Category Archives: Cloud Servers
Review hybrid cloud offerings that bring the cloud on premises – TechTarget
Many organizations are drawn to the benefits of public cloud services, but not all of them can ditch their on-premises environments, infrastructure or legacy applications. Connectivity, regulatory requirements and latency concerns are just a few of the factors that prevent certain companies from moving fully to the cloud.
To cater to enterprises unable to host all their workloads in the cloud, public cloud providers developed hybrid cloud offerings that push their services into on-premises environments. These efforts to bring the public cloud on premises have enabled organizations to choose which workloads to run in the cloud and which to keep in the data center. Those organizations can then link the two environments with dedicated networking.
Get to know the hybrid cloud and on-premises infrastructure services from AWS, Microsoft and Google that aim to bring the cloud directly to customer locations.
Google Anthos. Google Anthos is a hybrid cloud container environment built for consistency across the cloud and on premises. Launched in April 2019, IT teams use this software to manage cloud technologies -- particularly Kubernetes containers -- on internal hardware and legacy applications.
Anthos is based on container clusters that run on the managed container service Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE). Users can access Anthos in the cloud with GKE and in data centers with GKE on-prem. Anthos runs on any server that supports Kubernetes. This Google Cloud service offers multi-cloud functionality, with management capabilities for workloads on AWS and Microsoft Azure, as well as other third-party options. This enables users to get the benefits of a public cloud deployment without being locked into one cloud platform.
A core component of this hybrid cloud offering is Anthos Migrate, which automates the migration of legacy virtualized workloads in the cloud or on premises into Kubernetes containers. Anthos also comes with a set of management, monitoring, security and authentication tools bundled for on-premises and cloud environments. Anthos' key features include Anthos Config Management for cluster administration and management, Istio on GKE service mesh, Strackdriver monitoring, Cloud Run for event-driven workloads and more.
Google has partnered with hardware providers -- including Cisco, Dell EMC and NetApp -- to bring Anthos to more customers. These partners provide Anthos systems that will be available on hyper-converged infrastructure.
AWS Outposts. Outposts is the on-premises version of AWS cloud infrastructure. Outposts are specialized racks that house AWS-designed compute and storage servers, as well as some AWS services and tools. AWS delivers, installs, maintains and updates these racks.
Each Outpost is connected to a local AWS Availability Zone for access to all of the tools and services available in that Region. Outposts are built for organizations that want to utilize the AWS platform but have low latency or regulatory needs that require workloads to remain in their data centers.
Outposts are designed to provide many of the AWS tools, services, APIs and security controls in on-premises environments. Supported services currently include a range of EC2 instances, Elastic Block Store, Amazon Relational Database Service and AWS CloudFormation. AWS plans to expand the supported offerings over time.
There are two versions of AWS Outposts: AWS native Outposts and VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts. The native version, which launched at AWS re:Invent 2019, is managed entirely by AWS and accessed through the Management Console. The VMware Cloud variation, which is still in beta, runs VMware's software-defined data center software and enables customers to use VMware control planes and APIs.
Unlike some other public cloud providers' on-premises services, AWS Outposts is not a multi-cloud offering. The AWS hybrid cloud platform is a single-vendor service that does not support workloads in other clouds.
Azure Stack. Microsoft launched Azure Stack in 2017 as a way for users to host Azure cloud services on premises. The initial Azure Stack service has since expanded into a portfolio of three services. Each one is designed to tailor Azure capabilities to different infrastructure needs and environments.
Azure Arc. Microsoft's latest hybrid cloud service is in the preview stage of development. IT teams use Arc to deploy Azure services and management capabilities in the cloud or on premises. Azure Arc can control Windows and Linux server farms on premises. It also supports Kubernetes container deployment and management across cloud and on-premises environments. The Azure Arc preview has built-in support for Microsoft's public cloud data analytics services, such as Azure SQL Database and Azure Database for PostgreSQL Hyperscale.
Arc is based on Azure Resource Manager, the framework that manages deployment, administration and governance of Azure resources. However, Azure Arc expands the capabilities of Resource Manager into multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments.
