News
IT for government and public sector
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July 31, 2016
31
Jul'16
DWP director Kevin Cunnington set to take over as new head of Government Digital Service
Kevin Cunnington, currently director general for business transformation at DWP, is taking over as the new head of the Government Digital Service
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July 28, 2016
28
Jul'16
Revealed: The battle for GDS – how Whitehall mandarins are trying to carve up digital strategy
Insiders say senior civil servants want to break up the Government Digital Service and return IT to its previous departmental model
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July 28, 2016
28
Jul'16
MI5 accused of compromising security court
Judges at the UK's most secret court were persuaded not to disclose the existence of secret intrusive data on the population after briefings and lunch with MI5's deputy director general
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July 28, 2016
28
Jul'16
UK’s top security judges struggle to assess privacy threats
Technological advancements make it difficult for the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to assess privacy threats, say the tribunal’s own judges
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July 27, 2016
27
Jul'16
Digital Greenwich joins forces with University of Surrey for 5G smart city tests
Collaboration will investigate “smarter” ways to cope with challenges related to transport, health, energy and the built environment
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July 27, 2016
27
Jul'16
Accenture to move HMRC tax system to private cloud
HMRC has awarded Accenture a contract that will run until 2020 to digitise the UK tax system
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July 27, 2016
27
Jul'16
Warwickshire and West Mercia police select Saab to update shared control room
Warwickshire and West Mercia combine emergency and contact centre systems using Saab Group’s Safe unified control room system
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July 27, 2016
27
Jul'16
Gov.uk Notify notifications system starts to be used for live digital services
Status updates system is latest part of the government-as-a-platform strategy from the Government Digital Service
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July 26, 2016
26
Jul'16
No barrier to trial in UK, Lauri Love extradition hearing told
British hackers, including members of Anonymous, have been tried in the UK, despite causing serious damage to US computer systems, a court hears
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July 26, 2016
26
Jul'16
Date set for landmark hearing into EU-US data transfers
Irish court hearing triggered by Austrian law student Max Schrems could have huge implications for EU-US trade and the data privacy rights of millions of EU citizens
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July 26, 2016
26
Jul'16
Government tests use of social media accounts for verifying online user identity
Online public service users may be asked to allow access to their Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter accounts to help prove they are who they say they are
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July 25, 2016
25
Jul'16
Skills shortage and poor IT infrastructure hinder tech adoption by Asean governments
EIU report highlights governments’ desire for better use of data, including cloud access
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July 25, 2016
25
Jul'16
Estonia seeks UK datacentre to protect citizens' personal data from hackers - report
The Baltic state is reportedly in early stage talks with the UK and Luxembourg governments about setting up a backup site in either country to protect citizens’ data from risk of hackers
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July 22, 2016
22
Jul'16
Jihadists’ digital tools revealed
A report by dark web intelligence firm Flashpoint reveals how jihadist groups use common security and other tools to hide their digital communications from national security forces
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July 22, 2016
22
Jul'16
UK government needs 2,800 extra digital staff to deliver current plans
Head of the National Audit Office highlights risks from a 'digital capability' gap across Whitehall
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July 21, 2016
21
Jul'16
Almost half of UK's largest councils lack cloud strategy, Eduserv FOI study reveals
Eduserv study into cloud take-up inside local authorities suggests council CIOs are still over-invested in on-premise technology
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July 21, 2016
21
Jul'16
IT outsourcing falls steeply in second quarter but IT as a service sees strong growth
Sales of IT as a service growth in Europe helped offset a huge fall in the total value of traditional IT and business process outsourcing contracts
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July 20, 2016
20
Jul'16
DWP blames policy changes for a further shift in Universal Credit rollout
A Public Accounts Committee hearing coincided with news that the DWP is delaying the rollout of Universal Credit
