Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »
Public Council Teleconference: Application Rationalization — Hidden Costs and Smart Decisions
November 17 at 11:00 am US/Eastern (GMT-5)
Join Honorio Padrón, of The Hackett Group, who will share the drivers for companies to tackle application rationalization and the results of research that define the hidden cost of complexity. Additionally, we will discuss key decision milestones—to start or not, holding the course steady and fulfilling expectations.
Virtual Desktop Cost-Benefit Analysis — Michael Jacobs, Catlin Group
The analysis contained in this presentation measures the cost of everything from the machines and licenses to the infrastructure for virtual vs. traditional desktop environments.
Honor your best senior team members - Apply for the CIO Ones to Watch Award
Get well-earned public recognition for your top up-and-coming team members, your IT organization and your enterprise. Award winners will be announced, publicized and feted in May 2010, great timing to help attract new IT recruits to your company.
Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »September 22, 2008 — IDG News Service —
European parliamentarians, set to vote on changes to the European telecommunications legal landscape this week, will put off at least one crucial question: Should IP addresses be considered private data?
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will give their verdict on a range of issues including how to regulate telecom companies in the EU, how to punish firms that distort competition, how to share the windfall of radio frequencies that are being freed up by TV's migration to digital broadcasting, and how to preserve citizens' data in the digital age.
But they are divided about whether to consider IP addresses as personal data. "We will ask the Commission formally to produce a report on this," said Malcolm Harbour, a British conservative MEP who is playing a central role shepherding the so-called telecom review through the Parliament.
"There is no attempt to answer this question in the telecoms package. First we need to know exactly what an IP address is," Harbour said during a telephone interview. "In my opinion it only becomes personal data if other personal information is added to it," he added.
Lots of IP addresses have no connection with individual computer users, he said. These include RFID (radio frequency identification) tags that are attached to products during their distribution, or webcams set up at holiday resorts to monitor the weather.
Even when individuals are accessing the Internet they may be assigned different IP addresses by their ISP (Internet service provider) each time they log on, Harbour said.
One connected issue that will be covered in the telecom review is cookies -- code placed on users' browsers by Web sites that allow the sites to identify the users. An existing six-year-old law obliges Web sites to ask visitors for permission before downloading a cookie onto their machines. Harbour said that under the review, these provisions are being tightened up to further protect people's privacy.
There is broad agreement among MEPs on some of the most contentious plans for the telecom review. They want the European Commission's original plan to create a centralized telecom regulator for the 27-country block to be dropped, favoring a more decentralized regulatory structure for the industry.
At present the telecom industry is regulated by national regulators, who together comprise the European Regulators' Group (ERG). However, they frequently disagree on how to interpret EU-wide telecom laws, and many national regulators struggle to guard their independence from their governments.
Harbour said a decentralized approach that leaves power in the hands of national regulators is more appropriate. However, they should have more funds in order to ensure their independence from national governments.