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Review hybrid cloud offerings that bring the cloud on premises - TechTarget
Gmail and Outlook sitting in a tree, not t-a-l-k-i-n-g to me or thee – The Register
Nobody likes Mondays, least of all Google's Gmail, the POP3 and IMAP services of which fell over this morning to deprive Monday morning mailers their start-of-week fix.
The issues appeared to kick off at around 11:30 BST and continues to prevent those who prefer to access their Googly mail via means other than the browser. The problem appears to be related to POP3 and IMAP access; if you're connecting to Google's servers using those services, then sending and receiving email could be a challenge.
Google had planned to turn off access to G Suite account data for apps not using OAuth for first-time users from 15 June 2020 and all accounts from 15 February 2021, but back-pedalled in March, putting the move on hold "until further notice."
Or until Star Wars day, judging by the wailing on Twitter.
Google itself has remained tight-lipped on the issue, with its Gmail social media orifice insisting there were no disruptions. Indeed, devices or apps running with OAuth have continued to behave correctly and the Gmail website is unaffected.
Far be it from us to suggest that this might be a fitting reminder that it is time to consider a move to something a little more modern rather than trying to access Google email from a third party client.
The G Suite team, doubtless mindful that people tend to pay for its services, acknowledged a problem and reassured users that the problem is being looked into.
The Register has contacted Google to find out who kicked the plug out of that ageing server under the desk. We will update if a response is forthcoming.
Sponsored: Webcast: Build the next generation of your business in the public cloud
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Gmail and Outlook sitting in a tree, not t-a-l-k-i-n-g to me or thee - The Register
The attacker and the data centre – ITProPortal
Even with growing cloud adoption data centres still house a huge amount of information and for attackers, represent a valuable target that is hard to resist. The vast security measures put in place by enterprises to protect their data centres means attacking and infiltrating a data centre system is a slow process which requires patience. In order to compromise a data centre, a significant amount of time and effort needs to be put into planning and executing the attack.
Subsequently, the attacker needs to operate below the radar of the security teams. Attackers can stay hidden in networks for months, even years, in order to get to their final goal: exfiltrate or manipulate data from the data centre. It is, therefore, incredibly important for security teams to understand what they need to look out for when monitoring for these attacks. In our experience, there are six critical attack vectors and techniques that cyber-attackers use in order to pull off a sophisticated attack against data centres.
Firstly, there is the co-opting of administrative access. Due to the privileged access administrative accounts have to the data centre; they are natural targets for attackers. The protocols used by administrators give attackers powerful access into the data centre if they are able to authenticate. Ultimately, this is a much easier way of accessing the data centre because it removes the need to exploit an application vulnerability. By using standard admin tools and services such as SSH, Telnet or RDP, attackers can easily blend in with legitimate admin traffic, meaning they can go undetected for a long time. Consequently, any attacker that has breached the system is even harder to track and recognise. It is vital that security teams stay vigilant to any changes in the observed privilege behaviours.
Data centre admins sometimes implement local authentication options, or additional admin accounts to be used in an emergency in order to access the hosts and the workloads they need to manage. These local authentication options and accounts are usually not logged so there is no record of them being used. Furthermore, the login details are often shared across hosts and workloads to simply make life easier. Naturally, this poses a huge risk because attackers will find these authentication credentials by compromising an administrator, and then they carefully and silently access the data centre with the knowledge that their presence and activity is not being logged.
Authenticated local access also allows the attacker to extend further into the data centre hardware. For example, virtualisation is tantamount to the running of a data centre. This virtual environment lifecycle in the data centre is an interesting one because, in order to work, it needs to run on the physical hardware. Therefore, the virtual discs found in data centres can only work with the presence of physical disks, and the physical disks run in physical servers. Physical servers are independently managed by management planes. The management planes are designed to have a lights-out and out-of-band management, with their own memory, power, processes and protocols. This enables administrators to mount disks and re-image servers in situations where the power to the main server is powered off.
Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) is an example of a protocol which allows an action such as the one above. There are a variety of own branded versions of IPMI, such as Dell iDRAC or HPE Integrated Lights-Out (ILO) which some hardware servers use. However, they are all established on the IPMI framework and they perform the same functions.
