Caron Carlson

Among the many ways Americans see themselves getting swindled these days, identity theft ranks first. Of nearly 700,000 grievances lodged with the Federal Trade Commission last year, 37 percent concerned ID theft, the agency disclosed Jan. 25. The most common means of stealing identities is credit card fraud, according to the complaints filed with the […]

Avaya and Juniper Networks unveiled a joint marketing agreement to deliver end-to-end IP networking systems to enterprises seeking converged communications with a high level of security. The arrangement combines Avayas experience in IP telephone technologies with Junipers networking and security experience. The new offerings include distributed IP telephony, secure IP telephony on any network, virtual […]

ID verification services vendor ChoicePoints breach of personal financial data for more than 163,000 consumers will cost the company $15 million in fines to the Federal Trade Commission—including the largest civil penalty in FTC history. Under a settlement approved unanimously by the commission, ChoicePoint must also submit to independent security audits every other year for […]

Microsoft Corp. this week launched an upgraded version of its Customer Care Framework, which offers a way for enterprises to unify the applications used by customer agents. CCF 2005 consolidates information from multiple business systems, such as billing, ordering and customer relationship management, so that agents can view all of their applications on a single […]

With federal data breach notification legislation slated for passage this year, enterprises that collect and maintain personal information will have another reason for securing their networks. Experts from the legal, business and IT worlds agree that although the environment is in flux, companies should begin protecting their data from theft and themselves from liability now. […]

The scandal now swirling around lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a former favorite of the tech industry, could hamper the efforts of IT heavyweights to advance their agendas in the coming year. The amount the industry pays to influence government decisions now rivals that of veteran lobby operations such as the oil and gas business and telephone […]

The scandal now swirling around lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a former favorite of the tech industry, could hamper the efforts of IT heavyweights to advance their agendas in the coming year. The amount the industry pays to influence government decisions now rivals that of veteran lobby operations such as the oil and gas business and telephone […]

In-Q-tel, the CIAs spooky-sounding venture capital unit, publicly celebrated its hiring last week of former national cyber-security czar Amit Yoran as its new president and CEO. The spy agencys highly public stance regarding its investment arm stands in stark contrast to that of other federal agencies, where similar venture capital pursuits are under way in […]

After a brief stint at the Department of Homeland Security, former cyber-security czar Amit Yoran has gone to work for the CIA. More specifically, Yoran this week was named president and CEO of In-Q-Tel Inc., the CIAs venture capital unit. In-Q-Tel, based in Menlo Park, Calif., was established in 1999 as a way for the […]

MCI said it will deploy Information Technology Infrastructure Library practices, which include documentation and auditing procedures, throughout its global managed network services operation. ITIL, developed by the British government in the 1980s, provides the only comprehensive, nonproprietary guidance for managing IT services, and it is becoming the standard for delivering business-quality services, especially in very […]

Boston main streets, a cooperative initiative between Bostons Office of Business Development and 19 nonprofit neighborhood groups, is overseeing the deployment of a free public wireless access pilot project in four commercial districts. The objective is to promote economic rejuvenation in areas that need it without putting any strain on the citys budget. The installation […]

Ending a standoff that threatened to keep the U.S. Senate in Washington for the holidays, lawmakers agreed to a six-month extension of the USA Patriot Acts police powers that were about to expire, buying them more time to negotiate civil rights safeguards in the new year. The governments power to seize a companys sensitive customer […]