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Coincidence? High Court Rules in Favour of IS / Dimension Data, Both of Whom Failed to Keep Crucial IT Software Updated!

Coincidence? High Court Rules in Favour of IS / Dimension Data, Both of Whom Failed to Keep Crucial IT Software Updated!

Surely companies that defend a failure to maintain vital IT systems, should not be allowed anywhere near government contracts to support systems serving the people of South Africa? In fact, they should not be allowed any systems at all, but particularly government systems that could be infiltrated such as SARS, IEC, Home Affairs, EVDS, Eskom etc. especially given that SA Court systems are already insecure as SA-News recently reported.

Internet service provider iSAT South Africa has been struggling with an ugly ongoing dispute with the company formerly trading as Internet Solutions which was taken over by Dimension Data. Dimension Data/NTT Ltd stands accused of causing severe financial and reputational harm to iSAT over their failed cloud system called CVM, which iSAT had been using since 2014.

Whilst not denying the mistake, Dimension Data denied liability and headed to the High Court to prevent iSAT and its CEO, Rory Pearton, from making this debacle public. “Unfortunately, in March 2019, the cloud-based solution, based on a world-class product known as OpenStack, failed catastrophically, iSAT lost key business data that was duplicated over multiple cloud instances,” iSAT said in a statement at the time.

After the failure, Dimension Data admitted that they had not maintained their CVM solution for more than four years, and that the OpenStack operating system was over four years past its end of life. Unfortunately, instead of accepting responsibility, they tried to deny any wrongdoing. In iSAT’s opinion, Dimension Data has also tried to cover up its terrible failings.” said Pearton in the statement.

As a result of the system failure, a project that iSAT had been working on for more than four years had to be scrapped, Pearton said, adding that this was because the historical data collected for analysis and predictive purposes was lost. “Scrapping of this project has led to substantial financial losses for iSAT.

But Dimension Data was having none of it and responded by accused iSAT of engaging Dimension Data in numerous threatening correspondences since September 2019, regarding a service outage that had taken place six months earlier in March 2019.

Pearton published a website accounting for what happened, and published emails, which it said it received from Internet Solutions, stating that the CVM cloud platform had run on an outdated version of Openstack. Openstack is an open source cloud computing platform that began as a joint project between Rackspace Hosting and NASA.

Nowadays the development of Openstack is financed through the Open Infrastructure Foundation whose sponsors include the usual suspects like Facebook, Tencent, AT&T, Ericsson, Huawei, and Red Hat. New versions of Openstack are released every six months, with several old versions of the software having been declared expired or “end of life”. The developers no longer maintain or provide security updates for these end of life versions of Openstack. According to the information iSAT published, Internet Solutions stated that it had been running a version of Openstack called “Icehouse” at the time of the CVM crash. Openstack Icehouse had been end of life since 2 July 2015

This damning information compelled Dimension Data to institute a high court application to force Pearton to stop with his ongoing exposure. As a result Pearson was forced to shut down this web site because of the gag order from Dimension Data/NTT Ltd.

In a response to the recent High Court decision iSAT publicly issued the press release saying that the judge made that decision, exactly one day after Pearton sent Dimension Data a copy of the press release scheduled to go out two days later. That was their first contact with Dimension Data since the High Court case on 18th March 2021. The timing of that decision seemed too much of a coincidence, and Pearton has sent details of that case to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks).

“When I made the decision about two years ago to expose Internet Solutions (which ended up being absorbed into Dimension Data), I really did not know what I was getting myself into,” Rory said in the press release.

“I thought that being in the right would overcome all obstacles. Various people warned me of course, that taking on a company as large and powerful as Dimension Data would be very difficult. The stress on me and unfortunately those nearest and dearest to me has been immense. And of course, the global pandemic has not helped.”

“It has indeed become the hardest thing I have ever done, by far. And my sympathy and support go out the whistleblowers out there exposing corruption and malpractice within the companies they have worked in. People like Francis Haugen (Facebook could be facing a ‘Big Tobacco’ reckoning – CNN) are real heroes.”

“I started off by taking legal advice from two different law firms and they both told me that the normal legal route would be to sue Internet Solutions for losses, but that the process would take many years. I also discovered that the financial costs would be much more than I could ever afford.”

