Reminiscing about IdA while we wait to find out about our identity providers

30 September 2012 has come and gone. Everyone was looking forward to discovering which companies would be the UK's "identity providers" but the deadline passed and we're none the wiser.

Then it seemed as though we would be told on 22 October 2012. That's what it said in the Independent and the Government Digital Service (GDS) seemed quite happy with that coverage but no, still no answer.

While we're waiting, it's tempting to reminisce about the history of GDS's Identity Assurance project (IdA).

IdA started as part of the G-Digital programme. A number of private sector organisations were inveigled into  collaborating on the programme, groups of them were sent away to work on different tasks and in January 2010 a report of their findings was produced.

Worthily written, the report ploughs relentlessly through its ten objectives. Stop for a while at Objective #4 – To determine any gaps in our Business Services on p.9. On-line payments? Got it. Enrolment? Got it. Search engine optimisation? Etc ... All the business services are there, no gaps, including Adserver.

Adserver? In the public sector? In the UK?

Take a look at GOV.UK. Lots of space down the sides on the screen, left and right. Bit of a shock at first to be sure but, think about it, why not, this is the world of Facebook and Google now, and Amazon and eBay, very handy for advertisements.

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Extract from G-Digital Market Investigation High Level Analysis & Findings

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What would it look like if GOV.UK carried advertisements?

Here, for example, is a serious Simon Jenkins article on the Guardian's Comment is free forum topped off and flanked with advertisements for holidays in Kenya. Suppose you were browsing GOV.UK instead of the Guardian. Suppose it was your tax return on the screen instead of a Simon Jenkins article. And suppose that the same advertisements were there.

That couldn't happen, could it?

Yes it could. There didn't used to be advertisements on Comment is free until someone came along and re-designed it:

The future look of GOV.UK?

Reminiscing about IdA while we wait to find out about our identity providers

30 September 2012 has come and gone. Everyone was looking forward to discovering which companies would be the UK's "identity providers" but the deadline passed and we're none the wiser.

Then it seemed as though we would be told on 22 October 2012. That's what it said in the Independent and the Government Digital Service (GDS) seemed quite happy with that coverage but no, still no answer.

While we're waiting, it's tempting to reminisce about the history of GDS's Identity Assurance project (IdA).

Things happen when Lin Homer's in the loop. Fast.

An open letter was sent to HMRC by email and by post asking about the advisability of contracting with Skyscape Cloud Services Ltd.

An acknowledgement was received today by post promising a response within 15 working days.

And then the response was received, as shown below, dated today. Unprecedented.

With thanks to Phil Pavitt, responding on behalf of Ms Homer, and no further comment for the moment:

[Skyscape has subsequently changed its name to UKCloud: "London – August 1, 2016 – Skyscape Cloud Services Limited, the easy to adopt, easy to use and easy to leave assured cloud services company, has today renamed and relaunched as UKCloud Ltd (www.ukcloud.com), to reinforce the company’s exclusive focus on supporting the UK public sector in the digital transformation of services".]

