News

IT for government and public sector

February 22, 2017 22 Feb'17
Computacenter apprentices are business-critical today

Apprenticeships in IT are increasingly seen as an alternative to university for many. Apprentices at Computacenter tell their stories
February 21, 2017 21 Feb'17
Airborne cars to transform Dubai’s public transportation

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority is readying the launch of autonomous aerial vehicles in July this year
February 21, 2017 21 Feb'17
Industrial control systems top threat to UK cyber security

Most organisations understand cyber security readiness, but lack response and resilience capabilities – especially regarding industrial control systems in the UK, says RSA cyber defence expert Azeem Aleem
February 21, 2017 21 Feb'17
Public trust key to ‘data-driven government’, says John Manzoni

The civil service chief says the public needs to be confident in data sharing safeguards and admits Care.data scandal was a step back in gaining trust

February 20, 2017 20 Feb'17
Welsh government launches £5 million innovation fund

Welsh finance secretary Mark Drakeford launches a fund which aims to support public sector organisations and charities to develop innovative ways of delivering services
February 20, 2017 20 Feb'17
Sweden uses Minecraft for urban planning

Swedish National Land survey has put its maps on Minecraft to promote its work
February 20, 2017 20 Feb'17
UK brokers search engine deal to demote pirate sites

The Google and Bing search engines are to demote piracy websites after signing a voluntary code of practice in talks with the entertainment industry led by the UK government
February 17, 2017 17 Feb'17
Swedish capital uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to cut road congestion

Stockholm transport authorities are gaining a better understanding of road traffic through technology
February 17, 2017 17 Feb'17
HPE services and CSC to become DXC Technology

The merger between HP's services division and CSC will launch in April 2017 and is expected to save the companies billions
February 17, 2017 17 Feb'17
Amazon, Apple and Microsoft pledge to support government push for fair cloud storage use

Competition and Markets Authority confirms support of Amazon, Apple and Microsoft as it concludes compliance review into cloud storage sector

February 17, 2017 17 Feb'17
RSAC17: Former MI5 head calls on infosec community to make world safer

In a digital era, the information security community has a key role in helping to make the world a safer place, according to former MI5 boss Stella Rimington
February 17, 2017 17 Feb'17
FOI requests reveal appetite for datacentre change in London’s local councils

Research conducted by cloud service provider HyperGrid suggests IT departments in local councils are working with outdated and underperforming datacentre infrastructures
February 16, 2017 16 Feb'17
Microsoft PCs get Brexit-fuelled price increase

Microsoft has raised the price of its Surface PCs by as much as 15% in the UK because of the falling value of the pound since the country voted to leave the EU
February 16, 2017 16 Feb'17
Cisco sales fall as traditional product sales slump

Cisco's traditional product sales such as switches are falling, but revenues in emerging products in areas such as security are on the up
February 15, 2017 15 Feb'17
RSAC17: US politician calls for global collaboration on cyber defence

Without greater collaboration, information sharing and clear sanctions against attackers, defenders will continue to lose the war in cyber space, says US politician Michael McCaul
February 15, 2017 15 Feb'17
RSAC17: Cyber defence involves all levels of society, says Microsoft

Microsoft calls for a global convention on cyber security and an independent organisation to keep nation state attackers in check
February 14, 2017 14 Feb'17
Public sector IT suppliers blast CCS over rising G-Cloud commission charges

CCS confirms commission charges on G-Cloud sales are to rise from 0.5 to 0.75% when the next iteration of the framework drops in May 2017, but suppliers fear it could harm their ability to innovate
February 14, 2017 14 Feb'17
HMRC rejects Gov.uk Verify

HM Revenue and Customs says it won’t be using Gov.uk Verify, which could cause difficulties for the government’s target of having 25 million Verify users by 2020
February 13, 2017 13 Feb'17
Middle East organisations urged to prioritise cyber defence

As the Middle East IT industry continues to transform and embrace digitisation, what are the greatest threats it faces today?
February 10, 2017 10 Feb'17
Ordinary citizens with no terror links caught by US surveillance, court hears

