Standardise Uganda’s web, email addresses
Nov 25, 2009
EDITOR—I recently received an email claiming to be from the founder of a large global corporation to collect a certificate of appreciation for charity work in my community and a decent sum of money as a gesture of sharing the company’s fortune.
EDITOR—I recently received an email claiming to be from the founder of a large global corporation to collect a certificate of appreciation for charity work in my community and a decent sum of money as a gesture of sharing the company’s fortune.
The return email address of the ‘philanthropist’ had a known household name and @gmail.com as the suffix. It was immediately obvious that the email did not come from a legitimate source. Reputable organisations do not use free web-based email providers due to security concerns.
Furthermore, sensitive or private information could potentially end up being misused. It is despicable that some Uganda government agencies use free web-based email service providers for official and sensitive correspondence. An example is Ugandan diplomatic missions abroad!
I believe the department of foreign affairs has a budgetary allocation for IT services that is publicly funded. The use of free web-based email by Government agencies is therefore not justified and should be discouraged. Ugandan foreign missions abroad represent our country and all forms of communication should reflect formalities associated with Government, including email addresses.
In this era of information technological revolution, it should not be difficult for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to acquire a server that can be configured and administered centrally to handle official correspondence to and from the missions. Web-based email addresses are an embarrassment to the country and their use should stop.
Saul Chemonges
Kampala
The return email address of the ‘philanthropist’ had a known household name and @gmail.com as the suffix. It was immediately obvious that the email did not come from a legitimate source. Reputable organisations do not use free web-based email providers due to security concerns.
Furthermore, sensitive or private information could potentially end up being misused. It is despicable that some Uganda government agencies use free web-based email service providers for official and sensitive correspondence. An example is Ugandan diplomatic missions abroad!
I believe the department of foreign affairs has a budgetary allocation for IT services that is publicly funded. The use of free web-based email by Government agencies is therefore not justified and should be discouraged. Ugandan foreign missions abroad represent our country and all forms of communication should reflect formalities associated with Government, including email addresses.
In this era of information technological revolution, it should not be difficult for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to acquire a server that can be configured and administered centrally to handle official correspondence to and from the missions. Web-based email addresses are an embarrassment to the country and their use should stop.
Saul Chemonges
Kampala