News

IT for government and public sector

June 05, 2023 05 Jun'23
Sweden is developing its own big language model

Artificial Intelligence Sweden is leading an initiative to build a large language model not only for Swedish, but for all the major languages in the Nordic region: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese
June 01, 2023 01 Jun'23
AI interview: Dan McQuillan, critical computing expert

Critical computing expert Dan McQuillan speaks to Computer Weekly about the top-down imposition of artificial intelligence on society, and how AI is a fundamentally political technology shaped by humanity’s most reactionary tendencies
June 01, 2023 01 Jun'23
Met Police director of intelligence defends facial recognition

The Met Police’s director of intelligence has appeared before MPs to make the case for its continuing use of facial-recognition technology, following announcements from the force and the Home Office that they intend to press on with its adoption
May 30, 2023 30 May'23
UK, US and Australia jointly trial AI-enabled drone swarm

British, American and Australian military organisations have trialled the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in drones in a collaboration designed to drive their adoption of AI-powered military tools

May 30, 2023 30 May'23
Downstream breaches of Capita customers spreading

As many as 90 organisations that used Capita services have now reported data breaches arising from various security incidents at the outsourcer
May 26, 2023 26 May'23
Birmingham council leader admits £100m budget hole in ERP upgrade

City council’s plans to replace flagship SAP system, which has been running since 1999, is not going to plan
May 25, 2023 25 May'23
Cabinet Office publishes response to data sharing for digital ID consultation

The majority of respondents to government’s consultation on data sharing for digital identity are critical to the plans and concerned about data privacy, but Whitehall’s response says many of the responses ‘were driven by anti-digital commentaries’
May 25, 2023 25 May'23
Alert over Chinese cyber campaign targeting critical networks

A Chinese threat actor known as Volt Typhoon has been observed infiltrating CNI networks in a cyber espionage campaign, according to intelligence
May 23, 2023 23 May'23
Starmer pledges to reform the NHS through technology

The Labour Party wants to create an NHS powered by ‘groundbreaking technology’, with genomics testing for every baby, modernising appointment booking and overhaul incentives for tech adoption
May 22, 2023 22 May'23
Post Office scandal – cover-up a ‘dark chapter’ in government, corporate and legal history

Third phase of public inquiry into Horizon IT scandal reveals extent of Post Office and Fujitsu cover-up of software problems that went on to write ‘as dark a chapter in our governmental, corporate and legal history as can be imagined’

May 22, 2023 22 May'23
Facebook owner Meta fined record €1.2 billion over EU-US data transfers

Decision could have implications for other companies using Standard Contractual Clauses to share data between Europe and the US
May 22, 2023 22 May'23
Worker-focused AI Bill introduced by backbench MP Mick Whitley

Using the 10-minute motion rule, backbench Labour MP Mick Whitley has introduced a worker-focused artificial intelligence (AI) bill to Parliament, which outlines a similar approach to AI being advocated by unions in the UK
May 19, 2023 19 May'23
Spanish lawyers claim police hacking of EncroChat cryptophones breaches human rights law

Lawyers speaking at the Madrid Bar Association question the legality of a cryptophone hacking which has led to arrests of organised criminals in multiple countries
May 19, 2023 19 May'23
National semiconductor strategy: Balancing skills, migration and security

The UK government is putting £1bn into semiconductor research and design over the next 10 years to develop a robust chip sector
May 19, 2023 19 May'23
Campaigning former subpostmaster fears compensation for scandal victims will be delayed to 2025

The man who exposed the Post Office scandal fears a long delay for victims due to compensation process being "bogged down by bureaucracy"
May 18, 2023 18 May'23
Defra's tech review reveals legacy IT issues across government

The Public Accoubts Committee recently found that Defra has been unable to measure inefficiencies due to running legacy IT
May 17, 2023 17 May'23
Home Office pushes for more police facial-recognition deployments

An independent report commissioned by the biometrics commissioner of England and Wales reveals that the UK policing minister is pushing for wider adoption of facial-recognition technology by police, and further criticises the government’s proposed ...
May 16, 2023 16 May'23
Plexal launches Cyber Runway 3.0 accelerator programme

The latest iteration of Plexal’s government-backed cyber security startup accelerator will run four work streams to boost startups at various stages of maturity and growth
May 16, 2023 16 May'23
No10 Innovation Fellowship Programme ramps up AI focus

Second round of the programme, run jointly by Number 10 and the Government Digital Service, focuses on AI and automation
May 16, 2023 16 May'23
UK renews tech and science deal with Japan

Deal focuses on innovation and will see countries collaborate on networking and investment, joint R&D programmes, and exchange schemes
May 12, 2023 12 May'23
MEPs vote in raft of amendments to EU AI Act

The proposed amendments to the EU’s AI Act have garnered a mixed reception from both industry and civil society, with the former seeing it as too stringent and the latter as not stringent enough in many areas, despite positive progress in others
May 12, 2023 12 May'23
Post Office lawyer bragged how team ‘destroyed attack on the Horizon system’ and put woman in prison

A senior Post Office lawyer appeared gleeful in email about how his team helped prosecute a subpostmaster who was sent to prison
May 11, 2023 11 May'23
Investigatory Powers Tribunal finds NCA EncroChat hacking warrants were lawful

Investigatory Powers Tribunal refers questions over whether messages obtained from the EncroChat encrypted phone network are legally admissible back to the criminal court
May 11, 2023 11 May'23
AI outcry intensifies as EU readies regulation

Policymakers are battling to keep pace with AI developments, while experts warn of societal impact
May 11, 2023 11 May'23
Journalists’ confidential communications subject to unlawful spying, court hears

