News

IT for government and public sector

• 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

• October 15, 2015 15 Oct'15

  GDS payments platform Gov.uk Pay to start taking real payments

  GDS launches beta version of payment system that aims to provide standardised electronic payments for public services

• October 14, 2015 14 Oct'15

  HS2 and Crossrail site to deliver high-tech innovations

  The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation partners with HyperCatCity to embrace smart technologies to create “an exciting and thriving place”

• October 13, 2015 13 Oct'15

  TfL appoints 12 companies for IT systems framework

  Capita, CSC, Atos and CGI are among the firms on TfL’s IT systems framework contract, which is worth between £80m and £95m

• October 12, 2015 12 Oct'15

  Encryption is a double-edged sword, says Blue Coat

  Seven more security suppliers join Blue Coat encrypted traffic management programme amid fresh warnings of attackers using encryption to hide malicious activity

• October 09, 2015 09 Oct'15

  Lack of trust for banks causes NHS rethink over government online identity scheme

  NHS trials of the Verify ID assurance system found patients concerned over using banks to allow access to medical data

• October 09, 2015 09 Oct'15

  UK digital economy needs 2.3 million digital workers by 2020

  The UK will need the skills of 2.3 million digital workers by 2020 if it hopes to power the promised digital economy, according to research from O2

• October 08, 2015 08 Oct'15

  Gloucester City Council extends Civica IT outsourcing deal

  The council’s outsourcing deal with Civica will not end until October 2021, as it signs a three-year extension contract

• October 08, 2015 08 Oct'15

  DWP looks to Facebook and LinkedIn for social services' digital future

  The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says it intends to learn from social networking firms and use external data to better understand people's lives

• October 08, 2015 08 Oct'15

  Estonian government IT initiative increases virtual population

  Estonia is leading the way when it comes to providing easy and secure access to government services for citizens and foreigners alike

• October 05, 2015 05 Oct'15

  Facebook ruling not only landmark data protection case in Europe, say experts

  A landmark ruling against Slovakia-based website Weltimmo could impact the Max Schrems case against Facebook and new European data protection rules currently being finalised

• October 05, 2015 05 Oct'15

  DVLA brings IT back in-house after decades of outsourcing

  After the DVLA's two-year project to bring its IT back in-house, its outsourcing strategy – set up during the Thatcher years – came to an end in September 2015

• October 03, 2015 03 Oct'15

  What to consider when IT outsourcing contracts come up for renewal

  Outsourcing contracts worth billions of pounds come up for renewal over the next few years – but unprecedented industry change complicates the CIO's decision

• September 29, 2015 29 Sep'15

  Two thirds of UK businesses never meet important customers

  British businesses don't always meet their best customers or the people they do most business with, because of trends in modern technology

• September 29, 2015 29 Sep'15

  Universal Credit digital service moves into the cloud

  New system under trial in south London has been migrated to an IaaS platform ready for further roll-out

• September 25, 2015 25 Sep'15

  Government Digital Service readies for change as its chief Mike Bracken prepares to leave

  GDS is setting up executive training for senior civil servants and looking to work closely with departments to continue the digital transformation of Whitehall

• September 22, 2015 22 Sep'15

  Business leaders want better digital services from government, says research

  A survey of corporate decision-makers suggests executives waste an average of five hours per week using outdated online public services

• September 22, 2015 22 Sep'15

  DVLA looking for new CIO after completing major insourcing project

  The DVLA is looking for a new CIO as incumbent Iain Patterson completes major insourcing projects and moves back to Cabinet Office

• September 21, 2015 21 Sep'15

  MPs launch inquiry into the UK's digital economy

  Business, Innovation and Skills Committee investigation will examine the challenges facing digital industries

• September 21, 2015 21 Sep'15

  Gigabit network is more than a fringe benefit for city of Edinburgh

  As CityFibre begins a 150km fibre dig in Edinburgh, local businesses and the city council outline their objectives and plans for ultrafast broadband

• September 21, 2015 21 Sep'15

  Labour appoints Chi Onwurah as shadow minister for digital industries

  Former Labour digital government spokeswoman takes on role of shadowing digital economy minister Ed Vaizey, with Louise Haigh taking her old role

• September 21, 2015 21 Sep'15

  Department for Culture, Media and Sport takes over responsibility for data protection policy

  Government transfers responsibility for data protection policy and ICO oversight from Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)

• September 16, 2015 16 Sep'15

  Defence minister Michael Fallon promises increased MOD spending with SMEs

  Opening up the Ministry of Defence (MOD) supply chain to access SME innovation is vital to meet its technology needs, says secretary for defence Michael Fallon

• September 15, 2015 15 Sep'15

  Most DDoS attacks hiding something more sinister, Neustar warns

  Smaller DDoS attacks can be more dangerous than a powerful attack that knocks a company offline but does not install malware or steal data, warns Neustar

• September 14, 2015 14 Sep'15

  Scottish Government to launch public services website

  The Scottish Government will launch its mygov.scot website this autumn with the aim of improving access to public services in Scotland

• September 11, 2015 11 Sep'15

  Security industry welcomes GCHQ password guidelines

  GCHQ's guidance on password policy covers some of the most pressing issues facing UK businesses and employees today, according to Skyhigh Networks

• September 11, 2015 11 Sep'15

  DD4BC cyber extortion gang adds social media to arsenal

  Cyber extortion gang DD4BC is using social media campaigns to garner more attention for its ability to create service disruptions by publicly embarrassing large organisations

• September 11, 2015 11 Sep'15

  David Cameron hails Government Digital Service as 'unsung triumph'

  Prime minister David Cameron announces legislation to join up IT across the emergency services, hailing the Government Digital Service (GDS) as a triumph

• September 09, 2015 09 Sep'15

  Early plans for Universal Credit show DWP expected to complete project in two years

  An early plan drawn up by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for its Universal Credit scheme reveals unrealistic ambitions for the troubled project

• September 04, 2015 04 Sep'15

  US State Department plans cyber security playbook

  The US State Department issues a request for information to determine the capabilities of commercial industry to provide and maintain a cyber security playbook

• September 01, 2015 01 Sep'15

  DDoS attack on NCA highlights need to be prepared, says Barracuda Networks

  A Lizard Squad DDoS attack the NCA says is a fact of life highlights the need for organisations to be prepared, according to Barracuda Networks

• August 27, 2015 27 Aug'15

  Kellogg Brown and Root wins ESN Delivery Partner contract

  Kellogg Brown and Root has won the contract to supply Lot 1 of the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme

• August 18, 2015 18 Aug'15

  IaaS providers pin hopes on spending cut reprieve for G-Cloud 7

  G-Cloud suppliers are calling on the government to step up, rather than scale back, investment in the framework as spending cuts loom

• August 16, 2015 16 Aug'15

  Mobile phone users at risk as hackers bug and track victims

  An investigation by Australian TV show 60 Minutes demonstrates how hackers based thousands of miles away in Germany were able to record the calls of an Australian senator and track his movements

• August 13, 2015 13 Aug'15

  Interview: Government digital chief Mike Bracken – why I quit

  Mike Bracken, the outgoing director of the Government Digital Service, talks exclusively to Computer Weekly about his departure from Whitehall

• August 12, 2015 12 Aug'15

  Mike Bracken: I turned down an increase in GDS budget

  Outgoing government digital chief says he rejected the chance of extra funding and that his platform strategy is still on the table