News

IT for government and public sector

• February 14, 2023 14 Feb'23

  Vidar, nJRAT re-emerge as prominent malware threats in January

  Trojans and infostealers once again dominate the list of most commonly observed threats, according to Check Point’s latest telemetry

• February 14, 2023 14 Feb'23

  ‘Buy now, pay later’ crackdown in the making

  The finance regulator has proposed bringing ‘buy now, pay later’ providers within its regulatory remit

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Russian spear phishing campaign escalates efforts toward critical UK, US and European targets

  Russian hacking group Seaborgium refines its tactics in a continuation of attacks against targets including not-for-profit organisations with geopolitical affiliations

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  KPMG launches metaverse and digital twin hub in Saudi Arabia

  The Saudi Arabian government’s commitment to investing in metaverse technology has attracted a KPMG centre of excellence to its shores

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Investigatory Powers Act: Home Office proposes rethink of safeguards on bulk data collection

  David Anderson KC will review the safeguards on intelligence service and police use of bulk datasets following a Home Office assessment that they are 'disproportionate'.

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Security buyers lack insight into threats, attackers, report finds

  The majority of cyber security purchasing decisions are made without proper insight into the attackers organisations are facing, according to a Mandiant report

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Killnet DDoS attacks disrupt Nato websites

  A series of distributed denial of service attacks on various public websites belonging to the Nato alliance were largely repelled but some resources remain unavailable

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Police tech needs clear legal rules, says biometrics regulator

  Police use of artificial intelligence and facial recognition needs to be controlled by strict rules and mechanisms to ensure public trust

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Northern Ireland integrated care record set to go live in November

  South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust will be the first in Northern Ireland to deploy the Encompass integrated care record system, followed by a phased roll-out to other trusts

• February 10, 2023 10 Feb'23

  Committee launches digital exclusion inquiry

  The Lords Communications Committee has launched an inquiry to investigate how the UK can tackle digital exclusion during the cost-of-living crisis

• February 09, 2023 09 Feb'23

  New Border Force unit to deploy more surveillance tech in Channel

  Newly established Small Boats Operational Command (SBOC) will deploy a range of surveillance technologies in the English Channel in an attempt to deter crossings

• February 08, 2023 08 Feb'23

  Russian hacking group Seaborgium targets SNP MP Stewart McDonald

  Scottish National Party MP Stewart McDonald says his personal emails have been hacked by a group linked to the Russian state in a targeted phishing attack

• February 07, 2023 07 Feb'23

  UK government sets up dedicated department for science and technology

  For the first time, the UK has a Cabinet-level role responsible for all science and technology policy, as part of prime minister Rishi Sunak’s departmental reshuffle

• February 07, 2023 07 Feb'23

  ‘Profound’ digital pound decision faces policymakers

  The UK Treasury has launched a consultation paper to help lay the foundations for a ‘profound decision’ over a digital currency

• February 06, 2023 06 Feb'23

  Cops make arrests and seize drugs after hacking Exclu encrypted messaging app

  Police in the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland raided 80 addresses after covertly intercepting messages from the Exclu encrypted messaging app

• February 06, 2023 06 Feb'23

  MoD needs to transform to succeed with digital strategy, says PAC

  A Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report says the department is ‘not well setup’ to effectively implement its digital change, and calls for both a cultural and organisational shift at the Ministry of Defence (MoD)

• February 06, 2023 06 Feb'23

  The Security Interviews: How to overcome data protection compliance challenges

  Complying with the vast swathe of data protection legislation around the world is complex, especially for smaller organisations without the necessary expertise. Could the compliance process be simplified, and if so, how?

• February 03, 2023 03 Feb'23

  UK seeks head of quantum office

  A vacancy on the civil service jobs site suggests the UK’s new quantum strategy is about to be rolled out – and there’s going to be a new chief

• February 02, 2023 02 Feb'23

  Goodbye NHS Digital – a new era of NHS technology is upon us

  As NHS Digital is officially merged into NHS England, Computer Weekly takes a look at the history of the organisation and what the merger could mean for the future of NHS IT

• February 02, 2023 02 Feb'23

  Government plans to catch tax fraudsters with help of AI

  Cabinet Office signs a deal with data analytics company Quantexa, aiming to use data and artificial intelligence to tackle public sector fraud

• February 02, 2023 02 Feb'23

  UK government announces plans to protect consumers through cryptoasset regulation

  UK government wants feedback on its plans to regulate organisations operating in the cryptoasset sector

• February 01, 2023 01 Feb'23

  NCSC for Startups inducts four companies into programme

  Four more startups are set to join the NCSC accelerator, which helps the UK government develop technology and approaches to pressing cyber security challenges

• February 01, 2023 01 Feb'23

  Cloud security top risk to enterprises in 2023, says study

  A PwC study finds senior executives expect cyber attacks on cloud services to increase significantly this year

• February 01, 2023 01 Feb'23

  Innovative Technology deploys age estimation tech in shops and pubs

  A company involved in Home Office-led trials of biometric age estimation technologies has begun rolling out its hardware to UK shops and pubs so they can use its facial recognition algorithm to assure customers’ ages

• February 01, 2023 01 Feb'23

  UK Cyber Council and ISACA launch audit, assurance programme

  The UK Cyber Security Council has teamed up with ISACA to partner on a new audit and assurance programme for security pros

• January 31, 2023 31 Jan'23

  Tech Nation to shutter after more than a decade

  Tech Nation due to shutter after losing core funding to Barclays Eagle Labs, which will take over its role in supporting UK technology startups and scaleups

• January 31, 2023 31 Jan'23

  MI5 unlawfully collected and held millions of people’s data

  Secretive court finds MI5 knowingly acted unlawfully in use of bulk surveillance warrants, and the Home Office continued granting warrants despite information the agency was operating outside the law

