News

IT for government and public sector

April 20, 2017 20 Apr'17
How to ensure tech staff gain ‘essential soft skills’

Nottingham Trent University’s infrastructure services manager explains how she has made sure her technology team have the essential soft skills they need to support users
April 20, 2017 20 Apr'17
Camden open data platform aims to blaze a trail across London

Camden council’s open data platform aims to enlist other London boroughs in a drive to be “world class”. The borough is home to leading lights of UK tech, including Google UK and BT Openreach
April 20, 2017 20 Apr'17
UK's first digital government head, Andrew Pinder, dies

Pinder was responsible for pushing the UK broadband agenda and starting the ball rolling on the digitisation of government services
April 20, 2017 20 Apr'17
Human interaction still key to cyber attacks, study reveals

An analysis of threats faced by organisations in the first quarter of 2017 reveals that cyber attackers still rely heavily on user interaction

April 20, 2017 20 Apr'17
How tech teams can reduce LGBT+ university dropout

The number of students in the LGBT community who consider dropping out of university is higher than the average, but IT teams can make some small changes which will make a big difference to this figure
April 19, 2017 19 Apr'17
Trump’s clampdown on use of immigrant IT workers may have little impact

US president's latest executive order aims to reduce the number of immigrant IT workers in the country
April 19, 2017 19 Apr'17
How Dutch university quickly connected thousands of students to new learning management system

Dutch university TU Delft is replacing its legacy learning management system after 17 years
April 19, 2017 19 Apr'17
Robotic automation takes off in the Nordics

Software robots are rapidly automating traditionally manual tasks at enterprises across the Nordic region
April 18, 2017 18 Apr'17
How to attract more women into the Gulf tech sector

Organisations in the Middle East need to increase the number of women in their IT workforces
April 18, 2017 18 Apr'17
Sarah Wilkinson to head up NHS Digital

Home Office chief digital, data and technology officer Sarah Wilkinson is leaving the department to lead NHS Digital as its CEO

April 18, 2017 18 Apr'17
Kone brings elevator maintenance online with IBM Watson and Salesforce

Lift manufacturer is using sensors and artificial intelligence to support its maintenance staff
April 13, 2017 13 Apr'17
Victoria Police to get more productive with mobile devices

Apple devices fitted with policing apps will let officers access vital information and collaborate while on the go
April 12, 2017 12 Apr'17
Government must keep EU telecoms and broadband rules after Brexit

The Broadband Stakeholder Group has published a report on the future of the broadband and telecoms sector, urging the government not to lose touch with EU regulations after Brexit
April 12, 2017 12 Apr'17
Foreign cyber attackers may have targeted EU referendum

Cyber attacks may have targeted the EU referendum website in an attempt to influence the outcome, MPs have warned
April 11, 2017 11 Apr'17
Going mobile in Moscow: city digitisation the Russian way

Computer Weekly meets with Andrey Belozerov, strategy and innovations advisor to the CIO of Moscow, to learn how the city government is taking a joined-up approach to digitisation and smart city technology
April 11, 2017 11 Apr'17
‘Can do’ attitude of DevOps teams is driving cloud-first strategies

The cloud-first strategies of businesses across sectors are maturing, with DevOps teams playing a leading role
April 11, 2017 11 Apr'17
Thurrock Council latest to put gigabit broadband in public housing

Thurrock Council will fit out thousands of publicly owned properties with gigabit fibre-to-the-premises broadband
April 11, 2017 11 Apr'17
Europol and Brazil agree co-operation on cyber crime

Brazil, which has a significant and growing cyber crime problem both as the target of international attacks and the source of regional attacks, is set to work more closely with Europol to fight cross-border crime
April 11, 2017 11 Apr'17
Kelihos botnet downed after arrest of alleged kingpin

The US has led the takedown of the international botnet Kelihos after the arrest in Spain of the Russian believed to have operated the botnet since 2010
April 10, 2017 10 Apr'17
Government outsourcing contracts to be extended due to Brexit