US government has “extraordinary access” to private data of non-US citizens around the world, a Dublin court is told
February 10, 2017 10 Feb'17
Government must take charge if transformation strategy is to succeed

Experts agree the government’s much anticipated transformation strategy is ambitious and on the right path, but needs strong leadership to be achieved
February 09, 2017 09 Feb'17
Government transformation strategy aims to 'restore faith in democracy', says minister

Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer outlines his ambitious hopes for the new government transformation strategy at its launch
February 09, 2017 09 Feb'17
Lack of data sharing is barrier to health and social care integration

NHS and social care organisations are still unsure of when to share information because of a “confusing” regulatory framework, and the National Audit Office is unimpressed with the progress on health and social care integration
February 09, 2017 09 Feb'17
Cardiff University opens Twitter ‘cyberhate’ centre

Cardiff University researchers are to monitor Brexit-related hate crime on Twitter with funding from the Economic and Social Research Council
February 09, 2017 09 Feb'17
Government digital transformation strategy promises to ‘serve’ its people

Long-awaited strategy aims to change the way government departments and services work though digital technology
February 08, 2017 08 Feb'17
HM Treasury committee questions costs of HMRC’s Making Tax Digital programme

Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie asks government to clarify costs after small businesses estimate price to be significantly higher
February 08, 2017 08 Feb'17
How a Dublin court case could derail EU-US data privacy agreements

The Irish Commercial Court will consider whether privacy protection offered by standard contractual clauses for data transfers to the US from Europe is legally valid
February 08, 2017 08 Feb'17
Government cloud security classification confusion dogs Digital Marketplace listings

Misinterpretation of the Government Security Classifications could result in the overprovisioning of public sector IT systems
February 08, 2017 08 Feb'17
NHS websites defaced by Tunisian Islamist hacktivists

Another series of pro-Islamic State hacktivist attacks on NHS websites has underlined the need to harden websites and keep software up to date as attackers exploit a vulnerability in WordPress
February 08, 2017 08 Feb'17
Interview: How security approaches are evolving in Southeast Asia and beyond

Bill Smith, senior vice-president of worldwide field operations at LogRhythm, talks to Computer Weekly about the big shift in cyber security from traditional security models to behavioural anomaly detection, continuous data monitoring and analytics
February 07, 2017 07 Feb'17
Middle East and North Africa public cloud spend to hit $2bn by 2020

Middle East-based organisations are turning to public cloud services, with software as a service driving a major year-on-year spending increase
February 07, 2017 07 Feb'17
Gemalto seals digital identity card deal in Sweden

Swedish tax agency signs single supplier contract with digital security firm to provide physical and digital ID cards
February 06, 2017 06 Feb'17
Google to appeal against order to hand over foreign emails

UK firms urged to consider the risks of non-UK cloud service providers and to encrypt data in the light of another US warrant to access emails held by a US cloud services firm on non-US servers
February 06, 2017 06 Feb'17
Government digital transformation strategy finally set to be published this week

The much-delayed plan – now expected to be known as the government transformation strategy – is due to be announced by Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer
February 06, 2017 06 Feb'17
Dutch businesses have heads in the cloud

In the Netherlands, cloud computing is used by the central bank, large multinationals like Unilever, startups such as WeTransfer, and even a Dutch potato processing plant in China
February 03, 2017 03 Feb'17
PAC recalls ESN inquiry after Vodafone revelations

The Home Office officials in charge of delivering the Emergency Services Network have been questioned by the Public Accounts Committee after new information came to light concerning some of the existing subcontracts
February 03, 2017 03 Feb'17
Security firm agrees many others use fear to propel sales

High-Tech Bridge agrees with the UK National Cyber Security Centre that some security firms are using fear, uncertainty and doubt to promote sales of their products
February 03, 2017 03 Feb'17
Lockheed Martin backs UK CyberFirst skills initiative

Global security and aeropace firm boosts government’s CyberFirst skills initiative as Cabinet Office comes under fire for efforts to secure public sector data and ensure cyber teams have right skills
February 03, 2017 03 Feb'17
London Fire Brigade system crashes cause delays reacting to emergencies

