Despite not much major cyber crime occurring in the country, the police force formed the IT unit in preparation for fight against such probability, the official said, calling on people, especially commercially-operating cyber cafes, to cooperate with the police to expose such crime by systematically registering internet users' contents without simple ignorance.
In late 2004, the e (electronic)-National Task Force of Myanmar also formed a special cyber security team separately to crack down on cyber crime and launched a website to cooperate with foreign counterparts, according to the task force.
The move of the team, known as the Myanmar Computer Emergency Response Team (mm CERT), constitutes part of the efforts in securing the global Internet network.
Myanmar's then launching of the website represented the first step under an agreement reached at a meeting of telecommunications ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore in 2003.
That meeting called for establishing in each member country to share information with regard to cyber crime and to provide technical aid to any Internet user victimized by the crime.
Myanmar, one of the five ASEAN members to have established such team so far, would seek for joining the Asia-Pacific CERT in which the country has held an observer status.
Meanwhile, Myanmar is nearing completion of the draft of a cyber law, signaling a step closer to completing legislation on the use of computer and information.
Myanmar enacted the Computer Science Development Law in 1996 and the Electronic Transaction Law in April 2004, becoming the 4th ASEAN member to have introduced such legislation after Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Myanmar established its e-NTF to support information technology development after it joined in signing the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement initiated at the regional summit in Singapore in 2000.
Meanwhile, a Hong Kong company, the SS8 Networks Inc., agreed with the Ahaed Co. Ltd. of Myanmar in October 2005 to run security services for internet service providers (ISP) in the country, according earlier report of the Voice. Under the agreement, security services are to be provided for information data of domestic Internet subscribers against uncovering and interruption of them. The HK company has links with over 200 customer ISP in the world, providing security services for them, it said.
Besides, the Myanmar company also reached a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Canadian ICT company, the Teleglobe, in September 2005 to run an ISP in Myanmar as part of the country's bid to expand such services.
That ISP is becoming the second in the country and the internet-based telephone system will be extensively used after the establishment. The current private ISP in Myanmar went to Myanmar Teleport (previously known as Bagan Cybertech Co.), which had initiated the Internet and the Internet-based telephone system in 2001 in cooperation with the Shin Satellite Co. of Thailand.
Myanmar has been launching an ICT development master plan under the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) and detailed programs to link international networks are also being carried out in accordance with the master plan drafted by the Myanmar Computer Federation.
Besides, the country has also signed a series of memorandums of understanding since 2003 with such companies as from Malaysia, Thailand, China and South Korea on ICT development.
According to the telecommunications authorities, the number of Internet users in Myanmar has reached nearly 300,000, up from merely 12 in four years ago.
So far, Myanmar has launched some e-government systems including e-visa, e-passport, e-procurement and e-D (departure) form to effect management of government bodies.
Meanwhile, the authorities have projected to introduce 400 public Internet service centers in 324 townships in the country within three years to facilitate communication links.
Autor(en)/Author(s): Bi Mingxin
Quelle/Source: Xinhua, 03.09.2007