• January 31, 2023 31 Jan'23

  MPs warned of AI arms race to the bottom

  Expert tells Parliamentary committee that tech companies developing artificial intelligence are cutting corners and placing safety on the backburner, opening up ‘enormous risks’ for the future of AI

• January 31, 2023 31 Jan'23

  ATO renews major Macquarie deal

  The contract renewal will enable the Australian Tax Office to tap Macquarie’s security operations centre, among other services, to secure its IT environment and protect sensitive data

• January 31, 2023 31 Jan'23

  Mark Logan on his vision for a Scottish technology ecosystem

  The Scottish Government’s entrepreneur advisor speaks to Computer Weekly about the philosophy behind an ambitious technology ecosystem strategy

• January 30, 2023 30 Jan'23

  Tiger’s hybrid cloud storage targets medical imaging

  Tiger Bridge targets vertical sectors that find it hard to migrate to the cloud by allowing data storage in the cloud while using files locally as if stored on-premise

• January 30, 2023 30 Jan'23

  Former Fujitsu staff under police investigation to face Post Office IT scandal inquiry

  Two former Fujitsu IT professionals being investigated for potential perjury will face Post Office Horizon public inquiry in May

• January 27, 2023 27 Jan'23

  Lords question ‘extensive’ government online safety powers

  Digital minister Paul Scully defends government Online Safety plans to give secretary of state powers to direct Ofcom

• January 27, 2023 27 Jan'23

  Hive ransomware gang taken down after FBI hacks back

  The FBI hacked into Hive’s servers, stole its decryption keys and then took down its servers in a major action that has successfully disrupted a prolific and dangerous ransomware operation

• January 25, 2023 25 Jan'23

  NCSC exposes Iranian, Russian spear-phishing campaign targeting UK

  Spear-phishing campaigns likely linked to Iranian and Russian espionage activity are targeting persons of interest in the UK, warns the NCSC

• January 25, 2023 25 Jan'23

  UK Treasury recruiting digital currency leader

  The UK government’s investigation into the merits of a central bank digital currency gathers pace at it looks for a team leader

• January 25, 2023 25 Jan'23

  Boards struggle to resolve cyber risk in digital supply chains

  Accelerated digitisation of supply chains is introducing more cyber risk for which many organisations seem unprepared, according to the BSI’s annual report on supply chain risk

• January 24, 2023 24 Jan'23

  UK insurers need to up their game on cyber gaps, says PRA

  Gaps and limitations in how insurers respond to cyber risk need to be addressed, according to the Bank of England regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority

• January 24, 2023 24 Jan'23

  SSRF attacks hit 100,000 businesses globally since November

  There has been a dramatic increase in attacks exploiting the ProxyNotShell/OWASSRF exploit chains to target Microsoft Exchange servers

• January 24, 2023 24 Jan'23

  Fake online contest makes Yahoo! most phished brand of Q4 2022

  Yahoo! was the most frequently phished brand during the last three months of 2022, according to a report

• January 24, 2023 24 Jan'23

  Executive interview: Andrew Roughan, CEO, Plexal

  Plexal CEO Andrew Roughan talks about how tech startups collaborate with the government to transform public services, the barriers to entry, and how the process can be improved

• January 23, 2023 23 Jan'23

  Royal Society calls on public sector to pilot privacy tech

  The Royal Society says public sector bodies should lead the way in piloting privacy-enhancing technologies to unlock the value of data without compromising privacy and data rights, but lack of standards and incentives mean adoption is slow

• January 20, 2023 20 Jan'23

  Barclays Eagle Labs awarded Digital Growth Grant over Tech Nation

  Barclays Eagle Labs incubator to take over Tech Nation’s role in administering UK government digital growth grant amid backlash from startup ecosystem

• January 20, 2023 20 Jan'23

  WhatsApp’s £4.8m fine raises questions for organisations using behavioural advertising

  The Irish Data Protection Commissioner has fined WhatsApp, owned by Meta, in a case that will raise questions for organisations that rely on contracts rather than consent to comply with GDPR when offering behavioural advertising

• January 19, 2023 19 Jan'23

  UK seeks to ban sharing ‘positive’ Channel crossing videos online

  Under UK government amendments to the Online Safety Bill, video footage that shows people crossing the Channel in a ‘positive light’ could be added to a list of illegal content that all tech platforms must proactively prevent from reaching users, ...

• January 19, 2023 19 Jan'23

  Newham Council rejects use of live facial-recognition tech by police

  Live facial-recognition technology should not be used by police in Newham until biometric and anti-discrimination safeguards are in place, according to a motion passed unanimously by the council, but the Met Police and the Home Office have indicated...

• January 19, 2023 19 Jan'23

  Outdated IT infrastructure poses growing risk to UK Security Vetting

  Delays to UKSV’s important work in safeguarding the country’s national security are in part down to a legacy IT estate in dire need of modernisation, says the NAO

• January 19, 2023 19 Jan'23

  Swedish government launches accelerated digitisation plan

  The Swedish government has launched a four-year plan which will help to digitally transform the country’s public sector

• January 18, 2023 18 Jan'23

  David Anderson KC to review UK surveillance laws

  Home Office commissions independent review of the Investigatory Powers Act, known as the snoopers’ charter. It will include a review of bulk datasets and government access to internet connection records held by phone and internet companies

• January 18, 2023 18 Jan'23

  Oracle and CBI: companies cautious, selective in 2023 IT, business investment

  Oracle and the CBI are seeing much the same picture of cautious technology investment of UK businesses in 2023, in the context of long Covid and the energy price inflation crisis