IT for government and public sector

Depression, anxiety, PTSD and suicidal thoughts: Post Office victims speak out

A report has found that former subpostmasters suffered and are continuing to suffer severe mental and physical problems due to their treatment by the Post Office, writes Karl Flinders Continue Reading

Amnesty: AI surveillance risks ‘supercharging’ US deportations

Amnesty International says AI-driven platforms from Palantir and Babel Street are being used by US authorities to track migrants and revoke visas, raising fears of unlawful detentions and mass deportations Continue Reading

By

• Tiago Ventura, Computer Weekly

MI5 unlawfully monitored the phone of BBC journalist Vincent Kearney

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal heard today that the security service has conceded that it unlawfully monitored the phone data of former BBC Spotlight reporter Vincent Kearney Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

‘Utter madness’ as Post Office paid law firm double the cost of scandal public inquiry

The Post Office legal representation at public inquiry into Horizon scandal cost twice as much as the actual inquiry Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Post Office Horizon accounts are still a mess and replacement system is years away

Sources say the Post Office doesn’t know whether millions of pounds of branch discrepancies are real or not Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Students an increasing source of cyber threat in UK schools

Insider threats arising from student activity now appears to be the chief cause of notifiable cyber or data breach incidents in Britain’s schools Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Chat Control: EU to decide on requirement for tech firms to scan encrypted messages

Law enforcement and police experts meet on Friday to decide on proposals to require technology companies to scan encrypted messages for possible child abuse images amid growing opposition from security experts Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Splunk.conf: Cisco and Splunk expand agentic SOC vision

The arrival of agentic AI in the security operations centre heralds an era of simplification for security professionals, Splunk claims Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Quantum startups fear EU too slow to lead

Europe’s bid to win the race to build viable quantum computers wants details, money and confidence of the industry it is intended to serve Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

Post Office Horizon scandal explained: Everything you need to know

Computer Weekly has investigated the Post Office Horizon scandal since 2008 and is, in fact, part of the story. This guide contains essential information about the scandal Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Splunk.conf: Splunk urges users to eat their ‘cyber veggies’

The dawn of AI-enabled cyber attacks makes it even more important for defenders to bring their A-game, particularly when it comes to getting the basics right Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fujitsu braced for double-digit decline triggered by ‘foolish display of legal machismo’

Internally, Fujitsu UK is braced for major revenue decline as Post Office scandal takes its toll Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Back to square one at DSIT - just as government tech policy needs to deliver

Labour Digital, a membership group set up to promote and encourage discussion around digital policies in the Labour Party, was justifiably pleased with itself after prime minister Keir Starmer’s ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

The digital forensics crisis in policing: What’s going wrong?

Forensics experts say that most crime has a digital footprint, but the police are unable to keep up with the soaring number of devices that require analysis Continue Reading

By

• Sophia Sheera

AI help for pet parents

In this week’s edition of Computer Weekly, we do another deep-dive into the latest freedom of information request revelations that have emerged pertaining to Police Scotland’s use of Microsoft cloud technologies. Ex-Googler Kate Balingit, and head of digital innovation at Mars Pet Nutrition, opens up about how artificial intelligence is transforming pet care for the company’s customers. We also take a closer look at the possible impact the UK government’s devolution agenda could have on cloud spending trends within local authorities. And, in our final piece from this round of buyer’s guides, we delve into how platform engineering is affecting how enterprises approach DevOps-related projects. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Northern Ireland police kept inspectors in dark over surveillance of journalists

The Police Service of Northern Ireland failed to inform the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office about surveillance operations against journalists during annual inspections Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Liz Kendall appointed tech secretary

Former pensions secretary Liz Kendall replaces Peter Kyle as science, technology and innovation secretary in Keir Starmer’s cabinet reshuffle Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

US politicians ponder Wimwig cyber intel sharing law

US cyber data sharing legislation is set to replace an Obama-era law, but time is running out to get it over the line, with global ramifications for the security industry, and intelligence and law enforcement communities Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SLA promises, security realities: Navigating the shared responsibility gap

The Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how security leaders can help assure access to the new and innovative cloud tech while minimising risk and ensuring they do not fall foul of regulators. Continue Reading

By

• Aditya K Sood, Aryaka

Depression, anxiety, PTSD and suicidal thoughts: Post Office victims speak out

Report finds that former subpostmasters suffered and are continuing to suffer severe mental and physical problems due to their treatment by the Post Office Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Number of UK banks reporting AI-driven productivity improvements doubles

Survey shows that half of UK banks will increase spending on artificial intelligence as more see AI-related productivity gains Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Bridging the SLA gap: A guide to managing cloud provider risk

The Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how security leaders can help assure access to the new and innovative cloud tech while minimising risk and ensuring they do not fall foul of regulators. Continue Reading

By

• John Bruce, Quorum Cyber

Ethical challenges of LGBTQ+ data protection

America has rolled back data protection policies for the LGBTQ+ community, but what does that mean for the rest of the world? Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Fujitsu’s roots in government go too deep

MPs and peers call on prime minister to review Japanese supplier’s ‘eligibility’ to bid for government contracts Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Do Fujitsu contracts cross the line?

In this week’s edition of Computer Weekly, we examine the conflict of interest concerns that are growing around the police investigation into Fujitsu’s role in the Post Office scandal, given the firm is a supplier of tech to police forces across the UK. We also catch up with Redwood Bank’s new IT boss, Simon Goodyear, and hear about his plans to eradicate the use of unnecessary Excel spreadsheets within the organisation, as part of a wider revamp of the firm’s digital processes. We also take a closer look at the possibility of the artificial intelligence investment bubble bursting, and the implications that could have on the continued take-up of the technology. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Home Office Fujitsu contract is ‘de facto’ conflict of interest in Post Office police probe

Fujitsu supplies police with the network that supports national investigations, while its former staff are part of a national investigation Continue Reading

The government’s AI push needs clear accountability

The UK AI Opportunities Action Plan reads like a technology leader’s wish list. But public sector AI needs to be designed with human oversight Continue Reading

By

• Alastair Williamson-Pound

ICO publishes summary of police facial recognition audit

The UK data regulator has released a summary of its facial recognition audit of two police forces Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Microsoft refuses to divulge data flows to Police Scotland

Tech giant Microsoft is declining to share key information with Police Scotland about where the sensitive data it uploads to Office 365 will be processed, leaving the force unable to comply with UK-wide data protection laws Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

UK cyber security centre helps expose China-based cyber campaign

GCHQ cyber security centre and its international partners release details of malicious cyber activity linked to Chinese businesses Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Incident response planning cuts the risk of claiming on cyber security insurance

Proper attention to incident response planning is emerging as a core cyber control when it comes to reducing the risk of having to claim on cyber security insurance, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

PDS confirms ‘strategic restructuring’ with series of interim senior leadership hires

The Police Digital Service has seemingly streamlined and revamped its senior leadership team, more than a year after two of its staff were arrested for suspected misconduct in public office Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Home Office Fujitsu contract is ‘de facto’ conflict of interest in Post Office police probe

Fujitsu supplies police with the network that supports national investigations, while its former staff are part of a national investigation Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Ransomware activity levelled off in July, says NCC

Ransomware levels held steady in the month of July, although the risk remained as persistent as ever Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Three new Citrix NetScaler zero-days under active exploitation

Citrix patches three new vulnerabilities in its NetScaler lines warning of active zero-day exploitation by an undisclosed threat actor Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Okta makes AI identity play with Axiom acquisition

Okta says Axiom Security’s technology will reinforce its own offerings in privileged access management, especially when it comes to the growing number of non-human identities Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ransomware attack volumes up nearly three times on 2024

During the first six months of 2025, the number of observed and tracked ransomware attacks far outpaced the volume seen in 2024 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Moscow exploiting seven-year-old Cisco flaw, says FBI

US authorities warn of an uptick in state-sponsored exploitation of a seven-year-old vulnerability in Cisco's operating system software Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Scale of MoD Afghan data breaches widens dramatically

Many more data breaches at the MoD's Arap programme to relocate at-risk Afghan citizens to Britain have emerged following an FoI request by BBC journalists Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Apple iOS update fixes new iPhone zero-day flaw

