News

IT for government and public sector

• April 13, 2015 13 Apr'15

  Minor parties react to public concern over mass surveillance: Labour and Tories silent

  Liberal Democrats, SNP, Plaid Cymru, UKIP and the Green Party support tighter controls on government surveillance after Snowden's revelations

• April 13, 2015 13 Apr'15

  Labour election manifesto highlights technology and digital skills

  The Labour Party's 2015 election manifesto puts technology at the heart of policies for growth, education and public sector reform

• April 13, 2015 13 Apr'15

  Liberal Democrats call for digital bill of rights

  The Liberal Democrats want to introduce a digital bill of rights to give people control over their own data and to criminalise corporate data theft

• April 10, 2015 10 Apr'15

  Cabinet Office embarks on £2.7bn replacement process for sourcing temporary staff

  The Cabinet Office has kicked off a review to replace its controversial contract for sourcing temporary staff across government departments

• April 09, 2015 09 Apr'15

  Cabinet Office appoints new chief digital officer

  The Cabinet Office has appointed Conall Bullock as its new chief digital officer, responsible for technology, information and digital issues

• April 09, 2015 09 Apr'15

  Bucks NHS Trust increases home visits after deploying mobile platform

  Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust deploys Vodafone mobility platform for field staff to improve the quality of care for patients

• April 08, 2015 08 Apr'15

  Exit checks system for UK borders finally goes live

  The Home Office launches a system for making exit checks of travellers at UK borders, following the scrapped e-Borders programme

• April 08, 2015 08 Apr'15

  Alleged White House hack highlights typical security failings, say experts

  The alleged penetration of sensitive White House computer networks highlights typical security failings, say information security experts

• April 07, 2015 07 Apr'15

  BBC puts £230m network contract out to tender

  BBC puts out tender for £230m, seven-year connectivity services contract

• April 07, 2015 07 Apr'15

  Critical infrastructure commonly hit by destructive cyber attacks, survey reveals

  Critical infrastructure organisations are commonly targeted by cyber attacks aimed at manipulating equipment or destroying data, a survey reveals

• April 07, 2015 07 Apr'15

  Digital agenda streamlines public sector in Norway

  While governments are eager to toot the horn of digitisation, real-world effects are still a few and far between, but Norway is aiming to change this

• April 02, 2015 02 Apr'15

  Sanctions against cyber attackers and spies may not be that easy

  Barack Obama's executive order allowing sanctions against cyber attackers has been welcomed, but it remains to be seen if challenges can be overcome

• April 01, 2015 01 Apr'15

  Welsh council saves £1.4m through outsourcing

  Denbighshire County Council expects to save £1.4m through a deal with Civica that sees business processes outsourced, but delivered locally

• March 31, 2015 31 Mar'15

  G20 data leak highlights threat of human error, say experts

  News that personal data of 31 world leaders was accidentally leaked before the G20 summit in November 2014, highlights the threat of human error

• March 31, 2015 31 Mar'15

  Brecon Beacons National Park soups up staff comms with Unify

  Brecon Beacons National Park Authority deploys Unify’s OpenScape voice technology to keep remote staff and home workers in touch

• March 31, 2015 31 Mar'15

  Microsoft adds ODF 1.2 to Office 365 to adhere to government demands

  Microsoft will roll out the ability export documents in open document format (ODF) in Office 365, regardless of original file format, to adhere to government policy

• March 31, 2015 31 Mar'15

  Huawei not spying on UK, concludes Oversight Board report

  A UK security probe into Huawei’s technology has concluded that the company has not presented any risk to national security

• March 30, 2015 30 Mar'15

  Rural payments service failed GDS assessment but still went live

  The troubled rural payments digital service failed its most recent assessment by the Government Digital Service, but was still launched to farmers

• March 30, 2015 30 Mar'15

  Major software companies bamboozle local authorities with audits

  Software companies are resorting to audits and complex licensing in a bid to make more money from existing public sector customers

• March 30, 2015 30 Mar'15

  Government smart meter project should be "halted, altered or scrapped"

  The Institute of Directors has weighed in on the controversial smart meter rollout and called for the scheme to be halted, altered or scrapped in its current form

• March 30, 2015 30 Mar'15

  Google appeal ruling should send shivers through US tech companies

  What are the implications of Google's legal defeat in London and the UK court's hardening attitude towards privacy breaches?

