Sunday, August 16, 2009

 

EDS Advanced Solutions, and EDS Electronic Data Systems, is a global, transnational IT corp. based in Texas ... and they've got our emails?

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Leah gives us a lot to think about. She writes:

From another of my favorite blog haunts in BC, touching on a subject that causes concern for me. From the page:

The word is out that in January 2009, Campbell & his Liberal puppets are set to privatize the rest of BC citizen's personal, private, and confidential information by signing a multi-million dollar, multi-year contract with EDS Advanced Solutions. Hewlett Packard (HP) -Electronic Data Systems (EDS) is a global, transnational information technology corporation based in Texas.

This privatization will see the operation and maintenance of the BC government mainframe computer servers under the management of HP-EDS. Before you're tempted to give a big yawn and a "who cares" you should know that this means that any personal and private information that is held by the BC government about you, and anyone else you know, all government documents, health care numbers and information, social insurance numbers, e-mails and communications with government.

Ever been on welfare in BC? Or had a child protection report made about you and your family? Been in jail? Charged with a crime? Been to Small Claims, or the Supreme Court? Ever registered a business with the province of BC? How about your Vital Statistics? Refugee and Immigration status? Do you have any government student loans? Any complaints you've made to government? Ever made any submissions to a government panel? Or had any other dealing with the BC government where information might have been collected about you, from you, or one of your loved ones?

Before they signed on the dotted line for a ten-year party, did they bother to check the company history in other jurisdictions? This is an international company, not a local one, as our government would wish us to believe.


So, what are some of the problems that concern me? Here are a few:

"How on earth does a company with supposedly high security levels, lose a hard drive containing personal data about 256 National Offender Management Service staff's personal details? An investigation found it "contained 256 items of sensitive personal information that could potentially, if in the public domain, cause damage to that individual, namely, bank details, address details, and National Insurance numbers coupled with dates of birth".

Identity theft?

[Read more HERE.]

EDS, the private computing firm that handles IT for the prison service, has managed to mislay a computer hard drive containing personal data about some 5,000 Ministry of Justice personnel.

Mislay?! No. One mislays their keys, or glasses and such.

“EDS, a private contractor brought in to overhaul IT infrastructure seven years ago, told the Prison Service in July this year that the hard drive had gone astray - a year after the missing disk had last been seen."
_______

A computer hard drive with the private details of 100,000 armed forces personnel has gone missing. The hard drive was being held by EDS, the Ministry of Defense’s main IT contractor. It contains the names, addresses, passport numbers, dates of birth and driving license details of those serving in the army, navy and RAF. It also includes next-of-kin details, as well as information on 600,000 potential services applicants and the names of referees. Officials said it may also include some bank account details.

[Read more HERE and HERE.]

OK…this is starting to get a little worrisome.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a second investigation into business activities at EDS, the Texas-based IT-outsourcing provider. In a regulatory filing, EDS management said the SEC has requested information related to the company's technology-outsourcing contract with the U.S. Navy, a deal worth a whopping $7 billion.

Getting closer to home now… [See full story HERE.]

The latest in a series of major long-term data -management contracts by the provincial government is scheduled for January 2009 despite questions about the practice of outsourcing and the government's capacity to oversee contracts.

"An April 2008 audit report by B.C.'s Auditor General questioned the capacity of the government to carry out proper cost benefit analysis on contracting out of data management," said Darryl Walker. Walker also pointed out that sensitive government records will now be accessible to multinational corporations. "Everything from youth justice data, to Treasury Board submissions and other cabinet documents as well as contract information," said Walker. “If government is dissatisfied with the contractor, any communication on that subject would also be accessible to the corporation."

[Read more HERE.]

The Ministry of Provincial Revenue has created "Revenue Services of British Columbia," an official name and trademark of the Province of British Columbia, to identify revenue services provided by EDS Advanced Solutions, Inc., a British Columbia company. (Let’s forget to mention their affiliations!)

