News

IT for government and public sector

• July 29, 2013 29 Jul'13

  Microsoft launches UK child porn warning

  Microsoft introduces pop-up warnings for people in the UK who use its Bing search engine to look for images of child sex abuse

• July 29, 2013 29 Jul'13

  High Court gags UK scientist who cracked car security codes

  The High Court has banned UK scientist Flavio Garcia from publishing a paper on how he cracked car security codes

• July 26, 2013 26 Jul'13

  FireEye partners with Phishme for multi-layered security

  Security technology developer FireEye has partnered with phishing awareness training firm PhishMe to offer a multi-layered approach to securing information networks

• July 26, 2013 26 Jul'13

  Symantec Web Gateway flaw enables hacker surveillance

  Security flaws in Symantec’s Web Gateway appliance expose users to surveillance of all internet activities, says SEC Consult

• July 26, 2013 26 Jul'13

  Sandwell Council poised to pull plug on multi-million BT deal

  BT could lose a contract with Sandwell Council in the West Midlands if it doesn’t adjust conditions and improve service

• July 26, 2013 26 Jul'13

  Business support security spending set to rise, survey shows

  Information security spending in support of the business is expected to rise, according to a survey from GDS International

• July 26, 2013 26 Jul'13

  Five hackers charged with $300m card fraud

  US prosecutors have charged five men with hacking and credit card fraud that cost companies at least $300m

• July 26, 2013 26 Jul'13

  Warwickshire County Council reaps benefits of IT service management software

  Warwickshire council has cut costs in its IT operation with ITSM software as part of its strategy to be ITIL-compliant

• July 25, 2013 25 Jul'13

  MI5 and GCHQ call for FTSE 350 cyber health check

  Intelligence agencies MI5 and GCHQ call on UK’s top listed companies to take part in a cyber governance health check

• July 25, 2013 25 Jul'13

  Targeted cyber attacks cost up to £1.6m

  Targeted cyber attacks could cost enterprises up to £1.6m, a survey has revealed

• July 25, 2013 25 Jul'13

  Germany calls for new global online privacy charter

  German government officials are calling for a new global charter to safeguard privacy online in the wake of revelations about the US Prism surveillance programme

• July 24, 2013 24 Jul'13

  Government fails rural areas in broadband and mobile

  The rural affairs select committee says there is not enough government funding to put rural services on par with urban areas

• July 24, 2013 24 Jul'13

  Lakeland warns customers of potential data breach

  Lakeland is warning of a potential data breach after a “sophisticated and sustained attack” exploited a recently-identified Java flaw

• July 24, 2013 24 Jul'13

  Syrian hacktvists hit second mobile app in a week

  A Syrian hacktivist group has hacked into systems behind the Viber mobile app in the second such attack in a week

• July 24, 2013 24 Jul'13

  Lax FTSE 350 cyber security puts UK at risk, says KPMG

  Cyber leaks at FTSE 350 firms are putting the UK’s economic growth and national security at risk, says business consultancy firm KPMG

• July 23, 2013 23 Jul'13

  Cisco buys cyber security company Sourcefire for $2.7bn

  Networking giant Cisco has reached an agreement to buy cyber security business Sourcefire in a $2.7bn deal

• July 23, 2013 23 Jul'13

  Lack of IT and procurement skills puts Fire Service project at risk

  The programme that replaced the disastrous FiReControl project is in trouble due to a lack of IT and procurement skills

• July 23, 2013 23 Jul'13

  Atos told to improve disability benefits tests

  The accuracy of tests to determine whether people are able to claim disability benefits has been questioned following a report

• July 23, 2013 23 Jul'13

  Survey reveals true global cost of cyber attacks

  Cyber crime and espionage costs between $300bn and $1tn in annual global losses, a study has revealed

• July 23, 2013 23 Jul'13

  Millions of mobiles vulnerable to Sim security flaw

  A newly discovered vulnerability in mobile Sim cards could allow hackers to access text messages, voicemail and location data

• July 23, 2013 23 Jul'13

  Facebook app gives millions internet access through low-end phones

  Facebook app enables internet access for more than 100 million people in developing countries using low-end phones

• July 23, 2013 23 Jul'13

  Web app attacks demand automated defences, study finds

  Automation is the most effective way to tackle multiple prolonged cyber attacks on web applications, a study has confirmed

• July 22, 2013 22 Jul'13

  Insider threat: Balancing security with privacy

  How can organisations increase security without affecting productivity or encroaching on employees’ right to privacy?