• March 30, 2015 30 Mar'15

  Europol chief joins call for legal tools to deal with encryption problem

  Encryption has become one of the biggest problems for police and security services in dealing with threats from terrorism, says Europol chief

• March 27, 2015 27 Mar'15

  National Police ICT Company operational after four years of wrangling

  The national Police ICT Company is operational and aims to save £465m a year – nearly four years after Theresa May proposed its creation

• March 27, 2015 27 Mar'15

  Supply chain an important part of information security, say experts

  Business is increasingly recognising the importance of information security, but security within supply chains is still widely overlooked

• March 27, 2015 27 Mar'15

  UK government pays £150m to Raytheon to settle e-Borders dispute

  UK government agrees to pay Raytheon £150m to settle dispute over the cancellation of e-Borders contract

• March 27, 2015 27 Mar'15

  Labour sets out digital government priorities in election campaign

  The Labour Party has set out its digital government priorities, criticising the coalition for failing to meets targets for 'digital by default' services

• March 27, 2015 27 Mar'15

  Nordics' Glenna research cloud project underway

  Researchers in the Nordics will soon enjoy a new cloud infrastructure from which to share systems and resources

• March 27, 2015 27 Mar'15

  Retiring MP aims to uncover truth of alleged Post Office computer system problems

  Retiring MP James Arbuthnot is determined to get to the bottom of problems with the Post Office system that led to subpostmasters being blamed for account shortfalls

• March 27, 2015 27 Mar'15

  MPs slam Defra for making rural payments 'digital by default'

  MPs have slammed the government’s decision to make rural payment claims from farmers a 'digital by default' service

• March 26, 2015 26 Mar'15

  Samsung targets business with Microsoft tools integration

  Samsung has pre-installed Microsoft OneNote, OneDrive, and Skype on the new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge, as it expands into business

• March 26, 2015 26 Mar'15

  Ovum urges service providers to get serious about cloud security

  Analyst Ovum's report into enterprise cloud adoption warns service providers to stop treating customers' security as an afterthought

• March 26, 2015 26 Mar'15

  Capita accused of breaching government contract for temporary staff

  Services giant Capita may have breached the terms of its government-approved contract for providing temporary workers to the public sector

• March 25, 2015 25 Mar'15

  Rural payment problems caused by slow system performance, says minister

  Environment secretary Liz Truss has revealed that system performance issues forced the rural payments digital service to resort to paper forms

• March 25, 2015 25 Mar'15

  Government contract transparency will reveal supplier fees

  The government has agreed to trial transparency of public sector contracts, which will require publication of fees paid to government suppliers

• March 25, 2015 25 Mar'15

  UK government adds five authentication providers to Gov.uk Verify identity management system

  The Government Digital Service (GDS) adds five authentication providers to the Gov.uk Verify identity and access management scheme

• March 25, 2015 25 Mar'15

  Government seeks new £2bn consultancy deal despite concerns from SMEs

  Cabinet Office setting up £2bn agreement for the purchase of consultancy services across government, despite SME concerns

• March 25, 2015 25 Mar'15

  GCHQ launches Cyber First scheme to find future cyber security experts

  UK intelligence agency GCHQ launches pilot sponsorship scheme to train the UK’s next generation of cyber security experts

• March 25, 2015 25 Mar'15

  Failed FireControl project still costing taxpayers millions of pounds

  Empty buildings rented for failed £469m FireControl project are still costing the taxpayer millions of pounds

• March 24, 2015 24 Mar'15

  Nordic nations dominate Europe's digital league table

  The EC's Digital Economy and Society Index ranked Denmark, Sweden and Finland as first, second and fourth most digital European nation