Government outsourcing contracts could be extended without renegotiation due to the civil service being overburdened with Brexit work
April 10, 2017 10 Apr'17
Dallas city alarm hack raises fears over vital system security

Hackers have accessed the emergency alert system in Dallas in the largest breach of its kind, raising fears about the cyber security of critical infrastructure
April 07, 2017 07 Apr'17
Home Office U-turn over IR35 contractor classifications prompts IT project delay fears

IT project delays predicted at Home Office, following reports of last-minute departmental U-turn over contractors' IR35 status classifications
April 07, 2017 07 Apr'17
HMRC on the hunt for chief digital information officer

HM Revenue & Customs are looking to hire a CDIO to lead the department’s digital agenda, with a potential salary of up to £180,000
April 07, 2017 07 Apr'17
Most UK companies not prepared for service provider failures

UK businesses are ill-prepared for the impact on their business resulting from the failure of an IT of business process supplier
April 07, 2017 07 Apr'17
Interview: Dave Perry, chief technology officer, DVLA

DVLA’s CTO talks about the agency’s plans to become a hub for digital motoring, the importance of culture, and moving away from legacy IT
April 06, 2017 06 Apr'17
CIO interview: John Seglias, CTO, Defra

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is working on replacing its legacy outsourcing contract, creating user-friendly services and transforming its digital and technology functions
April 06, 2017 06 Apr'17
IR35 reforms: Stakeholders warn of risk to public sector IT projects as contractors walk

With the IR35 reforms coming into force today, 6 April, contracting stakeholders warn of the widespread threat the changes pose to the delivery of public sector IT projects
April 06, 2017 06 Apr'17
Telenor launches IoT pilot in Norway

Telenor is opening up its IoT infrastructure in Norway to encourage students and entrepreneurs to develop IoT products and services
April 06, 2017 06 Apr'17
McAfee report reveals five challenges to cyber threat intelligence

McAfee Labs’ latest report details the challenges facing threat intelligence sharing efforts and reveals growing trends in malware, ransomware, mobile malware and other threats
April 06, 2017 06 Apr'17
Interview: F-Secure’s Mikko Hyppönen on the Nordics, Russia and the internet of insecure things

Computer Weekly sat down with Finnish cyber security expert Mikko Hyppönen to talk about security in the Nordics, Russia and the trouble with connected devices
April 05, 2017 05 Apr'17
NHS Digital plans September go-live for citizen identity service

Health and social care patients will have a single online identity verification log-in to use across health and care by autumn 2017
April 05, 2017 05 Apr'17
Northern Ireland schools to continue with Capita IT services

Two-year, £60m contract extension covers ICT services for 1,100 schools
April 04, 2017 04 Apr'17
CIO interview: Jason Caplin, chief digital officer, Barnardo's

Chief digital officer Jason Caplin is at the helm of the charity’s plans to create a shared data platform, aiming to improve social care services for children
April 04, 2017 04 Apr'17
Chinese hacking group targeted firms through IT MSPs

Security researchers have uncovered a China-based cyber espionage campaign that targeted IT services firms and their customers, underlining the need for supply chain security
April 04, 2017 04 Apr'17
IT services 'mega-child' DXC takes first steps

The merger of CSC and HPE Services is complete and the new company will focus on digital transformation
April 04, 2017 04 Apr'17
Outsourced water market IT system up and running

England’s competitive water and sewage market is now in operation, underpinned by an IT system from CGI
April 04, 2017 04 Apr'17
Housing and care industry must get ready for digital

More than half of housing associations plan to move to digital systems, but suffer from a lack of support and understanding, according to a study
April 04, 2017 04 Apr'17
IR35 reforms: HMRC 'delays' blamed for last-minute public sector compliance panic

