Government Technology - February 2008 - (Page 52)

pectrumBehind the reports from the IT horizon spectrum ideas to managing editor Karen Stewartson kstewartson@ govtech.com Send j FEB_08 Satisfaction not Guaranteed Citizens are less satisﬁed with federal government services than with privatesector services, according to an annual report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). In aggregate, citizen satisfaction with the federal government is 67.8 on ACSI’s 100point scale, 11 percent lower than the average national ACSI (75.2). Private-sector services scored 74. Biggest Cyber-Threats Here are the 10 most prevalent computer malware threats, as a percentage of all e-mail-borne malware, along with the 10 countries hosting the most malware during November 2007, according to Sophos, an IT security and control ﬁrm. E-Mail-Based Malware Threats Troj/Pushdo W32/Traxg W32/Netsky Mal/Dropper W32/Zaﬁ W32/Mytob W32/Flcss W32/MyDoom W32/Strati W32/Bagle 29% 24% 18% 5% 5% 5% 3% 3% 3% 1% Countries Hosting Web Malware China (inc. Hong Kong) 55% United States 20% Russia 11% Ukraine 2% Germany 2% Turkey 1% Canada 0.8% United Kingdom 0.7% Poland 0.7% France 0.6% Neither public- nor privatesector organizations are adequately planning and investing in new data centers, according to a survey conducted by the Aperture Research Institute. The survey covered 600 data center facilities in the finance, health-care, government, retail, pharmaceutical and telecommunications industries across the U.S. Almost two-thirds (64 percent) admitted they weren’t planning or building new data centers. Thirtysix percent predicted demand for scaling their operations, and are building and/or planning new data centers. Despite the age and unreadiness of some data centers, there’s already an investment in high-density computing, with 87 percent of organizations having introduced blade servers. Of survey respondents that were building a data center, 26 percent anticipated between two and three years before the center would go live, while 15 percent planned for more than three years. Curve Google me Ignoring Security The increasingly mobile nature of the U.S. work force is creating new security challenges for IT staffs, according to research from the Computing Technology Industry Association. Sixty percent of the 1,070 organizations surveyed said security issues related to the use of handheld devices for data access and transfer increased signiﬁcantly or increased somewhat over the past 12 months. Nearly 80 percent of the organizations allow data access by remote or mobile employees, but just 32 percent of organizations said they have implemented security awareness training for these workers. Just 10 percent plan to implement training in the next 12 months. Almost half of all U.S. Internet users — 47 percent— have searched for information about themselves online, according to a poll conducted in 2006 and released in December 2007 by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Only 22 percent of Internet users googled themselves in 2002. 52

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - February 2008

Government Technology - February 2008 Contents Point of View Big Picture The Last Mile On the Screen Products Four Questions for... CSI Effect Bad Medicine Making Health Care Personal Cashing In GIS for Less Nabbing Speedsters First Person: Records Management Chatter Box Oregon Data Centers Go Green Products Two Cents Spectrum Up Close Personal Computing signal:noise Government Solutions - Spring 2008 Power Play Double Duty Cleaning House Twice Prepared Smart Move The Path to Success Foundation for Service

Government Technology - February 2008

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