Hummingbird Ltd. recently announced the acquisition of PeopleDoc Ltd., a UK-based, privately held company specializing in software used to create secure, Web-based collaborative environments in which projects can be managed across the extended enterprise. The acquisition will allow Hummingbird to incorporate new collaboration functionality into its existing enterprise portal and document management products.
Among the specific features that will add value to Hummingbird’s technology portfolio with this acquisition are: customizable project folders and templates, document and folder-level security, delegated authority models, discussion threads, status flags, automatic notification and audit trails.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada to launch new technology centres
Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada announced recently an expanded relationship with Microsoft Canada Co. that will see the software company contribute cash, software and hardware over the next three years.
As a result of the announcement, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada is poised to further empower Canada’s young people by providing them with increased access to technology, through the establishment of technology centres at Clubs across Canada. Microsoft Canada’s $2 million contribution will also provide technology training to Boys and Girls Club staff across the country.
Adobe, Electronic Frontier Foundation call for release of Russian programmer
Adobe Systems Inc. and the Electronic Frontier Foundation recently jointly recommended the release of Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov from federal custody. Adobe is also withdrawing its support for the criminal complaint against Dmitry Sklyarov.
“EFF praises Adobe for doing the right thing,” said Shari Steele, EFF executive director. While we don’t agree on every detail of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we look forward to working together with Adobe to secure Dmitry’s immediate release.” “We strongly support the DMCA and the enforcement of copyright protection of digital content,” said Colleen Pouliot, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Adobe. “However, the prosecution of this individual in this particular case is not conducive to the best interests of any of the parties involved or the industry. Sklyarov was arrested July 16 on a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California under the DMCA. ElcomSoft is the Moscow-based company employing Sklyarov.
U.S. cybercops criticized
As the Code Red worm lies dormant awaiting its next attack, the U.S. federal agency that is supposed to protect the nation against cyberterrorism took heat for not doing its job. The National Infrastructure Protection Center was created three years ago, to protect the government and the private sector from cybercriminals. The criticism, echoed by a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, stems from a General Accounting Office report that calls the NIPC’s efforts inadequate.
The Code Red worm is a recent example of a digital attack, and this one specifically targeted the White House’s Web site. It takes advantage of a flaw in Microsoft Internet Information Server, used by many Web sites, and seeds malicious worms throughout the Net. These particular worms are on a timer that cause them to periodically launch a distributed denial of service attack on the White House site.
Sircam worm: crawling fast but easily crushed
Sircam is a tricky e-mail worm that’s trying to wriggle its way into PCs all over the world, but you can kill the cyber beast with one keystroke before it can harm your system. The Sircam worm, first detected in mid-July, is replicating at a rapid rate, say Internet security experts. It’s likely you could have a version of it sitting in your e-mail box right now.
The Sircam worm arrives in an infected attachment to an e-mail message. The e-mail text message comes in several slight variations, but here’s a typical example: “Hi how are you. I send this file in order to have your advice. See you later. Thanks.” Use your delete button to get rid of this message (and the attachment, which you shouldn’t touch), the experts say. Antivirus vendors, of course, urge you to keep your virus definitions current. All the major vendors have updated their programs to identify and nullify the Sircam worm.
Oracle acknowledges complaints over ‘de-support’
Oracle Corp. acknowledged recently that it has received the latest volley in a war of words and deeds that is heating up between the database and applications vendor and a large segment of its customer base. In this latest skirmish, Oracle is planning to discontinue support for all Version 10.7 applications at a pace that is far too fast for many of its largest customers.
In response, a group of those customers, members of the Oracle Applications User Group, sent a signed petition to Oracle asking that the company relent and continue support through December 2004. The original discontinuation was set for June 2002. After several inquiries, Oracle spokeswoman Stephanie Hess today said that “Oracle received the petition and Oracle executives will contact the OAUG board when a decision is made.”
You had mail: Atabok’s e-mail retractor
Atabok Inc. unveiled the newest version of its VCNMail 2.0 recently, providing digital rights management to corporate users of Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook which will allow e-mail senders to retract e-mail sent.
The service, which controls corporate e-mail sent via Atabok’s Virtual Communications Network, not only predetermines whether a recipient can print, save, forward or copy messages or file attachments, but it can also recall messages after they have already been opened and read.
