Britons to get 'smart' passports

A new breed of "smart" passports containing detailed personal information would require tight security to be successful, a civil rights group warned today.

Soon all UK passports will
bear chips with biometric data- BBC

The chief executive of the UK Passport Service said Britons could be using passports with information stored on microchips within four years.

Bernard Herdan told the weekly magazine Computing that his plans would fit well with Home Secretary David Blunkett's proposals for a compulsory national identity card, indicating the two projects could be merged to create multi-purpose passports.

But Liberty said the Government would have to ensure the data, such as fingerprints or benefit entitlements, was not misused.

Liberty's Mark Littlewood said he had serious concerns about the Government building up such a detailed data base of personal information on the population.

"The crucial thing is the safeguards they will put in place to ensure this information is kept secure and not abused for any reason," he said.

"The authorities in general have a pretty shoddy record on keeping data secure, so we have concerns about them creating a data base of these proportions.

Liberty also expressed concern over the reasons behind proposals to increase change the way people's personal information is held.

"It's worrying that they also keep chopping and changing the precise reasons for introducing the scheme," said Mr Littlewood.

"Last April, they were saying it was to speed up check-ins at airports, then after September 11 it was to fight terrorism and now it's to help prevent identity fraud."

The "biometric" cards, each with an ultra-slim microchip, could hold digital images of the holder's face, as well scans of the iris of their eye and a full set of fingerprints.

New biometric passports will
contain a security chip

Scanning stations could be set up at post offices or other designated centres, Mr Herdan said.

"This is about allowing people to assert their own identity, preventing fraud and stopping identity theft. This is not about Big Brother," he told the magazine.

"This would allow us to link a person's identity to a biometric such as an iris scan, facial recognition or a fingerprint.

"That would be a big step, but many countries are considering it."

The chief executive added that the smart card would supplement the paper version for the foreseeable future because many countries rely on stamps at border control.

Mr Blunkett announced earlier this month that there would be a consultation about so-called "entitlement cards" - his new phrase for a compulsory national ID card - which would carry detail about the State services each holder was entitled to use, such as the NHS, social security and education.

The technology is already being used for asylum seekers, who have been issued with biometric cards since January 31.

Computer chips embedded in the cards carry details of each refugee's family members, nationality, date of birth, the languages they speak and several serial numbers.

The cost of introducing a national ID card is an estimated £1 billion, so the Treasury would be keen to see Mr Blunkett's proposal merged with passports to save spending cash on two identical cards for each member of the population.

Mr Herdan said: "That's the direction we are going in and it chimes with the entitlement card.

"Our advice is that if you want a very secure identity, a database linked to a biometric system is the way to go, but it's up to the Government to decide."

Any cards would be based on probably two of the three types of identification techniques, the magazine reported.

Mr Herdan said he wants the new system introduced by 2006 but the UKPS has not decided if it will phase it in in stages or move straight to the biometric model.

Mr Blunkett wants an ID card to crack down on illegal workers by spotting social security scams, income tax dodgers and illegal immigrant workers.

It would also help cut identity fraud, such as credit card crime.

The Home Secretary is due to publish a consultation paper on entitlement cards in the spring or summer.

There has also been speculation that the entitlement cards could also double as a driving licence, carrying electronic details of endorsements, to replace the current paper system which costs £55 million a year to run.

dailymail.co.uk

NATO: heading towards a North Atlantic Cyber Security Organisation?

As a consequence of cyber attacks in Estonia and in Georgia in 2007 and 2008 respectively, NATO recognised that cyber security had to be placed at the forefront of new security challenges to be dealt with in the years ahead.

That in turn has required the strengthening of the Alliance's cyber defence capabilities as the threats evolve and become increasingly more sophisticated, potentially undermining critical systems and infrastructure.

"A cyber attack can bring a country down without a single soldier having to cross its borders; and it is no exaggeration to state that cyber attacks have become a new form of permanent, low-level warfare," says NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

This new security challenge was on the agenda at the June 8th-9th meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels. Ministers agreed on an action plan and on a revised cyber defence policy which will not only ensure a quicker and more effective protection of NATO's own network, but also provide the Allies and Partners with more assistance in preventing the cyber attacks, coping with them and limiting their impact.

