The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense have joined forces to help eligible veterans and service members find easier access to their service records.  The result of these efforts is a pilot project called VLER.  That’s the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record.  This pilot program is designed for secure record sharing that insures consistency of medical care while saving veterans time and money.

Watch this video to learn more:

VLER Video

Video provided by The American Veteran (a Department of Veterans Affairs production)

Privacy advocates have been voicing strong concerns over how data stored on Google Drive may be used during and after customers are actively engaged in using the cloud service.

Hands on with Google Drive

“The terms of service are bad, but even worse is that Google has made clear it will change its terms of service whenever it wishes,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).

On March 1, Google “ignored the views of users” and consolidated all of its terms of service, Rotenberg said, so that it could “do more data profiling.”

“After the unilateral changes on March 1, I don’t understand why users would trust Google to stand by its terms of service,” he said.

Rotenberg is not alone in his concerns.

Users commenting in online forums said privacy was the reason they would not use Google Drive.

Users Weigh In

On Dropbox’s online forum a user by name of Chen S. wrote, “My big concern with Google Drive is that they already have all my emails, web analytics, and search terms. Do I really want to give them even more data?”

Another user, Christopher H., said this in the Dropbox forum: “Like many other users, I’m not excited about Google having more data points on my life via the files I will be storing in their cloud.”

Still another Dropbox user, — Mark Mc., noted that while Google might not sell or disclose data without a user’s permission, “they can, however, use that data in anyway shape or form the like internally – and if that includes selling personalised [sic] ad’s based on data farming of the files that I’ve uploaded I’m out of there!”

But a Google spokesman said Drive’s terms of service make it clear, “what belongs to you stays yours” and the company’s policies are no more onerous than other service providers.

“You own your files and control their sharing, plain and simple. Our Terms of Service enable us to give you the services you want — so if you decide to share a document with someone, or open it on a different device, you can,” he said. “Many who have covered this simply ignored that paragraph and quoted only the one immediately following it, which grants us the license required by copyright law to display or transmit content on a user’s behalf. Other companies use very similar language.”

Dropbox’s terms of use says: “You retain full ownership to your stuff. We don’t claim any ownership to any of it. These Terms do not grant us any rights to your stuff or intellectual property except for the limited rights that are needed to run the Services, as explained below.”

Comparing SkyDrive

Similarly, Microsoft’s SkyDrive terms of use also claim no ownership of user data.

According to Microsoft’s policy, a user controls who may access their content. However, if you share content in public areas of the service or in shared areas available to others you’ve chosen, then you agree that anyone you’ve shared content with may use that content.

“If you don’t want others to have those rights, don’t use the service to share your content,” the policy states. “You understand that Microsoft may need, and you hereby grant Microsoft the right, to use, modify, adapt, reproduce, distribute, and display content posted on the service solely to the extent necessary to provide the service.”

Google’s terms of use say: “You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours. When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes that we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content.”

Google states in its official blog that its new privacy policy allows it to build a more “intuitive user experience.” For example, if you’re working on Google Docs and you want to share a file with someone on Gmail, “you want their email right there ready to use.”

“Our privacy policies have always allowed us to combine information from different products with your account…. However, we’ve been restricted in our ability to combine your YouTube and Search histories with other information in your account. Our new Privacy Policy gets rid of those inconsistencies so we can make more of your information available to you when using Google,” the company states.

Law and Policy

“I don’t know of any legislation on this subject,” said John Webster, a senior partner with Evaluator Group, a market research firm that specializes in data storage issues. “You have to ask yourself, what’s the business model. If the business model is to make money from a service or money from advertising, that’s one thing. If it’s trying to make money off the sale of data, that’s another thing.”

While older Internet users tend to be wary of how their data is used and protected, younger users rarely consider the consequences of where they store personal information, Webster said. “They may not be reading the fine print.”

The other issue to consider is what happens to your data when you leave a cloud service behind, he said.

Google’s terms also state that when a user discontinues use of its service, it continues to retain the right to use customer information.

Lucas Mearian covers storage, disaster recovery and business continuity, financial services infrastructure and health care IT for Computerworld. Follow Lucas on Twitter at @lucasmearian or subscribe to Lucas’s RSS feed. His e-mail address is lmearian@computerworld.com.