Control room system crashes have been causing delays in London Fire Brigade response times
February 03, 2017 03 Feb'17
GDS spend controls saved £339m in 2015/16, says Cabinet Office

GDS project approvals process helped reduce potential IT spending, says government audit agency
February 03, 2017 03 Feb'17
UK government must improve cyber defence efforts, say MPs

Public Accounts Committee sets out six recommendations for the Cabinet Office to address shortcomings in protecting government data as UK defence secretary expresses concern over Russian cyber activity
February 01, 2017 01 Feb'17
Trump’s cyber security executive order delayed

It is not yet clear when US president Donald Trump will sign an eagerly-awaited executive order on cyber security that was scheduled to take pace on 31 January 2017
February 01, 2017 01 Feb'17
UK legislation will mirror EU’s GDPR, says Matt Hancock

The UK plans a full implementation of GDPR and is confident of agreements with the US to ensure uninhibited data exchanges with the EU and US post-Brexit, says digital minister
February 01, 2017 01 Feb'17
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore and British security company sign agreement

Agreement between BAE Systems and CSA aims to develop national cyber security capabilities as part of Singapore’s cyber security strategy
February 01, 2017 01 Feb'17
Finnish city takes €10bn leap into digitisation

Tampere is encouraging its people, businesses and government organisations to come together to make digital transformation work for everyone
January 31, 2017 31 Jan'17
HMRC aims to ease transition to digital tax returns for UK businesses

HM Revenue & Customs sticks to 2018 deadline despite warnings from MPs, but three-year transition will cost firms £1bn before savings kick in
January 31, 2017 31 Jan'17
Trump unlikely to reduce IT from India

The fact that Donald Trump's labour secretary has previously offshored IT work to the Philippines could ease IT services fears, particularly in India
January 30, 2017 30 Jan'17
Report blames human and legacy system failure for Yorkshire hospital problems

Old technology and human error combined to cause major IT outage at Yorkshire NHS trust, review finds
January 29, 2017 29 Jan'17
Artificial intelligence will increase productivity by sharpening human mind

The combination of AI and humans will triple productivity if businesses get the balance right for different roles
January 27, 2017 27 Jan'17
NHS Digital picks peering exchange provider for HSCN

The development of the new Health and Social Care Network is moving ahead as NHS Digital signs Redcentric to provide peering exchange services
January 27, 2017 27 Jan'17
Post Office facing group litigation over Horizon computer system after watershed decision

The group action against the Post Office that alleges sub-postmasters have been wrongly punished for accounting errors gets a green light from the High Court of Justice
January 27, 2017 27 Jan'17
Microsoft to teach more than 560,000 people digital skills

Technology giant Microsoft announces a programme designed to boost digital skills and tech job prospects across the UK
January 27, 2017 27 Jan'17
Bett 2017: Knowing what edtech to invest in is a challenge for schools

Minster Rob Halfon has urged those building use cases for tech in schools to help others choose the right technology for use in the classroom
January 27, 2017 27 Jan'17
Growing UK's tech skills base will make or break prime minister's industrial strategy, panel claims

Speakers at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology's industrial strategy debate demand greater clarity on how the government intends to tackle the UK tech and science sector's skills, diversity and regional inequalities
January 26, 2017 26 Jan'17
Mixed feelings on Australian enterprise app market

The enterprise mobile app development market is attracting big money despite a lack of corporate appetite
January 26, 2017 26 Jan'17
MoD accelerator launches Enduring Challenge tech contest

Enduring Challenge seeks to bring innovative technology to the front line for the UK’s armed forces and security services
January 25, 2017 25 Jan'17
Emergency Services Network will not be ready in time, says PAC

A Public Accounts Committee examination of the Emergency Services Network concludes that the controversial project may need more testing and assurance than its delivery date allows for
January 25, 2017 25 Jan'17
Nordic CIO interview: Peter Krantz, Sweden’s national library

Making information accessible for hundreds of years is the challenge facing the CIO at Sweden’s Kungliga Biblioteket
January 24, 2017 24 Jan'17
TechUK outlines its Brexit negotiation priorities

IT industry body TechUK outlines what it believes are the Brexit negotiation priorities for the UK IT sector
January 24, 2017 24 Jan'17
GDS signals intent to move public sector off PSN

