News

IT for government and public sector

December 05, 2018 05 Dec'18
Phishing at centre of cyber attack on Ukraine infrastructure

Phishing is one of the key tools used by cyber attackers against critical national infrastructure (CNI), as highlighted by attacks on telecommunications in Ukraine
December 04, 2018 04 Dec'18
‘Open-minded’ DVSA cuts cost of MOT testing

Government agency harnesses customised open source platform to ensure data security while cutting costs and plans to extend its MOT testing capability to do the same for drivers’ theory tests
December 04, 2018 04 Dec'18
NHS email outage caused by ‘internal software issues’

NHSmail system shutdown, which saw staff locked out of their accounts, blamed on “software issues” in supplier Accenture’s internal infrastructure
December 04, 2018 04 Dec'18
GovTech Catalyst Fund awards contracts to five SMEs to tackle rural isolation and loneliness

Five small tech companies have been awarded contracts through the GovTech Catalyst Fund to come up with innovative solutions to rural isolation and loneliness

December 03, 2018 03 Dec'18
Digital identity market welcomes plan to hand Gov.uk Verify to private sector

Players in the UK digital identity community welcome the clarity over the future of Verify, but question marks remain over prospects for government ID system
December 03, 2018 03 Dec'18
UK government commits to opening up data in bid to push adoption of AI

Opening up data is vital to government plans to push adoption of artificial intelligence across all sectors of the UK economy
December 03, 2018 03 Dec'18
Police investigations into cyber crime up 14% in a year

Officers forced to follow up over 2,500 complaints of Instagram, Facebook, email and website hacking, and Bitcoin ransom, despite a rise in violent crime, report reveals
November 30, 2018 30 Nov'18
Government mobilises to persuade tech sector to endorse May-EU deal

Jeremy Wright, the secretary of state at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, says the prime minister’s deal with the European Union will be good for UK tech, ensuring free flow of data
November 30, 2018 30 Nov'18
CCRC may hold off subpostmaster decision until after Post Office Horizon trial

The Criminal Courts Review Commission is deciding whether to delay its decision on subpostmasters’ claims of wrongful prosecution until after a related court case
November 30, 2018 30 Nov'18
WannaCry borderline national cyber emergency

The May 2017 WannaCry attack, which disrupted services at one-third of NHS trusts and more than 600 primary care organisations is the closest the UK has come to a national cyber emergency, says the NCSC

November 30, 2018 30 Nov'18
CIO interview: Theo Blackwell, London chief digital officer, Mayor of London’s Office

After more than a year in post, London’s chief digital officer reflects on changes, collaboration between boroughs and developing a smart city
November 29, 2018 29 Nov'18
UK cyber security strategy making ‘good progress’

The National Cyber Security Strategy is making good progress, but there is much left to be done, according to a Cabinet Office official
November 29, 2018 29 Nov'18
Danish government launches wide-ranging digital services project

Denmark's government has launched an ambitious project to digitise and automate public services
November 29, 2018 29 Nov'18
120,000 police officers to receive cyber security training

Cisco is partnering with UK police forces to offer cyber security training through the Cisco Networking Academy
November 29, 2018 29 Nov'18
Health and care must prepare for a digital world, says Scotland’s digital director

Challenges include dealing with ethical questions, data and collaboration needs in a digital environment, says Scottish government’s Colin Cook
November 29, 2018 29 Nov'18
Scottish Government and Nesta launch health data challenge

Partnership between the Scottish Government and Nesta will see funding available for innovative projects driving the use of technology to give citizens access to data and help them live healthier lives
November 28, 2018 28 Nov'18
Cyber resilience lacking due to apathy of UK leaders

An unwillingness to accept that cyber is a real threat to critical national infrastructure by UK political and business leaders has resulted in a lack of resilience, says security industry veteran
November 27, 2018 27 Nov'18
Government yet to recruit chief data officer

Two years after the government began the process to hire a chief data officer, the post continues to sit empty
November 27, 2018 27 Nov'18
GDS has lost momentum, MPs told

There are still significant culture issues in government and the Government Digital Service has stopped supporting departments to do the right thing, Science and Technology Committee hears
November 27, 2018 27 Nov'18
Treasury Committee launches inquiry into bank IT failures

With IT outages in the financial sector a regular occurrence, the Treasury Committee is investigating the causes and consequences of these failures, and what industry and regulators are doing to promote resilience
November 27, 2018 27 Nov'18
High Court trial over Horizon computer system completes witness cross-examinations

