quake-fraud complaints

“Across stores and shops in China, it is impossible to go anywhere without seeing a jar or a box for donations to help those who lost their homes in the quake, the CBC's Anthony Germain reported.  But there is also shock and indignation that some people are using the tragedy to line their own pockets.”

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/06/23/china-quake.html

 

China warns officials against corruption, champions transparency of quake fund distribution 

“China is warning officials at all levels to protect the billions in quake-relief funds from improper handling.  At a nationwide live press conference Monday, the Ministry of Supervision's top official reaffirmed the importance of a recently-issued regulation by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to avoid the misuse of the funds.“

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/23/content_8426064.htm

 

Chinese cut fuel subsidies but demand fears remain

“China's decision to hike prices for petrol, diesel and electricity has won praise from the United States despite fears it could spark increased demand, analysts say.  China became the latest Asian nation to curb energy subsidies last week after hiking retail petrol and diesel prices as much as 18 percent.”

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5habiTClO6-7n56i9zrbBMxdYvWBA

 

Saudi Arabia to produce more oil

“Saudi King Abdullah confirmed Sunday that his country will increase daily oil production to 9.7 million barrels from 9 million to counter the sharp rise in international oil prices.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/22/news/international/Saudi_summit/index.htm?postversion=2008062214

 

US News / Business / Economics

States weigh options in offshore oil fight

“Governors in some coastal states promised to block attempts to tap offshore petroleum reserves, citing concerns about the environment and tourism. Others agreed with President Bush's call to lift a 27-year-old federal ban on offshore drilling but said states should decide whether to allow it.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25252119/

 

The Urge to Un-merge

“And the spinning continues. Two more companies announced high-profile divestitures this week, joining a number of others that are seeking to add value by letting go.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11579265?f=alerts

 

Passengers sue to stop Delta-Northwest merger

“A group of airline passengers sought to scuttle Delta Airlines Inc.'s proposed takeover of Northwest Airlines Corp., alleging in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday that the deal would result in an illegal monopoly.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25251808/

 

Credit crunch could end up costing $1 trillion

“Major U.S. investment banks this week announced yet another painful quarter amid the implosion of mortgage-backed securities and risky credit investments. Regional banks have scrambled to secure fresh capital to stay in business, and by Wednesday there was new talk that embattled investment bank Lehman Brothers might be forced into a sale.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25251212/

 

State, city layoffs: 45,000 and counting

“The latest hit to the economy could come from state houses and city halls across the nation, which are in their worst budget crisis in years.  With falling revenue from sales and income taxes, and property-tax declines looming, states, cities and towns have already laid off tens of thousands of government employees. Many expect more job cuts ahead as public officials struggle to balance their budgets.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/23/news/economy/local_government_layoffs/index.htm?postversion=2008062308

 

End Notes

The News is brought to you by George Spafford, Principal Consultant at Pepperweed Consulting, LLC.  Pepperweed is nationally recognized as a leader in IT Management Consulting.  For more information, check out our website at www.pepperweed.com or call 888-229-0145. Please let us know if you see stories you think should be included in the next issue of The News, and feel free to forward this email on to others.

 

Titles and links to articles written by me are listed at:  http://spaffordconsulting.com/articles.html and if you have news or feedback you’d like to share, please send an email to george.spafford@....

 

To subscribe, please send an email to:  SGC_Daily_News-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To unsubscribe, please send an email to:   SGC_Daily_News-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

The RSS feed is at:  http://rss.groups.yahoo.com/group/SGC_Daily_News/rss

 

Archives of The News newsletter are available at http://www.spaffordconsulting.com/dailynews.html .

 

_____________________________________________

George Spafford
Principal Consultant
ITIL Service Manager, TOCICO Jonah, IPRC, CISA

Pepperweed Consulting, LLC®
Office:  269-556-9597
Mobile:  269-208-1832

FAX:  208-978-6295
George.Spafford@...