Public sector stakeholders claim the late release of HMRC's online tax status assessment tool and its supporting IR35 legislation is causing contractors to leave projects in their droves
April 04, 2017 04 Apr'17
Workers at least mentally prepared for robots to take over some of their work

One-fifth of workers are mentally prepared for technology to take over some of their roles, but employers must do more to support them
April 03, 2017 03 Apr'17
UK nuclear stations on terror alert for cyber attacks

The cyber security industry has been urged to co-operate with government to protect UK critical national infrastructure from cyber attacks.
March 31, 2017 31 Mar'17
Rudd backs down on end-to-end encryption

Lib Dems welcome government’s apparent U-turn on seeking to restrict end-to-end encryption for popular messaging apps and online communication services
March 30, 2017 30 Mar'17
Treasury Committee 'confidence collapse' in HMRC customs IT system

The Treasury Committee is concerned HMRC’s new customs check system won’t be ready to go live by the time the UK leaves the EU
March 30, 2017 30 Mar'17
Government must avoid post-Brexit ‘tech talent cliff edge’, says techUK

As the UK prepares to leave the EU, techUK calls on the government to ensure the tech industry will not lose vital access to digital skills
March 30, 2017 30 Mar'17
GDS builds DDaT jobs framework

The Government Digital Service has created a framework to build common skills and capability across digital, data and technology roles
March 30, 2017 30 Mar'17
First cyber security startups graduate from GCHQ accelerator

The first group of companies has completed a government-led cyber accelerator programme aimed at helping UK startups take the lead in producing the next generation of cyber security systems, with another round to be announced in 2017
March 30, 2017 30 Mar'17
HMRC contractors leave over inside IR35 ruling

HMRC has begun classifying its public sector contractors as "inside IR35", prompting fears of a digital "brain drain" at the organisation
March 29, 2017 29 Mar'17
GDS digital transformation delivers mixed results, says NAO

National Audit Office report examines Gov.uk Verify uptake, GDS strategy changes, spending controls and collaboration with departments
March 29, 2017 29 Mar'17
GDS needs a clearer role, NAO is expected to say

Although the Government Digital Service has done well to change the government’s approach to digital transformation, there is a risk that its remit is still too broad, the National Audit Office is expected to say in a report due out tomorrow
March 29, 2017 29 Mar'17
Are ethical questions holding back AI in France?

France has been slow to create a strategy around the use of artificial intelligence, partly due to questions around ethics
March 28, 2017 28 Mar'17
Threats grow in Saudi Arabia’s cyber sector

Saudi Arabia's wealth makes it an attractive target for cyber criminals, but what have been the recent trends in cyber crime?
March 28, 2017 28 Mar'17
Article 50 triggers uncertainty for the tech industry

As prime minister Theresa May formally notifies the EU of Britain’s intention to withdraw its membership, the tech industry prepares to move into uncharted territory
March 28, 2017 28 Mar'17
Association of Recruitment Consultancies asks MPs to delay roll-out of IR35 reforms

The chairman of Association of Recruitment Consultancies calls for introduction of IR35 reforms to be put on hold until numerous issues pertaining to the legislation are resolved
March 28, 2017 28 Mar'17
1,000 sub-postmasters apply to join IT-related group litigation against Post Office

Group legal action against Post Office relates to allegedly faulty Horizon computer system
March 28, 2017 28 Mar'17
Mobility suite saves Surrey and Sussex Police officers time and money

Over 3,000 frontline Surrey and Sussex Police officers have been outfitted with Airwave’s Pronto e-notebook and application suite
March 24, 2017 24 Mar'17
Crown Commercial Service has failed to achieve its potential, says PAC

Public Accounts Committee says the creation of the CCS was “poorly executed” and the organisation has failed to deliver its taxpayer cost savings target
March 24, 2017 24 Mar'17
Case study: How the Department for Education deployed flexible IT

The Department of Education has upgraded its ageing datacentre to the Azure cloud and Office 365, and rolled out Microsoft Surface devices
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