News
IT for government and public sector
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December 15, 2023
15
Dec'23
Government advised to overturn all Post Office scandal convictions
An independent board set up to advise the government on compensation for innocent subpostmasters has recommended that all the Post Office scandal convictions are ‘unsafe’ and should be overturned
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December 14, 2023
14
Dec'23
NCSC CEO Lindy Cameron to step down in 2024
NCSC chief exec Lindy Cameron, who helped lead and elevate the national dialogue on cyber security through major events such as Covid-19, SolarWinds Sunburst and Colonial Pipeline, is to step down in the New Year
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December 14, 2023
14
Dec'23
Current Post Office executive in denial of Horizon cover-up
Executives at the Post Office today are still in denial of the part they played in destroying the lives of thousands of people
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December 13, 2023
13
Dec'23
No UK AI legislation until timing is right, says Donelan
The UK government will not legislate on artificial intelligence until it has a better understanding of the technology, so is instead focusing on building up regulatory capacity and conducting safety-focused research, says digital secretary
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December 13, 2023
13
Dec'23
Microsoft’s Christmas present for cyber teams: no zero-days
Barely 30 vulnerabilities, and no zero-days, have been fixed in the final Patch Tuesday drop of 2023
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December 13, 2023
13
Dec'23
Critical UK infrastructure a ‘hostage of fortune’ to ransomware
A lack of ransomware planning and preparedness at the highest levels of government is leaving UK operators or critical national infrastructure dangerously exposed, according to a Joint Committee report
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December 12, 2023
12
Dec'23
MoD fined after breach of Afghan staffers’ data put lives at risk
The MoD has been fined £350,000 by the ICO after an email blunder exposed data on Afghan nationals who had worked with British forces and were at risk of Taliban reprisals
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December 12, 2023
12
Dec'23
Outdated data protection practice key factor in PSNI data breach
The August 2023 data breach at the Police Service of Northern Ireland arose chiefly from an outdated approach to data protection and compliance at the force, according to an independent review
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December 08, 2023
08
Dec'23
Former Post Office investigator called subpostmaster campaigners ‘crooks’
Former Post Office investigator labelled subpostmasters attempting to clear their names as ‘crooks’
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December 07, 2023
07
Dec'23
UK names Russian FSB agents behind political hacking campaign
Russian hacking group, Star Blizzard, was part of a Russian intelligence operation aimed at interfering with UK politics and the democratic process, says government.
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December 07, 2023
07
Dec'23
CIO interview: Keith Woolley, chief digital information officer, University of Bristol
With Bristol set to host the UK’s biggest supercomputer, its technology chief is looking to make the most of internal and international collaboration to drive digital improvements
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December 06, 2023
06
Dec'23
NHS whistleblower Peter Duffy threatens trust with legal action in row over alleged email tampering
NHS whistleblower warns his former employer of potential litigation over a dispute concerning allegations of email tampering
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December 06, 2023
06
Dec'23
Government launches UK-wide Cyber Explorers Cup
Schoolkids across the UK are being called on to team up and defeat Herbert the Hacker in a new government-backed competition
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December 06, 2023
06
Dec'23
Post Office prioritised its ‘bottom line’ over justice
The Post Office was more concerned with saving money and recovering unexplained losses than getting to the bottom of subpostmaster claims that Horizon errors caused shortfalls, inquiry told
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December 05, 2023
05
Dec'23
Government to trial new border tech
The software, which the government hopes will make it easier for border staff to identify what is inside the container, will be tested in the New Year as part of plans to ‘cut red tape’ for UK exporters
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December 05, 2023
05
Dec'23
Operator of Sellafield nuclear facility denies hacking claims
The operator of the Sellafield nuclear site has denied allegations that senior managers covered up a series of cyber security lapses that enabled Chinese and Russian threat actors to compromise its networks
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December 05, 2023
05
Dec'23
Majority of GPs now give patients online access to records
NHS England is close to reaching its target of having nine in 10 GPs offering patients access to their primary care records online
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December 05, 2023
05
Dec'23
Undisclosed document could reveal pressure on Fujitsu expert witness in Post Office prosecution
Details of Post Office prosecutor’s meeting with Fujitsu IT expert witness, used in subpostmaster prosecution, not yet disclosed to public inquiry
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December 04, 2023
04
Dec'23
Microsoft leaves SME resellers in the dark over Cloud Compute 2 framework snub
SME IT suppliers are calling on Microsoft to explain why it has banned them from reselling its services through the government's new £1.35bn Cloud Compute 2 framework
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December 01, 2023
01
Dec'23
Human augmentation tech requires dual use oversight
Researchers investigating human augmentation technologies must acknowledge the potential military applications of their work, and military bodies cannot be allowed to dismiss ethical concerns in their pursuit of national security interests, says NGO...