The High Court trial in which subpostmasters are suing the Post Office has reached an important stage
November 26, 2018 26 Nov'18
Barnet Council looks to bring parts of Capita contract back in house

Barnet Council is planning to bring parts of its Capita outsourcing deal back in house, and expects the supplier to pay the council £4.12m due to delivery issues with some areas of the contract
November 23, 2018 23 Nov'18
UK fails to make top eGovernment rankings

UK fails to make it into the top rankings in the European Commission’s eGovernment Benchmark report, which shows that across Europe, two-thirds of public sector services are now available online
November 23, 2018 23 Nov'18
Lords call for HMRC to delay Making Tax Digital for VAT

The government must begin to listen to small businesses and should delay the roll-out of its Making Tax Digital for VAT programme by at least a year, says the Lords Economic Affairs Committee
November 21, 2018 21 Nov'18
Finland invests in IT to upgrade electricity network

National electricity transmission grid operator Fingrid’s Datahub system will play key role in retail market’s transition to a centralised information exchange
November 21, 2018 21 Nov'18
TechUK calls on Matt Hancock to fast-track NHS digitisation

The tech industry body’s ‘Manifesto for Matt’ calls on the health secretary to focus on empowering citizens, enabling a world-class workforce and making the UK the number one place for health tech innovation
November 21, 2018 21 Nov'18
Post Office held back information about Horizon IT system errors

Post Office director admits to Horizon errors and not sharing details with subpostmaster network
November 21, 2018 21 Nov'18
Citizens don’t want the NHS to prioritise digital health, report finds

The UK public want the NHS to focus spending on cancer care, staff and mental health, and rank digital access to services lowest on their list of priorities
November 21, 2018 21 Nov'18
Lincolnshire Police signs 10-year cloud control room tech refresh deal with Motorola Solutions

Lincolnshire Police is embracing cloud technologies within its control room environment as it strives to improve the efficiency of its operations
November 20, 2018 20 Nov'18
Police challenged over refusal to disclose files on WikiLeaks staff

Lawyers will challenge the Metropolitan Police Service today to confirm or deny whether it holds correspondence with US law enforcement about three WikiLeaks staff – including two UK citizens – in a freedom of information tribunal
November 20, 2018 20 Nov'18
Sixth form college rebuilds after fire with Scale hyper-converged

Xaverian College suffered a server room fire but took the opportunity to build a hyper-converged infrastructure with Scale Computing that did away with costly VMware licence fees
November 20, 2018 20 Nov'18
Jeremy Wright announces Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation board

Secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Jeremy Wright, announces make up of Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation board at ODI Summit
November 19, 2018 19 Nov'18
Government lacks cyber resilience leadership, according to MPs

The government lacks political leadership and urgency in dealing with cyber threats, according to Joint Committee on National Security Strategy, calling for a minister in charge of delivering cyber resilience
November 16, 2018 16 Nov'18
Tech sector split over Brexit deal

The draft EU Withdrawal Agreement has caused rifts in the tech sector, with some calling for a People’s Vote with the option to remain in the EU, and others wanting MPs to back the agreement, saying it’s better than a no-deal scenario
November 16, 2018 16 Nov'18
Post Office executives cross-examined in Horizon IT system trial

A High Court trial, where subpostmasters are suing the Post Office for damages caused by an allegedly faulty IT system, ended its second week.
November 16, 2018 16 Nov'18
UN extreme poverty monitor is critical of Universal Credit ‘digital by default’ service

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights raises significant concerns with Universal Credit, including poor digital literacy among claimants, automation errors and lack of transparency
November 16, 2018 16 Nov'18
Why is hiring a government chief security officer such a tricky business?

Security bosses and CIOs weigh in on why they think the government is struggling to recruit a chief security officer
November 15, 2018 15 Nov'18
Members of Parliament should back EU Withdrawal Agreement, says industry

Industry experts say the government’s EU Withdrawal Agreement is far from perfect and still requires more clarity, but call on MPs to back it, as it’s better than a No-Deal Brexit
November 14, 2018 14 Nov'18
Defra still to test six ‘critical’ IT systems before Brexit

MPs have raised concerns around Defra’s Brexit readiness as it hasn’t yet begun testing six critical IT systems needed to replace EU systems, but the department remains confident
November 13, 2018 13 Nov'18
Sweden’s central bank to test digital currency

