Survey Shows IT 'Out of Shape ...

Computerworld - ... when it comes to major technology implementations," warns John Norcross, vice president of technology at Celerant Consulting Inc. in Lexington, Mass. The U.S. branch of Novell Inc.'s U.K.-based consultancy teamed with newsweekly The Economist to poll
executives at 290 mostly midsize U.S. and Canadian companies on their ability to handle big IT projects. Norcross says the survey results, which will be released this week, revealed that less than half of the respondents have attempted a major technology rollout during the past three years. He worries that the hiatus, combined with the "decimation" of IT departments through cutbacks and outsourcing, will hobble any IT-dependent "transformational change" initiatives demanded by top management as the economy improves. "I don't know whether it's a crisis, but it's approaching one," he contends. Although consultancies might benefit from the situation, Norcross says that without IT expertise inside companies, "all you've got is a bunch of generic consultants with generic knowledge producing a generic solution."
Wireless defenses reinforced with ...
... the release this month of rival offerings AirDefense 6.0 and PredatorWatch Auditor 128. Anil Khatod, CEO of AirDefense Inc. in Alpharetta, Ga., claims that the 6.0 upgrade of the software for the company's wireless network security appliances "can defend wireless devices and/or the wired devices they're connected to." The release adds client-side code that prevents online sessions from being hijacked to bogus Web sites when end users connect their laptops to public hot spots. Users are also now protected from intruders sneaking onto their machines via Bluetooth links. In addition, AirDefense 6.0 features improved network intrusion-detection and automated rogue management features, Khatod says. Pricing starts at $6,995.

John Norcross, vice president of technology at Celerant Consulting Inc.

According to Gary Miliefsky, CEO of PredatorWatch Inc. in North Chelmsford, Mass., as soon as a PredatorWatch Auditor 128 appliance is connected to a wireless LAN, it builds a database on up to 256 IP-based systems and conducts common vulnerability exposure (CVE) tests that reveal "anything that can be exploited." About the size of a paperback, the Auditor 128 provides information such as recommendations of patches needed for Windows-based systems. The appliance can also block unauthorized network access. It lists for $1,295 plus a monthly subscription fee of $59 for CVE updates.
Secure Web services need more ...
... than well-intended standards, says Joelle Gropper Kaufman, vice president of marketing at Reactivity Inc. in Belmont, Calif. Gropper Kaufman says that standards such as WS-Security "are not implemented identically by vendors." Reactivity Chief Technology Officer John Lilly adds that the existing standards aren't comprehensive.