Maintenance efficiency in the rail network
the Ministry of Transport and Communications, and its responsibilities include operation, maintenance and development of the State's railway infrastructure. The maintenance activities must safeguard safety ... The primary objective of railway politics is to contribute to ensure that users of the transport service have good railway options. The Norwegian National Rail Administration is organised under ... , fixed assets and operational stability of the railway system. The most important objective for the maintenance is to reduce the scope of operational interruptions, and to facilitate better punctuality ... ... Rail network maintenance - negative balance of costs and results ... SAI Norway evaluated efficiency of the railway maintenance and found that its costs increased nearly 110 per cent in years 2006–2014. Negative development in uptime and regularity dominated the first ... part of the examined period, from 2006 to 2011. It turned positive from 2011, but in 2014 results were still worse than in 2006. The results have lagged behind the Ministry's target figures for most ... of the period.
Full description

Cyber Attacks: Securing Agencies’ICT Systems
responsibility of agencies, having regard to their business operations and specific risks. In the context of a national government, those risks can range from threats to national security through to the disclosure ... Cyber crime is an international problem, and it is estimated that in 2012, 5.4 million Australians fell victim to such crimes, with an estimated cost to the economy of $1.65 billion ... . In the government sector, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD)3 has estimated that between January and December 2012, there were over 1790 security incidents against Australian Government agencies. Of these, 685 ... ... Cyber-security strategy needs consistent implementation and periodic reviews ... List of 35 mitigation controls against cyber intrusions are a basic tool of information security strategy of the Australian Government. Top four are: 1. application whitelisting, 2. patching ... application, 3. patching operating systems, 4. minimising administrative privileges. Analysis by the ANAO helps to fill gaps and to direct next steps.
Full description

Open Government Data - Are all exceptions to the principle of cost-free access and reuse legitimate?
secretariat for government modernisation (Secrétariat General pour la Modernisation de l'Action Publique - SGMAP), in conjunction with the Minister with responsibility for the budget, to "assess the business ... The United Kingdom, a country seen, like the United States, as a pioneer in open public data, has estimated at £6.8bn (€7,9bn) the revenue in 2010 and 2011 generated for British society by open ... public data, of which £5bn (€5.8bn) is profit. As an example, a start-up has highlighted the existence of areas in which massive savings can be made by analysing prescriptions of patented drugs ... ... Open data strategy should decide the costs problem ... French Cour des comptes presents analysis on implementation of the open data practice across the administration. Massive savings are expected, when public access to large amounts of highquality data ... is made easy. France is among the pioneers and countries making the most rapid progress in this domain. Charges for the reuse of the public information has been identified as the main problem.
Full description

Public access point to the Polish e-Administration
Coordinated audit series (46 auditees) focused on a web solution applied to give an easy access to Government e-services (the project planned to be completed in 2013) The audit was performed in 2008 ... and public report issued in March 2009. Primary goal of th presentation was intended to illustrate the use of 'e-Government Algorithm' elaborated by EUROSAI IT Working Group in 2005. One of issues mede better ... known by the audit was 'Project Frameworks vs Public Procurement'. ... ... Buyer, provider and methodologies need a balance ... Presentation based on a vast audit by Polish SAI which subject was of big network project aiming to provide one access point to Government and Selfgovernments services. The presentation illustrates ... old EUROSAI IT Wg 'Algorithm approach' and focuses on procurement systemic problems.
Full description

State funds spent on development, operation and using of data centres services
The aim of the audit was to scrutinise the management of funds spent on building and operating the national data centre (hereinafter “STC1 data centre”), including the expenditure of selected ... organisational units of the state on buying hosting, server-housing and other related services. The audited period was between 2010 and 2014; where relevant, the preceding period was also scrutinised. Audited ... entities: Ministry of the Interior (“MoI”); Ministry of Finance (“MoF”); STÁTNÍ TISKÁRNA CENIN, state firm (state banknote printing firm, hereinafter “STC” or “the state firm”). The audit was conducted ... ... Risks steming from uncoordinated strategy ... SAI of Czech Republic analysed consequences of failures in strategic IT management at the state level. Lack of coordination and implementation rules reduced practical role of the ministry whose task ... was to guard high quality standards for all crucial IT systems in the state administration. Next consecquences were (among others) risk of uneconomical results of large IT investment and risk of inefficient ... supply of services, as well as opposite results of workforce reduction.
Full description

Digitisation of municipal services
The purpose of digitisation is to increase the quality and efficiency of public services. It is a goal to make online services the norm for public administration's communication with citizens ... and the private sector. The municipal sector is a significant provider of public services, and digitisation of municipal services is therefore essential for achieving this goal.<br/>The audit surveyed the status ... , assessed the significance of and possible obstacles to digitisation of municipal services. The audit examined how the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation's use of policy instruments contributes ... ... Municipalities have not digitised their services to any extent ... Digitisation increases the quality and efficiency of public services and municipal sector is a significant provider of public services. Report of Riksrevisjonen of Norway shows however ... , that municipalities need a substantial support to execute this demanding task. To provide them with help, the central government has to coordinate own efforts first.
Full description

Management of State Information Resources
The objective of the audit was to assess effectiveness of the management of the state information resources and of the use of their possibilities: suitability of the chosen state resources management ... model; rationality of the use of the State Budget funds when managing information resources; use of the possibilities of the state information resources to improve the performance of the public sector ... . Audit procedures were performed in all major institutions which form and implement the policy of information resources: Ministry of Transport and Communications, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry ... Well targeted requirements, interconnected information resources and broad use - why so difficult to be gained? ... The leading idea of the 'Approach to Management of State Information Resources' programme was to entrench a comprehensive management of data resources. After five years preparations, the desired ... momentum was still not the case. SAI Lithuania analysed roots of the problems: concept, poor use of funds, lack of interconnections, unsatified users.
Full description