News

IT for government and public sector

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Labour promises digital red book and smartphones for children with diabetes

  The Labour Party has announced plans for children’s health records to be put on parents’ NHS App, while also partnering with Virgin Media O2 to give children with type 1 diabetes smartphones to check their blood sugar

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Government struggles to upgrade legacy IT systems, says PAC chair

  In her annual report, Public Accounts Committee chair Meg Hillier calls legacy IT one of government’s ‘big nasties’ and says money urgently needs to be spent to fix the situation

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Police forces check intelligence and criminal databases after errors discovered in O2 phone data

  Criminal Bar Association calls for information about reliability of communications data used in criminal trials to be disclosed

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Greek government fined over AI surveillance in refugee camps

  Greece’s Data Protection Authority has issued a €175,000 fine against the country’s migration ministry over its deployment of artificial intelligence-powered security systems in refugee camps after the watchdog’s investigation found ‘serious ...

• April 08, 2024 08 Apr'24

  UN adopts ‘landmark’ resolution on making AI safe and trustworthy

  A UN draft resolution promoting the use of artificial intelligence in sustainable development and the protection of human rights was backed by over 120 member states

• April 08, 2024 08 Apr'24

  Further extension to controversial Post Office contract with Fujitsu inevitable

  Post Office is seeking software developers as it replaces the controversial Horizon system from Fujitsu with an in-house alternative

• April 08, 2024 08 Apr'24

  Some former Post Office staff should be jailed over scandal, says government minister

  Government minister outlines the real prospect that people will be jailed for their roles in the Post Office Horizon scandal

• April 08, 2024 08 Apr'24

  MPs will grill Cabinet Office over Fujitsu contract bidding pause

  Parliamentary select committees have their eyes trained on Fujitsu’s response to the Post Office Horizon scandal, with its pause on bidding for contracts under scrutiny

• April 05, 2024 05 Apr'24

  China ramps up use of AI misinformation

  Microsoft researchers have identified a growing pattern of AI-laced misinformation and political interference coming from Chinese threat actors

• April 05, 2024 05 Apr'24

  Future Councils pilot finds systemic blockers to digital innovation

  Councils face a range of challenges, hindering digital transformation, including inconsistent approaches to making the case for change, complexities surrounding resource allocations, lack of data and time

• April 05, 2024 05 Apr'24

  Europol offers law enforcement agencies data on Europe’s most threatening crime networks

  Europol has collected and analysed data from over 40 countries to identify 800 most threatening criminal networks operating in Europe in what it describes as a unique dataset for law enforcemnt

• April 05, 2024 05 Apr'24

  UKtech50 2024 – help us find the most influential people in UK IT

  Computer Weekly’s annual search for the 50 most influential people in UK IT is on – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year's list

• April 05, 2024 05 Apr'24

  Environment Agency dumps Fujitsu as Post Office scandal takes its toll

  Troubled supplier loses flood warnings contract with government department after almost a decade

• April 04, 2024 04 Apr'24

  IR35 reforms: Incoming legislative tweak could reignite contracting market, experts claim

  A long-awaited tweak to the IR35 rules that will put a stop to HMRC over-collecting tax from non-compliant entities is great news for IT contractors, experts claim

• April 04, 2024 04 Apr'24

  Fujitsu should stop bending rules, stop bidding and pay up, says MP

  MP Liam Byrne calls on Fujitsu to put actions behind the promises it made to MPs, victims of the Post Office scandal and UK taxpayers

• April 04, 2024 04 Apr'24

  Obituary: Professor Ross Anderson, pioneer in security engineering and campaigner

  Ross Anderson, a titan in the field of security engineering and campaigner for privacy and security, has passed away

• April 03, 2024 03 Apr'24

  RDP abused in over 90% of cyber attacks, Sophos finds

  Threat actors continue to see great success using simple, tried and tested methods, and many defenders are failing to do the basics

