23-29 October 2012 | ComputerWeekly.com HY P IKIMEDIA W HOME NEWS CKINNON IMAGE: WILSHA/ CKINNON IMAGE: GARY MCKINNON M EXTRADITION ZMEEL PHOTOGRA IMAGE: BACKGROUND ORDER BLOCKED IT IS TIME TO RETHINK SECURITY STRATEGIES HOMELESS GET HIGH-TECH LEARNING BOOST BUILDING AN IT ARCHITECTURE FOR ONLINE GAMBLING EDITOr’S COMMENT OPINION BUYER’S GUIDE TO ASSET MANAGEMENT OUTSOURCING CONTRACT RENEGOTIATION ADDRESSING ENERGY-EFFICIENCY IN DATACENTRES DOWNTIME Gary McKinnon to remain in UK A 10-YEAR CAMPAIGN TO BLOCK THE SELF-CONFESSED HAcker’S EXTRADITION ENDS IN SUCCESS PAGE 4 computerweekly.com 23-29 October 2012 1 THE WEEK IN IT HOME IT in education IT technical skills Teacher training registry at standstill Advanced analytics skills shortage NEWS amid technical problems stymies big data programmes Potential teachers are unable to apply for A “critical” advanced analytics skills short- GARY MCKINNON training courses because of problems with age is impeding big data programmes, EXTRADITION the Graduate Teacher Training Registry. according to a research report from IBM ORDER BLOCKED The part of the website for applicants and the Saïd Business School. Analytics: to courses next year is not working and the real-world use of big data is based on a IT IS TIME TO when graduates attempt to apply they are survey of 1,144 business and IT profession- RETHINK SECURITY STRATEGIES greeted with the news that “GTTR Apply als from 95 countries and 26 industries. It 2013 is currently offline for essential found that less than 25% of the respond- maintenance. We apologise for the incon- ents worldwide said they have the skills HOMELESS GET venience that the ongoing technical issues and resources to analyse unstructured data, HIGH-TECH LEARNING BOOST with GTTR Apply 2013 have caused”. such as text, voice and sensor data. Cloud hosting IT jobs and recruitment BUILDING AN IT ARCHITECTURE FOR The Pirate Bay moves into the cloud GM recruits 3,000 HP IT workers ONLINE GAMBLING S wedish file sharing website The Pirate General Motors (GM) is hiring 3,000 staff Bay has moved into the cloud to improve from HP as part of its aggressive plan to its services, lower costs and evade shut- bring outsourced IT work back in-house. EDITOr’S COMMENT down from authorities. The BitTorrent GM announced plans to bring its out- site, which had its servers raided by police sourced IT, which was about 90% of the in 2006, has moved its entire infrastruc- total, back in-house and recruit 10,000 IT OPINION ture into several cloud hosting providers workers in the process. The 3,000 HP staff around the world. are already working on projects at GM. BUYER’S GUIDE TO ASSET MANAGEMENT Mobile software Public sector IT Facebook opens engineering centre in Cornwall Council axes leader Alec London for mobile products Robertson in outsourcing controversy OUTSOURCING Facebook opened an engineering centre in C ornwall Council leader Alec Robertson CONTRACT RENEGOTIATION London, its first outside the US. Launched has lost a confidence vote and will step by Chancellor of the Exchequer George down over a controver- Osborne, the hub will focus on building sial proposal to outsource access the latest ADDRESSING it news via rss feed ENERGY-EFFICIENCY Facebook mobile and platform products. shared council services IN DATACENTRES “There are 7,000 different mobile devices that has split Cornwall hitting Facebook,” said Mike Schroepfer, Council. He lost the vote 63 to 49. He was DOWNTIME Facebook’s vice-president of engineering replaced by Jim Currie. GDS LAUNCHES GOV.UK WEBSITE The Government Digital Service (GDS) has launched its Gov.uk website, intended to become a single domain for online public services to replace hundreds of departmental sites. The move is expected to create significant cost savings. According to Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, Directgov’s running costs were more than four times higher than that of Gov.uk, totalling £21.4m for 2011-12. Mike Bracken, executive director for digital at GDS, said: “It is the first major, full platform release from the GDS. This release heralds a new approach to digital deliv- ery of public services in the UK and a new approach to all things digital in central government.” In a report to Cabinet minister Francis Maude in October 2010, Martha Lane Fox recom- mended all government digital services should be under a single URL. computerweekly.com 23-29 October 2012 2 THE WEEK IN IT HOME IT security IT risk management Security remains a barrier to mobility Draft Data Communications Bill will NEWS Security is still the primary barrier to be ineffective, says ICO adopting mobile business applications, The UK’s Draft Data Communications Bill GARY MCKINNON a study has found. More than three- – aimed at making it easier for authori- EXTRADITION quarters of the 300 UK firms polled said ties to spy on electronic communications ORDER BLOCKED they planned to adopt mobile business – will be ineffective against terror, says