my fortnightly column, A Dose of IT that discusses on the issues of Clinical trials at a Standstill in Karnataka Kapil Khandelwal QuoteUnquote with KK www.kapilkhandelwal.com

1. cmyk cmyk
DC
Google is said Cisco Facebook -
Bengaluru ● Monday ● 16 May 2011 13
Google rival-
Technomics
to have braces for
broken Internal biggest lay- ry intensifies
Rules on drug offs in its with PR
advertisements history fiasco
Sony network still not fully secured: Expert
JIM FINKLE five flaws that were pointed company has acknowl- scan and that’s what they
BOSTON out to the company on
Thursday were fixed later in
SONY BEGINS PHASED RESTORATION OF PS3 SERVICES edged. Sony had said that
only it’s PlayStation Net-
would find,” he said, refer-
ring to the lapses found by
May 15: Sony Corp’s com- the day. work and Sony Online Bumgarner.
S
ony said on Saturday that it able enhancements to the data
puter networks remain vul- “The first and most impor- would begin restoring the security, including updating and Entertainment systems were Security experts have said
nerable to attack three tant thing to note is that pro- PlayStation Network for its 77 adding advanced security technolo- hacked. Most of the flaws they believe the hackers ini-
weeks after the company tecting our customers data is million users after hackers infiltrated gies, additional software monitoring that Bumgarner discovered tially gained access to
learned that it had been vic- a company-wide commit- the service and forced it offline and penetration and vulnerability were in other Sony networks Sony’s network through a
tim of one of the biggest ment that we take very seri- almost a month ago. testing, and increased levels of — that of the Sony Corpora- “spear-phishing” attack that
data breaches in history, ously,” a Sony spokesman Sony said in a press release that it encryption and additional firewalls,” tion of America, Sony Pic- targeted a systems adminis-
according to an Internet said in an email on Thurs- was relaunching its online products Sony wrote in the release.The com- tures Entertainment and trator who had broad privi-
security expert. day. with increased security following pany said it will be bringing services Sony Electronics Corp. leges to access data on
The expert found a handful Several flaws remain, the cyberattacks.The company also back online in a phased relaunch Security experts say com- Sony’s networks.
of security flaws in Sony’s according to Bumgarner, defended its slow response to that will take place “on a country by panies need to be discerning In “spear-phishing” cam-
networks. who said he had viewed only restoring services, saying it wanted country basis.” when deciding which paigns, hackers craft e-mails
Security researcher John parts of Sony’s network that to make sure it’s security was up to The Sony data breach is one of the servers to expose to the with personalised messages
par before bringing products back largest of its kind and has become
Bumgarner discovered a were visible over the Inter- online. the subject of data privacy debate in Internet. Many of the flaws so that the recipients click
potential bonanza for hack- net and did not attempt to “The company has made consider- Congress. — NYT that Bumgarner discovered on links or download attach-
ers by using little more than break in to password-pro- were identified with a tactic ments that launch malicious
a web browser, Google’s tected sites or exploit any known among hackers and software programs that take
search engine and a basic vulnerabilities. stakes program called Sony passwords for employees On May 4, Bumgarner flaws. They include remov- security experts as “Google over their computers.
understanding of Internet He found no evidence of Santa. That program gath- throughout Sony Pictures located a server in the Sony ing the file from its website hacking” — using the search Once one PC is corrupted,
security systems. breaches beyond the two ered users’ names, addresses Entertainment. network that disclosed the that tells search-engine engine’s advanced features hackers can use that
“Sony still has several Sony has disclosed. But he and ages. The names and In a file on Sony’s website names, Facebook IDs and IP crawlers which sections of to find information. He machine as a base from
external security issues that said he was able to find gate- partial addresses of some that alerts search-engine addresses of Sony customers the site to avoid cataloging. found the Sony Santa pro- which to launch sophisticat-
need to be addressed,” said ways to internal systems and 2,500 of those sweepstakes crawlers to which sections who were playing online Sony disabled access to the gram by searching for items ed operations, such as the
Bumgarner, chief technolo- locate data that would be contestants were posted on a of the site that Sony wants a games through Facebook. IP password-protected applica- on Sony’s network written attacks on Sony’s networks.
