Within the framework of cuts, the Italian government has defined free software as the default for public administration.
In a document to administrators issued last Wednesday, the Italian Digital Agency (IDA) explicitly states that all government organizations must first consider free software before purchasing licenses. The document, titled “Guidelines for the comparative assessment (of software),” explains that free software or software developed solely by the State should be considered and preferred. Only after all possible solutions have been excluded will licenses be purchased. In fact, in a description of the legislation, the damage that the State will suffer in the event of wasting funds on the unnecessary purchase of licenses will entail legal consequences.
“This is a great example of a simple measure that governments everywhere can take to regain control of their computing infrastructure,” says Karsten Gerloff, President of the European Free Software Foundation. He continues, “Free software allows government agencies to regain their technological sovereignty, and helps them by making it harder for foreign spies to gain access to citizens’ data or confidential information. We encourage other countries in Europe and around the world to take a look and learn from Italy.”
I hope we see a similar shift in the Greek State, which signed multiple agreements with very expensive supply contracts with a specific software giant. The inability to control the completion and delivery of the concluded contracts perhaps describes all this chaos that prevails with the unified computerization and the lack of central management.
We warmly thank SecTeam member @Lucifer.
