A Citizen's Guide to Information Management
Introduction
Cloud Computing
Introduction
The Pentagon couldn't keep its data safe from lone hacker Gary McKinnon and mighty upset with themselves they were, nay, even spiteful in their remorse. Mega corporation Sony couldn't safeguard its users' personal data from the playful hacking community, very deep bows but no seppuku for the bosses.
Point: data held centrally, that can be accessed over the Internet, is not secure and not private.
And yet we are seeing a massive PR exercise taking place, attempting to persuade us all that placing all our preferences and private details in one place is a good idea.
Cloud Computing: What is it?
The Cloud is a metaphor for the mundain storage of data from a range of devices. So, if you are someone who has been seduced by Steve Jobs and bought into the Apple lifestyle, you'll own an iPad, an iPod, an iPhone and an Apple computer, you'll be able to access your data from all these devices from one source, i.e. the Cloud. And data from these individual devices will be synchronised for you, so changes made via Apps on one device will be updated on all devices.
Apple reportedly shelled out $4.5 million for the domain name iCloud.
Mr Jobs made a big deal over his iCloud but in truth he's late to the party. The idea has been around for a long time and most of big players in the IT business are offering something similar.
There's more...
Cloud Computing is the future of computing. The old model of installing a large suite of software on your home or office computer, most of which never gets used, is finished.
The Cloud allows you to only use the software you need, for the time it takes to do the job. Currently, you can use Google Docs for free. Many companies, newspapers and universities are starting to use on-line applications to cut down on overheads. A key feature and benefit for business is the ability to use apps working cooperatively with colleagues.
And although large data storage is mundane, keeping the data in-house is costly, after set-up costs, admin' is costly. Many companies are moving their data into the Clouds and indeed, whole countries, Iceland for instance, are gearing up as a global storage hub. Amazon have been suppling Cloud services for some time, providing bargain priced packages for business.
The Government's G-Cloud
Here's the what - our ConDem Government are buying into the idea of Cloud Computing big time. They are calling it G-Cloud.
The G-Cloud will be a place where your whole life is stored; medical history, employment records, tax details, pension details and so forth. You'll be able to access this information from your desktop, whether you'll be able to correct errors and omissions is still being debated.
Access will granted via a universal logon, that is, one password to access all Government services.
So far so good, as long as we buy into the comic fantasy that all your data will held securely to facilitate your dealings with Government departments. However, the G-Cloud project will include an audit trail, i.e. it will log how often you log in to various services and keep a record, but not for you?
G-Cloud will have 'trustworthy' private sector business partners, e.g. banks and phone companies, their involvement is still to be clarified.
Accountability is also a bit hazy - data misadventure occurs when some bureaucratic agent from the DWP leaves his laptop on the 8.30 train home to oblivion.
Such misadventures are common, they call it human error. We are not sure what they call it when they discover that the National Insurance database contains 8 million names that can't be traced.
The truth is that government is not good at keeping records, safe, secure and error free. Some privacy campaigners worry that once all the data disappears into the Cloud there wont be anyone to blame for data mismanagement.
Why do we need The Cloud?
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude says: the current duplication of services across government departments...
".... acts as a deterrent to people switching to digital channels, hampers the vision of digital being the primary channel for accessing government information and transactions, and provides an opportunity for fraudsters."
So, we are being asked to believe that putting all your personal data in one place, with sixty million other peoples' data will safeguard it against the gangsters. And more, we are all going to be encouraged to switch to digital channels ... oh, really?
ID Cards By The Back Door? Identity Assurance Scheme (IAS) the government's proof-of-identity system...
This is where the IAS fits in, this is your digital identity card. Wait a minute, didn't that nice Mr Maude appear on the TV news lobbing ID cards into a waste shredder? And did he not say:
"They have been wiped, have been crushed and reduced to bits of metal so that everyone can be absolutely sure that the identity-card scheme is now finally dead and buried."
Well, what's the difference between a physical plastic card and an abstract representation of a card. The question is rhetorical, nothing is the answer. And just like not being able to open a bank account without proof of identity, soon you wont be able to access The Cloud without your digital ID card. One supposes that this is where the banks, phone and utility companies come in, by providing some cross-referencing authorisation.
Computer types, who talk in foreign tongues, decribe the IAS as introducing a security 'layer' to web transactions - and you thought things were secure already?
Literally the bottom line
The latest estimates of fraud in the public sector put losses between £8bn and £25bn a year. The NFA estimates up to £6billion could be saved over the next three years if departments invested appropriately in preventing fraud.
The previous government estimated that increasing the provision of online services and reducing face to face contact will result in over £600m in new savings. Research by Socitm revealed that handling transactions over the web costs, on average, 27p per transaction, compared to £3.22 for a telephone or £6.56 for a face to face enquiry.
Conclusion
You can't keep doing your transactions on paper. The ConDem Government are determined to save some £80bn on its dealings with citizens. You will participate in this new scheme or you wont be doing much transacting.
You can't have security without surveillance. So whether you wanted an ID Card or not, you are going to need one to do business.
However, beyond Government games, your personal and business computer needs lays in the clouds.