IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 19 October
19-10-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Credit unions to roll out ATM service | Sony to sell PS3 chip unit to Toshiba
The Irish Times reports that sales at Iona Technologies jumped 19 percent in the third quarter to USD24.2 million. Read the details of Iona's results on ENN.
The paper also says that credit card companies have a much greater exposure to fraud than they are currently admitting to, a US technology security expert has claimed. Richard Rushing, chief security officer with AirDefense, said the major credit card issuers would not be going to the expense of introducing the new Payment Card Industries (PCI) security standards if the level of card fraud was actually 3 percent as they claim. Rushing says retailers are engaging in unsecure practices, such as using wireless communications or using credit and debit card details as unique identifiers in customer databases.
The paper also notes that Deecal International, a Dublin software firm specialising in electronic payments, has been acquired by e-commerce company First Data.
The paper also says that the Irish sales subsidiary of Hewlett Packard is set for 15 percent revenue growth this year. HP Ireland's managing director, Martin Murphy, said it was the second year in a row that the local operation had grown revenues at 15 percent, while the overall IT market has grown at 8 to 9 percent.
The same paper reports that nearly half of computer users in Dublin business districts gave away their PC password and other confidential information in an exercise carried out by Deloitte's enterprise risk services division. People were approached in coffee shop queues and asked a range of questions related to information security such as their full name, company, PC password, and whether or not they had received security awareness training. Forty-three percent of users revealed the password for their PCs.
The Irish Independent says that a computer glitch has meant that hundreds of motorists nationwide were not notified in time that their vehicles were due for an NCT test. The car owners were only contacted after their previous NCT certificate had expired. The delay was caused by a problem with the Department of Transport national driver file computer in Shannon not supplying the names of some owners and vehicles due for tests.
The paper also reports that Communications Minister Eamon Ryan has announced a government commitment to increase spending on energy. The minister said that he had secured a rise of nearly EUR3.5 million in current expenditure and EUR6.5 million in capital expenditure for his department in the 2008 estimates. This would mean the rollout of the new national broadband scheme, the continuation of the MANs programme and continued investment in innovation through the National Digital Research Centre and Digital Hub Development Agency.
The Irish Examiner says the value of mergers and acquisitions involving Irish companies in the third quarter of this year was over EUR5 billion. Read the full story as reported by ENN on Thursday.
The paper also says that Onlinetradesmen.com has processed more than EUR1 billion worth of property projects through its online service, as noted by ENN.
The paper also reports that credit unions are planning to roll out a nationwide ATM and electronic payments service. The new system, which took five years and almost EUR1 million to develop, will allow the country's estimated 2.5 million credit union members to access their accounts from any of the country's 4,000 ATM machines using a new CU Moneycard. A CU EasyPay facility will allow members to set up an Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) service to facilitate the payment of payroll and selected government payments, such as child benefit, directly into a credit union account.
According to the Financial Times, passengers came a step closer to being able to use mobile phones on UK airlines from next year after a green light from telecommunications regulators. Ofcom published a consultation document that outlines a licensing regime for UK airlines to operate systems enabling mobile calls to be made on aircraft. However, the cross-border nature of many flights and the health and safety issues involved mean that several additional hurdles have to be overcome. In addition to telecoms regulators' permission, UK airlines would need clearances from the Civil Aviation Authority and the European Aviation Safety Agency before offering passengers the opportunity to make mobile calls.
The Wall Street Journal says that Sony is to sell the facilities that make the specialised chips used in its PlayStation 3 game consoles to Toshiba. Sony and Toshiba, which jointly developed the chips with IBM, said in separate statements that details, including the price of the transaction, are being worked out. The companies hope to complete the deal by March.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 