Campaign group Liberty and the National Union of Journalists tell Court of Appeal the government has not gone far enough to protect confidential journalist information and sources from surveillance
May 11, 2023 11 May'23
Fujitsu staff had ‘unrestricted and unauditable’ remote access to Post Office branch systems

Fujitsu engineers could make changes to Post Office branch accounts without anyone knowing
May 10, 2023 10 May'23
UKtech50 2023: Vote for the most influential person in UK technology

Our judges have selected the top 50 leaders from a shortlist of more than 300 people – now it’s your chance to tell us who you think is the most influential person in UK technology
May 10, 2023 10 May'23
Black Basta ransomware attack to cost Capita over £15m

Exceptional costs arising from the March 2023 Black Basta ransomware attack on the systems of outsourcer Capita will be somewhere between £15m and £20m, the organisation says
May 09, 2023 09 May'23
UKtech50 2023: The longlist of the UK’s influential tech leaders

Each year, Computer Weekly launches a search for the most influential people in UK IT, asking the tech community who it thinks should be in the top 50 – here is the longlist of everyone nominated for 2023
May 08, 2023 08 May'23
Chat control: EU lawyers warn plans to scan encrypted messages for child abuse may be unlawful

Leaked legal advice warns that European ‘chat control’ proposals to require tech companies to scan private and encrypted messages for child abuse are likely to breach EU law
May 05, 2023 05 May'23
Capita pension clients told data may have leaked

Capita has told trustees of some of the pension funds for which it provides outsourced services that their customer data may have been stolen by the Black Basta ransomware operation
May 02, 2023 02 May'23
HMRC confirms potential April 2024 end date for double-taxation issue in IR35 compliance cases

HM Revenue & Customs launches eight-week consultation on plans to roll out a legislative tweak that would put a stop to the government tax collection agency over-collecting tax in IR35 non-compliance cases
April 28, 2023 28 Apr'23
Government is playing ‘psychic war’ in battle over end-to-end encryption

Peers hear that the UK government is being deliberately ambiguous about its plans to require technology companies to scan the content of encrypted messages
April 28, 2023 28 Apr'23
More Post Office software-related convictions overturned takes total to 86

A total of 86 former subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted for financial crimes after computer errors showed phantom losses have had convictions overturned
April 26, 2023 26 Apr'23
Police Scotland receive formal notice about cloud system

Scotland’s biometrics watchdog has issued Police Scotland with an information notice over its deployment of a cloud-based digital evidence system, following disclosure of major data protection concerns by Computer Weekly
April 26, 2023 26 Apr'23
UK government introduces Digital Markets Bill to Parliament

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill will seek to level the playing field in digital markets by empowering regulators with new tools and powers to directly enforce competition and consumer protection laws
April 26, 2023 26 Apr'23
Post Office paid IBM millions when it ended proposed contract to replace Horizon

The Post Office ended a proposed contract with IBM to replace its controversial Horizon system after work had already started
April 26, 2023 26 Apr'23
UK taskforce set to drive generative AI safety and opportunities

The government has committed £100m to helping the UK develop and build out generative artificial intelligence capabilities
April 24, 2023 24 Apr'23
Emergency alert test review confirmed after ‘small number’ of mobile users excluded

In wake of emergency alert test on 23 April, government confirms review into why some 4G and 5G mobile phones were excluded
April 24, 2023 24 Apr'23
Finland and Estonia deepen cross-border digital partnerships

Finland and Estonia, two global tech pioneers, are increasingly sharing their expertise
April 21, 2023 21 Apr'23
UK biometrics watchdog questions police cloud deployments

The UK biometrics commissioner has warned that policing and justice bodies must be able to demonstrate ‘immediately and unequivocally’ that their cloud deployments are lawful
April 20, 2023 20 Apr'23
UK Emergency Alert Test sparks cyber fraud warning

Fraudsters and scammers are likely to use the upcoming test of the UK's new mobile Emergency Alert system as bait in their attacks, while misinformation and conspiracy theories spread
April 20, 2023 20 Apr'23
New GovAssure cyber regime launches across UK government

An enhanced cyber security regime is being put in place to better protect UK government IT systems from growing threats
April 20, 2023 20 Apr'23
Capita customer data was stolen in March ransomware attack

Capita says it has uncovered evidence of data exfiltration from a small proportion of its server estate following a cyber attack at the end of March
April 19, 2023 19 Apr'23
TUC says government is failing to protect workers from AI harms

TUC issues warning about artificial intelligence leading to more widespread workplace discrimination if the right checks are not put in place
April 19, 2023 19 Apr'23
Surrey and Sussex police spared fines after recording 200,000 phone calls without people’s knowledge

Police forces escape potential £1m fines following change of policy by ICO to protect the finances of public sector bodies
April 19, 2023 19 Apr'23
IT Priorities 2023: Budget optimism among EMEA IT leaders

IT leaders across the EMEA region are optimistic that their budgets will increase over the coming year
April 19, 2023 19 Apr'23
Global finance firms take part in NATO cyber attack simulation

Global financial services organisations take part in NATO annual event which simulates cyber attacks on critical infrastructure
April 19, 2023 19 Apr'23
CyberUK 23: Alert over mercenary Russian threat to CNI

Russian hacktivists supportive of their government’s war on Ukraine are turning their attention to disruptive or destructive attacks on critical infrastructure in the UK, the NCSC has warned
April 18, 2023 18 Apr'23
Fintechs get more certainty about open banking’s future direction

Fintechs have welcomed the UK open banking regulators recommendations for the future of the sector