“I then contacted various IT media news companies, and suggested they investigate the problem. Much to my surprise most of them did not even bother to respond to me, and none of them was interested in investigating and reporting on the issue. It turns out of course that many of those IT media news sites survive on advertising from companies like Dimension Data. So, so much for free and unbiased news reporting.

“I decided to go public and set up a Web site myself showing all the related documents from Internet Solutions. The site highlighted the issues iSAT suffered because of the catastrophic Internet Solutions Cloud Platform failure In February 2019.”

“One of the most important documents made available on the Web site was an email where Internet Solutions disclosed that the cloud software, OpenStack, being used for the Cloud Platform, had not been updated in many years. In fact, it had been in EOL (end of life) stage for more than four years.”

“That in two sentences is the core of the matter. It is, of course, not acceptable that an organisation which provides services to the public, other business, or state institutions does not maintain the infrastructure that the services run on. That applies both to hardware and software.”

“My goal has never been to destroy Internet Solutions or damage Dimension Data/NTT. The goal was to force these companies to conduct business in an ethical, responsible, and accountable manner.”

“Unfortunately, Internet Solutions now no longer exists and has been absorbed into Dimension Data. A sad end to what was once a brilliant company, created by a group of very clever and innovative individuals back in 1993.”

“The goal was also to resolve the issues and keep the resolution private, via a non-disclosure agreement, to protect the Dimension Data/NTT Ltd employees. Dimension Data unfortunately has tried to distract everyone by avoiding the issue of negligence and talking about the amount that ISAT is claiming from them.”

“Of course, the amount of money in damages is large. But it was based on the lowest of three projected income streams from iSAT’s business model. And it did not take into account the income from the future sale of iSAT which would generate increasing income for many years to come for the buyer. This was a project that we had been working on for more than 4 years. I also have more than 40 years’ experience in the IT industry and have worked on many large projects.”

“In the eyes of Dimension Data and NTT Ltd, the amount would hopefully be onerous. That would discourage them from being negligent and trying to cover up that negligence in the future.”

“In the eye of their ultimate holding company, the Japanese Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, the amount would be small. NTT employ over 300 000 staff around the world.”

“Systems connected to the Internet that are not maintained to industry standards are at high risk of being compromised by cyber criminals. In South Africa alone over the last several weeks, cyber criminals have gained access to Transnet and the Department of Justice.”

“Because of Dimension Data/NTT Ltd casual attitude to industry standard maintenance of systems, they have promoted an attitude that it is fine to be negligent and that lack of accountability is the norm, amongst IT companies particularly in South Africa.”

“In the previous email, I suggested that Dimension Data/NTT Ltd be blacklisted from any contracts awarded to them by SITA (State Information Technology Agency).”

The above press release was sent out to various tech news platforms, so it will be interesting to see who actually reports in it, but more importantly, who does not…

 

Read also: SA Courts No Longer Secure! How Long Before SA Balkanizes and is Declared a Humanitarian Disaster?


 

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ConCourt Declares UNISA Language Policy Unconstitutional after 5 Year Long Court Case!

ConCourt Declares UNISA Language Policy Unconstitutional in 5 Year Long Court Case!

It is tragic that the courts have to protect the true diversity of South Africa, with a dozen languages, from the ANC regime, and it remains unfortunate that the ANC government preaches diversity, yet applies monolingualism. This ruling is appropriate on the eve of Heritage Day, in that it recognized the language rights of students, and imposes a specific obligation with regard to execution on Unisa. It is equally unfortunate that language and cultural communities have to turn to the courts in the final instance, to claim their rights as diverse languages with specific reference to Afrikaans, especially at historically Afrikaans universities.

The Afrikanerbond yesterday issued a statement noting with satisfaction the ruling by the Constitutional Court, that UNISA’s language policy is unconstitutional and unlawful. They took the opportunity to congratulate AfriForum on instituting proceedings against Unisa, and on their perseverance over the course of five years to have the matter settled.

 

S 29(2), on which the judgement rests, determines that everyone has the right to receive education in the official language of their choice in public educational institutions, which, according to the ruling, also includes higher education institutions. To ensure this right, the state can consider all reasonable educational alternatives, including single-medium institutions, as long as such institutions meet the requirements of equality and reasonable practicability, and address past discriminatory laws and practices. Furthermore, everyone has the right to set up private educational institutions as long as these institutions are not racially discriminatory, are registered with the state and maintain the same standards as public institutions. The state may subsidise such private institutions.