The new strategy requires that all NATO structures be brought under a centralised protection system, and that all of its networks be monitored round the clock as of 2012.

"At this meeting, NATO took the decision to start co-operation with the EU; but the European approach on cyber defence is still limited with the computers' security by focusing merely on the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT)," explains Salih Bıçakçı, professor of international relations at Işık University and one of the top experts on cyber defence issues.

Meanwhile, Europe is grappling with the need to hash out a common strategy.

According to Can Buharalı, managing partner of Istanbul Economy Consulting (EDAM), since the EU has no specific common policy area yet for defence issues, it cannot currently implement an effective common defence policy against cyber attacks.

The United States has assumed a role as a potential leader in cyber defence. According to Buharalı, the latest decision by the Obama Administration to respond to cyber attacks with conventional weapons shows that this issue is gaining more traction worldwide.

However, he adds, all these initiatives serve only as declarations of intention, at least for now.

Although a crucial member of NATO, Turkey lags behind in these spheres and is not at an advanced level of organisation as regards cyber defence. "Despite including the cyber security issue into the National Security Politics Document, it is not so clear how to implement this concept," Bıçakçı tells SETimes.

Establishment of a new Ministry of Technology is considered a promising step, Bıçakçı said, adding however that no state can ensure cyber security by excluding the private sector.

According to Mustava Ünver, department head at the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK), it is important that the "state should take responsibilities on behalf of its citizens and ensure that both public and private sectors resist such attacks".

With multiple panels and agencies involved, one of the chief problems in Turkey has been the overlapping of competencies.

Organisations playing a role include TÜBİTAK-BOME (Intervention Team for Computer-related Events), which executes the mission of CERT; BTK and TIB (Communication Directorate of Turkey), tasked with protecting the internet; and TÜBİTAK-UEKAE (National Research Institute of Electronics and Cryptology), which serves as NATO's contact point in Turkey.

"This state-of-play prevents Turkey from being an important actor for the initiatives of NATO. However, as a result of its membership, Turkey will be much more willing to follow NATO's strategy of strengthening cyber defence," Bıcakcı tells SETimes.

On the other hand, TÜBİTAK-UEKAE Institute Deputy Director Mert Üneri thinks that at the state level, a kind of consciousness has been already established regarding cyber threats.

In late January, Turkey organised a simulated operation of national cyber security together with the leadership of TÜBİTAK and BTK. The goal was to test the security of 41 strategic national institutions' systems against intrusions and attacks.

According to Binali Yıldırım, the January operation was completed successfully and there will be more operations in the future. However, he added, it remains essential to develop a system that would be alert constantly.

In all, experts say, the Alliance is heading in the right direction by considering the importance of soft security issues in the changing security environment. But there is still much work to be done.

setimes.com

CEGAH KEBOCORAN INFORMASI MELALUI PERSANDIAN

BPPT memerlukan naskah persandian dalam mengirimkan karya kerekayasaan atau hasil lain melalui elektronik,” tegas Kepala Biro Umum dan Humas BPPT, Hamir Hamzah saat membuka acara Implementasi Persandian Pada Tata Naskah Dinas Elektronik dan Kearsipan, di BPPT, Selasa (14/06).

Dengan seringnya menggunakan media elektronik dalam mengirimkan atau tukar menukar informasi dan data, menurut Hamir, peluang untuk disadap atau pihak lain sangatlah besar. “Sebagai lembaga pemerintah, kita wajib memberikan informasi kepada publik. Namun tetap, proses pengamanan sangatlah penting,” jelasnya.

Pentingnya keamanan dalam pengiriman informasi, juga dikatakan oleh Kasubdit Binmat Lembaga Sandi Negara, Nunil Pantiawati. “Bila kita bicara keamanan, maka kita bicara suatu proses didalamnya, bukan suatu produk jadi. Ancaman yang menggunakan unsur nirmiliter, mempunyai kemampuan yang mampu membahayakan kedaulatan negara, keutuhan wilayah negara dan keselamatan segenap bangsa”.

