Accenture Develops Innovative Mobile App for the “Lux in Arcana – The Vatican Secret Archive Reveals Itself” Exhibition Featuring Never-Before-Seen Vatican Documents

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Accenture Develops Innovative Mobile App for the “Lux in Arcana – The Vatican Secret Archive Reveals Itself” Exhibition Featuring Never-Before-Seen Vatican Documents

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March 28, 2012

Accenture Develops Innovative Mobile App for the “Lux in Arcana – The Vatican Secret Archive Reveals Itself” Exhibition Featuring Never-Before-Seen Vatican Documents

App enables all 100 priceless documents of the exhibition to be accessible

 on smartphones and tablet PCs; also features augmented reality solutions

ROME; March. 28, 2012 — Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced today that it has developed a free mobile app that delivers rich multimedia content to the fingertips of visitors to an unprecedented exhibition featuring documents held in the Secret Vatican Archive that have never before been seen by the public and now can be admired at the Capitoline Museums in Rome.

The exhibition “Lux in Arcana – The Vatican Secret Archives Reveals Itself” features, among other things, documents such as ciphered letters, manuscripts, codices, and ancient parchments. The materials date from the eighth to the 20^th century and the exhibition marks the first time they have ever been shown away from Vatican City.  The items were unveiled at theCapitoline Museums in Rome on Feb. 29 and will remain on exhibit thru Sept. 9 of this year.

The mobile app developed by Accenture, which is the official technology partner of the exhibition, significantly enhances the experience of users by delivering supplemental details about the historical items to their smartphones and tablets for both Apple and Android. For example, the app displays technical data, photos and images, provides detailed background information, and features rich, multimedia content. The app allows users to see the documents by alphabetical or chronological order, by the typology (letter, agreement, papal document, etc.) and by the location in the Capitoline Museums halls. Visitors can also follow the path of the exhibition listening to the audio guide feature available through the app.

“Accenture has been an outstanding technology partner and we’re very pleased with the unique user experience that their mobile app delivers”, said Luca Carboni, General Secretary of the Secret Vatican Archive. “We believe the people expected to visit the exhibition will benefit tremendously from the rich content they can access through their devices as they tour the various exhibits.”

The app also features an “augmented reality” capability that can be used outside of the museum at some historical sites in Rome.  One example is the statue of Giordano Bruno in the piazza Campo de’ Fiori. Giordano Bruno, a Dominican friar and philosopher, was burned at the stake in 1600’s after being judged a heretic by the Tribunal of the Roman Inquisition. The app allows visitors to focus their smartphone or tablet on the statue and see Bruno’s pyre burst into flames on the device’s display.  It also allows visitors to open special contents related to Giordano Bruno’s trial and to call up videos with more information on his life and his ideas. Augmented reality is available also for the angels of the Castel Sant’Angelo bridge, carved by the Bernini, and for the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, close to the place where Galileo Galilei abjured.

“We’re delighted to be the official technology sponsor of this extraordinary and unprecedented exhibition from the Secret Vatican Archive,” said Fabio Benasso, country managing director,Accenture Italy. “Our country possesses a treasure trove of culture and art that reflects many of the world’s most historical events and should be shared by as many people as possible.

As an integral and longstanding member of the Italian business community, Accenture is proud to support this important initiative celebrating this part of Italy’s cultural heritage.”

The app is available in Italian and English, and is compatible with almost all mobile devices.  It can be downloaded from the Apple store or Google Play for free.

The exhibition “Lux in Arcana – The Vatican Secret Archive Reveals Itself” was conceived for the occasion of the fourth centenary of the Secret Vatican Archives foundation, in collaboration with Roma Capitale, Assessorato alle Politiche Culturali e Centro Storico - Sovraintendenza ai Beni Culturali di Roma and Zètema Progetto Cultura.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 246,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$25.5 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2011. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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'Hacktivists' Lead Data Breach Threats, Study Finds

A tiny but motivated band of 'hacktivists' are supplanting professional criminals as the biggest single data breach threat to large enterprises, an analysis of hundreds of confirmed incident reports has found.

On the face of it, the numbers in Verizon's 2012 Data Breach Investigations Report (which covers 2011) suggest that hacktivism is more of a nuisance than a major threat, accounting for only 3 percent of the 855 recorded attacks looked at across several countries.

