News

IT for government and public sector

• August 26, 2021 26 Aug'21

  Tech giants commit to Biden's cyber security action plan

  Some of the world’s most prominent tech giants have made a series of commitments to enhance the US’ national cyber security posture following a high-profile meeting with president Biden

• August 26, 2021 26 Aug'21

  Government unveils post-Brexit data flow proposals

  The government will pursue data partnerships with countries including Australia, South Korea and the US as part of a post-Brexit data regime that may also see substantial changes to the UK’s data protection law

• August 26, 2021 26 Aug'21

  Scottish government launches £25m digital funding for SMEs

  Money comes from the latest wave of the government’s DigitalBoost Fund, which offers small and medium-sized businesses in Scotland funding to invest in digital technologies

• August 26, 2021 26 Aug'21

  NHS Scotland sets out recovery plan

  Plan includes ensuring digital choices are always available, scaling up online consultation app and accelerating technology adoption in the NHS

• August 26, 2021 26 Aug'21

  NZ privacy lead John Edwards named new information commissioner

  DCMS has named John Edwards, currently New Zealand privacy commissioner, to succeed Elizabeth Denham as UK information commissioner

• August 25, 2021 25 Aug'21

  Algorithmic accountability needs meaningful public participation

  Global analysis by Ada Lovelace Institute and other research groups finds algorithmic accountability mechanisms in the public sector are hindered by a lack of engagement with the public

• August 25, 2021 25 Aug'21

  UK loses £1.3bn to fraud and cyber crime so far this year

  New figures from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau show a threefold spike in reported financial losses to fraud and cyber crime in the first six months of 2021

• August 24, 2021 24 Aug'21

  HMCTS discloses £12.5m HMRC tax bill over IR35 status contractor assessment errors

  HM Courts and Tribunals Service has acknowledged IR35 status contractor assessment errors and paid HMRC £12.5m

• August 24, 2021 24 Aug'21

  Half of MS Exchange servers at risk in ProxyShell debacle

  Up to 50% of MS Exchange users in the UK are exposed to three vulnerabilities that are now being actively exploited

• August 24, 2021 24 Aug'21

  Campaign groups claim police have bypassed Parliament with plans for live facial-recognition tech

  Civil society groups call for Parliament to scrutinise the use of live facial-recognition cameras

• August 23, 2021 23 Aug'21

  Cities worldwide band together to push for ethical AI

  The chief digital and technology officers of London and Barcelona speak to Computer Weekly about their joint initiative launched with other cities to promote the ethical deployment of artificial intelligence in urban spaces

• August 23, 2021 23 Aug'21

  It’s time to reshape NHS innovation approach, says science and technology council

  Council for Science and Technology sets out how the government should harness tech for the NHS through interoperable systems, building skills and capacity and developing an evidence base to underpin effective use of tech

• August 20, 2021 20 Aug'21

  CMA urges further scrutiny of Nvidia purchase of Arm

  Competition and Markets Authority has decided an in-depth investigation should be mounted into the proposed acquisition of Arm by US chipmaker Nvidia

• August 20, 2021 20 Aug'21

  Swedish IT industry braced for China’s response to Huawei 5G ban

  Swedish IT and communications equipment suppliers fear economic backlash from China following Huawei ban

• August 19, 2021 19 Aug'21

  Inside Estonia’s tech startup scene

  Estonia is a Baltic tech tiger that is fast-gaining an international reputation for competently delivered government e-services at a level that surpasses most of its European and international counterparts

• August 19, 2021 19 Aug'21

  UN launches peacekeeping digital transformation strategy

  United Nations strategy sets out the need for data-driven and technology-enabled peacekeeping, but also highlights potential risks that come with a digital world

• August 18, 2021 18 Aug'21

  UK government criticised for proposed facial-recognition guidance

  Privacy campaigners say the government's updated 'surveillance camera code of practice' does not do enough to mitigate abuses of facial-recognition technology

• August 18, 2021 18 Aug'21

  MoD seeks security tech to harden military systems

  The Defence and Security Accelerator has launched a programme to root out technology that will reduce the military’s exposure to cyber attacks

• August 18, 2021 18 Aug'21

  Thames Valley Police drops ERP system after spending £14m

  Thames Valley Police exits tri-force programme to develop new enterprise resource planning software for the police

• August 17, 2021 17 Aug'21

  CIO interview: Victoria Higgin, Highways England

  The chief digital and information officer for digital services at Highways England discusses a roadmap for end-to-end data sharing and asset management

• August 17, 2021 17 Aug'21

  Overturned convictions of subpostmasters mount up, but 555 victims no closer to justice

  The government has failed to provide fair compensation to the subpostmasters who exposed the full extent of the Horizon scandal to the world

• August 16, 2021 16 Aug'21

  ICO consults public on personal data in employment practices

  The ICO has launched a public consultation on employers’ use of personal data to help it provide practical guidance for both businesses and workers

• August 13, 2021 13 Aug'21

  UN special rapporteurs call for surveillance tech moratorium

  In the wake of revelations about NSO Groups Pegasus spyware, a number of special rapporteurs from the United Nations are re-igniting calls for a global moratorium on the sale and transfer of surveillance technologies

• August 12, 2021 12 Aug'21

  NCSC for Startups initiative launched with Plexal

  National Cyber Security Centre and Plexal will support startups to develop products to address the government’s cyber security priorities

• August 12, 2021 12 Aug'21

  ICO consults on new international data transfer agreement

  Information Commissioner’s Office to consult on its draft international data transfer agreement and guidance, which will replace standard contractual clauses to protect personal data during overseas transfers

