Computerized system for offices stressed

DAWN
2nd April, 2004

Speakers at a seminar on Thursday called for adopting computerized mechanisms in offices and having automated data, which would be far more safer than paper documentation.

The seminar on ‘Computer Security: Challenges and Solution’ was organized by the Pakistan Press Foundation in connection with World Computer Security Day being observed on Aril 4.

Speaking on the occasion, the chairman of MIS and Computer Department, Institute of Business Administration, Dr Sayeed Ghani, said that despite the existence of security threats electronic system was much more safer than manual mechanism.

He said that in the computerized system there were checks to tell about changes made in data and time of their occurrence. “While the chances of being able to detect alteration done in paper documents are far less.”

Mr Ghani rejected the general perception that adopting computerized systems at government offices would leave important and confidential record unsafe.

He categorized the threats attached to computer security into privacy, integrity and authentication. He said in order to save data or a particular piece of information from being hacked or manipulated, Public Key infrastructure (PKI), Certificate Authority and legal cover were required.

He said the NIFT, to be launched in July 2004, would ensure privacy, integrity and authentication. “While tha legal cover has been provided through Electronic Transaction Ordinance,” he added.

The chairman of the Computer Society of Pakistan (CSP), Abdul Ghaffar Memon, said incidents of misplacing and stealing data were increasing day by day. Still, he said, electronic record keeping was most suitable as in this way there used to be backups of all data, not always possible in paper documentation.

“If an office containing records in papers gets burned, you lose all the data. While if a centre having facts and figures in computers information is burned, we have back up files," he maintained.

Mr Ghaffar said that to ensure data security employees must be educated in using computers and keeping the records safe. "However, it must also be ensured that company may access the information, in case a employee is absent," he said.

He suggested the organizations using computerized mechanism to change passwords frequently, warning that other wise it was easy to break in their systems. He also recommended using virtual private network.

The CSP chief said that pirated compact disks were among the main sources of computer viruses in Pakistan while floppy disks might also contain viruses. He observed that the best way to keep a computer safe form viruses was to avoid opening e-mails sent form unknown sources, particularly if it had an attachment.

He said that anti-virus programmes installed in computer gave limited security, as these could detect only old viruses. “Whenever a newly-created virus enters computer, the anti-virus programme fails to detect it,” he added.

The additional secretary on information technology, Sindh, Dr A. D. Sajnani, said the Federal Investigating Agency had been assigned to deal with cyber crimes and the NRCCC would formulate laws in this connection.

He told that the Sindh government was on its way to paperless administration and office automation. “An E-government project has been started, under which initially health, education, finance, planning and development, and services and general administration departments would be computerized,” he added.