The Irish Government’s Department of Finance has thrown a skew ball into the cloud computing game by issuing an email to other departments warning them of the perils of cloud computing. The e-mail, which carries the subject “cloud computing warning”, says that the Chief State Solicitor’s Office has “advised that issues such as data protection, confidentiality and security and liability are not necessarily dealt with in a manner that would be necessary for public sector responsibilities”.
To those in the know this advice is at odds with a statement made last year by Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan who identified cloud computing as one of six key technologies which would underpin the country’s smart economy strategy.
There has also been substantial investment into the infrastructure of a cloud computing base. IBM and Hewlett Packard have established cloud computing competency centres in Ireland which created 190 jobs and involve a combined investment of €36 million. Microsoft, which is identified in the e-mail as a cloud computing supplier, invested €366 million in building a data centre in Dublin which opened last year and will provide these services.
Apart from a “left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing” scenario, this is the latest in a series of Government interventions in technology. Recently the governments of France and Germany offered “advice” to their countries web users by telling them not to use Internet Explorer 6 as their web browser. This came from the identification of weaknesses in IE6 that allegedly helped a foreign state, China, hack into Google’s system.
Given that Government officials may not be the most tech-savvy individuals on the planet, is it wise to have them getting involved in matters of this nature. Let me have your views.
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