 

The Constitution contains certain language arrangements that have so far not been properly observed or, as the ruling against Unisa reflects, are unconstitutional and unlawful. The trend so far has been to change a multilingual South Africa into an English-monolingual South Africa. It is not about a struggle between languages, but about the preservation and expansion of languages, including Afrikaans and the other indigenous languages. Therefore, it remains continuously necessary to negotiate a binding commitment to the equal treatment of all 10 indigenous languages in official use. English should never be the only privileged language. We hope and trust that other universities and institutions have taken careful note of the ruling!

 

Listen and Read also: Afrikaans was 146 Years Old on 14 August, Ironically also the Last Day for Comments on Second Draft of Stellenbosch University’s Language Policy


 

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SA’s Deputy Chief Justice Zondo Admits he Made a Mistake – Requests ANOTHER Extension for the Investigation into State Capture!

SA's Deputy Chief Justice Zondo, Admits he Made a Mistake - Requests ANOTHER Extension for the Investigation into State Capture!

Although Tito Mboweni promised that there was no more money to fund the State Capture Inquiry, the Zondo Commission has still requested a fifth postponement. Not that anyone is surprised that the state capture inquiry is seeking a further extension, this time until December (after the elections), but that the country’s Deputy Chief Justice can make such a large miscalculation, repeatedly, is a major concern, or is it just that they simply have not earned enough money and want to buy Christmas presents? Maybe time he retired?
Continue reading SA’s Deputy Chief Justice Zondo Admits he Made a Mistake – Requests ANOTHER Extension for the Investigation into State Capture!

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South Africans don’t fall for Ramaphosa’s Act – 82% say Corruption is Same or Worse Under Cyril!

South Africans don't fall for Ramaphosa's Act - 82% say Corruption is Same or Worse Under Cyril!

Two-thirds of South Africans believe that corruption has increased in the past year, and half (49%) believe that it has “increased a lot.” Furthermore, a survey shows that people not only think that corruption has gotten worse under Ramaphosa, but also recognize that a large part of the elected officials and civil servants, who should be fighting corruption, are involved in corrupt activities themselves.
Continue reading South Africans don’t fall for Ramaphosa’s Act – 82% say Corruption is Same or Worse Under Cyril!

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EFF Leader, Julius Malema, Convicted of Violating Parliament’s Code of Ethics on Two Charges!

EFF Leader, Malema, Convicted of Violating Parliament's Code of Ethics on Two Charges!

The Joint Committee on Ethics found that Malema had violated the code of ethics for members of parliament by not enforcing the law, when he called on foreign nationals to find ‘creative ways‘ to invade SA illegally, after SA borders were closed during the Covid lockdown in January.
Continue reading EFF Leader, Julius Malema, Convicted of Violating Parliament’s Code of Ethics on Two Charges!

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African Union Playing Vaccine Victim Again Despite “Rich Countries” Having EIGHT Times More Covid Deaths per Million Population!

African Union Playing Vaccine Victim Again Despite "Rich Countries" Having EIGHT Times More Covid Deaths per Million Population!

The European Union’s African Union has declared that “rich countries” should stop storing Covid vaccines, to use for future boosters, which do not yet appear to be necessary, but should rather give them to Africa. Of course, AU is once again playing the begging bowl race card, that Africa is the eternal victim, in order to get things for free again, however the truth is that Africa has come off pretty light from the whole pandemic, despite all the mainstream fear-mongering and propaganda. The truth is that Africa has only a fraction of the Covid deaths that Europe and USA have.
Continue reading African Union Playing Vaccine Victim Again Despite “Rich Countries” Having EIGHT Times More Covid Deaths per Million Population!

