US sets up cyberterrorism response unit: The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has set up a special cyberterrorism prevention and response unit. Called US-CERT, the new group will initially be a partnership between the DHS's National Cyber Security Division and the Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center, or CERT/CC, which is a federally funded group based at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University. The DHS said that the unit will expand to include security companies from the private sector and other domestic and international organisations. "The recent cyberattacks, such as the Blaster worm and the SoBig virus, highlight the urgent need for an enhanced computer emergency response program that coordinates national efforts to cyberincidents and attacks," said Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge. US-CERT will be headed by Amit Yoran, who has been recruited from IT security firm Symantec.
US public sector PC market is weakening: IDC: The public sector PC market in the US is exhibiting signs of weakness, in spite of a strong sequential growth in shipments, according to research firm IDC. The company's "Quarterly Public Sector PC Tracker" shows that PC shipments to the public sector -- a market that includes federal, state and local governments and educational institutions -- grew to 2.4 million units in the second quarter of 2003, an increase of almost 35 percent from the first quarter of the year. However, on a year-over-year basis, PC shipments increased by just over 2 percent, while customer spending contracted by nearly 11 percent. "Although the market performed well sequentially with a double-digit growth rate, it is still slightly below historical rates of the past two years," said David Daoud, senior analyst at IDC. "There are worrisome signs of a market that could turn negative in 2004, and possibly sooner," he added.
UK minister wants Wi-Fi hotspots in libraries: The UK's E-commerce minister has said he would like to see Wi-Fi hotspots installed in every public library in Britain. Speaking at a recent meeting of broadband industry experts in London, Minister Stephen Timms outlined his vision for the future of broadband in Britain. According to a BBC report, Timms said the government wants to make the UK the most competitive broadband market among G7 nations. One of the opportunities afforded by the rollout of broadband is that "rich content" can increasingly be made available to the public, said the minister. Timms said that the installation of Wi-Fi, a wireless technology that delivers high-speed Internet access to specially equipped laptops and PDAs within a certain range, in public libraries would encourage people to visit libraries and to access high-quality content. The minister also indicated that of the STG6 billion earmarked for e-government over the next three years, STG1 billion would be spent on the rollout of broadband around Britain, particularly in rural areas.
Dubai administration to launch SMS service: Dubai is gearing up to launch m-Dubai, a project aimed at enabling communication between government and citizens via mobile devices. The initial phase of the scheme will focus on one-way SMS communication for government agencies that wish to send short messages to citizens who have signed up for the scheme. Under the initiative, participating government departments will be able to log in to a new portal, www.mdubai.ae, from where they can send text messages to the mobile phones and PDAs of their customers. "It provides the government departments [with] a powerful new channel to deliver tailored messages to their target audience within seconds," said Rihab Lootah, eServices Provisioning Manager with Dubai eGovernment. Twelve departments have signed up to the scheme so far, including the Department of Civil Defence, the Department of Health and Medical Services, the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD), and the Dubai Police. The DNRD said it plans to use the SMS service for answering customer queries and sending out reminders about visa expirations.
Portugal to test e-procurement system: The government of Portugal has announced the launch of an e-procurement pilot project. Four software vendors were chosen to run pilot projects in a number of government departments, including the Ministries of Defence, Justice, Health and Social Security, as well as in the Prime Minister's Office. The government will monitor the various implementations, which together will build an acquisition centre to help the government process purchases of office equipment, IT systems and other goods and services. The system will consist of a register of users, catalogue management functions and purchasing facilities. An e-procurement portal is due to be launched in October, and it is thought that the system will be extended across the entire administration in 2004. The government said it expects that the system will save it between 10 percent and 20 percent in public procurement costs between 2003 and 2006.
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