> IBM Canada has won $1.5M contract to develop new platform for IRCC
This will buy what? A team of 4 interns and new grads for 6 months. At the end they'll have a slide deck with too much wordart in ith containing some half-baked ideas, and a few lines of code that don't do anything useful at all and are further from production readiness than starting from scratch.
I wish I was being facetious, but I really don't think I am. IBM hired extensively from my university, I know people who worked there or adjacent to IBM in industry.
They hired the bottom of the cohort (computer science/software engineering) at university and didn't hire anyone who could code. They emphasised communication over technical ability (fine, ok), but their style of communication is business buzzwords in slide decks, not substance. They are keen on business understanding, but that's not product thinking, understanding systems, or the limitations of solutions or anything like that, it's marketing, it's how can we look good.
A friend of mine worked for a company who regularly tidied up IBM messes. He was brought on to a project that had been run by a 5 person IBM team for a year. After a year they had detailed requirements for a system that no one wanted. His team of 3 spent 2-3 weeks building a boring CMS on top of Postgres and S3 and the client were ecstatic because it solved the problem they'd had for years.
The tech talent at IBM still exists, but it's doing the quantum computing research, or developing their mainframe or server business. The rest is a below average consultancy company.
$1.5M goes a long way if the work is outsourced. Generally bigger orgs will have internal contracts. For instance IBM Canada outsources to IBM India at internal discounted rates. When I used to work for TCS, a budget of $80k was good enough for team of 4 for 6 months. I can only imagine that at $1.5M, it is definitely going to get them a few teams.
Historically, IBM has held a bad reputation for how it has treated his older workers (ageism and also disability discrimination). Back in the day, they intentionally changed the demographics of their workers, intentionally, through mass termination layoffs.
So, a situation like OP described, is very likely to happen. This industry is "gone wild" anyways.
If they outsource it they can hire lots of mid and senior level engineers using my country's salaries as a reference. Paying 34K a year salary (which is a top 0.1% salary in the Dominican Republic) they can hire up to 35 senior engineers.
Just outsource it to EE and you'll have team made of 10 very good engineers for 22 months in very simplified version where whole cash goes on salaries.
Yup. I'm in disbelief after seeing that number. Digital government IDs of any kind are something that no government on Earth can securely provide. We're all too immature and stunted with software design still.
In Ukraine, there is a DIYA (Дія) app developed by the government, which holds electronic national passport, passport for traveling abroad, driving license, car registration documents (including car insurance information), child birth certificate (in parents app) and tax payer information. The app generates temporarily barcodes which can be scanned by another DIYA app to verify somebody's identity or presented documents. The national electronic passport can already be used in some companies, like post offices (state and private), banks, etc. Driving license and car registration can be presented to patrol police when requested. Very handy in general, especially if one forgets his wallet. I have a general concerns about privacy and security of this service, but I can also imagine that all the individual databases, which are accessed by this service, may have their own security issues, so having a single entry point is somewhat reducing the attack surface, which may actually be an advantage.
Denmark has a narrower version of that for driving licences and national ID cards. The rest of the information, the police would have access to anyway.
In the UK, you can renew your passport online too.
I don't really see the risks: they check that your picture matches the old one and you still have to send your old passport for them to issue you the new one..
Yeah, it's very convenient. If you've already sent them a photo for a driving license (for example) the system can just use that photo on your passport, or if your passport expires before your license, vice versa.
The part that I find extraordinary is the authentication process for the first UK passport (like after acquiring a citizenship). They don't have an old photo to compare to, they won't look at a foreign ID either. So the authentication process consists in asking me a series of personal questions (that I know they don't know the answer to because I never gave it to them at any point in the process) and look at me in the eye to assess whether I am truthful.
I think the risk is now all the data in your passport app is online?
The old one for Canada was a fillable pdf, which seems more secure?
But then again, I assume they just optically scan it and it sits in a database anyways? Maybe it doesn’t matter. I just talked myself out of any concern.
As a Canadian, I will provide some context around our application for passport process. I went through it a year ago (got my passport 2 days before lockdown), so it's still fresh in my head.
To get a passport, you have to go to the post office, get the paper forms (and a spare or two in case you mess up), and fill them out. They need info about where you were born, the doctor who delivered you, your current address and previous addresses, your employer, and your family.
Then, you need to go get your photo taken. With a (provincial) drivers license, you just go to the license office and they take your picture. For (federal) passports, you're kind of on your own. You have to go to _a guy_ and get the photo taken that conforms to their specs. If it's not correct, they make you do the whole process again. Most pharmacies and photo stores have gear on hand to make these, but not all do it correctly.
