Police radios
The Home Office has commissioned Imperial College to monitor the health of 100,000 police officers over 15 years, along with other in-depth studies, to check the safety of its Airwave secure digital radios. This system, currently used by eight police forces, and planned for use by all, has been linked to ill-health among users. It is not possible to eavesdrop on Airwave transmissions on normal radios, and the system allows some data transmission.
www.homeoffice.gov.uk
New NHS suppliers
A leaked document says that the NHS's new suppliers will have to build on existing systems. According to Computing newspaper, the suppliers "shall ensure that future developments aim to protect previous investment in infrastructure and equipment". This comes after news that local IT schemes have already been dumped in advance of the new contracts, including a £250m patient record system in Birmingham.
www.computing.co.uk/News/1141074
2005 e-gov target
The government planned three years ago to have 73% of its services available electronically by the end of 2002, but reached just 63%, according to government IT website Kablenet. The latter figure was given by e-government minister Douglas Alexander to parliament on May 13, when he reiterated the target of making 100% of services available electronically by 2005. Conservative MP George Osborne replied that the government is "still living in the dotcom boom".
www.kablenet.com/kd.nsf/front
Halt Passport
Analyst firm Gartner has told clients to stop using Microsoft's Passport authentication system for "any meaningful business purposes immediately". The warning resulted from a fault that could have allowed hackers to hijack online identities. Although Microsoft has fixed the fault and no fraud has been reported, Gartner recommends that organisations should stop using Passport until November, "or until Microsoft can prove its security is adequate".
www.out-law.com/php/page
Toshiba hotspots
Toshiba has launched a low-cost wireless hotspot service that allows localised public access to the internet in areas such as coffee shops, restaurants, company foyers, hospitals and airports. Users can connect to the web with the Wi-Fi wireless network cards that are supplied for mobile PCs and handheld computers. Toshiba's Public Wireless Lans will link up with BT's Openzone hotspot network to provide an estimated 4,000 hotspots nationally by 2004. Andy Bass, the general manager and director for Toshiba Computer Systems Division, says that at £400 per unit and around £35 per month for broadband connection, companies can gain a rapid return on their investment by charging for the service.
Evesham Technologies and Nomad Digital have also launched a hotspot kit to enable venue owners to offer broadband connections for less than £500 plus VAT, including installation by an Evesham engineer.
http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com
Corinex Ethernet
Corinex is selling an alternative to wireless networks in the home: its PowerNet Ethernet Adaptors allow networks to be easily set up through the electricity mains supply instead. Connect a PC's Ethernet socket to the Corinex box and the system will automatically find any other systems connected on the same ring main, and allow secure access to the disk, printer and Internet connections. The advantage over wireless is PowerNet's compliance with the Homeplug standard, co-developed by numerous home entertainment system manufacturers. For example, a single DVD player will be able to distribute a movie to any TV in the house. It is claimed that home users and small businesses will be able to network older PCs without having to understand cabling and network protocols.
<A HREF="http://www.corinex.com"" TARGET="_NEW">www.corinex.com
Secure ARMs
ARM, the UK-based chip design company, plans to add a TrustZone to its processor core - an area that will not be accessible to ordinary applications. This will allow operating system suppliers and device manufacturers to protect thecontent of the devices, though they will have to come up with their own ways to exploit the extra circuitry. One example could be Microsoft's Next Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB), formerly known as Palladium. This is important because ARM chips are used in most electronic organisers, including new Palm handhelds and Microsoft PocketPCs, and numerous smart phones, all of which are easily lost or stolen. Companies can already create secure devices by including extra hardware, but putting TrustZone on the chip should reduce the cost and complexity.
Identity check
The Home Office is planning to use a facial recognition system to track asylum seekers while their cases are being considered. Digital photographs will be taken of each applicant and stored with other details in a centralised database at the Croydon Asylum Screening Unit (ASU). Facial recognition software can then be used to check the identity of each person when they later report to any ASU nationwide. David Blunkett, the home secretary, said last week that he also wants identity cards issued to each applicant to show where they are and what services they are using. This has alerted privacy lobbyists who see this as a test for the introduction of ID cards for UK citizens.
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/comrace