Riksbank e-krona initiative follows government plan for a cashless society by 2030
November 13, 2018 13 Nov'18
Panasas refreshes with ActiveStor Ultra in push to the enterprise

Scale-out NAS maker Panasas wants to make its ActiveStor storage more attractive to enterprises by touting its ease of use and putting storage nodes on commodity hardware
November 13, 2018 13 Nov'18
5G will unleash digital transformation for UK enterprises

Mobile operator EE is working hand-in-hand with its largest enterprise customers to realise the potential of its future 5G mobile network
November 13, 2018 13 Nov'18
Post Office trial throws up known problem with Horizon system

High Court case in which subpostmasters are suing the Post Office has revealed a known problem with the computer system at the core of the dispute
November 12, 2018 12 Nov'18
Home Office to use smartphone ID for EU Exit scheme

The Home Office will use smartphone digital identity verification to support applications for the government’s EU Exit Settlement Scheme
November 12, 2018 12 Nov'18
HMRC resolves technical issue with tax-free childcare portal

The department’s tax-free childcare website has again suffered technical issues, affecting 22,000 payments, but the problems were resolved last week, according to HMRC
November 12, 2018 12 Nov'18
Norway’s IT industry must tackle security vulnerabilities

Report reveals growing threat posed by “hostile foreign actors” against Norway’s IT systems and critical national infrastructure
November 09, 2018 09 Nov'18
Post-quantum cryptography a major challenge, says expert

The crypto wars are just beginning and open systems are key to improved security in future, says cryptography expert
November 09, 2018 09 Nov'18
High court Post Office trial puts subpostmasters’ contract under microscope

Case against Post Office in relation to allegedly faulty computer system begins in High Court
November 08, 2018 08 Nov'18
Welsh NHS IT programme is ‘outdated’ and could put patients at risk, report finds

Welsh Public Accounts Committee is concerned the country’s outdated NHS IT systems are putting patients at risk, and found the culture at NHS Wales Informatics Service is the ‘antithesis of open’
November 08, 2018 08 Nov'18
Dominic Raab: UK AI sector will get boost from EU exit ‘done right’

Brexit secretary tells Tech Nation audience that leaving the EU could create opportunities for the UK technology sector
November 07, 2018 07 Nov'18
Fintechs advised on how to work with big banks

Advice backed by the government for fintechs on how to engage with traditional finance firms is published
November 07, 2018 07 Nov'18
BEIS to fund five healthcare AI innovation centres

Five healthcare innovation centres will receive a total of £50m in funding to use artificial intelligence to improve diagnosis and treatment of diseases
November 07, 2018 07 Nov'18
Cyber security high on European Commission agenda

The European Commission is recognising the growing importance of cyber security to the digital economy and is increasing funding to support research, resilience and cooperation
November 06, 2018 06 Nov'18
Information commissioner calls for stricter regulation on political use of data

Information commissioner Elizabeth Denham’s investigation into the use of data in elections and campaigns, finds "a disturbing disregard for voters’ personal privacy"
November 06, 2018 06 Nov'18
Smart Dubai platform is the backbone of the city's transformation

Aisha bin Bishr, director general at Smart Dubai Office, talks about the Smart Data platform and soon-to-be-unveiled UAE Pass, a digital ID and signature which is being touted as one of the foundations a city needs to transform
November 06, 2018 06 Nov'18
Automation and CSR are driving reskilling process for UK plc, says Cisco

UK business leaders are planning to make dramatic changes to their organisations between now and 2020, according to a new report from Cisco
November 05, 2018 05 Nov'18
Openreach launches Fibre First programme in Belfast and Nottingham

Openreach has named Belfast and Nottingham as the latest cities to benefit from a full-fibre broadband roll-out
November 05, 2018 05 Nov'18
PAC has ‘serious concerns’ over UK border and new customs IT system

Public Accounts Committee remains concerned about the Customs Declaration Service and the country’s borders post Brexit
November 05, 2018 05 Nov'18
NHS to use predictive tech to prevent illnesses

Health secretary Matt Hancock wants to use technology to predict disease and stop people falling ill, with AI and genomics having the ‘potential to change everything’
November 05, 2018 05 Nov'18
UKtech50 2018: Vote for the most influential person in UK IT

Tell us who you think should be chosen as the most influential person in the UK tech scene for 2018 by submitting your vote now
November 02, 2018 02 Nov'18
Government is open for business, says SME Crown Representative