Despite this, IPMI and similar protocols are renowned for having security weaknesses and vulnerabilities that attackers can utilise and take advantage of. Worryingly, in September 2019, researchers at Eclypsium found over 47,000 workstations and servers that were running on Supermicro motherboards and were exposed to the internet, and wide open to attacks, due to the vulnerabilities found in baseboard management controller (BMC) which is a component of IPMI. This is not a-typical for IPMIs and naturally represents an attractive target for attackers looking for an easy route into a data centre.
IPMI is not the only vulnerable aspect of a data centre. Because data centres are such an attractive target, physical servers, routers, switches, and firewalls are targeted by the most advanced attackers, including nation-states. The attackers are clever and sly so will aim low and use methods to enter the data centre at a critical level but stay beneath the radar. This is often at the level of the operating systems which ultimately makes them incredibly difficult to detect with traditional methods. Techniques such as these are used by attackers because it enables them to infect the security devices which are meant to protect the data centre network. They can then use those devices to launch attacks that penetrate an even deeper level of the network.
It is vital that administrators keep an eye on their data. The end goal of an attack is to steal or manipulate this data. Attackers seek to create monetary value from the data they find, so it is prudent to start viewing data centres essentially like a bank vault full of money. Like any criminal, attackers will try and steal data with as little disruption as possible. They do not want to draw attention to themselves, so depending on the skillset of the attackers, they will use a variety of approaches to smuggle data out of the data centre. One approach may be to take the data in bulk, or alternatively, take it a little bit at a time in an attempt to avoid detection. The latter example is the more obvious approach as it stops attention being drawn to the attacker. The data is then often moved directly to the Internet, or to a staging area in the campus network.
No one data centre is the same; they vary according to users and organisations. There is however a method to the attacks and a series of events which unfold prior to the attack on the data centre. This usually involves starting at the bottom of the chain. For example, their first point of penetration may be through a compromised employee account, that may have been compromised though a phishing email, or a malware riddled application, for example. This allows them access to the network where the attackers look to expand their presence by targeting other devices, and while doing so, plant backdoors or hidden tunnels to communicate with each other inside the now compromised network. Patience and resilience are key to their next stage because they then spend time recognising and identifying valuable assets and resources within the network which they can utilise to make their time and presence worth the effort. The administrators credentials are an attackers golden trove and once they access this, the attack is usually at its most mature. This enables them to attack an organisations data centre because administrators are often the only individuals who can access the data. The movements prior to access of the administrators credentials build up to the peak attack on the data centre.
Attackers are usually more inclined to focus on the physical infrastructure of a data centre and understand the levels required to gain access. They have no problem starting at the bottom of the chain and working their way up through the network in order to reach the pivotal level of data centre access. Therefore, organisations need to look at the bottom of the chain, from employee accounts and client devices, and work their way up through the system, employing security at every level to ensure attackers cant gain access to what is arguably their most valuable asset their data centre. By doing this, even if attackers were to find a way to start accessing information which will give them the key to a data centre, they will expose themselves to multiple detection opportunities that provide security teams the best chance to find attackers early. Early detection can make the difference between a contained incident or a successful takeover that costs the organisation time, effort, reputational damage and money.
Matt Walmsley, senior technology industry marketer, Vectra
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The attacker and the data centre - ITProPortal
Three things in life are certain: Death, taxes, and cloud-based IoT gear bricked by vendors. Looking at you, Belkin – The Register
Oh look, here's another cautionary tale about buying cloud-based IoT kit. On 29 May, global peripheral giant Belkin will flick the "off" switch on its Wemo NetCam IP cameras, turning the popular security devices into paperweights.
It's not unusual for a manufacturer to call time on physical hardware. Like software, it has a lifespan where, afterwards, it's deemed not economically viable for the vendor to continue providing support.
But this is a little different, because Belkin isn't merely ending support. It also plans to decommission the cloud services required for its Wemo NetCam devices to actually work.
"Although your Wemo NetCam will still connect to your Wi-Fi network, without these servers you will not be able to view the video feed or access the security features of your Wemo NetCam, such as Motion Clips and Motion Notifications," Belkin said on its official website.
"If you use your Wemo NetCam as a motion sensor for your Wemo line of products, it will no longer provide this functionality and will be removed as an option from your Wemo app," the company added.
Adding insult to injury, the ubiquitous consumer network gear maker only plans to refund customers with active warranties, which excludes anyone who bought their device more than two years ago. The window to submit requests is open from now until 30 June.