HMRC and Skyscape Cloud Services Ltd Dear Mr Moss Thank you for your letter of 11 October 2012 expressing your concerns in respect of HMRC’s recently announced contract with Skyscape Cloud Services Ltd. I am replying on behalf of HMRC’s Chief Executive, Lin Homer. Skyscape were selected by HMRC and awarded a 12 month contract due to their innovative, inventive and value for money solution. In terms of the suitability of Skyscape hosting HMRC data I can confirm that HMRC procured the services of Skyscape via the HM Government “G-Cloud” Framework, also referred to  as the CloudStore. The G-Cloud was created by the Cabinet Office and the Government Procurement Services (GPS) via a formal competition process through the Official Journal of the European Union under the Open Procedure. G-Cloud was established to make government procurement easier and more transparent and was, in part, created as a means of encouraging small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to compete on a level playing  field with multi-national organisations. In order to deliver services through G-Cloud, all suppliers on the Framework, Skyscape included, were required to meet a set of mandatory criteria set out by GPS including their financial standing and Experian risk assessments. Additionally, HMRC carried out its own standard taxation and financial compliance checks  before awarding the contract and Skyscape passed the standard set by the G-Cloud Framework and HMRC. Skyscape’s services are provided through a number of key, or “Alliance”, Partners. These partners are industry leading organisations that provide services in the data centre or “cloud” arena such as EMC (storage  and security services), Cisco (networking) and Ark Continuity (UK based high security data centres). Ark Continuity therefore are one of a number of partners who supply Skyscape with their products and services which are key to Skyscape’s overall assured cloud computing services. However, data security remains integral to HMRC and a pre-requisite of any of our data being migrated to Skyscape is for their solution, including all the constituent parts, to be formally accredited by CESG (the Communications-Electronics Security Group) to Impact Level 3 (IL3). For more information please see the link below: http://gcloud.civilservice.gov.uk/2012/03/09/so-what-is-il3-a-short-guide-to-business-impact-levels/ This accreditation is expected imminently, at which point HMRC will be in a position to begin securely moving data over to Skyscape and decommissioning our old servers. Once the data has been moved it will remain there for the contract duration (12 months) during which time any subsequent data storage contract will be re-competed to ensure HMRC continues to take advantage of innovative, secure and low cost solutions, available within the marketplace, which allow HMRC to easily store, manage and transfer its data. It should also be noted that for security reasons HMRC does not discuss details of the data that it holds, or where it stores it, however we are able to confirm that by using Skyscape HMRC data will continue to be kept in accordance with existing legislation and HMRC security policies. Finally, I can confirm that the claims within HMRC’s press release of 26 September are fully justified. The data, which will be securely stored by Skyscape, currently resides on several hundred servers, across multiple HMRC office locations. This change will consolidate that data and place it into a small number of secure and highly resilient cloud data centres hence improving the security of the data, the efficiency of managing that data as well as improving HMRC’s carbon footprint. I trust that this answers your queries in full and I hope that you can now appreciate that HMRC’s decision to contract with Skyscape was not dangerous, ill-advised or irresponsible. Yours sincerely, Regards Phil Pavitt HMRC Director General Change, Security and Information

Things happen when Lin Homer's in the loop. Fast.

An open letter was sent to HMRC by email and by post asking about the advisability of contracting with Skyscape Cloud Services Ltd.

An acknowledgement was received today by post promising a response within 15 working days.

And then the response was received, as shown below, dated today. Unprecedented.

GDS and their friends

Will HMG really entrust our personal identities and data collected under statutory authority to those who base their ID governance in Dublin, their IT and security staff in India or their files on the west coast of the US? You could not make up the idea that the Home Office might seriously consider outsourcing the running of our immigration and criminal records to an India software company - but this is allegedly about to happen. Philip Virgo

Last week, it was GOV.UK. Later today, the Government Digital Service (GDS) should make an announcement about identity assurance (IdA).

GDS want to make all public services digital by default. That will "transform government", they say, it will make it joined up and modern and efficient and trusted and green.

Take Universal Credit (UC) as an example. If people are to register for UC on-line using GOV.UK and receive their benefit payments on-line, DWP need to know who the claimants are, DWP need identity assurance – no IdA, no UC.

DWP lost control over identity assurance to GDS. Today's announcement may come from DWP but it's GDS in the driving seat: "... This approach ensures that, ultimately, HMG-wide Identity Assurance is supplied across central departments via a common procurement portal (to HMG agreed standards) and governed by the Cabinet Office".

Today's announcement will name the UK's "identity providers". (You'll soon get used to the term.) These are the companies who will help to provide DWP among others with the reassurance they need that benefits are being paid to legitimate recipients.

UC is just an example. Digital by default is for everyone. Not just benefit claimants. We'll all need an identity provider in GDS's new world. Even taxpayers. And children. The freshly conceived? The dead. Anyone who wants a passport. Or a driving licence. Or who wants to get married. Or enter into a civil partnership. Or go on holiday. Or vote. Or draw a pension. Or avail themselves of non-emergency state healthcare. Or state education. Or change job. Or submit their VAT return. Or ...

On 4 October 2012 the Independent newspaper published National 'virtual ID card' scheme set for launch (Is there anything that could possibly go wrong?). The article named Facebook, Microsoft, Google and PayPal (owned by eBay) among others as likely identity providers and GDS said: "If you’d like to know more the Q&A in The Independent gives a pretty good overview (the only thing we’d really quibble with is the headline)".

I.e. the Independent article was a leak and is reliable. And it says: "The identification systems used by the private companies have been subjected to security testing before being awarded their “Identity Provider” (IDP) kitemark, meaning that they have made the list of between five and 20 approved organisations that will be announced on 22 October".

As you listen to today's announcement, if it happens, you will be comforted to know that GDS is your friend and that all the hard work on GOV.UK and IdA is for you, it is designed around you and your user experience of digital by default, which will empower you, Facebook and Google and PayPal and Microsoft (and eBay and Amazon and Apple) are trusted third parties and ...

