E-Government Security
and Future M-Government
Kahtan I. Aziz Ph.D., SMIEEE, MIET, Ceng - Program Director , Al-Ghurair University, Dubai, UAE., kahtan@ieee.org
Governments around the world are
community centers (self-service or
Firewall
embracing electronic government. In
facilitated by others), wireless devices
Firewall reduces the contact that
every region of the globe from devel-
or other communications systems.
applications and information have with
oping countries to industrialized ones
E-Government Security
threats over the Internet.
national and local governments are
A typical e-Government service will
The firewall looks at all incoming
putting critical information online, auto-
involve a number of different manage-
signals, such as e-mail or HTTP
mating once cumbersome processes
ment regimes referred to as security
requests, for damaging commands.
and interacting electronically with their
domains. Different security assump-
Only non-damaging signals are sent
citizens.
tions apply to each domain. For exam-
to the servers. This makes it harder for
This enthusiasm comes in part from a
ple, one security domain might be
viruses and hackers to attack the E-
belief that technology can transform
entirely under the control of the client,
government system.
government's often negative image. In
while another
many places, citizens view their
m i g h t
b e
government as bloated, wasteful, and
c o m p l e t e l y
unresponsive to their most pressing
u n d e r
t h e
needs.
control of the
Mistrust of government is rife among
s e r v i c e
the public and businesses. Civil
provider. The
servants are often seen as profiteers.
s e c u r i t y
The spread of information and
domain model
communication technology (ICT)
is illustrated in
brings hope that government can
Figure 1 below.
transform. And, indeed, forward-
looking officials everywhere are using
technology to improve their govern-
ments. UAE government over the past
few years have been leading the way
in the development of e-government.
Defined broadly, e-government is the
use of ICT to promote more efficient
and effective government, facilitate
m o r e
a c c e s s i b l e
g o v e r n m e n t
services, allow greater public access
to information, and make government
more accountable to citizens. E-
government might involve delivering
services via the Internet, telephone,
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Issue 71 December 2013
2013 71

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