• July 22, 2013 22 Jul'13

  Apple overhauls developer systems after hack

  Apple is overhauling its developer systems and its developer website is still down after hackers tried to steal developer personal details

• July 22, 2013 22 Jul'13

  Hack exposes details of nearly two million Ubuntu Forum users

  The Ubuntu Forum website has been taken down after attackers defaced the homepage and accessed the details of 1,820,000 users

• July 22, 2013 22 Jul'13

  UK to block online porn by default

  The UK is to block online pornography by default to all new internet users, David Cameron is to announce

• July 19, 2013 19 Jul'13

  Technology firms appeal to Obama over Prism scandal

  A technology industry alliance has appealed to President Obama for greater transparency to reduce the harm of links to Prism

• July 19, 2013 19 Jul'13

  Google fails to meet estimates under mobile pressure

  Google reported $14.11bn revenues for the quarter ended 30 June 2013, a 19% increase on 2012 but below $14.4bn estimates

• July 19, 2013 19 Jul'13

  Remote access a priority for latest Oracle patch update

  The vulnerabilities that allow for remote unauthenticated access should be a priority for administrators applying the latest Oracle Critical Patch Update

• July 19, 2013 19 Jul'13

  Microsoft takes $900m hit on Surface RT

  Microsoft has reported net income of $4.97bn on revenues of $19.9bn for the quarter ending 30 June 2013

• July 18, 2013 18 Jul'13

  Government agrees to review Huawei’s Cyber Security Evaluation Centre

  The UK government is to conduct a review of Huawei’s Cyber Security Evaluation Centre to ensure the right measures to protect UK telecommunications

• July 18, 2013 18 Jul'13

  Google competition proposals not good enough, says EC

  Competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia wants Google to readdress fears that it is abusing its market domination for its own gain

• July 17, 2013 17 Jul'13

  BT accused of ‘bullying tactics’ over BDUK

  BT accused of bullying local authorities while negotiating broadband roll-out schemes, threatening to put them ‘to the bottom of the list’

• July 17, 2013 17 Jul'13

  GDS tracks 'digital by default' progress of top 25 government services

  Government Digital Service (GDS) launches website to track progress of the 25 services targeted as the first to go online under the digital strategy

• July 17, 2013 17 Jul'13

  GCHQ’s use of Prism not illegal, MPs find

  Allegations that GCHQ circumvented UK law by using the US Prism programme are unfounded, says intelligence and security committee

• July 17, 2013 17 Jul'13

  Tech firms target piracy profiting websites

  Tech firms including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft join an initiative targeting websites that profit from piracy by cutting off advert revenue

• July 17, 2013 17 Jul'13

  Tumblr issues security update for iPhone and iPad app

  Tumblr has released a security update to the iOS version of its app to fix a flaw that allowed passwords to be compromised

• July 17, 2013 17 Jul'13

  Yahoo wins legal fight on Prism documents

  Yahoo has won the fight to have papers from a key 2008 court case declassified and published in a bid for greater transparency about the US Prism internet surveillance programme

• July 16, 2013 16 Jul'13

  G-Cloud key to government SME spending target

  G-Cloud is key to channeling 25% of central government spending through SMEs by 2015, says Mark Smitham, principal cyber security advisor

• July 16, 2013 16 Jul'13

  Public cloud secure, G-Cloud conference told

  Public cloud is more secure than any private cloud is likely to be says Richard Sykes, chair of the Cloud Industry Forum

