Senator Touts E-Medical Data Despite Hacker Attack
May 21, 2009A hacker's theft of millions of Virginia's most sensitive prescription drug records isn't slowing Democratic Sen. Mark Warner's push for electronic medical records.
The former governor convened a conference in Richmond Monday about the medical and cost-saving benefits of digitizing hundreds of millions of patient records nationally.
"We've been talking about this subject, policymakers have, for decades: how can we make sure that we can bring the power of information technology to our health care system," Warner told reporters at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Warner, who made a fortune as an early investor in cell phones and information technology, was among the earliest apostles of e-medical records. The federal economic stimulus package that Warner supported provides nearly $20 billion to begin the process of digitizing medical records and sharing them over secure networks.
Having such data instantly available to doctors anywhere would eliminate the need for expensive tests patients have already had and allow doctors to make smarter, faster treatment decisions, advocates say.
"Every Virginian has been frustrated when you go to the hospital and you get asked exactly the same question 10 different times in the first few hours you're there," Warner said before addressing the conference of several hundred medical professionals, hospital and health care interests and educators.
Just 2 1/2 weeks earlier, a hacker broke into what the Virginia Department of Health Professions believed was a secure computer database for the Prescription Monitoring Program.
The hacker accessed millions of individual prescription records about such powerful and closely controlled drugs as Oxycodone, morphine, Vicodin and Valium. The intruder also left a taunting note on the DHP Web site demanding a $10 million ransom for the return of the data. State officials said the information was fully backed up and never lost. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said there will be no payments.
The FBI and Virginia State Police...
Sarbanes-Oxley Regulation To Go on Trial
May 21, 2009The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case which could decide the fate of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley act.
The court said on Monday that it would preside over the case in which a U.S. advocacy group is claiming that the act and its Public Company Accounting Oversight Board are unconstitutional.
The case centers around an accounting firm from Nevada which objected to the board. The case is also being backed by advocacy group Free Enterprise Fund.
If the court agrees with the plaintiffs, the ruling could imperil the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, which was passed in 2002 in the wake of the Enron scandal. The aim of the law was to force companies to adopt a more trustworthy and transparent approach in their accounting practices.
Since its passage, the act has become one of the major compliance standards. The law has become a watermark not only for firms doing business in the U.S. and elsewhere, but for government and regulatory groups looking to establish financial compliance standards.
Compliance in general has also become a hot topic for IT. In the midst of mounting financial and privacy breaches, many are calling for tighter regulatory rules in all areas of data management.
China develops world's first quantum cryptography network - Nanowerk LLC
May 21, 2009 Nanowerk LLC | China develops world's first quantum cryptography network Nanowerk LLC, HI (Nanowerk News) Safe quantum communication will be ready for daily use with the world's first optical quantum cryptography network completed in east China's Anhui Province recently. The American journal Science reported about the result, ... |
China builds world's first quantum encrypted gov't network - China.org.cn
May 21, 2009China builds world's first quantum encrypted gov't network China.org.cn, China The new network demonstrates that China is able to put quantum cryptography to practical use, said Guo. The quantum-encrypted network will serve eight government departments in Wuhu, including the Science & Technology Bureau, the Investment Promotion ... |
Information Security Bookshelf, Part 2 (2009 Edition) - informIT
May 21, 2009Information Security Bookshelf, Part 2 (2009 Edition) informIT, NJ Menezes, Alfred J. et al: Handbook of Applied Cryptography, CRC Press, 1996, ISBN-13: 978-0849385230. CRC Press is a well-known compiler of technical information on many subjects from mathematics to biology, primarily for use in reference books. ... |
Computer Hackers RIP: Making Quantum Cryptography Practical - Science Daily (press release)
May 21, 2009Computer Hackers RIP: Making Quantum Cryptography Practical Science Daily (press release) ScienceDaily (Apr. 30, 2009) — Quantum cryptography, a completely secure means of communication, is much closer to being used practically as researchers from Toshiba and Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory have now developed high speed ... |
Quantum cryptography hits the fast lane - Optics.org
May 21, 2009Quantum cryptography hits the fast lane Optics.org, UK Scientists at Toshiba Research Europe in Cambridge, UK, are claiming a significant step forward in the race to make quantum cryptography a practical proposition for secure network communications. Quantum cryptography, or quantum-key distribution (QKD), ... |
EADS Defence and Security sign up for another year as Cardiff ... - WalesOnline
May 21, 2009EADS Defence and Security sign up for another year as Cardiff ... WalesOnline, United Kingdom EADS DS, which employs 1200 people at its £35m technology centre in Newport is creating the next-generation technology solutions and services, principally in the areas of secure IT, communications and cryptography. The site is also home to EADS ... |
Whitfield Diffie Lecture - The Emergence of Public Key Cryptography - SecuObs
May 21, 2009Whitfield Diffie Lecture - The Emergence of Public Key Cryptography SecuObs, France The first one, which was sponsored by PGP Corporation, was delivered by Professor Whitfield Diffie who spoke on "The Emergence of Public Key Cryptography". The lecture was attended by over 350 people who had a thoroughly enjoyable, informative evening? ... |
MasterCard in Licensing Pact - US Banker
May 21, 2009 Royal Gazette | MasterCard in Licensing Pact US Banker, NY MasterCard Inc. has agreed to require suppliers of contactless and smart cards that use the EMV Integrated Circuit Card Specification to license antifraud technology from Cryptography Research Inc. of San Francisco. The agreement, which Cryptography ... Heartland Data Breach: MasterCard Introduces 'Tamper-Resistant' Chip Gulf Bank First to complete migration to EMV chip-enabled ... |