The Hindu Business Line : Sniffing out trouble

The abbreviation has relevance to combating financial crime; it stands for Proactive forensic data analysis. PFDA is a process of analysing organisational data, explains the current issue of Fighting Fraud from KPMG (www.kpmg.co.uk) .

The firm has developed K-Trace, a new methodology for PFDA, to identify irregularities and anomalies, and also spot system and control weaknesses. Because, in all probability, such deviations may well be the proverbial red flags of frauds lurking in the data jungle!

"At the heart of K-Trace is the ability to analyse data to identify patterns that may be indicative of fraud, misconduct or simple error," explains the firm. I learn that the product includes analysis routines that can look for "specific indicators of fraud across major business functions and activities, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, expenses, payroll and journals".

I'm sure audit teams will be interested.

Space seismology and e-paper

I have received two inputs over the week from Scottish Development International (www.scottishdevelopmentinternational.com) . The first is about Vibtech, a developer of land and transition zone seismic acquisition systems, participating in a NASA trial for extra-terrestrial exploration. The space body is shopping for seismic systems for the Planetary Exploration Geophysical System (PEGS), "which will form part of its future manned and robotic space exploration programme for the Moon and Mars," informs SDI.

Conducting seismic surveys isn't new; Apollo missions performed such studies, using cable-based systems. What's new is that Vibtech's Infinite Telemetry (it) System has at its core "high data capacity radio similar to that of a Wireless LAN in a laptop computer". As a result, the missions won't need "heavy, bulky cables for power and data transmission and control".

NASA is said to be happy that Vibtech's product is lightweight, flexible and easy to deploy. The company is taking things forward and readying to test the system "in a `Mars analogue' area in Antarctica, which is free of snow but where temperatures are constantly below -5°C".

The second input from SDI is equally exciting: Electronic Paper! After a three-year research, University of Paisley's Thin Film Centre is one step closer to producing the world's first interactive, low-cost, paper-thin electronic display screen, informs the mail. I learn that flexible displays face a major stumbling block: "the normal silicon-based electronics require very high processing temperatures, which melt the display's plastic base".

So, the alternative is to use transistors that are themselves based on plastic and can be processed at low temperatures, says SDI. "The prototype's display reflects ambient light off its white background, like a newspaper or book, making it easy to read outdoors in bright light and at virtually any reading angle - unlike light-emitting screens that are difficult to read in bright places and must be viewed fairly straight on."

In what may read like sci-fi, Paisley researchers are talking of cells containing black and white particles embedded in a thin sheet of plastic, and of arranging these black and white specks "to make words and images that look like those printed with ink on paper". Applications that find mention are: Replacement screens for mobile phones, interactive posters, point-of-sale signage in supermarkets, greetings cards, electronic packaging and electronic books. And we'd have wearable e-paper shirts too?

Data theft

A recent IT Zone Newswire from AccountingWeb (www.accountingweb.co.uk) asks, "Is the office temp using her iPod to steal your client list?" and provides a link. "Jane is an office temp. She has been recruited by a rival firm to steal your company client list," begins the story at the URL. "During lunch the office is virtually deserted, so she plugs her 512Mb USB memory stick into the PC she is using and copies several folders and your client database from the local and network drives." Ah, what a byte! "She unplugs and pockets the memory stick and continues her work. The whole process takes less than five minutes, and nobody knows that she has stolen more than 300Mbytes of your corporate data." What do we do? Fire Jane? But what are you going to do all those others who use "iPods, MP3 players, Smartphones, PDAs and the like"?

Net censoring

India, China and America Institute a.k.a. ICA Institute (www.icainstitute.org) has included in its latest newsletter a link to a disturbing report by Lindsay Beck of Reuters on China stepping up Web controls. Media watchdog `Reporters Without Borders' seems to be unhappy that major Web players block discussions on many a sensitive topic, be it the 1989 democracy movement or the spiritual group Falun Gong. "Microsoft's `MSN Spaces' came under fire for censoring phrases such as `human rights' and `Taiwan independence' from the subject lines of its free online journals," notes Beck. According to regulations in China, those who launch Web sites should register the same within 30 days of launching the site, says the author. There's also "a Web site census conducted by China's cyber police, a force created to monitor sites, servers and registrars." Yahoo incurred the wrath of many, for allegedly supplying "data to Chinese authorities that was used as evidence against Shi Tao, a journalist sentenced to 10 years in prison for sending an internal Communist Party message by e-mail abroad." Is the Government biting off more bytes than it can chew?

Article directory

From that unacceptable assault to freedom of expression, let's move on to the opposite, Article Dashboard (www.ArticleDashboard.com) .

The site allows writers to set up a free account and submit their articles, according to a press release. "Upon approval, articles are displayed in the directory under the appropriate category. Writers are permitted to include a resource box with every article submission, which may include details such as the author's bio, e-mail address, Web site address, and anything else that the writer feels is important." The directory has features such as "category RSS feeds, article commenting, a fully-integrated content rating system, automatic e-zine ready formatting, email notifications, and the ability for authors to manage multiple pen names". Catchy idea!

ITworks@TheHindu.co.in

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