(A) New Search System

Owing to technical constraints in IRIS and its backup system, suspension of service cannot be avoided in certain situations when enhancement or upgrading work is applied to IRIS. The search service is also only available to business and the public for 16 hours a day. Taking into account the demand from major business users for uninterrupted operations and longer service hours, we have decided to introduce a new search system. The new system is being designed with resilience features to ensure that search services to customers are delivered in a stable manner and are unaffected by scheduled maintenance and upgrading work on the internal registration systems. The new system will support longer operating hours. It will be designed so as to be compatible with the future title registration system, so that external users need only one access point to obtain information, irrespective of whether this is held under the deeds registration system (IRIS) or the future title registration system. To ensure that the new search system will meet the needs of customers, consultation with our major user groups on their views on the design outline of the new system has been carried out.


(B) IT Support for Land Title Registration

To provide IT support for the future operation of land title registration, a new IT system will be developed. Design of the new system is currently underway. Prototypes are being built to facilitate development of the required registration and workflow functions.


(C) IT Security

To further strengthen information security within the Land Registry and to enhance staff awareness on the protection of personal data, the Registry plans to take forward the following measures:

• To conduct another round of briefings on IT Security for all staff in June 2008;
  
  
• To issue detailed instructions on the use of portable electronic storage devises for compliance by staff;
  
  
• To re-circulate the departmental policy and guidelines on IT Security to reinforce the importance of information security and personal data protection;
  
  
• To issue practical tips on IT security for reference by staff in their day-to-day work;
  
  
• To continue to conduct regular IT security audits on the IT systems of the Registry; and
  
  
• To upload a Privacy Policy on security protection of personal data on the Land Registry website for the benefit of visitors to the site