News

IT for government and public sector

November 10, 2014 10 Nov'14
Digital Scotland passes 150,000 premises with superfast broadband

Scottish government celebrates milestone in £410m Digital Scotland superfast broadband roll-out
November 10, 2014 10 Nov'14
Cyber Security Challenge UK gears up for cyber terror final

The Cyber Security Challenge UK prepares for a realistic cyber terrorist attack simulation to test finalists in March 2015
November 10, 2014 10 Nov'14
Government backs down on prescriptive PSN security compliance

Restrictive security measures are out, a more flexible approach to PSN compliance is in, says government CTO Liam Maxwell
November 07, 2014 07 Nov'14
Ofcom to auction tranche of MoD-owned spectrum

190 MHz of spectrum in two bands currently controlled by the Ministry of Defence is to go under the hammer

November 07, 2014 07 Nov'14
Dark markets downed in international anti-cyber crime operation

International law enforcers have taken down several dark markets operating on hidden Tor networks and arrested 17 cyber crime suspects
November 07, 2014 07 Nov'14
Police forces use private cloud to access Holmes database

Police forces across the UK will access the Holmes major investigation system via a private cloud service
November 06, 2014 06 Nov'14
Cabinet Office launches digital marketplace

The Cabinet Office opens digital marketplace to provide public sector IT buyers with a wide choice of suppliers
November 06, 2014 06 Nov'14
CityFibre takes gigabit network to West Yorkshire

Fibre network operator CityFibre urges businesses in West Yorkshire to sign up to Kirklees Core network service
November 06, 2014 06 Nov'14
Advanced Mobile Location pinpoints 999 calls to within 30m

BT, EE and HTC deploy a new service to pinpoint the source of 999 calls from mobile phones with a far greater degree of accuracy
November 06, 2014 06 Nov'14
Southampton university fuels research with IBM Watson analytics

The University of Southampton has begun a far-reaching initiative to redefine the future of research powered by IBM Watson analytics

November 06, 2014 06 Nov'14
Government’s technology Catapult Network must expand

A network of technology innovation centres needs to expand from seven to 30 by 2030
November 06, 2014 06 Nov'14
UK government joins forces with insurers on cyber security

Government collaborates with the insurance industry to improve how UK businesses manage cyber security risk
November 05, 2014 05 Nov'14
Why national roaming may not be the answer to mobile not-spots

Industry suggests alternative strategies as government threatens to force mobile operators to allow national roaming
November 05, 2014 05 Nov'14
Government open standards - the curious case of Microsoft and the minister

What role, if any, did science minister David Willetts take in helping Microsoft try to overturn government IT policy?
November 05, 2014 05 Nov'14
Vince Cable announces £50m funding for emerging technologies

Business secretary Vince Cable has announced £50m of investment for emerging and “world-changing” technologies
November 05, 2014 05 Nov'14
Ministry of Justice eventually outsources user computing services

The Ministry of Justice has finally contracted Atos to deliver user computing services years after it had planned to go to market
November 05, 2014 05 Nov'14
EU puts €14.4m into UK-inspired open data movement

The EU is investing £11m in three ‘open data’ initiatives
November 04, 2014 04 Nov'14
Departments lack common targets for implementing open-document standards

Whitehall departments have begun publishing plans on implementing the government’s open-document standards policy
November 04, 2014 04 Nov'14
Government asks for more information on digital currencies

The government has released a Call for Information to invite views on the benefits and risks of digital currencies
November 04, 2014 04 Nov'14
GCHQ head calls for overhauled tools to fight extremists online

Newly appointed GCHQ head Robert Hannigan has called for reviewed legal tools to counter internet-enabled extremists
November 04, 2014 04 Nov'14
Wi-Fi forecast predicts one hotspot for every 20 people by 2018

Worldwide audit for Wi-Fi network aggregator iPass reveals how public Wi-Fi might change in the next four years
November 03, 2014 03 Nov'14
West Yorks Police deploys 4,000 Samsung Galaxy Note 3 phablets

West Yorkshire Police force partners with Samsung to provide 4,000 Galaxy Note 3 devices to frontline staff
November 03, 2014 03 Nov'14
MPs launch inquiry into rural broadband coverage for farmers

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee launches inquiry into rural broadband coverage and its impact on digital-only services
November 03, 2014 03 Nov'14
Cert-UK deals with more CNI incidents in second quarter

Cert-UK is dealing with more incidents related to critical national infrastructure, according to its second quarterly report
November 03, 2014 03 Nov'14
RBS to help police with cyber and other expertise to fight financial crime

