By Suzanna Kerridge, 10 July 1998 06:37
NEWS The UK government yesterday unveiled the latest prototype of its hi-tech ministerial electronic red box. As part of the Cabinet Office's plans to drag Whitehall into the 21st century, David Clark, Minister for public services, called the prototype "a godsend". He said the red box "draws people to thinking how government services are moving from paper-based to the transferral of electronic documents". However, the latest version, called Mark II, is a shadow of its former self. The signet ring identification process has been replaced with a smartcard, and attempts to incorporate fingerprint and voice recognition have temporarily been abandoned. Clark said the red box may include fingerprint identification technology, soon to be released by Compaq, when it goes into production at the end of the year. "We have done away with the ring and are using a smartcard, as it is less ostentatious and fits in with the government philosophy to 'go with the flow' and use what is commercially available," he said. The red box is based on a Digital notebook. Ministers will access government information using a Gemplus smartcard. The Central Government IT Unit has worked with software house, RHEA, to develop a secure operating system based on its flagship Latches product. Although the electronic red box is not mandatory, Clark said it will be made available to ministers on demand.
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