News

IT for government and public sector

March 24, 2017 24 Mar'17
Government needs 2000 extra digital staff, says NAO

The current skills shortage means government will need to spend up to £244m annually on staff in digital roles to bridge the gap
March 24, 2017 24 Mar'17
FBI director reiterates call for action on encryption

The world is wasting time in resolving the conflict between privacy and public safety, and should consider an international framework on encrypted data access, says FBI director James Comey
March 24, 2017 24 Mar'17
Serco uses HR technology to cut recruitment bill

International outsourced services supplier Serco is investing in HR recruitment technology to help it hire 15,000 to 20,000 people a year
March 22, 2017 22 Mar'17
Scottish Government launches digital strategy

Scotland vows to boost technology jobs, invest in skills, provide universal access to superfast broadband and improve infrastructure

March 22, 2017 22 Mar'17
Tech City UK report trumpets nation’s digital economy

In its third TechNation report, Tech City UK says the nation leads the way in digital innovation across Europe
March 22, 2017 22 Mar'17
Digital transformation of infrastructure key to UK’s future, says report

The infrastructure sector needs to take advantage of digital technology to keep up with the pace of change, according to the Institution of Civil Engineers
March 22, 2017 22 Mar'17
IR35 reforms will harm public sector innovation and competitiveness, say contractors

Research from recruitment consultancy Harvey Nash highlights contractor concerns about how the forthcoming IR35 reforms will affect competitiveness and talent recruitment in the public sector
March 20, 2017 20 Mar'17
Vodafone to power bike sharing service in Singapore

Vodafone’s internet of things platform will support Mobike’s global expansion plans
March 20, 2017 20 Mar'17
Many UK local councils still unprepared for GDPR, ICO survey shows

The ICO fines the Norfolk Council as it publishes GDPR guidelines for local councils after a survey revealed not all were up to speed in preparations to comply with the new data protection law
March 20, 2017 20 Mar'17
CBI calls on government and businesses to increase R&D investment

The CBI says the UK should commit to spending 3% of GDP on research and development to avoid being left behind post-Brexit

March 20, 2017 20 Mar'17
Cardiff man Samata Ullah admits terrorist charges after posting encryption details on Islamic blog

Samata Ullah, a resident of Cardiff, pleaded guilty to five terrorism charges, including developing an encrypted version of an Islamic website and posting videos explaining how to use encryption
March 20, 2017 20 Mar'17
Netherlands aims to benefit from Brexit in IT talent search

The Netherlands is positioning itself as the ideal home for ambitious IT professionals from across the world
March 19, 2017 19 Mar'17
SAP to invest $200m in United Arab Emirates

European software maker plans investment to get near customers in the Middle East
March 17, 2017 17 Mar'17
NCSC commits to greater diversity

GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre is planning several initiatives to ensure more women are attracted to and remain in technology roles, particularly cyber security
March 17, 2017 17 Mar'17
Cyber security is a huge opportunity for UK business, says NCSC

NCSC engagement director Alex Dewdney is leading government's new approach in working with UK industry to build a national cyber security community and capability
March 17, 2017 17 Mar'17
IT contractors prosper from Brexit uncertainty

Since the Brexit vote, IT contractors have seen higher pay rates and longer contracts, which indicates businesses’ caution over permanent recruitment
March 16, 2017 16 Mar'17
HMRC urged to delay digital tax plan for businesses

Lords committee echoes previous criticism by MPs over timetable for Making Tax Digital programme and calls for further trials
March 16, 2017 16 Mar'17
Government to ramp up help for UK cyber security industry

Government, in partnership with industry, is pursuing a range of initiatives aimed at establishing a UK cyber security ecosystem, developing skills and products and boosting exports, says DIT’s Conrad Prince
March 16, 2017 16 Mar'17
Government to create map over departments’ transformation progress

The Cabinet Office’s Transformation Peer Group is looking for a partner to help create a digital mapping tool where civil servants can look up info on transformation programmes
March 15, 2017 15 Mar'17
Smart meters risk exacerbating problems of digital exclusion, says Ofgem

An Ofgem report has warned of the difficulties in getting consumers to engage with smart meters
March 15, 2017 15 Mar'17
Raising cyber security grasp is biggest challenge, says GCHQ chief

Everyone has a role to play in cyber security, and the NCSC has the right pedigree to co-ordinate and balance the efforts of government, industry and academia, says GCHQ director Robert Hannigan
March 15, 2017 15 Mar'17
The UK needs more women in cyber security, says GCHQ chief

The need to recruit more women into cyber security has come under the spotlight at CyberUK as a study shows the UK infosec industry has one of the lowest proportions of women and the highest gender pay gaps in the world
March 15, 2017 15 Mar'17
Tablets on the decline in Middle East as big smartphones take over

A total of 13.8 million tablets were sold in the region in 2016 – 14.7% less than in 2015
March 15, 2017 15 Mar'17
Digital commerce makes up less than 1% of GDP in Middle East

Region sees double-digit growth in consumer use of digital channels, but businesses seem reluctant to get involved
March 14, 2017 14 Mar'17
What’s in the UK government’s 5G strategy?

