IBM eyes expansion in security market with analytics

In a bid to help industries battle against organised cybercrime, IBM has launched its security analytics platform, Security QRadar, and its secure app marketplace, Security App Exchange.

The Security QRadar has been designed to analyse data across an organisation's IT infrastructure to identify potential security threats. It will also allow customers to create rules that will automatically take actions once specific threats have been detected, IBM said.

Meanwhile, according to IBM, the company together with partners including Exabeam, BrightPoint Security, and Resilient Systems have already populated the IBM Security App Exchange with dozens of customised apps focused on areas including user behaviour, endpoint data, and incident visualisations. The idea behind the marketplace, IBM said, is to allow the security community to create and share apps based on IBM's security technologies such as QRadar.

The announcement comes a day after IBM's campaign to lure women into the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields backfired. The #HackAHairDryer campaign reinforced the stereotypes that women only cared about their looks, and as a result saw a backlash on Twitter from female engineers, scientists, and coders.

One of the Twitter responses to the campaign said: "How to make progress in equality: start treating women like modern human beings instead of the 1950s housewife trope".

In response to this, an IBM spokesperson said: "It missed the mark for some and we apologise. It is being discontinued".

Earlier this week, however, the company received pleasing news that the Queensland government's lawsuit against IBM Australia over the disastrous health payroll system has been stalled.

On Monday in the Brisbane Supreme Court, Justice Glenn Martin ruled in favour of IBM, declaring that "on the proper construction" of the supplemental agreement, IBM was released from the State of Queensland's claims in its lawsuit.

In a statement, an IBM spokesperson said: "IBM is pleased ... which confirms that these issues were resolved and settled between IBM and the Queensland Government in 2010, notwithstanding the government's continued attempts to rewrite history and shift blame to IBM for their own failings on the project."

The Newman government launched legal action against IBM in 2013, arguing the company had misrepresented its capability to deliver the AU$6 million contract on time and on budget.

IBM challenged the lawsuit and pointed to a 2010 agreement, which the company said released it from the damages claim.

IBM won the contract to design and deliver a whole-of-government payroll system in 2007.

The system for the health department was due by mid-2008, but, plagued by delays and cost blowouts, it didn't go live until March 2010.

The payroll system failed spectacularly, resulting in thousands of health workers being underpaid, overpaid, or not paid at all.

The cost to taxpayers has been estimated at AU$1.2 billion and the debacle has been described as possibly the worst public administration failure in Australia.

Former Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has previously acknowledged that when the state government partnered with IBM to roll out its new health payroll system in 2010, it bought the wrong one. At the time, she pointed out the "single biggest failure of the project was failure around managing the program and governance of it".

In Monday's judgment, Justice Martin declined IBM's request for an injunction to stop the state proceeding with the lawsuit, saying such an order was unnecessary.

A hearing to determine who will pay legal costs was adjourned until later this month.

With AAP