Phishing fraud rises in wake of London bombings

A new wave of phishing fraud has been reported following the terrorist bombings in London, taking advantage of people looking to donate money to charity. According to analysts at SurfControl, the fraudulent emails have the appearance of a non-profit communication, but when users click on the link they are taken to a URL that collects personal financial information. The particularly malicious con also allows a Trojan virus to download to the recipient’s computer, that causes further damage.

The spread of London bombing-related scams echoes the glut of fraudulent emails that followed the Asian Tsunami and the death of Pope John Paul II, highlighting the opportunist nature of hoaxers.

“Malicious attacks blending e-mail and Web access continue to rise and organizations worldwide remain unprepared,” said Susan Larson, SurfControl’s vice president of Global Threat Analysis.

“These scammers are getting smarter and are evolving their techniques allowing them to enter corporate networks quickly and easily. This opens the door to a maze of intricate and debilitating threats, affecting enterprises and consumers alike, particularly when malicious payloads can fraudulently gain financial or other sensitive information. Companies need to provide constant education to users to help identify new and emerging e-mail scams, and automate protection through multiple layers of Web and e-mail security,” she added.

Commission investment to benefit e-Government

The European Commission is set to launch 276 new ICT research projects in a bid to improve the EU’s progress in the field, including that of e-Government. The successful projects cover a wide-range of ICT subjects including mobile communications and broadband technology. €70m will be dedicated towards developing e-Government services in the member states.

The €1bn funding has been awarded as a result of the fourth Information Society Technology Call for Proposals under the EU’s Sixth Research Framework Programme, the largest total issued in the history of EU research and development.

“Investment into research in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is our best-bet contribution to growth and jobs”, explained Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding. “However, Europe continues to under-invest considerably into ICT research for lack of sufficient resources both at EU level and at national level. Today, half the ICT research projects proposed for EU funding have had to be turned down, despite meeting all the requisite quality criteria. If Europe wants to be part of the game of global competition for better ICT services, we need to step up our resources considerably.”

St. Helens saves through system migration

St. Helens Council has reported a £300,000 annual saving following its move from mainframe to Windows and Unix based platforms. With partners Micro Focus and MigrationWare, St. Helens’ legacy applications were transferred without disrupting systems.

The local authority moved critical financial applications for Accounts Payable and General Ledger to Windows to provide a more long-term solution for Lotus Domino-based architecture, avoiding ongoing mainframe hardware and software costs.

“With the migration approach there’s no need to throw legacy applications away, instead they can be seen as assets to be re-used, in more modern and cost-effective environments.” said Ste Sharples, ICT Business Manager at St. Helens Council. “We can now re-use, re-shape and re-mould the important systems and data built-up over many years on the mainframe.”

Other benefits from the development include improved performance, simpler access to data and better ad hoc reporting.

“The mainframe migration project has enabled the Council to completely revolutionize the way we operate. All of St. Helens legacy systems have been replaced with packages or re-hosted using ground-breaking technologies providing contemporary capabilities for improved integration, to meet all the challenges of a modern council,” added Cath Robinson, Assistant Treasurer (Audit, IT & Efficiency) at St. Helens.

e-Government think-tank takes shape

The UK’s first dedicated e-Government think-tank will be headed by Brunel University’s School of Information Systems, Computing and Mathematics (SISCM), it has been announced. The think-tank, titled the Network for e-Government Integration and Systems Evaluation (e-GISE), will assess key areas of research in e-Government, in order to ensure the future success of online public service initiatives.

The e-GISE Network will attempt to increase the understanding of e-government among local authorities, and help them realise the benefits of investing in the technology.

"There is a clear need for a more focussed approach to the practice of delivering e-Government services. The complexity of integrated information systems, the speed of deployment and the novelty of e-Government mean that it is a poorly developed area we can ill afford to neglect," commented Professor Zahir Irani, Head of Information Systems and Computing at Brunel University (SISCM), lead academic behind the e-GISE Network.

“The real problem comes not from technology but the paradigm shift away from a product and process orientated economy to a knowledge based one. E-Government is one of the phenomena engendered by that paradigm shift and local agencies need ‘flag pole’ research to understand the risks and strategic benefits that can be obtained from it. It is here that the e-GISE Network will contribute by supporting local authorities in the carving out of research areas and bringing together appropriate expertise to frame sound future research proposals,” he added.

Land Registry boosts online capability

The Land Registry - the government body responsible for property registration in England and Wales - has optimised its online service to improve performance and availability, it has announced this week. Employing Mercury Interactive solutions, the Land Register online, which holds details of more than 20m properties, can now comfortably host 15,000 simultaneous visitors without performance problems, as opposed to the previous capacity of 1000.

“High levels of interest in the UK housing market mean that we have a significant number of inquiries for property data. At the same time we are looking to launch more commercial services so that we are cost effective in fulfilling our public mission utilizing technology that is optimized to match our organisational goals,” explained Lloyd Bright, Systems Assurance Manager at the Land Registry.

“One of Land Registry’s objectives is to provide better public access to content of what is the world’s largest property database through our web-based Land Register Online service,” he added.

“Mercury’s ability to support a 15-fold increase in application performance is a clear demonstration of technology optimization to meet a critical, immediate business need,” said David Harrison, UK managing director at Mercury.

Councils urged to back wireless plan

UK local authorities could potentially determine whether they would like to create their own wireless networks – eliminating inner and inter-city mobile call costs through wireless VoIP - before the end of August, according to a pioneering Brighton-based company.

A major area of the radio spectrum (2500-2690MHz) is due to be released by January 2008, giving mobile network operators (MNOs) an opportunity to strengthen their existing licenses. However, Metranet Communications, which through its Loose Connection project has developed a citywide free wireless network in Brighton - winning praise from the local authority, students and businesses alike, is aiming to raise awareness of a possible alternative to network operator-controlled license agreements where councils could build their own WiMAX infrastructures, prior to the deadline for responses to the consultation on August 22nd.

“The next three weeks represents a unique opportunity for local authorities to take a major side-step from the ‘accepted wisdom’ of giving licenses to MNOs and to consider taking a socially minded approach to the development of telecoms in their area, particularly given that the likely license fee for the purchase of this new area of spectrum will most likely be passed back to the consumer at some point,” explained Metranet Communication’s Roger Horlock.

On the benefits that WiMAX offers the public sector, Brighton and Hove City Council’s Head of ICT and e-Government, Bill Parslow, commented; “Metranet Communications presented us with a real opportunity to solve key issues of internet connectivity to schools in areas difficult to reach with conventional broadband technologies through the use of WiMAX technology. This has saved the people of Brighton & Hove a considerable amount of money whilst offering the potential for the strategic ability to connect mobile workers to the Council’s infrastructure in the future.”

Roger Horlock, added: “The launch of the metranet exemplifies the unique opportunity that now exists for every local authority in the UK to build their own bespoke wireless infrastructures, bridging the digital divide and providing ubiquitous internet access to areas which were previously unreachable.”

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