News

IT for government and public sector

• August 04, 2015 04 Aug'15

  Whitehall devolution threat means IT suppliers "must improve" at selling cloud to local councils

  Public sector IT suppliers must swot up on selling services to local councils, as Whitehall proposes devolving more power to them

• August 04, 2015 04 Aug'15

  SME G-Cloud deal volumes could be "under-reported", claim suppliers

  Cabinet Office is reviewing how SMEs report G-Cloud sales data, as reports suggest some are shunning existing online reporting process

• August 03, 2015 03 Aug'15

  HMRC explains plans for moving tax systems to the cloud

  HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) reveals more details of its plan to move tax systems into the cloud on its digital blog

• August 03, 2015 03 Aug'15

  Government digital chief Mike Bracken announces he is leaving

  GDS director Mike Bracken is leaving government, and his unexpected departure will inevitably raise questions about the future of GDS

• August 03, 2015 03 Aug'15

  MoD shells out £1.5bn on two IT contracts

  The Ministry of Defence (MoD) signs two IT contracts costing more than £1bn, which it hopes will save money over the next 10 years

• July 31, 2015 31 Jul'15

  Interview: CCS director Sarah Hurrell on improving government technology purchasing

  The government's procurement agency has plenty of critics, but its technology lead insists that IT and digital purchasing is improving fast

• July 31, 2015 31 Jul'15

  Obama orders superfast computer for 2025

  The US is aiming to build a supercomputer that is able to process one exaflop or a billion billion operations a second to process big data

• July 31, 2015 31 Jul'15

  IaaS mega-framework tender raises hopes of Europe-wide G-cloud launch

  Géant publishes contract notice seeking providers for IaaS frameworks, which will serve 50 million across Europe

• July 31, 2015 31 Jul'15

  Ark Data Centres to underpin delivery of BT's managed cloud services

  BT signs multi-year deal with datacentre provider to support its push into the cloud integrator market

• July 30, 2015 30 Jul'15

  United Airlines hack could signal bulk spying campaign

  The latest United Airlines hack makes the case for better data breach notification laws and better network activity monitoring capabilities

• July 30, 2015 30 Jul'15

  BT refunds £129m public funding on reaching broadband targets

  Public funds will be re-invested in extending government-backed programme to deliver superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017

• July 29, 2015 29 Jul'15

  Local government cyber security awareness low, study shows

  A poll of local government employees reveals that almost half do not know if their current IT security practices would offer suitable protection against the growing threat of cyber crime

• July 29, 2015 29 Jul'15

  MPs to investigate superfast broadband roll-out to final 5% of UK

  Select committee inquiry will assess what is needed to provide high-speed connectivity to the 1.5 million premises outside current roll-out plans

• July 29, 2015 29 Jul'15

  Technology experts warn of dangers of artificial intelligence arms race

  An open letter signed by more than 12,000 technology experts calls for a ban on artificial intelligence (AI) to manage weapons “beyond meaningful human control”

• July 28, 2015 28 Jul'15

  Digital adoption boosts GDP, says Accenture

  Digital technologies boost a country's competitive advantage and drive up its economic growth, Accenture has found

• July 28, 2015 28 Jul'15

  UK cyber insurance report recommends reinsurance scheme

  A scheme along the same lines as the UK’s state-backed Pool Re scheme for terrorism cover will help improve UK competitiveness as an attractive economy for cyber business, according to a report

• July 28, 2015 28 Jul'15

  UK youngsters need support online, says iRights

  A report by the iRights initiative aims to provide an insight into how government can join with technology companies, civil society and business to make a better digital world for young people

• July 27, 2015 27 Jul'15

  MPs examine visa rules over immigration for software and digital skills

  Home Affairs committee launches an inquiry after the number of skilled worker visas issued reached its monthly cap for the first time

• July 24, 2015 24 Jul'15

  Parliamentary Science and Technology Committee launches big data inquiry

  The Science and Technology Committee is to launch an inquiry into big data to discover whether the government is doing enough to promote its benefits to businesses

• July 24, 2015 24 Jul'15

  GDS targets three million new users of Gov.uk Verify service in next 12 months

  Roll-out of the system for logging in to digital public services is taking longer than expected, but user numbers are expected to grow significantly in 2015

