Army to get instant messaging

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2001/0730/web-ako-07-31-01.asp

[Somehow, mark my words, defacing army.mil servers will be passe, but
compromising AKO accounts will be the new pastime for crackers. Send
porn sites to General Shelton, or gripe at General Shinseki on how
harebrained it was to give black Ranger berets to everyone in the Army
whether they are airborne qualified, or not. :)  - WK]


By George I. Seffers 
July 31, 2001 

The U.S. Army will use Bantu Inc.s Instant Messaging for its Army
Knowledge Online Web portal, which is expected to draw 3 million users
by 2003. 

Army Knowledge Online (AKO) (www.us.army.mil) enables soldiers
anywhere in the world to access Army information, news, education and
training opportunities, knowledge centers and e-mail. 

"Presence and [instant messaging] will be integral components of the
Armys online knowledge-management initiative," said Col. Robert Coxe,
Army chief technology officer, in a statement. "Bantus highly secure
tools will enable AKO users worldwide to share enterprise information
instantly and easily in a fully encrypted environment." 

Through Bantus Presence Platform, icons will show portal members which
colleagues are online and available to communicate. The AKO portal is
described as one piece of the Armys effort to use information
technology to spur innovation in services, processes and knowledge
creation. 

The service and Bantu announced the instant messaging deal in a
written statement July 30 but declined to disclose the value of the
contract. 

Bantus contract with the Army includes installation of instant
messaging and the Presence Platform in the Armys secure environment to
be accessed by both classified and unclassified personnel. Bantu will
provide the same instant messaging services within the Army White
Pages, a worldwide locator service providing contact information for
anyone with an AKO account. 

Bantu is based in Washington, D.C. 


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