News
IT for government and public sector
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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
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November 14, 2023
14
Nov'23
Francis Maude calls for GDS and CDDO to merge
Review into the civil service by the former Cabinet Office minister says the two organisations should become one entity to avoid sending mixed signals around accountability and leadership
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November 13, 2023
13
Nov'23
Rogue state-aligned actors are most critical cyber threat to UK
The prospect of rogue nation-state-aligned attackers bringing down the UK’s critical infrastructure is keeping the NCSC up at night
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November 13, 2023
13
Nov'23
ICO alerted after technical ‘issue’ exposed college files to student barristers
A training college for barristers has reported a data breach that left sensitive data on hundreds of current and former students accessible to other trainees
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November 10, 2023
10
Nov'23
UN disarmament body calls for global action on autonomous weapons
UN draft resolution highlighting the dangers of autonomous weapons passes with overwhelming majority
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November 09, 2023
09
Nov'23
Suspected ransomware attack hits Scottish council
Systems at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar were downed on 7 November in a suspected ransomware attack
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November 09, 2023
09
Nov'23
UK government does not see need for specific AI legislation
The UK government does not currently see the need for new artificial intelligence legislation, as many regulators are already dealing effectively with AI-related harms
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November 09, 2023
09
Nov'23
Conflict of interest concerns raised over CMA's use of AWS UK public sector discount scheme
Less than a month after the CMA confirmed it would be investigating the competitive impact of AWS preferential pricing deals on the UK cloud market, data reveals the CMA is benefiting from cut-price Amazon cloud services
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November 08, 2023
08
Nov'23
Former Post Office manager has no memory of preparing witness statement in legal dispute
Evidence of computer problems was omitted from the witness statement of a former Post Office manager in a legal battle with a subpostmaster blamed for unexplained accounting shortfalls
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November 08, 2023
08
Nov'23
AI Summit not the place for human rights, says French finance minister
Despite commitments at the UK’s AI Safety Summit to respect and protect human rights, the French finance minister said it was not the right forum to discuss signatories' human rights records
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November 07, 2023
07
Nov'23
Post Office disclosure failures delay Horizon scandal inquiry again
Many of the 300,000 emails unearthed could be relevant to evidence from future and past witnesses in the Post Office scandal inquiry
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November 07, 2023
07
Nov'23
Cornwall Council-run care service to deploy digital care hub
Digital hub will offer council-run Corserv Care an end-to-end care solution, including a physical device, online dashboard and interoperable software
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November 07, 2023
07
Nov'23
Interview: Paul Scully, minister for technology and the digital economy, DSIT
The technology minister speaks to Computer Weekly about the government’s semiconductor strategy, how to solve the digital skills challenge in the UK and moving towards the country’s net-zero target
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November 07, 2023
07
Nov'23
AI Safety Summit review
Computer Weekly takes stock of the UK government’s AI Safety Summit and the differing perspectives around its success
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November 06, 2023
06
Nov'23
Netherlands starts building its own AI language model
Dutch government allocates €13.5m to develop an open artificial intelligence language model according to national values and guidelines.
