News

IT for government and public sector

• January 08, 2016 08 Jan'16

  Tech firms critical of UK draft Investigatory Powers Bill

  Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo say they are particularly concerned about six key aspects of the UK's draft Investigatory Powers Bill

• January 07, 2016 07 Jan'16

  Gov.uk notifications platform to begin sending texts and emails

  Latest project in government-as-a-platform strategy aims to make it easier to keep individuals informed about applications and services

• January 05, 2016 05 Jan'16

  Fears of software skills shortage in Germany and the Netherlands

  Organisations in Germany and the Netherlands are struggling to fill positions for software developers as they digitise

• December 31, 2015 31 Dec'15

  Top 10 internet of things stories of 2015

  2015 was the year the internet of things began to move from theory to widespread practice, and the fledgling industry shook off the millstone of connected kitchen appliances

• December 17, 2015 17 Dec'15

  National security ‘not affected’ by failed e-Borders programme, says Home Office

  Despite the key Warnings Index system suffering an average of two high-priority incidents a week – such as a system component not being available – Home Office officials deny it causes risk to national security

• December 10, 2015 10 Dec'15

  EE and Motorola confirmed as ESN suppliers by Home Office

  EE and Motorola have been formally selected to provide a resilient national 4G network for the UK’s ambulance, fire and police services

• December 09, 2015 09 Dec'15

  Russian big data in early stages

  The use of big data technologies in Russia is still embryonic and the economic slowdown is stalling developments

• December 08, 2015 08 Dec'15

  National roll-out of Universal Credit digital service to begin in May 2016

  The Universal Credit digital service will be rolled out to five job centres a month from May 2016, says the Department for Work and Pensions

• December 07, 2015 07 Dec'15

  Cyber attacks an increasing concern for Asean countries

  Organisations in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are increasingly the targets for cyber criminals, according to a report focused on the region

• December 07, 2015 07 Dec'15

  Australia launches plan to reduce reliance on natural resources

  The Australian government has announced plans to reduce its dependency on industries that rely on natural resources and increase its activities in areas such as IT

• December 04, 2015 04 Dec'15

  India’s HCL opens Estonian operation to support Nordic customers

  HCL Technologies opens an Estonian delivery centre which will support customers across Europe, including those in the Nordic region

• December 03, 2015 03 Dec'15

  Home Office e-Borders programme costs to reach £1.1bn by 2019, says NAO report

  The failed e-Borders programme has cost £830m to date, with a further £275m projected costs before the Home Office produces new systems in-house, due to go live in 2019

• December 03, 2015 03 Dec'15

  The US and China agree more steps to fight cyber crime

  The US and China have made progress in expanding co-operation on cyber crime as China claims criminals and not state-backed hackers broke into the US Office of Personnel Management

• December 02, 2015 02 Dec'15

  UKtech50 2015 - The most influential people in UK IT

  Computer Weekly has announced the sixth annual UKtech50 – our definitive list of the movers and shakers in the UK IT sector

• December 02, 2015 02 Dec'15

  UKtech50 2015 - Computer Weekly's five rising stars

  We select five IT leaders destined for great things, to recognise the rising stars of IT alongside our annual list of the 50 most influential people in UK technology

• December 01, 2015 01 Dec'15

  Rural payments problems led to 40% increase in costs, says NAO report

  Inappropriate behaviour and too much focus on IT procurement led to rural payments programme costs spiralling to 40% over budget, says National Audit Office report

• November 27, 2015 27 Nov'15

  GDS aims for £3.5bn savings using its £450m budget

  The Government Digital Service plans £3.5bn in efficiency savings on the back of its £450m budget, including a £1.3bn saving from its government-as-a-platform programme

• November 25, 2015 25 Nov'15

  Spending review: Osborne gives NHS £1bn for technology boost

  The NHS will get £1bn to spend on technology – including an interoperable patient record system – chancellor George Osborne has announced

• November 24, 2015 24 Nov'15

  Defence review promises 1.2% of defence budget spend on technology

  The government’s defence review highlights need for technology investment, innovative ideas and cyber security

• November 20, 2015 20 Nov'15

  UK and Estonia launch TechLink programme

  The UK and Estonian governments are launching a TechLink programme to share best practice and innovations

• November 20, 2015 20 Nov'15

  HMRC Capgemini staff transfer consultation not as flexible as hoped, says union

  With less than two weeks left until HMRC’s deadline for transferring 250 Capgemini staff in-house, talks aren’t going as well as hoped, says the Public and Commercial Services Union

• November 20, 2015 20 Nov'15

  Coalition of top tech firms opposes weakened encryption

  Weakening security with the aim of advancing security simply does not make sense, a coalition of top tech firms tells US president Barack Obama

• November 20, 2015 20 Nov'15

  Group litigation against Post Office being prepared in Horizon dispute

  Subpostmasters who believe they have been wrongly punished for misaccounting or theft due to flawed computer system prepare group legal action against Post Office

• November 18, 2015 18 Nov'15

  Cyber security mindset needs to change, says report

  Government organisations are prime targets for cyber attacks, leading to increased importance on robust information security, according to a report by Intel Security and the Digital Government Security Forum

• November 18, 2015 18 Nov'15

  Whitehall IT chiefs open up about challenges of going cloud-first in central government

  Whitehall IT chiefs talk about the progress they have made with abiding by the central government cloud-first mandate

