Industry Round-Up for the W/E 24th February 2012

Here is our weekly round-up of the industry news for the week ending February 24th:

• Malvern ‘dirty lab’ to tackle cyber crime
• New survey reveals “a profound change in the way charities manage IT”
• HP, Dell warn of price hikes after Foxconn wage rise
• Employees have no protection from snooping bosses
• Google to Sell Heads-Up Display Glasses by Year’s End

Malvern ‘Dirty Lab’ to Tackle Cyber Crime

A research unit to test the vulnerability of computer security systems at small businesses has been set up in Worcestershire.

While bigger organisations and the security services have their own systems, smaller companies often do not have the same resources reports Phil Mackie of BBC Radio 5 live.

Also take a look at BBC News Cath Mackie’s report – inside ‘dirty lab’ hacking to beat hackers.

New Survey Reveals “a Profound Change in the Way Charities Manage IT”

Civil Society Media report that a major study by Charity Finance magazine has discovered that the traditional perception of many charity IT professionals as ‘techies’ is set to change as more charities look to outsource software and hardware to external providers or cloud based solutions.

Laura Dawson, head of information systems at RSPB makes the point that:

“… the IT department isn’t going to deliver the back end because it is becoming viable to outsource it, it isn’t going to deliver the front end because you’re going to bring your own … it will focus on delivering the asset that is the information.”

HP, Dell Warn of Price Hikes After Foxconn Wage Rise

Tech giants HP and Dell have revealed that they are keeping a close eye on developments in the Chinese labour market and may even be forced to put up their prices if wages keep increasing in the region reports Phil Muncaster on The Register.

It was reported last week that Taiwanese hardware giant Foxconn – which is the world’s largest component maker and builds products for companies including Apple, Dell, Nokia and HP – had raised its wages from 16 to 25 per cent after a consumer backlash over working conditions at its Chinese plants.

Employees have no Protection from Snooping Bosses

Employees all too often think they are “bullet-proof” when they post anything on Facebook or Twitter. But as the law stands today, if they bring their employer into disrepute, the boss of the firm is well within their legal right to sack them, writes Emma Barnett from The Telegraph.

Google to Sell Heads-Up Display Glasses by Year’s End

The New York Times reports that according to several Google employees the glasses will go on sale to the public by the end of the year.

According to the Google employees:

The glasses will have a low-resolution built-in camera that will be able to monitor the world in real time and overlay information about locations, surrounding buildings and friends who might be nearby.