• March 24, 2015 24 Mar'15

  MPs seek reassurance over Post Office mediation scheme

  Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) select committee seeks reassurances over the Post Office mediation scheme

• March 23, 2015 23 Mar'15

  Half of English councils won’t reach BDUK coverage target

  Almost half of local authorities in England don’t think they’ll reach the government’s 95% broadband coverage target in the allotted timeframe

• March 23, 2015 23 Mar'15

  Law enforcement and security agencies face big data challenge

  Law enforcement and security agencies face the same big data challenge as business, according to Unisys

• March 23, 2015 23 Mar'15

  UK aims to become world centre in cyber security insurance

  The UK aims to become a global leader in cyber security insurance through a set of joint initiatives between the government and the insurance sector

• March 20, 2015 20 Mar'15

  What went wrong with Defra's rural payments system?

  A £154m system to process payments to farmers has been forced to resort to paper forms. What went wrong – and is this a digital disaster?

• March 20, 2015 20 Mar'15

  DWP to direct jobseekers to digital skills-sharing platforms

  Department for Work and Pensions to update guidance to Jobcentre Plus staff to direct jobseekers to digital skills-sharing platforms

• March 20, 2015 20 Mar'15

  Reading Council releases open transport data

  Reading Council has opened up transport data to support real time traffic and bus information

• March 20, 2015 20 Mar'15

  Information Commissioner's Office calls for transparent public sector outsourcing

  For greater transparency, public sector buyers and suppliers should be open about their dealings before signing contracts, says ICO

• March 20, 2015 20 Mar'15

  Rural payment problems cause U-turn for flagship 'digital by default' service

  Government forced into U-turn as flagship 'digital by default' service for payments to farmers resorts to paper forms following an IT failure

• March 19, 2015 19 Mar'15

  BIS sets out to assist development of digital sharing economy

  The government has set out a number of proposals to assist in the development of the £9bn trade body Sharing Economy UK

• March 19, 2015 19 Mar'15

  Hampshire Council CIO Jos Creese steps down

  Hampshire County Council CIO Jos Creese – one of the longest-serving IT leaders in local government – leaves in May for freelance consultancy

• March 19, 2015 19 Mar'15

  Government fails on election transparency pledge to publish contracts

  The UK government has failed to meet its 2010 election pledge to publish all contracts in its digital reforms of the public sector

• March 19, 2015 19 Mar'15

  Police need wider capability to tackle online crime, says London watchdog

  The Metropolitan Police should appoint a senior officer to ensure the whole force is prepared to tackle online crime, says a London watchdog

• March 19, 2015 19 Mar'15

  NHS England may become free Wi-Fi hub for digitally excluded

  NHS England’s Tim Kelsey says the health service sees an opportunity to roll out free Wi-Fi networks across its estate

• March 19, 2015 19 Mar'15

  Government creates Crown Hosting venture with Ark Data Centres

  Cabinet Office signs seven-year joint venture agreement with Ark Data Centres to create Crown Hosting Service

• March 18, 2015 18 Mar'15

  GDS gets local government remit in 2015 Budget

  The Government Digital Service (GDS) will have its remit extended to cover local authorities

• March 18, 2015 18 Mar'15

  Internet of things and 5G network research priority in 2015 Budget

  Research into the internet of things and the 5G networks to support it figured highly in chancellor George Osborne’s 2015 Budget

• March 18, 2015 18 Mar'15

  Budget 2015: £11m support for tech incubators as part of northern powerhouse mission

  George Osborne sets out plans to nurture tech startups in the north with cash injections and travel improvements

• March 18, 2015 18 Mar'15

  Government sets out ultrafast broadband plans

  Government publishes Digital Communications Infrastructure Strategy to coincide with the Budget, setting out its future broadband ambitions

• March 18, 2015 18 Mar'15

  Budget 2015: First look at the policies for technology

  Chancellor George Osborne announced a range of Budget measures to help the growth of technology and digital government across the UK

