News

IT for government and public sector

• December 08, 2021 08 Dec'21

  UK privacy chief denies conflict of interest in new role

  UK information commissioner will join a private law firm that represents technology companies she used to regulate, raising questions about conflicts of interest and drawing ‘revolving door’ criticisms

• December 07, 2021 07 Dec'21

  Loan charge: MPs call on financial secretary for new independent review into HMRC policy

  In a seven-page letter to newly appointed Treasury minister Lucy Frazer, MPs highlight the legal flaws in HMRC's controversial loan charge policy and demand a new independent review

• December 07, 2021 07 Dec'21

  UK technology issues contributed to Afghanistan withdrawal chaos

  Multiple problems including email management, collaboration restrictions and lack of technical expertise may have risked the lives of thousands of Afghans, according to whistleblower Raphael Marshall

• December 07, 2021 07 Dec'21

  Labour reshuffle expands shadow ministerial team on digital, technology and innovation policy

  New Shadow Cabinet includes three Labour spokespeople covering issues around digital, data, technology, science and innovation issues

• December 07, 2021 07 Dec'21

  Government makes £116m pledge to help UK's green-tech firms innovate to fight climate change

  The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has outlined its commitment to helping UK green-tech businesses bring to market innovations that could help fight climate change

• December 07, 2021 07 Dec'21

  Digital measures confirmed under UK procurement overhaul

  A new platform and data standard will be introduced as part of a government move to bring simplicity and transparency to contracting

• December 07, 2021 07 Dec'21

  AI assistant Bürokratt to reduce bureaucracy in Estonian government

  Estonia to launch a Siri-like digital assistant that will automate the completion of government service requests

• December 06, 2021 06 Dec'21

  Parents more equipped for home learning than teachers

  Home learning was more easily embraced by parents than teachers, with parents saying they had the tech in place for remote schooling

• December 06, 2021 06 Dec'21

  IT Priorities 2022: Pandemic’s long tail for cyber buyers

  Pandemic response has been top of mind for cyber leaders these past 18 months, and as Covid-19 turns two, the TechTarget/Computer Weekly IT Priorities 2022 study shows buyers are still focused on how Covid has upended the workplace

• December 06, 2021 06 Dec'21

  Winter plan for health and social care gets £250m tech boost

  Upgrades in screening to reduce waiting times and remote monitoring are among the initiatives to benefit from the budget allocation

• December 06, 2021 06 Dec'21

  Cyber attacks and severe space weather among extreme risks faced by UK

  An attack on the country’s critical infrastructure and severe space weather events could bring the UK to a halt, says Lords report

• December 05, 2021 05 Dec'21

  Australia’s NSW to build A$40m digital twin

  The spatial digital twin brings together government data sources to provide insights for urban planners and residents to support decision-making and see into the future

• December 03, 2021 03 Dec'21

  IR35: Government consultation on umbrella companies fuels regulation hopes

  The government has embarked on a consultation to understand better how the umbrella market works, which is a move that has been cautiously welcomed by contracting market stakeholders

• December 03, 2021 03 Dec'21

  Serious violence duty in PCSC Bill would gut UK data rights

  Proposed data gathering powers for UK police could override existing data protection rules, damage citizens’ trust in essential public services and further entrench discriminatory policing practices

• December 02, 2021 02 Dec'21

  UK government publishes tech-enabled adult social care plan

  Ten-year plan will see NHSX working on areas such as assistive technologies, and improved connectivity for care homes

• December 01, 2021 01 Dec'21

  Unesco member states adopt AI ethics recommendation

  The non-binding recommendation seeks to define a common set of values and principles to guide the development of ethical AI globally

• December 01, 2021 01 Dec'21

  Wolverhampton to pilot app that rewards healthy behaviours

  Tool is aimed at helping local residents eat better and exercise more

• November 30, 2021 30 Nov'21

  MI6 will ‘open up’ to tech firms to innovate faster than adversaries, says chief Richard Moore

  MI6 will use investment fund to back tech companies to develop long-term technologies that will help it to keep pace with China and Russia

• November 30, 2021 30 Nov'21

  HMRC denies outside-IR35 hiring ban as accounts reveal agency’s reliance on umbrella workers

  HM Revenue & Customs accounts reveal marked rise in total number of temporary workers it engages, with most of them providing services through umbrella firms

• November 30, 2021 30 Nov'21

  Technology horizon-scanning programme launched by UK regulatory bodies

  Goal of the initiative is to build knowledge and understanding of emerging tools

• November 30, 2021 30 Nov'21

  HP patches bugs in over 150 printer models

  More than 150 HP multifunction printers are at risk of compromise through a series of newly disclosed vulnerabilities, one of them wormable

• November 30, 2021 30 Nov'21

  UK government launches report on digital trade

  Report outlines future opportunities and challenges such as the rise of digital protectionism and poor infrastructure

• November 30, 2021 30 Nov'21

  Over 100 civil society groups call for changes to EU AI Act

  Civil, human and digital rights organisations sign open letter calling on European policymakers to put fundamental rights at the heart of the proposed Artificial Intelligence Act

• November 29, 2021 29 Nov'21

  ICO warns facial recognition company Clearview AI it could face £17m fine over privacy breaches

  The UK’s information commissioner has issued a preliminary decision to fine Clearview over £17m for breaching UK data protection law and invited the company to make representations

