US calls for 'YouTube' of government data

The US technology chief has called on developers to build the "YouTube" of government data.

Vivek Kundra told that he envisaged a world where anyone could "slice and dice" government information and share their results.

Mr Kundra is in charge of the US data.gov website, which gives citizens access to reams of official statistics.

People can use the data to create mashups and web applications to reveal new patterns and carry out analysis.

"Imagine a world where you have a YouTube for data where anyone of us could slice and dice this data and share it with our family, friends and policymakers", he said.

He envisaged that the tool would allow anyone to explore data and see whether it was relevant to them at a local, national or global scale.

'Careful use'

Data.gov is part of President Barack Obama's larger push to make the US government more open and transparent.

For example, it has just launched Opinion Space - a website where people around the globe can submit their thoughts on US foreign policy.

Data.gov was launched in May 2009 by Mr Kundra in an effort to "unlock" the vast databases of information held by the US government.

It holds information on everything from agriculture and education to budgets and crime statistics."Consider how much data the government has," Mr Kundra said.

"By democratising we put information in the hands of citizens so that they can make better decisions and fundamentally change the way we deliver services."

The idea has been criticised by some who feel that government could better use its resources to provide accessible, understandable information for everyone, rather than a raw data stream for developers.

Initially, it was also criticised for only holding a limited number of data sets, many of which were already available. But steadily, the number is growing.

This was in part, Mr Kundra said, because the project had involved a major cultural change for the agencies that had previously held the data.

"We also have to be mindful that in no way do we violate the privacy of the people that we serve or national security for that matter."

'Unimagined change'

It currently has 1,276 sets which have been downloaded 25,618 times in the last week. The number of apps using the data is also increasing.Mr Kundra highlighted an iPhone app built to allow people to search for product recalls, using data from the Consumer Protection Safety Commission.

He said "contests and challenges" were being run to encourage more apps to be built.

"We've seen the army, for example, issue a challenge called apps for the army," he said.

He said the opening up of government data had the potential to create new jobs and new industries.

"I would argue that in the same way websites may have been a novel concept in the early days of the internet, what we are seeing today is the emergence of government as a platform, and now you'll see innovation happen on top of that.

"New businesses will be created that we cannot imagine today. New services will be deployed and the public will have greater transparency to participate in the democratic institutions in ways that they could have never imagined before."

HSBC admits huge Swiss bank data theft

About 24,000 clients of HSBC's private banking operation in Switzerland had personal details stolen by a former employee, the company has admitted.
In December, HSBC said that just 10 account holders were affected by the theft, which happened three years ago.
The information stolen concerns 15,000 accounts that are still active. Another 9,000 accounts have been closed since the theft.
HSBC says that it does not think the data can be used to access accounts.
"We deeply regret this situation and unreservedly apologise to our clients for this threat to their privacy," said Alexandre Zeller, chief executive of HSBC Private Bank (Suisse).
"We are determined to protect our clients' interests and are taking every necessary measure to do so, actively contacting all our clients with Swiss-based accounts," he said.
The former employee, Herve Falciani, who worked in HSBC's IT division, fled to France while under investigation in Switzerland.
French authorities subsequently seized the data, and then passed it to the Swiss Federal Prosecutor.
Switzerland's financial and banking regulator said it had launched "formal administrative proceedings against HSBC" over the security breach, adding that the stolen data was "extensive".
HSBC, which first learnt of a data breach in December 2008, said it had since invested 100m Swiss francs ($93.3m; £62.3m) to upgrade and improve the security of its data systems.
Mr Zeller said, however, that it was "still unclear how Falciani managed to steal the information".
He said that HSBC had only become aware of the extent of the leak after Swiss authorities received the information from France and then alerted the bank on 3 March.
HSBC said that the account holders were based in several European countries, including Britain.
Tax evasion
News of the theft comes as the US and some countries in Europe try to crack down on tax evasion through the use of overseas accounts.
In recent years there has been pressure on Switzerland and Liechtenstein to become more transparent about accounts held there.
This is thought to have led to some bank employees stealing account data and passing it to tax authorities.
In Germany, an anonymous informer has offered to sell data stolen from an unnamed Swiss bank to tax officials.
Previously, Germany bought similar stolen data about clients of a bank in Liechtenstein. Some of this information was handed to tax authorities in the UK, which is also thought to have paid for the data.
French tax authorities are thought to be investigating up to 3,000 of its nationals using bank accounts outside the country.
Government authorities have defended paying for stolen data as in the public interest. However, the practice has been strongly criticised.
The UK's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) office paid around £100,000 for information about its taxpayers with bank accounts in Liechtenstein, according to accountants UHY Hacker Young.
"Paying criminals for data stolen from banks is highly questionable," said the firm's tax partner, Roy Maugham.
"If people know that there is a market for this data, they will steal it in expectation that HMRC or another tax authority will hand over a six figure sum," he said.