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Corrupt ANC Dept. of Home Affairs’ Service Now so Bad it Ruins Law-abiding People’s Jobs & Lives

Corrupt ANC Dept. of Home Affairs' Service Now so Bad it Ruins Law-abiding People's Jobs & Lives

If you are an illegal black immigrant from Zimbabwe, you can quickly buy a genuine South African Passport for R45,000 from Home Affairs, but if you are a law-abiding white person, you could wait years for a basic document. Indeed, in Ireland, South Africans are told by the Embassy they can wait up to three years for documents, which severely affects their residence status! Such stories abound on Facebook groups like Suid Afrikaners in Nederland where expats try help each other out with the bureaucracy, corruption and ineptitude from Home Affairs
Continue reading Corrupt ANC Dept. of Home Affairs’ Service Now so Bad it Ruins Law-abiding People’s Jobs & Lives

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Zuma Does a Schabir Shaik and Gets Put on Medical Parole Immediately! ANC Leadership Still Protecting Zuma?

Zuma Does a Schabir Shaik and Gets Put on Medical Parole Immediately! ANC Leadership Still Protecting Zuma?

The Department of Correctional Services have freed Jacob Zuma after receiving the medical report, but have not provided further details of the report. The prisons service placed former President Jacob Zuma on medical parole, less than two months into his 15 month sentence for contempt of court.
Continue reading Zuma Does a Schabir Shaik and Gets Put on Medical Parole Immediately! ANC Leadership Still Protecting Zuma?

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Landmark Case to Show How Twitter, California & Democrat Party Colluded to use “Election Integrity” as a Weapon to Censor Conservatives!

Landmark Case to Show How Twitter, California & Democrat Party Colluded to use "Election Integrity" as a Weapon to Censor Conservatives!

An important landmark lawsuit that might very well prove the fact that Twitter is indeed a state actor, which could have some very serious implications, has been brought by Harmy Dillon and Ron Coleman in California, with all the evidence and receipts, to show that Twitter and the State of California conspired with the Democratic Party, to get Twitter to censor the people they don’t like politically, using “Election Integrity” as a false default reason.

According to Robert Barnes of Barnes Law, speaking on Viva Barnes, the plaintiffs have document after document after document proving it, but as we have seen in recent years, facts and evidence are no longer considered proof in a world where the Mainstream Media and Big Tech manufacture the reality.

The plaintiff, who is a lawyer from California, had a pretty big social media presence, and was completely censored and cancelled, simply for raising basic questions about what happened in the election, that were not even violations of Twitter’s supposed rules at the time. The State of California created a special committee which gave private contracts to big Democratic consultants, to flag Twitter posts they didn’t like, and falsely allege it affected “election integrity.”

They then went to Twitter and set up a special relationship with Twitter, where Twitter would do whatever these Democrat consultants demanded. Yet these consultants were working at the behest and on behalf of the State of California.

It is a landmark case because they are bringing in the “pruniar doctrine” and trying to enforce it, in this case, to test the prunair doctrine, which states that even private companies are subject to the First Amendment, if they have a de-facto monopoly on public discourse, and clearly Twitter does in this space.

They have even better additional evidence that Twitter was acting as an agent of the State of California, because they have the email chain and the text records. They used variations of the Sunshine Laws in California, which is the equivalent of the Freedom of Information act. They got incriminating evidence and admissions that showed the degree to which Twitter was just doing whatever the state of California, through their Democrat political consultants, demanded. These consultants were retained, effectively in a no-bid contract, by the Attorney General, who gave him a sweetheart deal. and is now a United States Senator from California.

It exposes extraordinary corruption and collusion between Big Tech and the State and a sitting United States Senator, to censor speech they didn’t like concerning the election, to protect and hide whatever bad acts they committed during the Presidential Election.

This case proves to everyone who trusts Mainstream Media and Big Tech, and who have been saying there’s no collusion between Big Tech and the government. It is now undeniable and it’s indisputable, so the only question is will there be a legal loophole that would allow the defendants to weasel out, on “standing” or with whatever immunity they can conjure up. We know as a matter of fact that there is active coordination between Big Tech and the State, and we have seen it now between Zuckerberg and Fauci, with the news that “could not be
spoken.”

In a year’s time it is elections in USA again and we’re seeing the same pattern with the election fortification discussion, which we are now seeing in real time and anybody clinging to this idea, with desperation, to say that there’s no collusion between big tech and government is willfully blind or dishonest or on the payroll.

 

Watch also: VIDEO: The Smoking Gun US Election Fraud Evidence That News24, SABC, IOL, etc. Hide From You! Institutional Election Rigging Systemic Across USA!