• July 23, 2015 23 Jul'15

  GDS unveils payments platform prototype in government-as-a-platform strategy

  New system would provide a standardised way to take payments from citizens for online public services

• July 23, 2015 23 Jul'15

  Scottish government denies "cloud-washing" mobile device procurement framework

  Scottish government's National Framework for Cloud Computing and Proprietary Devices risks confusing suppliers, claim analysts

• July 23, 2015 23 Jul'15

  APMG opens door to military-grade cyber security assessments

  Developed for the MoD, the CDCAT tool enables any business to assess and manage its cyber defence capabilities using continually updated multiple cyber security controls and inputs

• July 23, 2015 23 Jul'15

  GCHQ unlawfully intercepting parliamentary communications, tribunal hears

  Tribunal hears claims that GCHQ is unlawfully intercepting MPs' and peers' communications

• July 22, 2015 22 Jul'15

  Cabinet Office launches consultation for future of Digital Services Framework

  A supplier consultation has been announced to discuss changes to the Digital Service framework before an Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) is published

• July 21, 2015 21 Jul'15

  Software audits cut government IT bill by £85m in 2014/15

  Annual accounts for the government purchasing agency show at least £220m in technology related savings

• July 20, 2015 20 Jul'15

  ViaSat UK wins £3.8m contract for military vehicle encryption

  ViaSat UK is to provide an encryption system for British Army armoured vehicles to ensure sensitive mission and intelligence stored on and gathered by Scout SVs will never be put at risk

• July 20, 2015 20 Jul'15

  HP Cloud 28+ on course to go live in December 2015 with 200 members

  HP's push to create a one-stop-shop for European Union cloud users is on course, claims Europe, Middle-East and Africa vice-president

• July 20, 2015 20 Jul'15

  UK considers 10-year jail sentences for online piracy

  The UK government is considering new measures to increase the sanctions for criminals who infringe the rights of copyright holders for large-scale financial gain

• July 17, 2015 17 Jul'15

  Stop telling patients not to Google – one man’s quest for joined-up healthcare

  Technologies such as Google, health trackers and social media will be contributing factors in the future of joined-up healthcare, says one digital healthcare advocate

• July 17, 2015 17 Jul'15

  MPs win challenge to Dripa surveillance legislation

  The High Court ruled that the UK's Dripa legislation is inconsistent with EU law, but home secretary Theresa May plans to appeal

• July 17, 2015 17 Jul'15

  UK man arrested for hacking into US government computers

  Briton Lauri Love is accused of hacking into various US agencies, including the US army, Nasa, the federal reserve and the environmental protection agency

• July 16, 2015 16 Jul'15

  UK leads critical infrastructure cyber security, but change still needed

  There is a need for cultural change at energy companies to ensure everyone understands the importance of cyber security, says National Grid security manager

• July 16, 2015 16 Jul'15

  Network Services Framework goes live across public sector

  Crown Commercial Service launches wide-ranging Network Services Framework RM1045 across the public sector

• July 16, 2015 16 Jul'15

  UK tech sector called to contribute to EC Digital Single Market consultations

  Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) says UK must feed back to the European Commission (EC) to inform the delivery of its Digital Single Market vision

• July 15, 2015 15 Jul'15

  GDS creates outcomes framework for digital inclusion

  Government Digital Service (GDS) launches Digital Inclusion Outcomes Framework to act as a template for digital inclusion evaluation

• July 15, 2015 15 Jul'15

  Collaboration key to defeat cyber threats, says Cert-UK

  The Cisp uniquely provides the opportunity to see what is happening across all industry sectors, join the dots and share insights, says Cert-UK

• July 14, 2015 14 Jul'15

  Defra could face a further £370m in penalties if CAP reform fails

  An additional £370m in fines could be faced by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs by 2021 if its revised CAP scheme fails to take off

• July 14, 2015 14 Jul'15

  Fujitsu calls up Memset to deliver infrastructure services to HMRC

  Surrey-based datacentre provider to provide infrastructure hosting services to HMRC

• July 14, 2015 14 Jul'15

  RUSI surveillance review calls for clearer UK interception legislation

  The latest surveillance review calls for a new, comprehensive and clearer legal framework in the UK to provide a fresh start on a basis of mutual trust

