US tech firm Palantir, known for supplying controversial data-sifting software to government agencies, has fetched a market value of nearly … However, the updated document is not one of those handed over – something that the two organisations are still pushing for. Campaign groups, doctors and MPs have raised fears that coronavirus has triggered a private “power grab” in the ailing and chronically underfunded NHS. Providing software components for clients’ systems often means wo…, For many businesses, the last few years have changed the information security landscape significantly. “The idea that Amazon or Palantir’s ‘commercial interests’ might outweigh the public’s right to know what’s going on with this data deal is, frankly, crazy,” Crider told NS Tech at the time. But the original contracts confirm that Faculty was allowed to profit from access to the data. The project is primarily run by the health service’s digital arm NHSX, Palantir and Faculty. The UK government finally gave into demands to release controversial NHS data-sharing deals – which up to this point had been kept secret – after tech justice organisation Foxglove and openDemocracy threatened legal action that was due to kick off today. The amended contract, which also retrospectively applies to the whole project, included two additional clauses relating to intellectual property rights, stating that the supplier [Faculty AI]: A Faculty spokesperson told NS Tech that the company “asked for its contract to be amended to make clear that it will derive no commercial benefit from any software, including trained machine learning models, developed during the course of the project and that the use of the IP is under the sole control of the NHS”. Palantir is hiring former civil servants and members of the military including Ash Alexander-Cooper OBE, a former Gurkha, helicopter pilot and colonel in the British special forces. The organisations had learned from government lawyers that the original NHS contract allowed Faculty to retain intellectual property rights for the project, train AI models on the data, and profit from the deal. The DHSC was also asked to release the data protection impact assessments carried out for the project. The Covid-19 data store that the tech firms are working on collects data from myriad sources, including ‘anonymous’ but still sensitive and confidential patient data, in order to predict demand on the health service. You are in control of the communications you receive from us and you can update your preferences anytime to make sure you are receiving information that matters to you. It also said that the data would be destroyed or returned at the end of the crisis, and insisted in April that “the companies involved do not control the data and are not permitted to use or share it for their own purposes.”. However, this “inside the firewall” thinking ignores the obvious truth of doing business today: ‘the …, weigh the tech firms’ “commercial interests”, 45 engineers (a comparatively large number), to work on it in exchange for just £1, Facebook unveils plan to curb spread of coronavirus misinformation, Government mulls tech giants’ “commercial interests” before releasing NHS data deals, NHS collecting third party app data to map Covid-19 threat, Addressing the 12 blockers to IT modernisation with a multi-cloud strategy, FPT Software – Enhancing Code Quality and Security with Synopsys AST Solutions, The essential guide to Digital Risk Protection, 50 ways to lose your data: Understanding the true nature of data breaches, Emerging Threats: sign up for NS Tech’s weekly security briefing, EVENT: REAL-TIME ANALYTICS: YOUR HIDDEN ASSET, Five must-read stories from the intersection of tech, business and politics, EU draft rules strike at the heart of Big Tech’s business model, Why we must break the constraints of the industrial model of government, Reducing TCO: How a security team cut admin workload by 90% and saved money, Reducing TCO: How a small team halved its cyber security workload, The biggest govtech deals of the week (28/9/20), must not use in the course of its ordinary business activities (except when providing the Services) any software (including any trained machine learning models) developed by the Supplier for the Buyer during the course of the Project, may, for the avoidance of doubt, use any software that the Buyer makes available as open source on the same terms as any independent third party.”. A contract published online on Friday shows that Palantir is … From our roots in counterterrorism to our current work spanning the public, private, and non-profit sectors, we've delivered software that incorporates principles of … Insights into attacker activity in compromised email accounts A specialized economy is emerging around email account takeover as cybercriminals find new ways to attack and exploit email accounts. In response to the Freedom of Information (FoI) request submitted last month, the Department of Health and Social Care dragged its feet, claiming it had to weigh the tech firms’ “commercial interests” before releasing the documents. As NS Tech revealed in April, Palantir has offered up 45 engineers (a comparatively large number), to work on it in exchange for just £1 – sparking suspicions that the company believes it will eventually profit from the deal in some way.
Mary Fitzgerald, OpenDemocracy’s editor-in-chief, said in a statement: “It shouldn’t have taken a lawsuit threat to get us these documents, but we’re pleased to share them with the public now. Transparency is just the start of the debate we need. The documents shared with Foxglove and openDemocracy are publicly accessible and available below: Note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Faculty. The Guardian has revealed sensitive documents unveiling how Palantir is set to manage the data analytics and architecture of the UK’s new “border flow tool” as part of a contract that would be in place by September 11. On the eve of the lawsuit, the government finally capitulated and offered up contracts for the data-store deal with Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Peter Thiel’s controversial data analysis company Palantir and the Vote Leave-linked company Faculty, which has ties to Dominic Cummings. The NHS assured detractors of the high-profile project that the data “will only be used for Covid-19” and that “only relevant information will be collected”.
openDemocracy are studying the documents closely and will be reporting what we find, in the public interest.”. Foxglove and OpenDemocracy organisations received the following statement from government lawyers: “Following the date of [Foxglove’s FOI] request, the standard G-Cloud contract was amended to surrender all intellectual property rights from the project to the NHS. There are concerns that this project – and the “unprecedented” transferral of NHS data into the hands of private companies it involves – signals an attempt to further privatise the NHS by stealth. There are legitimate fears that contracts like the data-store deal could outlive the crisis. Please check our NS Tech Privacy Policy to see how we protect and manage your submitted data. The UK government just handed over a contract for oversight of the UK’s post-Brexit border and customs data to Palantir. Palantir was founded on the conviction that it's essential to preserve fundamental principles of privacy and civil liberties while using data. Government finally publishes NHS contracts with Palantir, Faculty and big tech 5th June 2020 0 0 0 0 0 The UK government finally gave into demands to release controversial NHS data-sharing deals – which up to this point had been kept secret – after tech justice organisation Foxglove and openDemocracy threatened legal action that was due to kick off today. T…, In February 2020, UKCloud in partnership with Censuswide, surveyed more than 300 IT professionals and business leaders from a variety of public sector organisations to determine the state of cloud …, FPT Software offers full lifecycle services for its customers, including software design, development, migration and modernization.
Insights into attacker activity in compromised email accounts A speciali…, In February 2020, UKCloud in partnership with Censuswide, surveyed more …, FPT Software offers full lifecycle services for its customers, including…, For many businesses, the last few years have changed the information sec…, For decades the primary focus of IT security all over the world has been…, I consent to NS Tech collecting my details provided via this form, Send me interesting reports, magazines, promotions and exclusive content from the NS Tech group. Why was Faculty allowed to train its models and potentially profit off the NHS in a crisis, until Foxglove’s FoI prompted them to amend the contract? Cori Crider, founder and Director at Foxglove, said in a statement: “Why did the initial contracts with tech companies let them keep the intellectual property rights from their unprecedented access to NHS data? The government claims it will publish this document on the NHS website today. The U.K. Government gave Peter Thiel's Palantir access to sensitive NHS patient data.
New data privacy regulations require increased compliance and diligence, with significantly he…, For decades the primary focus of IT security all over the world has been to secure the network. The government has since claimed that the contract with Faculty has been amended to sidestep this issue. And, since we haven’t seen it, does the new contract really fix the problem?”.