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Security
The Fallacy of separating Web development from IPv6
IBv6 has been the coming thing for quite a few years now, but like many things you start taking notice when some big bodies decide on adoption. The US Government is allegedly the largest technology infrastructure operator so its move to mandate all departments to have the ability to send and receive using IPv6 stacks within 3 years which expires on 30th June 2008 is clearly a BIG sign. But it doesn’t seem to have worked out too well in practice. The European Union feels the same way even publishing an action plan to help states follow its own version of this mandate.
However the big reason that was supposed to be the reason for adoption namely that that the limited number of IPv4 addresses would bring a limit to Internet expansion has not yet proven to be the issue that needs to be addressed. In fact I don’t think I have ever seen any comments from any user/administration direction that says this is proving to be an operational issue right now. So it seems we can all sit back and wait this one out till it does become an issue, right? Wrong!
iPhone 3G, and Mozilla show user adoption to new levels of Power
It was almost compulsory to make mention of the amazing success of the iPhone 3G launch with more than one million units sold in the first three days. It took the original iPhone two and a half months to reach this point in contrast. However it’s not the sales of the device that makes my point it’s the App Store, which according to Steve Jobs:
“The App Store is a grand slam, with a staggering 10 million applications downloaded in just three days. Developers have created some extraordinary applications, and the App Store can wirelessly deliver them to every iPhone and iPod touch user instantly.”
This kind of grand scale application ‘sales’ were previously limited to Microsoft and the PC environment, but now it seems the phone, or at least the Apple iPhone, has taken over as the mass market device of choice. However, the creation of these new mass consumer Apps and their subsequent offering makes for one huge challenge in support. Exactly how do you test for all the possible combinations and interactions? So it’s no great surprise to see quite a few grumbles being posted about ‘issues’ .
Security Hangman
In the past week, in which I met several of our clients that are planning for this year, I only found more confirmation for the proposition in my previous blog item. Although CIO’s have been struggling for years with immovable, petrified IT households, many now seem to be ready to make a breakthrough. Using crisis as a welcome burning platform, they simplify and open up their systems. That way, they create the headroom for innovation and the flexibility to connect to the outside world. And that is where all the opportunities for growth hide, in this exciting network of everything.
Last week’s meetings reminded me however of yet another innovation killer. You may have dealt with your legacy systems and your antiquated IT infrastructure. You may even have brought in the service-oriented architecture, the open interfaces and the collaborative web 2.0 stuff that will turn your company into a Mashup Corporation. But then – all of a sudden – you may find him standing in the doorway, dark and intimidating, the incorruptible hangman that could put your innovative dreams right to an end: yes, it is indeed your own security officer.
R is P times I
IT Auditors. I used to have an image of them. Not particularly a romantic image. More like a well-defined image, really. I sort of associated them with IT Security Experts: slightly more serious than average, a bit of the worrying type and with an insistent urge to analyse and structure.
All of these are important, crucial capabilities that I sadly do not possess.
Nevertheless, in the past few months I was asked several times to engage with IT Auditors. First as a keynote speaker on a national event and just a few days ago as the chair of the annual networking event of governmental IT Auditors.
And then, as a relative outsider, you learn quickly.
The Walls of Jericho
I promised some additional book titles to you all. Just to guide you through your free summer days. A real nice one, which sounds particularly suitable for at the pool or the beach is The Naked Corporation, by Dan Tapscott and David Ticoll. It describes how regulatory compliance pressure – and society in general, for that matter – forces companies to become more and more transparent and open.
Show us that you have nothing to hide.
Actually, becoming completely transparent is not so bad at all and it can truly revive both corporate governance and the growth of a corporation. Opening up provides many new impulses and we all know ‘innovation happens elsewhere’.
Nevertheless, there’s some historic evidence what can happen if you have to do without perimeters. When the walls of Jericho came down, the inhabitants were brutally slaughtered and the gold of the city was moved to the treasure rooms of the aggressor.
Not really a compelling business case.