News

IT for government and public sector

• October 06, 2021 06 Oct'21

  MEPs approve report opposing certain uses of AI by police

  European policymakers have approved a report on the use of AI in criminal matters, rejecting several amendments in the process that would have made it easier for police to potentially conduct predictive analytics and biometric surveillance

• October 06, 2021 06 Oct'21

  US lawmakers propose ransomware reporting rules

  Former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren lends her support to a bill that would require corporate ransomware victims to disclose more information about their attacks to the authorities

• October 05, 2021 05 Oct'21

  Concerns raised over confidentiality and transparency in government data innovation

  National data guardian Nicola Byrne warns about central principles that should be observed as data-driven innovation gathers pace in areas such as health and care

• October 05, 2021 05 Oct'21

  Direct Line hires former Virgin Atlantic IT chief as CIO

  Ash Jokhoo will be joining the insurance company as a member of the executive board

• October 04, 2021 04 Oct'21

  NHSX publishes IT standards and interoperability priorities

  The creation of an IT strategy, a governance model and an open source playbook are among the areas of focus for the interoperability team of NHSX

• October 04, 2021 04 Oct'21

  NHSX IT chief outlines opportunities of elective recovery tech fund

  Priorities for the digital unit of the health service include remote recovery with virtual wards, pre-surgical digital support, and use of robotic process automation to reduce the administrative burden on staff

• October 01, 2021 01 Oct'21

  Met Police purchase new retrospective facial-recognition system

  Retrospective facial-recognition software purchased for £3m by the Met Police will be deployed in coming months amid continuing controversy around the use of biometric technologies by law enforcement bodies

• October 01, 2021 01 Oct'21

  BEIS urged to prioritise funding to protect umbrella workers in government Spending Review

  In an open letter to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, umbrella regulation draft policymakers Rebecca Seeley Harris and James Poyser urge the government to prioritise funding for a single enforcement body

• October 01, 2021 01 Oct'21

  Norway and IoT: A match made in heaven

  Norway is becoming a centre of internet of things innovation as tech developers look for answers to some of the country's unique challenges

• September 29, 2021 29 Sep'21

  UK government announces industry group to lead digital pound debate

  Joint forums set up by HM Treasury and the Bank of England for a Central Bank Digital Currency include representatives from big tech firms, fintechs and incumbent banks

• September 28, 2021 28 Sep'21

  Digital regulators need discrete but cooperative remits

  The UK’s information commissioner has told MPs that digital economy regulators need discrete remits backed up by strong information sharing powers to both provide clear focus as well as allow for greater cooperation between their disparate but ...

• September 28, 2021 28 Sep'21

  Dutch IT firm transforms HR policy built on lessons from pandemic

  Software firm rips up human resources rule book and replaces it with a hybrid working policy

• September 28, 2021 28 Sep'21

  Government announces data strategy for defence

  The plan sets out the goals around treating data as a strategic asset to be achieved by 2025

• September 27, 2021 27 Sep'21

  Uber drivers strike over pay issues and unfair dismissal claims

  Unionised Uber drivers take industrial action in response to ongoing disputes over pay and claims that drivers are being unfairly dismissed as a result of the company’s technologies

• September 27, 2021 27 Sep'21

  Giant Umbrella contractors suffer salary payment delays following suspected ‘data breach’

  Following the discovery of “suspicious network activity” in its systems, payroll processing firm Giant Umbrella has taken itself offline, leaving contractors to fume over missing salary payments

• September 27, 2021 27 Sep'21

  Scotland sees increase in job opportunities in tech

  Driven by startups and scaleups, employment in digital firms in Edinburgh and Glasgow is growing more than in other parts of the UK, according to data

• September 24, 2021 24 Sep'21

  London publishes guidelines for ethical use of smart city tech

  Latest draft of the ‘Emerging Technology Charter for London’ encourages local authorities, public services and technology companies to improve how they implement technology in the capital

• September 24, 2021 24 Sep'21

  HMRC postpones Making Tax Digital until 2024

  Digital tax changes have been delayed to allow more time for customers taking part in the pilot and for the government to enhance the service

• September 23, 2021 23 Sep'21

  Fresh alert over Conti ransomware surge

  Conti ransomware crew appears increasingly active, prompting fresh warnings from the US authorities

• September 23, 2021 23 Sep'21

  MoD in second leak of Afghan citizens’ data

  A second breach of data relating to Afghan citizens at risk of Taliban reprisals has been reported by the Ministry of Defence

• September 23, 2021 23 Sep'21

  Authorised push payment fraud sees huge increase as criminals switch tactics

  Criminals tricking people into making payments through channels such as fake emails and websites have stolen more money than payment card fraudsters

• September 23, 2021 23 Sep'21

  Government digital chief outlines extent of legacy IT challenge

  Central Digital and Data Office director Joanna Davinson says ageing IT is holding back digital transformation

• September 22, 2021 22 Sep'21

  UK government launches first national artificial intelligence strategy

  Ten-year plan is expected to drive corporate adoption of the technology, boost skills and attract international investments

• September 22, 2021 22 Sep'21

  Newham aims to harness local talent to build data economy in London

  The London Borough of Newham sets out to enable its young, digitally savvy population to build a data economy for sustainable growth through the launch of Newham Sparks at London Tech Week 2021

• September 22, 2021 22 Sep'21

  AI cannot be regulated by technical measures alone

  The regulation of artificial intelligence must address the power of tech companies, as technical measures alone will not be enough to prevent the harms caused by AI-driven technologies, says report

