[Linux-bruxelles] Japon sous Linux

[Luc Viatour]

 Le gouvernement japonais, à l'initiative d'un programme de
développement de l'e-gouvernement, va étudier le possible remplacement
de l'OS actuellement utilisé dans les institutions gouvernementales,
Windows, par des solutions libres - en particulier GNU/Linux.

Les raisons invoquées sont principalement liées au degré de sécurité
nécessité par le projet et au bas prix, mais la liberté de modification
du code est également mentionnée.

* [en] Source: Reuters (lire dans l'Hindustan Times)


Japan may drop Windows to boost security   Reuters
Tokyo, November 16

The Japanese government will consider replacing Microsoft Corp's
Windows, used in much of its computer networks, with another operating
system to bolster security, a newspaper said.

The safety of computer networks is under scrutiny as Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi's administration presses on towards a long-held goal
of "e-government", which would allow citizens to deal with government
agencies via the Internet.

Windows now serves at the operating system for the bulk of servers and
personal computers that are used for the Japanese government's computer
networks, the Asahi Shimbun said.

But the government is interested in studying the possibility of adopting
alternative operating systems, particularly open source programmes such
as Linux, the newspaper said.

The advantage of open source programmes is that unlike Microsoft's
software products, they do not require licensing fees and can be
modified because their source codes are made available for free. This
makes it easier for system operators to cope with any problems that
could arise, the paper said.

The source, or blueprint, of a programme determines how it works.

The Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and
Telecommunications will set up a panel of experts to study how other
countries are using open source operating systems as early as the next
fiscal year that starts next April, the paper said.

Public Management ministry officials were not immediately available for
comment.

The review will take place after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's
panel on promoting electronic government asked the government in August
to develop or introduce an open-source programme for security reasons,
the newspaper said.

Concerns about computer security were stoked in August, when a leak of
computer data for a computer network used by Japan's military came to
light.

The news of the data leak had come just a day after the introduction of
a mandatory ID system that keeps track of personal data electronically,
identifying every Japanese citizen with an 11-digit number.

A number of municipalities have refused to implement the system, fearing
misuse by hackers.

Linux, essentially a free version of the proprietary Unix operating
system, has been making strong inroads into the market for servers, the
machines that manage networks of computers.

This prompted Microsoft, which dominates the personal computer software
market with its Windows operating system but is a relatively new entrant
in the server market, to make an exhaustive study of the threats posed
by open source.
-- 
Luc Viatour     
Dupedi S.A.,  rue de Stalle 70-82 1180 Bruxelles
Tel: 02.333 07 18  Fax: 02.332 05 98 Website: http://www.dupedi.be


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