Short Takes
Emails Sent From Above
American Airlines, Virgin America, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines all plan to, or already do, offer Web access while in flight. JetBlue's, which recently launched, provides passengers with free (albeit limited) Net access aboard a specially equipped Airbus A320. The service is accessible only to travelers using two BlackBerry models, the 8820 and 8320, and to laptop users with Yahoo! email and Yahoo! instant messaging. Some of the other airlines will offer broader service, but it will cost a nominal fee. Source: New York Times
Research and Reports
A recent report by IronPort Systems, a Cisco business unit, looks at the emerging attack platforms for spam, viruses and malware in 2007, and makes predictions for 2008. The report reveals that overall trends in spam and malware can be characterized by a larger number of more targeted, stealthy and sophisticated attacks. The complete report is available at: www.ironport.com/securitytrends/.
A new resource that provides information on the behavior, source, and effective removal of over 600 greynet applications has recently become available. The goal of the public resource is to help network administrators understand the greynet applications that employees use, and offer information about what to do with them. GreynetsGuide.com is available at: www.greynetsguide.com.
Bringing Doctors Online
Currently, U.S. presidential candidates are spreading their health care plans using email and the Internet. Ironically, a majority of doctors' offices do not even have Websites, nor use email to communicate with patients. The International Association of Dental and Medical Disciplines (IADMD) has launched a campaign to change that, noting doctors want Websites to save time on form processing and patients want online bill pay and an easier way to get prescription refills. "What has become the cornerstone of any good business has sort of passed by doctors," believes Dr. John Ryan of IADMD. Annual membership to the health care organization comes with many free perks for doctors, including a customizable flash Website, e-commerce capability, email accounts and even custom domain names.
Information Security Spending Rising
Spending on security technology, training, assessments, and certification now accounts for one-fifth of total technology budgets. A recent survey of 1,070 organizations found that on average, they spent 20 percent of their total technology budget in 2006 on security-related expenses. That's up from 15 percent in 2005, and 12 percent in 2004. Organizations also expect to increase spending across all areas related to security in the next 12 months. Source: Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)