• September 22, 2021 22 Sep'21

  Legacy, unautomated IT was root cause of human error in pensions underpayment

  Caseworkers at Department for Work and Pensions had to use systems dating back to 1988 and manually move data to different systems, leading to human error

• September 22, 2021 22 Sep'21

  UK government turns to Tim Berners-Lee startup for digital identity plan

  As part of its new digital identity project, the Government Digital Service is using the Solid platform created by web inventor Berners-Lee, which helps users to manage their personal data better

• September 21, 2021 21 Sep'21

  NHS App reaches 16 million users

  Tool has seen a surge in uptake since the addition of the NHS Covid Pass in May

• September 21, 2021 21 Sep'21

  UK needs coordinated effort to regain ground in high-performance computing

  The UK is falling behind in the supercomputer league as a lack of skills and awareness of large-scale computing holds back organisations

• September 21, 2021 21 Sep'21

  Digital Clinical Safety Strategy adds to NHS patient safety plan

  Objective is to ensure digital technologies in health and care are safe and to use them to improve patient safety

• September 21, 2021 21 Sep'21

  BlackMatter gang ramps up attacks on multiple victims

  A wave of new BlackMatter ransomware attacks is hitting organisations around the world, even as the US authorities mull new sanctions on ransom payment infrastructure

• September 20, 2021 20 Sep'21

  UK government announces digital trade strategy

  Five-point plan is aimed at improving ways to sell and deliver services digitally, making the sector more resilient to disruption

• September 20, 2021 20 Sep'21

  NGO Fair Trials calls on EU to ban predictive policing systems

  The use of artificial intelligence to predict criminal behaviour should be banned because of its discriminatory outcomes and high risk of further entrenching existing inequalities, claims Fair Trials

• September 19, 2021 19 Sep'21

  UK tech sector on track for another record year of investment

  The UK creates one unicorn tech business a week, as startup funding during the first half of 2021 rockets to £13.5bn

• September 17, 2021 17 Sep'21

  Whittingdale and Warman ousting completes reshuffle of every digital, data and tech minister

  All of the UK ministers responsible for technology, digital and data are moving on as a result of Boris Johnson's latest reshuffle

• September 16, 2021 16 Sep'21

  Bitdefender launches free REvil ransomware decryptor

  Working alongside law enforcement partners, Bitdefender has developed and released a tool to help REvil victims recover their data for free

• September 16, 2021 16 Sep'21

  European president outlines tech vision to drive Europe

  President of the European Commission has set out plans for a stronger European economy, with less reliance on US and Chinese tech giants

• September 16, 2021 16 Sep'21

  Network Rail U-turns on blanket inside IR35 contractor determinations

  The Department for Transport’s 2020-2021 accounts suggest Network Rail has switched up its IR35 compliance strategy, with more than 70% of its contractors now classified as working outside IR35

• September 15, 2021 15 Sep'21

  UN human rights chief calls for moratorium on AI technologies

  High commissioner’s call for a moratorium on the use of AI systems that pose a serious risk to human rights is accompanied by a UN report on the negative human rights impacts associated with the technology

• September 15, 2021 15 Sep'21

  Interview: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak on supporting the UK tech sector

  Computer Weekly talked to Sunak at a Treasury event in front of an audience of tech sector leaders, investors and startups, to discuss how the government can support the digital economy

• September 15, 2021 15 Sep'21

  Tech Nation announces second cohort for Net Zero accelerator

  The Net Zero programme from Tech Nation aims to help tech startups and scaleups realise their potential to reduce global emissions

• September 15, 2021 15 Sep'21

  Nordic central banks drive fintech and digital currency

  Banks are working together through a cross-border financial technology development hub

• September 14, 2021 14 Sep'21

  UK government takes equity shares in more than 150 startups

  Covid-support loans given to startups through the UK government’s Future Fund have given it stakes in more than 150 high-growth enterprises

• September 14, 2021 14 Sep'21

  CCRC refers six more subpostmaster convictions for appeal

  An additional six subpostmasters’ convictions have been referred for appeal in Post Office IT scandal

• September 13, 2021 13 Sep'21

  UK government’s new digital identity system to cost up to £400m

  Cabinet Office is seeking £300m-£400m in funding to build its replacement for the failed Gov.uk Verify system, which itself cost over £220m

• September 09, 2021 09 Sep'21

  Delays to replacing legacy police IT puts access to information at risk, says NAO

  National Audit Office says five-year delay to the Home Office’s project to create a National Law Enforcement Data Service, replacing two existing legacy IT systems, puts police access to vital information at risk

• September 09, 2021 09 Sep'21

  UK GDPR faces changes under planned reforms

  DCMS is launching a major consultation on proposed changes to the UK’s data protection regime, under which several key elements of the GDPR are likely to change

• September 09, 2021 09 Sep'21

  Government relies on tech to reduce NHS waiting lists

  Health and social care secretary Sajid Javid aims to reduce NHS waiting list backlog through use of virtual wards, artificial intelligence and new surgical hubs

• September 08, 2021 08 Sep'21

  Estonian government opens its digital heart to tech testers

  Tech startups are being invited to build and test their products and services on the Estonian government’s IT estate for free, in return for use of the software developed

• September 07, 2021 07 Sep'21

  Procuring law enforcement tech needs greater scrutiny

  Tech firms are playing a high-stakes game to drive adoption of artificial intelligence and surveillance technology in law enforcement