Government Digital Service’s Technology Leaders Network determines that the internet is an adequate solution to support the vast majority of public sector work
January 23, 2017 23 Jan'17
Government reaffirms broadband funding in industrial strategy plan

The government reaffirms previous commitments to further funding of rural broadband roll-out and 5G mobile networking in its post-Brexit industrial strategy plan
January 23, 2017 23 Jan'17
UKGovCamp attracts record attendance in 10th year

Popular ‘unconference’ celebrates enters its 10th year by talking IoT, open government, making agile stick and archiving records in a digital age
January 23, 2017 23 Jan'17
Industrial strategy to power post-Brexit Britain

Theresa May has launched an industrial strategy green paper, which aims to create a prosperous post-Brexit Britain through developing Stem skills, investments in science and innovation, and infrastructure upgrades
January 20, 2017 20 Jan'17
Lords ‘deeply concerned’ about Digital Economy Bill data-sharing clauses

Digital Economy Bill comes under fire again for its data-sharing principles, this time from the House of Lords Delegated Powers Committee
January 19, 2017 19 Jan'17
Cloud-based contracts make up a third of IT outsourcing contracts in 2016

Traditional outsourcing contracts reduce in number and are being replaced by cloud-based services
January 19, 2017 19 Jan'17
IT failures contributed to failed HMRC outsourcing contract

IT delays and failures contributed to a failed HMRC outsourcing contract, finds NAO investigation
January 19, 2017 19 Jan'17
National crime survey figures show growing cyber crime

Cyber crime is on the up and is now included in official crime figures
January 19, 2017 19 Jan'17
UK firms struggling to manage cyber threats, survey shows

Businesses want security suppliers to offer more complementary products and collaborate more effectively as they struggle to manage data protection in the light of new laws, a survey shows
January 19, 2017 19 Jan'17
How Singapore can help Southeast Asia reach its digital potential

Singapore could play a vital role in supporting the digital transformation of its Asean partners in the Asian Century
January 18, 2017 18 Jan'17
GDS declares public cloud secure enough for "vast majority" of public sector

Government Digital Service moves to allay public sector concerns about using off-premise services in a bid to speed up cloud adoption beyond Whitehall
January 18, 2017 18 Jan'17
2017 may be crisis year for DDoS attacks, warns Deloitte

The proliferation of IoT devices and IoT exploit kits may make 2017 a turning point in DDoS attacks requiring new defence tactics, warns Deloitte
January 18, 2017 18 Jan'17
Better use of data can improve government delivery of services, says John Manzoni

Civil service chief John Manzoni highlights the potential and need for the government’s use of data to improve public services
January 17, 2017 17 Jan'17
Post-Brexit UK success depends on digital, says tech industry

TechUK responds cautiously to prime minister Theresa May’s 12-point plan, calling for a “smooth and orderly” Brexit
January 17, 2017 17 Jan'17
Artificial intelligence critical to business growth

There are many hurdles to overcome before the full benefits of AI can be realised by organisations
January 17, 2017 17 Jan'17
3D printing proves a disruptive force in Asean manufacturing

3D printing adoption is set to accelerate in Southeast Asia after a delayed start
January 16, 2017 16 Jan'17
Australian government technology suffers failure after failure

Former government IT leader says Australia’s IT is so bad that if the government were a private sector organisation, it would fail
January 16, 2017 16 Jan'17
Science and Technology Committee slams government digital strategy delays

Science and Technology Committee chairman says he is “disappointed” that the government has still not published its digital transformation strategy
January 16, 2017 16 Jan'17
Treasury Committee calls for delay to HMRC’s digital tax project

MPs urge HMRC to push back the go-live date of its Making Tax Digital project amidst concerns over costs, software and readiness
January 16, 2017 16 Jan'17
England’s largest NHS trust investigates cyber attack

A cyber attack on England's largest NHS trust has underlined the importance of cyber security at healthcare organisations and has raised renewed fears about NHS legacy IT systems
January 15, 2017 15 Jan'17
The evolution of smart Dubai