Finally, you need a public servant of some sort who has known you for at least two years to sign the back of one of the photos and fill out the back page of the application. They also need to be available to be interviewed about you to verify your identity during the approval process.
All in all, it took us about two weeks to get the details together, than another six weeks to get the paperwork processed. It's not a very easy process, and it's a huge bar against people who have never applied before. Having the system more user-friendly would be a massive help to the under-serviced in our country, so something like this is greatly needed. Of course, this solution is awful, but it's certainly worth the effort in my opinion.
I'm also a Canadian and my experience has been much different.
I've done the process many times, and it takes a couple hours max to gather everything you need.
You can download the forms from the Government of Canada website and complete them using the free version of Adobe Reader, or you can print them out and do them by hand.
Probably the most annoying part is getting the photos, but nearly every pharmacy can take the passport photos for you, and they all know how to do it because it's very common. I've never had a photo rejected by the passport office.
You don't need to know who the doctor who delivered you was.
You don't need a "public servant of some sort". The passport application clearly says they just need to have known you for 2 years and have a Canadian passport already.
It's also rare that they ever call the guarantor, or the references. I've never heard of it happening to any of my family or friends.
It's a pretty simple process and you only have to do it every 10 years.
For someone who "just went through this" your memory is off. As a Canadian the process is far easier than for a refuge or landed immigrant.
* You don't need to go to the post office and get multiple copies of the form, it's available online.
* You don't need to know the doctor who delivered you. That would be pretty tough based on many people not being delivered by a doctor, or born in a hospital.
* Driver's licenses are issued by either provincial agencies or registries; passport photos and application are reviewed & issued by federal agencies.
* You do not need a public servant (they qualified but you never needed them) as your reference, or even a registered professional - these rules changed several years ago. They need to be available to be contacted but not "interviewed" beyond a phone call.
* You need 2 references and a guarantor; the qualification are very modest.
* If it took 2 weeks for you to prepare you were not in much of a hurry, and 6 weeks for processing and approval seems reasonable (even fast) based on historical wait times. Regardless I can't see the approval time being improved as it will still be done by hand.
* If you need your passport quickly you can pay extra for priority rush and get the entire process done within a week.
Getting a Canadian passport quickly and easily should not be
a measure of success of this system as far as I'm concerned. Keeping the process analog with intentional slower, manual steps is a security feature.
In the UK, there are many photo booths, which also give you a reference number along the prints, which you can provide to the home office as part of the passport application so they get the digital copy from the photo booth company.
Though I am sure there must be hundreds of photo booth apps already.
My wife just went through this (first time passport after she became a citizen) a few months ago and the process is largely unchanged from when I did it like 15 years ago.
If I'm being polite I'd call your representation here "intentionally misleading".
You can print the forms at home or anywhere else (https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/englis...). If you're unable to print a copy yourself at home or work, print them at your library, get a friend to print them, get a copy shop to print them, or figure out literally any possible way to turn a PDF into paper then yes, you can get a copy of the application from the post office or Service Canada.
There was no information requested about "the doctor who delivered you".
Your guarantor does _not_ need to be a public servant. It's literally anyone with a Canadian passport that has known you for two years, including family. Public servants (doctors, judges, lawyers, police officers, dean of a university, signing officer of a financial institution, etc) are an _alternative_ if you cannot find literally a single person in your life that has known you for two years with a passport and have no relatives with a passport. And if that fails, you can just fill out a form saying you literally know nobody.
As to the rest, the actual requirements[0] are:
You need to provide:
- Proof of Canadian citizenship (birth certificate, certificate of citizenship, etc)
- A piece of photo ID from any local or foreign government entity. You can submit a photocopy if a guarantor signs it.
- Two passport photos but they're really not as difficult to obtain as you're trying to imply. Walmart does them for like $8. Pretty much any drug store will do them. Costco does them. You need to get one of them signed by your guarantor.
- Two references: Literally any two adults that have known you for at least two years that aren't related to you. They do not need to be citizens. They don't need to sign anything. Just write down two people you've known for two years.
Then you mail it in.
My wife ran to the Shoppers down the block and got her photos in ten minutes, took us maybe 30 minutes to print and fill out the application and a ninety cent stamp to mail it.
