News

IT for government and public sector

October 21, 2019 21 Oct'19
NHS Digital announces suppliers for GP IT Futures framework

The NHS’s previous IT supplier framework for GPs – composed of just four suppliers – will be replaced by a pool of nearly 70 IT companies
October 18, 2019 18 Oct'19
NHS e-prescriptions roll-out aims for £300m savings by 2021

The final stage of digitising prescriptions in the NHS is expected to reduce inefficiencies, errors and paper usage
October 18, 2019 18 Oct'19
Home Office Brexit app finally available for iPhone

A mobile app to help EU citizens apply for Settled and Pre-Settled Status after Brexit is finally available for Apple iPhone devices, but only on newer generations
October 17, 2019 17 Oct'19
NHSX could transform NHS security capabilities

The health sector is increasingly confident that NHSX can deliver a streamlined, effective cyber security policy for the health service

October 17, 2019 17 Oct'19
Report calls for urgent replacement of health screening IT

Major review of cancer screening programmes urges NHSX to prioritise the update of the underlying technology systems
October 16, 2019 16 Oct'19
Government shelves age verification plans for online porn

Plans to introduce age verification to access online pornography will not go ahead, with provisions around protecting children from inappropriate content on the internet to become part of wider regulations
October 16, 2019 16 Oct'19
Government IT hosting providers fail to provide emissions data

Cloud computing is driving the government’s IT and sustainable tech strategy, but cloud and hosting providers are unable to divulge emissions data
October 16, 2019 16 Oct'19
HMRC fails to get new customs system ready for Brexit

A National Audit Office report reveals that HMRC has opted for a multimillion-pound enhancement of a legacy platform rather than working on its planned replacement
October 15, 2019 15 Oct'19
UK government aims to measure success of digital initiatives

Responding to a critical parliamentary report on digital progress, the government has laid out plans to develop better metrics and to overhaul legacy IT
October 15, 2019 15 Oct'19
TfL to use artificial intelligence to run London’s road network

Transport for London is seeking input from companies about how it can use data-intensive technologies to predict the impact of road problems across the capital

October 14, 2019 14 Oct'19
UK government confirms gigabit broadband roll-out, rows back on 2025 delivery commitment

UK government confirms plans to roll out gigabit-capable broadband across the UK, yet quietly shelves previous pledge to do so by 2025
October 14, 2019 14 Oct'19
NHS Digital brings in biometric login functionality

Two new libraries released to allow developers in the NHS to include functionality to digital services
October 14, 2019 14 Oct'19
Deputy chief executive at NHS Digital departs

NHS Digital’s deputy chief executive, Rob Shaw, will leave the organisation in December to work with foreign governments on national health and care infrastructure
October 11, 2019 11 Oct'19
How code reuse drives business change at the DWP

Department for Work and Pensions is using application programming interfaces to promote reuse of granular microservices across the organisation
October 11, 2019 11 Oct'19
OECD pushes international digital services tax agenda

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development wants to reach agreement on addressing issues around taxation for online giants by 2020
October 10, 2019 10 Oct'19
How AWS is cracking the public sector cloud market

The public sector cloud business takes time and resources to build, but the rewards can be meaningful, as the founder of Amazon Web Service’s public sector division has found
October 10, 2019 10 Oct'19
Mental health issues concern UK tech professionals

Staff shortages, long hours and lack of flexibility are impacting the wellbeing of people in the sector, according to a Harvey Nash survey.
October 09, 2019 09 Oct'19
Survival of accountants 'at stake' as HMRC presses ahead with tax digitisation

Advances in technology are bringing a series of dilemmas for professionals as the government continues plans to digitise all tax for UK businesses, according to a new report
October 09, 2019 09 Oct'19
HETT 2019: Digital literacy gap will never be fully closed, says panel

The increasing use of digital technology in healthcare means it is important for people to be digitally literate to take part, but the digital literacy gap will always be there, says an expert panel
October 09, 2019 09 Oct'19
More Institute of Technology centres planned to tackle skills gap

A second wave of centres offering higher technical education nationwide has been announced
October 08, 2019 08 Oct'19
Nadella sees Azure as the world’s computer