Latest Apple zero-day found in the ImageIO framework opens the door for targeted zero-click attacks on iPhone users Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ICO investigates lawfulness of algorithms used in immigration enforcement

The UK information commissioner is investigating claims that the use of algorithms by the Home Office to make recommendations on migrants breaches privacy laws Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Police investigation into Post Office scandal to cost more than £50m

Metropolitan Police-led investigation into Post Office scandal is expected to run to 2030 and cost taxpayers tens of millions of pounds Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Subpostmaster federation accepted money from Fujitsu in run-up to High Court Post Office trial

The National Federation of Subpostmasters accepted sponsorship money from Fujitsu in the run-up to a High Court case examining the IT firm’s faulty Post Office system Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Judge throws out NHS whistleblower’s challenge to ruling on deletion of 90,000 emails

Appeal tribunal dismisses doctor’s bid to quash decision that cleared London hospital trust of concealing evidence through attempted destruction of electronic documents during live court proceedings Continue Reading

By

• Tommy Greene

UK equality watchdog: Met Police facial recognition unlawful

The UK’s equality watchdog has been granted permission to intervene in a judicial review of the Met Police’s live facial-recognition (LFR) technology use, which it claims is being deployed unlawfully Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Microsoft starts including PQC algorithms in cyber foundations

Microsoft updates on its post-quantum cyber strategy as it continues integrating quantum-safe algorithms into some of the core foundations underpinning its products and services Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Commvault users told to patch two RCE exploit chains

Storage firm Commvault fixes four vulnerabilities that, when combined, create a pair of RCE exploit chains that could be used to target on-premise customers with ransomware and other nasties Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Metropolitan Police contract with Fujitsu is ‘potential conflict of interest’ amid Post Office probe

Freedom of information request reveals sub-contract between Fujitsu and the police force leading nationwide investigation of the IT firm’s part in the Post Office scandal Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Google spins up agentic SOC to speed up incident management

Google Cloud elaborates on its vision for securing artificial intelligence unveiling new protections and capabilities across its product suite Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

US says UK has agreed to drop encryption ‘backdoor’ demands against Apple

US and UK end diplomatic row over UK encryption ‘backdoor’ order against Apple, but it remains unclear whether Apple will restore advanced encryption services to UK users Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Workday hit in wave of social engineering attacks

A campaign of voice-based social engineering attacks targeting users of Salesforce’s services appears to have struck HR platform Workday Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Would you hire a hacker?

At a time when cyber security breaches are on the up and skills remain in short supply, security experts believe we may be missing a trick by overlooking unconventional sources of talent Continue Reading

By

• Cath Everett

UK cyber leaders feel impact of Trump cutbacks

The ripple effects of US cyber security cutbacks have reached this side of the Atlantic, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Whitehall IT projects face complex challenges, Nista report finds

The annual report from the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority gives major police IT project ‘red’ rating, while several others are rated ‘amber’, including Gov.uk One Login and Making Tax Digital Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Teen hackers aren't the problem. They're the wake-up call

If we take the time to build the right pathways into cyber, young people could be our best line of defence. Continue Reading

By

• Fergus Hay, The Hacking Games

The UK’s Online Safety Act explained: what you need to know

In this essential guide, Computer Weekly looks at the UK’s implementation of the Online Safety Act, including controversies around age verification measures and the threat it poses to end-to-end encryption Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

What the UK's ransomware crackdown signals for Europe

The UK government is forging a bold path as it aims to ban ransomware payments from certain organisations. Its actions could herald an inflexion point in Europe's broader response to ransomware. Continue Reading

By

• Fintan Quinn, Gartner

Fujitsu orders staff to retain Post Office-related documentation as it braces for legal action

Japanese supplier tells all UK staff to preserve documents related to its work with the Post Office Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

ODI tells EU to balance AI safeguards with innovation promotion

The Open Data Institute has published a manifesto to guide European Union data and artificial intelligence policy formation Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Eight critical RCE flaws make Microsoft’s latest Patch Tuesday list