Customers will also have to provide the company with the original receipt, showing how much they paid for the unit. Though it shouldn't be too hard to fish out an Amazon invoice from an inbox, if you bought the unit from a bricks-and-mortar retailer, there's a chance you won't have that information to provide.
Belkin said:
Punters will also have to return the device to Belkin although it will provide a pre-paid shipping label for that. Once this process is complete, the vendor will issue refunds via cheque in the US and Canada, or bank transfer in Europe.
Belkin has promised to refund unused pre-paid months of its premium camera recording service, which has the most hilariously generic name for a tech product ever: iSecurity+. Sorry, we couldn't let that one slide.
Suffice to say, many Wemo NetCam users are pissed off. El Reg reader Gerard said: "Why are only those with a warranty given a refund? There is nothing wrong with the webcam. It is working fine."
"I do not remember buying the product with a stated limited life span. [I'll] never ever buy Belkin again," he added.
We've asked Belkin for comment, although it's worth bearing in mind this far from an isolated case in the tech industry.
One of the most shocking examples of this was the discontinuation of the Revolv smart home hub, which at the time was owned by Google via its Nest subsidiary. This hummus container-shaped device allowed users to tie together their various disparate smart home gadgets, controlling them from one central location.
When Nest killed the cloud servers, people suddenly found they couldn't control their household appliances and fixtures. Which, obviously, is bad.
There's a lesson here: never buy IoT kit that has a single point of failure beyond your control. Oh, and keep your receipts.
Sponsored: Webcast: Build the next generation of your business in the public cloud
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Three things in life are certain: Death, taxes, and cloud-based IoT gear bricked by vendors. Looking at you, Belkin - The Register
AMD and Samsung’s Earnings Point to a Cloud Server Spending Boom – TheStreet
If there were any lingering doubts that cloud server spending has jumped in March and April, AMD (AMD) and Samsung Electronics' earnings reports and calls should put them to rest.
AMD, whose Epyc server CPU business has been a key growth driver in recent quarters, reported that its server CPU unit shipments rose by a double-digit percentage sequentially and more than tripled annually. The company also forecast that Epyc sales would see strong sequential growth in Q2.
Though supercomputer deals and other high-performance computing (HPC) engagements are providing some lift as well, CEO Lisa Su noted that AMD saw "a very nice acceleration" in its server CPU sales to cloud giants (the proverbial hyperscalers) over the course of Q1, as clients added capacity to help support the usage spikes they've seen for various apps and services amid COVID-19 lockdowns. This acceleration helped drive strong CPU unit growth, albeit while pressuring average selling prices (ASPs).
Su also said that one major cloud client "was able to deploy 10,000 second-gen Epyc servers in less than 10 days to support the surge in demand for their collaboration services." There's a good chance that the client is either Microsoft (MSFT) or Alphabet/Google (GOOGL) , given the demand spikes that they've reported for their respective collaboration offerings.
Samsung, by far the world's biggest DRAM and NAND flash memory maker, reported that its memory sales rose 15% annually in Q1 to KRW13.14 trillion ($10.8 billion).
And -- in remarks that appear to have helped rival Micron's (MU) stock rise more than 9% on Wednesday -- Samsung forecast DRAM and NAND sales would remain strong in Q2, as strong demand from server memory clients and "steady" demand from PC clients offset weaker smartphone-related demand.
AMD and Samsung's comments arrive less than a week after Intel (INTC) reported that its server CPU division (the Data Center Group, or DCG) saw its sales to cloud service providers rise 53% annually in Q1. Intel also forecast that cloud demand would remain strong in Q2, and said it was optimistic that this strength would continue into Q3.
Others, such as Micron, Nvidia (NVDA) and SK Hynix, have also reported seeing strong cloud-related orders to varying degrees.
There is some risk that demand could soften in the back half of the year, particularly given that cloud capex has been fairly cyclical in recent years and was already on the upswing before COVID-19 lockdowns arrived.
The easing of lockdowns could lead the usage spikes recently seen for many apps and services to at least partly reverse, and the top-line pressures that some tech giants are seeing could also weigh on capex. It's worth noting here that Google, which is dealing with major ad sales pressures, said it expects "a moderate reduction" to its 2020 data center capex plans relative to the start of the year, albeit while still indicating that server spend would be up.
