Further information can be found at the link to the German  Bundesamt f r Sicher 

heit in der Informationstechnik  (Federal Office for Information Security).

http://www.bsi.de/dasbsi/index.htm

This Federal Office also offers a practical handbook on e government, which contains

a kind of manual for authorities, a section on security and privacy and a phase plan for

the implementation of e government services. http://www.bsi.de/fachthem/egov/3.htm

(only in German). 

The Bertelsmann Foundation s State & Public Administration Division is currently

working on an international benchmarking study on e government and e democracy.

(check the Bertelsmann website: http://www.bertelsmann stiftung.de/begix)

Security

In order for e government to work, authenticity must be assured. Also people must be

able to verify the person with whom they are conducting business. It is crucial that tight

security procedures and policies are maintained. For security to be effective, a security

policy and methods of monitoring staff adherence to it need to be developed. If a good

policy is in place and you are able to prove that staff abides by it, you may avoid legal

problems in the future.

The New York State Archives suggests various methods of preventing or minimising

the threat of security risks.

32

These methods, which include firewalls, encryption and

electronic signatures, work best when they are used together as part of an integrated

strategy. Remember, however, that none of these security measures is foolproof. You will

need to constantly monitor and revise your security practices.

In the UK, a the timetable for implementing the freedom of information act was

announced by the Lord Chancellor on 13 November 2001.The act will be implemented

in full by January 2005.

33

New anti terrorism measures are under consideration in the

wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in America, but the Lord Chancellor's

Department has indicated that the act would be unaffected, as its national security

exemptions are comprehensive.

One security issue that is of particular interest to public libraries is being able to offer

secure online transactions via public computers. Because of the widespread practice in

libraries of caching to improve response times on public machines, there is the potential

for serious security breaches. There are links to the following software programs on the

35