Armenian experts focus on e-resources protection

PanARMENIAN.Net - “Literary heritage of Armenia is threatened,” deputy director of the National Library of Armenia Rafik Ghazaryan said. “Preservation of information, regardless of data carriers, requires significant recourses. Programs aimed at creation of proper conditions in libraries and museums to optimize the process are being currently discussed by the government,” he told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

The Fundamental Library of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia (RA NAS) digitized over 500 ancient books, making 200 of them available on the internet. As library director Tigran Zargaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, the process was launched in 2006, with Armenian editions digitized first due to storage issues. The RA NAS Fundamental Library holds over 4000 books dating back to 1512-1920s. Over 3 million books and periodicals are stored in library fund.

Currently, National Library fund lists over 4 thousand electronic books. Part of our electronic library was provided by publishers. The library administration plans to procure the necessary digitization equipment through contributions.

Director of the National Archive of Armenia Amatuni Virabyan said that only 0.5% of the archive documents is digitized. “The National Archive needs relevant modern equipment to digitize paper-based documents more quickly, Virabyan said. “We were promised that such equipment will be purchased soon.” Digitization of films, video and photo chronicles comes to a close. According to Virabyan, the archive of documentaries will be digitized by 50% by the end of 2010. Besides, 360,000 photos have been already digitized. Feature films and audio records are also digitized.

Head of the Department on Copyright and Related Rights Protection at the RA Agency of Intellectual Property Sonya Vardanyan said that the amendments to the RA Law on Copyright and Related Rights aimed at protection of copyrights in the electronic environment will be submitted in 2011. “Specifically, articles 22 and 26 of the law need to be clarified. They refer to cases when it is possible to freely use some product without preliminary consent of its author but with obligatory reference to the source,” Vardanyan said. “Free usage is possible for educational institutions, museums, etc. However, these provisions of the law are not applicable in the electronic environment. And the upcoming amendments will be aimed at expanding the limits of digital information free usage.”

Manager of Haypost CJSC Juan Pablo Gechijian said that after the reconstruction of post offices of Armenia’s national postal operator Haypost and introduction of new technologies, Armenian consumers will have the opportunity to receive the goods purchased abroad via internet without customs clearance. Goods at the amount below AMD 50,000, which are delivered to Armenia by Haypost, will cross the border through a “green corridor,” Gechijian said. Besides, Armenia’s citizens will be provided with the opportunity to import goods at the amount of up to AMD 150,000 twice a year.

Armenian fonts for Symbian, Android and Windows mobile smartphones will be ready by December 2010. “There are not many Armenian font users, so these are available in 2 Nokia models as well as in iPhone 3G and iPhone 4G as of today,” programmer Alexei Chalabyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. The developers’ main goal is creation of licensed fonts. Applications will be available in Internet. According to Chalabyan, about 20% of Armenians use smartphones. “This market will be developing and the number of smartphone users will reach 80% in some 5 years,” he said.

ArmenTel CJSC has launched http://speedtest.beeline.am allowing to test connection speed within Beeline network. “The service based on Ookla web-based network diagnostic applications will provide our subscribers with true information on connection speed, average speed dynamics and other parameters,” ArmenTel CEO Igor Klimko said. Beeline network connection speed can also be checked on www.speedtest.net.

Internews representations in Armenia and Azerbaijan are working at creation of a film on information war between Armenian and Azerbaijani internet users. The film will be created in the framework of Eurasia Partnership Foundation project and sponsored by the British Embassies in Yerevan and Baku. “The project aims to promote unbiased coverage of events in Armenian and Azeri online media,” Eurasia Partnership Foundation spokesperson Isabella Sargsyan told PanARMENIAN.Net

About 50 Armenian websites were attacked by Azerbaijani hackers in 2010, majority of them being recovered within several hours. “Armenian hackers also attacked several dozens of Azerbaijani sites, mostly over the recent incidents at the line of contact between NKR and Azerbaijani armed forces,” senior expert at Noravank information security center Samvel Martirosyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. “Theoretically, hackers may be punished in compliance with the convention on cybercrimes signed by both countries. Practically, it’s impossible, as the state can’t punish a patriot,” he said.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are in the top five of countries subject to hacker attacks, the fact conditioned by insufficient use of antivirus software and Firewall. According to Armen Karapetyan, director of Softline company representing Kaspersky, AVG, McAfee, Avast and Symatec in Armenia, the situation tends to improve. “Piracy and usage of unauthorized antivirus software reduced by 5% and 10% respectively in Armenia as compared with 2009,” Karapetyan said.