2018-7-9 16:14 |
IBM is mending its ties with the Australian government two years after it was said to have played a part in the mismanagement of a national census. The company recently secured a deal with the government to become its central technology partner for the next five years. The deal will cost the Australian government USD 740 million (AUD 1 billion) and will bring the technology giant’s automation and blockchain technology to the country’s federal departments.
New Deal Helps Australian Government in TechnologyAs part of the new contract, IBM will be using blockchain and automation solutions for crucial Australian federal departments, including home affairs and defense. Asia Pacific Head at IBM Harriet Green said that the employment of the locals and the “youth of the technology” will be the hallmarks of the new partnership.
IBM will create a new platform for citizen data protection. The government estimates that it could help in saving AUD 100 million of taxpayer money. It is also noteworthy that security systems are of great importance to the country as the systems of a defense contractor were hacked last year.
Could IBM Save Its Face and Reputation?It’s interesting that the Australian government has partnered with the American company yet again. Two years ago, IBM was helping the government in its twice-a-decade national census. The survey experienced four distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
DDoS attack illustration with laptops attacking computer server. Source: shutterstock.comPrime Minister Malcolm Turnbull blamed it on the tech giant, saying that the 40-hour outage was “utterly predictable, utterly foreseeable.” He added:
“I have to say — and I’m not trying to protect anyone here at all — but overwhelmingly the failure was IBM’s, and they have acknowledged that they have paid up and they should have.”
The company paid $30 million in compensation as a result of the attack but maintained that the problem occurred because of one of its subcontractors. The subcontractors, however, denied any such responsibility.
IBM is witnessing falling revenues in the recent times and is now moving to blockchain technology in an effort to rejuvenate its business. The company recently worked as an IT vendor for the first live banking transaction in the world, carried on July 3. Four banks — HSBC, Nordea, KBC, and Rabobank — carried out live transactions using the we.trade blockchain platform, which is now live in 11 countries.
IBM to Supply Blockchain-Based Security Services to Australia was originally found on [blokt] - Blockchain, Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.
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