News

IT for government and public sector

• December 19, 2023 19 Dec'23

  Top 10 information management stories of 2023

  Generative AI was inescapable as the leading theme of the information management stories of 2023 gathered here. But also selected are pieces about data and healthcare, and the inexorable rise of the CDO

• December 15, 2023 15 Dec'23

  Police defend facial recognition target selection to Lords

  Senior police officers confirm to Lords committee that facial recognition watchlist image selection is based on crime categories attached to people’s photos, rather than a context-specific assessment of the threat presented by a given individual

• December 15, 2023 15 Dec'23

  Government advised to overturn all Post Office scandal convictions

  An independent board set up to advise the government on compensation for innocent subpostmasters has recommended that all the Post Office scandal convictions are ‘unsafe’ and should be overturned

• December 14, 2023 14 Dec'23

  NCSC CEO Lindy Cameron to step down in 2024

  NCSC chief exec Lindy Cameron, who helped lead and elevate the national dialogue on cyber security through major events such as Covid-19, SolarWinds Sunburst and Colonial Pipeline, is to step down in the New Year

• December 14, 2023 14 Dec'23

  Current Post Office executive in denial of Horizon cover-up

  Executives at the Post Office today are still in denial of the part they played in destroying the lives of thousands of people

• December 13, 2023 13 Dec'23

  No UK AI legislation until timing is right, says Donelan

  The UK government will not legislate on artificial intelligence until it has a better understanding of the technology, so is instead focusing on building up regulatory capacity and conducting safety-focused research, says digital secretary

• December 13, 2023 13 Dec'23

  Microsoft’s Christmas present for cyber teams: no zero-days

  Barely 30 vulnerabilities, and no zero-days, have been fixed in the final Patch Tuesday drop of 2023

• December 13, 2023 13 Dec'23

  Critical UK infrastructure a ‘hostage of fortune’ to ransomware

  A lack of ransomware planning and preparedness at the highest levels of government is leaving UK operators or critical national infrastructure dangerously exposed, according to a Joint Committee report

• December 12, 2023 12 Dec'23

  MoD fined after breach of Afghan staffers’ data put lives at risk

  The MoD has been fined £350,000 by the ICO after an email blunder exposed data on Afghan nationals who had worked with British forces and were at risk of Taliban reprisals

• December 12, 2023 12 Dec'23

  Outdated data protection practice key factor in PSNI data breach

  The August 2023 data breach at the Police Service of Northern Ireland arose chiefly from an outdated approach to data protection and compliance at the force, according to an independent review

• December 08, 2023 08 Dec'23

  Former Post Office investigator called subpostmaster campaigners ‘crooks’

  Former Post Office investigator labelled subpostmasters attempting to clear their names as ‘crooks’

• December 07, 2023 07 Dec'23

  UK names Russian FSB agents behind political hacking campaign

  Russian hacking group, Star Blizzard, was part of a Russian intelligence operation aimed at interfering with UK politics and the democratic process, says government.

• December 07, 2023 07 Dec'23

  CIO interview: Keith Woolley, chief digital information officer, University of Bristol

  With Bristol set to host the UK’s biggest supercomputer, its technology chief is looking to make the most of internal and international collaboration to drive digital improvements

• December 06, 2023 06 Dec'23

  NHS whistleblower Peter Duffy threatens trust with legal action in row over alleged email tampering

  NHS whistleblower warns his former employer of potential litigation over a dispute concerning allegations of email tampering

• December 06, 2023 06 Dec'23

  Government launches UK-wide Cyber Explorers Cup

  Schoolkids across the UK are being called on to team up and defeat Herbert the Hacker in a new government-backed competition

• December 06, 2023 06 Dec'23

  Post Office prioritised its ‘bottom line’ over justice

  The Post Office was more concerned with saving money and recovering unexplained losses than getting to the bottom of subpostmaster claims that Horizon errors caused shortfalls, inquiry told

• December 05, 2023 05 Dec'23

  Government to trial new border tech

  The software, which the government hopes will make it easier for border staff to identify what is inside the container, will be tested in the New Year as part of plans to ‘cut red tape’ for UK exporters

• December 05, 2023 05 Dec'23

  Operator of Sellafield nuclear facility denies hacking claims

  The operator of the Sellafield nuclear site has denied allegations that senior managers covered up a series of cyber security lapses that enabled Chinese and Russian threat actors to compromise its networks

• December 05, 2023 05 Dec'23

  Majority of GPs now give patients online access to records

  NHS England is close to reaching its target of having nine in 10 GPs offering patients access to their primary care records online

• December 05, 2023 05 Dec'23

  Undisclosed document could reveal pressure on Fujitsu expert witness in Post Office prosecution

  Details of Post Office prosecutor’s meeting with Fujitsu IT expert witness, used in subpostmaster prosecution, not yet disclosed to public inquiry

• December 04, 2023 04 Dec'23

  Microsoft leaves SME resellers in the dark over Cloud Compute 2 framework snub

  SME IT suppliers are calling on Microsoft to explain why it has banned them from reselling its services through the government's new £1.35bn Cloud Compute 2 framework

• December 01, 2023 01 Dec'23

  Human augmentation tech requires dual use oversight

  Researchers investigating human augmentation technologies must acknowledge the potential military applications of their work, and military bodies cannot be allowed to dismiss ethical concerns in their pursuit of national security interests, says NGO...

• December 01, 2023 01 Dec'23

  Lords committee urges caution on UK use of autonomous weapons

  UK government must ensure proper democratic oversight of its development and use of AI-powered weapon systems, says Lords committee

• December 01, 2023 01 Dec'23

  The Security Interviews: Mark McClain, SailPoint Technologies

  SailPoint founder and CEO Mark McClain reflects on how the concept of identity has evolved over the past 20 years, and points to rapid evolution still to come

• December 01, 2023 01 Dec'23

  Post Office lawyer with his fingerprints all over IT scandal spreads blame

  Senior Post Office criminal lawyer was just following orders and claims his only mistake was believing those that told him the Horizon system was robust

• November 30, 2023 30 Nov'23

  Yarra Valley Water to roll out smart water meters

  The move is expected to stem water losses, alert customers to possible leaks and improve the affordability of water

• November 30, 2023 30 Nov'23

  Government’s Online Fraud Charter welcomed

  The government has corralled 11 of the largest tech platforms in the world to commit to its Online Fraud Charter, designed to tackle online scams, fake adverts, and more

• November 30, 2023 30 Nov'23

  Rhysida gang stole hundreds of gigabytes of British Library data

  The Rhysida ransomware gang behind the cyber attack on the British Library has published almost 600GB of stolen data to its dark web leak site

• 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