News

IT for government and public sector

• February 06, 2024 06 Feb'24

  UK’s McPartland Cyber Review to probe trust in technology

  The UK government has launched a cyber security review that will investigate how best to give businesses the confidence they need to use new technologies

• February 06, 2024 06 Feb'24

  UK government responds to AI whitepaper consultation

  The UK government is considering introducing binding legal requirements for companies developing the most powerful AI systems, and has outlined a range of funding to realise the ambitions of its ‘pro-innovation’ framework for artificial intelligence

• February 06, 2024 06 Feb'24

  Inquiry to explore cyber risk to Sunak-Starmer showdown

  The UK’s Joint Committee on National Security Strategy is opening an inquiry into securing the democratic process ahead of the next general election

• February 06, 2024 06 Feb'24

  UK and France push for international agreement on spyware

  The UK and France are hosting diplomats, big tech companies and civil society groups, in a two-day conference in London targeting the proliferation of spyware tools and ‘hackers for hire’

• February 06, 2024 06 Feb'24

  Post Office scandal: Phase four’s rogues’ gallery

  Phase four of the public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal revealed ‘a parade of liars, bullies, amnesiacs and arrogant individuals’ that made up the teams investigating and prosecuting subpostmasters

• February 05, 2024 05 Feb'24

  Blackbaud blasted for failing to prevent customer breaches

  A supply chain attack at software supplier Blackbaud in 2020 saw data on multiple UK organisations compromised. The US authorities are now taking steps to ensure it can’t happen again

• February 05, 2024 05 Feb'24

  US sanctions Iranians behind CNI cyber attacks

  US government issues new sanctions against six Iranians suspected of being behind a series of cyber attacks targeting critical national infrastructure, notably water supply systems

• February 05, 2024 05 Feb'24

  UK quantum initiatives get funding boost

  Government funds new initiatives to drive quantum computing opportunities across the public sector

• February 02, 2024 02 Feb'24

  ‘People are now listening,' Post Office inquiry told as latest phase ends

  The latest phase of the public inquiry into the widest miscarriage of justice in modern UK history – the Post Office Horizon IT scandal – closes with a bang

• February 01, 2024 01 Feb'24

  UK ranks third in OECD Digital Government Index

  The UK has dropped from overall second to third place in the international digital government survey, but fails to feature in the top 10 countries when it comes to having a data-driven public sector

• February 01, 2024 01 Feb'24

  Defra legacy IT: 180 applications refreshed, over 1,500 remain

  The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has a 10-year plan to update technology. So far, 180 have been replaced or updated

• February 01, 2024 01 Feb'24

  UK government signs AI, science and innovation deals with Canada

  The agreements will see the two countries collaborate on AI compute – a development component of artificial intelligence – and work together on technology innovations such as quantum and semiconductors

• February 01, 2024 01 Feb'24

  Government ‘dragging it out’ by refusing to share knowledge of Post Office trial ‘delaying tactic’

  Subpostmasters will have to wait to find out if the government knew of the Post Office’s plan to derail group litigation order, by trying to push managing judge out

• January 30, 2024 30 Jan'24

  We need backup! Pennsylvania police data loss shows why

  Police evidence systems data was lost during ‘routine maintenance’, with human error blamed – the case clearly illustrates why data protection can’t be left to chance

• January 30, 2024 30 Jan'24

  Pre-Horizon users contacting lawyers as more Post Office IT horror stories emerge

  Lawyer says there is no reason to believe the Post Office treated unexplained shortfalls on systems prior to Horizon any differently to the way it dealt with unexplained Horizon shortfalls

• January 29, 2024 29 Jan'24

  Proposed changes to investment thresholds highlights lack of funding diversity

  The government is introducing a law to raise the income threshold for potential angel investors, potentially making it harder for people from underrepresented groups to fund startups

• January 29, 2024 29 Jan'24

  Lords question legality of police facial recognition

  Lords committee ‘deeply concerned’ about the rapid expansion of live facial recognition by UK police, which it says is progressing without any real oversight or accountability

• January 29, 2024 29 Jan'24

  MP demands answers from government minister over second faulty Post Office IT system

  Kevan Jones MP highlighted evidence of injustices caused by a computer system used in Post Office branches prior to the introduction of the controversial Horizon system.