• April 03, 2024 03 Apr'24

  Women in Data: MoD’s first chief data officer on overcoming imposter syndrome

  At the recent Women In Data event, Caroline Bellamy outlined why the defence sector needs diversity of thinking when tackling threats

• April 03, 2024 03 Apr'24

  Fujitsu staff instructed how to bid for government contracts during self-imposed ban

  Leak reveals how Fujitsu advises staff to approach UK government customers during its self-imposed bidding pause, as well as details of a multimillion-pound project to protect its reputation

• April 02, 2024 02 Apr'24

  US and UK agree AI safety collaboration

  The UK and US governments have signed an agreement to forge close ties between their respective AI Safety Institutes

• March 29, 2024 29 Mar'24

  Organisations getting better at spotting identity fraud

  As the barriers to committing identity fraud continue to drop, organisations should consider more sophisticated technical measures to successfully up their game, according to a report

• March 28, 2024 28 Mar'24

  Government lifts chip strategy with a bit more cash

  Unlike the EU and US, the UK government appears to be taking its time on providing a large cash injection to build out the UK semiconductor sector

• March 28, 2024 28 Mar'24

  Counter-eavesdropping agency unlawfully used surveillance powers to identify journalist’s source

  More than 750 journalists had their communications data accessed by law enforcement and government agencies between 2018 and 2022

• March 28, 2024 28 Mar'24

  Remote access is the Post Office’s known unknown

  Calls for criminal investigation after covert recordings are latest evidence to reveal extent of Post Office knowledge of remote access to subpostmaster accounts

• March 27, 2024 27 Mar'24

  HMRC’s online IR35 status checker tool CEST not updated in five years, FOI confirms

  Despite a previous pledge that HMRC’s IR35 online status checker tool will be continually updated as employment cases and tribunals occur, a freedom of information request confirms CEST has not been updated since October 2019

• March 27, 2024 27 Mar'24

  Cyber spies, not cyber criminals, behind most zero-day exploitation

  Analysis from Google has found that zero-day vulnerabilities are much more heavily exploited for espionage purposes than for financially motivated cyber crime

• March 27, 2024 27 Mar'24

  Lord Holmes: UK cannot 'wait and see' to regulate AI

  Legislation is needed to seize the benefits of artificial intelligence while minimising its risks, says Lord Holmes - but the government’s ‘wait and see’ approach to regulation will fail on both fronts

• March 27, 2024 27 Mar'24

  Leaked comms reveal Fujitsu eyeing huge UK government bounty, despite Post Office scandal promise

  While subpostmasters fight tooth and nail for justice and financial redress, Fujitsu continues to target millions of UK taxpayer pounds

• March 27, 2024 27 Mar'24

  UK regional science and tech startups grew in 2023

  Globally there is still a post-pandemic funding slump, but UK startups in regions such as Wales and Yorkshire grew private sector investment in 2023

• March 26, 2024 26 Mar'24

  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange given temporary reprieve over extradition

  Court seeks assurances from the US that Assange will be given First Amendment Rights, will not prejudiced at trial because of his nationality, and will not be subject to the death penalty

• March 26, 2024 26 Mar'24

  Shareholders win when businesses do better at cyber

  The more advanced a company’s cyber security performance, and the more engaged its board is with security issues, the greater the return for shareholders, a report has found

• March 26, 2024 26 Mar'24

  NHS SBS launches digital advisory framework

  The Digital Health Advisory Services framework agreement aims to provide a way for health and care organisations to get help with digital transformation and skills

• March 26, 2024 26 Mar'24

  Sums of money Post Office ‘stole’ from subpostmasters may never be known

  MP asks government minister for figure on how much money the Post Office took from subpostmasters who were wrongly blamed for accounting shortfalls

• March 25, 2024 25 Mar'24

  Chinese hackers responsible for two ‘malicious’ cyber campaigns against UK

  Government sanctions two Chinese nationals and a Chinese company identified as responsible for cyber campaigns against government officials and members of parliament

