Google Microsoft fights for Government dollars

Microsoft used the Summit annual public sector CIO to highlight the use of its cloud services and grab some digs at Google, which has won some contracts of the high profile public sector itself.

Microsoft Wednesday announced 16 new education and Government clients, including public schools in Portland, Oregon; the city of Alexandria, Virginia; Colorado Department of labor and employment; and the city of Carlsbad, California.

5000 faculty and staff of Portland will begin using the service of Microsoft Live@edu this year and 46,000 students will have access to it, shortly after, Microsoft said. Live@edu is a service email and collaboration for schools.

The district is replacing an aging Novell GroupWise system and expects to save money and improve the relationship between teachers and students, said Nick Jwayad, CIO of Portland Public Schools.

In a press release, Microsoft that sang that Portland public schools and the University of Albany-SUNY-had chosen Microsoft over Google Apps. It is also said that Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is migrating its 600 business users of Google Apps and 2150 Novell GroupWise users to Microsoft Online Business Process Suite.

BPOS is a Microsoft-hosted services offering including Exchange, Sharepoint and Office Live Meeting.

Microsoft also said that it was close to getting FISMA certification for its BPOS services. It has already obtained certification for its data centers and expects to complete the process for applications within a month or so, said Kulcon.

The Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) is a rigorous safety standards that some federal agencies are required to comply. Google Apps is already certified FISMA.

Microsoft complained also some cases where it is said that government agencies that have used Google services unfairly or in a manner that can compromise security.

For example, Microsoft claims that the General Services Administration (GSA), which awarded a contract to Google Apps, last year, changed his contract during the bidding process to allow data to be stored outside of the United States. At Microsoft, which seemed to be a concession that would allow Google to win the contract.

Microsoft is also complain of what's called a lack of full support for the OpenDocument format in Google Docs, which is used at least informally by some agencies of Government. When Google Docs renders documents in ODF, alter them, for example, changing the page numbers, said Curt Kolcun, vice President of the United States public sector at Microsoft. Microsoft was under pressure from around the globe from government agencies who insisted they support open document standards.

Kolcun also cited a situation where the GSA invited comments on its draft FedRamp. Asked by companies or individuals to upload their comments on Google Docs, he said. Microsoft was worried about the rights that Google could have the documents. Microsoft complained to the GSA and was permitted to submit its observations, using the Excel program, said Kolcun.

Google said that it does not own the data that people put in its systems and points to its privacy policy, which focuses on how Google handles users ' personal information, such as their name and email address.

In 2009, Google had to fix a bug that Google Docs inadvertently shared some with people, even if the author hadn't shared them. The sharing was restricted to the persons the user had shared documents with previously.

Kolcun also pointed out delays in deploying Google Apps to Los Angeles, in part because of concerns about the safety of the Police Department.

Google has had his share of success, however. Won a contract to offer hosted e-mail, the GSA that will become the first federal agency to use this service. He also won deals to offer Google Apps to agencies in Washington, D.C. and Orlando, Florida.

Microsoft says there are now more than 3 million government employees using some form of Microsoft Online services. In addition, more than 15 million people use its services Live@edu.

Businesses see very clearly at stake in the field of Government. Late last year, Google has sued the Department of the Interior after it invited tenders for a cloud e-mail system but bidders are required to use Microsoft products.

Nancy Gohring covers phones and cloud computing to the IDG News Service. Follow Nancy on Twitter at @ idgnancy. E-mail address is Nancy_Gohring@idg.com, Nancy

Hackers hit Canadian Government sites

Malicious hackers can be based in China that managed to fool Canadian federal, your IT staff to provide access to computers of Government, leading to severe Internet restrictions on Board of the Treasury and the Department of finance, CBC News reported last week.

Artwork: Diego AguirreAlthough the Government has so far provided little information on violation, CBC said the attack first emerged in January and cut off Internet access to thousands of public servants, even if the service has been slowly returning to normal. There was no confirmation so far that the personal information of Canadians have been compromised or lost.

What the CBC described as an attempt to "Executive spear phishing, hackers used fake emails to switch themselves as leaders for it staff at the two federal departments and the password prompt, while other agents have received email with attached documents.

In response to media reports, Treasury Board has issued a brief statement acknowledging he had detected an "unauthorized attempt to gain access to its networks", but not provided more details. "The employee Internet access was limited for the moment," said spokesman Jay Denny.

Toronto Star said former Federal Secretary, CIO and Treasury Board, Michelle of Auray asked staff for a list of websites that they believe are essential to their jobs.

Sources told CBC that it is not clear that cyber-attackers are Chinese. Servers based in China can simply were used to route the attacks from elsewhere. Chinese officials denied any connections to attack immediately.

"The claim that the Chinese Government supports Internet hacking is groundless," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told reporters at a regular briefing, according to the Hindustan Times. "The Chinese Government attaches importance to the security of computer networks and calls for computer and Internet users to comply with laws and regulations".

