News

IT for government and public sector

• April 11, 2023 11 Apr'23

  Anne Keast-Butler named as new director of GCHQ

  The government has appointed current MI5 deputy director general Anne Keast-Butler to head signals and cyber agency GCHQ

• April 11, 2023 11 Apr'23

  UKtech50 2023: 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 back – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year’s list

• April 11, 2023 11 Apr'23

  Scotland links its tech scaler programme with the NHS

  As part of the deal, firms part of the tech scaler programme aimed at helping startups scale up will be given access to NHS regional test beds

• April 11, 2023 11 Apr'23

  Controversial Fujitsu contract with Post Office extended after technical challenges moving to cloud

  The Post Office has extended a contract with Fujitsu after being unable to resolve technical issues related to migrating its IT to the cloud

• April 11, 2023 11 Apr'23

  DWP appoints former Boots IT chief Richard Corbridge as CDIO

  In his new role as the chief digital and information officer for the Department for Work and Pensions, Corbridge will be responsible for a £1.4bn annual budget

• April 06, 2023 06 Apr'23

  Government to pump more than £100m into digital social care

  As part of its Better Care Fund framework, the government has allocated £100m to accelerate digitisation in social care, £50m to improve data, as well as £35m for the creation of an innovation and improvement unit

• April 06, 2023 06 Apr'23

  Government on the hunt for national tech adviser

  Applicants for the role, which pays up to £135,000, will need to have “deep experience” of innovation and technology development, along with a “fantastic network” in the sector

• April 06, 2023 06 Apr'23

  CCRC says ‘door open’ for more reviews of subpostmaster convictions

  The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has told former Post Office workers the door is still open for them to come forward if they were prosecuted for financial crimes based on evidence from Horizon software

• April 05, 2023 05 Apr'23

  Quick-acting Rorschach ransomware appears out of nowhere

  Emergent Rorschach ransomware strain is highly advanced and quite unusual in its capabilities, warn researchers, who say they have been unable to link it to any other known strains

• April 05, 2023 05 Apr'23

  Scottish police tech piloted despite major data protection issues

  Scottish policing bodies are pressing ahead with a data sharing pilot despite data protection issues around the use of US cloud providers, placing sensitive personal data of tens of thousands of people at risk

• April 05, 2023 05 Apr'23

  CGI signs up to prison leaver employment initiative

  IT supplier is working with training company specialised in helping prison leavers to find recruitment in the tech sector

• April 05, 2023 05 Apr'23

  Developers say Apple and Google are running app store monopolies

  Coalition for App Fairness and its members speak to Computer Weekly about alleged anti-competitive practices of Apple and Google in their respective app stores, and call for urgent regulatory action to level the playing field

• April 04, 2023 04 Apr'23

  National Cyber Force carrying out daily hacking operations to disrupt hostile threats

  Government discloses details about the National Cyber Force’s disruption activities against terrorists, organised criminals and nation states – and names first NCF chief as James Babbage

• April 04, 2023 04 Apr'23

  Threat researchers dissect anatomy of a Royal ransomware attack

  Trellix researchers share the inside track on a Royal ransomware attack that hit one of its customers in late 2022

• April 04, 2023 04 Apr'23

  UAE central bank selects partners for phase one of digital currency programme

  The UAE central bank has kicked off the first phase of its project to launch a digital currency

• April 04, 2023 04 Apr'23

  Over 90% of organisations find threat hunting a challenge

  Understaffed security teams and high levels of background noise are making basic security operations tasks a chore for defenders, according to a report

• April 03, 2023 03 Apr'23

  Three-day Capita outage was result of cyber attack

  Public sector outsourcer Capita has confirmed a major outage which began on 31 March was the result of a cyber attack affecting its Office 365 apps

• April 03, 2023 03 Apr'23

  Wales launches innovation fund for pharmacy systems suppliers

  The fund aims to help suppliers of pharmacy systems in the country to deliver an electronic prescription service

• March 31, 2023 31 Mar'23

  Generative AI central to Accenture’s tech vision

  Generative AI will play a central role over the next 10 years as the digital and physical world become more and more integrated

• March 30, 2023 30 Mar'23

  OSC&R supply chain security framework goes live on Github

  The OSC&R framework for understanding and evaluating threats to supply chain security has made its debut on Github to allow anybody to contribute to the framework

• March 30, 2023 30 Mar'23

  NCSC issues revised security Board Toolkit for business leaders

  National Cyber Security Centre calls on CEOs and senior business leaders to take a more hands-on approach to cyber resilience with the launch of revised board-level tools

• March 30, 2023 30 Mar'23

  Wales is building a dragon of an NHS app

  As NHS Wales is due to launch the public version of its own app, Computer Weekly takes a deep dive into the technical aspects of the Welsh NHS app, future plans and whether the expectations for the programme have stacked up to reality

• March 30, 2023 30 Mar'23

  UK government study reveals 50,000 people employed in AI sector

  Government publishes baseline analysis of UK artificial intelligence sector as it pins hopes on future growth

• March 30, 2023 30 Mar'23

  NHS Highland rapped over data breach affecting HIV patients

  NHS Highland inadvertently exposed the personal data of individuals likely to be accessing HIV services in a lapse of email hygiene

• March 29, 2023 29 Mar'23

  UK government publishes AI whitepaper

  Artificial intelligence whitepaper outlines UK government’s proposals to regulate the technology, which are based around creating an agile, “pro-innovation” framework