Also, prolonged macro pressures would probably weigh on traditional enterprise server demand, which in turn could offset higher cloud-related sales. Intel cautioned last week that it expects DCG's sales related to enterprise and government end-markets (up 34% in Q1) to soften in the second half of 2020.
Nonetheless, for now at least, COVID-19 lockdowns are proving to be a net positive for server chip demand, in large part due to the strain these lockdowns have placed on cloud data centers. And as Google and others have suggested, there's a good chance that a lot of the usage jumps that have been seen for both consumer and business apps/services won't entirely reverse once lockdowns end.
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AMD and Samsung's Earnings Point to a Cloud Server Spending Boom - TheStreet
Organizations are Increasing IT budgets for AI, Cloud, and Security – EnterpriseTalk
IT budgets for AI, cloud, and security are increasing in 2020, according to a survey by the Enterprise Strategy Group
In 2020, more than 50% of IT enterprises expect to increase IT budgets and add 3.2% to spend on average, according to a survey from The Enterprise Strategy Group. The survey is based on over 650 senior IT decision-makers from different enterprises across the globe that have played a critical role in creating the 2020 IT budget and spending plans.
AI and Deep Learning Can be a Robust Oncological Tool
As per the report, healthcare and technology were the top industries that are expected to increase their IT budgets in 2020. Organizations expect artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity, and cloud to lead spending increases. Spending on servers is dropping at 35% and 37% on endpoint devices, respectively. The respondents think there will be an increase in spending in these categories; however, the budgets in those categories will remain relatively flat.
According to the report, there is a rise in spending on advanced and more agile technologies as organizations are striving to phase out traditional technology stacks. IT decision-makers project a substantial decrease in spending on servers, endpoint devices, and converged or hyper-converged infrastructure platforms. With IT budgets increasing year-over-year, enterprises are maintaining investments in core infrastructure areas, including databases, storage, and network infrastructure.
Companies are also increasing their budgets for spending on security and other digital technologies that will help them tweak the way business technology stacks operate. As companies maintain on-premises spending, they are allocating more resources to service-based technologies, found the survey. Organizations are collecting and analyzing more data. Nearly 40% of respondents mentioned data volumes are driving higher IT spending. Two-thirds of IT decision-makers surveyed said the IT stack is growing more complex than it was two years ago.
COVID-19 Financial Crisis Best Time to Start with a Blank Slate
Enterprises need to focus on decentralized spending, where other departments are increasing technology investments outside of the CIO purview. It is important to ensure the increasing investment will fit into a portfolio. Companies can maintain investments in traditional storage technologies; however, increasing cloud spending could create portfolio redundancy and wasted investments.
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Organizations are Increasing IT budgets for AI, Cloud, and Security - EnterpriseTalk
It’s your last chance to get this ace VPN deal with 73% off and free cloud storage – TechRadar India
Simply speaking, we've been loving IPVanish's brilliant VPN deal since it launched at the start of March. But as soon as the calendar turns over to May, this VPN offer will disappear entirely.
So sign up to IPVanish by the end of Thursday and you'll get a whole year of VPN protection and secure cloud storage from SugarSync for just $39 - that's 73% off the normal monthly rate.
When it comes to VPN goodness, we rank IPVanish extremely highly - the provider has 24/7 customer support, zero traffic logs, unlimited bandwidth and an excellent Windows kill switch. It really is one of the very best around.
Throw in that freebie and discount, and you're laughing. The SugarSync addition gets you a full 250GB of secure data storage. This means that all your photos, videos and personal documents (whatever you choose to store) will remain safeguarded from outsiders. That means that for the next 12 months your VPN and storage needs are completely covered for the equivalent of just $3.25 a month.
Still unsure if this is the deal for you? Scroll down to see this deal in full, or why not also check out our best VPN deals guide for all of the very best offers on cyber privacy.
As well as unblocking Netflix, (hello streaming!) and being one of the best value for money VPNs, it also has a 7-day money-back guarantee and servers in over 75 countries.
Plus, it boasts incredible download speeds so you don't need to worry about the VPN slowing down your device and it's got plenty of powerful, configurable apps.So whether privacy, streaming or cost is your reason for getting a VPN, IPVanish ticks all the boxes.
