* Posts by JohnMurray

819 publicly visible posts • joined 6 Jul 2011

Legal complaint lodged with UK data watchdog over claims coronavirus Test and Trace programme flouts GDPR

JohnMurray

Re: Conspiracy time?

Yet Another Anonymous coward = Monsewer Cummings ?

JohnMurray

Re: Conspiracy time?

I think you'll find that behind their incompetence there lurks a dark soul, full of malice, that couldn't give a sh** about peoples data security (or people). After all, just look at their record ! They *could* have had a contract-tracing app, a secure one, operating fully by now, instead they chose to use their deliberately insecure one, with that talktalk a***hole running it. Says it all.

Highways England waves around £62m contract for National Traffic Information Service after brief chat with vendors

JohnMurray

You mean they have their own fibre-optic data network and nothing to use it for?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Roads_Telecommunications_Services

Far-right leader walks free from court after conviction for refusing to hand his phone passcode over to police

JohnMurray

If you don’t like obeying our laws then you should get out of our country, Britain First’s Paul Golding told

https://newsthump.com/2020/05/21/if-you-dont-like-obeying-our-laws-then-you-should-get-out-of-our-country-britain-firsts-paul-golding-told/

You can't have it both ways: Anti-coronavirus masks may thwart our creepy face-recog cameras, London cops admit

JohnMurray

Especially as the anti-vaxxers are on the covid-19 vaccine case now.....or not on it....whatever

NHS contact tracing app isn't really anonymous, is riddled with bugs, and is open to abuse. Good thing we're not in the middle of a pandemic, eh?

JohnMurray

Re: Just say no

There are two NHS APPs.....the "covid-tracing" NHS app, and the NHS APP.

Covid App: https://www.nhsx.nhs.uk/covid-19-response/nhs-covid-19-app/

NHS APP: https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/the-nhs-app/

JohnMurray

They seem to have moved-on from their headline NHS APP:

"Our commitment to protecting your personal information

Whenever you provide personal information to a third party, that party is legally obliged to use your information in line with data protection law.

We take the security of your personal information seriously. We've set up security measures, policies and procedures such as:

training all staff annually in data and security protection

monitoring our platform to keep your personal information secure

following good practice guidance provided by the National Technical Authority

always using legally binding agreements with all organisations we use

having security and confidentiality policies in place across the organisation, to which staff must agree before they’re given access to personal information

restricting access to personal information to only those staff who need access to perform their role"

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/the-nhs-app/privacy/

Russia admits, yup, the Americans are right: One of our rocket's tanks just disintegrated in Earth's orbit

JohnMurray

This is all too sciency.....take a positive viewpoint: hostile aliens will have to pass through the "swarm" to invade earth! Friendly aliens may have a problem.

UK finds itself almost alone with centralized virus contact-tracing app that probably won't work well, asks for your location, may be illegal

JohnMurray

Re: Hanlon's razor

A marrow wrapped in razor wire?

Academics demand answers from NHS over potential data timebomb ticking inside new UK contact-tracing app

JohnMurray

Re: Presumably this will download and operate on all flavours of smartphone...

The NHS app works very well, so far. So does the app that my GP-IT service uses (Airmid) (so far). So does access to the GP service directly (Systmonline) (the Airmid provider).

JohnMurray

Seriously?

They make the laws, I'm sure they can make a few more; or hide breaches of those that exist now.

UK snubs Apple-Google coronavirus app API, insists on British control of data, promises to protect privacy

JohnMurray

They can work it out. As I told Mr Con-Stable when pulled-over at 2200z, coming home from work; "the biggest risk of infection I have is talking to you" (not impressed, warned about £60 fine). I'll bet the "coronavirus laws" are not rescinded as fast as they were imposed!!

JohnMurray

Bearing in mind that the immunity gained from infection only lasts a few months, according to S Korea medics, this may well mean the elderly and vulnerable being domestically incarcerated for the remainder of their lives!!

JohnMurray

Re: Difficult choice

Which Christmas?

From attacked engineers to a crypto-loving preacher with a questionable CV: Yep, it's still very much 5G silly season

JohnMurray

Re: Repeating History....?

You mean like the village I live in..... Orange (as was) applied for permission to erect a 3G base on the outskirts of the village. The villagers, via the parish council, objected, citing the "known" cancer risk. Permission denied. Consequently, coverage continued to be rubbish, and people complained about that. After a few years, coverage improved a lot. Nobody coupled that to the erection of a "telephone pole" (with no wires on it, but a steel cabinet next to it (with Orange clearly printed on the attached operator plate)). Even though knocking on the "pole" clearly informs you it is hollow. I kept quiet. Now they're complaining about some of them being "done" for speeding. The council installed average speed cameras because the village people complained about speeding drivers. Sometimes, stupidity is incurable and epidemic.