RBS is to provide the City of London Police with free cyber, financial, legal and language advice to help fight financial crime
October 31, 2014 31 Oct'14
Ipswich hospital improves healthcare service with Esri data visualisation

Health pilots location-based technology that delivers data visualisation
October 31, 2014 31 Oct'14
Fujitsu forced to disclose subsidiary staff pay

Arbitration body forces Fujitsu to reveal subsidiary pay structure after staff request disclosure through union Unite
October 31, 2014 31 Oct'14
East Renfrewshire uses Huddle to connect with neighbouring councils

East Renfrewshire Council uses Huddle’s cloud-based software to connect with two other Clyde Valley councils
October 31, 2014 31 Oct'14
2014 one of strongest years for UK IT outsourcing

The amount spent on outsourcing contracts this year in Europe is expected to be one of the highest figures ever
October 31, 2014 31 Oct'14
Microsoft threatened MPs over open-standards policy, claims advisor

Microsoft told MPs it would cut investment if they supported plans for open standards, says former Cameron advisor
October 31, 2014 31 Oct'14
UK-led cyber crime taskforce proving its worth, says top EU cyber cop

One month into a six-month pilot, a UK-led international cyber crime taskforce looks set to become permanent
October 30, 2014 30 Oct'14
Problems surface as first users attempt to use Gov.uk Verify

Problems have surfaced as users try to use Gov.uk Verify to prove their identities
October 30, 2014 30 Oct'14
Local councils need common standards to develop digital

Local authorities need to have a set of common standards to develop digital innovations, says Surrey County Council’s CDO
October 30, 2014 30 Oct'14
Business needs to take cyber crime seriously, says top EU cyber cop Troels Oerting

Troels Oerting, head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, says businesses must heed the risk of cyber crime
October 30, 2014 30 Oct'14
GDS director Mike Bracken could become government CDO as digital roles evolve

Government Digital Service (GDS) director Mike Bracken could be in line to become the government's chief digital officer (CDO)
October 30, 2014 30 Oct'14
Half a million citizens to be using Gov.uk Verify by April 2015

Government now expects to have nearly half a million people using its Gov.uk Verify service for online identity assurance by April 2015
October 30, 2014 30 Oct'14
Government offers free Wi-Fi in 1,000 public buildings

DCMS plans to make free Wi-Fi hotspots available in 1,000 public buildings as part of its Super-Connected Cities programme
October 29, 2014 29 Oct'14
UK cyber threat sharing ahead of target, says Cert-UK

Membership of the government’s Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CISP) is well ahead of target, says Cert-UK
October 29, 2014 29 Oct'14
Home Office appeals against $300m Raytheon payment in e-Borders dispute

The Home Office has appealed against a decision to award $300m to Raytheon over the cancellation of its e-Borders contract
October 29, 2014 29 Oct'14
HMRC to save £200m per year by scrapping Aspire outsourcing deal

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) expects to save over £200m a year by moving away from its Aspire IT outsourcing contract in June 2017
October 28, 2014 28 Oct'14
Government replaces Becta education IT procurement framework

Government seeks up to 20 suppliers to form a £300m procurement framework for ICT services to public-sector education organisations
October 27, 2014 27 Oct'14
Fujitsu goes hyperscale with CD10000 open-source storage

In a tilt at the hyperscale market the CD10000 marries Fujitsu hardware with Red Hat Ceph open-source storage software
October 27, 2014 27 Oct'14
Met Police trials analytics to fight gang crime

The Metropolitan Police is experimenting with analytics software to help predict which criminals are likely to re-offend
October 27, 2014 27 Oct'14
Private hospital digitises patient records to improve breast cancer treatment

Private hospital group HCA is creating digital records to improve access to clinical images for clinicians screening for breast cancer
October 27, 2014 27 Oct'14
Researchers uncover sophisticated cyber espionage campaign

A cyber espionage campaign against military, diplomatic and defence industry targets in the US and Europe is discovered
October 26, 2014 26 Oct'14
How big data, mobile and cloud are fighting Ebola in Sierra Leone

IBM applies data analytics, mobile technology and cloud computing to help fight the Ebola outbreak in West Africa
October 24, 2014 24 Oct'14
Universal Credit digital service set for first public test in Sutton

Digital service for Universal Credit to start testing with benefit claimants in Sutton, south London, in the next two months
October 24, 2014 24 Oct'14
Arrays cost councils four times more than software-defined storage

Nexenta finds UK councils spend around £1,200 per terabyte on storage arrays – four times more than on storage software
October 23, 2014 23 Oct'14
Will TechNorth be able to take on Tech City?

