British Cloud Firm Wins Background Check Security Contract

Skyscape Cloud Services, a British cloud SMB, has won a £1.5 million ($2.3 million) annual contract to provide security for the background check system British citizens use to reveal any criminal records to prospective employers.

Following a number of high-profile tragedies, applicants for posts, particularly those that involve working with young people, are now required to reveal any criminal histories. The Home Office (the U.K. equivalent to the Department of Justice) is phasing out older processes set up to do that in favor of a new online system called the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The DBS runs on the new unified public sector URL, GOV.UK.

The DBS's purpose is to disclose to prospective employers any run-ins or convictions that might bar applicants from certain positions. Records involving abuse of any kind, for example, might preclude an applicant from working with children.