• January 26, 2024 26 Jan'24

  GenAI tools ‘could not exist’ if firms are made to pay copyright

  AI firm Anthropic hits out at copyright lawsuit filed by music publishers, claiming the content ingested into its models falls under ‘fair use’ and that any licensing regime would be too complex and costly

• January 26, 2024 26 Jan'24

  Lawyers carry on Post Office appeals amid uncertainty over government plan to overturn en masse

  Lawyers supporting former subpostmasters said they will continue appealing convictions as normal despite government plan to exonerate hundreds in one go

• January 26, 2024 26 Jan'24

  UK government consults on age verification tech in alcohol sales

  The government has said it wants to allow the use of digital identities and various age-verification technologies in alcohol sales

• January 26, 2024 26 Jan'24

  Expert IT witness outsmarted an ‘aggressive’ Post Office to get to truth after inspection ‘madness’

  The Post Office’s attempts to protect the Horizon system are well known, in light of the public inquiry and a recent TV drama, but Computer Weekly can reveal how an IT expert was treated during his investigation of Horizon

• January 25, 2024 25 Jan'24

  Bugcrowd sees surge in vulnerability submissions, led by public sector

  Crowdsourced vulnerability disclosure and bug bounty platform Bugcrowd says it saw a 151% uptick in submissions related to government and public sector organisations in 2023

• January 25, 2024 25 Jan'24

  DSIT unveils forum to drive AI adoption in UK businesses

  UK government launches AI Opportunity Forum with tech and business chiefs to help firms drive up UK productivity through AI

• January 25, 2024 25 Jan'24

  Tony Blair Institute calls for creation of NHS Data Trust

  The NHS would have a majority stake in the data trust, with additional investment from private sector companies, harnessing anonymised data as a competitive asset, proposes the think thank

• January 25, 2024 25 Jan'24

  Civil Service must embrace innovation, says Cabinet Office minister

  John Glen sets out plans for Civil Service reform, highlighting a focus on technology and innovation, as he plans to ‘crack the productivity puzzle’ in government

• January 24, 2024 24 Jan'24

  WebKit vulnerability sparks Apple’s first major security update of 2024

  A zero-day in the open source WebKit browser engine that powers Safari has sparked Apple’s first major patch roll-out of the new year

• January 24, 2024 24 Jan'24

  IR35: Contractors call for off-payroll rules to be scrapped in Spring Budget 2024

  A survey of 900 contractors by insurance provider Qdos found that two-thirds want the government to consider scrapping the IR35 rules in the next Budget, which is due to take place in March 2024

• January 24, 2024 24 Jan'24

  Southern Water confirms cyber attack after Black Basta claims

  Southern Water, which supplies millions of customers in southeast England, has confirmed it has fallen victim to a cyber attack, although its services appear to be running normally

• January 24, 2024 24 Jan'24

  AI will heighten global ransomware threat, says NCSC

  The benefits of artificial intelligence to cyber criminals being well-known, the NCSC now assesses it’s likely AI will soon be widely used to enhance ransomware attacks

• January 24, 2024 24 Jan'24

  Committee chair asks minister to back ‘Mr Bates clause’ in Post Office compensation legislation

  Select committee chair wants guarantees on financial redress for subpostmasters that suffered in the Horizon scandal

• January 23, 2024 23 Jan'24

  Treat cyber risk like financial or legal issue, says UK government

  UK government and NCSC launch proposed code of practice on cyber security governance to help directors and business leaders toughen their defences

• January 23, 2024 23 Jan'24

  Leak of 26 billion records may prove to be ‘mother of all breaches’

  The discovery of a dataset comprising 26 billion stolen records may prove to be record-breaking in both its size and the danger it poses to ordinary people