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July 20, 2016
20
Jul'16
Home Office merges IT units
The Home Office is merging its IT units to create Home Office Digital, Data and Technology and has appointed CTO Sarah Wilkinson to lead it
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July 19, 2016
19
Jul'16
Australian prime minister appoints new tech leads
Malcolm Turnbull has made key tech appointments following his narrow victory in the Australian election
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July 19, 2016
19
Jul'16
US government joins legal challenge of EU-US data transfers
Helen Dixon, Ireland’s data protection commissioner, is asking the European Court of Justice to rule on the legality of EU-US data transfers, post-Safe Harbour, in a landmark legal challenge
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July 19, 2016
19
Jul'16
Private data should only be kept for ‘serious crime’, says European Court
European Court of Justice lays down the limits of data retention following legal challenge by two UK MPs, and David Davis withdraws his name from legal action after assuming a post in Theresa May’s cabinet
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July 18, 2016
18
Jul'16
MPs call on government to address Brexit risks to digital economy
Digital skills, tech startups and the UK’s digital economy success stories have all been put at risk by the decision to leave the EU, says a committee of MPs
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July 18, 2016
18
Jul'16
French public sector’s never-ending struggle with the cloud
The French government has more hurdles to overcome than many of its European neighbours when it comes to adopting cloud computing services
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July 18, 2016
18
Jul'16
Prime minister Theresa May shakes up responsibility for digital policy in ministerial reshuffle
Former Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock replaces Ed Vaizey as digital economy minister in the highest-profile change among digital roles
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July 18, 2016
18
Jul'16
Oracle targets cloud sales at Asia Pacific’s mid-sized firms
Software giant aims to hire 1,000 professionals to drive mid-market growth in Apac region
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July 15, 2016
15
Jul'16
HMRC needs to win public trust over digital services, says NAO
The National Audit Office calls on HM Revenue & Customs to increase transparency and assess thow moving to a digital tax system will impact businesses and individuals
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July 15, 2016
15
Jul'16
Tech industry welcomes Microsoft victory in data access case
Tech firms, civil liberties groups and trade bodies welcome what could be a landmark ruling by a US court in protecting the privacy of cloud services
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July 14, 2016
14
Jul'16
Australia’s new government under pressure to hit broadband targets
Newly elected conservative coalition government will see Australia’s National Broadband Network plan become a higher priority
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July 14, 2016
14
Jul'16
US jails Chinese businessman in military hacking case
Two years after his arrest in Canada for cyber spying on US military aircraft, a Chinese businessman has been jailed by a US court for nearly four years
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July 14, 2016
14
Jul'16
UK business unlikely to dodge EU cyber security rules post-Brexit
The UK’s Brexit vote has thrown many businesses into uncertainty and doubt about whether they will have comply with the cyber security rules coming out of the EU
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July 13, 2016
13
Jul'16
Investigatory Powers Bill: rushed through under cover of Brexit
The government should delay the Investigatory Powers Bill to allow time for proper scrutiny following the political chaos that has engulfed Britain after the Brexit vote
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July 13, 2016
13
Jul'16
Cubic Transportation licenses TfL’s contactless payment system
Cubic Transportation plans to use London's payments system to develop contactless solutions for transport around the world
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July 13, 2016
13
Jul'16
Salford and Liverpool join forces on digital transformation
Liverpool and Salford councils have signed a joint contract with SAP to deliver a technology platform, aiming to reduce costs and improve efficiencies
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July 12, 2016
12
Jul'16
IBM sets up security centre in Canberra
IBM leads the charge as large private businesses invest heavily in security resources across Australia in an attempt to close the security gap
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July 12, 2016
12
Jul'16
CIO interview: Tonino Ciuffini, Warwickshire County Council
Warwickshire County Council’s CIO, Tonino Ciuffini, talks about his love for the job, cloud and information sharing
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July 12, 2016
12
Jul'16
Cyber security must top UK agenda, say leading scientists
