Friday, May 01, 2015

Golly gee willikers! Even the DoJ recognizes “Best Practices.” Does your organization?
Alston & Bird write:
On Wednesday, April 29, 2015, the Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) Cybersecurity Unit issued new, detailed guidance on data breach incident response best practices. The document was announced at an invitation-only round table hosted by DOJ and provides guidance on what DOJ regards as “best practices for victims and potential victims to address the risk of data breaches, before, during and after cyber-attacks and intrusions.” The document was prepared with input from federal prosecutors as well as private sector companies that experienced cybersecurity incidents.
So, can this guidance now become a standard to reference in data breach litigation? I know a guidance does not have the force of regulation or law, but like HIPAA, is this setting a best practices standard that plaintiffs can point to? [One can only hope. Bob]




All the news that's fit to digitize?”
Times Co. Reports a Loss, Tempered by Digital Growth
The New York Times Company posted a $14 million net loss for the first quarter of 2015, driven by a pension settlement charge and a drop in lucrative print advertising. But digital subscriptions continued to show solid growth, the company said on Thursday, and digital advertising grew at a double-digit pace.
Adjusted operating profit grew to about $59 million, from about $57 million in the same quarter last year. Cost reductions helped to offset a drop in revenue.
In its quarterly earnings, the Times Company said it added 47,000 new digital subscribers, for a total of about 957,000, a 20 percent increase from the first quarter of 2014. It was the strongest quarter for these subscriptions since the fourth quarter of 2012. Digital subscriptions were responsible for $46 million in revenue in the quarter, up 14 percent from the same quarter last year.




An interesting business opportunity. Free cameras for a two year subscription? Can we create some A.I. software that reviews the video in real time and flags “incidents” to dispatchers? No need to rely on the beat officer to turn on the camera. Faster backup and if supervisors can be in immediate contact, the opportunity to cool things off?
The Big Money in Police Body Cameras
… Taser has two body-camera-related products. The first is the body cameras themselves, video cameras that can be worn on the chest or head, which the company calls the Axon series. The second is essentially a Dropbox for body-camera footage—a digital storage service to which departments can subscribe—which the company calls Evidence.com.
… In its embrace of Evidence.com, Taser shows all the proclivities of a modern tech company. The appeal of its business model is that money will come from selling an ongoing subscription service (like Netflix or Spotify) rather than one-time sales of technology made of plastic and glass (like any old Android phone).
Or, as the analyst Steve Dyer told the Washington Post in December: “The upfront cameras themselves are not that interesting. They are, or will be, fairly quickly commoditized. What investors will pay for is a recurring revenue stream.”




An infographic to teach my “older” students what the youngest technology users are doing.
How Has Being a Parent Changed in the Social Media Age?
The rise of social media and smartphones has greatly changed what being a parent is like. Now, parents don’t just need to worry about what kinds of dangers their kids might be facing in the outside world, but also how they are spending their time online. Parents need to take an active role in dealing with things like parental controls, staying up on the latest tech, and more in order to keep up with their kids.
Sounds daunting? Well, the infographic below from TeenSafe tells you everything you need to know about parenting in the age of social media. It’s a new world out there!




An update! For my computer using students (that's all of them).
Take it from Microsoft! 8 Best Free Ebooks from MSDN’s Huge Collection
We all like free stuff, right? Well, Microsoft just keeps giving. The Microsoft Developers Network (MSDN) maintains a massive amount of literature for developers, old or new, providing valuable information on all manner of Microsoft platforms: Windows 8, Office, Dynamics CRM, PowerShell functions, the Microsoft System Centre and much more.
They’ve seen it prudent to release almost 300 eBooks, free for our consumption.
… Aside from the handy Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 shortcut guides, there is a document titled Windows To Go. Windows To Go explores an enterprise operating system running from a USB drive, specifically tailored for use within educational facilities.
… There are a several good guides for Office users
… The BYOD Devices – A Deployment Guide was an interesting read. The eBook offers a practical guide to rolling out a BYOD strategy in educational facilities.




Another article for my Data Management class.
How PepsiCo Convinced You That Lays Were Cool Again
… Anyone who had a chip idea in mind could visit Lays’ Facebook page, enter some information about their flavor and be rewarded with a shareable image of “their” bag of chips. The company teamed up with Facebook to turn the “like” button into a vote of “I’d Eat That.” Lays’ Facebook cover photo became a rotating billboard, which featured a new submission every few minutes.
… “The days of focus groups — it’s over,” she said. “It’s really about observing behavior. Big data comes together with granular understanding of human behavior.”




Tasty Tuesday! For my starving students (and their pudgy professor?)
Taco Bell to Give Away Free Biscuit Tacos as Breakfast Battle Rages On
… On May 5 (a.k.a. Cinco de Mayo), the fast-food chain is giving away free Biscuit Tacos between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. in honor of “Breakfast Defector Day.” The brand announced the giveaway today using Twitter’s live-streaming app Periscope -- a social media-savvy move from a brand dedicated to marketing to millennials.


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