• July 16, 2013 16 Jul'13

  More than one-fifth of UK firms hit by DDoS attacks in 2012

  More than a fifth of UK firms experienced a disruptive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack in 2012

• July 15, 2013 15 Jul'13

  UK defence industry to fast-track supply chain security

  The UK’s Defence Cyber Protection Partnership seeks to implement controls to quickly increase supply chain security

• July 15, 2013 15 Jul'13

  Black market for software security flaws reaches new highs

  The black market in previously undiscovered vulnerabilities in commercial software is so established that the average flaw sells for up to $160,000

• July 15, 2013 15 Jul'13

  National broadband projects key to UN goals

  The Broadband Commission claims national projects are the best way to ensure the benefits of the internet are enjoyed by all

• July 15, 2013 15 Jul'13

  UK police use powers to seize personal data at borders

  UK police are using counter-terrorism laws to seize the mobile phones of people entering the UK and download personal data

• July 15, 2013 15 Jul'13

  US attempts to blocks plans for tax crackdown internet firms

  US officials are reportedly attempting to block plans for international tax rules aimed at tax avoidance by firms such as Google and Amazon

• July 15, 2013 15 Jul'13

  Germany to push for better internet data protection

  Germany wants internet firms to be more transparent about how they are using personal data, says chancellor Angela Merkel

• July 12, 2013 12 Jul'13

  Mark Hall may quit Whitehall after being snubbed for HMRC CIO role

  Mark Hall, the acting CIO at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), has not been given the job full-time and may quit government

• July 12, 2013 12 Jul'13

  What McAfee's acquisition of Stonesoft means for the companies and their customers

  Computer Weekly looks at what McAfee's acquisition of Stonesoft means for the companies and their customers

• July 12, 2013 12 Jul'13

  ICO issues £200,000 penalty for failed IT disposal

  The Information Commissioner’s Office penalises NHS Surrey with a £200,000 fine for leaving patient data on discarded PCs

• July 12, 2013 12 Jul'13

  BlackBerry ready to enable India to track messages

  BlackBerry is ready to provide Indian law enforcement authorities with a way to track emails, email attachments and chats sent over its services

• July 12, 2013 12 Jul'13

  Microsoft denies helping NSA to spy

  Microsoft has denied that the company helped US intelligence services spy on users’ web chats, emails and data in cloud storage facilities

• July 11, 2013 11 Jul'13

  OpenCorporates makes company data public

  Company data is being made available as part of an initiative to place more government data in the public domain

• July 11, 2013 11 Jul'13

  Security metrics fail to aid exec understanding, say IT pros

  IT professionals struggle to communicate effectively about security to senior executives, a study on risk-based security management reveals

• July 11, 2013 11 Jul'13

  Manchester opens up transport data with Microsoft CityNext

  Manchester is one of the first cities on Microsoft’s CityNext initiative to digitise public services using the cloud

• July 11, 2013 11 Jul'13

  Yahoo wants Fisa objections revealed

  Yahoo is the latest company implicated in the Prism internet surveillance programme to call for more transparency around its involvement

• July 10, 2013 10 Jul'13

  Head of Universal Credit denies IT problems

  Howard Shiplee tells the work and pensions select committee all is well, denying reports of the failing IT system behind Universal Credit

• July 10, 2013 10 Jul'13

  Cyber threats at highest level ever, say MPs

  Despite the increased profile of cyber security threats, counter-terrorism remains the primary focus of the UK’s intelligence agencies

• July 10, 2013 10 Jul'13

  Ofcom liberalises 2G and 3G spectrum for 4G

  The telecoms regulator Ofcom allows UK mobile operators to use their existing 2G and 3G spectrum for to provide 4G services

• July 10, 2013 10 Jul'13

  Patched IE8 flaw used for targeted attacks, says Microsoft

  Microsoft says hackers have attacked computers by exploiting a flaw in Internet Explorer 8 disclosed in May 2013 by a Google researcher