A tech hub has been launched in the north of the UK to support startups in the shadow of London’s Tech City
October 23, 2014 23 Oct'14
Universal Credit digital system reaches key milestone as DWP delays roll-out

The digital system supporting the Department for Work and Pension's Universal Credit programme has passed a major development milestone
October 23, 2014 23 Oct'14
Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg launches technology cluster initiative in north England

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg launches TechNorth project connecting digital clusters in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield
October 23, 2014 23 Oct'14
BBC takes iPlayer video production to AWS cloud to beat bottleneck and storage woes

Having run Video Factory on AWS for over a year, BBC's Robert Shield explains how he overcame iPlayer bottleneck and availability challenges
October 22, 2014 22 Oct'14
Firms lack technology for workforce of the future

European businesses will rely increasingly on freelance, geographically dispersed employees as they vie to attract the top skills to their organisations over the next 5 years.
October 22, 2014 22 Oct'14
Liverpool council to save £30m taking BT joint venture in-house

Liverpool City Council will save £30m over three years by taking its Liverpool Direct Ltd joint venture back in-house
October 22, 2014 22 Oct'14
More than half of UK citizens hit by online crime, shows Get Safe Online survey

More than half of UK citizens have fallen victim to online crime, according to a survey commissioned by government security initiative Get Safe Online
October 22, 2014 22 Oct'14
Defra first department to implement Gov.uk Verify

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs first to utilise government’s new identity assurance system
October 22, 2014 22 Oct'14
Drones a threat to privacy, says former GCHQ chief David Omand

The use of drones in the UK raises significant safety, security and privacy concerns, according to a report from ex-head of GCHQ, David Omand
October 21, 2014 21 Oct'14
Government needs to make technology exciting for women

The government must make technology roles more exciting to attract females into the industry, says HMRC's Mark Dearnley
October 21, 2014 21 Oct'14
Socitm lobbies for change to enable local digital public services

Society of Information Technology Management highlights what is required to deliver local digital public services
October 21, 2014 21 Oct'14
Data scientist demand evident in applications to new course

Data scientist post-graduate course at City University London takes on three times more students than expected
October 21, 2014 21 Oct'14
Government releases social media guidance for civil servants

New social media guidelines for civil servants have been released by the Cabinet Office
October 21, 2014 21 Oct'14
GCHQ embodies British values, says Iain Lobban

Outgoing GCHQ director Iain Lobban has defended the intelligence agency in his final speech before retiring
October 20, 2014 20 Oct'14
Government seeks suppliers for £2bn telecoms framework

The government is seeking suppliers for a £2bn procurement framework to replace Whitehall’s telecommunications requirements
October 20, 2014 20 Oct'14
PCI security council welcomes Obama executive order on EMV

The PCI security council has welcomed US president Obama’s executive order to speed the adoption of EMV-standard cards
October 20, 2014 20 Oct'14
Prime Minister’s Digital Taskforce targets skills and networks

The Prime Minister’s Digital Taskforce has established a remit around skills, investment, and networks
October 17, 2014 17 Oct'14
National Museum of Wales tackles digital technology

The National Museum of Wales is digitising and using modern technology in its seven exhibition campuses
October 17, 2014 17 Oct'14
Public services website Gov.uk hits one billion visits

Government public services website Gov.uk reports its one billionth visit since its launch two years ago
October 17, 2014 17 Oct'14
FBI director James Comey joins call for online surveillance tools

FBI director James Comey has reiterated the need for online surveillance and joined calls for more tools to do so
October 17, 2014 17 Oct'14
Local government outsourcing shrinks workforce 35%

The number of staff directly employed by a fifth of local authorities will reduce 35% by 2020 as a result of outsourcing
October 16, 2014 16 Oct'14
UK is prime target for cyber attacks, says FireEye

The UK has been greatest target of advanced cyber attacks in Europe, the Middle East or Africa in the first half of 2014, report shows
October 15, 2014 15 Oct'14
Nottinghamshire Council goes mobile with Windows

Nottinghamshire County Council is turning to Windows 8.1 to mobilise its workforce, starting with its social care division
October 15, 2014 15 Oct'14
McAfee highlights security challenges of a next-generation government

McAfee has released a report investigating the security issues the 'government of tomorrow' might face
October 15, 2014 15 Oct'14
Industrial control systems: What are the security challenges?