I live in WA state and receive unemployment. I recently had to verify my identity after getting unemployment for 6 months. This required that I send them a color copy of my DL & SS card, and a passport too since I had one. It was announced shortly thereafter that the system they use to process documents was compromised. A virtual passport app may present real data risk, but no more than the government already does in the multitude of breaches that take place every year with no end in sight.
Canadian here, and I'm asking "What's the threat vector they're concerned about?"
I see the following listed in the article:
* Data Residency - Canada and US (CBSA and Homeland) have plenty of data sharing agreements, including exit records being passed between the two (see Entry/Exit initiative - https://www.canada.ca/en/border-services-agency/news/2019/07...). Why are they so focused on 'applicant' data when there is literal tracking of movement going on due to other, existing acts?
* Applications being online might be exploited by criminals - one can already apply to them via mail, so things are already done remotely. The process of validation is no worse digital than by mail (though with the caveat that one executes competently)
* Public vs private tendering - This has nothing to do with privacy or data
All this noise, and the trade-off is to make it harder for individuals to get passports by forcing them to do things in person. Even if there wasn't a pandemic, lineups at Passport offices are frequently 1+ hour and are a burden to those without flex time at their jobs. Alternatively, they could pay to courier their passport in the mail to the Passport Office in Ottawa, which is a cost (on top of the passport fees) that is wholly unnecessary given the Internet.
I see this as those with privileged office jobs attacking a convenience, all the while the Entry/Exit initiative continues without mention.
It becomes harder and harder--and harder still if you also don't want to use email, etc. You're an edge case and institutions tend to forget about edge cases or just don't want to be bothered with them. So, for example, you now need to show up in offices because you can't sufficiently validate your identity otherwise.
I actually know one senior person in Silicon Valley who refused for years to get a cell phone and only relented when his nanny insisted after he and his wife adopted a child. I think he still doesn't have a personal smartphone although his current employer gave him a company phone to carry.
I don't imagine it'll be mandatory in free countries, but it'll be horribly inconvenient without. You didn't have to have a telephone either but by say 1980 if there's an important service and it's only available by telephone the government is likely going to say well, there are public call boxes, good luck with your weird lifestyle choice.
I got vaccinated at the weekend. SMS to my phone, with a personalized URL in it from my doctor's practice. Follow URL, pick time slot, turn up.
No smartphone? Copy the URL by hand to a computer. No Internet? No appointment for you. No SMS? Too bad, you don't get an invite until they're chasing the last people. In July I'm sure anybody with a pulse will get a jab here just by turning up but right now you need an invite.
There was an attempted queue jumper at the site. "I don't know why my name isn't on the list, you called me". "We called you? Nobody got a phone call. We sent texts.". "Yeah that's what I meant, I got a text". Sure you did Pal.
Why do we still have borders? Is it a form of learned helplessness? As a European travelling freely inside the Schengen zone is one of the most amazing things and you can argue it has stopped war among those countries. What is the problem of not extending it to the entire world? Does anyone know? Also, it seems that tons of resources are wasted maintaining them when they could be used for increasing prosperity for everyone instead.
I am not sure if this is a serious question. Generally the idea of a common travel area makes sense if the countries at a similiar economic development (like the Schengen zone). This also means that the training skills of the people are not too differend; and this prevents all kind of social problem you would get otherwise.
I worry that these COVID border closures have fatally weakened Schengen. They may be only temporary public health measures, but the symbolic effect of successfully restoring walls between Europeans could be devastating in the long term. You have national-level health ministers saying that they are not especially concerned about the difficulties of people who live in a community that extends across both sides of the border, or who drive back and forth for (sometimes essential) work every day.
When e.g. Macron has expressed opposition to the survival of Schengen in its current form, then it makes it easy for such leaders to resort to supposedly "short-term" border closures after COVID, having seen that they could easily get away with it during the epidemic.
Wealthy countries would immediately be flooded with all the world’s problems if anyone was allowed to migrate. Since wealthy people draw the world’s borders, they aren’t going away. Global equality would be a terrible thing for most people in NA or Europe.
People like drawing imaginary lines and then segregating themselves between these lines based on their shared delusions. Passports give them a sense of control and security.
I often wonder why I can't just give up my own nationality and have no country. Because why not?
[+] [-] danpalmer|5 years ago|reply
This will buy what? A team of 4 interns and new grads for 6 months. At the end they'll have a slide deck with too much wordart in ith containing some half-baked ideas, and a few lines of code that don't do anything useful at all and are further from production readiness than starting from scratch.