• July 10, 2013 10 Jul'13

  US emergency broadcasts can be hacked, say researchers

  Researchers warn that the US broadcast system that enables the president to talk to the country within 10 minutes of a disaster can be hacked

• July 10, 2013 10 Jul'13

  Microsoft notches up over 3,000 copyright cases

  In its battle against piracy, Microsoft says it has settled 3,265 copyright cases in the past year and warns of links to malware distribution

• July 09, 2013 09 Jul'13

  Government tenders for agile digital developers

  The Government Procurement Service (GPS) is putting a cross government framework for agile software development services

• July 09, 2013 09 Jul'13

  Andrew Miller MP: £500m figure ‘plucked out of the air’

  Chairman of the Science and Technology Committee, Andrew Miller, says he is unconvinced of the IT savings touted by the Efficiency and Reform group

• July 09, 2013 09 Jul'13

  Will cloud services follow the evolution of the banking industry?

  Cloud service providers say security will become the very reason companies choose cloud services in future

• July 09, 2013 09 Jul'13

  Scotland signs deal on broadband roll-out

  Funding of £264m has been announced by the Scottish government to roll out broadband to 85% of the country’s homes and businesses by 2015

• July 09, 2013 09 Jul'13

  Espionage the goal of cyber attacks on South Korea, say researchers

  The cyber attack that took South Korean broadcasters and banks offline in March was part of a covert espionage campaign, says McAfee

• July 09, 2013 09 Jul'13

  STC doubts government ‘digital by default’ strategy

  The Science and Technology Committee (STC) questions Francis Maude over how much the 'digital by default' strategy can save the tax payer

• July 09, 2013 09 Jul'13

  Privacy International challenges US and UK internet spying

  Lobby group Privacy International has filed a legal challenge to internet surveillance programmes by US and UK intelligence agencies

• July 08, 2013 08 Jul'13

  Post Office Horizon system investigation reveals concerns

  Investigation into the allegedly faulty accounting system used by sub-postmasters has revealed serious concerns

• July 08, 2013 08 Jul'13

  Government saves £500m by going digital

  Latest report from the Efficiency and Reform Group claims central government saved £500m by moving services onto digital platforms

• July 08, 2013 08 Jul'13

  McAfee completes Stonesoft acquisition

  Intel-owned McAfee has completed its acquisition of Finnish firewall firm Stonesoft in a $389m deal announced in May

• July 08, 2013 08 Jul'13

  UK takes cyber threats to infrastructure seriously

  The UK is taking seriously potential cyber threats to critical national infrastructure, according to GCHQ head Iain Lobban

• July 05, 2013 05 Jul'13

  Apple phishing attacks up, warns Kaspersky Lab

  Spam emails with links to fraudulent websites are increasing as the theft of Apple IDs and credit card information escalates

• July 05, 2013 05 Jul'13

  Tougher EU penalties for cyber crime not enough, say security experts

  The European Parliament has adopted a draft directive to toughen up EU penalties for cyber crime, but security experts say this is not enough on its own

• July 05, 2013 05 Jul'13

  Security Think Tank: Prism unlikely to change much

  Does the data collected by Prism put the US Government at risk from other state or non-state sponsored activists?

• July 05, 2013 05 Jul'13

  UK joins EU demands for Google to rewrite privacy policy

  The UK’s privacy watchdog has joined data protection authorities in France, Spain, Germany and Italy in demanding changes to Google’s privacy policy

• July 05, 2013 05 Jul'13

  NSA Prism scandal could hit US cloud providers, says EC vice-president

  EC vice-president Neelie Kroes says US cloud services providers could lose business because of fears over US Prism surveillance programme

• July 05, 2013 05 Jul'13

  MoD teams up with defence firms for cyber security

  The Ministry of Defence (MoD) joins nine large defence and telecoms companies to strengthen the UK’s cyber security

• July 04, 2013 04 Jul'13

  NAO slams DCMS for ‘slippage’ of broadband scheme

  NAO’s report on the BDUK programme criticises the DCMS for letting the scheme fall 22 months behind and limiting competition for contracts

