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Paul Toal

Can it really be true, ID cards dead??

UK ID Cards Dead? So, according to the Sunday Times, the UK Governments ID card scheme is doomed. It appears that Peter Smith (acting Commercial Director @ Identity and Passport Service) and David Foord (ID card project Director) might actually have realised the huge mistake the Government was about to make with billions of pounds of the taxpayers money for no good benefit or return. I can’t say how relieved… Read More »Can it really be true, ID cards dead??

OpenDNS Launched

Jason Kolb has blogged here and Rohan Pinto has blogged here about a new DNS service that has been launched, OpenDNS. I have been really struggling to decide whether or not I like this idea of having a DNS server with ‘added’ functionality. OpenDNS states its benefits as: 1. Safer2. Faster3. Smarter4. No software to install5. Free The first ‘Safer’ benefit derives from the fact the OpenDNS will actively prevent… Read More »OpenDNS Launched

Google taking over the world…..well the users desktop at least!

Google Platypus In a post yesterday, Rohan Pinto made comments about what appears to be Google’s latest project, Platypus. In his post he says: “one think I am 100% sure on is that Google’s walking down the path of making the NET a users desktop. Gone are the days where one feared microsoft… Now it’s GOOGLE-PHOBIA.” I agree vehemently with Rohan’s comments. Google certain does appear to be striving for… Read More »Google taking over the world…..well the users desktop at least!

Microsoft Security Summit and Kim Cameron

This morning I was hot-footing it across London in the soaring heat to attend the Microsoft Security Event. My main reason for attending this event was to listen to Kim Cameron talk about “Advances in Digital Identity” which was scheduled as a full mornings discussion. The event started with an opening address from Ed Gibson (sorry, can’t find a decent link to a profile), Chief Security Advisor for Microsoft UK.… Read More »Microsoft Security Summit and Kim Cameron

O2 PUK Unlocking

Getting a Personal Unlock Code for Your O2 Cell Phone Bruce Schneier blogged on the fact that you can now unlock an O2 mobile phone by visiting the website and entering a valid phone number. I agree with Bruce that this is an issue since the website does not ask for authentication. However, it is also making the assumption that if you have stolen a mobile phone you know the… Read More »O2 PUK Unlocking

Not a surprising move

EMC buys RSA On Thursday this week, EMC announced a definitive agreement to buy RSA Security. I must admit, I was not surprised in the slightest that RSA has been bought. My only surprise has been the company that has bought them. From an identity management point of view, RSA recently took a major blow when Oracle purchased RSA’s strategic provisioning partner, Thor Technologies. Since then it was hard to… Read More »Not a surprising move

Secrets and Lies….thoughts!

This evening I finished reading Secrets and Lies by Bruce Schneier. Compared to a number of technical books I have read recently, this is probably one of the oldest publications. Due to the way that technology moves, I wasn't sure how relevent this book would still be. However, having come across Bruce through his reputation and after reading his blog for some time I decided to give it a go… Read More »Secrets and Lies….thoughts!

In the context of reputation

Principles of Reputation Phil Windley originally posted his thoughts on this topic which Dave Kearns has commented on here. This has raised quite a lively discussion in the office, particularly with Paul .Whilst I agree on most of the points raised by Phil, I have to disagree with the comments that Dave is making on persona. To quote: "That is, no single persona could have more than one reputation. So… Read More »In the context of reputation

Is Google a master of its own demise?

More evidence that Google's core business is hurting In the above post, Jason talks about the problems that seem to be dogging Google at the moment. To quote him: "Why did Google feel the need to lie about this incident? I think it's because, as I postulated earlier, they have so many people gunning to break their algorithms that they just can't keep up. People are figuring out how to… Read More »Is Google a master of its own demise?

Approaches to Role Definition

In two recent posts by Nishant Kaushik of Oracle (Part 1 & Part 2), he has made some very good observations around understanding the process of defining roles as part of an Identity Management infrastructure. As can be clearly seen from his posts and my experience (and probably lots of others out there), there is no single process that will be right or suitable for all organizations. As usual, it… Read More »Approaches to Role Definition