1. Sunday Times, 21 October 2012 eBay avoids £50m tax
2. Independent, 21 October 2012 eBay joins list of firms avoiding most tax - and doing it legally
3. Observer, 21 October 2012 Amazon makes UK publishers pay 20% VAT on ebook sales
4. Sunday Times, 21 October 2012 Apple downloads another $10bn
5. Philip Virgo, 20 October 2012 Why is Dublin the on-line capital of Europe ?
6. Daily Express, 18 October 2012 WHY TAX AVOIDANCE LEAVES A BAD TASTE IN YOUR MOUTH
7. Guardian, 17 October 2012 Should we boycott the tax-avoiding companies?
8. Sunday Times, 14 October 2012 Apple avoids up to £570m in British tax
9. The Register, 11 October 2012 Facebook says it's LOSING money in the UK ... pays hardly any tax
10. Independent, 11 October 2012 Facebook: The antisocial network branded 'disingenuous and immoral' 
11. Media Week, 11 October 2012 Facebook paid staff more per head than its entire UK tax
12. Sunday Times, 30 September 2012 The Untaxables
13. Daily Telegraph, 20 September 2012 Microsoft 'used offshore units to avoid paying $4.5bn in taxes', Senate claims
14. The Register, 20 September 2012 Senate hears Microsoft and HP avoided billions in US taxes
15. Wall Street Journal, 20 September 2012 Senate Committee Questions Overseas Tax Schemes
16. Daily Telegraph, 13 August 2012 Google to face MPs over tax avoidance scheme
17. Sunday Times, 5 August 2012 Apple’s cash crisis (it’s got too much money)
18. Daily Mail, 24 July Yes, I pay builders in cash. But what’s really immoral is billionaires and firms like Google who avoid tax
19. Sunday Times, 8 July 2012 French tax swoop on Microsoft
20. Times, 27 June 2012 EU planning cross-border crackdown on tax evasion
21. PC Advisor, 22 June 2012 Forget Jimmy Carr: check out Google, Amazon and Apple's tax records
22. Sunday Times, 17 June 2012 How Google turned evil (Apple and Facebook aren’t much better)
23. Daily Mail, 30 April 2012 How Apple (legally) avoided paying BILLIONS in taxes last year - despite record profits
24. Sunday Times, 22 April 2012 Apple’s Irish tax ploy
25. Macworld, 19 April 2012 Claims of Apple's tax dodging are untrue
26. Which?, 11 April 2012 Is Amazon’s avoidance taxing the UK’s ebook retailers?
27. Sunday Times, 8 April 2012 Apple’s UK tax dodge
28. Daily Mail, 8 April 2012 Apple 'made £6bn' in UK... but paid only £10m in tax
29. Guardian, 6 April 2012 Tim Waterstone warns Amazon tax avoidance could kill off bookshops
30. Independent, 5 April 2012 Amazon investigated by UK authorities over tax avoidance
31. Daily Mail, 5 April 2012 Amazon, Google, and the sordid reality of tax avoidance
32. BBC, 5 April 2012 Corporation tax: Easy for multinationals to avoid?
33. Daily Telegraph, 5 April 2012 Amazon faces UK corporation tax probe
34. Guardian, 4 April 2012 Amazon: £7bn sales, no UK corporation tax
35. Sunday Times, 25 March 2012 Apple’s $100bn headache
36. Sunday Times, 12 February 2012 The anti-social network
37. Sunday Tiimes, 5 February 2012 Revealed: Facebook’s network in offshore tax havens
38. Sunday Times, 3 February 2012 Google pays only 3% tax on foreign profit
39. Wall Street Journal, 3 August 2011 Amazon Battles States Over Sales Tax
40. London Evening Standard, 20 July 2011 Britain loses out in Google's tax avoidance
41. Wall Street Journal, 20 June 2011 British Online Retailers to Face Tax Scrutiny
42. Sunday Times, 29 May 2011 Google beats £3bn tax
43. Times, 16 March 2011 No taxation: Amazon declares war on the states
44. Wall Street Journal, 27 March 2010 The Sales Tax That Comes Back to Bite
45. Guardian, 23 September 2009 Is Microsoft a tax dodger?
46. Wall Street Journal, 6 April 2009 Firms Move to Fight Overseas-Profit Tax
47. Wall Street Journal, 11 September 2008 Street Firms Accused of Tax Scheme
48. ...