• August 12, 2021 12 Aug'21

  Social care digital revolution could lead to £127m in benefits

  Analysis of NHS Digital’s social care programme shows new ways of working could reduce hospital admissions and visits to GPs, and improve people’s quality of life

• August 12, 2021 12 Aug'21

  LGA goes live with Digital Pathfinders Programme

  Programme offers £20,000 in funding to councils that come up with ‘pioneering solutions’ for cyber security, digital inclusion and connectivity

• August 11, 2021 11 Aug'21

  US wins bid to widen grounds of appeal in Julian Assange extradition case

  The US government accused medical expert professor Michael Kopelman of misleading the court by failing to disclose details of Assange’s relationship 

• August 11, 2021 11 Aug'21

  Four more subpostmasters set to have convictions overturned

  A further four subpostmasters are set to have their wrongful convictions overturned in the latest development in the Post Office Horizon scandal

• August 10, 2021 10 Aug'21

  Ransomware demands and payments hit new records

  Ransomware groups continue to intensify their operations as ransom demands and payments increase alongside use of “quadruple extortion” tactics during first half of 2021

• August 10, 2021 10 Aug'21

  Dutch lead the way in protecting themselves against internet risks

  Dutch citizens come top in a study on awareness of internet risks in Europe, which showed major differences across the continent

• August 09, 2021 09 Aug'21

  Possible ransomware attack hits Italian vaccine booking system

  It is still unclear who is behind the attack that caused Covid-19 vaccine bookings in Lazio, Italy, to grind to a halt, as despite masses of files being encrypted no specific ransom demands have been made for the decryptor

• August 09, 2021 09 Aug'21

  Startups provide TfL with AI and simulation to keep London moving

  Transport for London has awarded contracts to two startups to deliver new technology to support the capital’s road network

• August 06, 2021 06 Aug'21

  Apple unveils plans to scan US iPhones for child sex abuse images

  Apple will introduce child sexual abuse material detection for US users later this year, but some experts are worried that the technology could be repurposed to scan phones for other kinds of content

• August 05, 2021 05 Aug'21

  11 areas will trial digital identity scheme for residential property sector

  MyIdentity scheme will allow estate agents, conveyancers, solicitors and mortgage providers across 11 locations to trial the use of digital identity to speed up and make home buying more secure

• August 05, 2021 05 Aug'21

  BCS: more diverse workforce key to UK AI ethics global leadership

  BCS report says the UK can take an international lead in AI ethics if it cultivates a more diverse workforce, including people from non-STEM backgrounds

• August 04, 2021 04 Aug'21

  Civil Service Data Challenge announces longlist of ideas to improve data use

  Dragons’ Den-style Civil Service competition to elicit ideas to improve data use in government has whittled a list of 200 down to eight. Four will be chosen in December for delivery

• August 04, 2021 04 Aug'21

  Six Isle of Wight schools hit by ransomware attack

  Authorities are still working to manage the fallout from the attack, which has already forced at least one school to delay the start of the new term in September

• August 03, 2021 03 Aug'21

  UK MoD turns to hackers to help secure digital assets

  Hackers given direct access to internal Ministry of Defence systems to identify and report security vulnerabilities

• August 03, 2021 03 Aug'21

  Panasas’s 10x saving bumps NetApp from HPC storage deployment

  University of Wollongong got 1.2PB for the cost of 100TB for HPC storage in its cryo-imaging institute. Scale-out NAS maker Panasas also brought life sciences expertise to bear

• August 03, 2021 03 Aug'21

  HMRC will shut down Chief system by end of March 2023

  From 31 March 2023, the Customs Declaration Service will become the only operating UK customs platform when HMRC turns off the legacy Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight system

• August 03, 2021 03 Aug'21

  Government updates isolation criteria in Covid-19 app

  NHS Covid-19 app adjusted to reduce the number of people receiving self-isolation alerts

• August 02, 2021 02 Aug'21

  IR35 reforms: TUC demand for government ban on umbrella companies raises eyebrows

  The Trades Union Congress has raised eyebrows within the contracting community by calling for a ban on umbrella companies to help stamp out malpractice

• August 02, 2021 02 Aug'21

  Government publishes second version of digital identity trust framework

  The second iteration of the framework, still in alpha version, sets out how organisations can become certified digital identity service providers

• July 30, 2021 30 Jul'21

  Government opens up SME digital support programme for suppliers

  Help to Grow: Digital scheme aims to help small businesses access productivity-enhancing software, and suppliers are now encouraged to register as approved suppliers

• July 29, 2021 29 Jul'21

  HMRC hits Home Office with £33.5m bill over ‘careless’ application of IR35 rules

  The Home Office is the latest ministerial department to be hit with a multimillion-pound tax demand from HMRC after errors were discovered in its implementation of the IR35 rules

• July 29, 2021 29 Jul'21

  Investigatory Powers Tribunal finds UK spy agencies unlawfully collected personal data

  Campaign groups Privacy International and Liberty are gearing up to bring further legal action after a court found that UK spy agencies unlawfully collected phone and internet records

• July 28, 2021 28 Jul'21

  Thousands wrongly given criminal convictions after computer error

  HM Courts and Tribunals Service report reveals that computer error wrongly assigned guilty pleas to more than 5,000 defendants

• July 28, 2021 28 Jul'21

  COP26 cyber resource hub launched for Glasgow businesses

  New digital information hub for Glasgow business to help organisations keep secure both physically and online ahead of major climate change summit

• July 27, 2021 27 Jul'21

  Running a virtual hackathon

  DWP Digital recently organised a virtual hackathon. We find out how it went, and the key takeaways