Royal Society report calls for greater sharing of breach and threat information, and more support for research and international collaboration
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July 11, 2016
11
Jul'16
Why the public cloud will revolutionise government IT
The UK is ahead of the curve in public cloud adoption, and the upcoming creation of an AWS UK region will push public services further online
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July 11, 2016
11
Jul'16
Case study: Leeds City Council saves £400,000 with new print system
Council uses Canon’s organisation-wide centralised print system as platform for digital change
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July 11, 2016
11
Jul'16
DWP trials blockchain technology for benefit payments
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) trials blockchain's distributed ledger technology, with benefit claimants using a mobile app to track welfare payments
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July 08, 2016
08
Jul'16
IPA rates several government IT projects as red or amber/red
The Infrastructure and Projects Authority gives several IT projects a low rating of red or amber/red, including HMRC’s Aspire exit and the Home Office’s Oracle ERP project
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July 08, 2016
08
Jul'16
Security industry largely welcomes NCA cyber crime report
Most information security professionals support the National Crime Agency's call for help from businesses in pursuing cyber criminals
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July 08, 2016
08
Jul'16
New Jersey turns to technology to keep offenders out of jail
New Jersey is developing criminal justice applications that will save offenders from spending years in jail before their cases are heard
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July 08, 2016
08
Jul'16
Vodafone launches mobile scheme for community hubs
Vodafone’s Community Indoor Sure Signal scheme builds on its Rural Open Sure Signal programme to provide indoor mobile coverage in community hubs
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July 07, 2016
07
Jul'16
Saudi Telecom Company leads nation’s transformation agenda
Saudi Telecom Company and its technology partners support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s drive into digital public services
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July 06, 2016
06
Jul'16
Business has critical role in fighting cyber crime, says report
The National Crime Agency is calling for a stronger collaboration between business and law enforcement to fight cyber crime in the light of a report produced with private sector partners
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July 06, 2016
06
Jul'16
NHS England scraps controversial Care.data programme
The government decides to shut down its troubled Care.data programme as Fiona Caldicott launches new opt-out model for the sharing of patient data
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July 06, 2016
06
Jul'16
Public sector data sharing to transform service delivery, says government
The government sets out to transform how data is shared across public sector bodies as part of a commitment to improve public services
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July 05, 2016
05
Jul'16
Nordic CIO interview: Tore Burheim, University of Bergen
IT director of Norwegian university tells Computer Weekly about digitising education and creating co-operative clusters
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July 05, 2016
05
Jul'16
More than 2,000 police data breaches in 4.5 years, report reveals
Big Brother Watch calls for new policies to ensure police forces keep personal data safe after FOI requests show an average of 10 data breaches a week
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July 04, 2016
04
Jul'16
Scottish police and Accenture terminate IT systems contract
Scottish Police Authority, Accenture and Police Scotland have mutually agreed to abandon the £40m contract for new operational policing system after project ran into problems
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July 01, 2016
01
Jul'16
The Services Family bank outsources IT to Sopra Steria
The Services Family, a bank set up to serve military personnel, has outsourced technology services to Sopra Steria
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July 01, 2016
01
Jul'16
CCS extends controversial temporary staff sourcing framework
The Crown Commercial Service extends the Contingent Labour One framework, now due to expire in June 2017
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June 29, 2016
29
Jun'16
Australia’s National Broadband Network project up in the air
As Australian voters go to the polls this weekend, the future of the country's National Broadband Network is up in the air
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June 29, 2016
29
Jun'16
Lauri Love using illness as a shield against extradition, claims prosecution
Prosecution lawyer questions whether activist Lauri Love is not fit enough to stand trial in the US over hacking charges,as expert witnesses warn that US prisons are ill-equipped for people with mental health problems.