• March 18, 2015 18 Mar'15

  Public sector slow to pick up on the internet of things, says Gartner

  A Gartner report predicts smart city deployments will be heavily skewed towards the private sector, leaving the public sector trailing

• March 17, 2015 17 Mar'15

  BT and Barclays to take Wi-Fi into deprived communities

  Libraries and community centres in some of the most deprived parts of England are to get free Wi-Fi and digital support

• March 17, 2015 17 Mar'15

  HM Revenue & Customs moves UK tax systems to the cloud

  HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) starts moving the IT systems that collect tax to the cloud, with much of the work going to Fujitsu

• March 17, 2015 17 Mar'15

  Poll finds public demand for consultation on public-sector outsourcing

  Poll finds 68% of the UK public want to be consulted on public-sector outsourcing, with Labour and UKIP supporters most in favour

• March 16, 2015 16 Mar'15

  Call for data-sharing system to help emergency responders

  Public-sector staff such as paramedics, police officers and volunteer responders need a data-sharing system, an O2 roundtable said

• March 16, 2015 16 Mar'15

  Big data sees Dublin Airport mobile passenger experience soar

  Dublin and Cork Airport operator daa turns to FeedHenry to expose more data within an updated mobile app for travellers passing through

• March 13, 2015 13 Mar'15

  BBC gives UK schools one million devices in digital education initiative

  BBC launches digital-first initiative to teach children programming and digital technologies, giving UK schools one million coding devices

• March 13, 2015 13 Mar'15

  Japan recruits hackers for cyber security force

  The Japanese government plans to recruit hackers to identify and protect against cyber security threats

• March 12, 2015 12 Mar'15

  Interception errors had serious consequences for individuals

  Law enforcement and security services made 12 serious technical and nine human surveillance errors last year

• March 12, 2015 12 Mar'15

  GDS outlines Digital Marketplace strategy for IT procurement

  GDS outlines plans for its Digital Marketplace where the public sector can go to procure all IT and digital services in future

• March 12, 2015 12 Mar'15

  Get data protection right now, ICO tells UK business

  New European data protection law will come into force in 2017 at the earliest, but UK business should not delay in getting its house in order

• March 12, 2015 12 Mar'15

  Rewrite 'absurdly complicated’ surveillance laws, say MPs

  The Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee has presented the Prime Minister with proposals to reform privacy and intelligence laws

• March 12, 2015 12 Mar'15

  CIO interview: Ivor Nicholson, Nottinghamshire County Council

  Nottinghamshire County Council is facing £77m in cuts by 2018 and by rolling out new services, it plans to save £8m through technology alone

• March 12, 2015 12 Mar'15

  CIO interview: Ben Booth on transforming IT at the National Offender Management Service

  The UK's National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has ended a year of IT-led transformation, managed by interim IT chief Ben Booth

• March 11, 2015 11 Mar'15

  Digital banking service gets branches through Post Office

  Advanced Payment Solutions signs agreement to allow customers to access banking services in Post Office branches

• March 11, 2015 11 Mar'15

  Post Office ends working group for IT system investigation day before potentially damaging report

  The Post Office closed a working group involved in an investigation into claims against allegedly faulty accounting software used by subpostmasters

• March 10, 2015 10 Mar'15

  Security professionals look to workload security in the cloud

  The first Cloud Security Spotlight Report shows broad cloud adoption and move towards workload security

• March 10, 2015 10 Mar'15

  CGI to assess digital learning for Ministry of Defence

  MoD signs outsourcing agreement with CGI as part of a programme to increase digital-based learning

• March 10, 2015 10 Mar'15

  Bristol signs NEC to develop smart city infrastructure

  NEC, Bristol Council and the University of Bristol create an open, programmable city for smarter transport, environment and health services

• March 09, 2015 09 Mar'15

  US cyber crime indictment prompts calls for zero tolerance

  A newly-revealed US indictment of three suspected cyber criminals has prompted a call for zero tolerance for cyber intrusions

• March 06, 2015 06 Mar'15

  New EU data protection rules are good for business, says Websense

  The coming EU General Data Protection Regulation has much to offer businesses, but they must get ready, says security firm Websense

• March 06, 2015 06 Mar'15

  £1.9bn available to health authorities with electronic patient records

  The government has set aside £1.9bn to fund the development of better care in the NHS, according to health minister Jeremy Hunt

• March 06, 2015 06 Mar'15

  UK police arrest 57 cyber crime suspects

  UK police have arrested 57 cyber crime suspects in 25 separate operations co-ordinated by the National Crime Agency in the past week

• March 06, 2015 06 Mar'15

  Procurement guidelines saved government £91m in 2014, says Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude

  The government made £91m savings in 2014 with “militant” guidelines around procurement, says Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude

• March 05, 2015 05 Mar'15

  European Commission outsources IT

  Unisys-led consortiums have won a chunk of a €900m European Commission IT outsourcing programme

• March 05, 2015 05 Mar'15

  Mobile World Congress 2015: Evolution but no revolution

  Mobile World Congress 2015 reflected less the handset innovation of recent years, and more the evolution of mobility

• March 05, 2015 05 Mar'15

  SMEs take Capita contract dispute to UK competition regulator

  A group of small businesses that claim to have lost revenue through two controversial government contracts have complained to the regulator

• March 05, 2015 05 Mar'15

  All civilian drones should be registered, says House of Lords EU Committee

  The House of Lords EU Committee says all civilian drones in Europe should be registered as concerns grow over UAV terror attacks

• March 05, 2015 05 Mar'15

  China and US cross swords over software backdoors

  Barack Obama criticises Chinese plans to force tech firms trading in China to share encryption keys and put backdoors in software

• March 04, 2015 04 Mar'15

  Met Police to cut 700 IT jobs in outsourcing plan

  The Metropolitan Police is to cut 700 IT jobs under a plan to outsource software development and IT services in its Digital Policing arm

• March 04, 2015 04 Mar'15

  US policy exposes Apple and Google devices to Freak attack

  An old US policy requiring weaker encryption for export products is exposing millions of Apple and Google devices, say researchers

• March 04, 2015 04 Mar'15

  Strong future for enterprise IT in Nordic countries

  From attracting the world to its ice-cool datacentres to the digitisation of the public sector, there is plenty going on in the Nordic region

• March 03, 2015 03 Mar'15

  Australians troll politicians to protest data retention law

  Australians unhappy over proposed data retention laws target politicians with unsolicited text messages in protest

• March 02, 2015 02 Mar'15

  Enisa looks to UK for government cloud security guidance

  Doubts raised over Enisa looking to the UK for guidance on creating a security framework that speeds adoption of government cloud services in Europe

• March 02, 2015 02 Mar'15

  IT industry lashes out over government procurement policies

  The UK IT industry has criticised the lack of clarity surrounding changes to government IT procurement plans

• March 02, 2015 02 Mar'15

  National Crime Agency leads partnership to guard UK against cyber crime

  UK law enforcement officers work with public and private sector partners to help businesses and consumers guard against cyber crime

• March 02, 2015 02 Mar'15

  GCHQ opens applications for cyber security summer school

  UK intelligence agency GCHQ is inviting applications to a 10-week cyber security summer school

• February 27, 2015 27 Feb'15

  Exploiting big data could save the European Commission up to €200bn a year

  There are several obstacles to building a digital economy in Europe, says Marta Nagy-Rothengass, head of the EC's data value chain unit

• February 27, 2015 27 Feb'15

  AXELOS CEO: Companies must focus on being cyber resilient

  Companies need to put more emphasis on improving their reactions to cyber attacks rather than continuing to focus on prevention, says AXELOS CEO

• February 27, 2015 27 Feb'15

  Berkshire NHS trust gets Microsoft Lync as a service through G-Cloud

  Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has made its first IT purchase using the G-Cloud framework

• February 27, 2015 27 Feb'15

  Cyber attacks top US national threat list

  Cyber attacks by politically and criminally motivated actors top the list of threats facing the US, according to national intelligence director