[+] [-] danpalmer|5 years ago|reply
They hired the bottom of the cohort (computer science/software engineering) at university and didn't hire anyone who could code. They emphasised communication over technical ability (fine, ok), but their style of communication is business buzzwords in slide decks, not substance. They are keen on business understanding, but that's not product thinking, understanding systems, or the limitations of solutions or anything like that, it's marketing, it's how can we look good.
A friend of mine worked for a company who regularly tidied up IBM messes. He was brought on to a project that had been run by a 5 person IBM team for a year. After a year they had detailed requirements for a system that no one wanted. His team of 3 spent 2-3 weeks building a boring CMS on top of Postgres and S3 and the client were ecstatic because it solved the problem they'd had for years.
The tech talent at IBM still exists, but it's doing the quantum computing research, or developing their mainframe or server business. The rest is a below average consultancy company.
[+] [-] thegeekbin|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] debarshri|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] disabled|5 years ago|reply
So, a situation like OP described, is very likely to happen. This industry is "gone wild" anyways.
[+] [-] Spooky23|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ivnubinas|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tester34|5 years ago|reply
10 * 6750 USD * 22
[+] [-] melomal|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Dirlewanger|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nuccy|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vincnetas|5 years ago|reply
Database of passports and TIN of Ukraine (7 500 000 rows)
https://raidforums.com/Thread-SELLING-Ukraine-Passports-INN-...
[+] [-] ChuckNorris89|5 years ago|reply
Edi: yes, I know Ukraine is in Europe, I meant EU
[+] [-] Svip|5 years ago|reply
https://en.digst.dk/news/news-archive/2020/december/denmark-...
[+] [-] pcora|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jbob2000|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Faaak|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tialaramex|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cm2187|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] refurb|5 years ago|reply
The old one for Canada was a fillable pdf, which seems more secure?
But then again, I assume they just optically scan it and it sits in a database anyways? Maybe it doesn’t matter. I just talked myself out of any concern.
[+] [-] croes|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tinus_hn|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] yabones|5 years ago|reply
To get a passport, you have to go to the post office, get the paper forms (and a spare or two in case you mess up), and fill them out. They need info about where you were born, the doctor who delivered you, your current address and previous addresses, your employer, and your family.
Then, you need to go get your photo taken. With a (provincial) drivers license, you just go to the license office and they take your picture. For (federal) passports, you're kind of on your own. You have to go to _a guy_ and get the photo taken that conforms to their specs. If it's not correct, they make you do the whole process again. Most pharmacies and photo stores have gear on hand to make these, but not all do it correctly.
Finally, you need a public servant of some sort who has known you for at least two years to sign the back of one of the photos and fill out the back page of the application. They also need to be available to be interviewed about you to verify your identity during the approval process.
All in all, it took us about two weeks to get the details together, than another six weeks to get the paperwork processed. It's not a very easy process, and it's a huge bar against people who have never applied before. Having the system more user-friendly would be a massive help to the under-serviced in our country, so something like this is greatly needed. Of course, this solution is awful, but it's certainly worth the effort in my opinion.
[+] [-] cdmckay|5 years ago|reply
I've done the process many times, and it takes a couple hours max to gather everything you need.
You can download the forms from the Government of Canada website and complete them using the free version of Adobe Reader, or you can print them out and do them by hand.
Probably the most annoying part is getting the photos, but nearly every pharmacy can take the passport photos for you, and they all know how to do it because it's very common. I've never had a photo rejected by the passport office.
You don't need to know who the doctor who delivered you was.
You don't need a "public servant of some sort". The passport application clearly says they just need to have known you for 2 years and have a Canadian passport already.
It's also rare that they ever call the guarantor, or the references. I've never heard of it happening to any of my family or friends.
It's a pretty simple process and you only have to do it every 10 years.
Source: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/englis...
[+] [-] skeeter2020|5 years ago|reply
* You don't need to go to the post office and get multiple copies of the form, it's available online.
* You don't need to know the doctor who delivered you. That would be pretty tough based on many people not being delivered by a doctor, or born in a hospital.
* Driver's licenses are issued by either provincial agencies or registries; passport photos and application are reviewed & issued by federal agencies.
* You do not need a public servant (they qualified but you never needed them) as your reference, or even a registered professional - these rules changed several years ago. They need to be available to be contacted but not "interviewed" beyond a phone call.
* You need 2 references and a guarantor; the qualification are very modest.
* If it took 2 weeks for you to prepare you were not in much of a hurry, and 6 weeks for processing and approval seems reasonable (even fast) based on historical wait times. Regardless I can't see the approval time being improved as it will still be done by hand.
