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Title: Estudio de servicio para la empresa asociados a la implantación del DNI electrónico [Study on Corporate Services Related to the Implementation of the Electronic ID Card]
Source: Observatorio de las Telecomunicaciones y de la Sociedad de la Información – red.es. Red.es observatorio
Date: May 2008
Abstract: The usage of Spain’s electronic ID card for private transactions is lagging behind that of the public services realm. This study by the Spanish Observatory for Telecommunications and the Information Society focuses on the former, in an effort to come up with proposals for how to improve the numbers in that area.

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The theft of corporate information is on the upswing. The newspaper Deia in May published a story about the arrest of a computer tech in Pamplona, who was accused of appropriating source code information from a software company in Navarra, before going to work for a rival company. In late July, Europa Press reported the arrest of a businessman from Vigo (Galicia), accused of spying on the competition by means of a trojan virus. The proliferation of news stories like these shows that industrial espionage is not exclusive to media-heavy environments, such as the case of McLaren and Ferrari, which resulted in a 100-million-euro fine for Mercedes, or the sentencing of a journalist from the French magazine Auto Plus for having illegally acquired unpublished images of Renault vehicles. This illegal practice is nothing new, however it causes billions of dollars in annual losses worldwide and affects 5% of companies, some of which never find out, while a quarter of those affected opt not to denounce the act for fear of it tarnishing their image. This rise is being fueled by the fact that digital technology facilitates the theft of information, whether it involves the use of magnetic storage media, secretly taking photos with cell phones or releasing malicious software (particularly trojans) in external attacks launched via Internet. Those committing such acts include many executives, middle managers and specialized professionals—often employees of the company—who seek money or revenge, especially in environments with tension or professional exploitation. Their most desired targets are the customer portfolio, innovation projects and launch strategies.

Articles in Deia, Europa Press, La Vanguardia and El Economista

Companies must know how to capitalize on the advantages of social networks but they also how to protect themselves from their dangers. These hazards include having their employees publish personal information without realizing that it could be snatched up by cybercriminals to identify their weak points or breach corporate IT systems. Two of every five Facebook users in 2007 revealed personal data to strangers, says Cibersur, basing its statement on a report by Sophos on the security of the popular social network. A survey of 1,600 corporate users in the US, Germany and Japan carried out by Trend Micro shows that over the past year 19% of the employees visited Web 2.0 sites (social networks, blogs, wikis, and collaborative platforms) while at work. The users of social networks should be aware that one of every five hirers consult these sites to verify candidate backgrounds, seeking out information that 75% of the time has a bearing on the final decision, according to a study by The Times citing BBC Mundo. They should also take into account that these sites might contain banners that install malicious code on the visitor’s computer, such as trojans or spyware. Companies can utilize tools to protect their networks but it is quite difficult to prevent an employee from clicking on a link sent by a supposed friend that redirects them to a phishing website that takes over that of a bank or financial institution. Or stop them from providing sensitive information in cases where they mistakenly believe that the other person is an old coworker, who would never use that info for illicit purposes. An exec for AVG Technologies told PC World that these social networks are especially vulnerable because users blindly trust in the content being accessed through these links.

Articles in BBC Mundo, PC World, Cibersur and Diario TI

Between 2004 and 2014, information systems professionals will be working in one of the top 10 professions in terms of future prospects, with an unemployment rate of just 2.5%. Nevertheless, at the moment we are seeing a drop-off in the number of people embarking on ICT related studies. The consequence is that companies will have to look to foreign markets to fill their needs in that area. This is one consequence of the existing false perceptions about outsourcing, which Josep Valor and demystifies in his work “Offshoring and its Implication for the Information Systems Discipline” made with his colleagues Rudy Hirschheim, Claudia Loebbecke and Mike Newman.

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