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Updated 3.7.14

New Amazon terms amount to 'assisted suicide' for book industry, experts claim Report says publishers under heavy pressure to make damaging concessions including giving online retailer rights to print on demand Alison Flood theguardian.com, Wednesday 25 June 2014 12.08 BST

REVEALED: Google's proposed indie music-killing contract terms Suicide or death-by-DMCA? Not a great choice... By Andrew Orlowski, 24 Jun 2014

GDS and their friends

Will HMG really entrust our personal identities and data collected under statutory authority to those who base their ID governance in Dublin, their IT and security staff in India or their files on the west coast of the US? You could not make up the idea that the Home Office might seriously consider outsourcing the running of our immigration and criminal records to an India software company - but this is allegedly about to happen. Philip Virgo

Last week, it was GOV.UK. Later today, the Government Digital Service (GDS) should make an announcement about identity assurance (IdA).

GDS want to make all public services digital by default. That will "transform government", they say, it will make it joined up and modern and efficient and trusted and green.

Cloud computing turns IT into a utility, and that's a good thing?

The interesting thing about cloud computing

is that we've redefined cloud computing
to include everything that we already do...

The computer industry is the only industry
that is more fashion-driven than women's fashion.

Maybe I'm an idiot,
but I have no idea what anyone is talking about.

What is it?

It's complete gibberish.

It's insane.

When is this idiocy going to stop?

Cloud computing is cheaper, better, faster, easier, ... because it turns IT into a utility. In fact it's a no-brainer. So says Whitehall's G-Cloud team, reading from the industry hymn-sheet.

DMossEsq doesn't think that emulating the utilities markets is obviously a very good idea. Neither does Richard Stallman. And as for Larry Ellison, all $41 billion-worth of him, he thinks cloud computing announcements are "fashion-driven" and "complete gibberish", see above. And below.

But never mind Messrs Stallman and Ellison and DMossEsq, take a look at the past week's utilities news and you decide, what do you think? Is this where you want public money spent? Your money?

Don't bother working on the answer too hard by the way because actually it doesn't matter what you think. HMRC have already contracted with Skyscape Cloud Services Ltd to put your tax data in the cloud and GDS – the Government Digital Service – have already contracted with the same company to put all your benefits data up there in the cloud, too.