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June 29, 2016
29
Jun'16
Most cyber security strategies ignore the way attackers really work
Cyber attackers use more legitimate software than malware, which means most organisations are incapable of detecting much of the malicious activity in their networks, a report reveals
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June 29, 2016
29
Jun'16
Brexit: Datacentre investments set to slow as economic stability concerns hit CIOs
As the economic uncertainty around Brexit continues, CIOs may put new datacentre investments on hiatus, warns analyst
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June 29, 2016
29
Jun'16
Lauri Love may be faking mental illness claims lawyer for US
Prosecution lawyer Peter Caldwell questions whether activist Lauri Love is exaggerating mental health problems to avoid extradition to face hacking charges in the US
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June 29, 2016
29
Jun'16
IT services sector faces freeze amid Brexit wrangling
The IT services sector across the globe will be hit by the uncertainty around the UK's future relationship with the EU, but a spending freeze will eventually thaw
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June 29, 2016
29
Jun'16
US government may ask for travellers’ social media details
The US government is seeking permission to request details of travellers’ social media presence
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June 29, 2016
29
Jun'16
Brexit: GDS boss urges civil servants to keep calm and carry on
GDS boss Stephen Foreshew-Cain has told civil servants to continue with their work “calmly and proudly” in the face of Brexit
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June 28, 2016
28
Jun'16
Facebook data case raises US national security issues
Dublin court case on the legality of Facebook’s data transfers to the US raises issues that affect US national security, claims US Department of Justice
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June 28, 2016
28
Jun'16
Lauri Love suicide risk if extradited to US over hacking allegations
Westminster Magistrates’ Court hears evidence from medical experts that alleged hacker Lauri Love is at risk of suicide if extradited to the US
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June 28, 2016
28
Jun'16
Finland’s prisons move to a cashless world
Inmates in Finland’s prisons will no longer need to use cash as a pre-paid card system is rolled out
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June 27, 2016
27
Jun'16
Post-Brexit price hikes hit cloud and datacentre community, as currency fluctuations bite
Cloud and datacentre analysts claim IT buyers are already feeling the pinch from the outcome of the EU referendum, but past performance suggests demand for colocation space will rise in the event of recession
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June 27, 2016
27
Jun'16
Uncertainty ahead for government IT following Brexit
Uncertainty, funding issues and potential changes to procurement lie ahead as the UK prepares to negotiate its Brexit deal, but suppliers remain cautiously optimistic
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June 24, 2016
24
Jun'16
UK IT community rocked but keeping calm in face of Brexit
The UK IT sector reacts with alarm, tempered by a calm pragmatism, to the British Referendum verdict to leave the European Union. Reporting by the Computer Weekly team
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June 24, 2016
24
Jun'16
Local Government Ombudsman moves to cloud network service
Ombudsman service is on the way to realising 30% cost savings with 50% faster connectivity after procuring a cloud telephony service through G-Cloud
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June 23, 2016
23
Jun'16
Stockport council ditches HDS SAN for Nutanix hyper-converged
Stockport council shifts to hyper-converged server storage boxes from Nutanix, with its previous SAN reaching end of life and experiencing operational issues and scalability problems
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June 22, 2016
22
Jun'16
Singapore to block internet access for its public servants from 2017
From May 2017, most of Singapore’s public servants will not be able to access the internet from their workstations
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June 21, 2016
21
Jun'16
Angus Council signs up to Scottish Wide Area Network
Angus Council has become the latest local authority in Scotland to sign up to the Scottish Wide Area Network, or Swan, for enhanced public services delivery
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June 20, 2016
20
Jun'16
Lower average cost of Australian data breaches is not a sign of comfort
The average cost of a data breach to Australian organisations dropped in 2015, according to research
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June 20, 2016
20
Jun'16
GDS drafts new technology code of practice
The Government Digital Service (GDS) plans to update its technology code of practice and asks stakeholders for feedback
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June 20, 2016
20
Jun'16
Leaving the EU would put tech startups at risk, says Ed Vaizey
Speaking at the launch of London Technology Week, minister of state for culture and the digital economy Ed Vaizey says the digital single market is a “massive opportunity” for UK tech companies
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June 17, 2016
17
Jun'16
How MI5 and MI6 gather your personal data for surveillance
Publicly released documents shed light on the many databases and sources used by the intelligence services to gather bulk personal data about UK citizens
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June 17, 2016
17
Jun'16
Hays Recruitment service desk project is all gain and no pain
The firm was attracted by the many benefits of a cloud-based service desk, but chief among them was the low risk involved in implementation
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June 17, 2016
17
Jun'16
Clegg unaware of GCHQ monitoring parliamentary emails
Former deputy prime minister tells a public meeting he was unaware parliamentary emails were scanned by system linked to GCHQ
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June 17, 2016
17
Jun'16
