News

IT for government and public sector

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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.

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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