The government’s Crown Representative for SMEs, Emma Jones, sheds light on her three-pronged approach to increase spend with smaller businesses
November 02, 2018 02 Nov'18
Government fails in first attempt to hire chief security officer

The government’s initial recruitment campaign for the UK’s "biggest and most important security job” has been unsuccessful, Cabinet Office admits
November 02, 2018 02 Nov'18
Departing DWP IT boss Mayank Prakash to take on digitisation role at Centrica

DWP’s outgoing chief digital and information officer will begin new role in charge of digitalisation of Centrica’s consumer business in the New Year
October 31, 2018 31 Oct'18
IoT R&D projects missed out on £10m of government funding

A series of delays and disruption caused chiefly by changes in project ownership meant the government’s IoT UK Research and Innovation Programme failed to use a quarter of its allocated budget between 2015 and 2018
October 31, 2018 31 Oct'18
Hyperoptic full-fibre network hits public housing milestone

More than 150,000 publicly owned homes have now been connected to Hyperoptic’s ultrafast fibre broadband network
October 31, 2018 31 Oct'18
UK Post Office looks to enable reusable digital ID

The UK Post Office is investigating the possibility of enabling UK citizens to re-use their passport data for other applications where digital identity is a key component
October 30, 2018 30 Oct'18
Budget 2018: A mixed bag

Computer Weekly looks at some of the detail in the tech-laden 2018 Budget and can’t get away from the big elephant in the room: the impact of a potential No Deal Brexit
October 30, 2018 30 Oct'18
Budget 2018: No great leap forward for broadband, but no need to panic

The chancellor set aside £1.6bn for digital technology in the Budget, but broadband services did not draw much attention. Is this a surprise, or a reflection of growing commercial investment in full-fibre, and what should the role of government be?
October 30, 2018 30 Oct'18
IR35 reforms: Private sector extension confirmed for April 2020 in Autumn Budget

As the government confirms the IR35 reforms will be extended to large and medium-sized businesses in the private sector from April 2020, campaigners claim the move risks destabilising the UK's flexible workforce
October 30, 2018 30 Oct'18
UK government taskforce commits to distributed ledger technologies

Report says distributed ledger technology “has the potential to deliver significant benefits in financial services and other sectors in the future”
October 30, 2018 30 Oct'18
Hammond’s digital services tax is a big risk, say experts

The tech industry is not impressed with the chancellor’s plan to tax web giants, saying it can stifle innovation, while tax lawyers warn that it is a very risky move that could lead to US retaliation
October 30, 2018 30 Oct'18
Government consults on full-fibre for tenants, new-build homes

Proposed legislation would compel landlords and property developers to offer full-fibre broadband to tenants and customers
October 29, 2018 29 Oct'18
Why subpostmasters and Post Office are battling it out in the High Court

After over a decade of controversy, next week marks the beginning of a court battle between subpostmasters and the Post Office over allegations of faults in an accounting system leading to unfair prosecutions
October 29, 2018 29 Oct'18
Finnish city Espoo trials artificial intelligence for community support

The authorities for Finnish city Espoo are testing out AI technology to help them target services at the residents who need them most
October 29, 2018 29 Oct'18
Police tech is ‘a complete and utter mess’, says Home Affairs Committee

Committee has “serious concerns” about police forces’ digital capabilities, interoperability and tech adoption, and urges ministers to take responsibility
October 29, 2018 29 Oct'18
O2 extends rural 4G network to 339 communities

O2 has extended its rural network roll-out, targeting over 300 small communities all over the UK
October 26, 2018 26 Oct'18
IoT ecosystem needs to be investigated, say experts

A conference of IoT experts convened by Enisa and Europol has made key recommendations to ensure security vulnerabilities do not overshadow benefits
October 25, 2018 25 Oct'18
MEPs call for action in wake of Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal

European members of parliament demand action to protect citizens’ privacy from abuses such as those uncovered in the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data sharing scandal
October 25, 2018 25 Oct'18
ICO issues maximum £500,000 fine to Facebook

The UK privacy watchdog has confirmed that Facebook has escaped a fine of more than $1bn under the GDPR, but will face the maximum under the DPA for failing to protect users’ personal information
October 25, 2018 25 Oct'18
Firms will use AI to automate HR processes within two years

Companies are gearing up to automate HR processes with artificial intelligence and machine learning, while at the same time battling with outdated IT systems
October 24, 2018 24 Oct'18
Autonomous taxi trials underway in Dubai