Report calls for “collective approach” to health and care integration
National health and care organisations are calling for better leadership to drive integration of services and getting rid of silos
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June 16, 2016
16
Jun'16
Memset laments ‘pitiful return’ on G-Cloud datacentre investments
Memset managing director Kate Craig-Wood claims public sector buyers are too entrenched in old procurement practices to make the most of G-Cloud
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June 16, 2016
16
Jun'16
Builders kill Virgin broadband service to thousands of Londoners
Builders working in Brixton, south London, have severed a crucial link in Virgin Media’s trunk network, cutting broadband and cable TV services to thousands
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June 16, 2016
16
Jun'16
Enfield council to deploy customer service robot
The London Borough of Enfield is starting to use a software robot, known as Amelia, to process citizen requests
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June 15, 2016
15
Jun'16
Australian datacentre investments rocket due to latest enterprise IT trends
The increased use of big data, analytics, cloud and mobile technologies in Australian enterprises is driving spending in datacentre services
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June 15, 2016
15
Jun'16
Hancock sets out key principles for digital transformation
Data should be a public service in its own right and the civil service need to add digital to their skillset, says Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock
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June 14, 2016
14
Jun'16
Health and care IT industry join forces to create action group to champion interoperability
29 health and social care IT suppliers launch an action group to accelerate the development of open standards in the sector
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June 14, 2016
14
Jun'16
Infrastructure and Projects Authority still concerned over HMRC Aspire exit
One-fifth of the overall Aspire contract will continue to run until 2020, and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority remains concerned about HMRC's ability to manage the exit process
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June 13, 2016
13
Jun'16
BT wins pan-London ICT framework contract worth up to £200m
BT will be the sole supplier for a pan-London procurement framework for ICT services, set up by three London councils
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June 13, 2016
13
Jun'16
Digital skills gap costs UK economy £63bn a year
The Science and Technology Committee says the UK is facing a digital skills crisis and calls on government to publish its Digital Strategy “without further delay”
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June 12, 2016
12
Jun'16
Philippines government data breach is a warning to Asean region
Security is a rising concern in the Asean region, with fears fuelled by incidents such as the recent hacking incident in Manila
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June 10, 2016
10
Jun'16
IoT security: Lack of expertise will hurt, says Bruce Schneier
Government action at national and international levels is essential for addressing IoT security issues, but the relevant expertise is lacking, according to security expert Bruce Schneier
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June 10, 2016
10
Jun'16
Middle East virtualisation strategies mature
CIOs in the Middle East are formulating their virtualisation strategies as the region warms to the benefits of cloud computing
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June 10, 2016
10
Jun'16
Majority of civil servants don’t understand GaaP
Some 43% of civil servants don’t know what the Government Digital Service’s government-as-a-platform programme is, according to a survey
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June 10, 2016
10
Jun'16
Australia knows it has a cyber security problem, but not the scale
The Australian government is aware it has a cyber security challenge, but might not understand the size of the issue, according to experts
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June 09, 2016
09
Jun'16
Engage early with police on cyber crime, business told
Businesses should approach law enforcement as early as possible about cyber crime, even before they are targeted, according to an expert panel
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June 09, 2016
09
Jun'16
Public-private partnerships key to fighting cyber threats, says William Hague MP
There is a need for both privacy and security, and only a network of partnerships is going to succeed in delivering that, according to William Hague MP
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June 08, 2016
08
Jun'16
Poor tech choices damage productivity and cut income
Mid-sized businesses are less efficient and are losing money because they give staff the wrong computing devices to do their jobs
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June 08, 2016
08
Jun'16
Citrix expands in Middle East with first Saudi Arabia office
Citrix is increasing its presence in the Middle East, opening its first office in Saudi Arabia with plans to expand into Qatar and Egypt
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June 07, 2016
07
Jun'16
GDS builds cross-government IT contract dashboard
Common Technology Services director Iain Patterson wants to strengthen the relationship with departments and industry
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June 07, 2016
07
Jun'16
Unlicensed software rife among Asean computer users, says BSA
The Asean region has the highest levels of unlicensed software use, according to the 2016 Global Software Survey from the Business Software Alliance (BSA)
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June 06, 2016
06
Jun'16
How emails sent to and from Parliament are monitored
Government officials deny that emails sent by MPs are open to surveillance by GCHQ and NSA - we examine the evidence
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June 06, 2016
06
Jun'16
‘Considerable risk’ if Post Office replaced Horizon system, says chairman
Post Office chairman Tim Parker says there would be ‘considerable risk’ associated with changing its Horizon computer system