The new wireless standard 802.11i is gaining ground because of its enhanced security protocol, which replaces the old WEP protocol included with 802.11b, the most popular standard to date. There is some thought that the new standard may even be useful for financial services firms. Wall Street & Technology : Wireless Spec Gaining Traction In Financial Services

File Swappers on the internet may want to rethink their position, since Canada may be declaring it illegal in the near future. While this issue is likely to go on for some time, it is likely in the long term that the practice will be recognized for what it is - stealing. Globetechnology: Canada considers file-swap crackdown

The AICPA has created a tremendous IT site that covers a wide variety of IT and e-business topics, including XBRL, top technologies, and IT based controls for Sarbanes Oxley. Also, there's a discussion forum included. Information Technology

The world's first global Accounting Summit will be held in Dubai on May 29 - June 1, 2005. It will be attended by representatives of countries aroiund the world that are members of the International Accounting and Reporting Standards bodies. The Summit is a recognition of the incredible speed with which accounting standards are going global. The meeting will also include XBRL on its agenda. XBRL is an XML application that is rapidly gaining acceptance as a means of reporting and filing electronic information. It is backed by a global network of companies and organizations.First global accounting summit to be held in Dubai | World Accounting Summit

Google is being sued by a French news agency for infringing on copyright material in its Google News Site. The internet has long been a cause of struggle between the entrenched rights of copyright holders and freedom of information. Some feel that all information on the net should be free, but it is generally acknowledged that most of the content is copyrighted, and therefore subject to copyright laws. The issue then becomes whether a particular use of such material constitutes "fair use". There are many sites that could be affected by the outcome of this lawsuit. Globetechnology: AFP lawsuit tests fair use of material by Google

There is a lot of effort going into compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, but it appears that there are some real benefits to be had for the companies.InformationWeek > Compliance > Gaining Strength From Sarbox > March 21, 2005

Security has been dogging eBay and it's high on the agenda at this week's conference of eBay professional sellers. InformationWeek > EBay Security > As EBay Sellers Convene, Security Dominates Agenda > March 17, 2005

Cell phones have a future much broader than simply talking on them. In Japan, people are using them to read books. Globetechnology: Japanese cellphone users turn to literature

A new Gartner study points to a need for less reliance on passwords for greater security and more on stronger authentication methods because the breaking point is being reached of the capacity of users to remember them, causing more users to write down their passwords. Passwords Are Near the Breaking Point

Accenture Labs says the key to controlling identity theft is biometrics. The Future of Identity

Accenture has this article on their website that points to the growing use of speech recognition technology in a variety of applications. According to the author, SRT has come of age. Fast-improving Speech Recognition Technology Pushes Dramatic Business Innovations

Identity theft has become big business. Here's a good rundown. The New Face of Identity Theft - CFO IT - Spring 2005 Issue - CFO.com

Online auctioning of unused space on trucks moving around the country is a natural business concept that could have lots of takers. uShip.com thinks so. E-Commerce News: E-Commerce: Online Shipping Auctions Gearing Up for Long Haul

A new Ipsos-Reid survey shows that spam dropped last year from 68% of e-mails received to about 50%. It's the first time in four years the volume of spam has dropped. The Globe and Mail: Inbox nightmare near end?

Here's a good up-to-date article from the Wharton School site on the growth and potential of RFID. Did you know RFID was actually invented in 1948? Who Gains, Who Loses, from RFID's Growing Presence in the Marketplace? - Knowledge@Wharton

Last year, BearingPoint started a new proprietary journal - The Financial Services Technology Journal - which provides state of the art information on the strategic use of technology. You can download a copy from their site. There are now two issues available. BearingPoint - FS Technology Group

The World Economic Forum along with the Economist Intelligence Unit has issued a report tracking the pace of technology deployment with major societal trends, which makes for some interesting reading. Here's a summary. The World Economic Forum's Technology Pioneers 2005

A new Gartner Study shows that Outsourcing may not be the best way to save money. In fact, 80% of the companies that outsource to save money will fail to do so. Of course, there might be other valid efficiency based reasons to outsource. Gartner: Outsourcing costs more than in-house | CNET News.com

We've heard a lot about digital convergence over the past decade. But now it's happening all over. Here's a good summary of some of the ways in which it is showing itself. BW Online | June 21, 2004 | Big Bang!

Pay-per-click advertising on the web could be rife with fraud. The New York Times > Business > Media & Advertising > Advertising: Web Marketers Fearful of Fraud in Pay-Per-Click