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It's your last chance to get this ace VPN deal with 73% off and free cloud storage - TechRadar India
In the first quarter, Google Cloud’s revenue is up 52% year-over-year – FierceTelecom
While some areas of Alphabet have struggled during the COVID-19 crisis, Google Cloud continued to be a cash cow in Q1. Google Cloud, which includes Google Cloud Project (GCP) and G-Suite, generated $2.78 billion in revenue in the first quarter, which marked a 52% increase over the same quarter a year ago.
While Google doesn't break out Google Cloud Project's revenues separately, it's a safe bet that a large chunk of its first quarter revenue came from the cloud. Google Cloud posted $8.92 billion in revenue for all of 2019 and $2.61 billion for the fourth quarter. Google Cloud's revenue increased 53% in the fourth quarter.
With the new numbers, Google is on pace for a run rate of $10 billion in annual revenue this year.
To the Edge and Beyond: Resistance is Futile
Programmable fabrics have been predicted to revolutionise the network space for quite some time now, however were now seeing several key drivers that look like making this technology a reality sooner rather than later.
Alphabet's after market earnings report on Tuesday marked the second time that Google has broken "Google Cloud" out as a line item that includes all of the company's cloud computing business.
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While Google Cloud posted a large year-over-year jump in revenue, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure still have their earnings reports forthcoming.
"Once again, the growth rate of GCP was meaningfully higher than that of cloud overall," said Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript. "GCP growth was led by our infrastructure offerings in our data and analytics platform.
"With respect to the implications of the global crisis for Google Cloud, were proud of the accelerated traction we achieved across sectors, including public sector and healthcare for disease monitoring and control, working with leading retailers on demand forecasting working with companies across media and communications to enhance their customer service and across industries on supply chain optimization."
Porat also said that Alphabet would slowdown the pace of hiring new employees and the rate at which it acquires new office buildings this year. Google plans to spend more capex on servers than data centers this year. Overall, Alphabet/Google is planning a slight decrease in capex for the remainder of the year.
"We are taking a long view and continuing to invest in our long-term priorities, but are being thoughtful in the short-term," said Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai during the earnings call. "So we made the decision to slowdown the pace of hiring in the reminder of 2020, while maintaining momentum in a small number of strategic areas.
"We are also recalibrating the focus and pace of our investments in areas like data centers and machines, and non-businesses essential, marketing and travel."
Pichai said Google Meet, which is the company's video conferencing platform, is adding roughly 3 million users each day and that it has seen a 30-fold increase in usage since January. Pichai said there are now more than 100 million daily Meet video conferencing participants.
Google Meet competes against other video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Blue Jeans, which was recently bought by Verizon, and Microsoft Teams.
On Wednesday, Google announced that Meet was now available for free until September 30, but users need to have a Google account. Previously, users needed a paid-for G Suite account to use Meet. Google is allowing up to 100 users to be on a Meet video conference, but it said at the end of September it could restrict the meeting length to 60 minutes.
Alphabet reported revenue of $41.2 billion in the first quarter while analysts had predicted $40.3 billon. Alphabet posted earnings per share of $9.87 compared to analysts' average of $10.38.
While "search" was up to due to people seeking more information on COVID-19, ad revenues were down. Porat summed up the first quarter as a "tale of two quarters" as the impact of the coronavirus increased in March.
"For our advertising business, the first two months of the quarter were strong," Porat said. "In March, we experienced a significant and sudden slowdown in ad revenues. The timing of the slowdown correlated to the locations and sectors impacted by the virus and related shutdown orders.
"For the second quarter so far, I think its premature to gauge, given uncertainty in the environment, and a few weeks, obviously, is not a quarter. So in such an unprecedented crisis, I would not want you to extrapolate from just a couple of weeks."
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In the first quarter, Google Cloud's revenue is up 52% year-over-year - FierceTelecom
Atos to Deliver Next Generation Cloud Services to the State of Texas – AiThority
Atos North Americawas recently awarded a multi-year contract with theState of TexasDepartment of Information Resources (DIR) to deliver next generation private cloud transformation and artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities. This modernization will automate processes, create efficiencies, free-up resources and improve service delivery quality for the states agencies and residents.
