News

IT for government and public sector

• May 02, 2024 02 May'24

  NCSC updates warning over hacktivist threat to CNI

  The NCSC and CISA have warned about the evolving threat from Russia-backed hacktivist threat actors targeting critical national infrastructure, after a number of American utilities were attacked

• May 02, 2024 02 May'24

  Post Office investigators saw subpostmasters as ‘enemies’ – and that’s what they became

  Post Office investigators were only focused on getting money from subpostmasters blamed for accounting shortfalls, according to a 2013 report commissioned by organisation’s legal boss

• May 02, 2024 02 May'24

  BBC instructs lawyers over allegations of police surveillance of journalist

  Lawyers for the BBC have written to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal over allegations that the Police Service of Northern Ireland spied on investigative journalist Vincent Kearney

• May 01, 2024 01 May'24

  EMEA CISOs must address human factors behind cyber incidents

  The 17th annual Verizon report on data breaches makes for sobering reading for security pros, urging them to do more to address the human factors involved in cyber incidents, and highlighting ongoing issues with zero-day patching

• May 01, 2024 01 May'24

  DWP anti-fraud measures will allow monitoring of bank accounts of landlords, carers and parents

  Parliamentarians raise concerns that a proposed law to require banks to monitor the accounts of millions of people receiving state benefits could lead to those on welfare being denied accommodation or bank accounts

• May 01, 2024 01 May'24

  Autonomous weapons reduce moral agency and devalue human life

  Military technology experts gathered in Vienna have warned about the detrimental psychological effects of AI-powered weapons, arguing that implementing systems of algorithmic-enabled killing dehumanises both the user and the target

• April 30, 2024 30 Apr'24

  Persistent data breaches deny people with HIV dignity and privacy

  The ICO has urged charities and healthcare organisations that work with people living with HIV to do better when it comes to protecting their personal data, after the HIV status of more than 100 people was accidentally disclosed by London’s Central ...

• April 30, 2024 30 Apr'24

  Global majority united on multilateral regulation of AI weapons

  Foreign ministers and civil society representatives say that multilateralism is key to controlling the proliferation and use of AI-powered autonomous weapons, but that a small number of powerful countries are holding back progress

• April 30, 2024 30 Apr'24

  Barnsley Council drives social care efficiency with Copilot

  Microsoft generative AI tool Copilot is being used to streamline many of the admin tasks Barnsley Council social care workers need to do

• April 29, 2024 29 Apr'24

  Post Office misjudged campaigner it labelled a ‘bluffer’

  Social media, a trade union and tech expertise helped former subpostmasters expose Post Office bug myth

• April 26, 2024 26 Apr'24

  Post Office scheme was a ‘charade’ that never intended for large compensation pay-outs

  The Post Office established a scheme to compensate subpostmasters affected by tech faults, but it was just a ‘charade’, says Public Inquiry KC

• April 26, 2024 26 Apr'24

  European Parliament approves platform worker directive

  The approval of the platform worker directive gives member states two years to incorporate its measures into their national legislation, which includes provisions on how to classify the employment of gig workers and deploy algorithmic ...

• April 26, 2024 26 Apr'24

  Post Office ‘lied’ to subpostmasters when forced to meet them, says former federation representative

  Post Office executives were forced to meet subpostmasters to discuss an unexplained error in their branch, then misled the branch managers over remote access

• April 25, 2024 25 Apr'24

  More evidence emerges that Post Office executive misled High Court judge

  Evidence in the questioning of 35-year Post Office veteran reveals the lengths the Post Office went to in hiding computer system vulnerabilities

• April 24, 2024 24 Apr'24

  Lords debate amendment to law on use of computer evidence in light of Post Office scandal

  Peers to debate amending the law on the use of computer evidence in court, which is partly to blame for the wrongful prosecutions of hundreds of former subpostmasters

• April 23, 2024 23 Apr'24

  Post Office boss used husband’s descriptions in 'Orwellian' ploy to downplay Horizon problems

  Post Office CEO sought advice from husband on what words to use in reports to downplay known errors in software, inquiry told.