Menurutnya, ancaman nirmiliter bisa berbentuk ideologi, politik dan ekonomi, bahkan dapat berbentuk iptek dan informasi. “Ancaman informasi, dapat terjadi karena dua faktor, internal dan eksternal. Internal bisa disebabkan oleh kecerobohan pegawai dalam menyampaikan informasi yang sebenarnya terbatas informasi tersebut, atau pada tidak tertibnya administrasi surat rahasia dan tidak digunakannya perangkat pengamanan, misalnya tidak menggunakan persandian, enkripsi ataupun kriptografi,” terang Nunil.

Sementara faktor eksternal, lanjut Nunil, disebabkan adanya ancaman daerah perbatasan yang mebuka peluang bagi negara asing, untuk melakukan infiltrasi dan penyadapan ke wilayah Indonesia. “Ada juga modus lainnya, yakni dengan menggunakan metode hibah. Dalam modus tersebut, komputer dan softwarenya harus berasal dari negara pemberi hibah,” tambahnya.

bppt.go.id

Police National Database launched to stop future Sohams

Security concerns have been raised following the roll-out of a new Police National Database (PND) to allow forces across the country to share locally-held information and intelligence.

The Home Office-funded project was developed by IT services firm Logica at a cost of £75.6m in response to Lord Birchard’s 2002 post-Soham inquiry which found that the inability of Forces to routinely share information electronically was a major obstacle in arresting killer Ian Huntley before he could murder schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

The system will be used by a total of 53 police bodies in England, Wales, Scotland and the British Transport Police, with up to 15 million people's details are estimated to appear on the database, which will be made available to 12,000 officers granted appropriate clearance.

Nick Gargan, head of the National Policing Improvement Agency, which is in charge of all central police databases and oversaw the NPD project, said at the launch this week: “The PND pulls together all that local knowledge and allows investigators to see the full intelligence picture. As a result, they can react far more quickly and effectively when it comes to protecting the public.”

Until now, such information had to be shared manually, but because processes could be “bureaucratic” and relied on the “right staff being able to access and share the relevant files”, it could take up to two weeks, he added.

The NPD will not hold all of the information stored on local police systems such as witness data and most of the details about victims, however, but will instead focus on crime-related information such as domestic violence, child abuse and criminal intelligence.

The NPIA said that use of the database would be strictly controlled, with only authorised and appropriately vetted users with a single digital identity allowed to access it using a smartcard. Access is authorised based on business role and extensive auditing systems have also been put in place to prevent misuse.

Not everyone is convinced it's secure enough, however. Alex Teh, commercial director at internet security software provider Vigil Software, for one, worries that although creating a more joined-up system was a positive move, setting up a large centralised database meant a single “point of vulnerability” now existed.

“With one central repository storing highly sensitive data, it will be absolutely imperative to ensure that the most stringent measures are in place from access authorisation to preventative monitoring and encryption to ensure that this is a watertight system,” he warns.

The reality with centralised databases was that they were “only as good as your weakest link," Teh said. “As all Police Forces across the UK will now be able to access the database to share intelligence, there needs to be a joined up process for data protection.

"It only takes one weak access connection at one police force for data to get into the wrong hands,” he added.

publictechnology.net

DUKUNG PENGEMBANGAN E-GOVERNMENT DI DAERAH, BPPT BERMITRA DENGAN CRIMSONLOGIC

Untuk mendukung pemerintah daerah dalam pemanfaatan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi, serta mendorong penggunaannya dalam ruang lingkup pekerjaan, BPPT dan Crimsonlogic PTE LTD, Singapura, sepakat melakukan penandatanganan nota kesepahaman (MoU) tentang Kolaborasi dalam Pengembangan Teknologi Informasi dan Komunikasi, di Ruang VIP BPPT (9/06).

