[ISN] Army to get instant messaging

From: InfoSec News (isnat_private)
Date: Wed Aug 01 2001 - 02:46:53 PDT

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    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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