applications in the next 12 months. But Information Commissioner Christopher IT IS TIME TO security, potential loss of data and compli- Graham. He told a special select com- RETHINK SECURITY STRATEGIES ance remain key concerns, according to the mittee of MPs and peers that it will catch study commissioned by global security and only incompetent criminals and accidental risk management firm Integralis. anarchists. HOMELESS GET HIGH-TECH LEARNING BOOST Cloud computing software Broadband communications Telefonica Digital saves 40% Scottish universities provide with cloud HR platform superfast rural broadband BUILDING AN IT ARCHITECTURE FOR T elefonica Digital is investing in a R emote areas of Scotland are now able to ONLINE GAMBLING cloud-based HR system to manage its access superfast broadband, thanks to a 6,500-worldwide workforce in a project research project by two of the country’s that is expected to pay for itself in under universities. The University of Edinburgh EDITOr’S COMMENT two years. It is to spend several million on and the University of the Highlands and Workday’s cloud-based HR software over Islands have been working together on the three years, saving 30-40% of the cost of a Tegola project, which aims to bring fast OPINION traditional, non-cloud-based platform. internet connections to rural Scotland. BUYER’S GUIDE Datacentre hardware Microsoft Windows software TO ASSET MANAGEMENT Today’s datacentres run at much Microsoft revenues suffer as users lower temperatures than necessary wait for Windows 8 upgrade D atacentres are wasting electricity by Microsoft has blamed lower-than-expected OUTSOURCING running at below 20°C when the optimum Q1 results on consumers and businesses CONTRACT ° RENEGOTIATION temperature for operating is 25-26 C, delaying desktop software upgrades until experts have said. “Many datacentres after Windows 8 is launched. For the operate at cooler temperatures than three months to 30 September, Microsoft ADDRESSING ENERGY-EFFICIENCY necessary because customers fear that reported revenues of $16bn. Q1 came in IN DATACENTRES the systems will fail,” said Jim Hearnden, $1.3bn less than the same period last year product technologist for datacentre power and the Windows & Windows Live division n DOWNTIME and cooling at Dell. posted sales of $3.24bn, a 33% decrease. FINANCE CIOS REVEAL RECESSION RECOVERY PLANS Top priorities for the next few years Reducing costs 51% Upgrading current IT systems/applications 27% Increasing/improving customer experience 22% Mobile banking/mobile payments 20% Adopting/moving to the cloud 18% Maximising growth 18% Improving efficiency 15% Managing on a restricted budget 13% Becoming more innovative 11% Security concerns 9% Virtualisation 9% Improving skill sets 7% Source: Fujitsu computerweekly.com 23-29 October 2012 3 ANALYSIS HOME Hacker McKinnon to remain in UK NEWS Gary McKinnon’s mother shed tears of relief and triumph as she thanked the GARY MCKINNON home secretary for blocking the US extradition order. Mark Ballard reports EXTRADITION ORDER BLOCKED he mother of hacker Gary McKinnon IT IS TIME TO marked the end of a traumatic chapter RETHINK SECURITY of their lives when she gave thanks to STRATEGIES T all those who helped in their 10-year cam- paign against a US order for his extradition to HOMELESS GET face charges for hacking federal computers. HIGH-TECH LEARNING BOOST Janis Sharp shed tears of relief and triumph at a press conference as she publicly thanked home secretary Theresa May for withdraw- BUILDING AN IT ARCHITECTURE FOR ing the US extradition order. ONLINE GAMBLING “It was a brave decision to stand up to a nation as powerful as America. We’ve done something for the little person and that is a EDITOr’S COMMENT considerable achievement. It’s so emotional, I’m overwhelmed and incredibly happy,” she told a packed room at the London offices of OPINION McKinnon’s lawyers. Congratulations were passed all round for BUYER’S GUIDE Sharp’s tireless campaigning to raise public, McKinnon will TO ASSET not be extradited MANAGEMENT media and political support for her son, and she was commended in Parliament. She gave her own thanks to those who had lent their OUTSOURCING support, including lawyers, rights campaign- CONTRACT RENEGOTIATION ers, MPs and journalists. never again will a vulnerable UK citizen have to endure a 10-year mental torture, like Changes to the law Gary McKinnon, and that the British prin- ADDRESSING ENERGY-EFFICIENCY “ Today is a victory for compassion,” said ciples of justice and fair play will return to IN DATACENTRES David Burrowes, McKinnon’s MP. Earlier extradition?” he had pressed the home secretary in McKinnon’s lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald, DOWNTIME Parliament: “Can we make a promise that commended the home secretary for making HACKER MEANT NO HARM TO US GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS Gary McKinnon stands accused of hacking into US military and Nasa computers.