Microsoft rolls out fixes for over 100 CVEs in its August Patch Tuesday update Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Researchers firm up ShinyHunters, Scattered Spider link

ReliaQuest researchers present new evidence that firms up a potential link, or outright partnership, between the ShinyHunters and Scattered Spider cyber gangs Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK work visa sponsors are target of phishing campaign

Mimecast identifies a phishing campaign targeting UK organisations that sponsor migrant workers and students, opening the door to account compromise and visa fraud Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What boards should look for in a CISO

The role of the chief information security officer has evolved dramatically over the years – and will continue to do so. What should boards really looking for when hiring a security leader in 2025? Continue Reading

By

• Rinki Sethi, Upwind Security

ShinyHunters Salesforce cyber attacks explained: What you need to know

Computer Weekly gets under the skin of an ongoing wave of ShinyHunters cyber attacks orchestrated via social engineering against Salesforce users Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How CISOs can adapt cyber strategies for the age of AI

Traditional security measures may not be able to cope with the AI reality. In order to safeguard enterprise operations, reputation and data integrity in an AI-first world, security leaders need to rethink. Continue Reading

By

• Martin Riley, Bridewell Consulting

McCullough Review into PSNI spying on journalists and lawyers delayed

Angus McCullough KC is to present findings of an independent review of police spying on phone data of lawyers, journalists and NGOs in Northern Ireland in October   Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Watching the watchers: Is the Technical Advisory Panel a match for MI5, MI6 and GCHQ?

Dame Muffy Calder is chair of the Technical Advisory Panel (TAP), a small group of experts that advises the Investigatory Powers Commissioner on surveillance technology. Do they have what it takes to oversee the intelligence community? Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Government looks at tech to tackle peak electricity demand

Forecasting, AI, smart meters and electrical vehicle batteries are part of an ambitious project to reduce the use of fossil fuels on the UK's energy grid Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Black Hat USA: Startup breaks secrets management tools

Researchers at Cyata, an agentic identity specialist that has just emerged from stealth, found 14 CVEs in the widely used CyberArk Conjur and HashiCorp Vault enterprise secrets management platforms Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber criminals would prefer businesses don’t use Okta

Okta details a phishing campaign in which the threat actor demonstrated some unusually strong opinions on what authentication methods they would like their targets to use Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Companies House ID verification to start in November 2025

Companies House plans to start vetting director identities from mid-November, but its reliance on the troubled One Login digital identity service may be cause for concern Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC updates CNI Cyber Assessment Framework

Updates to the NCSC’s Cyber Assessment Framework are designed to help providers of critical services better manage their risk profiles Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Australian scaleup to bring AI-led data protection to the MoD

The UK’s Ministry of Defence is embracing AI-led data protection in the wake of a major privacy breach, enlisting Australian cyber firm Castlepoint Systems to oversee sensitive records Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Attacker could defeat Dell firmware flaws with a vegetable

Cisco Talos discloses five vulnerabilities in cyber security firmware used on Dell Latitude and Precision devices, including one that could enable an attacker to log on with a spring onion Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Black Hat USA: Halcyon and Sophos tag-team ransomware fightback

Ransomware experts Halcyon and Sophos are to pool their expertise in ransomware, working together to enhance data- and intelligence-sharing and bringing more comprehensive protection to customers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Proliferation of on-premise GenAI platforms is widening security risks

Research finds increased adoption of unsanctioned generative artificial intelligence platforms is magnifying risk and causing a headache for security teams Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How the UK's cloud strategy was hijacked by a hyperscaler duopoly

The UK competition regulator says the cloud market is not working - it's time to take radical steps to reduce the dominance of the two US cloud giants Continue Reading

By

• Bill McCluggage

Met Police to double facial recognition use amid budget cuts

The UK’s largest police force is massively expanding its use of live facial recognition technology as it prepares to lose 1,700 officers and staff Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Ministry of Justice unveils strategy for safe, secure AI

A new chief AI officer, together with a framework co-developed with the Alan Turing Institute, form part of a three-year AI action plan at the MoJ Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

