BUSINESS IN BRIEF

In a flurry of activity during the holiday season, Affiliated Computer Services announced the expansion of its technology outsourcing services agreement with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield related to its eastern region business operations. The scope of this agreement includes Anthem's business in the state of Connecticut, as well as the recent acquisitions of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Hampshire and Maine. Under the three-year, $50 million contract, ACS Healthcare Solutions will migrate the mainframe processing of these operations to its Pittsburgh data center, and provide ongoing technical and professional services in support of Anthem's expansion.ChoicePoint has reached an agreement with the Pennsylvania Transportation Department (Penn-DOT) and will resume providing drivers' records to insurance companies. ChoicePoint worked closely with PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance to work out a settlement ? following an inadvertent breach of contract ? that would enable the company to continue providing insurers with one source for records. This ensures drivers can receive insurance coverage in a timely manner.According to news reports, the department had no evidence the security of any driver records was compromised as a result of the breach of contract, which centered on records being transmitted over the Internet.Under the new agreement, ChoicePoint and the insurance companies will be required to have contracts with PennDOT, and insurance companies also will share liability with ChoicePoint for maintaining driving record privacy. ChoicePoint will pay a $1.375 million penalty, which should not cause any business or financial impact because the company was able to resolve the issue within ChoicePoint's previous financial expectations.Ethentica has signed an agreement to provide information security products and services to Lockheed Martin Information Systems' federal and state government customers. The announcement marks Ethentica's first major foray into the government market. The company was founded in June 2000.Ethentica's products focus on digital authentication solutions, using a combination of passwords, fingerprint biometrics and digital certificates to enable users to access information on desktop, laptop and handheld computers. Each user's digital credentials are stored and accessed remotely through Ethentica's TrustEngine technology, which the company will manage for customers through the partnership with Lockheed Martin Information Systems.These business briefs are composed of selected excerpts from the BB&T Capital Markets publication, "B2G/B2E/G2C Weekly Review," written by Thomas Meagher.