Manchester Digital Development Agency » Europe

Digital Agenda Europe – support the Manchester Local2020 ‘team’

Dave Carter — Mon, 09 May 2011 12:28:40 +0000

Things are really taking off across Europe (although some would argue it’s only taken us 20 years to get here!) with the launch of the new Digital Agenda Europe – DAE – initiative (find out more at the DAE website http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/index_en.htm) and the related website “Local2020″, http://www.local2020.eu/, which is working to get far more locally based collaboration on new and innovative ideas for the Digital Agenda. Local2020 is coordinated by local company, Clicks and Links, a long standing collaborator with MDDA, and supported by some of our more dynamic colleagues in the European Commission. We all met up together at the local “DAE Goes Local” event in April and came up with a number of proposals for new projects and potential new ways of doing things. The first ideas are on the Local2020 website and have been organised into a “Local Grand Prix” where each project idea is an “iCar” and needs support via ‘Likes’, comments or added support via the link through Facebook and Twitter. Our project is the “Open Services Aggregator”, an idea to promote open licensing of new ideas for the co-production of public services through Living Labs (and much more), and we have to get as much support as possible before the Digital Agenda Assembly meets in Brussels on June 16th/17th. This means YOU!!!! Please go on the site and add your comments or even add a new idea and give us support via Facebook and Twitter too! You know it makes (European) sense!!!

ENISA Press Release – Clearing the fog on cloud computing security

Paul Hilton — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:20:14 +0000

The EU’s ‘cyber security’ agency, ENISA (the European Network and Information Security Agency) answers the question – “How can businesses and governments get the obvious benefits of cloud computing without putting their organisation at risk?” in a new, comprehensive report on Cloud Computing: Benefits, risks and recommendations for information security.

ENISA’s new report is the first to take an independent, in-depth look at all the security and privacy issues of moving into the cloud, outlining some of the information security benefits of cloud computing, as well as 35 key security risks. ENISA and their expert group started with a survey asking businesses their main concerns in moving into the cloud. “The picture we got back from the survey was clear:” says Giles Hogben, an ENISA expert and editor of the report – “the business case for cloud computing is obvious – it’s computing on tap, available instantly, commitment-free and on-demand. But the number one issue holding many people back is security – how can I know if it’s safe to trust the cloud provider with my data and in some cases my entire business infrastructure?“.

The report answers this question with a detailed check-list of criteria which anyone can use to identify whether a cloud provider is as security-conscious as they could be. With the security check-list, customers now know the right questions to ask and providers can answer those questions just once instead of being overloaded with requests for assurance about their security practices.

Download the full report

For further information

Contact the Press and Communications Officer – Ulf Bergstrom

ENISA Website – www.enisa.europa.eu/

Finland agrees legal right to 100Mb broadband for all by 2015

Dave Carter — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:24:38 +0000

Just come across this fascinating news story from one of my favourite European countries, Finland. As well as gaining the legal right to have at least 1Mb access by next year it has now been agreed that everyone will have the right to a 100Mb connection by the end of 2015. Perhaps even the reindeer will all be on-line by the time the UK gets round to this. Here is the news story:

“Starting next July, every person in Finland will have the right to a one-megabit broadband connection, says the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Finland is the world’s first country to create laws guaranteeing broadband access. The government had already decided to make a 100 Mb broadband connection a legal right by the end of 2015. On Wednesday, the Ministry announced the new goal as an intermediary step. Starting next July, every person in Finland will have the right to a one-megabit broadband connection, says the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Finland is the world’s first country to create laws guaranteeing broadband access. The government had already decided to make a 100 Mb broadband connection a legal right by the end of 2015. On Wednesday, the Ministry announced the new goal as an intermediary step. Some variation will be allowed, if connectivity can be arranged through mobile phone networks.” The weblink is here.