• July 04, 2013 04 Jul'13

  DCMS to force BT’s hand on rural broadband gaps

  Maria Miller sets up a meeting to answer calls from local broadband providers and try to make BT identify where they will be needed to connect the final 10% of the UK to superfast fibre

• July 04, 2013 04 Jul'13

  FBI warns of increased spear phishing attacks

  The FBI has issued a warning about an increase in spear-phishing attacks targeting multiple industry sectors

• July 03, 2013 03 Jul'13

  Are alternative mobile operators the answer to roaming charges?

  EU law to allow travellers to choose alternative operators abroad takes effect in 2014. But will operators be ready and is there a better way?

• July 03, 2013 03 Jul'13

  Indonesian student wins global Kaspersky Lab security competition

  An entry from Indonesia’s Bandung Institute of Technology has won the Kaspersky Lab Cyber Security for the Next Generation 2013 competition

• July 03, 2013 03 Jul'13

  UK to look to army reserves for cyber security specialists

  Army reservists will become specialists in cyber security as part of an overhaul announced by defence secretary Philip Hammond

• July 03, 2013 03 Jul'13

  Microsoft unveils prototype 3D touchcreen

  Microsoft is working on a 3D touchscreen that enables users to 'feel' through tactile feedback and manipulate images

• July 03, 2013 03 Jul'13

  Assassin’s Creed developer hacked, exposing user details

  Ubisoft is the latest computer games company to be hacked, with usernames, email addresses and encrypted passwords compromised

• July 03, 2013 03 Jul'13

  OFT investigates public sector IT outsourcing

  The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) calls on public sector IT services suppliers and buyers to relate their experiences

• July 02, 2013 02 Jul'13

  NHS IT to embrace open source

  A new report from NHS England promises open source will be at the heart of the plans to digitise the health service

• July 02, 2013 02 Jul'13

  Security Think Tank: Prism – Sitting duck or elaborate honeypot?

  Does the data collected by Prism put the US Government at risk from other state or non-state sponsored activists?

• July 02, 2013 02 Jul'13

  Collaboration key to malware success, says Microsoft

  Collaborative malware is one of the latest techniques cyber attackers are using to ensure their malicious programs cannot be removed

• July 02, 2013 02 Jul'13

  Senior MPs flout EU cookie law

  Two years after the EU cookie regulation and UK law came into force, not all UK websites are compliant, including the sites of 13 senior MPs

• July 01, 2013 01 Jul'13

  Mobile operators cut roaming costs across Europe

  The cost of using your mobile phone across continental Europe will come down today as new EU regulations come into force

• July 01, 2013 01 Jul'13

  Stuxnet leak investigation leads to project originator

  The US government investigation into Stuxnet leak of classified information leads to retired general in the Marines, James Cartwright

• July 01, 2013 01 Jul'13

  CERN openlab and Rackspace to create reference architecture for hybrid cloud

  CERN openlab will create a reference architecture and operational model for hybrid cloud with Rackspace

• July 01, 2013 01 Jul'13

  UK hit by 70 cyber espionage campaigns a month, says GCHQ

  GCHQ director confirms the government is targeted by some 70 sophisticated cyber espionage campaigns every month

• July 01, 2013 01 Jul'13

  East Surrey College refreshes ageing XP desktop estate with VDI

  East Surrey College has refreshed its ageing desktop estate with a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

• July 01, 2013 01 Jul'13

  The Washington Post reveals more details of NSA Prism programme

  The Washington Post has published new slides detailing processes in the US Prism online surveillance system

• July 01, 2013 01 Jul'13

  Seven Saudi social media activists jailed

  Seven men have been jailed in Saudi Arabia for using Facebook and other social media to encourage anti-government protests

• June 28, 2013 28 Jun'13

  Nottingham targets troubled families with data analysis

  Nottingham County Council cuts the time to identify troubled families, from two weeks to two hours, with a data matching tool