 

 

 

 

 

"Give me a fruitful error any time, full of seeds, bursting with its own corrections.  You can keep your sterile truth for yourself. ” – Vilfredo Pareto

 

Top Picks

Upcoming Webcast:  Governing IT in a Green World

Sponsored by IBM

July 9, 2008 (2 p.m. EDT, 11 a.m. PDT)

IT is a key stakeholder in the definition of an organization's "green" strategy and therefore must work to support the strategy. In order to do this, IT must be aware of the issues facing the organization and then come up with measures that make business sense. This webcast will cover a number of high-level topics for environmentally conscious organizations to consider including, understanding the risks facing IT, skyrocketing energy costs, global warming, potential for new regulations, developing and implementing "green" strategies in IT, how IT can help the organization, and approaches relevant to IT. Get Registered at:
http://solutions.internet.com/4986_default

 

The Green Data Center:  Steps for the Journey

“This IBM Redpaper can help your IT organization as it begins the journey to becoming a green data center. IBM wants to help others, particularly our clients, to chart a course to reap the benefits of lower costs and improved sustainability that running a green data center can provide. Understanding what is possible can speed your journey to an optimized green data center with sustainability designed into both the IT and facilities infrastructures. Although this paper is not all inclusive, it provides a quick start for going green in data centers.”

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp4413.html

[ This is an excellent document for groups looking at getting started in reducing their energy consumption in the data center. ]

 

Book Recommendation

Deming and Goldratt:  The Theory of Constraints and the System of Profound Knowledge

This is an excellent book.  Domenico Lepore is a Deming Scholar and Oded Cohen collaborates with Dr. Goldratt.  Combined, the two do a very good straightforward job explaining Deming’s Profound Knowledge and Goldratt’s TOC and how they work together. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0884271633?ie=UTF8&tag=georgespaffor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0884271633

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit / Compliance

Compliance Week Survey: Companies Aren’t Prepared for XBRL

“Nearly 80 Percent of Companies Lack Internal Expertise on the New Technology, While 59 percent Have Done Little or No Preparation, Despite SEC Mandate”

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080630005368&newsLang=en

 

Corporate Social Responsibility

This is an interesting Wikipedia article with links to many resources.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

Roles and Responsibilities in ITIL

“One of the benefits of studying ITIL is to understand more about the potential roles and responsibilities.  Newcomers to ITIL see the ‘manager’ or ‘owner’ roles for the various processes and mistakenly assume that these are organizational titles and thus shy away from ITIL for fear of adding headcount.  This is not the intent as ITIL doesn’t define organizational structure but, rather, provides a comparison other to learn from.”
https://swarm.jupitermedia.com/itsmwatch/2008/06/roles-and-responsibilities-in.html

 

Ten Things They Don't Want You to Know About ITIL v3

Rob England posts 15 things that people need to realize about ITIL.  It’s a very good piece and worth a read.
http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3754741

 

ISO/IEC 38500:2008 on IT Governance has been released

Official site: http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=51639

IT Governance page:  http://www.itgovernance.co.uk/products/1812?kbid=37797&sub=804

[ Thank you for the head’s up Julia! ]

 

Security and Risk Management

Security Analysis: The Case For Disclosing Breach Data

“Read this chapter from The New School Of Information Security before your company gets hacked, and learn why covering up a data breach is a bad short-term strategy and a risky long-term one.”

http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/attacks/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208402864

Buy the book from Amazon at:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321502787?ie=UTF8&tag=georgespaffor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0321502787

[ The chapter at Information Week is very interesting as are the reviews on Amazon so I just bought a copy myself. ]

 

Where the truth is: Logs and breach-disclosure laws

“Still, as the Hannaford example shows, a compliant firm can still be successfully compromised and have information stolen. And always, the remaining question is: What are the guidelines for breach notification, the other half of the corporate security responsibility story?”

http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=standards_and_legal_issues&articleId=9104578&taxonomyId=146&intsrc=kc_feat

 

NIST issues guidelines to test agencies' network security

“NIST's instructions detail how agencies can assess their procedures for testing security controls for information systems. The release is the latest addition to the NIST Special Publication 800 series, which offers research and guidelines to help agencies implement the 2002 Federal Information Security Management Act. SP 800-53A explains how to evaluate a network's security controls, risk management processes, and security strengths and weaknesses of information systems that support missions and applications.”