For years, Auditor General Sheila Fraser has been warning about "flaws" that could potentially put the Federal Government is infrastructure at risk. More recently, as CATA Alliance groups have called for Canada follow the example of the United States in the appointment of a coordinator of computer security to ensure a unified response to security incidents, build partnerships between government agencies, encourage new technologies and raise awareness of safety issues.

Government employs hacker in the new scheme of courageous

Since the dawn of computing, there was a cold war between those who manage computer systems and those who attack them.

And never will--at least until now.

Speaking at ShmooCon hacker Conference in Washinton DC, Defense Advanced Research projects Agency (DARPA) project manager Peiter Zatko announced Cyber Fast Track, a new scheme that will build on the skills of "small organisations, shops, spaces for hackers, [and] maker labs" in order to find solutions to computer security.

Zatko is perhaps better known in the circles of hackers from the handle "mudge" and as a lifetime member of the cult of Dead Cow and collective L0pht. created the legendary password cracking tool L0phtCrack and was one of the first to highlight the buffer overflow hack in 1995. In 1998 he said famously a Senate Committee that hackers could break the Internet within 30 minutes.

The nature of government contracting means that cybersecurity projects undertaken by the Department of Defense typically involve millions of dollars and are designed to take years to complete. There is nothing wrong with that, Zatko credits, but thinking more agile you need.

Zatko described what he called "asymmetry" between the ease of malware creation than the solutions used to defend against it; a piece of malware typically involves 125 lines of computer code, he said, and that has remained the same since 1985. However, the latest unified threat management solutions involve approximately 10,000,000 lines of code, having increased by the same type of figures such as malware in 1985.

Associate a value of a dollar for every line of code, it is clear that the creation of defensive solutions is becoming increasingly expensive, complex and time consuming, while the malware is still simple to produce.

Zatko's solution is to harness those within the community of hacking that typically have research to conventions or white hat, but whose work flies under the radar of DARPA. He intends to exploit the teams or individuals employed at the back of short fixed-price contracts for DARPA produce results in months rather than years.

"I went over to the dark side because they need it," Zatko explained in his keynote, referring to its occupation by DARPA and adding later: "I want the Government to amend and change".

So will it work?

To answer the question is necessary to understand what motivates hackers: curiosity, a sense of fun and community. Discover the secrets within software or hardware is a reward in itself, but these secrets to share with other permanent increases among your peers.

Although hackers have had various criticisms leveled at them over the years, few have suggested ever hackers are motivated by money. That kind of thinking is limited to fiction.

Mere pecuniary advantage, however, is not what uses Zatko to motivate his former classmates. He spoke of the creation of "incubators hacker" and clarified that the DoD does not ask any commercial rights of scoperte innovations.

In essence, Zatko wants to sponsor researchers, rather than providing them with rewards if they do well. This is much more in thought with aspirations of typical hacker--always someone to pay the Bills, while you do the things they love. And, in any case, at the end of the process the hacker or group concerned is free to try all the rewards you can get to work.

Zatko simply wants to harness the enormous power of the brain and creativity of the community hacker, and as a former member, he knows exactly what makes him tick. Although his regime will not be in operation for a few months yet, there are signs that could produce results which improve safety for all of us.

You can view the speech of Zatko below on YouTube.

Keir Thomas has made known his opinion on matters of calculation from the last century and more recently has written several best-selling books. You can read more about him at http://keirthomas.com. His Twitter feed is @ keirthomas.

Clinton says harmful Government Internet censorship

Countries that continue to censor Internet addressing economic and social costs in the long term, with oppression bringing civil unrest and not security, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday.

Although some countries, including China, now are growing economically while censoring the Internet, that growth is not sustainable, Clinton said during a speech on Internet freedom at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Clinton called on Governments in China, Iran, Viet Nam, Burma and elsewhere to end censorship on the Internet while pointing at recent attempts at censorship in Egypt and Tunisia which failed.

Countries will not be able to keep the divisions which separate economic activities on the Internet from social activities, religious or political, Clinton said. Some countries have tried to achieve the economic benefits of the Internet while blocking other tasks, he said.

"The walls that divide the Internet, blocking the policy content, or banning broad categories of expression or allow some forms of peaceful assembly, but not in others, or intimidate people to express their ideas are much easier to erect than to maintain," he said. "There is an economic and social Internet Internet and a politician of the Internet. There is just the Internet ".

Attempts to censor the Internet while reaping the economic benefits will cost "moral, political and economic" that are not sustainable in the long term, he added. "There are opportunity costs to try to be open for business but closed to free expression, the costs of the education system of a nation, its political stability, social mobility and its economic potential," said Clinton. "When countries restrict the freedom of the Internet, have put limits on their economic future."

Speech Clinton Tuesday is his second major address on Internet freedom. In January 2010, announced several new initiatives of the State Department for the fight against Internet censorship.

The Chinese Government has criticized his first speech and denied that it restricted the freedom of the Internet.

Clinton China repeatedly mentioned during the keynote address on Tuesday. Some observers have noted that China's economy is growing while the country's Internet censorship, he said.