Vodafone chief speaks out after 5G conspiracy nuts torch phone mast serving Nightingale Hospital in Brum

JohnMurray

Re: Possibly OTT on my part but..

https://www.speedtest.net/ookla-5g-map

Watch out, everyone, here come the Coronavirus Cops, enjoying their little slice of power way too much

JohnMurray

They largely ignore the fact that, given they are out all the time, with no rpe being worn, the police are a potential source of infection to lone people...

Twitter takes away twits' ability to limit ad data sharing – after telling investors its own privacy settings hurt revenue

JohnMurray

I got so fed-up with the endless adverts, I blocked them. After a month of blocking every one, twitter suspended my account! No great loss.....

Australian state will install home surveillance hardware to make sure if you're in virus isolation, you stay there

JohnMurray

Strange world: Arresting and possibly jailing people for not locking themselves away.

So if an uninfected person is out on their own, not with other people or even near them, they can be arrested and jailed for that "crime".

Given that police are ones at high-risk of being infected, and that jails are highly likely to be large establishments filled with infected and sick people very soon....

UK Information Commissioner OKs use of phone data to track coronavirus spread

JohnMurray

https://twitter.com/TectonixGEO/status/1242628347034767361

UK.gov is not sharing Brits' medical data among different agencies... but it's having a jolly good think about it

JohnMurray

Re: Be careful what you tell us

The problem is more that the GP practices are our data guardians, and are supposed to protect the data. While the govt is telling them to hand it over to everyone else too..

JohnMurray

Re: Insult the electorate, cause that really works.

The trouble being: We now have Blue Commies.

UK.gov sits down with mobile big four to formalise plans for rural shared 4G network

JohnMurray

I have two 4G masts within a 2 mile radius.

Eventually, I will have a reasonable signal.

#C[o]untryLife

We won't CU later: New Ofcom broadband proposals mull killing off old copper network

JohnMurray

Seriously?

I have a broadband-over-copper installation.

The exchange is 100 metres away (although the broadband sites say it is 800 metres away).

The download speed is 19mbps, upload 800kbps with a ping of 8ms.

It costs me £19/month.

Fibre to give me the minimum 38mbps will cost me a minimum of £27/month.

I have no need to change.

Not going to either.

Worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable and royalty-free: Amazon's Alexa NHS contract released

JohnMurray

Re: Just consider.......

I don't use Amazon.

I don't have a credit card.

I opted-out of my health data being used for research purposes.

JohnMurray

Re: Wow

I think there was a global financial crash somewhere at the end of Blair/Brown....caused by bankers doing what they do best: acting as crooks. After all, the banking industry is the financial wing of the CONservative party!

JohnMurray

Re: Wow

"Unfortunately we're run by a bunch of spivs who know the price of everything and the value of nothing"

Should be: "Unfortunately we're run by a bunch of spivs who know the price of everything and the value of everything, but don't care about anything except themselves"

Revealed: NHS England bosses meet with tech and pharmaceutical giants to discuss price list of millions of Brits' medical data

JohnMurray

NHS Scotland launches GP information sharing system

NHS National Services Scotland has launched its Spire system, sharing anonymised patient data for research purposes

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/450414606/NHS-Scotland-launches-GP-information-sharing-system

JohnMurray

Re: Thankfully..

Unless you had not noticed....the £ has not been backed by gold for many decades....it is a fiat currency.....and Ted Heath sold more gold, for a lower price, than Gordon Brown did. Money does grow on trees. And banks make more money than the govt does. "the majority of money in the modern economy is created by commercial banks making loans" https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/quarterly-bulletin/2014/q1/money-creation-in-the-modern-economy

JohnMurray

Re: What protections are there for individuals?

They do understand...pseudo-anonymised health data was handed-out a few years ago, and it was found to be simple to trace the actual patient from that, by referring to other data existing. They know. They don't care. Large amount of revolving doors in healthcare and politics.

JohnMurray

Re: Good News!

The child was suspected to have pneumonia.....and it was an oxygen mask, not an IV

JohnMurray

You can opt-out of data being used for research purposes, you cannot opt-out of your data being used by health professionals. You cannot opt-out of your anonymised data being used by .. everyone

https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/

https://digital.nhs.uk/services/national-data-opt-out/operational-policy-guidance-document/what-are-national-data-opt-outs

JohnMurray

Re: Election day reporting restrictions?

In the real, post HSC act 2012 world, the NHS does not exist. Each hospital is a separate business.

JohnMurray

Re: NHS England couldn't run a bath

I still suffer from lorenzo disease. It is spread by your medical provider having to use a system that is useful only for arranging childrens birthday parties. Once upon a time, the hospital I use was the height of efficient organisation, then came lorenzo. Heard nothing from them since.

JohnMurray

Re: What?