A	The big guns:
	• 14 January 2011, OECD, Reducing Systemic Cybersecurity Risk: cloud computing creates security problems in the form of loss of confidentiality if authentication is not robust and loss of service if internet connectivity is unavailable or the supplier is in financial difficulties ...
	• 10 February 2011, ENISA, Security & Resilience in Governmental Clouds: [re cloud computing] its adoption should be limited to non-sensitive or non-critical applications and in the context of a defined strategy for cloud adoption which should include a clear exit strategy ...
	(ENISA is the EU's Network and Information Security Agency)
	After a while, the penny drops for you, doesn't it. But it hasn't for Whitehall.
B	Small arms fire:
	• 4 May 2012 Sage thrusts small biz tool into Microsoft Azure: At the end of last year Sage had converted just 1,000 of its customers from cloud sceptics to adopters, out of an installed base of 6.3 million ...
	• 9 May 2012 Cloud data fiasco forces bosses to break out the whiteboards: Workers relying on Atlassian's cloudy team-tracking software have reverted to whiteboards and spreadsheets after a service outage made key project data vanish ...
	• 10 May 2012 Root canal surgery officially more desirable than cloud migration: Some IT decision makers would prefer to undergo root canal surgery than deal with migrating their business to a private or public cloud ...
	• 15 May 2012 iCloud blows away 15 million users for 90 minutes: Apple’s iCloud service crashed for ninety minutes on Monday, US time, leaving 12% of users – about 15 million people - possibly “unable to access iCloud mail” ...
	After a while, you can't help noticing, can you. Not everyone is a fan.
C	from Whitehall's G-Cloud website:
	• 12 March 2012 The Times they are a changing: Cloud Computing offers utility services that are cheaper, better and faster to provision ...
	• 23 March 2012 A No Brainer: Cloud computing is: ICT services, or ICT enabled business services supplied on a utility basis ...
	• 4 April 2012 Baby Steps: You don’t need to make a big commitment up-front because cloud is based on a utility service model ...
	• 1 June 2012 G-Cloud ‘Simple’ Procurement Instructions: ... the aim of G-Cloud is to make it easier for the public sector to access and use utility-based ICT services and easier for suppliers to work with us ...
	• 26 July 2012 Guidance on Terms and Conditions: Public Cloud means Utility Computing that is available to individuals, public and private sector organisations. Public Cloud is often non-geographically specific and can be accessed wherever there is an Internet connection ... Private Cloud means a Utility Computing infrastructure exclusively for the use of one organisation or community ... See also • 10 May 2012 G-Cloud Information Assurance Requirements and Guidance See also • G-CLOUD SERVICES II FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT
	• 18 September 2012 .gov.uk hosting bought through G-Cloud: The purchase also shows that government is ready to embrace low cost utility cloud services ...
	After a while, you get the idea, don't you. Cloud computing is a good thing according to Whitehall because it turns IT into a utility, it has all the benefits enjoyed by the utilities.
D	from the Guardian newspaper website:
	12 October 2012 British Gas set to raise gas and electricity prices
	12 October 2012 British Gas raises green electricity bills
	15 October 2012 Scottish Power raises gas and electricity prices
	17 October 2012 Obama and Romney take up gas prices and energy policy during second debate
	18 October 2012 Energy tariff plans under pressure
	18 October 2012 Energy companies to be compelled to offer lowest tariff to customers
	18 October 2012 David Cameron's energy team unable to explain price pledge
	19 October 2012 Npower price hike highlights complexity of energy tariffs
	After a while, you get to wonder, don't you. Are these the benefits we want for IT?
E	from the Guardian newspaper website, 29 September 2008:
	Richard Stallman the prophet of open source ... Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation and creator of the computer operating system GNU, said that cloud computing was simply a trap aimed at forcing more people to buy into locked, proprietary systems that would cost them more and more over time. "It's stupidity. It's worse than stupidity: it's a marketing hype campaign," he told The Guardian. "Somebody is saying this is inevitable – and whenever you hear somebody saying that, it's very likely to be a set of businesses campaigning to make it true."
	[A cloud computing user says] We went ahead and moved our business to public cloud computing about 18 months ago. It has been a nightmare, there have been times when the company is down because our collaboration software, Basecamp, is unreachable. We also have an Amazon cloud solution. How secure is this, what if there is a breach? How do you even call Amazon, they don't even have a phone number for us? The level of transparency is not there.
	... tough issues remain. One is that organisations often cannot perform audits to verify the vendor's claims. Google, for example, does not allow it. "It does more to impede the security, letting everybody in to take a look at everything," [Eran Feigenbaum, director of security, Google Apps] says.
	Larry Ellison, Oracle "The interesting thing about cloud computing is that we've redefined cloud computing to include everything that we already do," [Mr Ellison] said. "The computer industry is the only industry that is more fashion-driven than women's fashion. Maybe I'm an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about. What is it? It's complete gibberish. It's insane. When is this idiocy going to stop?"
	No doubt someone will point out that Oracle now do offer cloud computing services. Does that imply that Mr Ellison no longer discerns gibberish, idiocy and insanity in cloud computing? Not necessarily. It may be simply that, having warned everyone about the idiocy, insanity and gibberish, he now feels that it is not in his shareholders' best interests to stand by and watch while Oracle's competitors pick all the low-hanging fruit.
	After a while, you give up, don't you. Like Whitehall. They've opened an on-line shop, the CloudStore, in which central and local government can buy cloud services (with no warranty*, incidentally). It's a leak, through which control over public sector IT escapes. Whitehall will soon enjoy all the control over their IT suppliers that you personally currently enjoy over your gas, electricity, telephone, water and sewerage suppliers.

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* Five questions were submitted to Whitehall's G-Cloud team about the advisability of including the products of Skyscape Cloud Services Ltd on the CloudStore. Skyscape is a small start-up with no trading history into whose care your tax data is being entrusted and your benefits data.

As she always does – and this is as good a point as any to thank her and to emphasise that it is appreciated – Eleanor Stewart, Assistant Director of G-Cloud, answered as fully as she could as follows.

It's up to the customer – whether HMRC, GDS, or any other public sector body – to decide if the supplier meets their requirements, the G-Cloud team give no warranty, inclusion on the CloudStore doesn't imply reliability.