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November 06, 2023
06
Nov'23
UK science minister announces quantum tech funding and collaboration plans
Science minister George Freeman announces £14m in funding for quantum technology projects as government signs collaboration agreements with Australia and the Netherlands
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November 02, 2023
02
Nov'23
Bristol and Cambridge to host 2024 AI supercomputers
Dell and HPE are working on supercomputers with the two universities as part of the government’s artificial intelligence funding drive
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November 02, 2023
02
Nov'23
CDDO publishes digital roadmap update
The CDDO envisions that by 2025, digital services will exceed public expectations, civil servants will be equipped for a digital future, and government efficiency and security will be enhanced
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November 02, 2023
02
Nov'23
How the UK crime agency repurposed Amazon cloud platform to analyse EncroChat cryptophone data
UK crime agency repurposed AWS-based analytics platform to triage EncroChat data and identify threats to life in messages sent on encrypted phone network
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November 01, 2023
01
Nov'23
AI Summit: 28 governments and EU agree to safe AI development
In a joint communique at the UK government’s AI Safety Summit, all participating governments agreed to deepen their cooperation around the risks associated with artificial intelligence
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November 01, 2023
01
Nov'23
Government announces millions to fund AI skills
Funding has been allocated to ensure the UK grows its understanding of artificial intelligence and develops an AI talent base to help properly utilise the technology in the future
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November 01, 2023
01
Nov'23
Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson on her AI Safety Summit goals
As the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park takes place, Computer Weekly caught up with Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson to find out what one of the UK’s most prominent AI advocates wants from proceedings
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October 31, 2023
31
Oct'23
British Library falls victim to cyber attack
The British Library is experiencing a major IT outage following a cyber incident of an undisclosed nature
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October 31, 2023
31
Oct'23
Biden’s AI plans focus on US workers’ protection
The US president has issued an Executive Order that sets out his administration’s strategy for AI safety and security
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October 30, 2023
30
Oct'23
UK government to invest £100m in using AI to research treatments for incurable diseases
Prime minister Rishi Sunak confirms £100m in government funding for AI-led research into incurable diseases
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October 30, 2023
30
Oct'23
UK government AI Summit already branded ‘missed opportunity’
The dominance of big tech firms, a focus on speculative risks over real-world harms, and the exclusion of affected workers, mean the AI Safety Summit is a wasted opportunity, say civil society groups
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October 30, 2023
30
Oct'23
Frontier AI Taskforce starts recruitment drive
The second progress report from the Frontier AI Taskforce reveals new hires plus vacancy posts for software and research engineers
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October 27, 2023
27
Oct'23
Tech firms cite risk to end-to-end encryption as Online Safety Bill gets royal assent
Tech firms continue to be concerned that the Online Safety Bill could undermine end-to-end encryption despite government reassurances
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October 27, 2023
27
Oct'23
Domestic abuse charities surface fresh worries over NHS data sharing
With new NHS data access options coming into effect at the end of October, a group of campaigners including womens' charities and the BMA have warned that the revived GP-patient data sharing scheme risks putting vulnerable people at risk
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October 27, 2023
27
Oct'23
‘Egregious’ to link passport data with facial recognition systems
The Scottish biometrics watchdog has spoken out against the UK policing minister’s plans to integrate passport data with police facial recognition systems
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October 27, 2023
27
Oct'23
UK regulators confident they are ready for AI safety governance
MPs at a recent artificial intelligence governance meeting were keen to hear how Ofcom, the FCA and the ICO are preparing for UK AI legislation
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October 27, 2023
27
Oct'23
Germany: European Court opinion kicks questions over EncroChat back to national courts
Germany lawfully obtained data on German EncroChat users from France, but whether the evidence is legally admissible is a matter for national courts
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October 26, 2023
26
Oct'23
Sunak sets scene for upcoming AI Safety Summit
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has outlined how the UK will approach making AI safe, but experts say there is still too big a focus on catastrophic but speculative risks over real harms the technology is already causing
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October 25, 2023
25
Oct'23
Government-led Smart Data Discovery Challenge launched to stoke innovation
A government-led coalition has launched an open-call competition for ideas using smart data to help support individuals and small businesses, emulating open banking
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October 25, 2023
25
Oct'23
UK IT professionals express concerns about government’s generative AI goals
Research reveals 93% of UK IT professionals are concerned by the government’s current plan to become a global leader in artificial intelligence because of lack of training and risk assessment
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October 24, 2023
24
Oct'23
Michelle Donelan reaffirms UK's commitment to AI safety
In a keynote speech, the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology discussed the UK's pro-innovation approach to AI safety
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October 24, 2023
24
Oct'23
Government puts £75m into innovation hubs
Eight innovation ‘launchpads’ will each get a share of the funding for projects covering sectors such as agri-tech, digital healthcare, renewable energy and technologies for the creative industry
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October 23, 2023
23
Oct'23
Taxpayers to fund a further £150m for Post Office IT scandal
Total bill for the scandal goes well over £1bn, as subpostmaster campaign leader considers private prosecutions of Post Office executives
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October 20, 2023
20
Oct'23
Five Eyes chiefs warn of Chinese spying campaign to steal high-tech secrets
Intelligence chiefs warn high-tech companies and universities they may be the target of attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to steal technology secrets
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October 20, 2023
20
Oct'23
Public Accounts Committee highlights smart meter failures
In spite of failing to meet roll-out targets, millions of smart meters are not working, and some will break once 3G and 2G networks are switched off