After an endless string of rumors and speculations, Google seems finally ready to launch GDrive, the storage in the cloud service of the search engine giant.

Google Drive, the storage in the cloud service developed by Google, could become available in April. Google Drive’s launch date was not officially unveiled, but the rumors come from a trusted source, inside Google.

It’s true, the first rumors about Google Drive surfaced about five years ago, and almost each year since, it was speculated that Google is “finally” launching their cloud storage service.

As about the storage in the cloud capacity, rumor has it that Google Drive will offer only 1 GB of free storage, while they will charge for 10 GB, 20 GB or 50 GB of storage in the cloud.

Meanwhile, Apple and Microsoft have launched iCloud and SkyDrive, respectively, and besides the two IT giants there are tons of small companies and developers that offer this type of services. I am sure that names like DropBox or Box.net are familiar to you.

Google will finally launch a cloud storage service, besides GoogleDocs, and it seems that GDrive is ready for launch in the first week of April, according to sources quoted by GigaOM.

Sources say that Google’s cloud storage service will offer only 1 GB of free storage, which might turnagainst Google, given that Dropbox offers 2 GB of free storage. GDrive will use an user interface similar to the one of GoogleDocs, also available on web via a local application.

First rumors about Google’s cloud service appeared in 2006, but the American company have made the first step in this direction in 2010, when they allowed their users to upload their documents in Google Docs.

April is just around the corner, thus, if the GDrive rumors are true, we would be able to use Google’s storage in the cloud service pretty soon. We promise to keep you updated on the matter, so stay tuned.

Everyone is moving their electronic documents to the cloud.  DropBox, SugarSync, Carbonite, iDrive, Google Docs are all out there making it easy to archive and share documents.  When it comes to storing photos, the requirements are different. Users want to edit and tag photos.  They want to share widely and easily with family and friends.  They want a rock solid long-term archive that is safe and secure.  They want to try fun effects, like adding frames, changing colors and contrast, and many other features.  The Scan Man wants to provide the very best service to my clients, and that’s why we recommend storing photos in Our Favorite Moments at www.OurFavoriteMoments.com.

When scanning photos with Modern Image Photo Scanning service, we will upload your photos to OFM as soon as they are scanned so you can start looking, tagging, and sharing immediately.  The price is fantastic.  The best plan gives you unlimited storage for photos (and other media like video and audio).

Experts at the RSA security conference predict the worst threats for the year ahead.

The annual RSA computer security conference, in San Francisco this week, offers one of the world’s greatest concentrations of well-founded paranoia. Experts from the highest levels of government mingle with enterprising hackers working for no one but themselves. And, as far as I can tell, all of them share the opinion that things are worse than most of us realize and set to get worse.

On the conference’s first full day, some experts told attendees about which specific bogeymen we need to be wary of. Here are seven taken from talks at the event today, starting with some surprising ones from influential security expert Bruce Schneier:

• Big data. “It’s been used to mean large data sets. I mean big data as an industry force, like big tobacco or big pharma,” said Schneir, before singling out Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple. Such comprehensive and well correlated datasets of personal data raise the chance of serious security leaks and erode privacy, he said.
• Government regulation of the Internet. US legislators are increasingly talking about the need for new legislation to provide tighter control of the Internet, for example the recent SOPA and PIPA bills intended to protect copyrighted movies and music. Such efforts usually ignore their possible technical consequences, said Schneier. “I really worry at some point that at some point we will be asked to design a kill switch into theinternet system. Because I have to be sure that only the president can push the button.”
• A cyberwar arms race. The Stuxnet computer worm is widely believed to have been developed by a national military to cripple Iran’s nuclear program, and Schneier says that efforts by countries worldwide to ramp up their own cyber weapons will endanger all of us. “HBGary [a federal contractor from which emails were released by WikiLeaks] was a US cyberweapons manufacturer,” said Schneier, “it’s reasonable to assume that the US is stockpiling cyberweapons.” As the US and other countries probe one another’s networks and develop new exploits the Internet will become more closely controlled by militaries, and at risk of unintended “detonations” of cyberweapons. “The result is less security for all of us.”

