Government to axe hundreds of 'unnecessary' websites

How about Brunei? Most government websites are not standardized.

The UK government is to conduct a review of all 820 of its websites, Cabinet Minister Francis Maude has announced.

A report by the Central Office of Information has revealed that the government spent £94m on website development and running costs and £32m on web staff in 2009 - 2010.

The UK Trade and Investment website averaged 28,000 users per month but cost over £4m to build said the COI.

Each site visitor cost the government £11.78 according to the figures.

Around 16% of government departments did not know how their own websites were being used by tax payers, and almost a quarter were not aware of the running costs, according to the COI report.

In 2007 the BBC reported that the government was to axe 551 websites, protecting 26 from closure.

"Only 24 sites have been reported as closed and more sites have since been discovered and so the present total number of government websites is 820," said Francis Maude.

"The days of 'vanity' sites are over. It is not good enough to have websites which do not deliver the high quality services which people expect and deserve."

Mr Maude will be working with Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander and Digital Champion Martha Lane Fox on the review.

In a statement the government also cited "anecdotal evidence" of departments bidding against each other for search terms on Google.

The most cost efficient government websites included that of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs which cost 2p per visit, Revenue and Customs at 11p and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport at 5p per visit.

The NHS website averaged over 6m users per month. It reported non-staff costs to date of over £21m not including £5m spent on "marketing and customer relations" in 2009.

'Putting services online is not only more efficient, but often it is cheaper as well," said Tessa Jowell, Labour MP and former cabinet office minister.

"The measures announced today run the risk of being a wholly false economy, and may end up costing the Government more money than it is looking to save," she said.

"In the last two years, the Labour Government already reviewed 1,795 websites, of which more than 1,000 have already been closed," added Ms Jowell.

The BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said the initiative was an attempt to get a grip on the "spiralling" costs of websites.

He added: "What will be difficult is to push ahead with the process of putting more government services online while still cutting the costs of sites."

First Cybercrime Conviction In Brunei

Jail Sentence For Filipino National

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei's court dealt with its first cybercrime offence Tuesday (May 4), which saw a Filipino national convicted and sentenced.

The Commercial Crime Investigation Division of the Royal Brunei Police Force yesterday said 29-year-old Raymond G Azarcon, was brought before the Magistrate's Court on May 4 under the charges of hacking into a wireless Internet connection without authorisation and using a stolen credit card number to make $2,720 worth of online purchases.

According to a Royal Brunei Police Force press statement, early last month, Azarcon, who lived next door to his landlord's house, hacked into a wireless Internet connection that was owned by his landlord without his knowledge and authority.

Once inside his landlord's system, Azarcon visited a web site and "intentionally cheated the owner of the web site by falsely representing himself in which he used a stolen credit card number to make an online purchase and thereby dishonestly inducing the owner (of the web site) to approve the online purchase worth $2,720".

His illegal online shopping spree began to arouse suspicion by April 8 when the web site owner noticed that Alarcon continued to make more online purchases with the same credit card number and same username, which subsequently made him lodge a police report on April 12.

On Tuesday, Azarcon was read his charges in court for committing an offence punishable under Section 6(1)(a) of the Computer Misuse Act and under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

He was found guilty and sentenced to six months' imprisonment for his first offence and received a further 22.5 months' jail term for his illegal credit card misadventure, which will be served out concurrently.

"The general trend of cybercrime is on the rise," acknowledged officers of the Commercial Crime Investigation Division, adding: "this case is one of the examples how hackers intruded into someone's private property by tapping into their wireless connection and exposing him to wrongful allegations, thus causing an innocent person distress and unnecessary inconvenience".

They also advised Internet users: "Use some encryption on data and use of password authentication to access the Internet. Also changing the administrator's password for one's router is very important because certain brands of routers have certain default passwords that hackers know very well."