Targeted attacks on industrial control systems are the biggest threat to critical national infrastructure, says Kaspersky Lab
October 15, 2014 15 Oct'14
Gov.uk Verify identity assurance service ready to go live

Government expected to launch first service using digital identity assurance in "next couple of weeks"
October 15, 2014 15 Oct'14
Global research reveals limited appetite for smartwatch payments

While consumers in the US and China show interest in making purchases on smartwatches, Brits are less interested, finds research
October 14, 2014 14 Oct'14
Europe’s top cyber cop calls for access to online data

Trust in police and state should be applied in cyber space as it is in the real world, says the head of Europol’s EC3
October 14, 2014 14 Oct'14
Microsoft, SAP and Facebook call on EU to support better IT education

IT giants have written an open letter to EU ministers urging them to support better ICT education and encourage children to code
October 13, 2014 13 Oct'14
IT industry seeks to improve relationship with government IT buyers

The UK IT industry wants to make “real changes” in its relationship with government following longstanding criticisms
October 10, 2014 10 Oct'14
Is the BIS GrowthAccelerator scheme worthwhile for technology startups?

UK startups in the technology sector may be missing an opportunity to grow by ignoring GrowthAccelerator programme
October 10, 2014 10 Oct'14
Fear and loathing could hold back UK internet of things, says KPMG report

More than two-thirds of UK consumers fear growing number of interconnected devices make it too easy for things to go wrong
October 10, 2014 10 Oct'14
Creating the next wave of social open-data products

Open Data programme managers address the challenges of creating socially focused open-data products
October 09, 2014 09 Oct'14
Housing associations launch shared internet service from BT

BT promises housing association tenants lower internet costs through new scheme
October 09, 2014 09 Oct'14
Government as a platform will be fully ready in three years, says Liam Maxwell

Government CTO Liam Maxwell has outlined its digital transformation vision of delivering government as a platform
October 08, 2014 08 Oct'14
Care.data goes ahead with CCG pilot

NHS England’s controversial care.data programme is currently in a testing phase with four clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)
October 08, 2014 08 Oct'14
Welsh government hands control of PSN to BT

BT to take over running of PSN across Wales from Logicalis
October 02, 2014 02 Oct'14
Civil service appoints first chief executive to drive digital transformation

The civil service has appointed John Manzoni as its first CEO, with a remit to drive digital transformation across Whitehall
October 02, 2014 02 Oct'14
GDS to receive budget boost to aid transition from Whitehall outsourcing deals

The Government Digital Service is set to receive a budget boost to help move away from large IT outsourcing deals due to expire
October 02, 2014 02 Oct'14
Derby City Council promises 2Gbps connections at tech hub

Up to 150 Derby SMEs are to get 2Gbps broadband through Virgin following a council-led investment in the city’s tech base
October 02, 2014 02 Oct'14
Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards to step down

Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards is to stand down at the end of December 2014, says the telecoms regulator
October 02, 2014 02 Oct'14
China targets Hong Kong protestors with Android and iOS spyware

China is suspected of spying on pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong using a fake app for Android and iOS smartphones
October 01, 2014 01 Oct'14
DVLA digital car tax renewal website struggles with demand on launch

The DVLA’s renewed vehicle tax website has had a troubled launch, with the site crashing due to high demand
September 30, 2014 30 Sep'14
Cyber Essentials for public sector IT suppliers: pros and cons

What are the pros and cons of the Cyber Essentials Scheme certification mandated for public sector IT suppliers?
September 30, 2014 30 Sep'14
How YouGov deployed Veeam Backup & Replication

YouGov has deployed Veeam Backup & Replication to switch suppliers following the breakdown of a managed services contract
September 30, 2014 30 Sep'14
Going digital at the Ministry of Justice

The Ministry of Justice is making progress on its digital strategy, with CDO Paul Shetler at the helm
September 29, 2014 29 Sep'14
London innovation centre launches to tackle data challenges

An innovation and collaboration centre has been launched to develop ideas relating to data and the UK economy
September 29, 2014 29 Sep'14
Nationwide roll-out of Universal Credit to start in early 2015

Controversial welfare reform programme to be accelerated nationwide for single people only, using much-criticised IT systems
September 29, 2014 29 Sep'14
HMRC promises personal online tax accounts in new digital strategy

HM Revenue & Customs has launched its new digital strategy, committing to personalised online tax accounts
September 29, 2014 29 Sep'14
Service model driving cyber crime, says Europol report

The cyber crime support industry is becoming increasingly commercialised, says a report by the European Cybercrime Centre
September 29, 2014 29 Sep'14
Civil service chief endorses 'government as platform' digital strategy

Civil service chief Jeremy Heywood endorses the government digital strategy, hailing it as key to Whitehall reform
September 26, 2014 26 Sep'14
Public shared service cuts costs and improves operations

Kent's Fire and Rescue and police force's shared command and control system saves costs and improves operations