In a separate session straight after Schneier’s, two experts on the frontline of cleaning up after new attacks gave their own rundown of the security problems that will blight the next 12 months:

• The Web’s most common security mechanism can no longer be trusted. When you connect to Facebook or your bank’s website all your traffic is encrypted – what is known as a HTTPS connection – using a ‘certificate’ that a site uses to prove to your Web browser it is to be trusted. Last year many of those certificates were stolen or spoofed, a tactic that can be used to steal user data or even install malicious software to their computers. “[It’s] the most widely deployed security implementation in the world, but it sometimes feels we’re trying to apply bandaids to a very leaky damn,” said Ed Skoudis, an expert who is called in by large corporations and even the White House to tackle security problems.
• Mobile devices as a back door into company networks. Although more malicious mobile apps are appearing, end users aren’t the ones that need to worry, said Skoudis. “The big thing is using it as an entry way into the overall enterprise network.” Attacks that steal company secrets are one of the major topics of discussion this week. Google, defense contractor Lockheed Martin, and this week’s host security company RSA, have all been victims in the past.
• Home automation. Connecting alarm systems, thermostats, lights and locks to the Internet allows some smart new ways to manage your home. But also brings risks, said Johannes Ullrich, who heads the Internet Storm Center, which documents new attacks. “Comcast does alarm systems, and they may also open your doors,” he said, predicting that exploits that target such systems will increase. It’s worth noting that Google is working on devices that use its Android mobile operating system to connect your home and what’s inside it the Internet.
• Hacktivism (again). Online attacks by the nebulous groups that identify as Anonymous and LulzSec made headlines last year and Ullrich says they will do again this year. “They’re not your latest and greatest attack but they’re very persistent,” he said, showing off a simple piece of software that such groups use to scan websites for vulnerabilities and crack passwords. “Anybody with about ten mins of training can use this tool,” said Ullrich. Because many companies don’t attend to the basics of computer security, such attacks will continue to succeed he said.

The Scan Man likes the sound of this!  Thanks to Heather Cocozza, PMP, CPO, and owner of Cocozza Organizing & Design for pointing me to this article from the pages of Federal Times: 

Agencies must deliver plans for modernizing their records management policies by late March, President Obama said in a Monday memorandum.

The memo urges officials to digitize records whenever possible but notes that greater use of electronic communications has “radically increased” both the amount and diversity of information that agencies must manage. Although that surge risks overwhelming agency systems, Obama said, technology “can make these records less burdensome to manage and easier to use and share.”

In their plans, agencies must describe how they will improve or maintain their records management programs, particularly in regard to email, social media and other electronic communications. They also have to explain how they will use cloud-based services and storage solutions, as well as spell out any gaps or provisions in existing laws or regulations that get in the way of better management. The Office of Management and Budget, National Archives and Records Administration, and Justice Department will use those reports to come up with a governmentwide records management framework that is more efficient, maintains accountability by documenting agency actions and promotes “appropriate” public access to records, Obama said.

The initiative won praise from leaders of two watchdog groups, OpenTheGovernment.org and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. In a joint statement, the two organizations noted that 95 percent of agencies reported last year that they were at risk of losing electronic records. Obama’s memo “puts in place a structure to begin addressing the problem” they said, but cautioned that lack of money will be a major hurdle.

“We look forward to working with the administration on this initiative — which is essential to accountable government — and will be following its implementation closely to make sure the resources of funds, attention and personnel are put in place to ensure its success,” said Patrice McDermott, executive director of OpenTheGovernment.org.

Why Professional Shredding Companies are Better than Office Shredding Machines

As the owner of a shredding company, I often get asked by prospects, “I know I need to shred sensitive documents, but why bother using a service, when I have my office shredding machine and it works just fine?”  My reply, in three words: security and cost.