The use of bold below doesn't match Ms Stewart's original reply:

To ensure the financial stability and repute of a company applying to be part of the Cloudstore the Government Procurement Service use a range a tests. The main one is the Experian Score for the company. This is an independent assessment of the financial risk of the company rated from 0-100 and recognised across all sectors. The normal benchmark set by HMG for a supplier is to have a score of 51 however as you have implied this penalises small or young companies and G-Cloud programme as set a requirement to have a score of 25 on the basis that we have a range of services, are broadening the marketplace and are not just for big companies with high scores. To gain a score of 25 you must be a stable company however, as with everything on the G-Cloud framework the customer can determine whether they are happy with any associated risk at the point of selection ... To purchase from G-Cloud GDS and HMRC have gone through a detailed selection process looking their requirements and the options available to them and have concluded that the Skyscape services will best met their needs and that of UK citizens.

Cloud computing turns IT into a utility, and that's a good thing?

The interesting thing about cloud computing

is that we've redefined cloud computing
to include everything that we already do...

The computer industry is the only industry
that is more fashion-driven than women's fashion.

Maybe I'm an idiot,
but I have no idea what anyone is talking about.

What is it?

It's complete gibberish.

It's insane.

When is this idiocy going to stop?

Cloud computing is cheaper, better, faster, easier, ... because it turns IT into a utility. In fact it's a no-brainer. So says Whitehall's G-Cloud team, reading from the industry hymn-sheet.

DMossEsq doesn't think that emulating the utilities markets is obviously a very good idea. Neither does Richard Stallman. And as for Larry Ellison, all $41 billion-worth of him, he thinks cloud computing announcements are "fashion-driven" and "complete gibberish", see above. And below.

But never mind Messrs Stallman and Ellison and DMossEsq, take a look at the past week's utilities news and you decide, what do you think? Is this where you want public money spent? Your money?

Don't bother working on the answer too hard by the way because actually it doesn't matter what you think. HMRC have already contracted with Skyscape Cloud Services Ltd to put your tax data in the cloud and GDS – the Government Digital Service – have already contracted with the same company to put all your benefits data up there in the cloud, too.

Skyscape? Yes? No? Akamai? Maybe? Where is GOV.UK?

DMossEsq has just been contacted and told that he's wrong – a daily event that the reader would not normally be troubled with, but this is different.

GOV.UK is being hosted on Skyscape. We know that. The G-Cloud team have told us. GDS have told us. Skyscape have told us. The press in general have told us, e.g.

Hosting GOV.UK in the cloud to cost GDS record-breaking £600,000 Government Digital Service signed a deal with Skyscape last month By Derek du Preez | Computerworld UK | Published 10:29, 10 October 12 The Government Digital Service’s (GDS) infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) deal with Skyscape to host single domain website GOV.UK, which was procured through the G-Cloud, is worth an estimated £600,000. Denise McDonagh, G-Cloud programme director, revealed the figure in an article for the Financial Times, where she said that the deal is the biggest sale to date from CloudStore and is “an important milestone for G-Cloud, showing that the public sector is ready to embrace low-cost utility cloud services”.

There can't be any doubt.

Except that apparently DMossEsq is wrong and actually GOV.UK is being hosted by Akamai. Who says? Akamai. And they didn't sound very pleased.

Someone is not being straight with someone.

18th question for Francis Maude: where is GOV.UK?

Akamai, incidentally, turn out to be a Singapore-based cloud services supplier quoted on two German exchanges and on NASDAQ, thus ensuring that any data they store can be subpoenaed by the FBI. If that's where GOV.UK is being hosted, then GDS have lost control of our data and Whitehall will have failed in its Constitutional duty to keep our data under its control and confidential.

"Check up on GOV.UK", suggested the man at Akamai, "that'll prove it.". The following distressing user experience was suffered:

The man from Akamai also suggested doing an nslookup. This is one you can try at home from the command prompt. Enter nslookup www.gov.uk and back comes the answer:

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:          e6453.b.akamaiedge.net
Address:        2.23.20.23
Aliases:        www.gov.uk
                www.gov.uk.edgekey.net

Check up with RIPE on that 2.23.20.23 address and you get:

inetnum:        2.23.16.0 - 2.23.31.255
netname:        AKAMAI-PA
descr:          Akamai Technologies
country:        EU
admin-c:        NARA1-RIPE
tech-c:         NARA1-RIPE
status:         ASSIGNED PA
mnt-by:         AKAM1-RIPE-MNT
mnt-routes:     AKAM1-RIPE-MNT
mnt-routes:     CW-EUROPE-GSOC
source:         RIPE #Filtered

Things are looking good for the Akamai theory and not so good for Skyscape.

Skyscape? Yes? No? Akamai? Maybe? Where is GOV.UK?

DMossEsq has just been contacted and told that he's wrong – a daily event that the reader would not normally be troubled with, but this is different.