News

IT for government and public sector

• October 12, 2022 12 Oct'22

  French Supreme Court rejects EncroChat verdict after lawyers question secrecy over hacking operation

  France’s Supreme Court has sent a case back to the court of appeal after police failed to disclose technical details of EncroChat hacking operation

• October 12, 2022 12 Oct'22

  ICO selectively discloses reprimands for data protection breaches

  Data protection experts question ICO’s selective approach to publishing formal reprimands for contravening the law, after FoI request reveals the Cabinet Office was among the organisations reprimanded

• October 11, 2022 11 Oct'22

  Post Office scandal inquiry restarts with call for a pause amid disclosure controversy

  The statutory public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal has begun phase two with a request for an adjournment amid allegations that the Post Office is failing to meet its obligation to disclose all relevant documents

• October 11, 2022 11 Oct'22

  Public sector spend on IT climbed to £12.6bn in 2021

  Public sector bodies IT spend went up 10% last year, but the majority of the money went to large IT suppliers with 89% of the total spend going to so-called ‘tech titans’, according to a report from Tussell

• October 10, 2022 10 Oct'22

  Dutch infrastructure sector seeks closer collaboration with government

  Although the Netherlands government is increasingly realising how vital the country’s digital infrastructure is, it lacks sufficient policy-making and vision, say industry associations

• October 10, 2022 10 Oct'22

  BHRUT launches digital surgery clinic

  Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust’s digital surgery clinic, thought to be the first in the world, will give 700 patients access to a digital platform to help them prepare for surgery and speed up recovery

• October 10, 2022 10 Oct'22

  Ukraine and EU explore deeper cyber collaboration

  A Ukrainian delegation has met with officials from the EU’s ENISA cyber agency to explore deeper cooperation on cyber security issues

• October 09, 2022 09 Oct'22

  ODI food poverty study shows black families and North East suffering most

  A food poverty data report from the Open Data Institute shows black families and the North East of England are suffering the most

• October 06, 2022 06 Oct'22

  EU rolling out measures for online safety and AI liability

  The European Council has approved the passage of the Digital Services Act to protect people’s rights online, while the European Commission has announced proposals to help those negatively affected by artificial intelligence to claim compensation

• October 06, 2022 06 Oct'22

  Proposals for scanning encrypted messages should be cut from Online Safety Bill, say researchers

  Automatic scanning of messaging services for illegal content could lead to one billion false alarms each day in Europe

• October 04, 2022 04 Oct'22

  Public sector aims to close digital skills gap with private sector

  Digital leaders from the public sector have stressed the need to build up the digital skills and capabilities of civil servants to successfully deliver the government’s digital transformation ambitions, but not at the expense of supplier ecosystems

• October 04, 2022 04 Oct'22

  IR35 reforms to be scrapped: What IT contractors need to know

  News of the government’s plans to scrap the IR35 reforms took the contracting world by surprise, but IT contractors are being warned off making hasty changes to the way they work just yet

• October 04, 2022 04 Oct'22

  HMCTS continues roll-out of Common Platform despite calls to halt deployment

  Controversial roll-out of digital case management system continues amid planned strike action by Public and Commercial Services Union because of issues with the system

• October 04, 2022 04 Oct'22

  France extradites Spanish EncroChat cryptophone distributors for complicity with organised crime

  Three phone sellers have been extradited from Spain to France to face charges that they were complicit in the activities of criminal EncroChat phone users  

• October 03, 2022 03 Oct'22

  Digital right to work checks officially go live

  Under the new government guidance, employers can choose between 16 certified identity service providers to digitally check their employees legal right to work in the UK

• September 30, 2022 30 Sep'22

  Surveillance tech firms complicit in MENA human rights abuses

  Research finds companies are profiting from surveillance technologies that facilitate human rights abuses against migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in the Middle East and North Africa, with little to no oversight

• September 30, 2022 30 Sep'22

  Interview: Rachel Hilliam, chair, Alliance for Data Science Professionals

  Rachel Hilliam talks about the origins, mission and future plans for the Alliance for Data Science Professionals