Let’s look at security first.  With an office shredding machine, one of your office staff, who likely has much better things to do, must take the time to pull out the staples, paper clips and binder clips from the documents prior to shredding.  Then that staffer must feed the documents, three to ten sheets at a time, into the shredder.  This is a painfully slow, mind-numbing process.  If the job is of any size, there are two likely results.  Result one is that the shredding machine jams or overheats.  Result two is that the employee decides that he or she does not have enough time to do the job and leaves the documents to be shredded another day.  In the meantime, the documents are exposed, most likely in a container that looks like the one in the picture at the right.  Not very secure, right?  If you’re a doctor, accountant, lawyer or other professional, would you want your clients seeing a box like that in your office?

Keep in mind that most identity theft and corporate espionage still involves paper.  Paper is easily transported and easily read.  Moreover, most crimes of this type are inside jobs, meaning your own employees are the ones most likely to do the damage!

With a professional shredding service like Proshred, you will receive a secure, lockable collection container like the one below, often at no charge.  The commonly-used console holds about 100 pounds of paper, which is equivalent to about four boxes of copy paper.  Employees can deposit up to 400 sheets at a time through the slot in the top, and small fasteners need not be removed, which is a huge timesaver.  Periodically, generally once per month, the shredding service will come to empty the console’s contents into a rolling bin that the shredding company uses to transport the documents to the shredding truck outside.  At that point, a mechanical lift will pick up the rolling bin and tip it over into the shredder.  You may observe the shredding via a video camera mounted on the side of the truck.  You will receive a certificate of destruction from the shredding company following the shredding (does your office shredder give you that?).  The shredded paper will be hauled away for recycling.

Does this sound more secure than an in-house system?  It should.  Now, let’s address cost.  For the typical small office with 5-10 employees, you might expect to spend about one man-hour per week shredding paper.  At $18 per man-hour for an administrative employee, that’s $936 per year in labor, time better spent on more productive tasks.  In addition, a decent-quality paper shredder from Staples will set you back $150-$200, bringing the total bill to $1,100-$1,200 per year in shredding per year because the shredding machine usually breaks about once a year.  With a service like Proshred, you can expect to pay $45 per visit for a single console (that’s lunch money for security).  Over the course of a year, you will have 12-13 visits, or $540-$585.  So, you will cut your expense in half while improving your document security and your staff morale!

What should you look for in a shredding company?  First of all, choose a company that will shred your documents on-site.  Some companies will offer to save you money by hauling the paper away for off-site shredding.  Don’t take that offer!  These companies will sort through your paper by hand in order to separate the white paper from the colored paper, so as to maximize the value of the shredded paper to recycling companies.  Do you really want that?

Secondly, choose a company that is NAID-AAA certified.  “NAID’ is the National Association for Information Destruction, our national trade association.  NAID-AAA certified shredding companies undergo rigorous audits to ensure their security and operations procedures are up to snuff, including having thoroughly screened staff and equipment that shreds material as finely as promised.  Many large corporate and government clients insist on using NAID-AAA certified companies.  You should too.

Thirdly, choose a company that charges on a flat fee per container basis.  Don’t choose a company that bills by the minute or the pound. If you do, you’ll be wondering every month what your bill will be, and you’ll be wondering whether your shredding company is running up the clock or putting their foot on the scale.

Lastly, unless you are responsible for a large enterprise like a hospital, where a contract becomes necessary, choose a shredding company that won’t bind you to a long-term contract.  At Proshred, we do not require long-term contracts except for very large clients.  If we do not have a client’s trust, we should not have their business!

Steve Theobald is General Manager of Proshred of Northern Virginia in Sterling, VA.  You may reach him at steve.theobald@proshred.com.   To learn more about Proshred, visit www.proshred.com.    

Scanner features

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Tiny and fast
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Sync to all your devices
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Removable flash storage
Doxie Go has built-in ports for USB flash drives and SD cards. Scan to Doxie’s internal memory, or insert a flash drive, SD card, or wireless SD card for easy expansion.

Doxie software included
Amazing scanners deserve amazing software. Doxie 2.0 syncs scans, creates searchable PDFs, creates multi-page stacks, and sends to local and cloud apps.

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Everything’s included
It’s all in the box – Doxie Go scanner, amazing Doxie software with ABBYY® OCR, sync/charge cable, even a carrying case. And an optional wireless SD card syncs scans directly to iPhone and iPad.