The RBPF's cybercrime division used the opportunity, to urge the public to lodge reports upon discovery of any suspicious transactions or any activities related to the misuse or hacking of Internet access and any other cybercrime-related offences.-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Brunei is 63rd in the ICT Readiness Index

Brunei 63rd in ICT Readiness Index

Brunei is 63rd in the ICT Readiness Index. And that is out of 133, just manage to scrape off the bottom of the top half!! Are we supposed to be proud of it or what?? That’s how the Bulletin put it on 27th March 2010. For comparison, Switzerland 1st, Singapore 2nd, and Malaysia 27th, still above Brunei. With so much wealth per population or per area of country, is 63rd supposed to be flattering?? We might have good execuses for not doing well in sports, but I don’t think so when it comes to education and modernisation. Is our group of think-tank aware of this??

This post was submitted by Bruneian 100%.

Investment In IT To Power Brunei Ahead

His Majesty the Sultan and Yang DiPertuan of Brunei Darussalam

Sultans Commonwealth Day message

Bandar Seri Begawan - His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam lauded the ideals of the Commonwealth and its contribution to overall international development.

His Majesty said this in a message to mark the Commonwealth Day today. The theme this year is "Science, Technology and Society".

"Brunei Darussalam has committed itself to this ideal. It underpins our work to diversify our economy. It is why we are making a considerable investment in information technology (IT). It inspires us in our efforts to provide the highest possible levels of education and health. It forms a major part of our long-term development plan," said His Majesty.

"It is also why we welcome the opportunity that membership of the Commonwealth offers us all to work together in these crucial tasks and to share expertise, resources and experience.

"Brunei Darussalam will continue to do this in the spirit of international goodwill and cooperation that this great organisation has constantly maintained and we send our very best wishes to all our fellow members," added His Majesty.

Earlier in His Majesty's message, the monarch said, "Brunei Darussalam deeply values its membership of the Commonwealth. We admire the richness and diversity of its history. We respect the principles it stands for. We enjoy the friendship and goodwill it arouses among nations from every continent, every faith and every background. We share its common purpose.

"Above all, however, we recognise the Commonwealth's fine contribution to overall international development. "The relevance of that contribution to the long-term needs of the two billion people it represents is implicit in the theme for Commonwealth Day 2010.

"Science Technology and Society. "Worldwide, governments face new and far-reaching challenges in health, education and social security.

"Their people see the power of modern science and the unparalleled influence on their lives of modern technology. They are often deeply anxious about apparent changes to their natural, economic and social environments. There are inevitably times when they fear for the stability of the absolute values that hold their societies together.

"We therefore warmly commend the importance placed by Commonwealth Heads of Government on enabling all people everywhere to learn, understand and appreciate the remarkable advances being made in science and technology.

"We support all efforts being made to ensure that these forces will help to shape an international environment in which the citizens of every member country can look to the future with confidence," His Majesty said.-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

AiTi to develop plan to up broadband service

THE Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AiTi) has enlisted foreign consultants Analysys Mason Limited for the development of a Broadband Strategic Plan to address public concerns about current broadband services in the country. AiTi Assistant Chief Executive of Corporate Strategy Julianah Hj Ali Ahmad revealed this information to The Brunei Times on the sidelines of a signing agreement between AiTi and Analysys Mason Limited yesterday.

"Broadband here has been a big talk in Brunei. The current broadband service in Brunei is a problem because it does not meet what customers want. So that is why we have engaged these consultants to see what best suits requirements of users in Brunei," she said.

Julianah added that the consultants will be looking into addressing the quality of broadband services in Brunei, such as what would be the best speeds and technology for Brunei to use. She explained that Brunei has been using copper cables for (ethernet) lines and this has limited capabilities for developing high speeds. "So we have to replace it with fibre-based network as it provides an almost unlimited bandwidth," said Julianah.

However, as fibre-technology is expensive, Julianah said that the consultants had to advise AiTi on how the government could invest in the technology.

"This fibre-technology is something everyone can have access to and is something we have to make sure of," she said.

Analysys Mason Limited Senior Manager Paul Sumner during his presentation explained that the fixed broadband in Brunei was expensive compared to other countries in the region.

"Brunei's broadband can (accommodate) about one megabit per second downstream. For the same price in countries like Singapore and Hong Kong, they can get 30 megabits per second," he said, adding that the consultants will be looking into how to address the expensive price in Brunei.