Account Management and Billing for:
Medical Services Plan
Immigrant Sponsorship Program

Payment Processing for:
Medical Services Plan
Immigrant Sponsorship Program
BC Ambulance Service
BC Student Assistance Program
Employment and Assistance Program
Court Fines
Mineral, Oil and Gas Revenues
Subsidized Bus Pass Program
Commercial Loans
The following Taxes: Social Services, Corp. Capital, Tobacco, Fuel, Rural Property, Property Transfer, Hotel Room, and other “small tax statutes.” They also do all the Tax Return Processing for the above.

A British Columbia company you say? Can you say “transnational”…”world wide”…because they are, and their record in other countries isn’t the greatest! But we can rest easy; our information will stay in BC! Maybe…

Location

All operations and technology, including data backup, will be located in British Columbia unless otherwise approved by the Province. The Ministry has provided approval for the use of servers in Alberta and Ontario.

[Read more HERE.]

I’m curious as to what information those servers maintain, or provide. Hey! Maybe we should look for missing emails there too!

One of the questions I’d like answered is; are the folks we’re talking to on the phone actually in BC? Maybe not according to this website.

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Comments:
From Elections BC PCS division of contributions made by individuals/companies:


EDS ADVANCED SOLUTIONS INC
2006/03/29
$2,990.00
BC LIBERAL PARTY

EDS CANADA INC
2005/03/15
$2,990.00
BC LIBERAL PARTY

EDS CANADA INC
2005/04/14
$520.00
BC LIBERAL PARTY

EDS CANADA INC.
2005/04/20
$520.00
BC LIBERAL PARTY

EDS CANADA INC.
2006/10/04
$750.00
BC LIBERAL PARTY

******************************

Sure wish that companies that do business with government wouldn't make contributions, especially if they are handling such hot commodities as emails/documents that are relevant to an ongoing criminal case.

July 20, 2009 5:59 PM
 
i dont like it one bit. is scares me to think some other goverment in some other land could have info on me that they may use to block my freedom on this planet. i do not trust the americans, they are far too intense. waaay too intense.
 
Here's a scarier thought. Type in "BC Election 2009" into Google and the top two hits are "Election BC" at (http://www.elections.bc.ca/) and "BC Election 2009" at (http://bc2009.com/)

At the latter, this is the advice that is currently being given by what appears to be the official site for voters to check in with on any issues dealing with the May 12th election, complete with the BC Flag:

"One of the less talked-about aspects of elections is the election financing return.

Candidates have three months (August 10, 2009) to file their expense returns, which also includes sources of revenues.

Elections BC will be hiring three temporary positions (starting September 8, 2009 to July 31, 2010) that will pay $18/hour to do the very tedious work of reviewing election expenses. (Detailed job posting).

Asking if candidates have been involved with any partisan activities should be part of the interview – somebody zealous (on either side) could make the lives of particular candidates quite miserable, especially if they were close to the spending limit.
"

Its an official Press Release from Election BC, but with a twist, the last paragraph is by one of BC Liberal Party members.

If you go to the site via Twitter participants, eager to elect their BC Liberals, there is this link to BC Election 2009 with the Legislative Buildings as a backdrop along the top, not the BC Liberal Party flag.

The Legislative Buildings are non-partisan....

How can anyone discern the difference between a BC Liberal propaganda machine and the real thing, a non-partisan Election BC?

How is it that although the IOC can demand, by threat of a lawsuit, that VanOC have small businesses tear down long term advertising signs and names relating to the Olympics here in Vancouver, down in Victoria the politicians sit on their hands and giving the voters the thumb voters when it comes to ensuring that Election BC is the ONLY site available and not some copy cat.

August 17th is an important date in the history of BC, but so too is August 10th, because from that point in time voters will eventually to see an update from Election BC without the intervention of a Judge to declare that they MUST be disclosed to the public.