• April 23, 2024 23 Apr'24

  Expert investigating Capture system refuses to meet ‘untrustworthy’ Post Office

  A former Post Office executive has refused to meet his past employer to discuss the controversial Capture system

• April 23, 2024 23 Apr'24

  Lords split over UK government approach to autonomous weapons

  During a debate on autonomous weapons systems, Lords expressed mixed opinions towards the UK government’s current position, including its reluctance to adopt a working definition and commit to international legal instruments controlling their use

• April 22, 2024 22 Apr'24

  Fujitsu to cut UK jobs as Post Office scandal fallout hits sales

  Japanese supplier’s role in the Post Office Horizon scandal is beginning to hurt its UK business, with job cuts announced

• April 22, 2024 22 Apr'24

  NCSC announces PwC’s Richard Horne as CEO

  Former PwC and Barclays cyber chief Richard Horne set to join UK’s National Cyber Security Centre as CEO

• April 22, 2024 22 Apr'24

  Post Office lawyer was a jack of all trades, but failed his own

  Post Office IT scandal inquiry hears how a lawyer was at the centre of the Post Office’s attempts to prevent problems with its IT system becoming public knowledge

• April 22, 2024 22 Apr'24

  IT leaders hiring CISOs aplenty, but don’t fully understand the role

  Most businesses now have a CISO, but perceptions of what CISOs are supposed to do, and confusion over the value they offer, may be holding back harmonious relations, according to a report

• April 21, 2024 21 Apr'24

  Crime agency criticises Meta as European police chiefs call for curbs on end-to-end encryption

  Law enforcement agencies step up demands for ‘lawful access’ to encrypted communications

• April 19, 2024 19 Apr'24

  Report reveals Northern Ireland police put up to 18 journalists and lawyers under surveillance

  Disclosures that the Police Service of Northern Ireland obtained phone communications data from journalists and lawyers leads to renewed calls for inquiry

• April 19, 2024 19 Apr'24

  Unisys reveals no link to development of controversial Post Office software

  IT supplier finds no evidence that it was involved in the development of controversial Post Office software

• April 19, 2024 19 Apr'24

  Tech companies operating with opacity in Israel-Palestine

  Tech firms operating in Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel are falling “woefully short” of their human rights responsibilities amid escalating devastation in Gaza, says Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• April 19, 2024 19 Apr'24

  CEST: Putting HMRC’s IR35 status checker under the microscope

  Since its launch in March 2017, HMRC's online IR35 status checker tool has come under fierce criticism and scrutiny, only exacerbated in recent weeks by the disclosure it has not been updated in five years

• April 18, 2024 18 Apr'24

  TUC publishes legislative proposal to protect workers from AI

  Proposed bill for regulating artificial intelligence in the UK seeks to translate well-meaning principles and values into concrete rights and obligations that protect workers from systems that make ‘high-risk’ decisions about them

• April 18, 2024 18 Apr'24

  Lords to challenge controversial DWP benefits bank account surveillance powers

  Members of the House of Lords are pressing for amendments to the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill following concerns over government powers to monitor the bank accounts of people receiving benefits

• April 18, 2024 18 Apr'24

  Gov.uk One Login accounts on the rise

  Since August 2023, more than 1.8 million people verified their identity using the Gov.uk One Login app, while face-to-face verifications have also increased

• April 18, 2024 18 Apr'24

  IT expert who helped expose Post Office scandal offers to investigate second controversial system

  IT expert Jason Coyne, who played a critical part in exposing the Post Office Horizon scandal, said he would examine the Capture System

• April 17, 2024 17 Apr'24

  Mandiant formally pins Sandworm cyber attacks on APT44 group

  Mandiant has formally attributed a long-running campaign of cyber attacks by a Russian state actor known as Sandworm to a newly designated advanced persistent threat group to be called APT44

• April 16, 2024 16 Apr'24

  Post Office boss signed off hush money to cover up smoking gun

  A former Post Office boss admitted the pain and suffering of subpostmasters could have been avoided had the organisation done the right thing