gy officer for the U.S. Cyber useful to hackers by using website. search engine to avoid cata- addresses allow somebody tion that the file originally in Microsoft Excel format Bumgarner found a page
Consequences Unit. simple techniques. The site has been taken loging, the company provid- to track the general location pointed to and eliminated (site:.sony.com filetype:xls). on Sony’s website that lists
Bumgarner also identified down and Sony is working ed a link to an internal pass- of a player. “No one should access to the Riverbed secu- Mikko Hypponen, chief the names, e-mail addresses
a handful of flaws that SONY SANTA to remove any residual links word-protected software be able to point a web rity system. research officer at computer and phone numbers of IT
would be easy for a hacker Through a series of Google to the list, a Sony application. Bumgarner said browser at Sony and see a security firm F-Secure, said managers that he said the
to identify and potentially searches, Bumgarner was spokesman said. that putting the URL in the security management con- WIDESPREAD PROB- Sony should have been more hackers could have used to
exploit. able to find a software pro- Bumgarner also found an file, effectively served as a sole or find their identity LEMS careful. launch a spear phishing
Sony did not respond gram that Sony developed in access point to a server run- red flag to potential hackers management system that has Bumgarner’s research “The first thing a consult- attack. He found that infor-
directly on the security laps- 2001 to run a ning an identity manage- who might see it as a poten- been indexed by Google,” he showed that the problems ant group or an Internet mation through Google
es that Bumgarner said he SonyStyle.com Christmas ment system that he said tial weak spot in Sony’s said. with Sony’s systems are response group would do is searches.
had uncovered, but three of gift registry and sweep- controls access to logins and armor. Sony has fixed some of the more widespread than the run a basic vulnerability — Reuters
A Dose of IT GadgetFix
A newcouldimproved Kin-
dle
and
be coming
Mr.Bezos also said in the
interview that if a full-
introduction last year of the
Apple iPad,analysts and
had been on a hiring spree,
posting at least five new jobs
On the
Clinical trials essential lookout for
soon,if we give credit to a
hint dropped by Jeff Bezos,
Amazon’s chief executive.
fledged Kindle tablet were to
arrive on digital shelves,it
would most likely supple-
technology bloggers have
speculated when Amazon
would release such a device.
during a single week for
developers with Android
programming experience,
for Bio Pharma growth an Amazon
This week Mr Bezos was
asked if Amazon would put
out a “multipurpose tablet
ment the existing line of Kin-
dle e-readers,which are
intended as “purpose-built e-
One question that has arisen
at the prospect of an Ama-
zon tablet is the type of
which could be used for a
tablet.But Mr.Bezos’s assess-
ment to “stay tuned”could
KAPIL KHANDELWAL that issues on the regula-
Tablet device.” Mr Bezos,replied,
“stay tuned.”
reading devices.”
After the highly successful
operating system it would
run. Since March,Amazon
also go beyond a tablet com.
— NYT
tory side be addressed at
K
arnataka came in the earliest. My sugges-
for a rude shock tion is to bring health and bITs
this week as the
state minister for Medical
Education announced a
prohibitory state for clini-
pharma under an inde-
pendent regulatory
agency such as the health
and biopharma regulatory
Raw data may woo businesses — MCT
AOL offers new video chat
cal trials. This is a very
serious situation for the
biotech industry given that
authority of India
(HBRAI). This regulatory
agency would become the
STEVE LOHR
NEW YORK
The study estimates that the
use of personal location data
could save consumers world-
A OL Inc.'s AIMlogfreeorvideo chat service thatthe
instant messenger rolled out
first version of a
n't require users to in download any software.
does-
just last year billions of apex regulatory taking May 15: Math majors, wide more than $600 billion Called AV, the service was created as a way to have
dollars were committed over the functions of the rejoice. Businesses are going annually by 2020. The study quick, easy video chats, Jason Shellen, a leader of the
towards the creation of a various ministries, Gov- to need tens of thousands of cites smartphone location AIM team, said. Up to four people can be involved in a
Biotech Park, Finishing ernment Departments and you in the coming years as services including chat at once, Shellen said. The service has several fea-
Schools. scientific institutional companies grapple with a Foursquare and Loopt, for tures, such as the ability to type messages to individual
Let us understand that bodies and academia growing mountain of data. locating friends, and ones for users while video chatting and to send a link to a web-
biopharma innovation is under one umbrella with But the business world is just finding nearby stores and page. The originator of the chat session also has the
very important for effec- industry representation beginning to learn how to restaurants. But the biggest ability to remove others from that chat. Other features
tively delivering low cost and participation. process it all. single consumer benefit, the will arrive in the next few weeks, Shellen said, includ-
healthcare to the masses. I am sure with the for- The current data surge is The next stage, they say, and that American retailers study says, is going to come ing one called "Group Shot" that allows you to take a
Hence there is a strong mation of an apex and coming from sophisticated will exploit Internet-scale could increase their operating from time and fuel savings photo of everyone participating in the chat . — AP
need to interface between independent regulator for computer tracking of ship- data sets to discover new profit margins by 60 percent. from location-based services
the academia and industry the industry, stray state- ments, sales, suppliers and businesses and predict con- But the study also identifies — tapping into real-time traf-
to enable the country to ments and rude shocks customers, as well as e-mail, sumer behavior and market challenges. One hurdle is a fic and weather data — that
grab huge opportunities in
biopharma research to the
that industry gets from
various Ministers and
Web traffic and social net-
work comments. The quanti-
shifts.