* If you need your passport quickly you can pay extra for priority rush and get the entire process done within a week.
Getting a Canadian passport quickly and easily should not be a measure of success of this system as far as I'm concerned. Keeping the process analog with intentional slower, manual steps is a security feature.
[+] [-] unknown|5 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] cm2187|5 years ago|reply
Though I am sure there must be hundreds of photo booth apps already.
[+] [-] nucleardog|5 years ago|reply
If I'm being polite I'd call your representation here "intentionally misleading".
You can print the forms at home or anywhere else (https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/englis...). If you're unable to print a copy yourself at home or work, print them at your library, get a friend to print them, get a copy shop to print them, or figure out literally any possible way to turn a PDF into paper then yes, you can get a copy of the application from the post office or Service Canada.
There was no information requested about "the doctor who delivered you".
Your guarantor does _not_ need to be a public servant. It's literally anyone with a Canadian passport that has known you for two years, including family. Public servants (doctors, judges, lawyers, police officers, dean of a university, signing officer of a financial institution, etc) are an _alternative_ if you cannot find literally a single person in your life that has known you for two years with a passport and have no relatives with a passport. And if that fails, you can just fill out a form saying you literally know nobody.
As to the rest, the actual requirements[0] are:
You need to provide:
Then you mail it in.My wife ran to the Shoppers down the block and got her photos in ten minutes, took us maybe 30 minutes to print and fill out the application and a ninety cent stamp to mail it.
[0] https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/se...
[+] [-] sebmellen|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bluesign|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] encryptluks2|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Elessar|5 years ago|reply
I see the following listed in the article:
* Data Residency - Canada and US (CBSA and Homeland) have plenty of data sharing agreements, including exit records being passed between the two (see Entry/Exit initiative - https://www.canada.ca/en/border-services-agency/news/2019/07...). Why are they so focused on 'applicant' data when there is literal tracking of movement going on due to other, existing acts?
* Applications being online might be exploited by criminals - one can already apply to them via mail, so things are already done remotely. The process of validation is no worse digital than by mail (though with the caveat that one executes competently)
* Public vs private tendering - This has nothing to do with privacy or data
All this noise, and the trade-off is to make it harder for individuals to get passports by forcing them to do things in person. Even if there wasn't a pandemic, lineups at Passport offices are frequently 1+ hour and are a burden to those without flex time at their jobs. Alternatively, they could pay to courier their passport in the mail to the Passport Office in Ottawa, which is a cost (on top of the passport fees) that is wholly unnecessary given the Internet.
I see this as those with privileged office jobs attacking a convenience, all the while the Entry/Exit initiative continues without mention.
[+] [-] thegeekbin|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] skocznymroczny|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] znpy|5 years ago|reply
Sometimes I feel like just dropping my phone and never pick it up again. Let it shut off and never turn it on again.
Will it be mandatory in the future to own a mobile phone? What if I don't want to have one?
[+] [-] ghaff|5 years ago|reply
I actually know one senior person in Silicon Valley who refused for years to get a cell phone and only relented when his nanny insisted after he and his wife adopted a child. I think he still doesn't have a personal smartphone although his current employer gave him a company phone to carry.
[+] [-] tialaramex|5 years ago|reply
I got vaccinated at the weekend. SMS to my phone, with a personalized URL in it from my doctor's practice. Follow URL, pick time slot, turn up.
No smartphone? Copy the URL by hand to a computer. No Internet? No appointment for you. No SMS? Too bad, you don't get an invite until they're chasing the last people. In July I'm sure anybody with a pulse will get a jab here just by turning up but right now you need an invite.
There was an attempted queue jumper at the site. "I don't know why my name isn't on the list, you called me". "We called you? Nobody got a phone call. We sent texts.". "Yeah that's what I meant, I got a text". Sure you did Pal.
[+] [-] ta_abcd|5 years ago|reply
They have already spent $200MM+ on several failed attempts to develop something like this internally.
[+] [-] peeters|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] crawdingle|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] m3kw9|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] williesleg|5 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] stagas|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] andi999|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Mediterraneo10|5 years ago|reply
When e.g. Macron has expressed opposition to the survival of Schengen in its current form, then it makes it easy for such leaders to resort to supposedly "short-term" border closures after COVID, having seen that they could easily get away with it during the epidemic.
[+] [-] DC1350|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bouncycastle|5 years ago|reply
I often wonder why I can't just give up my own nationality and have no country. Because why not?
Update: just saw on Wikipedia that statelessness is actually a thing! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statelessness