India neutral in open source vs proprietary software debate: The government of India has declined to back open source software to the exclusion of proprietary software. Advocates of open source had been hoping that India, a major buyer of IT, would voice wholehearted support for the standard. However, Arun Shourie, Minister for IT and Communications, said that "In India we always like to think in terms of 'eitherÂ…or'. The formula we want to adopt instead is 'and also' and encourage all kinds of software development in the country." The statement is the first unequivocal pronouncement by a senior Indian government official in the ongoing debate over open source versus proprietary software. Late last year, Microsoft chairman, Bill Gates, visited India, and this year Sun Microsystems CEO, Scott McNealy, has been promoting his company's open source technologies in the country. Shourie said that individual government agencies would decide on a case-by-case basis whether to use open source or not. "Do not expect a general decision from government on this," he added.
Local governments in Germany can 'rent' e-services: A division of Deutsche Telekom is offering a "rent an e-government service" to local governments in Germany. T-Systems International, a systems integration subsidiary of DT, says it offers municipalities a one-stop service for the implementation of cost-saving e-services. T-Systems can integrate end-to-end electronic services in order for citizens to avail of popular governments services, such as residence registration or applications for construction permits. For a flat-rate fee, local governments can rent hardware, software, bandwidth, and maintenance and support services from T-Systems, provided through its network of data centres. T-Systems says the advantage of outsourcing such services is that municipalities do not have to invest in purchasing equipment or hiring IT staff, and fixed fees mean budgets can be accurately forecast.
Australian government Web site stirs controversy: Senator Richard Alston, Australia's Communications and Information Technology Minister, has rejected claims that he approved a AUD4 million project to revamp a Web site. According to media reports, taxpayers were outraged when it emerged that Alston's Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) had spent AUD4 million on redeveloping its Web site, www.dcita.gov.au. When the site was originally conceived in 1999, its initial budget was AUD600,000, but the project has been plagued by problems from the outset. Responding to criticism from the Opposition, Senator Alston denied that he had approved the expenditure and noted that the site in question was not his Web site, www.richardalston.dcita.gov.au
"The redeveloped Web site in question is that of the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts -- not my Web site, which is separate from that of the Department," said Alston."ClaimsÂ… that I 'signed off on this' are incorrect."
US cybersecurity criticised by former Bush adviser: The recently created Department of Homeland Security in the US lacks the resources and expertise needed to implement the government's cybersecurity plan, according to the president's former adviser on cybersecurity. Richard Clarke, who retired from the White House in February, told Congress that the Office of Management and Budget, which has authority over IT security in federal civilian agencies, is understaffed. He advised the administration to set-up a national cybersecurity centre staffed by top computer security experts and a federal chief information security officer with authority over all federal agencies. Clarke's concerns were echoed by Michael Vatis, former director of the National Infrastructure Protection Center. Vatis said that hundreds of cybersecurity positions at the Homeland Security Department remain unfilled because the majority of FBI cybersecurity experts did not transfer over to the new department. As a result, Vatis said, the federal government is now less prepared to deal with cybersecurity threats than it was a year ago.
Quelle: electricnews.net
