The need for information-led policing
Controversy often surrounds Home Secretary Jacqui Smith when speaking of the UK's police force. However, she has stood by a decision to allocate £50 million to the police to spend on devices such as PDAs. SPSS' Robert Martin advocates the use of handheld devices to reduce police time behind desks and help solve crime
The PDAs will allow officers more time in solving crime and helping the local community, and less time at a desk in the station. Nevertheless, the Government's initiatives to increase the level of technology available to the public sector may not be just a case of spending more - but also spending more wisely. It's important not only be able to quickly assimilate and interpret data, but allow the searching of information obtained both quickly and easily. Many police forces already use techniques such as Predictive Analytics to look at transient patterns in data and then use link analysis to h… More…
New model for predicting hurricanes and tornadoes
A new mathematical model developed by the University of Michigan indicates that dust devils, water spouts, tornadoes, hurricanes and cyclones are all born of the same mechanism and will intensify as climate change warms the Earth's surface
The new equation, developed by University of Michigan atmospheric and planetary scientist Nilton Renno, could allow scientists to more accurately calculate the maximum expected intensity of a spiraling storm based on the depth of the troposphere and the temperature and humidity of the air in the storm's path. The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. This equation improves upon current methods, Renno says, because it takes into account the energy feeding the storm system and the full measure of friction slowing it down. Current thermodynamic models make assumptions about thes… More…
National ID projects driving Asian biometrics
According to Dublin-based Research and Markets latest report, the Asia Pacific (APAC) biometrics market is still in its early growth stages with National ID and e-Passport programs contributing to a large portion of the growth
National ID projects provide the widest and largest user base for biometrics in Asia at present. Invariably, every national ID project that has been implemented, or is in the pipeline, employs fingerprint or thumbprint as the biometric key. The Malaysian national ID card employs the thumbprint as the identifying key. India, which is still in the pilot stage of the issuance of national ID cards, employs fingerprints as the identifying key. Other large-scale implementation projects such as the Chinese national ID and the Japanese national ID are expected to take to biometrics shortly. However, … More…
The real cost of a security breach
Global Secure Systems' David Hobson examines the hidden expense of a data breach, both the tangible and intangible costs. Information assurance is business critical and for many organisations the data they own is their key asset. So why are so many failing to treat it as such?
In its 2006 annual report for the fiscal year ended 27 January 2007, T.J. Maxx recorded a pre-tax charge of approximately $5 million for costs incurred in connection with the computer intrusion it formally disclosed in January 2007. This charge covers actual costs incurred to investigate and contain the breach, strengthen its computer security and systems, and communicate with customers, as well as technical, legal, and other fees. $5 million may suggest that it got off lightly but is this just the tip of the iceberg? IT security in the early 1990's was relatively simple. Data was stored on m… More…