"Welcome to Elections BC's searchable Political Contributions System"
http://contributions.electionsbc.gov.bc.ca/pcs/
 
Having noted before that it should be illegal by law for foreign companies or their Canadian subsidiaries to make campaign contributions, a rider to that should be, as someone suggested above, that companies in receipt of government contracts should likewise be barred from contributions and/or companies that made such contributions should be disallowed from bidding on government contracts. Or more to the point, being awarded contracts without tenders. Just wishful thinking, there's no way the Liberals would make any such law, and I doubt the NDP or Tories would either....

But here's a thought - whether the emails were kept on and/or deleted from servers in the US, or in other provinces, then they're not only an accessory to obstruction of justice, but they were accessories across either an international boundary, or in violation of interprovincial communications regulations. And as I've noted before, there are quite likely US regulations governing the conduct of US companies and their subsidiaries on foreign soil....

As with getting the RCMP to properly investigate and file charges, there's just as much problem with federal regulators here in Canada, or with those in the US.

I note that the imposition of direct rule in Turks & Caicos was accomplished constitutionally....T&C remains a Crown Dependency, and the Governor/viceroy still has control over the military, foreign affairs, police and judiciary....such powers would be interesting to have for a Lieutenant-Governor of BC huh? But then we'd still be faced with how to select/elect someone to THAT office ....
 
anon 6:24,

How about a government, CANADA, who sell us, unsuspecting manufacured victims of International,
IDENTITY FRAUD!!!
...and the whole world watches this a dramatic reality, horror show!?!#!
pay-pre-view of course.

PS: I didn't vote for those SOB's. A coalition is how I see to govern, the government.

As for the Americans, I like American music and American Preachers. I would support one who not only shouts at the devil, but the feds too!
 
One GOOD thing that EDS did was provide Ross Perot with the bucks to finance his own run for Preznit in 1992, thus helping Bill Clinton and his Republican Lite brand defeat the Daddy of Dubya - the figurehead of the Reich Wing Whackos who did such a marvelous job of enriching themselves and their friends for the last eight years of Amerika gone amok.

Ross Perot was originally a little nerd from Texas who started a company called Electronic Data Systems, that apparently isn't very reliable at protecting DATA.

The commenter who was worried because "i dont like it one bit. is scares me to think some other goverment in some other land could have info on me that they may use to block my freedom on this planet. i do not trust the americans, they are far too intense. waaay too intense." need not worry about EDS, the yanks already have all your medical records available under the Patriot Act, because apparently Canadians (in BC anyway) can't take care of their own medical billing and it like Hydro's billing must be outsourced to more technically sophisticated Amurkan firms like the reborn accessory to fraud Andersen Accounting, ooops, Accenture - they ruined their original name by cooking the books for Enron (which cost BC Hydro millions in unpaid electrical bills during the phoney power shifting scams of the late nineties, early oughts.)

So you could be denied entry to the US (no big loss) if you have a disease or medical condition that they don't like. Think of the university prof who was denied entry for taking a psychedelic for research back in the sixties when it wasn't even illegal in either the US or Canada.
 
I wonder how Stockwell Day, or any other BC public authority/servent, feel about THEIR personal info under lock & key of an American co.?
Are only certain files stored/sold, of undesirable marginalizedd folks, who would be now the wiser if their names were being used?
Recall former MP Steve Christiansen who, supports falsifing an idenity for the sake of an 'investigation'!???

Is this free,internal trade?
SSHHH.
 
I strongly doubt that our politicians private information (and that of their family) would be in a governmental database accessible by their lowly employees.

It's apparently the norm that they are treated at UBC hospital...and you can bet those files don't cross borders.
 
RE 9:46,
Correction,
former consverative MP Steve Gilchrist.Not Christensen...

How do others feel about the US managing our personal info?
 
Anon 11:28...it's wrong on so many levels I wouldn't have a clue where to start!!
 
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