But despite the modest volume of attacks, hacktivist incidents often lead to far more spectacular losses. Verizon found that from a total of 174 million records (individual database entries as well as documents) compromised in the 855 incidents, 100 million were stolen by hacktivists.

This means that hactivism is a theme in only three out of every 100 incidents, but nearly six out of ten of the actual records that are compromised. (See also "Ten Best Practices to Prevent Data and Privacy Breaches.")

For more, click the link below:


http://www.pcworld.com/article/252429/hacktivists_lead_data_breach_threats_study_finds.html#tk.nl_bdx_h_crawl

HIPAA-Compliant Document Management Solution Expands into Global Market

HIPAA-Compliant Document Management Solution Expands Into Global Market by Migrating to Windows Azure Cloud Platform

PaperTracer attracts international customers by migrating to Windows Azure to store, organize and safeguard its sensitive information in security-enhanced Microsoft global datacenters.

inShare3

REDMOND, Wash. — March 20, 2012 — PaperTracer, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based document-management service that assures compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, has moved to the Windows Azure cloud platform to deliver its services to customers worldwide. By backing its HIPAA compliance with the security features of Microsoft Corp. datacenters, PaperTracer expects to boost revenues by 30 percent in the first year alone. A subsidiary of Health Asset Management Inc. (HAMi), PaperTracer adopted cloud-computing technologies early on, delivering its Web-based solution as a service since its founding in 1999. For the past decade, PaperTracer has managed and maintained a server infrastructure that it hosted in a dedicated private cloud environment through a third-party provider in Florida. PaperTracer wanted to expand its business overseas but found that potential international customers viewed its single-location¸ U.S.-based infrastructure as a concern. “When customers are storing sensitive information such as patient data or intellectual property, they want to know that their data is stored locally,” said Michael Tarpley, CEO of HAMi. “Customers located outside the U.S. were not inclined to use PaperTracer.” The company resolved to move its services to a public cloud model, eventually narrowing the field to Windows Azure. “The decision to move to Windows Azure was an easy one,” said Keith Hoot, the company’s chief technology officer. “Not only does Microsoft offer security-enhanced global datacenters, but also its brand is recognized as synonymous with reliability.” Working with Microsoft partner Arth Systems, PaperTracer migrated to Windows Azure in April 2011. It hosts its application in Web roles in Windows Azure for background processing tasks and uses Microsoft SQL Azure for data storage. Using Windows Azure, the company packages its application and deploys it to the Microsoft datacenter nearest the customer’s location. PaperTracer recently created a variant that enables small and midsize businesses to take advantage of fast deployment on Windows Azure. Announced as 2EZData in November 2011, the solution is similar to PaperTracer and includes the same HIPAA-compliant features, such as activity-logging at the file level, role-based access controls, and forced password changes and logouts after periods of inactivity. By the end of 2011, the company had two customers in the U.S. and one in India using PaperTracer on Windows Azure. It also had 15 customers in the pipeline for 2EZData, many of which are located in India and other overseas locations. “If it weren’t for using Windows Azure, we would not have closed the deal with our PaperTracer customer in India,” said Rajashree Varma, the director of Global Alliance at HAMi. PaperTracer has traditionally provided customers the HIPAA-compliant features they require in a records management solution, but today it offers the service on a security-enhanced infrastructure that customers trust worldwide. With the previous infrastructure, it took a week or longer to procure the hardware and software required to get a customer up and running. On Windows Azure, PaperTracer can allocate compute and storage resources quickly, onboarding new customers in one or half a day. But Tarpley reiterated that trust is the key factor in connecting with international customers. “They see the Microsoft name, and they know that everything has been put in place to help safeguard their data,” he said. “That’s invaluable for our continued success.” More information on PaperTracer’s move to Windows Azure is available in the Microsoft case study and the Microsoft Customer Spotlight Newsroom. Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

T.S.A. Is Considering Automating ID Checks

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

T.S.A. Is Considering Automating ID Checks

By SUSAN STELLIN The Transportation Security Administration has spent a lot of money on technology to keep dangerous items off planes — with mixed results — but has been slower to address another risk: travelers who are using a fake boarding pass or identification.