• July 13, 2015 13 Jul'15

  Government launches £10m smart cities contest

  DCMS teams up with Innovate UK to offer one collaborative R&D project exploring smart cities a prize fund of up to £10m

• July 13, 2015 13 Jul'15

  UK to invest £45m in digital research and skills

  Millions of pounds will be invested in building research centres to fuel the UK’s digital economy research and skills

• July 13, 2015 13 Jul'15

  Dutch college live-streams lectures with SDN and load balancers

  Deltion College in the Netherlands beefs up its network with HP SDN and Kemp load balancing technology to support growing traffic levels across its infrastructure

• July 13, 2015 13 Jul'15

  Balabit bets big on Blindspotter

  At first glance behavioural analytics may seem a strange direction for security company Balabit – but it makes sense on closer inspection

• July 13, 2015 13 Jul'15

  Public sector organisations not consulting consumers about digital services

  Although most public sector organisations agree consulting with the public is essential for digital services development, only a fraction are doing so

• July 10, 2015 10 Jul'15

  Government moves to cut broadband red tape

  The government is considering making a temporary relaxation of broadband infrastructure planning regulations a permanent fixture

• July 10, 2015 10 Jul'15

  Government produces Digital Transformation Plan to boost UK productivity

  Chancellor George Osborne's Digital Transformation Plan puts digital technologies at the heart of the UK's economic future

• July 10, 2015 10 Jul'15

  Splunk acquires behavioural analytics firm Caspida in $190m deal

  Splunk's acquisition of Caspida is aimed at extending its security analytics leadership by adding behavioural analytics to improve detection of insider threats

• July 09, 2015 09 Jul'15

  Cisco invests $1bn in UK skills and startups

  Cisco commits to spending $1bn in the UK by 2020 to support the government’s digital plans following a meeting at 10 Downing Street

• July 09, 2015 09 Jul'15

  Grexit threatens to cut Greek IT spending by $3.7bn

  Greek IT spending set to fall steeply if the country leaves the Euro, following the "no" vote in the referendum

• July 09, 2015 09 Jul'15

  GDS set for share of £55m pot to boost digital government plan

  Chancellor George Osborne set aside funds in his budget to support digital transformation

• July 09, 2015 09 Jul'15

  Government finds £10m for ultrafast broadband in the South West

  The government announces a £10m funding boost for ultrafast BDUK projects in the South West of England

• July 08, 2015 08 Jul'15

  HP pulls out of ESN bid process

  HP becomes latest supplier to quit the Emergency Services Network supplier framework bid process, citing concerns over risk

• July 08, 2015 08 Jul'15

  Summer Budget 2015: George Osborne announces support for technology research

  Chancellor George Osborne delivers Budget commitments to roll out business tax reform and more money for research funding and the digital economy

• July 08, 2015 08 Jul'15

  Successful IoT projects beget further innovation, says Vodafone

  Vodafone’s M2M Barometer report says that, once organisations extract value from an internet of things (IoT) project, they quickly find further applications

• July 08, 2015 08 Jul'15

  Tech experts warn against law enforcement backdoors

  International cryptographers and computer scientists warn exceptional access to data for law enforcement could open doors for criminals and malicious nation states

• July 08, 2015 08 Jul'15

  Rolls-Royce signs up to supercomputing on-demand from HPC Midlands

  Rolls-Royce is the first company to sign up to a supercomputing brokerage scheme, giving it access to £60m worth of high-performance computing

• July 07, 2015 07 Jul'15

  Campaigners call for independent inquiry into Post Office Horizon IT system dispute

  George Freeman MP repeats Post Office claims that a report found no flaws in the Horizon IT system – but campaigners respond by calling for an inquiry

• July 06, 2015 06 Jul'15

  NCA signs cyber crime-busting MoU with Trend Micro

  Landmark MoU will formalise and extend security firm Trend Micro’s co-operative partnership with the NCA

• July 06, 2015 06 Jul'15

  East Sussex NHS data loss highlights insider threat

  The latest loss of patient data by an NHS trust underlines research that around a third of data breaches are caused either accidentally or maliciously by employees