Dubai’s transport authority has started road testing the region’s first autonomous taxi, designed in partnership with Dubai Silicon Oasis and DG World
October 24, 2018 24 Oct'18
CityFibre backers pump £2.5bn into full-fibre broadband

Network expansion will add 27 towns and cities to CityFibre’s current roll-out to 10 locations in support of a consumer full-fibre service delivered by Vodafone
October 24, 2018 24 Oct'18
11 of 12 border IT systems at risk of not being ready by Brexit, says NAO report

All but one of the critical IT systems needed at the UK border are at risk of not being ready by 29 March 2019, which will have implications if there is a no-deal Brexit
October 24, 2018 24 Oct'18
Government can’t guarantee no-deal Brexit data-sharing agreement

Digital minister Margot James says there is no clear timetable on when the UK will secure a data adequacy decision from the EU, and cannot guarantee an agreement will be in place in the event of a no-deal Brexit
October 23, 2018 23 Oct'18
Interview: Steve Grobman, McAfee CTO shares his views on some burning security questions

Cyber security technology innovator and veteran Steve Grobman shares his views on adversarial artificial intelligence, post-quantum cryptography and security for next-gen tech
October 23, 2018 23 Oct'18
Government to invest £8m in Brexit customs training and automation

The Treasury and HMRC are putting measures in place to support the customs sector should the UK leave the EU with no deal, including funding to increase automation and training
October 23, 2018 23 Oct'18
Government pumps more funding into NHS ‘test beds’ programme

Seven new “test beds” will receive £7m to trial a range of technologies to improve patient care in the second wave of the NHS Test Beds Programme
October 22, 2018 22 Oct'18
Government to invest an extra £215m in UK innovation centres

The extra funding will be given to the Catapult network of innovation centres, focusing on digital, medicines discovery, future cities and transport systems
October 22, 2018 22 Oct'18
McAfee CTO raises concerns about election cyber security

The security industry needs to look at the security of election processes around the world as well as the security of voting and counting machines, says McAfee CTO
October 19, 2018 19 Oct'18
Interview: Matt Hancock, secretary of state for health and social care, on his NHS ‘tech vision’

Matt Hancock brings rare digital experience to running the NHS and social care systems, but can he overcome the legacy of past health service technology failures?
October 18, 2018 18 Oct'18
Dubai Health Authority unveils virtual health app for GP consultations

Health authority adopts new technology as part of the Dubai Future Accelerators initiative
October 18, 2018 18 Oct'18
Industry and government must collaborate to drive the digital economy, says techUK CEO

Industry and government must work together to grow use of technology across the UK economy, according to techUK CEO Julian David
October 18, 2018 18 Oct'18
McAfee researchers uncover ‘significant’ espionage campaign

Researchers discover campaign targeting South Korea, the US and Canada with links to eight-year-old source code from a threat group that has been dormant for five years
October 18, 2018 18 Oct'18
Middle East gears up for 5G

The race for 5G is well and truly under way, and the UAE and Saudi Arabia are well positioned to be among the first countries in the world to deliver the benefits of this new telecoms protocol
October 18, 2018 18 Oct'18
MoJ to go all-in on public cloud as infrastructure modernisation push gathers pace

The Ministry of Justice claims modernising, retiring and migrating its legacy IT systems to the public cloud will help it accrue long-term savings of around 60% on hosting costs
October 18, 2018 18 Oct'18
Home Office ‘seriously’ considered ESN shutdown

New disclosures from those responsible for the troubled Emergency Services Network project have revealed that, contrary to previous denials, the Home Office came close to pulling the plug earlier this year
October 18, 2018 18 Oct'18
No new funding for Hancock’s NHS tech vision

Getting the technology plan right is more about standards than money, says health and social care secretary Matt Hancock, as he explains why NHS organisations won’t be given additional funding to deliver on his vision
October 17, 2018 17 Oct'18
Hancock sets out NHS tech vision

Government will mandate national open standards for the NHS and tech suppliers, build a health and caretech ecosystem and give local NHS organisations more flexibility in how and what tech they buy
October 16, 2018 16 Oct'18
Public Health England builds Ceph and Lustre cloud for analytics

Healthcare analytics and modelling organisation Public Health England built an open source cloud from Red Hat Ceph object storage and Lustre scale-out file access storage to petabyte scale
October 16, 2018 16 Oct'18
UK faces 10 cyber attacks a week as hostile states step up hacking, says NCSC

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre has thwarted more than 1,600 attacks over the past two years – many by hostile nation states