The UK government’s 5G mobile strategy was released to coincide with the Spring Budget. We look at some of its key aims
March 14, 2017 14 Mar'17
NCSC chief calls for UK collaboration on cyber security

The National Cyber Security Centre is unashamedly ambitious in aiming to make the UK the safest place to do business online, which chief Ciaran Martin sees as an achievable goal
March 14, 2017 14 Mar'17
IR35 research: 85% of contractors will quit public sector if tax status changed

Research by tax advisers QDos Contractor suggests few public sector off-payroll workers would be willing to stick around if made to pay the same tax as salaried staff
March 13, 2017 13 Mar'17
Analytics sell Tegile hybrid flash as college replaces iSCSI

Bolton College replaces six-year-old Dell EqualLogic iSCSI block arrays and is won over to Tegile hybrid flash by ease of troubleshooting troublesome VM I/O spike issues
March 13, 2017 13 Mar'17
NCSC to educate UK politicians on the cyber threat

The National Cyber Security Centre is to deliver tailored seminars for politicians on how to protect their email communications and voters’ data to defend against cyber threats to the political system
March 13, 2017 13 Mar'17
Singapore’s Republic Polytechnic opens new labs to groom cyber security talent

New lab facilities have been established at Singapore’s Republic Polytechnic through partnerships with RSA Security, Palo Alto Networks, Trend Micro and Ixia
March 10, 2017 10 Mar'17
Tech firms to get first look at CIA hacking tools

WikiLeaks has promised to show tech firms details of what it claims is a leaked arsenal of CIA hacking tools to enable them to prepare fixes before any more are made public
March 09, 2017 09 Mar'17
Huge demand for government cyber defence apprenticeships

A rush for cyber defence apprenticeships shows young people are looking to cyber security as a viable and interesting career option
March 09, 2017 09 Mar'17
London IT firms trying to increase worker diversity

IT firms in London need to do more to reduce a gender bias and increase diversity in the workplace, says research
March 09, 2017 09 Mar'17
Danish consumer council refers Google to Data Protection Agency

Danish consumer rights protection organisation has referred Google to regulator over its personal data storage policy
March 09, 2017 09 Mar'17
Scottish police’s i6 project failed due to loss of trust and disagreements, auditor finds

Police Scotland’s IT systems replacement programme failed because of loss of trust and underestimation of its complexities, according to an Audit Scotland investigation
March 08, 2017 08 Mar'17
Budget 2017: IT skills, 5G, broadband, and R&D receive funding boost

Chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond targeted improvements in innovation, connectivity and education in his latest financial update
March 08, 2017 08 Mar'17
Spring Budget advances 5G strategy and broadband funding

The government has launched its 5G mobile strategy to coincide with Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Spring Budget, and has revealed more details of its planned broadband investment
March 07, 2017 07 Mar'17
Country as a service becoming reality in Estonia

Programme to help foreigners set up businesses in Estonia through virtual residency is gathering pace
March 07, 2017 07 Mar'17
IR35 reform will have ‘significant delivery impact’, says Home Office CIO

New regulations for public sector contractors are needed but will lead to a period of “significant pain”, according to Home Office tech boss Sarah Wilkinson
March 06, 2017 06 Mar'17
CIO interview: Sarah Wilkinson, Home Office

The Home Office tech boss shares her views on Brexit challenges, collaborating with GDS and running large government IT programmes
March 06, 2017 06 Mar'17
European data protection law to give consumers more control

UK information commissioner calls on business to focus on data protection, not only to comply with the new data regulations, but also foster the digital economy and gain a competitive edge
March 06, 2017 06 Mar'17
Thorough network upgrade underpins University of Law’s IT

Legal education specialist the University of Law has undertaken a multi-million pound future IT project to refresh its networks, Wi-Fi and datacentre infrastructures across multiple locations
March 06, 2017 06 Mar'17
3D printing gets serious in the Netherlands

3D projects abound in the Netherlands, with the technology being applied to canal bridges, bicycles, ship components and buildings
March 03, 2017 03 Mar'17
HMRC blasted over "inaccurate" and "unreliable" IR35 online assessment tool

Public sector contracting stakeholders claim newly launched tool is returning inaccurate results over IR35 status of some public sector off-payroll workers
March 03, 2017 03 Mar'17
GaaP could save local government up to £500m