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December 01, 2023
01
Dec'23
Lords committee urges caution on UK use of autonomous weapons
UK government must ensure proper democratic oversight of its development and use of AI-powered weapon systems, says Lords committee
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December 01, 2023
01
Dec'23
The Security Interviews: Mark McClain, SailPoint Technologies
SailPoint founder and CEO Mark McClain reflects on how the concept of identity has evolved over the past 20 years, and points to rapid evolution still to come
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December 01, 2023
01
Dec'23
Post Office lawyer with his fingerprints all over IT scandal spreads blame
Senior Post Office criminal lawyer was just following orders and claims his only mistake was believing those that told him the Horizon system was robust
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November 30, 2023
30
Nov'23
Yarra Valley Water to roll out smart water meters
The move is expected to stem water losses, alert customers to possible leaks and improve the affordability of water
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November 30, 2023
30
Nov'23
Government’s Online Fraud Charter welcomed
The government has corralled 11 of the largest tech platforms in the world to commit to its Online Fraud Charter, designed to tackle online scams, fake adverts, and more
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November 30, 2023
30
Nov'23
Rhysida gang stole hundreds of gigabytes of British Library data
The Rhysida ransomware gang behind the cyber attack on the British Library has published almost 600GB of stolen data to its dark web leak site
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November 30, 2023
30
Nov'23
Slow government response to Post Office scandal compensation forces new legislation
Subpostmasters who exposed widest miscarriage of justice in UK history still waiting for compensation after decades of fighting
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November 29, 2023
29
Nov'23
Paula Vennells’ email fuelled Post Office Horizon cult, inquiry told
Faced with serious questions about the robustness of its core computer system, the Post Office doubled down on reliability myth, public inquiry told
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November 28, 2023
28
Nov'23
CCRC refers two posthumous subpostmaster appeals to Crown Court
CCRC refers posthumous appeals against convictions to Crown Court for first time
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November 28, 2023
28
Nov'23
Scope of British Library data breach widens
Personal data on British Library users has appeared for sale on the dark web following a Rhysida ransomware attack, as the scope of the still-developing incident widens again
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November 27, 2023
27
Nov'23
MPs have ‘little confidence’ in Making Tax Digital success
MPs say HMRC’s Making Tax Digital programme is riddled with widespread and repeating failures, and criticise the programme for failing to be open about the costs and increased burdens on taxpayers
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November 27, 2023
27
Nov'23
India's Hexaware creates hundreds of jobs in UK
Hexaware opens IT services operation in Birmingham, with a plan to recruit 250 people in the region by 2025
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November 24, 2023
24
Nov'23
UK police plan national roll-out of facial-recognition phone app
UK police chiefs plan to expand use of facial-recognition technology through a nationwide roll-out of mobile-based tools and increases in retrospective facial-recognition, but oversight problems persist
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November 23, 2023
23
Nov'23
Microsoft bans SME partners from selling its services via government's Cloud Compute 2 framework
Microsoft is under fire after documents leaked to Computer Weekly revealed it has banned reseller partners from selling its services via the government’s soon-to-be launched Cloud Compute 2 framework
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November 23, 2023
23
Nov'23
DWP to surveil bank accounts of benefit claimants for fraud
The UK government has outlined how it plans to tackle benefit fraud by giving the Department for Work and Pensions new powers compelling banks to collect and share data on claimants’ bank accounts
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November 22, 2023
22
Nov'23
Chancellor offers spending boost for IT buyers alongside AI and quantum investments
In his Autumn Statement, chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a range of measures intended to boost investment in innovation and technology
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November 22, 2023
22
Nov'23
Autumn Statement reveals more AI and quantum initiatives
With the government keen to position the UK as pro-innovation, the chancellor used the 2023 Autumn Statement to discuss more plans to support that ambition
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November 22, 2023
22
Nov'23
Executive interview: TechUK CEO Julian David on 10 years of change in UK IT
It’s 10 years since the UK technology trade association relaunched as TechUK – its chief executive looks back on a dramatic decade, and discusses what’s next for the UK tech sector
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November 22, 2023
22
Nov'23
Controversial Fujitsu contract with Post Office extended again
IT from Fujitsu is at the heart of the widest miscarriage of justice in UK history, yet the government keeps handing millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to the IT giant
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November 22, 2023
22
Nov'23
Republic of Korea deal adds to UK quantum momentum
The new agreement paves the way to greater collaboration on AI and quantum computing
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November 21, 2023
21
Nov'23
Canada’s Mounties among government employees hit by LockBit
A LockBit attack on a specialist supplier of relocation services has engulfed multiple government agencies in Canada
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November 21, 2023
21
Nov'23
Deputy prime minister heads up AI central government drive
The government has established a new initiative called i.AI in a bid to drive AI across the public sector to improve efficiency
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November 21, 2023
21
Nov'23
Government response to digital exclusion recommendations lacking, say Lords
The government’s response to a committee report that makes recommendations for addressing digital exclusion has been met with criticism from the House of Lords
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November 21, 2023
21
Nov'23
Internal documents leaked as Rhysida claims responsibility for British Library ransomware attack
Ransomware group Rhysida threatens to sell documents stolen from the British Library to the highest bidder
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November 20, 2023
20
Nov'23
AI productivity gains could result in four-day weeks for millions
Autonomy think tank publishes paper on potential for artificial intelligence-driven large language models to shorten people’s work weeks
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November 20, 2023
20
Nov'23
Defence lawyers seek appeal of tribunal ruling on police EncroChat cryptophone hack
Defence lawyers are seeking leave to appeal against a tribunal ruling that found the National Crime Agency had lawfully obtained warrants to access messages from 9,000 cryptophones used in the UK
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November 17, 2023
17
Nov'23
US civil society groups demand better conditions for AI workers
Some 24 US civil society groups and unions and have written a letter to the US Senate asking for action to improve the working conditions of the people who train and maintain their artificial intelligence systems
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November 16, 2023
16
Nov'23
Outgoing police tech watchdog warns of declining oversight
The outgoing biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner for England and Wales discusses police deployment of powerful new surveillance technologies, and the declining state of oversight in this area
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November 16, 2023
16
Nov'23
British Library’s Halloween cyber scare was ransomware
The British Library has provided an update on an ongoing cyber incident affecting its systems, confirming it to be the result of a ransomware attack
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November 16, 2023
16
Nov'23
Post Office scandal inquiry postpones more key witness hearings
Yet more witness hearings are cancelled due to the Post Office's late disclosure of documents