• March 25, 2024 25 Mar'24

  Britain’s democracy under threat from Chinese cyber attackers, government warns

  The deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, is due to tell Parliament that Beijing is behind a hacking attack that obtained details of 40 million UK voters and has targeted parliamentarians who have criticised the regime

• March 22, 2024 22 Mar'24

  Court finds EncroChat hacked messages admissible as former footballer is jailed

  A judge in ‘lead’ EncroChat case found that messages obtained by police from the encrypted phone network can be lawfully used in evidence

• March 22, 2024 22 Mar'24

  Open Data Institute launches digital policy manifesto

  The Open Data Institute has launched a policy manifesto ahead of the UK general election that outlines policies and issues it believes must be part of the political discussion around digital and data

• March 22, 2024 22 Mar'24

  Post Office Capture users’ campaign for justice gathers pace

  The government is taking Post Office Capture allegations seriously as former subpostmasters seek answers

• March 21, 2024 21 Mar'24

  NCSC guidance to help CEOs work through cyber incidents

  The NCSC has published in-depth guidance on how business leaders should respond to a cyber attack or data breach. Learn about some of the key steps you will need to follow

• March 21, 2024 21 Mar'24

  Post Office scandal fallout for Fujitsu could open UK public sector to Indian giants

  Post Office scandal has damaged public trust in Japanese IT supplier Fujitsu, which could open door to primed rivals

• March 21, 2024 21 Mar'24

  HMRC legacy UK customs system to be switched off for good

  The 30-year-old Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (Chief) system will cease to exist on 4 June 2024, six years after HMRC originally planned to shut it down

• March 21, 2024 21 Mar'24

  IR35 reforms: IT contractors urged to reclaim tax they may have overpaid in off-payroll settlements

  With the government set to fix the settlements offset issue from 6 April, contractor insurance firm Qdos is urging individuals who worked for non-compliant IR35 organisations to see if they can reclaim any money they have overpaid

• March 20, 2024 20 Mar'24

  UK’s cyber resilience stagnates as more fall victim to attacks

  The government is calling on businesses to ramp up their cyber protections as study shows improvements to resilience are stagnating amid an ever-growing volume of attacks

• March 20, 2024 20 Mar'24

  Inclusive approaches to AI governance needed to engage public

  Technology practitioners and experts gathered at an annual Alan Turing Institute-run conference discussed the need for more inclusive approaches to AI governance that actually engage citizens and workers

• March 20, 2024 20 Mar'24

  SAP S/4HANA data migration beset by poor and fragmented strategy

  Survey finds customers transitioning to S/4HANA lack strategic thinking and skills, can’t access data, face challenges in data duplication, can’t use AI, and worry about compliance

• March 18, 2024 18 Mar'24

  Spring Budget risks funding legally questionable police tech

  Open legal questions around how UK police are using facial recognition and cloud technology could undermine the £230m investment committed in the Spring Budget to “time and money-saving technology” for police

• March 18, 2024 18 Mar'24

  The Security Interviews: Alex Yampolskiy, SecurityScorecard

  Alex Yampolskiy conceived the idea for risk management specialist SecurityScorecard after getting stung by a SaaS supplier that was being cavalier with its customer data. He tells his story to Computer Weekly

• March 18, 2024 18 Mar'24

  CCS slammed over errors in G-Cloud 14 data protection documents

  The government’s procurement arm is under fire again, after prospective suppliers to the G-Cloud 14 framework raised complaints about CCS’s quality control procedures

• March 18, 2024 18 Mar'24

  Deep fake AI services on Telegram pose risk for elections

  Deep fake services advertised on Telegram and other platforms pose a risk to upcoming elections in Europe, Asia and the US

• March 18, 2024 18 Mar'24

  G7 nations sign deal to harness AI potential

  G7 nations will produce a joint report on how to increase artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, boost growth of the quantum sector and create an AI toolkit to inform policy-making