• November 29, 2021 29 Nov'21

  UK announces standard for algorithmic transparency

  Public sector organisations will pilot artificial intelligence governance framework and evolve it based on feedback

• November 29, 2021 29 Nov'21

  British Army picks Immersive Labs for cyber training

  The British Army will make Immersive Labs’ security training platform available to all serving personnel

• November 29, 2021 29 Nov'21

  Cabinet Office slammed after advising users to ditch UKCloud as further investment nears

  The Cabinet Office is facing criticism after details emerge that at least one major government department has briefed suppliers to migrate away from UKCloud

• November 29, 2021 29 Nov'21

  DWP extends Capita contract for Scottish jobs programme

  Scotland’s JETS job-matching scheme, which uses digital tools to support people looking for work, extends contract with Capita

• November 29, 2021 29 Nov'21

  Three latest trends and developments around the Mitre ATT&CK framework

  Framework is set to receive important updates to help organisations and businesses evolve their cyber security. Learn more about what it offers

• November 26, 2021 26 Nov'21

  Post Office inquiry clears up opaque stance on subpostmaster compensation

  The chair of the Post Office scandal public inquiry has confirmed the compensation of a group of subpostmasters will be revisited

• November 25, 2021 25 Nov'21

  Government must prove its plans to police encryption work, says ex-cyber security chief

  Ciaran Martin, the former UK cyber security chief, says the government must explain how it can access encrypted communications without damaging cyber security and weakening privacy

• November 25, 2021 25 Nov'21

  British Army announces transformation programme

  The Future Soldier initiative will see a modernisation supported by use of emerging technologies and bolstered cyber capabilities

• November 25, 2021 25 Nov'21

  Post Office supported 1999 law change that eased prosecutions using computer evidence

  The Post Office made clear its support for a change in UK law regarding computer evidence that was making prosecution 'onerous' - a change which later helped to wrongfully convict subpostmasters

• November 24, 2021 24 Nov'21

  UK government announces NHS digital delivery review

  Report from NHS Digital chair Laura Wade-Gery sets out recommendations on how to approach digital transformation in the public health system

• November 24, 2021 24 Nov'21

  Apple sues under-fire malware firm NSO

  Lawsuit alleges spyware firm NSO Group targeted Apple’s users, adding to the pressure on the under-fire company

• November 24, 2021 24 Nov'21

  Police tech introduced with little scrutiny or training

  A Lords inquiry into the adoption of advanced algorithmic technologies by police in England and Wales has been told that new tools are being introduced without proper training and with little scrutiny of their impacts

• November 23, 2021 23 Nov'21

  NHSX and NHS Digital to merge with NHS England

  Overhaul part of recommendations under a digital delivery review led by NHS Digital chair Laura Wade-Gery

• November 23, 2021 23 Nov'21

  Home secretary urged to respond to concerns over EU travel systems

  Priti Patel is challenged over the various issues relating to new border checks affecting UK residents travelling to the European Union, in aspects such as facial recognition and algorithmic profiling

• November 22, 2021 22 Nov'21

  Upcoming holidays prompt ransomware warning from authorities

  Ransomware gangs know how calendars work, and may target their attacks around major holidays to take advantage of more people being off work, according to a new alert

• November 22, 2021 22 Nov'21

  More wrongful convictions overturned in Post Office scandal

  Seven more subpostmasters have been cleared after the Post Office charged them for crimes caused by its faulty Horizon software, taking the total of people wrongfully convicted to 72, with more to come

• November 22, 2021 22 Nov'21

  CIO interview: Karl Hoods, CDIO, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

  Moving to the cloud, developing staff skills and responding quickly to the pandemic – from a public sector IT leader’s perspective

• November 22, 2021 22 Nov'21

  DHSC reluctant to confirm details of digital delivery review

  Sajid Javid heightens expectations around Wade-Gery review at NHS conference, but health department is unable to say when it might be delivered

• November 22, 2021 22 Nov'21

  UK holds international digital government conference

  Countries convened to discuss digital transformation issues and the application to services of technologies such as AI and digital identity.

• November 19, 2021 19 Nov'21

  Subpostmasters asked to withdraw support for Post Office scandal inquiry

  Subpostmaster campaign group founder calls for members to withdraw support for public inquiry into Horizon IT scandal over lack of adequate compensation

• November 18, 2021 18 Nov'21

  Government to legislate to make APP fraud reimbursement mandatory

  UK payments regulator wants to reduce the huge sums of money lost to authorised push payment fraud and is calling on the banking and tech industries to play their part

• November 18, 2021 18 Nov'21

  Sky ECC provided free cryptophones to a Canadian police force

  Internal emails disclosed in a US court show how Sky Global supplied sample encrypted phones to a Canadian police force before its phone users became subject to an international police investigation

• November 18, 2021 18 Nov'21

  Six more former subpostmasters have convictions overturned

  A total number of 65 subpostmasters have now had criminal convictions overturned in Post Office Horizon scandal

• November 17, 2021 17 Nov'21

  HMRC should boost data analytics capability, says NAO report

  Department urged to develop its current set-up to better manage the range of taxpayers’ needs it encounters

• November 17, 2021 17 Nov'21

  ONS data points to rise in UK tech employment for women

  Female professionals accounted for 71% of the new jobs created between June and September 2021

• November 17, 2021 17 Nov'21

  Post Office agrees to share privileged legal information with Horizon scandal inquiry

  The Post Office will waive professional legal privilege for documents relating to legal advice it received regarding subpostmaster prosecutions