[LINK] Microsoft slams local data centre edict

[Tom Koltai]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: link-bounces at mailman.anu.edu.au 
> [mailto:link-bounces at mailman.anu.edu.au] On Behalf Of Bernard 
> Robertson-Dunn
> Sent: Friday, 25 November 2011 9:17 AM
> To: link
> Subject: [LINK] Microsoft slams local data centre edict
> 
> 
> Microsoft slams local data centre edict
> by: Karen Dearne
> From: The Australian
> November 25, 2011 12:00AM 
> http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/microsoft-slams-
> local-data-centre-edict/story-e6frgakx-1226205393994
> 
> Microsoft Australia has come out swinging against the Gillard 
> government's insistence on local data centres for the personally 
> controlled e-health record system.
> 
> "Healthcare information stored in a PCEHR will not 
> necessarily be better 
> secured and protected simply by virtue of data being held within 
> Australia's territorial boundaries, as compared to (offshore) storage 
> repositories and portals operated under world's best practice 
> security 
> and privacy systems," it says in a just revealed submission 
> on the draft 
> bill.
> 
> "By regulating the geography where the data is held rather than the 
> level of security under which it is held implicitly 
> establishes criteria 
> for data protection that are not related to principles of technology 
> security.
> 
> "Microsoft submits this is not an optimal approach and could have a 
> detrimental effect on system security and efficiency."
<SNIP>

Other linkers have handled the privacy, jurisdiction and security
aspects of the Microsoft submission (Thanks RickW, well said)
Unfortunately for Microsoft, they have forgotten the potential physical
(routing) impairments that may have given Government additional reasons
to restrict storage to Australia only.

Australia is physically insulated from the Americas (and Asia) by the
Ring of fire
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/Pacific_Ring_o
f_Fire.svg/350px-Pacific_Ring_of_Fire.svg.png)

The Continent of Australia is one of the most geologically stable land
masses in the world. We are however surrounded by earthquake fault lines
(tectonic plates) that have a habit of stretching and realigning.
Therefore we have in the past been subject to being cut-off from the
rest of the world by major fault lines interfering dramatically (at
times) with our connectivity.

Who among us could forget the months of painful satellite access that we
had to use in the nineties due to volcanic activity.Jasaurus (Sea me Wee
III) is down more often than it's up. (Earthquake Demolition or as
commonly referred to amongst the older generations, ED).

These days of course, most undersea fibre is laid with flotation buoys
over questionable geological terrain providing some protection against
tectonic plate movement. Unfortunately that is no protection against
extreme heat jets during pressure release events.

Incidentally, nowhere on the Pacific rim are earthquakes, island
forming, tectonic plate massive realignment and hot lava geysers more
likely than in between Microsoft's pacific/Asia data centre in Singapore
and our Perth/Geraldton and Broome to Indonesia and Singapore (current
and planned) cable routes.

But of course, Microsoft are so big that they can probably ask the big
guy to ensure that the data fibre used for their Health 360 service
won't get melted, pinched, cut or evaporated.

Of course, they could always build a centre in Australia creating local
jobs and opportunities. I wonder if they had thought of that...

As well as getting the Australian business, I dare say there are quite a
few overseas corporations that would consider Australia to be eco,
politically and financially friendly. Who knows, moving the "cloud" to
AU might in actual fact be a huge selling point.
Anyone that doesn't get the foregoing should do themselves a favour and
get out of the Cloud business.

TomK