Increased Security Measures In Government Sites: Brown University Report

A Brown University analysis of government Web sites found that more federal and state sites are taking security and privacy seriously compared to last year. The Center for Public Policy at Brown analyzed 1,265 federal and state sites, measuring available . . . A Brown University analysis of government Web sites found that more federal and state sites are taking security and privacy seriously compared to last year. The Center for Public Policy at Brown analyzed 1,265 federal and state sites, measuring available features, variations between state and federal sites, and responsiveness to citizens' information requests.

According to the study, 34 percent of the sites now have a visible security policy, up from 18 percent last year. And 43 percent have some form of privacy policy, up from 28 percent two years ago.

But the attention to security has led to an increase in restricted areas on government Web sites, some of which require registration and passwords for access, and occasionally fees. Six percent of government sites surveyed had restricted areas and 1 percent had premium features requiring payment.

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