• March 29, 2023 29 Mar'23

  Generative AI presents opportunities and challenges to UK schools

  Generative AI and LLMs hold great potential for use in the classroom, but the privacy and security implications of its use must be carefully considered, says the Department for Education

• March 28, 2023 28 Mar'23

  Alan Turing Institute unveils strategy to support UK AI

  The strategy is built around helping the UK government realise its artificial intelligence ambitions, and focuses on areas where the UK can play a transformative role in shaping AI development

• March 28, 2023 28 Mar'23

  Apple security updates fix 33 iPhone vulnerabilities

  A larger-than-usual update to Apple’s mobile operating system fixes more than 30 distinct vulnerabilities, including two serious issues that may potentially affect device kernels

• March 28, 2023 28 Mar'23

  AWS takes defence-focused startup accelerator Europe-wide after UK programme success

  Nearly 12 months after the launch of the UK version of the AWS defence-focused accelerator programme, the cloud giant is expanding it

• March 28, 2023 28 Mar'23

  Ransomware attacks up 45% in February, LockBit responsible

  NCC Group says it observed a surge in ransomware attacks in February, with LockBit, BlackCat and BianLian all highly active

• March 27, 2023 27 Mar'23

  Lords AI weapons committee holds first evidence session

  In first evidence session of Lords AI weapons committee, expert witnesses unpack claims that artificial intelligence in weapon systems will help military organisations to improve their compliance with international humanitarian law

• March 24, 2023 24 Mar'23

  Government must take the lead on STEM diversity

  No single solution can increase diversity in the STEM sectors, says Science and Technology Committee, as it calls on government to take action

• March 24, 2023 24 Mar'23

  National Crime Agency sting operation infiltrates cyber crime market

  The UK National Crime Agency has tricked thousands of potential cyber criminals into registering with a fake website pretending to offer tools for creating DDoS attacks

• March 23, 2023 23 Mar'23

  Tech Nation says UK needs roadmap to help tech sector reach $4tn

  In its final report published before shutting for good in April, Tech Nation has outlined success of the UK’s tech sector to date, and explores at a high level what needs to be done to ensure massive future growth

• March 23, 2023 23 Mar'23

  GDS goes serverless to bring personalisation to online government services with One Login

  GDS has opened up about the reasons why it’s opted for a serverless infrastructure to underpin One Login, and how it hopes the system will provide UK citizens with a more personalised experience

• March 22, 2023 22 Mar'23

  Government launches seven-year NHS cyber strategy

  The new Cyber Security Strategy for Health and Adult Social Care lays out a plan for promoting cyber resilience in the sector by 2030 to protect services and patients alike

• March 22, 2023 22 Mar'23

  UK government launches international tech strategy as tool of diplomacy

  The UK government has announced an international technology strategy to promote the country abroad, strengthening ties with allies and supporting developing nations

• March 21, 2023 21 Mar'23

  Nordics move towards common cyber defence strategy

  Nordic countries agree to work together to improve their cyber defences amid increasing threat

• March 21, 2023 21 Mar'23

  MPs explore how to expand quantum computing in business

  Commons Science and Technology Committee is looking for evidence of where the UK’s new quantum strategy needs improvement

• March 21, 2023 21 Mar'23

  GDS signs £24m worth of contracts for One Login

  As the Government Digital Service (GDS) prepares for the official end of Gov.uk Verify, it signs three new contracts for its successor programme, One Login

• March 21, 2023 21 Mar'23

  Ransomware gangs harass victims to ‘bypass’ backups

  Analysis reveals how cyber criminal gangs are turning to extensive, targeted harassment campaigns to force victims to pay up, even if their backups are in good order

• March 20, 2023 20 Mar'23

  Government should invest in maritime tech, say MPs

  Report from the Transport Committee calls for investment in technology for the maritime sector, and wants the government to make it easier to scale-up innovation

• March 20, 2023 20 Mar'23

  BBC cracks down on TikTok after review

  The BBC is asking staff not to install TikTok on corporate-owned devices without a justified business purpose, although its use will still be allowed to share media content with its audiences

• March 17, 2023 17 Mar'23

  UK TikTok ban gives us all cause to consider social media security

  The UK government’s ban on TikTok should give all organisations cause to look into what information social media platforms are collecting on us, and what they are using it for

• March 17, 2023 17 Mar'23

  UK government to create code of practice for generative AI firms

  The code will look to strike a balance between copyright holders and generative AI firms so that both parties can benefit from the use of copyrighted material in training data

• March 16, 2023 16 Mar'23

  BEC attacks doubled in 2022, outstripping ransomware

  Massive growth in the volume of Business Email Compromise or BEC attacks was linked to a surge in successful phishing campaigns, according to data from Secureworks

• March 16, 2023 16 Mar'23

  Vallance review advocates light-touch regulation for emerging technologies

  Patrick Vallance, the outgoing government chief scientific adviser, has seen his light-touch emerging technologies regulation advice accepted by the government lock, stock and barrel

• March 16, 2023 16 Mar'23

  TikTok banned on UK government devices

  The UK government has followed in the footsteps of its US and European counterparts and banned the use of Chinese social media app TikTok on official devices

• March 16, 2023 16 Mar'23

  Budget 2023: startups extra funding via R&D relief and pensions

  UK government aims to promote increased investment in research and development-intensive startups through tax relief measures, relaxed pension rules, and new investment zones

• March 16, 2023 16 Mar'23

  Mandiant: Dangerous MS Outlook zero-day widely used against Ukraine

  A zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook that was fixed in the March Patch Tuesday update has likely been actively exploited by Russian actors for a year or more, and its use will now spread rapidly