• April 16, 2024 16 Apr'24

  CISOs not yet convinced to invest in AI

  CISOs say their eyes are fixed firmly on threats like ransomware and supply chain attacks, and while AI is becoming a threat that needs to be dealt with, it’s not yet an immediate spending priority

• April 16, 2024 16 Apr'24

  NHS England scouts for national CCIO

  The new national chief clinical informatics officer (CCIO) role comes with a salary offer of up to £146,000 and includes leading NHS England’s Transformation Directorates digital clinical informatics team

• April 16, 2024 16 Apr'24

  Alan Bates and JFSA won’t back down in fight with government and Post Office

  Over the past 15 years, Computer Weekly has learnt that Alan Bates and the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance don’t give up, and it would be crass to disregard their plans

• April 15, 2024 15 Apr'24

  EU’s AI Act fails to protect the rule of law and civic space

  Analysis reveals that the AI Act is ‘riddled with far-reaching exceptions’ and its measures to protect fundamental rights are insufficient

• April 12, 2024 12 Apr'24

  Apple iPhone security alert renews spyware concerns

  An Apple security alert received by users in 92 countries raises fresh fears over ongoing campaigns by users of mercenary spyware products

• April 12, 2024 12 Apr'24

  UK in critical need of regulation to fight misinformation online

  Misinformation, where it is generated by AI, poses a serious threat due to the ease with which plausible false content can be created and spread

• April 12, 2024 12 Apr'24

  Government could still replace Fujitsu in key nuclear contract

  Fujitsu’s first government contract of the year could be just a stay of execution as department says that all replacement options are still being considered

• April 12, 2024 12 Apr'24

  Post Office boss said subpostmasters had hands in till and blamed technology for missing cash

  Former boss reacted to 2009 Computer Weekly expose by telling a colleague that 'subbies with their hands in the till' were blaming technology for their own theft

• April 11, 2024 11 Apr'24

  PSNI criticised after ‘utterly vague’ answers on covert surveillance of journalists

  The Policing Board of Northern Ireland has asked the Police Service of Northern Ireland to produce a public report on its use of covert surveillance powers against journalists and lawyers after it gave ‘utterly vague’ answers

• April 11, 2024 11 Apr'24

  Facial recognition to play key role in UK shoplifting crackdown

  UK government will fund roll-out of police facial recognition across the country as part of its crackdown on shoplifting and violence against retail staff, but civil society groups say the government is attempting to police its way out of the ...

• April 11, 2024 11 Apr'24

  Former Post Office executive’s neglect prolonged Horizon reliability myth

  Executive’s failure to provide terms of reference for a controversial Post Office investigation into its own computer system resulted in a one-sided whitewash report

• April 11, 2024 11 Apr'24

  AI skills gap blocking public sector take-up

  A Salesforce report claims that a lack of skills in artificial intelligence is preventing effective take-up of generative AI to enhance frontline citizen services across the public sector

• April 11, 2024 11 Apr'24

  CMA set to tackle interconnected web of strategic AI partnerships

  Google, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Nvidia are all collaborating on AI foundation models, potentially to the detriment of fair, open and effective competition

• April 11, 2024 11 Apr'24

  IR35: HMRC restores Github access to deleted CEST source code, but confirms update data lost

  After the source code for its much-maligned online IR35 status checker tool was deleted in error from Github, HMRC confirms it has now been re-uploaded, but any data about past updates to the tool have been lost

• April 11, 2024 11 Apr'24

  Fujitsu public sector contracts dry up in Post Office scandal aftermath

  Disgraced IT supplier has won just one public sector contract following public anger over Post Office scandal

• April 11, 2024 11 Apr'24

  Government dismisses Lords’ concerns over facial recognition

  UK government is claiming police forces’ use of live facial recognition is comprehensively covered by existing laws, in response to a Lords investigation that found police lacked a clear legal basis to deploy it

• April 10, 2024 10 Apr'24

  Biden considering whether to end prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

  US president Joe Biden says he is considering requests by Australia to end the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under espionage and computer fraud charges