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20080701_4388.php

The “SP800-53A “Guide for Assessing the Security Controls in Federal Information Systems” can be downloaded at:  http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-53A/SP800-53A-final-sz.pdf

 

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

Calif. hospitals begin reporting 'adverse events'

“California hospitals reported that during a 10-month period ending in May, doctors performed the wrong surgical procedure, operated on the wrong body part or on the wrong patient 41 times, records show.  During the same period, hospitals reported that foreign objects were left in surgical patients 145 times.”

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_9742335

 

E-Prescription Networks to Merge

“The nation's two electronic prescription networks plan to announce today that they are merging in an effort to encourage the adoption of their technology by doctors and patients.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/30/AR2008063002072.html

 

HIT and Public Policy: The Challenges Ahead

“A casual observer of recent Congressional action might think the road to a well informed federal HIT policy would be straight and smooth. A closer look suggests just the opposite: Congress is moving ahead with no idea of what it wants HIT to do.”

http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2008/7/1/HIT-and-Public-Policy-The-Challenges-Ahead.aspx?ps=1&authorid=1570

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

What’s Really Up With North Pole Sea Ice?

“The Drudgeosphere was all pumped up today about the ‘shock claim’ in the (UK) Independent that the sea ice that normally persists year-round at the North Pole (I stood on it in March, 2003) will be replaced by open water later this summer.   Given the unpredictable short-term dynamics up there, which make the ice subject to vagaries of Siberian winds and a mix of currents, a lot of polar ice experts tell me it’s pretty much impossible to make such a prediction with high confidence.”

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/whats-really-up-with-north-pole-sea-ice/?hp

 

Which of These Is Not Causing Global Warming Today?

“When 600 climate scientists from 40 countries reported in February that there was, for the first time, "unequivocal" evidence that the world is warming and greater than 90 percent certainty that man-made greenhouse gases have caused most of the warming since 1950, at least one expert demurred.”

http://www.newsweek.com/id/33510

 

Pay Up: Insurers Raise Rates Over Global Warming

“Plenty of companies are angling to make money off climate change sometime in the future. The insurance industry isn’t waiting around for the science or the politics to settle: It’s raising premiums now on the premise that rising temperatures will lead to more hurricanes, more damage, and more claims.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2008/07/01/pay-up-insurers-raise-rates-over-global-warming/

 

Global News / Business / Economics

Global energy demand to grow 50%, U.S. agency predicts

“Global energy demand will grow by 50 percent over the next two decades with continued heavy reliance on environmentally troublesome fossil fuels, especially coal and oil, the U.S. government predicted Wednesday.”

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/25/business/25energy.php

 

Globalization Requires Safety Net, U.N. Says

“Pointing to food riots in dozens of poor countries whipsawed by soaring prices for wheat and other staples, and to the rising income inequality that has become a too-common feature of economies in the developed world, the report says that no one is immune from the sometimes cruel consequences of global economic forces. But governments should do more, both individually and collectively, to protect people from their harshest impacts, it says.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/01/AR2008070101562.html?nav=rss_business

 

US News / Business / Economics

Energy's easiest fix: Use less

“Want to help the country save a quick million barrels of oil a day? Drive 5% less. Slow down. Inflate your tires.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/30/news/economy/energy_demand/index.htm

 

World energy use seen surging

“World energy use is expected to surge 50% from 2005 to 2030, largely due to an expanding population and rapid economic growth, according to a government report Wednesday.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/25/news/economy/eia_outlook/index.htm?postversion=2008062512

 

CNN Special – Fueling America

This page has links to articles on videos that CNN has assembled relating to rising oil costs.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/fueling.america/index.html

 

End Notes

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