What a concept!
Chandra R Srikanth
reports:
Nasdaq-listed
outsourcing firm EXL Services has lost a key client
due to breach of confidential client data by a few of its employees,
a development that will impact its revenues and raise larger
questions on data security.
[...]
EXL
further said that Travelers was ending the contract
because it failed to comply with the provisions of the agreement in
handling client information.
“The
termination arose from an incident where company employees, who have
since been terminated, shared a procedural document externally in
violation of the company’s strict client confidentiality policies.
Read more on The
Economic Times.
Perhaps we could offer
CryptoLoans?
CryptoLocker
Crew Ratchets Up the Ransom
… To recap,
CryptoLocker is a diabolical new twist on an old scam. The malware
encrypts all of the most important files on a victim PC — pictures,
movie and music files, documents, etc. — as well as any files on
attached or networked storage media. CryptoLocker then demands
payment via Bitcoin
or MoneyPak
and installs a countdown clock on the victim’s desktop that ticks
backwards from 72 hours. Victims who pay the ransom receive a key
that unlocks their encrypted files; those who let the timer expire
before paying risk losing access to their files forever.
Or, at least, that’s
how it worked up until a few days ago, when the crooks behind this
scam began easing their own rules a bit to accommodate victims who
were apparently willing to pay up but simply couldn’t jump through
all the hoops necessary in the time allotted.
“They realized
they’ve been leaving money on the table,” Abrams said. “They
decided there’s little sense in not accepting the ransom money a
week later if the victim is still willing to pay to get their files
back.”
Part of the problem,
according to Abrams, is that few victims even know about Bitcoins or
MoneyPak, let alone how to obtain or use these payment mechanisms.
(Related) ...because
we already have the backend handled.
How
to Launder Billions and Billions of Digital Dollars
(Related)
Google
Chrome Introduces Smart Malware Blocking & Factory Reset
… If your computer
has already been affected by malware, we have the complete
malware removal guide to help you out. But this is one of those
“prevention is better than cure” situations, and with that in
mind, Chrome has decided to block malware when it’s part of a
download.
… “In the
current Canary build of Chrome, we’ll automatically block downloads
of malware that we detect. If you see this message in the download
tray at the bottom of your screen, you can click “Dismiss”
knowing Chrome is working to keep you safe,” Google said in a
blog post.
I have a Masters in
Computer Resource and Information Management as well as an MBA, so I
can see both sides of this issue. Unfortunately, I saw it years too
early for it to impact my career no matter how much I tried to
educate senior management.
Report
– The evolving value of information management
by Sabrina
I. Pacifici on November 5, 2013
“This report is the
result of a research study commissioned by both the Financial Times
and the Special Libraries Association (SLA), to explore the evolving
value of information management in today’s society. Reflecting the
opinions of both information professionals (providers) and senior
executives (users) worldwide, the aim is to identify the
opportunities to enhance the value of information management to
business and provide an actionable framework for the continuing
success of the information function in any organisation. “Big
data” and the proliferation of new technologies are shortening the
time to an answer, and yet also causing many new challenges for both
users and providers. Although this research shows contrasting
perspectives between providers and users, many of the root causes
of the issues are the same. Both suffer from information overload
and spend too much valuable time filtering for information that is
useful (relevant, accurate and timely). To overcome this, both
parties must use a deeper understanding of the organisation-wide
strategy and business values to frame priorities in how information
is used. There are now many alternatives for information
professionals and information centres. It is the responsibility of
information providers to solidify themselves as the best solution to
their organisation’s information needs and reinforce the value they
provide.”
For some of my fellow
teachers (you know who you are)
3
Career-Changing Reasons To License Your Work With Creative Commons
Interesting tool for
you iPhone users.
– is for making
dynamic spherical photos called bubbles. Capturing a bubble is easy.
You can reproduce the entire scene around you, including sound, by
simply painting the space with your iPhone camera. After capturing,
its time for our bubble-builder in the cloud to do its magic.
State-of-the-art computer vision turns your raw video into a seamless
immersive bubble.
Better late than
never...
… Coursera
launches “learning
hubs,” physical spaces where people can access the Internet in
order to take a MOOC. Partners in the effort include the US State
Department, the Bluebells School International and Lady Shri Ram
College for Women, Digital October, Overcoming Faith Academy Kenya,
Learning Links Foundation, TAPtheTECH, and LEARN. TT and the
University of Trinidad and Tobago.
… Georgia
Tech has closed its applications for its new MOOC CS
graduate degree and – wow,
really? this was news? – it received more applications for it
than for its on-campus program. Shocking.
… Mozilla’s
Web
Literacy Standard v1.0 is now live. “The Web Literacy Standard
is part of Mozilla’s ongoing goal to create a generation of
webmakers – those who can not only elegantly consume but also write
and participate on the web.”
… During its
quarterly earnings call this week, Apple CEO Tim
Cook boasted the the company had their “best education quarter
ever” and now has 94% of the
educational tablet market. Anya
Kamenetz writes about “why that’s a scary stat.”
… Common
Sense Media has released a study about the media usage of
kids age 0 to 8. (PDF)
Among the findings, “Among families with children age 8 and under,
there has been a five-fold increase in ownership of tablet devices
such as iPads, from 8% of all families in 2011 to 40% in 2013.”
… The
New York Times runs with the headline “As Interest Fades in
the Humanities, Colleges Worry.” Oh noes!
History professor Ben Schmidt responds
with data (DATA!) – history majors are “up 18% the last 25
years. Math and CS are down 40%.”
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