In order to have a successful broadband policy, Sumner said that a "virtuous circle" was the key in stimulating supply and demand. He added that the consultants would have seven to eight weeks to work on the plan, which will be completed and presented to AiTi on March 17.

According to AiTi, Brunei is heading towards a knowledge-based economy and it is crucial that AiTi has a platform to support access to highly-developed ICT (info-communication technology) infrastructure, including high-capacity broadband networks. "This means building a robust and future-proof infrastructure that is not only widely accessible to each citizen, but also capable of delivering high-speed bandwidth services to each user," according to a press release from AiTi yesterday.

The main outcomes of the strategic plan will include a general review of the existing broadband policy and strategies, quantification of broadband vision and target settings as well as recommendations on the best modalities for investment in the infrastructure build out, and implementation plan for building the next generation broadband infrastructure.

AiTi recognises that over the last few years, Brunei has witnessed a tremendous growth of broadband users and that broadband is becoming important in all aspects of economic and social lives.

On hand to sign the agreement yesterday were AiTi Chief Executive Pg Hj Mohd Zain Pg Hj Abd Razak, AiTi Assistant Chief Executive of Corporate Strategy Julianah Hj Ali Ahmad, Assistant Chief Executive of Corporate Services Hj Jamaludin Hj Saman, Analysys Mason Limited Senior Manager Paul Sumner and Analysys Mason Limited Consultant Emil Arnell.

The signing, which was held at the AiTi office in Anggerek Desa, was also witnessed by Ministry of Communications' Permanent Secretary and Chairman of AiTi, Hj Alaihuddin POKDG Hj Mohd Taha.The Brunei Times

Prioritisation Of E-Govt Projects For 2010 Will Be Based On Their Merits

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Prime Minister's Office has successfully organised the first E-Government Leadership Forum (EGLF) meeting for 2010. According to a press release, the forum was chaired by Dato Seri Paduka Awang Eussoff Haji Agaki bin Haji Ismail, the Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister's Office and Chairman of EGLF.

During the meeting, members comprising permanent secretaries of each government ministry discussed achievements made during 2009 as well as plans for 2010. One of the major milestones last year was the launching of the 2009-2014 e-Government Strategic Plan. To date, 35 projects have been approved by EGLF since March 2007.

According to the press release, prioritisation of projects for 2010 will be based on a number of characteristics namely 'multiple-agency', `connectivity', `interactivity and transactional', as well as `providing the highest impact to citizens and government'.

Through this, several flagship projects will be identified. So far, three of the flagship projects that have been identified are Business Licensing System, ePayment and Government Employee Management System (GEMS).

Emphasis has been placed on improving project management structure through the setting up of steering committees to oversee the flagship projects, the statement added. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

EGLF Puts Focus On Flagship Projects

Bandar Seri Begawan - The first e-Government Leadership Forum (EGLF) for 2010 has introduced the prioritisation of projects where several flagship projects will be identified with emphasis on improving project management structure through the setting up of steering committees to oversee the projects.

The flagship projects will be selected based on its characteristics, namely multiple agency, connectivity, interactivity and transactional as well as providing the highest impact w the government and public. Three of the flagship projects identified are the Business Licencing System, ePayment and Government Employee Management System (Gems).

To date, them am 35 approved projects since March 2007 with EGLFs major milestone achievement being the launch of the e-Government Strategic Plan 2009-2014 last year.

A spokesperson for e-Government said that aspirations and motivations are high to meet the public's satisfaction. The EGLF has taken a "whole-of-govemment" perspective towards the e-Government initiatives that promotes cross-agency cooperation. He added that its success depends on the constructive collaboration from all stakeholders namely the government, businesses and citizens.

Present at the forum was Deputy Minister at the Prime minister's office, Data Seri Paduka l lj Eusoff Agaki Hj Ismail as chairman of the forum, along with EGLF Secretary Saiful Rhymin C A Mohamed, and Hj Azhar Hj Ahead, Director of the e-Government National Centre (EGNC), and permanent secretaries from each of the ministries in the country.

The EGLF was launched yesterday by the Prime Minister's Office and was held at The Empire Hotel & Country Club. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times