• July 06, 2015 06 Jul'15

  Genomics England rejects open source to deploy EMC Isilon HPC storage

  100,000 Genomes Project rejects building open-source parallel file system on x86 servers and opts for EMC Isilon clustered NAS deployed by Capita S3

• July 03, 2015 03 Jul'15

  Let’s get real about decryption, says GCHQ tech director

  There needs to be more “honesty” in the discussion around GCHQ’s decryption capabilities, according to the agency's Ian Levy

• July 03, 2015 03 Jul'15

  Camden Council uses IBM data analytics to beat austerity

  Camden Council has used data integration to link council systems, enabling it to cut waste and improve efficiency – and saving £93m in the process

• July 02, 2015 02 Jul'15

  BT Security chief predicts big challenges ahead, despite progress

  Cyber security is a big opportunity, not just a threat and by systematically applying security controls defenders are raising the bar, according to BT Security chief

• July 02, 2015 02 Jul'15

  ICO reports progress in data protection, but funding remains a concern

  Despite the progress of the past year, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) says it still doesn't know how it will fund its operations in the future

• July 02, 2015 02 Jul'15

  Metropolitan Police picks Innopsis to lead network procurement

  London’s Metropolitan Police Service signs public-sector networking association Innopsis to lead engagement on network procurement

• July 02, 2015 02 Jul'15

  Accenture uses Avanade cloud for NHSmail

  Accenture to deploy a cloud-based email system for NHS staff using a combination of Microsoft software and Avanade cloud technology

• July 02, 2015 02 Jul'15

  Local digital services “not my job” says GDS’s Bracken

  The government’s digital chief was questioned over how local authorities can collaborate with Whitehall on common challenges

• July 01, 2015 01 Jul'15

  Former MoJ digital chief set to take over Australia's digital government team

  Paul Shetler is reported to have been appointed chief executive of Australia's digital government unit

• July 01, 2015 01 Jul'15

  Coalition achieved its goal of smaller IT deals, research reveals

  Previous coalition government managed to reduce the average size of public sector IT services and IT outsourcing contracts, shows an ISG study

• July 01, 2015 01 Jul'15

  UK universities revise computer course guidelines to boost ranks of cyber warriors

  UK universities revise course guidelines to transform computing degree courses and ensure that undergraduates learn cyber security skills

• July 01, 2015 01 Jul'15

  Post Office signs IBM for IT overhaul

  MP James Bridgen reveals the Post Office intends to outsource an IT transformation to IBM as part of its drive to serve customers using modern technology

• July 01, 2015 01 Jul'15

  EU launches Internet Referral Unit to combat online extremism

  The EU has launched an anti-terror unit tasked with identifying extremist online content and supporting member states with operational and strategic analysis

• July 01, 2015 01 Jul'15

  Public and government attitudes to smart cities a vicious circle

  A survey of attitudes towards smart cities conducted by comms infrastructure supplier Arqiva has revealed a vicious circle of ignorance

• July 01, 2015 01 Jul'15

  Rights group ACLU opposes extended NSA phone surveillance

  The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) will argue the Freedom Act does not authorise the National Security Agency (NSA) to collect phone data in bulk

• July 01, 2015 01 Jul'15

  Government should follow in private sector’s footsteps if it wants digital to succeed

  The government should use tactics deployed by the private sector if it wants to encourage the public to use online services

• June 30, 2015 30 Jun'15

  Connection voucher scheme opened to businesses across West Sussex

  Small businesses in West Sussex will be able to apply for £3,000 broadband connection vouchers after the extension of an existing scheme across the county

• June 30, 2015 30 Jun'15

  Do not leave digital government development to Whitehall, says Chi Onwurah MP

  Whitehall should not be left with sole responsibility for the government drive to building a digital future, says shadow Cabinet Office minister Chi Onwurah

• June 30, 2015 30 Jun'15

  Post Office looking to replace controversial Horizon system with IBM, says MP

  Days could be numbered for controversial Post Office computer system at the centre of miscarriages of justice, according to one MP

• June 30, 2015 30 Jun'15

  Microsoft in the dark after Parliamentary email disrupted for three days

  After a week of investigations, Microsoft has been unable to provide an explanation for failure of the Microsoft 365 cloud-based email service used by Parliament

• June 29, 2015 29 Jun'15

  Cisco launches IoT System for enterprise and smart cities

  Cisco unveils 15 products to address the growing complexity of internet of things deployments

• June 29, 2015 29 Jun'15

  Is the UK government serious about tackling IT suppliers' abuse of intra company transfers?

