Richard Bray

Terror on the Internet hardly sounds like a book title to reassure public sector IT security organizations. But, ironically, it does. Written by security researcher Gabriel Weimann and published by the United States Institute of Peace, the book acknowledges that war is being waged on the Internet but argues that the greatest threats are beyond the scope of system administrators and IT staff.

Remote access is fast becoming the number one security challenge for public sector IT managers.

Remote access is fast becoming the number one security challenge for public sector IT managers. From a laptop in an Internet caf

As the baby boomers hit retirement age, a new cohort of employees will arrive for work at every government in Canada. IT security managers can make some assumptions about the new crop. They are already knowledgeable about computers, the Internet, cellular telephones and PDAs. They have smoothly integrated technology into every aspect of their lives. They will expect the same high level of speed, flexibility and utility they have in their personal systems. Most importantly, they will devote their greatest ingenuity to defeating any IT security system that they perceive as slow and clumsy.

Around the world, governments without national identity cards are trying to implement them. Canada is no exception; for public officials who struggle with the challenge of identifying and authenticating citizens before they can deliver programs or services, a single comprehensive card is like a dream come true, especially if it is functional in a digital environment.

The federal government is rationalizing information technology under the banners of saving money, improving service and making government more accountable, but it is also acting under increasing pressure from a serious personnel crisis. Over the last five years, the growth rate in CS (Computer Systems) employees has been 7 per cent -- unsustainable over the long term

In Finland, most taxpayers never submit returns to the government. On the contrary, the Finnish government sends out completed tax returns to its citizens after assembling data from employers, financial institutions, insurance companies and other databases. Only 3 taxpayers in 10 need to provide additional information to modify the government

In the good old days