The McKinsey Global Insti-
talent and skills gap. The
United States alone, McKin-
help drivers avoid congestion
and suggest alternative
France to host ‘e-G8’ talks
tune of $ 79 billion, espe-
cially in clinical trials.
The session on Finance
Department Heads on the
manner and direction in
which it needs to organise
ty of business data doubles
every 1.2 years, by one esti-
mate. Mining and analysing
tute is coming down on the
side of the optimists in a
lengthy study. The report,
sey projects, will need
140,000 to 190,000 more
people with “deep analytical”
routes.
Skeptics say the economic
payoff from harnessing big
French President Nicolasdebate how governmentsitscan
gy titans at a summit to
Sarkozy will host technolo-
encourage innovation on the Internet, while taming
and Investment in Bio- itself would die down. these big new data sets can based on nine months of skills, typically experts in sta- data sets is mostly wishful excesses. The forum, which is to be held on May 24 to
pharma at the Bangalore At this time the biophar- open the door to a new wave work is “Big Data: The Next tistical methods and data- thinking so far. The nation’s 25 in Paris, is part of Sarkozy's year-long tenure as the
India Bio 2011 resonated ma industry is the biggest of innovation, accelerating Frontier for Innovation, analysis technologies. technology-assisted increase president of the G8 group of major economies.
concerns around drying guinea pig. productivity and economic Competition and Productivi- McKinsey says the nation in productivity began in 1995 The talks will focus on Internet regulation, its economic
investments to the sector. And all the other propo- growth. Some economists, ty.” It makes estimates of the will also need 1.5 million and continued through 2004, impact, fostering innovation, and protecting intellectual
While the government has nents such the consumers, academics and business exec- potential benefits from more data-literate managers. having trailed off since, property rights online. A large gap has also emerged
stepped into do their bit to players, investors and utives see an opportunity to deploying data-harvesting “Every manager will really despite investments in data between the flourishing innovation-based economy of
revive confidence and clinical trial subjects are move beyond the payoff of technologies and skills. have to understand some- analytics. The McKinsey Silicon Valley and the low-growth Old Continent, which
investment into the fledg- the victims of bad regula- the first stage of the Internet, The McKinsey research thing about statistics and authors say that the big-data European leaders would like to address. The conclusions
ing sector, it is important tory regime! which combined computing unit, for example, says the experimental design going trend is just getting under of the forum will be presented at a May 27 to 28 summit
and low-cost communica- value to the health care sys- forward,” said Michael Chui, way. It will take years before of G8 heads of state in the French seaside resort of
Kapil Khandelwal is Director, Makven Capital and info mation com- tions to automate all kinds of tem in the United States a senior fellow at the McKin- the gains show up in the eco- Deauville. — Reuters
munication technology (ICT) expert.
