Information Security Management

One of the courses that I'm teaching this semester is Information Security Management. It is a very interesting field, but it is also very broad, ranging from the highly technical to topics in general management and law. As a part of each class, I try to incorporate a discussion of current topics in IT.

First, consider the idea that Google and Apple could combine forces and pose a significant threat to Microsoft. Speculation over this started when Eric E. Schmidt, Google's chief executive, was named to Apple Computer's board of directors. Competition is good, no? Somehow I'm not comforted by the fact that a huge mega-corporation might be competing with another huge mega-corporation. But hey, Coke and Pepsi do it.

Second, speaking of Apple, the latest iTunes killer was launched by Universal Music. The service--called SpiralFrog--will debut later this year. The service will allow users to download free music and will be ad supported. The drawback is that the downloads will not be useable on an iPod or burnable to CD (at least until some 3v1l haxxOrz break the DRM). Is this the next big thing?