SAAQ Initiates Outsider Inquiry into Origins of Computer Outage Incident
Rewritten Article:
Tech Tussle: SAAQ's Unexpected System Glitch
Last week, the Société de l'assurance-automobile du Québec (SAAQ) found itself in a pickle when a computer outage crippled their services. The SAAQ confessed that the meltdown began after their attempt to steady one of their servers, unrelated to the SAAQclic platform update.
Initially, Gilles Bélanger, the Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital, pinned the blame on Microsoft, the company managing the SAAQ's servers. However, during a parliamentary commission on Thursday, he seemed to hedge his bets.
"Microsoft asks the SAAQ to initiate certain changes, then something goes awry; whose fault is it? I don't think it's our job here to act as judges and determine who's at fault," Bélanger argued in response to a query from Haroun Bouazzi, Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for the Solidarity Party.
On the other hand, Sylvain Goulet, the Deputy Minister of Technological Infrastructure and Office Equipment, suggested the SAAQ shared some responsibility for the downtime. "In our ignorance of what unfolded, we handle maintenance operations ourselves. We're the ones in control of deploying fixes—it's a private cloud, installed on-site," Goulet stated.
According to reports from the Journal de Montréal on Friday, employees of the Crown corporation may have played a part in triggering the outage. Simon-Pierre Poulin, SAAQ's spokesperson, declined to comment on this matter. Instead, he announced that they've hired an external firm to conduct an unbiased audit on the causes of the May 6 outage.
The fallout forced the closure of all SAAQ offices and made the SAAQclic platform inaccessible. By Thursday, services slowly started to resume.
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As reports of potential internal manipulations circulate, questions remain about the true cause of the SAAQ's technology meltdown. While the identity of the external auditing firm is still undisclosed, experts anticipate that the inquiry will shed light on the series of events leading to the system glitch. As the investigation continues, stay tuned for updates on this developing story.
- The government, specifically Gilles Bélanger, the Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital, initially pointed fingers at Microsoft, the company managing the SAAQ's servers, following the SAAQ's system outage.
- During a parliamentary commission, Bélanger seemed to backtrack his initial statement, stating it's not the government's role to determine fault in the incident.
- Sylvain Goulet, the Deputy Minister of Technological Infrastructure and Office Equipment, suggested the SAAQ shared some responsibility for the downtime, as they handle maintenance operations themselves and are in control of deploying fixes.
- In response to reports suggesting internal manipulations may have triggered the SAAQ's technology meltdown, the SAAQ has hired an external firm, yet to be disclosed, to conduct an unbiased audit on the causes of the outage.