Penandatanganan sendiri langsung dilakukan oleh Vice President Crimsonlogic PTE LTD, Tan Sian Lip dan Deputi Kepala BPPT Bidang Teknologi Informasi, Energi dan Material, Unggul Priyanto, yang diwakili oleh Kepala Balai Besar Teknologi Energi BPPT, Soni Solistia Wirawan.

Dalam Sambutannya, Direktur Pusat Teknologi Informasi dan Komunikasi BPPT, Hammam Riza, mengatakan bahwa MoU ini terfokus pada pembangunan dan pengembangan teknologi e-government di pemerintah daerah. “Indonesia memiliki 497 pemerintah daerah. Jumlah yang besar tersebut menjadi tantangan bagi kami (BPPT-Crimsonlogic)”.

bppt.go.id

Government needs to bolster green buildings movement

The ministry of new and renewable energy has endorsed GRIHA, compliance with which is mandatory for buildings of the Central government and public sector undertakings

India is facing increasing energy challenge as a result of increasing urbanization and growing urban-rural divide. Energy security and access are two critical issues that define the policy landscape in power sector, while environmental sustainability agenda remains crucial in the urban development process.

Over the past decade, India has been trying to address these challenges through a national action plan on climate change and associated initiatives such as energy conservation, environmental impact assessments and the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

It is almost globally acknowledged that large buildings and real estate construction projects are key contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and has a large environmental and energy footprint. A typical office building may consume between 180kWh to 200kWh per sq. m per annum in India, compared with a green building that may consume about 30-40% less energy. As much as 168,000 tonnes of CO2 emission could be avoided a year per million sq. m of properly rated projects.

It is in lieu of this that environmental clearance for large construction projects is mandatory and a related set of compliance measures such as the energy conservation building code, which specifies energy performance requirements for all commercial buildings, is expected to become law soon.

Often state-level committees do not have enough expertise to evaluate building and construction projects on environmental parameters. Usually, there are long delays in granting clearances, which are not acceptable to builders and developers. Absence of benchmarks, guidelines and common minimum criteria for evaluation is a major drawback of the system. Green ratings of buildings, on the other hand, provide a measurable framework in which all projects can be evaluated on all critical environmental parameters and given relative grading.

Green rating for integrated habitat assessment (GRIHA) is an evaluation tool to help design, build, operate and maintain a resource-efficient built environment. It emphasizes end-use energy optimization (within specified comfort levels) and integration of renewable energy; thereby providing a framework, which looks at long-term policy options, both on the supply and demand sides, consistent with aspirations of economic growth.

The ministry of new and renewable energy has endorsed GRIHA, compliance with which is mandatory for buildings of the Central government and public sector undertakings. The Central public works department has also adopted and integrated GRIHA into their standard operating procedure.

To further provide an impetus to the green buildings movement, the ministry has launched a host of financial incentives on registration fees, awards and incentives. The environment ministry recently said that green buildings would be given priority in the environmental impact assessment process. This is a welcome step that would not only reduce the time taken for such clearance, but also add value by quantifying environmental benefits that are measurable and can be monitored.

However, more needs to be done by the government. Implementation should be strong; capacity building across all stakeholder group should be enhanced; curriculum at college and schools should be inclusive of environmental education in much greater detail; schools of architecture should introduce course on green buildings; suitable incentives for green products should be given; residential building energy codes should be developed; next Five-year Plan should give impetus to greener constructions; new upcoming cities should follow green norms; municipal bye-laws should be revised; research and development budget on green buildings techniques and technologies should be provided and encouraged; laboratories and testing facilities for green products should be set up; and energy efficiency retrofit of public buildings should take off in a big way.

It is also now time to move into rating buildings in the residential space, which can eventually function as a design-cum-rating tool. This would help architects to not only get their building rated but also would also guide them on green design. There are rating systems designed specifically for projects with built-up area of less than 2,500 sq. m. The rating comprises of 14 criteria and the interface comprises of simplified calculators. These calculators can be filled using information from construction drawings and estimates. The calculators reveal the overall points and the rating that a particular project can achieve.

Mili Majumdar is director, sustainable habitat division, at The Energy and Resources Institute.

livemint.com