commercial transactions. could be $300 billion a year, sey Global Institute. nomic statistics. — NYT
LEARNING CURVE
Speaking up in class, silently, using Social media
New York, May 15: Wasn’t it medium they find as natural teachers, and lead to off-topic, professor of hospitality and issued Macbook, “one stu- pares how much humanitari-
just the other day that teach- as breathing. inappropriate or even bully- tourism management, said dent asked, ‘What is a an aid could be bought for the
ers confiscated cellphones “When you type something ing remarks. A national sur- Hot Seat did not mesh well queue?’ “ Mrs. Weber said. $150,000 cost of a slick
and principals warned about down, it’s a lot easier to say vey released last month found with her style of walking “If they’d have read that indi- music video. Earlier in the
oversharing on MySpace? what I feel, ”said one of her that 2 percent of college fac- around class to encourage a vidually they wouldn’t have week, students had staged a
Now, Erin Olson, an Eng- students, Justin Lansink, 17. ulty members had used Twit- dialogue. “The last thing I been brave enough to raise rally to support American
lish teacher in Sioux Rapids, With Twitter and other ter in class, and nearly half want to do is to give them yet their hands. But another stu- troops in response to picket-
Iowa, is among a small but microblogging platforms, thought that doing so would another way to distract them- dent answered, ‘It’s a pony- ing they had seen on the
growing cadre of educators teachers from elementary negatively affect learning. selves.” tail.’ The whole class on the news. Mrs. Olson asked her
trying to exploit Twitter-like schools to universities are set- When Derek Bruff, assistant In high schools and elemen- backchannel had an a-ha students to connect “the argu-
technology to enhance class- ting up what is known as a director of the Center for tary schools, teachers try to moment.” “I am in awe at ment” of the poem they read
room discussion. As some of “backchannel” in their class- Teaching at Vanderbilt Uni- exercise tight control over how independent they’ve and the video with their own
her 11th graders read aloud es. The real-time digital versity, suggests fellow pro- backchannels, often review- become using that as a means rally. As the discussion
from a poem called “To the streams allow students to fessors try backchannels, ing a transcript after class for of comprehension,” she swirled in class, one student
Lady,” others kept up a run- comment, pose questions and “Most look at me like I’m Erin Olson, an English teacher in Iowa, uses Twitter- inappropriate remarks. Even added. The 11th graders in typed on the backchannel:
ning commentary on their shed inhibitions about voicing coming from another planet,” like technology to enhance classroom discussion. schools that encourage stu- Mrs. Olson’s class said the “We tend to have the attitude
laptops. “She is giving raw opinions. he said. Dr. Bruff added, that dents to use mobile devices backchannel had widened that someone else will do it.
proof,” a student said, “that Nicholas Provenzano, an students often use them to type questions and vote for projected on a large screen. prohibit gossip during class. their appreciation of one But what happens when
we are slaves to our society.” English teacher at Grosse tune out, checking e-mail or the ones they would most like Sugato Chakravarty, who lec- In Exira, Iowa, Kate Weber another. “Everybody is heard everyone thinks the same as
Instead of being a distrac- Pointe South High School, shopping. He said professors answered. Today’s Meet, tures about personal finance, uses the technology for short in our class,” said Leah Post- you?” “It only takes one indi-
tion — an electronic version said that in a class of 30, only could reduce such activity by used by Mrs. Olson, sets up a pauses to answer those that periods almost daily with her man, 17. Janae Smith, also vidual to change,” another
of note-passing — the chatter about 12 usually carried the giving students something virtual “room.” have been “voted up” by his fourth graders. “You’d think 17, said, “It’s made me see typed. “If you want some-
echoed and fed into the main conversation, but that eight class-related to do on their Purdue University, in Indi- audience. Before Hot Seat, “I there’s a lot of distraction, but my peers as more intelligent, thing to change you have to
discourse, said Mrs Olson, more might pipe up on a mobile devices. ana, developed its own could never get people to it’s actually the opposite,” she seeing their thought process.” be willing to be that voice.”
who monitored the stream backchannel. “Another eight Besides Twitter, teachers backchannel system, Hot speak up,” Professor said. “Kids are much quicker On Friday, their teacher “It really shows the impact
and tried to absorb it into the kids entering a discussion is have turned to other platforms Seat, two years ago, at a cost Chakravarty said. But the at stuff than we are. They can continued to develop a one change can make,” a
lesson. She and others say huge,” he noted. for backchannels, some with of $84,000. It lets students technology has been slow to really multitask.” During a semester-long theme: how third student wrote. “I agree
social media, can entice stu- Skeptics fear introducing more structure and privacy. post comments and ques- win over faculty. It was used reading lesson, she recalled, a free the individual is in socie- with Katie!” someone added.
dents who rarely raise a hand backchannels into classrooms Most are free on the Web. tions, which can be read on in just 12 courses this spring. story included the word ty. Students watched a “This class has given us a
to express themselves via a will distract students and Google Moderator lets a class laptops or smartphones or Sandra Sydnor-Bousso, a “queue.” Using a school- YouTube video that com- voice!” — NYT