A couple of weeks after a Microsoft update caused a worldwide IT outage on computers using its software, Downing Street is shoring up for the future. The Cabinet Office is out hiring for a “Microsoft Engineer” to ensure “service availability, performance, and security” of the company’s products in the heart of government. Someone has to keep Teams running…
Along with keeping Microsoft up in No 10, the engineer is also expected to train officials to “complete basic ICT administration tasks.” All for a £44,500 salary and a Civil Service pension. Not bad for the old “turn it off and on again” routine…
Friday saw the biggest IT meltdown in history: flights grounded, news channels off air, and people unable to make payments. Now it turns out the global economy took a nosedive because of… the EU…
The tech giant blamed a 2009 agreement with the European Commission which bullied Microsoft into allowing multiple security providers to install software. This prevented security changes that would have blocked the CrowdStrike update that led to the ‘digital pandemic’. Meanwhile, Apple kept the gates locked from other providers since 2020 – a move they managed by not bowing to EU demands. Union-wide disruption…
Business Insider reports this week that Microsoft has laid off its entire internal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team. One laid-off team leader says “DEI programs everywhere are no longer business critical or smart as they were in 2020“. In the flurry of performative wokeism following George Floyd protests…
Microsoft joins Zoom, Google, and Meta in cutting costs on useless woke hires. On the other side of the pond, though, the UK’s gargantuan civil service is starting to offer pay rises for saying inclusive things and expanding the very DEI teams cut by the private sector. Go woke go broke…
In scenes straight from The Thick of It, the source of the massive Covid stats cock-up revealed late last night has been revealed as DHSC’s use of Microsoft Excel as the data repository. Yesterday evening it emerged 16,000 Coronavirus cases had been missed off the daily figures due to an “IT error”, however details have now come to light that the IT error in question was as simple as the central Excel spreadsheet reaching its maximum file size:
“The extraordinary meltdown is believed to have been caused by an Excel spreadsheet containing lab results reaching its maximum size, and failing to update.”
Apparently “The technical issue has now been resolved by splitting the Excel files into batches”. Dido will be worried this leads to his colleagues continuing to spreadsheet behind her back…
LinkedIn’s 400 million users are worth some $60 each to Microsoft. The internet is not amused at the prospect of Microsoft-LinkedIn. Just as Microsoft’s purchase of Skype proceeded the explosion of rival messaging apps expect a surge when LinkedIn forces you to get a Microsoft login, use Outlook and becomes strangely incompatible with Apple products. It is the biggest tech deal this year and shows the game is not over in the tech bubble…
MPs voting on the Snooper’s Charter next week might be swayed to oppose Theresa May’s anti-privacy laws by the revelation that GCHQ are already accessing their emails. New documents released by Edward Snowden show GCHQ not only intercepts MPs’ communications – it also scans them in bulk using security software installed to supposedly filter spam emails. GCHQ has been able to skirt around strict rules governing the interception of internal UK communications due to parliament’s decision to switch to Microsoft Office for its email service. This means private emails sent by MPs are routed through servers in Ireland and the Netherlands, with each one being scanned and recorded by GCHQ. MPs should remember they’re governed by the laws they create…
