Today I chaired the SCL Meeting “Demystifying Open Source“. The speakers’ slides are available on the SCL website, although Neil Brown has been kind enough to make the text of his excellent talk available to all.
SCL Meeting: “Demystifying Open Source”
Cloud Computing in Financial Services
Here is the presentation from my talk to the Society of Computers and Law in July 2011. If you are a member you can also access the podcast.
Does Your Firewall Have an Open Door?
“Open Your Doors” by Frank Wuestefeld (http://flic.kr/p/7UL9np)
Google’s January announcement that it has uncovered a ‘sophisticated and targeted’ attack on its infrastructure is a timely reminder that the threat posed by hackers should not be minimised. This attack originated from China and led to Google uncovering a systematic breach of the security of certain Google user accounts linked to Chinese human rights activists. The attack on Google and its implication of state surveillance may be seen as esoteric, but it reveals a basic truth: any organisation which holds personal data on individuals must be prepared for the fact that the data has value, and is therefore worth stealing.
Continue reading →
Growing pains: how the net neutrality debate works
Here’s a piece that I wrote for e-Commerce Law and Policy (subscription required):
Growing pains: how the net neutrality debate works ECLP 12.5
Virtual Insanity?
Directors are increasingly being asked by their CTOs or IT managers to consider IT projects which involve virtualisation. In-house server virtualisation can be seen, in certain circumstances, as an alternative to cloud computing. It offers some of the benefits (cost savings, efficiency and scalability) associated with the cloud, without the risk of outsourcing key business functions to third parties. As this technology is picked up by businesses, lawyers may find themselves needing to cut through a significant amount of jargon to understand this evolutionary step in enterprise computing. This article sets out the technology and its benefits, before considering the legal consequences of its application.
Continue reading →