The Texas Private Cloud will provide server computing, data center facilities and data center network management services for DIRs government customers. Atos delivery of infrastructure services for servers, networks and data center operations will create an ecosystem that is adaptive, resilient, affordable and secure.
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The Texas Department of Information Resources has re-imagined how to address the states business and technical dynamics to better position theState of Texasfor the digital future,saidTodd Kimbriel,State of TexasChief Information Officer, Texas Department of Information Resources.DIR has partnered with Atos to provide a secure, scalable and agile private cloud platform. We look forward to this continuing partnership and the way our partners reimagine the delivery of digital services.
Working with theState of Texassince 2012, Atos looks forward to working toward DIRs objectives to streamline and empower its suite of shared services to efficiently and cost-effectively serve the states agencies and institutions of higher education facilities.
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We are dedicated to helping theState of Texastake on its profound and exciting changes as it executes an ambitious state-wide commitment to modernize technical resources and digital capabilities amid an unprecedented growth in population. The new contract will require an innovative mindset, in-house expertise and refined skill sets to produce the intended outcomes and ensure services can be delivered in the most productive and secure ways,saidBeth Howen, Vice President, Head of Public Sector & Defense, Atos inNorth America.
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Atos to Deliver Next Generation Cloud Services to the State of Texas - AiThority
Experts warn there are still legal ways the US could obtain COVIDSafe data – ABC News
Global tech giant Amazon may not be able to protect Australian Government data held in its Australian servers including data gathered by the COVID-19 tracing app released on Sunday from US subpoenas, according to legal experts and crossbenchers.
The COVIDSafe app is designed to help identify who a COVID-19 positive person has met while infected, speeding up the contact-tracing process.
The Government has defended its decision, revealed last week by the ABC, to award the app's data-storage contract to Amazon cloud subsidiary Amazon Web Services (AWS), a US-incorporated business subject to the US CLOUD Act.
The CLOUD Act is a 2018 US law which requires American cloud services to produce, under subpoena, data held by them regardless of where in the world that data is stored.
The Australian Government initially told ABC News data held by Amazon would be protected from the CLOUD Act, but Australia's peak legal body, the Law Council, disagreed, saying that under current arrangements the appeal avenues under the CLOUD Act "would not have application" in Australia.
The Government has also pointed to a Ministerial Determination issued on Saturday by Health Minister Greg Hunt, which it says will also protect the data. The Law Council and two crossbenchers said that was not certain.
The federal crossbenchers told ABC News they were concerned the Government had created an uncertain legal situation around the COVID-19 app.
"I think the application that has been proposed by the Government, and that is now available for download, is a useful application and it will help to save lives, however there are certainly still some grey areas in respect of privacy," federal crossbench senator Rex Patrick said.
"There will be some people in the community who will rightly be a little bit anxious about downloading this application."
The data created by the tracing app will be encrypted, stored on your phone, and not shared with anyone, unless you test positive to COVID-19.
If that happens, health officials may ask but cannot compel you to upload 21 days of your data. If you do, it is at that point your data will be sent to the Amazon cloud.
The Government's contact-tracing app aims to help track down people who may have been exposed to COVID-19, but like any smartphone app, it raises privacy and security questions.
It is only then that the US Government could use the CLOUD Act to compel Amazon to hand over data.
ABC News reported concerns by industry insiders and bureaucrats that giving Amazon the contract could mean COVIDSafe data was obtainable by the US under CLOUD Act subpoena.
The insiders spoke to the ABC on condition of anonymity because they held contracts with the Government, or work for the Government and were not cleared to speak publicly.
The Government rejected the concerns, saying its data held by AWS would be protected because of a provision in the CLOUD Act that allowed US companies to apply to refuse or modify US subpoenas seeking the data of foreign governments, if providing such information violated the law in that foreign country.
However, such appeals are only available if a country is designated under the US CLOUD Act as a "qualifying foreign government".
A spokesman for the Prime Minister confirmed over the weekend that Australia was not yet designated a "qualifying" jurisdiction under US law but insisted the data would remain in Australia.
"Even without yet being defined as a 'qualified foreign government' under the CLOUD Act, Australia already ensures data from a range of government agencies, including our intelligence agency the Australian Signals Directorate, is kept in Australia," he said.