  The UK government is making noises about reducing the number of non-EU workers in the UK – and the IT industry could be the focal point for this

• June 25, 2015 25 Jun'15

  21 major government IT projects flagged with problems

  Annual report from the government's Major Projects Authority reveals latest assessments

• June 25, 2015 25 Jun'15

  Universal Credit costs leap by more than 20% to £15.8bn

  Figures reveal increase in lifetime cost since changes to the plan made to 'reset' the troubled welfare reform programme

• June 25, 2015 25 Jun'15

  CIO Interview: Ian Bell, CIO, Cambridgeshire Police Service

  The CIO of Cambridgeshire Police Service talks about the constabulary’s move to digital for collaboration and information sharing in its effort to increase efficiency

• June 25, 2015 25 Jun'15

  Digital government 'a chance to build a new state', says Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock

  Cabinet Office minister Matthew Hancock says the move to digital government is a “chance to build a new state” in a speech outlining his priorities

• June 24, 2015 24 Jun'15

  European Parliament negotiators finalise talks on EU data protection regulation

  The European Parliament, Council and Commission finalise negotiations to enact the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

• June 24, 2015 24 Jun'15

  Labour MP Chi Onwurah warns of nationalisation risk to UK citizens' personal data

  Shadow Cabinet Office minister Chi Onwurah calls on UK citizens to keep close tabs on how the government uses their personal data

• June 24, 2015 24 Jun'15

  Former TalkTalk CIO to lead Police ICT Company

  Experienced CIO Martin Wyke has been appointed CEO of the Police ICT Company, set up to manage central police systems

• June 24, 2015 24 Jun'15

  Government hands out 25,000 broadband connection vouchers

  Department for Culture, Media & Sport delivers progress report on superfast broadband connection voucher scheme

• June 22, 2015 22 Jun'15

  Government Digital Service insists Verify safe despite claims of vulnerabilities

  An academic paper suggests the Gov.uk Verify system could be used as a spy network, but the Government Digital Service (GDS) insists this is not the case

• June 19, 2015 19 Jun'15

  Cumbria Constabulary issues Samsung Galaxy Note smartphones to officers

  Smartphones to replace police notebooks as EE and Cumbria Constabulary partner up to deliver mobility to officers

• June 17, 2015 17 Jun'15

  Cambridge replaces enterprise storage with direct attach Dell-Lustre setup

  Cambridge University uses Dell's MD direct attached storage with Intel’s Lustre to support its data-intensive research programmes

• June 17, 2015 17 Jun'15

  Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock calls for 'data culture' across government

  The government wants to move towards a 'data culture' to make better spending decisions, says minister responsible for digital reform, Matt Hancock

• June 16, 2015 16 Jun'15

  Digital business unhappy over “draconian” EU data protection laws

  European digital businesses say the GDPR text agreed by the EU Council of Ministers is a draconian, blunt-instrument that threatens to hobble online advertising

• June 15, 2015 15 Jun'15

  Freedom of speech dominates Magna Carta for digital age

  A world wide web that will not let companies pay to control it, and not let governments restrict the right to information is the most popular clause for a digital era Magna Carta

• June 15, 2015 15 Jun'15

  EU Data Protection Regulation to be finalised by end of 2015

  The last phase of negotiation is set to begin to hammer out a final text of the new European General Data Protection Regulation

• June 15, 2015 15 Jun'15

  Council dodges £300,000 NetApp outlay with Atlantis flash caching

  Somerset local authority avoids spending £300,000 on extra hard drives for its NetApp arrays and pays half that for Atlantis ILIO flash caching software that runs VDI from RAM

• June 15, 2015 15 Jun'15

  NHS e-Referral system goes live, despite 33 issues and GDS warning

  NHS England has launched its replacement hospital appointment booking service, even though it has known errors and failed to follow government digital guidelines

• June 15, 2015 15 Jun'15

  Byte Night founder among tech community recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours List

  Several leading individuals in the UK tech community received awards in the latest honours list