Stories about: Wachovia

It's been over two weeks since the DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) system was turned on for .com domain names. This is an end stage for a process that will one day let surfers be 100 percent confident they're accessing the site they think they are, and have not been diverted by hackers.

For many in IT, 2009 was a nuclear winter, with resources stripped away as companies struggled to survive. Yet many were tasked with using IT to increase the company's efficiency, enter the few new growth markets, or fix a fundamental problem that threatened the company's ability to stay in business.

Checking out of a Hilton hotel in London, security expert Roger Thompson was told his Visa card had been declined due to suspicions it was stolen, a situation that only got more disconcerting when he learned the bank that issued the card had more personal information on him and his family members than he ever imagined.

Theresa Wilson knows a thing or two about staying power. During the course of her 33 year career with Wachovia (now part of Wells-Fargo), Wilson has steadily climbed the corporate ladder while surviving countless layoffs (or "efficiencies," as she calls them), mergers and acquisitions. She began her career with Wachovia as a programmer in 1976 and was promoted to senior programmer, senior analyst, project manager and division manager. In 2002, she was named a CIO.

Failure makes better leaders. But no one goes looking for it, especially now. Seasoned CIOs offer lessons for avoiding failure or coping if it's beyond your control.

One would think cash-strapped companies would find a heavenly match on foreign soils with plentiful, cheap labor. But that would be the romantic notion and not necessarily the reality. "Companies often 'plan for the wedding, but not for the marriage,''' says Dalip Raheja, chief executive officer and president of the Mpower Group. Now that offshore outsourcing is roughly a decade old, it's time to evaluate lessons learned and tally the real costs before renewing any vows.

Microsoft confirmed rumors that it has been developing a Facebook-like platform for the enterprise known as TownSquare, according to a report by Computerworld. While it's not hard to imagine how Microsoft could incorporate it into the SharePoint platform, a lot of its success will depend on how companies utilize enterprise social networks moving forward.

There were quite a few things Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of New Jersey CIO and senior vice president Mark Barnard wished someone had told him before he became a CEO.

Suppose you're sitting on a little cash. Should you put some in a term deposit? Sock it away in a money market account? Now imagine you can visit your bank's Web site to figure it out. Using an online tool, you can move the money around and examine how your earned interest and rates will change, depending on where you put it. Coloured bar charts representing the amount of interest earned in a year shift up and down depending on your choices. When you decide on the right mix, you can open a new account with a few key strokes.

Defense and prosecution attorneys in the Hewlett-Packard (HP) spying case are scheduled to meet with the presiding judge Dec. 4 to discuss possible plea bargains, the San Jose Mercury News reported Saturday.