• September 29, 2022 29 Sep'22

  Failure of Russia’s cyber attacks on Ukraine is most important lesson for NCSC

  Russia has so far failed in its attempts to destabilise Ukraine through cyber attacks due to strength of Ukrainian, security industry and international efforts

• September 28, 2022 28 Sep'22

  Whistleblower Peter Duffy calls for oversight of NHS records to prevent evidence tampering

  A whistleblower has called for greater oversight in the handling of ‘safety-critical digital information’ across the NHS, in light of a number of cases that raise questions about data governance and record-keeping within the health service

• September 28, 2022 28 Sep'22

  Online Safety Bill needs complete overhaul, say rights groups

  Civil society groups write to new digital minister to challenge various aspects of the upcoming Online Safety Bill, which they say threatens rights to privacy and freedom of expression

• September 26, 2022 26 Sep'22

  How Russian intelligence hacked the encrypted emails of former MI6 boss Richard Dearlove

  Hack by Russian-linked ColdRiver group exposed former MI6 chief Richard Dearlove’s contacts and email communications with government, military, intelligence and political officials

• September 26, 2022 26 Sep'22

  Data analysis and artificial intelligence key industrial strategy missions for Labour

  Shadow business secretary announces Labour’s proposed industrial strategy, in which data would take a central role

• September 26, 2022 26 Sep'22

  More than 30 startups to join Plexal’s Cyber Runway accelerator

  Now in its second year, the Cyber Runway accelerator has been designed to support firms at various stages of growth, as well as help the cyber security sector to improve on its diversity, inclusion and regional representation

• September 23, 2022 23 Sep'22

  Conversation between two police officers formed basis of EncroChat warrant, court hears

  The National Crime Agency did not seek a written explanation of a French hacking technique before applying for a surveillance warrant to use French “intercept” in the UK, a court heard

• September 23, 2022 23 Sep'22

  NCA ‘deliberately concealed’ information when it applied for EncroChat warrants, tribunal hears

  Investigatory Powers Tribunal hears that the National Crime Agency made ‘serious and fundamental errors’

• September 23, 2022 23 Sep'22

  IR35 reforms to be scrapped in public and private sectors from April 2023, government confirms

  The government has confirmed that the 2017 and 2021 roll-out of the IR35 reforms to the public and private sectors, respectively, will be repealed in April 2023

• September 23, 2022 23 Sep'22

  Post Office scandal inquiry chair intervenes in slow compensation progress

  Chair of statutory public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal has aired his disappointment over the slow progress in making interim payments to victims

• September 22, 2022 22 Sep'22

  CCS £2bn big data and analytics framework goes live

  The Crown Commercial Service has launched a big data and analytics framework worth up to £2bn over the course of the agreement

• September 21, 2022 21 Sep'22

  Contractors call for IR35 review and tax cuts in Chancellor’s mini-Budget

  The contractor community is patiently awaiting the outcome of this Friday’s mini-Budget, with hopes for some concrete details on the Prime Minister’s proposed IR35 review and news of a corporation tax cut

• September 20, 2022 20 Sep'22

  NHS Scotland to transform population health through digital technologies

  A collaboration between NHS Scotland, industry partners and academia aims to launch large-scale programmes to improve population health in the country through digital technologies and new patient pathways

• September 16, 2022 16 Sep'22

  Barnet Council awards Capita contract extension

  Barnet Council has awarded Capita a contract extension as part of its transition away from a large contract with the supplier

• September 15, 2022 15 Sep'22

  Organisations failing to account for digital trust

  The vast majority of businesses are well aware of the importance of digital trust, yet very few have a dedicated staff role responsible for it, report finds

• September 14, 2022 14 Sep'22

  Ex-CISA head Krebs: Disrupt ransomware support networks to win the war

  Speaking at an event hosted by data protection specialist Rubrik, former CISA director Chris Krebs calls for the security community to work collectively to kick out the supports from under ransomware gangs