• January 23, 2024 23 Jan'24

  UN chief blasts AI companies for reckless pursuit of profit

  The United Nations general secretary has blasted technology companies and governments for pursuing their own narrow interests in artificial intelligence without any consideration of the common good, as part of wider call to reform global governance

• January 23, 2024 23 Jan'24

  SEC bitcoin hack was result of SIM-swapping

  A cyber attack on the US financial regulator earlier in January 2024 occurred after hackers took over one of its mobile phone accounts in a so-called SIM-swapping attack

• January 22, 2024 22 Jan'24

  PAC calls on MoD to fix inventory management IT

  The Public Accounts Committee is concerned that the ageing and fragmented IT systems used in the MoD’s inventory management puts front-line forces at significant risk

• January 22, 2024 22 Jan'24

  Fujitsu agrees to support former subpostmasters’ families beyond financial redress

  Fujitsu will meet with victims of the Post Office scandal and their representatives to discuss what the IT giant can do for them beyond financial redress

• January 22, 2024 22 Jan'24

  Chat control: Tech companies warn ministers over EU encryption plans

  Tech companies have written to EU ministers to urge them to back the European Parliament, rather than the European Commission, over proposed regulations to police child abuse

• January 22, 2024 22 Jan'24

  Urgent question asks which ministers knew of Post Office’s shocking plan to remove judge

  Labour peer uses urgent question to uncover who, if anyone, in government was aware of the Post Office’s attempts to remove judge as it became clear it was losing

• January 19, 2024 19 Jan'24

  ICO prompts confusion over police cloud legality

  The UK data regulator has suggested that, despite major data protection concerns, it is likely to greenlight police cloud deployments because of an information-sharing agreement with the US government

• January 19, 2024 19 Jan'24

  MPs flag similarities between HMRC's treatment of Loan Charge contractors and Post Office scandal

  The fallout from HMRC's controversial disguised remuneration clampdown, the Loan Charge policy, has been likened to the Post Office Horizon scandal during a House of Commons debate

• January 19, 2024 19 Jan'24

  Fujitsu boss admits to missed opportunities to prevent miscarriages of justice

  Concerns of an expert witness in subpostmaster trials were ignored by Fujitsu

• January 19, 2024 19 Jan'24

  Neighbouring Kent councils hit by simultaneous cyber attacks

  Canterbury, Dover and Thanet Councils in Kent have all been struck by simultaneous cyber attacks knocking systems offline, with indications of a link between all three

• January 19, 2024 19 Jan'24

  Cabinet Office publishes 10-point generative AI guidance

  Cabinet Office’s framework, which will evolve as the technology moves forward, sets out 10 principles for the government's use of generative AI systems

• January 19, 2024 19 Jan'24

  Fujitsu boss describes Post Office behaviour as 'shameful and appalling'

  The UK head of Fujitsu said he does not know why the Post Office did not reveal information about Horizon software errors to defendants during prosecutions

• January 18, 2024 18 Jan'24

  Anger sparked by TV drama forces Fujitsu to put public sector contract bidding on hold

  It is not just the UK government that has been forced to act quickly amid public anger, as a wounded Fujitsu stalls government contract bidding

• January 18, 2024 18 Jan'24

  PSTN switch-off threatens access to adult social care services

  The Public Switched Telephone Network switch-off is threatening vulnerable Londoners access to adult social care and other vital services, as councils are left to manage the cost without financial support from the centre, says London chief digital ...

• January 18, 2024 18 Jan'24

  More than 900 subpostmaster convictions wouldn’t have happened without Post Office-backed law change

  IT expert says it cannot be the case that computer evidence is treated as accurate in court, without investigation into surrounding circumstances

• January 18, 2024 18 Jan'24

  Tech firms: Investigatory Powers review will undermine privacy of UK citizens

  Trade group TechUK argues in a briefing sent to the Home Office that proposed amendments to the Investigatory Powers Bill could have a far-reaching impact on privacy and security

• January 17, 2024 17 Jan'24

  NCSC invites security pros to join the big leagues

  The NCSC is inviting security pros from across the UK to sign up to work with its experts on an intelligence-sharing initiative