Alabama returns a $541,089 federal grant for energy efficiency
by alex walsh

Earlier this year, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs’ (ADECA) Energy Division won a $541,089 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to promote energy efficiency. Then, it gave the money back.

Had the organization accepted the grant, it would have used the money with the goal of reducing by 1 percent the electric usage statewide.

But the agency said its failure to recruit appropriate partners, including Alabama Power Co., caused it to send the money back.

“Putting it in the broadest terms: we believe this grant would have moved us closer toward a government-mandated reduction imposed only on electricity users - including our ratepayers,” says Michael Sznajderman, a spokesman for Alabama Power. “It potentially would have required some of our ratepayers to subsidize energy efficiency reductions for others. We don’t believe in forcing our ratepayers to subsidize others or to bear all the responsibility or costs for this type of effort.”

Mike Presley, public information manager for ADECA’s Energy Division, said that “after consultation with our potential partners, we determined that we could not achieve the necessary level of participation to meet the project goal at this time.”

In the time since the two groups met, Alabama Power has been open about its reservations regarding the project, and has provided a detailed explanation as to why it took issue with the DOE’s proposal. Specifically, the utility argues that Alabama’s energy efficiency success should be measured holistically, not just according to electricity usage.

The explanation provided by Alabama Power checks out with Philip O’Connor, who served as Chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission from 1983 to 1985, and now works as a consultant. “They’re probably concerned about unintended consequences,” O’Connor says.

To that point, O’Connor offers two scenarios where focusing on a decrease in electricity usage might lead to other issues, including cost increases.

Details Here

first published week of:   10/29/2012

Animation, GIS to help Kerala students

For the first time in the country Malaysia], class 10 students in Kerala would be taught cartography using the detailed geographical information system (GIS) and will also be able to create their own animation films.

The new text book has been prepared by the state’s IT@School Project and would be applicable for Class 10 students opting for the state–run Secondary School Leaving Certificate examination.

The textbook, which has been prepared on free software platform includes nine chapters on website creation, hardware troubleshooting, computer networking, graphic design, database management and ICT enabled learning, among others.

The new text is a continuation of the ICT–enabled learning begun in class 8 in 2010 and in class 9 in 2011. It has been prepared by a committee under K. Anvar Sadath, executive director of the IIT@School.

Apart from the Malayalam version, the text book will also be available in English, Tamil and Kannada.

Details Here

first published week of:   02/27/2012

Anonymous takes down Boston PD site, releases FBI/Scotland Yard call

A Boston Police Department Web site was hacked Feb. 3, making it the latest in a string of government systems that have been taken offline in the wake of malicious activity.

The group Anonymous took credit for the attack in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement, defacing the public outreach blog site BPDnews.com with a banner reading “ANONYMOUS HACKS BOSTON POLICE WEBSITE IN RETALIATION FOR POLICE BRUTALITY AT OWS,” and promising “plenty more mayhem to deliver.”

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first published week of:   02/06/2012

BYOD security: Are agencies doomed to a permanent game of catch-up?
by William Jackson

“BYOD is here, and everyone is working to make sure we can deliver things” through that channel, said John Harrison, group manager at Symantec Security Response.

That does not mean that your personal smart phone or tablet automatically will become a trusted part of the enterprise, but it will be increasingly difficult for administrators to keep them out. In many cases, it already is too late to try.

“Some things you just can’t do,” said Gary Schluckbier, director of the secure products group at Motorola Solutions. “In some enterprises, banning personal mobile devices is one of them.” There always will be a risk trade–off in which usefulness must be balanced against threats, he said. “There are user cases where BYOD makes a lot of sense. In others, it doesn’t.”

The threats that make mobile devices a risk to the enterprise already are appearing. The amount of new malware being identified by security companies has shot up exponentially this year, and both government and industry are working to develop secure software and hardware for mobile devices. Despite these efforts, however, those in the industry offer little hope that they will be able get out in front of this threat curve.

Security is historically reactive, said Anup Ghosh, CEO of the security company Invincea. The same trends that have kept us playing catch-up with desktop and laptop security will continue in the mobile world, he predicted. “We’’re seeing the same movie run over and over again,” Ghosh said.

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first published week of:   07/09/2012

California becomes third state to protect social media privacy
by Ken Yeung

People in the state of California can rest easy tonight knowing that this morning, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that protects university officials and employers from requiring applicants to give up their email and social media account passwords. In a release from the governor’s office, he said that California is pioneering the social media revolution and that the new laws will protect all Californians from unwarranted invasions of their personal social media accounts. The news also broke from the governor’s office on Twitter, Google+, MySpace, and Facebook.

Two laws were introduced in both houses by Nora Campos (D-San Jose) and Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) in an attempt to help curb this increasing practice. As it stands, both laws protect the applicant from any disciplinary actions by refusing, but doesn’t apply to passwords or other information used to access employer-issued electronic devices, so it’s possible that if you are using Facebook on your company’s iPhone or iPad, you may need to provide your login if asked by your supervisor.

In signing the bill, Governor Brown made California the third state in the nation to enact social media privacy laws. Other states with laws include Illinois and Maryland, but those have yet to go into effect. Over a dozen other states are still working on similar legislation.

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first published week of:   10/01/2012

California Bill Would Allow Cellphones for Proof of Insurance

California Assembly member Mike Gatto, D–Los Angeles, has authored a bill that would allow California drivers to show proof of insurance and auto registration on an electronic device.

AB 1708, introduced in February, came out of a brainstorming session with Gatto’s staff. Gatto asked his staff to suggest legislation that deals with the “hassles of life,” and legislative director Aaron Moreno suggested an easier way for drivers to show proof of insurance if pulled over for a traffic stop.

Gatto said that many young Californians pay for auto insurance on a monthly basis and receive new proof of insurance every month. Losing paperwork in the glove box can result in a ticket. Allowing easier proof would bring California law up to date with technological advancements, according to Gatto.

“I would venture that every time that there has been a change in technology … that laws had to change,” Gatto said. “This just falls into the category of updating our laws.”

The law, if passed, would allow drivers to show proof of insurance and DMV registration on a smartphone or a laptop that’s handy, Gatto said.

Details Here

first published week of:   03/12/2012