• September 12, 2022 12 Sep'22

  CISOs should spend on critical apps, cloud, zero-trust, in 2023

  Faced with a global recession next year, security buyers should try to direct investment towards technology that protects customer-facing and revenue-generating workloads, say analysts

• September 12, 2022 12 Sep'22

  NHS Business Services Authority goes to tender for £1.7bn HR system

  Organisation is looking for an integrated workforce solution for the NHS, which includes NHS electronic staff record services

• September 08, 2022 08 Sep'22

  NCSC CyberUK event heads to Belfast in 2023

  National Cyber Security Centre’s annual CyberUK roadshow is crossing the Irish Sea to Belfast in April 2023

• September 08, 2022 08 Sep'22

  Chinese APT using PlugX malware on espionage targets

  China’s Bronze President APT is once again targeting government officials of interest to its paymasters, this time using forged diplomatic correspondence, according to the Secureworks Counter Threat Unit

• September 07, 2022 07 Sep'22

  Albania cuts diplomatic ties with Iran after cyber attack

  In a global geopolitical first, the Albanian government has severed diplomatic ties with Iran and expelled its ambassador after it was targeted by an APT backed by Tehran

• September 06, 2022 06 Sep'22

  Companies House to introduce digital ID system

  Companies House will introduce a digital identity verification process for people wanting to register and run a company in the UK

• September 06, 2022 06 Sep'22

  New prime minister Liz Truss urged to press on with IR35 and loan charge policy reviews

  Contracting stakeholders are calling on Liz Truss to make good on her pledge to undertake a review of the IR35 rules when she became prime minister

• September 05, 2022 05 Sep'22

  UK payments upgrade to add more than £3bn to GDP, but much more on offer

  UK GDP will increase when its ageing payments infrastructure is replaced with the latest technology to enable real-time payments

• September 02, 2022 02 Sep'22

  Dutch government finally allowed to use public cloud

  Public cloud is finally within reach for Dutch public services. Previously, the Dutch government was only allowed to use private clouds due to risks concerning privacy and security

• September 02, 2022 02 Sep'22

  HMRC to review how IR35 works in practice following PAC criticism

  Several months have passed since the Public Accounts Committee issued its damning report on the fallout from the introduction of the IR35 reforms in the public sector, and HMRC has shared its feedback on its contents

• September 01, 2022 01 Sep'22

  Police interview Horizon scandal victim in investigation into potential perjury by Fujitsu staff

  The Met Police have interviewed a former subpostmaster as part of an investigation into potential perjury by former Fujitsu staff

• September 01, 2022 01 Sep'22

  Local authorities experience 10,000 attempted cyber attacks every day

  Local authorities across the UK face a daily deluge of cyber incidents, with phishing and DDoS attacks the most prevalent, according to an insurance broker

• September 01, 2022 01 Sep'22

  Google workers oppose cloud contract with Israeli government

  Google workers and Palestinian rights activists call on company to divest from involvement in cloud and artificial intelligence contract with Israeli government and military, following allegations the tech giant has retaliated against an employee ...

• August 31, 2022 31 Aug'22

  Regional tech hub leaders want more support with levelling-up from next prime minister

  Several senior leaders from the regional-focused UK Tech Cluster Group have shared their views on what they think the next prime minister should do to ensure tech funding is distributed more evenly across the UK

• August 31, 2022 31 Aug'22

  Norway has NOK200m plan to bolster cyber defences

  Norway is investing heavily in its cyber defences amid heightened threat from Russia

• August 31, 2022 31 Aug'22

  NHS staff fall further behind amid ransomware attack

  While some NHS bodies are now recovering their services after the ransomware attack on a crucial software supplier, others are still being forced to rely on pen and paper, and some will be waiting months to recover

• August 30, 2022 30 Aug'22

  IAM house Okta confirms 0ktapus/Scatter Swine attack

  Following last week’s disclosureby Group-IB researchers of a major phishing campaign, Okta has warned its customers to be on their guard