Information Policy

New Zeland: Internet piracy law to come into force

A controversial new law aimed at wiping out illegal downloading will come into effect from tomorrow.

Illegal downloaders can be fined up to $15,000 or have their internet connection suspended under the Copyright Infringing File Sharing Act.

But many are concerned the law means internet account holders, including universities and businesses, are accountable for the actions of everyone using their account.

Flawed Education System Holding UK Back In The Digital Knowledge Economy Says Google Boss Eric Schmidt

UK is losing out on making a mark in the digital age due to is flawed education system where there is no bridge between humanities and the sciences, the Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said while delivering the annual MacTaggart lecture in Edinburgh.

At a time when a country's competitive edge is defined the by mathematical and scientific skills of its workforce, the UK has witnessed a "a drift to the humanities".  There is a damaging rift between the scientifc and the humanities "camps" that "denigrate" each other, the corporate boss claimed.

UK has failed to build on its rich history of innovation and advancing both humanities and the sciences at the same time. It was a time when the same people wrote poetry and built bridges," Mr. Schmidt said. "Lewis Carroll didn't just write one of the classic fairytales of all time. He was also a mathematics tutor at Oxford. James Clerk Maxwell was described by Einstein as among the best physicists since Newton – but was also a published poet."

Pakistan to ban encryption software

Millions of internet users in Pakistan will be unable to send emails and messages without fear of government snooping after authorities banned the use of encryption software.

A legal notice sent to all internet providers (ISPs) by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, seen by the Guardian, orders the ISPs to inform authorities if any of their customers are using virtual private networks (VPNs) to browse the web.

Virtual private networks allow internet users to connect to the web undetected, meaning that they can access banned websites and send emails without fear of government interception.

Pakistan's 20 million internet users have previously been banned from popular social networks, such as Facebook, because of blasphemous material about the prophet Muhammad. All internet traffic in the country travels through the Pakistan Internet Exchange, which can be intercepted by the military and civil intelligence agencies. The move echoes a crackdown against encrypted communications across the border in India and in China.

The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority legal notice urged ISPs to report customers using "all such mechanisms including EVPNs [encrypted virtual private networks] which conceal communication to the extent that prohibits monitoring". Anyone needing to use this technology needs to apply for special permission, the notice said.

Authorities in Islamabad insisted that the ban on VPN access was intended to stem communications by terrorists.

However, banks, call centres and many other businesses use encrypted connections to communicate with their branches and customers, to protect sensitive data such as account numbers and passwords.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/30/pakistan-bans-encryption-software

EU funded project aims to make self-service terminals more accessible for all

An EU-funded project is aiming to make self-service terminals, such as public transport ticket vending machines or public information kiosks and cash dispensers, more accessible for the one in six Europeans who have a disability or the 87 million Europeans aged 65 and over. According to an EU study, only 38% of bank cash machines (automated teller machines or ATMs) across the EU provide voice capabilities to customers with disabilities, far behind the US (61%) and Canada (nearly all ATMs). The European Commission is contributing €3.41 million, half of the overall budget, to the "APSIS4All" project which aims to design and validate personalised interfaces, including contactless cards, to help overcome existing accessibility barriers. Trials will begin in cash dispensers in Barcelona, Spain from September 2011 and at ticket vending machines in Paderborn, Germany from January 2012, and will run for three years.

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/992&format=HTML&aged=0&language=en&guiLanguage=en

Vietnam govt embraces cloud

Giving shape to the government’s vision of becoming a leader in IT and e-government implementation, various departments and ministries in Vietnam have been using cloud computing to increase efficiency while cutting costs.