Aisha Bin Bishr, director general at Smart Dubai Office, discusses how Dubai is evolving as a smart city with the support of local telecoms provider Du.
January 13, 2017 13 Jan'17
Obama administration relaxes NSA data-sharing rules

Civil liberties organisations express concern at US move to disseminate raw NSA communications surveillance to 16 other government agencies
January 13, 2017 13 Jan'17
Davos: Technology poses new risks to jobs, economies and society

Politicians and business leaders will discuss the risks posed by technology to jobs, political stability and cyber security at the World Economic Forum in Davos
January 12, 2017 12 Jan'17
AWS commits to addressing long-term UK cloud skills shortage

Amazon Web Services debuts its Re:Start programme, as it strives to do its bit to close the UK cloud skills gap
January 12, 2017 12 Jan'17
US college admits paying $28,000 ransom to cyber attackers

Los Angeles college was forced to pay ransomware attackers after being locked out of key computer systems and data
January 11, 2017 11 Jan'17
Tech focus helps Singapore go second in globalisation index

Singapore is the second most globalised economy in the world and its IT infrastructure is critical to this achievement
January 11, 2017 11 Jan'17
Asean storage moves towards hybrid model

Storage is moving to the cloud in the Asean region and a number of storage companies are jostling for position
January 11, 2017 11 Jan'17
Firms should take note of EC privacy proposals, warns KPMG

Professional services firm KPMG is urging UK firms to ensure they are prepared for proposed EU privacy rules for electronic communications set to become law by May 2018
January 11, 2017 11 Jan'17
Australian websites defaced by Tunisian Islamist hacktivists

Tunisian Islamist hacktivists have defaced websites in Australia, Russia, Italy and Pakistan with messages calling for a halt to the killing of civilians in Syria
January 10, 2017 10 Jan'17
Brexit should not hinder 5G development, says report

A report commissioned by the government claims the UK’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union should have minimal impact on the country’s ability to lead on the development of 5G networks
January 10, 2017 10 Jan'17
Digital technology helps Environment Agency deliver earlier flood warnings

The latest flood forecasting system that covers England will use cloud computing, data analytics and data visualisation technologies
January 10, 2017 10 Jan'17
Liberty launches cash appeal to challenge Snoopers’ Charter

Civil rights group Liberty is appealing for donations to raise £10,000 by 8 February 2017 to challenge the lawfulness of bulk surveillance powers in the new Investigatory Powers Act
January 09, 2017 09 Jan'17
Former Surrey NHS IT chief and supplier both jailed for corruption

Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s former informatics director goes to jail for accepting £80,000 worth of bribes from a supplier in return for an IT contract
January 09, 2017 09 Jan'17
UKCloud cuts cloud storage pricing for public sector customers and sticks boot into US rivals

Public sector-focused cloud provider claims latest round of price cuts means its services are cheaper to use than some of its US counterparts
January 08, 2017 08 Jan'17
Cloud-based infrastructure is a top ANZ priority in 2017

Projects involving cloud storage and back-up will feature strongly for CIOs based in Australia and New Zealand this year
January 06, 2017 06 Jan'17
Telco turns Jersey into connected internet of things testbed

Telecoms operator JT will build a long-range wide area network to support IoT deployments across Channel island
January 06, 2017 06 Jan'17
Security research links Russia to US election cyber attacks

Security researchers say the hacking of the US Democratic National Convention's email system is linked to a wider Russian cyber campaign
January 05, 2017 05 Jan'17
UK youngsters unwittingly exposing private data

The UK children's commissioner has called for better support for child privacy after study shows most are unknowingly agreeing to share private data
January 05, 2017 05 Jan'17
London hospital signs Atos deal as part of digital transformation

UCLH aims to improve patient and staff access to IT systems through 10-year contract to support care, education services and research
January 04, 2017 04 Jan'17
California legislates against ransomware

US state introduces legislation to make it easier to bring ransomware attackers to justice and jail them for up to four years
January 04, 2017 04 Jan'17
Customer-first approach will make 2017 a challenge for Dutch CIOs

CIOs in the Netherlands could see their strategies lead to thousands of jobs being cut as businesses automate