The Government Digital Service estimates that local public services could save up to £500m annually by using common platforms such as Gov.uk Verify
March 02, 2017 02 Mar'17
Swedish municipality Järfälla signs €14m outsourcing deal

Swedish municipality signs a new IT services partner to drive digital transformation
March 02, 2017 02 Mar'17
China calls for mutually-beneficial global co-operation in cyber space

China is calling for greater international collaboration in cyber space, saying it is committed to working with other countries to combat cyber crime and cyber terrorism
March 02, 2017 02 Mar'17
MoD ditches spreadsheets for SaaS-based collaboration tool

The Ministry of Defence is taking advantage of G-Cloud for collaboration software to manage its global activities
March 02, 2017 02 Mar'17
Gov.uk Notify ready for use across government digital services

The notification platform is now ready to be used by all central government services needing electronic progress updates for users
March 02, 2017 02 Mar'17
MWC 2017: Barcelona trial uses IoT and big data to manage tourists

Barcelona, the host city for Mobile World Congress, has been demonstrating its use of the internet of things and big data to help manage visitors to Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia
March 02, 2017 02 Mar'17
UK digital strategy highlights key issues but lacks measurable targets

The government’s digital strategy, which aims to set out plans to the “success of the UK’s digital economy” post-Brexit, has been received with mixed response by industry and experts
March 01, 2017 01 Mar'17
GDPR good for UK business and economy, experts tell Lords’ committee

Adopting GDPR is good business practice and will put the UK on a good footing post Brexit, but getting an EC data protection adequacy ruling could be challenging due to bulk data collection provisions in the Investigatory Powers Act, experts warn
March 01, 2017 01 Mar'17
Government seeks tech firms’ opinion on Brexit as part of tender process

The Department for International Trade is evaluating companies bidding for contracts by their support for the UK’s departure from the EU - which may be illegal
March 01, 2017 01 Mar'17
Liberty begins legal proceedings in challenge to Snoopers’ Charter

Civil rights group Liberty has begun its legal challenge to the bulk surveillance powers in the new Investigatory Powers Act, setting in motion a judicial review
February 28, 2017 28 Feb'17
Government digital strategy promises focus on skills and industry partnerships

Strategy includes plans to create international tech hubs, digital skills partnerships, a fintech competition and industry collaboration
February 28, 2017 28 Feb'17
What are CIOs doing about the rise of blockchain?

Six CIOs share their views on the rise of blockchain and how to take advantage of this emerging technology
February 28, 2017 28 Feb'17
Microsoft to discontinue Skype Wi-Fi service

Microsoft is retiring its Skype Wi-Fi service to concentrate on other services on the communications platform
February 28, 2017 28 Feb'17
Unite union members at Fujitsu on strike

Union members strike over jobs, pay and pensions after Fujitsu announced plans to cut it UK workforce by 1,800
February 28, 2017 28 Feb'17
IWM digitises vast collection in SpectraLogic tape archive

Imperial War Museum deploys SpectraLogic tape archive systems with LTFS Black Pearl in digitisation project for 21,000 hours of film and millions of images and voice recordings
February 27, 2017 27 Feb'17
Ankabut creates hyper-connected ecosystem for UAE education

United Arab Emirates education network implements cloud-based software to improve students’ access to resources
February 27, 2017 27 Feb'17
Hundreds more sub-postmasters apply to join group action against Post Office

Initial hearing regarding sub-postmasters who say they were wrongly punished for false accounting reveals admission by Post Office legal team
February 27, 2017 27 Feb'17
Citizen Love: the story of an ordinary family's fight with the US government

Finnish documentary makers Raimo Uunila and Lauri Danska tell the behind-the-scenes story of activist Lauri Love’s battle with the US government – and the impact of the case on his family
February 27, 2017 27 Feb'17
MWC 2017: Global mobile operators to use big data for social good

The GSMA has launched the Big Data For Social Good initiative, drawing together the big data capabilities of mobile network operators to address humanitarian crises around the world
February 27, 2017 27 Feb'17
MWC 2017: BT showcases network startups and 5G for VR

At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, BT announces new research into network design and build, and explores the future of 5G networks
February 25, 2017 25 Feb'17
Government puts artificial intelligence on the agenda

Government digital strategy’s plans to boost the artificial intelligence industry include a £17m fund to support new technological developments
February 23, 2017 23 Feb'17
Dutch banks and ISPs behind in domain security

Dutch banks are falling behind organisations in other sectors when it comes to securing domains.
February 22, 2017 22 Feb'17
Virtual reality takes off in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries

There is a thriving virtual reality industry in the Middle East, with the technology's application expected to go far beyond gaming
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