Irish e-security company Baltimore Technologies has announced that Dutch company DigiNotar is to use its technology to deliver digital certificates in the Netherlands. DigiNotar's "DigiOverheid" service uses Baltimore's UniCERT technology to issue digital certificates on smartcards to businesses and government departments to enable them to conduct secure on-line transactions with government bodies. The service is the first public key-based service to comply with the Netherlands' recent e-government initiative to secure government-to-business and government-to-government communications.
A report by the Irish Committee on Court Practice and Procedure has recommended the introduction of "electronic courts." The report said that e-courts would speed up the legal system and benefit the public. The committee advises that electronic submissions of documents should be permitted; currently only original documents are accepted as legal evidence. Contracts, letters, seals, signatures and similar items in electronic formats should be given the same status as originals, the report says, noting that the framework for changing the rules already exists under the Electronic Commerce Act 2000.
A new service is being launched that enables subscribers to digital television to send e-mail to any local council in the UK, reports KableNet.com. The service, available to Sky Active subscribers, is not a government initiative but a development by information publisher UpMyStreet. The service provides contact phone numbers for local authorities around the UK, along with the facility to send e-mail to councils and to a number of MPs and MEPs. Dr Nick Buckley, head of public sector services for UpMyStreet, said the service "may not be what the e-Envoy's office had in mind. But you could almost see this service as part of our response to the e-Envoy's digital TV paper."
Egypt's government has decided against the purchase of an e-government technology package developed by the UK government in conjunction with Microsoft, Dell and Cable and Wireless. Last year, the Office of the e-Envoy announced that the STG18.3 million "Gateway" system for single-point secure access to e-services was to be re-sold to the Egyptian government for an undisclosed sum, of which the UK government was to receive 24 percent. This week, however, the UK Cabinet Office confirmed that the Egyptian government has decided against buying Gateway, opting instead to use an in-house solution.
The southern Indian state of Karnataka has announced that is to launch a new e-government portal, with the help of Microsoft. Somanhalli Mallaiah Krishna, Karnataka's chief minister, said that Microsoft would help with the design, development and deployment of the new portal, to be known as "Bangalore One." Jointly making the announcement, Krishna and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates also launched an initiative to provide computer education to 1,000 schools in the region.
Candidates in the recent US mid-term elections failed to take advantage of the Internet as a campaign tool, according to a study by political consultants RightClick Strategies. A survey of 168 candidates' Web sites found that less than 25 percent were up-to-date on Election Day, 05 November. A mere 12.5 percent of candidates' Web sites posted information about polling times and locations, while only 11 out of 136 campaigns sent out e-mails encouraging people to vote.
Australia should look to open source software when implementing its e-government strategy, according to the Shadow Minister for Information Technology. Speaking at the e-Government Australia Summit, Senator Kate Lundy said that open source software can provide greater security and innovation in the delivery of e-government services. Saying that information and communications technology systems built with open source software were more likely to serve the needs of government customers, Lundy recommended that all government agencies and departments should be asked to assess the merits of open source software.
Quelle: Electric News
