Just a few years ago, everyone used the phrase "killer app." The reference, of course, was to new technologies that would revolutionize some process or activity; some technology solution that would excite venture capitalists, Wall Street analysts, vendors, and customers. Most of the killer apps back then were Internet-focused. But since 2000, not too many people use the phrase.

Just a few years ago, everyone used the phrase "killer app." The reference, of course, was to new technologies that would revolutionize some process or activity; some technology solution that would excite venture capitalists, Wall Street analysts, vendors, and customers. Most of the killer apps back then were Internet-focused. But since 2000, not too many people use the phrase.

Although mobile technology is still young and has limitations, it continues to create novel applications and new business models, "mobilizing" and refining business processes. Mobile computing is attracting a lot of interest as stakeholders come to realize its value, and it is empowering us in myriad ways. Quietly, the mobile revolution has begun!

Agile software development and agile project management (APM) practices have started to take root in several US companies, and many of these same companies have begun outsourcing software development to offshore companies. Because the agile process requires a very high level of communication and interaction among team members, it calls for all trained team members to be colocated.

Pitney Bowes is acquiring data quality tools vendor FirstLogic for approximately US $50.3 million. Pitney Bowes plans to integrate FirstLogic's specialized data cleansing and enhancement technology with its own data quality, enterprise mail, and document management systems, thus further solidifying its position as a major player in the market for such products and services.

The central truth is that information security, or "infosec," is a means, not an end. Ends justify themselves and also sometimes justify the means. Means, however, serve ends, and information security serves the end of trust. Trust is efficient, both in business and in life; and misplaced trust is ruinous, both in business and in life. Trust makes it possible to proceed where proof is lacking. As an end, trust is worth a price.

The following scenario is real -- it's a compilation of several true stories. Countless stories just like this one take place every day. The legal and ethical ramifications of situations like this are challenging and poorly understood. To protect themselves, companies must develop responsible computing strategies that cover every possible scenario.

When outsourcing is the subject of discussion, the issues that typically surface include concerns about employment for US engineers [4], lower salaries in developing countries, the adequacy of management, and communications problems. These business and social issues are indeed important, but little attention is being paid to the potential for information security problems when outsourcing occurs. Some of the issues are:

IT security issues are now becoming a priority enterprise operational risk (i.e., a risk created by a corporation's dependence on its systems, processes, and staff) to be managed. Corporate and government spending on IT security jumped from 2%-3% of the IT department's budget six years ago to 8% or more in 2004 [3]. Even in the midst of a general decline in IT spending over the past few years, IT security spending continues to increase. (For more on security, see Cutter Consortium Enterprise Architecture Executive Updates, Vol. 6, Nos. 14, 15, and 16, and Vol. 7, Nos. 2 and 4.)

IT security certainly is an unusual business. The types and magnitudes of the threats we face today would be almost unimaginable just a few years ago. E-mail viruses have been with us since 1999 [1], but the delivery mechanisms have become more effective and more insidious. For years, security folks were warning us about the growing problems associated with identity theft, and we had been waiting quite some time for the inevitable big Internet worm that would succeed the Morris Worm of 1988 [2]. We now deal with these situations on a daily basis.