Another day, another Government IT project. This latest one is brewing up in the Cabinet Office and is supposed to be a system by which the online services across government are handled. 18 companies are already signed up to provide the service. This worries me as they claim to have a userbase (read database) of 10 million who have logged onto Government Gateway websites. The key details mentioned by the Government in the tenders is that the firms should be, and here comes the scary part,"specialists in areas such as security and identity assurance".You will understand my concern immediately. When I took a look at the bidder briefing for the first time I began to understand why the whole scheme is named "Project Pygmalion" which seems a pretty odd name for it when one considers either the Greek original, Shavian or indeed 'My Fair Lady' version of the tale. Man falls in love with his own creation. Artifice is preferable to reality.
The project is being run by the EDT (E-Delivery Team) which operates out of the Cabinet office and aims to support,
the Transformation Government activities.
Whatever the hell they are.
The key point to this is that another IT project is speeding to fruition, an IT project that is supposed to be able to manage a database with 10 million people and businesses details involved, that is anybody who has tried to get government services online, benefits and so on. The level of personal details required in such transactions is colossal.
Shall we lay a bet that this one snarls up as well?
1 comment:
projects such as this only reinforce my view that the ID card debate is a red herring. More smoke and mirrors.
When Brown finally gets rid of the ID Cards, it will be replaced by either an HMRC card or more likely a DWP card, as I published first in Feb last year, the 3 departments that make up the NIR (HMRC, DWP and DVLA) already have all the information they need about you.
Some will see the delay or scrapping of various parts of the ID Card scheme a victory, but it wont, not until the NIR and all the databases are GONE, AND I MEAN REALLY GONE.
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