BBC journalists in the war zones of Iraq or North Africa
will be able to access their e-mails and send written news reports
from the field when the corporation goes live with a new virtual
private network next month.
The technology will allow journalists to maintain contact with the
London newsroom when in remote areas. It will also be useful when
finding a high quality phone line or a mobile base station proves
difficult, Andy Leigh, information security specialist at the BBC
will tell the Infosecurity conference next week.
"If there is no telephone infrastructure, journalists find
themselves using whatever they can get their hands on," he
said.
Reporters are accustomed to using satellite links to beam pictures
to the UK, but filing written stories or sending and receiving
e-mails has proved more difficult.
The BBC plans to give its journalists specially configured lap-tops
that can be connected to a phone line, or an Ethernet connection in
a hotel or local embassy to create communication links with the
UK.
To protect the BBC network the laptops will be fitted with
sophisticated security software that will only allow journalists to
make connections if their machines are protected with anti-virus
software and firewalls.
The BBC tested the VPN with 100 users for four months late last
year. The corporation took extensive soundings from the
news-gathering division and consulted with news journalists before
designing the system, said Leigh.
The system will be available from the middle of May and will
eventually serve up to 6,000 people. BBC businesses will buy access
to the system, which means it could pay for itself within a year to
18 months, depending on the take-up, said Leigh.