• November 18, 2015 18 Nov'15

  Post Office IT support email reveals known Horizon flaw

  An email from Post Office IT support reveals a problem with the Horizon system and supporting processes that could lead to accounting errors

• November 16, 2015 16 Nov'15

  Asean higher education institutions increase software and services spend

  Higher education organisations in developed Asean countries are investing heavily in software and services as their IT use matures

• November 11, 2015 11 Nov'15

  Ministry of Defence CIO explains defence as a platform

  Mike Stone took to the stage at the Microsoft Future Decoded event to explain the Ministry of Defence’s plan for defence as a platform

• November 11, 2015 11 Nov'15

  Germany is finalising legislation to shore up CNI cyber security

  Germany is working to ensure digital sovereignty through IT security legislation and negotiations on IT security regulations and transatlantic trade at a European Union level

• November 10, 2015 10 Nov'15

  Boris Johnson lobbies for stronger UK technology ties with Israel

  Mayor of London Boris Johnson wants Israel’s “top tech talent” to come to London and strengthen the UK’s technology partnership with the country

• November 10, 2015 10 Nov'15

  Microsoft UK datacentre plans win backing of government CTO Liam Maxwell

  Government CTO Liam Maxwell speaks out about the role Whitehall's played in convincing Microsoft and others to open UK datacentres

• November 10, 2015 10 Nov'15

  EU data protection official optimistic on successor to Safe Harbour

  An EU data protection official says he is optimistic that an alternative to the Safe Harbour agreement will be found, but it will take work from both the US and the EU

• November 09, 2015 09 Nov'15

  GCHQ and NCA join forces to police dark web

  GCHQ and the National Crime Agency are to track down paedophiles and serious online criminals by using the techniques and expertise used to find terrorists

• November 05, 2015 05 Nov'15

  Mayor of London launches tech fund for digital skills

  A programme has been launched by the mayor of London to ensure young people in the capital are learning digital skills

• November 05, 2015 05 Nov'15

  Communication Workers Union warns subpostmasters of flaw in Post Office Horizon accounting system

  The union that represents Post Office subpostmasters has warned of a problem with the Horizon accounting system at the centre of a long-running dispute

• November 05, 2015 05 Nov'15

  Free software gains ground in the Italian public administration

  Italy's Ministry of Defence is pioneering the use of open-source office productivity tools with the migration of 150,000 PCs to LibreOffice

• November 04, 2015 04 Nov'15

  UAE recognises importance of cyber security, says official

  Like the UK, the UAE federal government has identified the importance of creating an environment in which it is safe to do business online

• November 03, 2015 03 Nov'15

  Business models still evolving as public Wi-Fi spend hits a high

  A report from the Wireless Broadband Alliance reveals that most city CIOs have plans in place to significantly increase their investment in public Wi-Fi networking, but see challenges around their business models

• November 02, 2015 02 Nov'15

  Secret report into rural payments IT problems points finger at RPA CEO

  The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is withholding a highly critical report into IT problems that led to the withdrawal of the £154m farmers' digital service

• November 02, 2015 02 Nov'15

  Theresa May promises strong oversight in surveillance bill

  The proposed Investigatory Powers Bill contains “very strong” oversight and “world-beating” authorisation procedures, according to home secretary Theresa May

• October 30, 2015 30 Oct'15

  Law enforcement cracks down on DroidJack Android snooping malware users

  A joint EU/US operation on the DroidJack malware is the latest example of international collaboration between law enforcement officers directed at cyber crime

• October 29, 2015 29 Oct'15

  Met Office's new supercomputer to deliver £2bn of socio-economic benefits

  The Met Office aims to realise a range of socio-economic benefits to UK industries thanks to improved forecasting with its new Cray supercomputer

• October 29, 2015 29 Oct'15

  Using open data to solve social challenges

  The Open Data Institute has spent the past two years funding startups to build applications that could solve socio-economic problems

• October 28, 2015 28 Oct'15

  Ministry of Defence hoarding £38.5m worth of unused IPv4 addresses

  A Freedom of Information request by network control specialist Infoblox has revealed that the MoD is hoarding millions of pounds worth of unused IPv4 addresses, while the UK government remains woefully unprepared for IPv6

• October 27, 2015 27 Oct'15

  More than 70% of teachers still think students are better at using tech

  Teachers are still struggling to adapt to the new curriculum, and more than 70% believe their students are more technology-savvy than they are

• October 22, 2015 22 Oct'15

  How the Cabinet Office is using open data to tackle youth unemployment

  The Cabinet Office invited IT professionals and young people to a Job Hack event with the aim of using open government datasets to help more young people into work

• October 22, 2015 22 Oct'15

  Kent signs £23m digital services contract with Agilisys

  Agilisys to manage Kent County Council's digital services and customer contact in a six-year contract

• October 22, 2015 22 Oct'15

  Police and industry to tackle cyber crime together, says TechUK

  A TechUK report calls for collaboration between police and industry to raise standards of reporting, recording and responding to cyber crime

• October 21, 2015 21 Oct'15

  James Arbuthnot takes Post Office IT fight to House of Lords

  James Arbuthnot takes his seat in the House of Lords and continues campaign for subpostmasters who claim to have been wronged by faulty Horizon IT system

• October 19, 2015 19 Oct'15

  HMRC VAT rules cut cloud costs by 20% for NHS and government departments

  An HMRC ruling on reclaiming tax on cloud services could drive up the use of off-premise technologies in the public sector