Study highlights technology void

A new study by privacy and information management research firm Ponemon Institute says nearly 60% of US-based businesses and government agencies are open to privacy breaches, according to PR Newswire.

Commissioned by SailPoint Technologies, the Survey on Identity Compliance examined the responses of more than 600 US-based senior information security professionals, pointing to inefficient processes, insufficient data and the lack of collaboration between business and IT groups as the leading causes of risk across the enterprise.

Most companies believe they are unable to effectively assess or quantify 'insider threat' risks within their organisations, leaving them open to privacy breaches, failed audits and potential fraud or misuse of data. Although more than 70% of respondents confirm that identity compliance activities are strategically important, 58% still rely on manual processes to audit and control user access to critical enterprise systems and data resources.

Oracle has introduced a governance, risk and compliance (GRC) application suite, reports IT News Online.

The suite manages compliance initiatives in heterogeneous environments, provides increased security through automated, pre-defined ERP controls and intends to provide greater visibility through expanded GRC intelligence.

The Oracle GRC application suite is built on Oracle's database and Fusion Middleware.

Scheduled for a first-quarter 2007 release, Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Version 3 promises to streamline the IT sector's standards, policies and processes, reports PR Web.

Some 39% of respondents to a recent ComputerWorld IT Management survey said they use ITIL to manage IT service processes. Of those, 41% said ITIL was "somewhat critical" to IT process management, while an additional 45% said it was "very critical". With nearly nine out of 10 ITIL users deeming the framework crucial to their everyday IT operations, the need to get the latest version up and running smoothly is of paramount importance.

Training consultancy the Art of Service has launched an ISO 20 000 consultant programme and a two-day service quality management foundation course to aid the transition.