But Internet restrictions will have "long-term costs that threaten a day to become a noose that restrains the growth and development," he said.

Countries to censor the Internet should look at recent events in Egypt and Tunisia, Clinton added. In Tunisia, the Internet has provided economic connections in Europe, while censorship was "on a par with China and Iran," he said.

"The effort to divide the Internet economy by Internet all-else it might not be supported," he said. "Young people--especially--found ways to use technology connections to organize and Share grievances, which as we know, have contributed to a movement that led to revolutionary change of fuel".

Businesses should be wary of operating in countries with heavy Internet censorship schemes, said Clinton.

"If you invest in countries with aggressive censorship and surveillance policies, you may close your website without notice, from government servers hacked, your designs are stolen, or your staff threatened with arrest or expelled for failure to comply with an order politically motivated," he said. "Risks to your bottom line and its integrity, at some point, will exceed the potential rewards, especially if there are market opportunities elsewhere."

Grant Gross covers technology and telecommunications policy in the Government of the United States for the IDG News Service. Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. E-mail address is grant_gross@idg.com of Grant.

Canada: new attacks on two government departments

Daniel Kennedy leads initiatives in politics and in the management of operational safety, conducts the certification strategy and risk assessment and is head of business continuity planning and disaster recovery to the Praetorian security group, LLC.

Praetorian Security Group first, Daniel was the global head of information security at D.B. Zwirn & co where he managed the company's information security. He was specifically responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of information security policy of the company. Managed security metrics reporting, also the program of awareness raising and education of safety, security incident response, security control and develop the company's strategy for the security technology. In this role he worked closely with the firm's CIO, COO, head of compliance, head of legal, head of infrastructure, head of client services overseas and IT managers.

Before D.B. Zwirn, Daniel was Vice President and program director for the security application program at Pershing LLC, a division of the Bank of New York. Responsibilities of Daniel including management of the firm's application security, coordination of application vulnerability assessments and testing, application security, training, documentation of the secure coding guidelines and application security development firm SDLC penetration. He was the primary liaison for application security concerns among teams as the Information Security Office, Internal Audit, risk of Information Management (IRM) and teams of business and application development. He served on several committees, including the security infrastructure, Workgroup and chartered security architecture and chaired the Security Council of the enterprise application, an interdisciplinary team consisting of application developers and security experts on the subject.

His previous positions include the Pershing and development management positions in systems engineering of web applications creation company to facilitate the online brokerage. He was also employed at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Inc., a technology analyst for the Treasury.

Daniel Degree Master of Science in information systems from Stevens Institute of Technology, a Master of Science in information assurance from Norwich University and a Bachelor of Science in Information Management and Technology from Syracuse University. He is certified as a CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) of the EC-Council, a CISSP and an NASD Series 7 license.

You can also follow him on Twitter, and the Praetorian Prefect of blog.

ITU wants to help the Government to avoid the bottleneck Mobile

Whitespace devices, LTE, femtocells, Wi-Fi automatic handover, optimized backhaul networks: wireless operators already distributes a wide range of techniques to increase the speed of the flow of data to our Smartphones, and equipment manufacturers are showing many more at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.

But all this still won't be sufficient to ensure that the data continues to flow, as the number of Smartphone rises from 500 million to almost two billion by 2015, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an agency of the United Nations.

ITU wants Governments to act now, additional spectrum licenses for mobile communication networks and making it easier for operators of fixed networks intended to roll out fibre links that mobile operators need to connect to the growing number of mobile phone base stations.

"Mobile operators have invested billions to upgrade and improve capacity and performance of their networks, but in some cities with a high rate of use, as San Francisco, New York and London, we're seeing more users frustrated by chronic problems of network outages," Secretary General Mr Hamadoun Touré ITU warned Friday.

If help more government intervention is questionable: for the city of high-use Touré CITES, Governments are already well ahead of the pack.

One of the strategies that he suggests, forcing TV stations to switch to digital transmitters more efficient, freeing up spectrum for other uses, has already been adopted in the United States and United Kingdom. In 2008, the Government of the United States to auction former analogue TV spectrum in the band 700 MHz and Verizon Wireless has already started to offer its mobile broadband service LTE (Long Term Evolution) in New York, San Francisco and other cities.

The United Kingdom too has analog TV transmitters turned off (France will follow suit this year) and is the roll-out of fibre-optic connections at home: as many as 600,000 Uk homes could be connected to fiber later this year.

While analogue TV spectrum was an easy target, other frequencies may be released for mobile communications. For convenient mass produce mobile telephones and modem, but the same frequencies must be available on all continents. This availability is decided at the World Radiocommunication Conference, a three-week event intergovernmental-long, organized by the ITU every three or four years. The last WRC ended on November 16, 2007: the next begins on January 23, 2012, in Geneva, and mobile operators will undoubtedly keep a very close eye on the debates.

Peter Sayer covers open source software, the legislation on intellectual property and General technology breaking news for IDG News Service. Send comments and suggestions of news to Peter at peter_sayer@idg.com.