News

IT for government and 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

• April 10, 2024 10 Apr'24

  Subpostmasters stealing from branches ‘didn’t make sense,’ former judge tells inquiry

  The former judge who chaired a scheme set up by the Post Office to settle claims against its Horizon system said he told bosses their prosecutions of subpostmasters "didn't make sense"

• April 10, 2024 10 Apr'24

  The challenges of securing a UK semiconductor supply chain

  The UK’s national semiconductor strategy aims to establish the country's credentials as a leader in the sector. We look at how it stacks up

• April 10, 2024 10 Apr'24

  IR35: HMRC rushing to restore CEST source code deleted from Github ‘in error’

  HMRC has confirmed online repository containing code underpinning maligned IR35 status-checker tool has been taken down ‘in error’ by team working to decommission legacy platform that used to host platform

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Report highlights shortcomings in UK chip plans

  The national semiconductor strategy needs to encourage greater collaboration with international parters such as South Korea

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Civil servants more to blame for Post Office cover-up than ministers, says Alan Bates

  Campaigning former subpostmaster believes the civil service has more to answer for than ministers in the Post Office Horizon scandal

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  UK plc failing on multiple cyber measures

  Government report shows 50% of businesses and 32% of charities reported a cyber attack or breach in the past 12 months and organisations across the UK are failing on multiple cyber measures

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Public worried by police and companies sharing biometric data

  More than half of the British public do not feel comfortable with police forces sharing biometric data with the private sector, including facial recognition images, to tackle crimes such as shoplifting

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Is a cyber arms control treaty out of reach?

  The world needs cyber arms control more than ever, but the challenges facing a multilateral agreement will be hard to surmount, according to researchers at Germany’s Digital Society Institute

• 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