Despite announcing plans last fall to test machines that can electronically verify passengers’ documents, the agency still relies on its agents to visually inspect boarding passes and IDs, and confirm that each traveler matches the photo on a driver’s license or passport. At a busy airport, one employee may check several hundred documents an hour.

The repetitiveness of that task has left plenty of room for human error, as Michael Krug and his colleague discovered when they were on a Delta flight in February and realized they each had a boarding pass for seat 12C, both printed with Mr. Krug’s name.

“The person at security didn’t notice that my co-worker’s boarding pass had my name on it and he had an ID with his name,” Mr. Krug said.

The two men checked in as part of a group and figured that the agent must have handed them two copies of the same boarding pass, a mistake that was overlooked at the security line and then again at the gate. That triple error may be rare, but it highlights a security flaw that has been publicized many times.

Last year, for instance, a Nigerian man managed to fly free from New York to Los Angeles with an expired boarding pass in someone else’s name, but was arrested a few days later at Los Angeles International Airport when he tried to fly to Atlanta using another expired pass.

Travelers, security specialists and the news media have reported many other instances when T.S.A. agents failed to notice a fake or expired boarding pass or improper identification, a vulnerability that has been a concern since it was discovered that many of the 9/11 hijackers had obtained fraudulent IDs.

With the advent of online check-in, it became easy to digitally alter a real boarding pass with a different name or new travel date and print a copy that would get through security. There have even been Web sites that generated a fake boarding pass or provided instructions on how to make one at home.

The T.S.A. said it was working to address this problem as part of its shift toward a more risk-based approach to screening passengers, which gives higher scrutiny to travelers the government knows less about.

In October, the agency announced that it was spending $3.2 million to buy 30 document authentication systems from three vendors, which it planned to test in airports in early 2012. Those tests are now expected at select airports “in the coming months,” said Greg Soule, an agency spokesman.

“The technology is designed to read security features embedded in both the boarding pass and ID to verify their authenticity and ensure the names match,” Mr. Soule said in an e-mail.

Adobe Announces LiveCycle Enterprise Suite 3

Adobe Announces LiveCycle Enterprise Suite 3

News Release from the FBI, Portland Division

Former Bend-Area Developer Pleads Guilty to $20 Million Bank Fraud 
Cases Relate to the Collapse of Desert Sun Development in Bend, Oregon

U.S. Attorney’s OfficeFebruary 22, 2012

Office of Public Affairs(202) 514-2007/TDD (202)514-1888

EUGENE, OR—Tyler Fitzsimons, 33, appeared before U.S. District Judge Michael R. Hogan on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 and pleaded guilty to a variety of mortgage and loan fraud charges arising out of the collapse of his company, Desert Sun Development (DSD), including conspiracy, bank fraud, and money laundering. From 2004 through 2008, DSD, a company previously headquartered in Bend, Oregon, built commercial structures and residential housing throughout Central Oregon. According to the indictments, DSD principals and other defendants caused financial institutions to lose more than $19 million.

According to court documents, Fitzsimons and others knowingly submitted fraudulent documents, including false financial statements, to various banks in order to obtain financing to develop and construct many of DSD’s commercial projects. Once the loans were approved, Fitzsimons and others submitted additional false documents, including fictitious contracts and invoices, to the banks to obtain loan proceeds for construction costs that were claimed to be associated with the fraudulent documents. Often, no construction had occurred.

Fitzsimons also developed a real estate flipping scheme at DSD. In court records, Fitzsimons admitted, among other things, to undermining the loan approval process for individuals participating in the scheme by “seasoning” or falsely inflating their bank accounts through temporary deposits or undisclosed, short-term loans and by submitting other fictitious documents, including letters explaining employment, large or recent deposits, and bonuses, to the banks funding the loans.

Defendants Shannon Egeland, Jeremy Kendall, Robert Brink, Teresa Ausbrooks, Michael Wilson, and Del Barber, Jr., who are charged in these and related cases previously pleaded guilty and are pending sentencing.

Conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, and money laundering carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set before U.S. District Court Judge Michael R. Hogan on October 09, 2012, at 10 a.m.

These cases were investigated by the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigations, and the Oregon Division of Finance and Corporate Securities. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford handled the prosecution of the cases.