I lost my sister to online harms, the OSA is failing vulnerable people

Adele is a member of Families and Survivors to Prevent Online Suicide Harms campaign, a network that brings together survivors and families bereaved by online harm-related suicides. They are calling for changes to the enforcement of the Online Safety Act Continue Reading

By

• Adele Zeynep Walton

Scattered Spider tactics continue to evolve, warn cyber cops

CISA, the FBI, NCSC and others have clubbed together to update previous guidance on Scattered Spider's playbook, warning of new social engineering tactics and exploitation of legitimate tools, among other things Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

MS Authenticator users face passkey crunch time

The deadline for moving to passkeys in Microsoft Authenticator is rapidly approaching, and users are advised to take action now Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

AI-enabled security pushes down breach costs for UK organisations

Organisations that are incorporating AI and automation into their cyber security practice are seeing improved outcomes when incidents occur, according to an IBM study Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Austrian government faces likely legal challenge over state spyware

Civil society groups are talking to opposition MPs about bringing a legal challenge to the Austrian constitutional court over ‘state trojan’ law Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

European Commission ignores calls to reassess Israel data adequacy

The European Commission is ignoring calls to reassess Israel’s data adequacy status in spite of concerns raised about its data protection framework and use of personal data in ‘repressive practices’ Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Global cyber spend will top $200bn this year, says Gartner

Worldwide spending on cyber security will hit another record high in 2025, and will go higher still next year Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

European digital market figurehead pleads to Westminster

Big EU industry joins with Europhile MP to persuade obstinate government officials to join the dataspaces intended to become the bedrock of Europe’s digital single market Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

The UK’s ransomware payment ban is a strategic win

The UK's proposed public sector ransomware payment ban could be a bold step, but it can't operate in isolation. Continue Reading

By

• Rob Dartnall, SecAlliance

US seeks ‘unquestioned’ AI dominance

US AI action plan sets out aims to expand American dominance in the world of artificial intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SharePoint users hit by Warlock ransomware, says Microsoft

Microsoft’s security analysts confirm a number of cyber attacks on on-premise SharePoint Server users involve ransomware Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch researchers use heartbeat detection to unmask deepfakes

Dutch method to counter deepfakes analyses blood flow patterns in faces that current deepfake generation tools cannot yet replicate Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

The rise (or not) of AI ethics officers

Job titles vary, but the principles shouldn’t – put AI ethics in the org chart, fund it and give it authority, so that good intentions turn into trust, accountability and good business Continue Reading

By

• Mary Branscombe, Computer Weekly

WhatsApp is refused right to intervene in Apple legal action on encryption ‘backdoors’

Investigatory Powers Tribunal to hear arguments in public over lawfulness of secret UK order requiring Apple to give UK law enforcement access to users’ encrypted data stored on the Apple iCloud Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Predictive analytics in policing: Weighing up the pros and cons

While extensive powers of crime prediction are still some time away, policing is already making use of predictive analytics – but what are its benefits and risks? Continue Reading

By

• Fleur Doidge

AI legislation in the UK - has anybody seen any?

The government has promised a consultation and legislation to govern the use of AI - but with nothing planned in the short term, is it leaving this essential consideration too late? Continue Reading

By

• Lord Chris Holmes, House of Lords

Microsoft confirms China link to SharePoint hacks

Microsoft confirms two known China-nexus threat actors, and one other suspected state-backed hacking group, are exploiting vulnerabilities in SharePoint Server Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Chinese cyber spies among those linked to SharePoint attacks

Exploitation of the ToolShell RCE zero-day in Microsoft SharePoint continues to gather pace, with evidence emerging of exploitation by nation state-backed threat actors Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government to bring in ransomware payment ban

Critical infrastructure operators, hospitals, local councils and schools will be among those banned from giving in to cyber criminal demands as the UK moves forward with proposals to address the scourge of ransomware Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government signs partnership with OpenAI

Deal sees firm behind ChatGPT collaborate with government on AI security research to explore investment opportunities Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

The Bank of England’s quiet ‘Big Bang’

The Bank of England has completed its generational project to replace part of the UK’s critical infrastructure, which went unnoticed beyond the sector it underpins Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA