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IT for government and public sector

January 08, 2021 08 Jan'21
Tech sector reacts to Trump social media bans

Facebook, Instagram and others moved to limit US president’s social media access after the violence in Washington DC, but experts have condemned them for acting too slowly, while disinformation about the riots persists
January 08, 2021 08 Jan'21
Major facial-recognition supplier builds system to identify masked faces

Facial-recognition supplier claims new system can accurately identify masked faces, therefore promoting public health during the pandemic. But questions remain about whether its existing UK law enforcement clients will be deploying the technology
January 08, 2021 08 Jan'21
AI Council advises government to do artificial intelligence moonshots

The AI Council has published a “roadmap” of advice to government in respect of developing a UK state strategy for artificial intelligence, encompassing skills, vendor support and public sector procurement
January 08, 2021 08 Jan'21
Brexit deal grants UK temporary data adequacy

The EU-UK Brexit deal has granted the UK temporary data adequacy to allow for the continued flow of data across borders, but the agreement has divided data protection experts

January 08, 2021 08 Jan'21
Majority of suppliers won’t have software ready for CDS until March

Brexit IT systems are all up and running, but little traffic through the borders means they haven’t yet been put to the test, and in Northern Ireland, suppliers don’t yet have software ready to use the Customs Declaration Service
January 07, 2021 07 Jan'21
Poor data flows hampered government’s Covid-19 response, says the Science and Technology Committee

House of Commons Science and Technology Committee finds poor data management to have hampered the government’s Covid-19 pandemic response
January 07, 2021 07 Jan'21
Biden picks cyber veteran to reinvigorate security response

Appointment of career intelligence operative Anne Neuberger signals refreshed security approach for the US government under Joe Biden's administration
January 07, 2021 07 Jan'21
Trump bans Chinese payment apps

US president signs executive order banning the use of Chinese payments app, citing national security risks
January 07, 2021 07 Jan'21
Hackney Council data leaked by Pysa ransomware gang

Council data stolen in October is leaked online in a double extortion attack
January 07, 2021 07 Jan'21
Most British people don't trust government with personal data

The UK ranks high in a list of countries where citizens are least confident about how their private information is handled by public authorities, research shows

January 06, 2021 06 Jan'21
Labour urges government to adopt new plan for at-home education

Labour MPs have written to government officials urging them to provide schools and children with the digital provisions necessary to ensure every child can properly work from home during lockdown
January 06, 2021 06 Jan'21
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to remain in prison despite winning extradition battle

Judge cites Assange’s support of NSA whistleblower as one of the reasons for him being at high risk of absconding. He will remain in Belmarsh prison until the US government completes its appeal
January 06, 2021 06 Jan'21
SolarWinds attack almost certainly work of Russian spooks

Investigations into the far-reaching SolarWinds Solorigate attack did not let up during the holidays
January 05, 2021 05 Jan'21
Huawei battles for market access in Nordics

Chinese networking equipment supplier Huawei fights to retain access to potential 5G contracts across the Nordic region
January 05, 2021 05 Jan'21
AAT calls on government to re-think the Making Tax Digital exemption threshold

The Association of Accounting Technicians calls for improvements to HM Revenue and Customs’ Making Tax Digital programme, and says the exemption threshold, currently at £10,000, should be raised
January 05, 2021 05 Jan'21
Government delays digital strategy

The digital strategy, originally due in autumn 2020, is likely to be published at some point in 2021, and the government is ‘continuing to consider the best timeframe for delivering the strategy’
January 04, 2021 04 Jan'21
Nominations open for Computer Weekly Innovation Awards APAC

Computer Weekly is looking for nominations for its inaugural Innovation Awards in APAC to honour digitisation initiatives that have transformed organisations in seven industries
January 04, 2021 04 Jan'21
Caerphilly council delivers free school meals through automation

Welsh council expands its robotic process automation project, which has successfully helped the council deliver free school meals during the Covid-19 pandemic
January 04, 2021 04 Jan'21
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange cannot be extradited to face charges in US, court rules

Court rules it would be oppressive to send Julian Assange to the US to face trial after finding he is at high risk of suicide. US government says it will appeal
December 31, 2020 31 Dec'20
Pandemic heroes dominate New Year Honours List 2021

The New Year Honours List 2021 is remarkable for its recognition of those who have excelled during the Covid-19 public health emergency, including digital and data professionals
December 31, 2020 31 Dec'20
Top 10 investigations and national security stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 investigations and national security stories of 2020
December 31, 2020 31 Dec'20
Top 10 technology and ethics stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 technology and ethics stories of 2020
December 30, 2020 30 Dec'20
UK-EU Brexit deal passes Commons with six-month data adequacy bridge

IT industry trade body TechUK has welcomed a six-month data adequacy bridge, in the wake of the EU-UK trade deal that the House of Commons has voted for
December 30, 2020 30 Dec'20
Top 10 government and public sector IT stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 government and public IT stories of 2020
December 30, 2020 30 Dec'20
Top 10 Benelux IT stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Benelux IT stories of 2020
December 24, 2020 24 Dec'20
UK-EU Brexit deal: TechUK and DigitalEurope hail new dawn but note unfinished data business

Technology trade bodies TechUK and DigitalEurope welcome Christmas Eve UK-EU Brexit deal as a new dawn, but say there is work still be to done on data adequacy and financial equivalence
December 24, 2020 24 Dec'20
UK-EU Brexit deal: TechUK sees positive runes on digital and data adequacy

TechUK is giving a cautious welcome to the imminent UK-EU trade deal, seeing positive signs for data adequacy and digital trade
December 24, 2020 24 Dec'20
Top 10 Middle East stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Middle East stories of 2020
December 24, 2020 24 Dec'20
Top 10 Downtime Upload podcasts of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Downtime Upload podcasts of 2020
December 23, 2020 23 Dec'20
Top 10 startup stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 startup stories of 2020
December 22, 2020 22 Dec'20
Swedish central bank moves e-krona project to next stage

Riksbank takes digital currency project to the next phase with Accenture building a platform to test the concept
December 21, 2020 21 Dec'20
Nordic CIO interview: Åsa Melvanius, Lund municipality

For Åsa Melvanius, CDO at the Swedish municipality of Lund, created a “robot factory” that has saved the city more than 6,500 hours by automating routine processes
December 21, 2020 21 Dec'20
Top 10 enterprise IT in the Nordics stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Nordic enterprise IT stories of 2020
December 18, 2020 18 Dec'20
Government to spend more on IT consultants as skills gap remains unsolved

According to a Public Accounts Committee report, the need to fill gaps in tech expertise as a result of Covid-19 and Brexit means the public sector will resort to costly third-party support
December 18, 2020 18 Dec'20
Prepare for bringing people back to the office with the Nordic tech startup blueprint

Business can learn lessons from Nordic tech startups to prepare employees to return to the office after Covid restrictions
December 18, 2020 18 Dec'20
SolarWinds cyber attack is ‘grave risk’ to global security

More victims of the SolarWinds Orion Sunburst cyber attack are being identified as the massive scale of the Russia-linked cyber espionage campaign becomes more clear
December 17, 2020 17 Dec'20
Government can’t be complacent with AI, says Lords report

Report urges coordination on policy and use of artificial intelligence, and sets out recommendations for how official bodies should respond to advances in the technology
December 17, 2020 17 Dec'20
NHS Scotland taps Check Point to secure Covid-19 data

NHS National Services Scotland is working with security firm Check Point to safeguard its sensitive data in the cloud and support its work on the coronavirus
December 17, 2020 17 Dec'20
Government aims to ‘unleash innovation’ with procurement overhaul

A government greenpaper sets out changes to simplify buying in the public sector and to benefit small and medium businesses
December 17, 2020 17 Dec'20
UK police unlawfully processing over a million people’s data on Microsoft 365

The roll-out of Microsoft 365 to dozens of UK police forces may be unlawful, because many have failed to conduct data protection checks before deployment and hold no information on their contracts
December 16, 2020 16 Dec'20
Lancashire police integrate body-worn video into digital policing app

Body-worn video integration will transform Lancashire police’s time-consuming and manual procedures into an efficient digital workflow, but claims that BMV will increase transparency and accountability are not backed by the evidence
December 16, 2020 16 Dec'20
Digital patient engagement tops NHS IT chiefs' priorities for 2021

Most leaders do not feel like they have sufficient funding to deliver new digital capabilities, despite engagement topping priorities for the NHS in 2021, finds study
December 15, 2020 15 Dec'20
DWP completes migration to hybrid cloud

The milestone is part of a major insourcing exercise that saw the department move away from monolithic contracts
December 15, 2020 15 Dec'20
UK government unveils details of upcoming online harms rules

Online Harms Bill due early 2021 will introduce GDPR-style fines for technology companies that breach online duty of care rules
December 15, 2020 15 Dec'20
Finland examines wider use of AI video camera technology

Authorities in Helsinki will use artificial intelligence and video technologies to help them automate monitoring of crowds
December 14, 2020 14 Dec'20
Digital Ethics Summit 2020: governance key to inclusive post-Covid economic recovery

Pluralism key to developing and deploying technologies for an inclusive post-Covid economic recovery, according to a panel at Digital Ethics Summit 2020
December 14, 2020 14 Dec'20
Appointment of disgraced former Post Office executive at Welsh FA questioned by MP

The appointment of a former Post Office executive, who tried to mislead a judge, in the Football Association of Wales has been questioned by an MP
December 13, 2020 13 Dec'20
Singapore trials beacons to bolster police operations

Police beacons equipped with video cameras, sirens, floodlights and speakers are being deployed at two parks to improve public safety in a year-long trial
December 11, 2020 11 Dec'20
HMRC data shows online IR35 status check tool does not return a result in nearly 20% of cases

Figures released by HMRC to show how many times its online IR35 tax status checker tool has been used reveal shortcomings in its ability to reach a conclusion in nearly 20% of cases
December 11, 2020 11 Dec'20
History made as subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted in Horizon IT scandal have convictions quashed

Six subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted for accounting shortfalls caused by computer errors have their convictions quashed after years of campaigning