Global IT Survey Highlights Enthusiasm over Tablets

News release from Cisco:

PRESS RELEASE

Global IT Survey Highlights Enthusiasm over Tablets in the Enterprise, Shows Customization, Collaboration and Virtualization as Key Features

IT managers express concerns over security and application access

Related Information

Here's a quick look at some of the top findings from Cisco's global survey on IT managers' perceptions about tablet form-factor mobile devices in the enterprise.

The Cisco Cius: Cisco's highly secure, built-for-business mobile collaboration device in the tablet form-factor.

Cisco Cius and HD Media Station. Here, the Cius is shown docked during a video call.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Jan. 24, 2012 – Cisco today announced findings from a global survey of IT managers' perceptions about tablet form-factor mobile devices in the enterprise.

Cisco commissioned Redshift Research to survey 1500 IT managers and executives in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany and Spain to assess attitudes, fears and hopes for tablet form-factor mobile devices ("tablets") in the workplace. Still a nascent market, 2012 is seen as a year in which enterprise-grade tablet computing will undergo significant change.

Redshift polled IT managers and executives in a wide variety of global companies of all sectors and sizes.  All respondents are either primary IT decision makers or play a key role in the decision process for all IT products. Sole proprietors were excluded from the study. Field work was conducted in late 2011.

Key findings include:


Tablet Demand

•       Tablets vs. smartphones: which win?  Globally, IT departments report employees place one tablet request for every three smartphone requests today.

•       Which countries lead? Of the countries surveyed, the US and France are tied for tops—each report a tablet is requested by 21% of the workforce. Senior executives are most likely to be issued a tablet in the US (38%) and least likely to be issued one in the UK (27 percent)

•       Who's most excited? Spain tops the list, with 90% of IT managers believing the tablet will become more popular in the next two years.

•        "Uber-connected sales guys". Tablets are significantly more prevalent among salespeople in Germany (31%) than in all other countries (21% on average).

Fears And Wants

•       Tops in security concerns? The U.S., the country with the most experience managing tablets, also ranks #1 on the "security issue": 75% of US IT managers said new rules must be established around security and device usage.

•       What about app access? Nearly half (48%) of all IT managers surveyed agree that access to company applications should be restricted for all employees. Canada and UK were the top countries in wanting to see restricted access on tablet form-factor devices (55% and 56 %, respectively).

•      Custom apps? IT managers universally agree that custom tablet applications would benefit their business.

•       Top "want list" features? Globally,three-quarters of IT managers indicated email and document sharing are "must haves". About half agreed or strongly agreed that these are desirable: video conferencing, IM, access to company databases and seamless synchronization with other business devices.

"BYOD"

•       Turning a blind eye to BYOD. Globally, 48% said their company would never authorize employees to bring their own devices (BYOD), yet 57% agreed that some employees use personal devices without consent.

•       51% of the respondents reported the number of employees bringing their own devices to work is on the rise.

•       Using personal devices without consent was highest in the US (64%) and lowest in Germany (49%).

•       Access to company servers was highlighted as a "huge problem" of the "bring your own device" to work phenomena as was lost/stolen devices (64% globally).

•       Globally, 44% say that handling BYOD issues diverts IT attention from other important projects.  

Supporting Quotes

Tom Puorro, director of product management, IPCBU, Cisco Systems

"Mobile workers and virtual workspaces are here to stay—but so are the demands on IT to continue to ensure enterprise-grade security, manageability and interoperability.  2012 promises to be an exciting year and IT leaders are a critical component in unleashing innovation and enabling organizations to take advantage of the next wave of business growth and opportunity. Cisco is keenly focused on helping its customers navigate the post-PC era and transform their business."

Additional Resources:

• Find out more about Cisco's highly secure, built-for-business mobile collaboration device,  the Cisco Cius
• Visit the Cisco Collaboration blog

Technorati Tags:


Cisco, Cisco Cius, business tablet, mobile collaboration device, tablets, technology trends, cloud computing, BYOD

About Cisco Collaboration


From award-winning IP communications to mobility, customer care, Web conferencing, messaging, enterprise social software, and interoperable telepresence experiences, Cisco brings together network-based, integrated collaboration solutions based on open standards. These solutions offered across on-premise, cloud-based or virtualized platforms, as well as services from Cisco and our partners, are designed to help promote business growth, innovation and productivity. They are also designed to help accelerate team performance, protect investments, and simplify the process of finding the right people and information.

About Cisco


Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

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