iomart Group plc Calls on UK Government to Make Kitemark for Child Online Safety Compulsory for Public Sector
Poster: SySAdmin
Posted on February 2, 2012 at 1:35:01 PM
iomart Group plc Calls on UK Government to Make Kitemark for Child Online Safety Compulsory for Public Sector
GLASGOW, Scotland, February 2, 2012/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
iomart Group plc, one of the UK's leading Web hosting companies, is today calling on
the UK Government to insist that all public sector organisations with a duty of care to
children should only purchase software products that have been awarded the BSI Kitemark
for Child Online Safety.
iomart Group's stance follows the announcement today (2nd February 2012) by the
Science and Technology Select Committee
[http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/science-and-technology-committee/news/120202-malware-rpt-published ]
, that the UK Government should
consider imposing safety standards on software sold if self-regulation isn't adopted by
the IT industry.
iomart's Web security software Netintelligence [http://www.netintelligence.com ],
which provides Internet protection for 100,000s of school children and families in the UK,
is the first and only such software to carry the BSI Kitemark
[http://www.kitemark.com/kitemark-4-u/for-parents/child-safety-online.php ] for Child
Online Safety. Netintelligence was awarded the Kitemark by Children and Families Minister
Tim Loughton in January 2011. So far, no other UK software company has taken up the
accreditation and the government has not supported the Kitemark publicly.
The BSI Kitemark for Child Online Safety is a certification scheme for Internet
website filtering software produced by software manufacturers. These products can be
bought as stand-alone products from computer retailers or come as part of an operating
system or ISP package. The software's ease of use, reliability, and performance must meet
the scheme's strict criteria.
Angus MacSween, CEO of iomart Group plc, said: "Back in 2007, iomart along with the
British Standards Institute, OFCOM, the Home Office, several major UK child safety
organisations and other private sector companies spent a considerable amount of time
working on the specifications required for PAS 74 (Access control systems for the
protection of children online), which ultimately became the BSI Kitemark for Online Child
Safety.
Rather than yet another clarion call for more action, the UK Government could make a
bold stance now. It should insist that all public sector organisations with a duty of care
towards protecting children online, for example schools and local authorities, should only
purchase products that have been awarded the Kitemark. That way other commercial companies
will have to follow the lead of Netintelligence and iomart to provide software that the
public can trust."
iomart Group plc is ranked as one of the top Web hosting companies in the world by
HostReview and is Scottish Digital IT Company of the Year 2011. Bill Strain was recently
named IT Leader of the Year 2011 by IT Pro.
For more information about iomart Group plc visit http://www.iomart.com
Notes for editors:
About iomart Group plc:
iomart Group plc (AIM:IOM) is one of the UK's leading providers of managed hosting and
cloud computing services. From a single server through to private cloud networks, iomart
specialises in the delivery and management of mission-critical hosting services, enabling
customers to reduce the costs, complexity and risks associated with maintaining their own
web and online applications.
By physically owning and managing its own global network infrastructure, iomart offers
world-beating levels of service to its customers. The Group offers a unique 100% uptime
guarantee with all hosting services being engineered to ensure no single point of failure.
iomart Group operates in its chosen markets through a number of subsidiaries: iomart
Hosting, RapidSwitch, Easyspace, EQSN and Westcoastcloud. The group has been listed on the
London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) since April 2000. For more
information about iomart Group plc visit http://www.iomart.com
News release issued by Jane Robertson, Head of PR for iomart Group plc. For more
information please email jane.robertson@iomart.com or call +44(0)141-931-6474 (dir),
+44(0)141-931-6400 or +44(0)7827948993 (mob).
Source: iomart Group plc
GLASGOW, Scotland, February 2, 2012/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
iomart Group plc, one of the UK's leading Web hosting companies, is today calling on
the UK Government to insist that all public sector organisations with a duty of care to
children should only purchase software products that have been awarded the BSI Kitemark
for Child Online Safety.
iomart Group's stance follows the announcement today (2nd February 2012) by the
Science and Technology Select Committee
[http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/science-and-technology-committee/news/120202-malware-rpt-published ]
, that the UK Government should
consider imposing safety standards on software sold if self-regulation isn't adopted by
the IT industry.
iomart's Web security software Netintelligence [http://www.netintelligence.com ],
which provides Internet protection for 100,000s of school children and families in the UK,
is the first and only such software to carry the BSI Kitemark
[http://www.kitemark.com/kitemark-4-u/for-parents/child-safety-online.php ] for Child
Online Safety. Netintelligence was awarded the Kitemark by Children and Families Minister
Tim Loughton in January 2011. So far, no other UK software company has taken up the
accreditation and the government has not supported the Kitemark publicly.
The BSI Kitemark for Child Online Safety is a certification scheme for Internet
website filtering software produced by software manufacturers. These products can be
bought as stand-alone products from computer retailers or come as part of an operating
system or ISP package. The software's ease of use, reliability, and performance must meet
the scheme's strict criteria.
Angus MacSween, CEO of iomart Group plc, said: "Back in 2007, iomart along with the
British Standards Institute, OFCOM, the Home Office, several major UK child safety
organisations and other private sector companies spent a considerable amount of time
working on the specifications required for PAS 74 (Access control systems for the
protection of children online), which ultimately became the BSI Kitemark for Online Child
Safety.
Rather than yet another clarion call for more action, the UK Government could make a
bold stance now. It should insist that all public sector organisations with a duty of care
towards protecting children online, for example schools and local authorities, should only
purchase products that have been awarded the Kitemark. That way other commercial companies
will have to follow the lead of Netintelligence and iomart to provide software that the
public can trust."
iomart Group plc is ranked as one of the top Web hosting companies in the world by
HostReview and is Scottish Digital IT Company of the Year 2011. Bill Strain was recently
named IT Leader of the Year 2011 by IT Pro.
For more information about iomart Group plc visit http://www.iomart.com
Notes for editors:
About iomart Group plc:
iomart Group plc (AIM:IOM) is one of the UK's leading providers of managed hosting and
cloud computing services. From a single server through to private cloud networks, iomart
specialises in the delivery and management of mission-critical hosting services, enabling
customers to reduce the costs, complexity and risks associated with maintaining their own
web and online applications.
By physically owning and managing its own global network infrastructure, iomart offers
world-beating levels of service to its customers. The Group offers a unique 100% uptime
guarantee with all hosting services being engineered to ensure no single point of failure.
iomart Group operates in its chosen markets through a number of subsidiaries: iomart
Hosting, RapidSwitch, Easyspace, EQSN and Westcoastcloud. The group has been listed on the
London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) since April 2000. For more
information about iomart Group plc visit http://www.iomart.com
News release issued by Jane Robertson, Head of PR for iomart Group plc. For more
information please email jane.robertson@iomart.com or call +44(0)141-931-6474 (dir),
+44(0)141-931-6400 or +44(0)7827948993 (mob).
Source: iomart Group plc