To be recognised as a "qualifying foreign government", Australia and the US are required to sign a so-called "executive agreement" under the CLOUD Act, which must involve special legislation in Australia.
Negotiations for that agreement were first made public during a meeting between Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and US Attorney-General William Barr on October 7 last year.
"This is the way of the future between like-minded countries," Mr Dutton announced in a statement that day.
Mr Barr said: "This agreement, if finalised and approved, will allow service providers in Australia and the United States to respond to lawful orders from the other country without fear of running afoul of restrictions on disclosure, and thus provide more access for both countries to providers holding electronic evidence that is crucial in today's investigations and prosecutions."
The October announcement noted the "bilateral agreement", which would allow Australia to become a "qualifying foreign government" under the CLOUD Act, would be "underpinned by Australian legislation yet to be introduced" into Parliament.
ABC News can confirm the legislation to give effect to the agreement was only put before the House of Representatives in early March and, crucially, the bill the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (International Production Orders) Bill has not been enacted.
That means Australia has no enforceable protection under the CLOUD Act until the bill is passed, which can occur at the earliest in the middle of next month, when Federal Parliament returns.
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"It is the view of the Law Council of Australia that the review mechanisms in the US CLOUD Act would not have application to information held in Australia's territorial jurisdiction, in the absence of Australia being recognised by the US as a 'qualifying foreign government' under that act," the Law Council's president, Pauline Wright, said.
When the ABC initially reported the concerns about the CLOUD Act, the Prime Minister's office also said the Government's position that the data would be secure was "being reinforced by a declaration under the Biosecurity Act".
That declaration was made on April 25, the day after the ABC's story was published.
The Law Council said the Biosecurity Act declaration may serve to protect the data.
"The fact that it would be an offence under the Biosecurity Act and a breach of our domestic laws is likely to be a relevant consideration to the enforceability of any US-issued warrant in relation to data held in Australia, and Australia's compliance with any mutual legal assistance request by the US for such information," Ms Wright said.
Government Services Minister Stuart Robert and Prime Minister Scott Morrison both used future tense when speaking publicly about Australian government law that would stop the transfer of the COVID-19 tracing app data out of Australia.
On Friday afternoon, Mr Morrison said: "It would it is illegal it will be illegal, for information to go out of that data store to any other person other than that for whom the whole thing is designed."
On Saturday, a spokesman for Mr Morrison again used future tense when discussing the penalties of removing any COVID-19 data from Australia.
"The Australian Government will ensure it is a criminal offence to transfer data to any country other than Australia," Mr Morrison's spokesman said.
"These claims about US authorities are incorrect.
"We're using the same approach we use to protect some of the highly sensitive data of the Australian Signals Directorate as we are for this app."
When contacted for comment, an Amazon spokesman said questions about the CLOUD Act relevant to COVIDSafe data should be referred to the Australian Government.
In 2018, major US law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner wrote an analysis of the CLOUD Act, in which they noted data protections of foreign governments such as Australia may not be enough to stop a lawful US government subpoena.
"Under the CLOUD Act, Microsoft will now be required to hand over to criminal prosecutors in New York emails held on Microsoft servers hosted in Ireland, regardless of the stringent EU data-protection requirements applicable in Ireland," the firm wrote.
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Senator Patrick told ABC News while the COVIDSafe app had a use, he was disappointed the contract went to US company Amazon.
"It's nothing short of an absolute disgrace that this cloud contract was awarded to an overseas company," he said.
"We have in effect just exported Australian dollars to the US, and at the same time, what we've done has caused some concerns in relation to the protection of the data that may be collected by the application."
The Government has yet to explain why Australian cloud service providers which have been security-vetted for precisely such a purpose were excluded from the opportunity to apply for the contract.
Greens senator and digital rights spokesman Nick McKim said the CLOUD Act could apply to the COVIDSafe data.
"People who will be sitting in head office in Amazon in the US will not be covered by Australian law, they will be within jurisdiction of US law," Senator McKim said.
"And the US role is abundantly clear that US security agencies actually do have a claim on data that is held by a US company, no matter where that data is hosted in the world."
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Experts warn there are still legal ways the US could obtain COVIDSafe data - ABC News