In South Korea, email might be only for old people, as the Slashdot meme suggests, but the Korean government is taking a very progressive and interesting approach to helping the less privileged to improve their Information Security position.

Through the Korea Communications Commission and the Korea Information Security Agency, almost 150 social welfare centres will be able to offer a range of information security services to the underprivileged. These services would include basic security awareness training, installation of Windows security patches and Service Packs, installing antivirus software, malware removal, browser security management, and general system tightening and configuration for improved security.

Continuing the theme of community assistance, the physical services will be provided by welfare organisations and university information security clubs.

For a country that has such a high rate of Windows usage, as well as one of the world's highest rates of broadband usage, any major push to improve the general information security picture for the country will have positive results not only for Koreans, but also for those around the world that see their networks under attack from Korean systems.

This program should be watched closely by other global governments and if it is a success, the concept could be applied in their own jurisdictions to help those who are least able to maintain their systems' security (the underprivileged, not the lazy) and who may rely upon aspects of their systems for the chance to improve their situation. It would make more sense as a social policy than ISP level net nannying that a lot of governments are trying to implement.