All-digital records only exist for those treated after around the year 2000....everyone born before then has a large paper folder following them from hospital-to-hospital (I am not joking). And that is just the hospital records, which are separate from primary care records (hospitals still send "letters" about your care back to your primary care provider)(how cute). As yet, there are few links between secondary and primary care records. And even less link between your paper records and your digital records!

Once your records get into the USA, your data protection rights that you have here, will cease over there!!

JohnMurray

Re: Once again. It is not *their* data to sell.

No GDPR compliance = no EU citizen data being transferred to the UK.

Interesting about EU citizen data being held by the NHS or UK govt though !!

https://www.itpro.co.uk/policy-legislation/31772/gdpr-and-brexit-how-will-one-affect-the-other

JohnMurray

Re: Once again. It is not *their* data to sell.

The GDPR is already part of the data protection laws UK.

The GDPR does not apply to anonymised information.

Huawexit means Huawexit! Uncle Sam gets 300 applications to dodge ban on supplying Chinese comms beast

JohnMurray

Trump just doesn't want competition......there ain't room for two at the top of the phone-tapping-league....and the NSA was getting jealous

Labour: Free British broadband for country if we win general election

JohnMurray

Re: Just so much wind

They're not zero-tariff though....not without a trade agreement....https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45112872

We may well offer zero-tariff on imports, or most of them, but tariffs on our exports are not zero...and if we offer the EU zero tariffs on imports, we also have to do that for every other WTO country.

JohnMurray

Re: Marx would be proud

This country has as much money as it needs, to do most things. You are stuck in a household budget way of thinking about govt spending. I suggest further reading: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/03/nation-states-arent-households-debating-their-economies-if-they-are-stupid is just one, google will throw out plenty more. The govt makes all the money? https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/knowledgebank/how-is-money-created is another. A very large proportion of money the govt spends, comes back to it....most of it if you only buy fuel (64% tax) or alcohol (£12 billion in tax on alcohol last year) !

Governments are not households. And they are not businesses.

Thanks, Brexit. Tesla boss Elon Musk reveals Berlin as location for Euro Gigafactory

JohnMurray

Tesla Discloses US Revenues Collapsed 39%

Automotive revenues plunged 12% to $5.4 billion.

Energy and storage revenues ticked up less than 1% to $402 million.

“Services and other” revenues jumped by 68% to $548 million.

https://wolfstreet.com/2019/10/29/tesla-discloses-us-revenues-collapsed-39-americans-sour-on-its-cars-pent-up-demand-exhausted/

Boffins hand in their homework on Voyager 2's first readings from beyond Solar System

JohnMurray

Re: Gravity...

That was a waste of a perfectly good explanation.....although what it was explaining was not self-explanatory...

Delayed, over-budget smart meters will be helpful – when Blighty enters 'Star Trek phase'

JohnMurray

Re: Great

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Power-Monitors/b?ie=UTF8&node=1938287031

Five NHS trusts do DeepMind data deal with Google. One says no

JohnMurray

https://twitter.com/GowerInitiative/status/1180944612728418304

One of Blighty's most-loved charities hands £46m to one of Blighty's least-loved outsourcers

JohnMurray

£50 each year for me....with free entry and free car parking.

The free car-parking saves me that....have you seen the NT car-park prices? !

Junior minister says gov.UK considering facial recognition to verify age of p0rn-watchers

JohnMurray

In government, moron everybody is...

Tesco parking app hauled offline after exposing 10s of millions of Automatic Number Plate Recognition images

JohnMurray

Perhaps they should also check the system at Tesco Goldington, Bedford......which send you parking tickets saying you've overstayed your time......when you just go in, buy an item/s, then go out....in less than an hour !!!! WARNING: do not go into that store twice in a day.....

You know what the NHS really needs? Influencers, right guys? #blessed

JohnMurray

Re: 21st century advertising agencies

There is a promotion poster for the nhs app on the wall in my GPs' waiting room....and they can't use the money for more nurses, because it is not allocated for that...and they can't afford more nurses anyway.... (and after creating a hostile environment for migrants, getting any to work here is getting harder)

If you don't like it, you can always buy healthcare insurance. (you'll still end-up in an NHS hospital though.....very few private hospitals have intensive care units....they use the NHS!)

JohnMurray

Re: Shakes head...

Short of breath = one symptom of heart problem.

Heart problem = serious.

But in reality, they check your history with you....have you asthma etc.

They can also access your summary-care-record for history.

JohnMurray

NHS App.

Iphone.

Bring app up, uses fingerprint ID to access.

Home page: "Welcome My John M*****". DOB/NHS number.

List of "things":

Check Symptoms>

Book and Manage Appts>

Order Repeat Prescription>

View Medical Record>

Manage Organ Donation Decision>

Pretty basic, but still works....I make appts via it, and repeat prescriptions.

Any simpler and it would be useless, any more complex and many people wouldn't use it.

No, I don't work with, or for, the NHS.