The Microsoft CEO wants organisations to consider Azure as a distributed cloud for next-generation AI applications
October 07, 2019 07 Oct'19
Scottish Parliament launches inquiry on police use of facial recognition

The circumstances and implications of the technology’s application in the police service will be investigated in the coming months
October 07, 2019 07 Oct'19
UK chief data officer recruitment plans still on

Minister says CDO will work closely with the chief digital and information officer, who is still to be recruited
October 07, 2019 07 Oct'19
Government departments sign up to web data-sharing plan

All but four Whitehall departments have so far agreed to share web analytics data to allow the government to monitor user behaviour across the Gov.uk domain
October 07, 2019 07 Oct'19
UKtech50 2019 – help us find the most influential people in UK technology

Computer Weekly’s annual search for the 50 most influential people in UK technology reaches its 10th anniversary – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year’s list
October 04, 2019 04 Oct'19
Home Office picks supplier for £300m biometrics project

The department has chosen US company Leidos to provide critical elements of the national system under a £300m contract with a 10-year timespan
October 04, 2019 04 Oct'19
Swedish authorities introduce robots to help social workers

Software robots free up time for social workers to help benefits claimants find employment
October 04, 2019 04 Oct'19
Government planning for ‘undeliverable’ ESN

The government has agreed to all of the Public Accounts Committee’s findings in its investigation into the Emergency Services Network, but there is still a chance the programme could collapse
October 03, 2019 03 Oct'19
Government issues Brexit guidance for technology firms

Ten-point checklist released to help firms prepare for leaving the European Union without a deal
October 03, 2019 03 Oct'19
Local authorities hit by 800 cyber attacks every hour

Local authorities and councils in the UK have reported being hit by more than 263 million cyber attacks in the first six months of this year
October 03, 2019 03 Oct'19
Post-Brexit passport checking tool to start pilot

The government is looking for companies that can carry out large-scale tests of the Document Checking Service, which will allow organisations to digitally check the validity of passports
October 02, 2019 02 Oct'19
HMRC extends contract with Capgemini but embeds flexibility

Department’s technology sourcing programme seeks to access the services of more tech providers, including SMEs and startups
October 01, 2019 01 Oct'19
UK government readies bus open data portal

The government’s bus data service is part of plans to provide better information to get more people to use bus services
October 01, 2019 01 Oct'19
Healthcare and technology have cultural similarities, says NHSX CEO

Common factors in healthcare and technology could help bring about a shift in attitudes, says Matthew Gould
September 30, 2019 30 Sep'19
Chancellor Sajid Javid set to make £5bn investment commitment to improve UK broadband coverage

The Chancellor Sajid Javid is expected to take to the stage at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester later today, to set out the group’s “infrastructure revolution” plans, which include ramping up broadband coverage across the UK
September 30, 2019 30 Sep'19
UK Parliament readies cyber security change programme

A request for information has been launched to find a consultancy firm to support and shape the Parliament’s cyber security project, which will be delivered in two years’ time
September 30, 2019 30 Sep'19
Data challenges jeopardise service provision in government

Several challenges have to be tackled to make the government’s new data strategy work and departments have “barely scratched the surface” of what needs to be done, says PAC report
September 27, 2019 27 Sep'19
HMRC chief digital and information officer departs

Jacky Wright, HMRC chief digital and information officer, will return to Microsoft in October after a two-year loan arrangement
September 26, 2019 26 Sep'19
Government launches guidelines for AI procurement

Document intended to inform public sector buyers has been created by the Office for AI and the World Economic Forum
September 25, 2019 25 Sep'19
Brazilian fintech Creditas chases UK tech talent

Latin American firm Creditas is looking to lure senior professionals who may be leaving the UK to its technology hub in Spain
September 25, 2019 25 Sep'19
PM invites global leaders to discuss ethics in tech

London summit next year will invite countries to discuss standards for emerging technology
September 25, 2019 25 Sep'19
UK government reaffirms commitment to using Oracle tech with cloud MoU

Government procurement chiefs in the Crown Commercial Service sign new agreement with database giant aimed at making it easier and cheaper for public sector organisations to use its cloud
September 25, 2019 25 Sep'19
National Library of Scotland says aye to Scality object storage

National digitised archives move off Hitachi SANs and Qualstar tape, object storage is embraced and a “no backup” strategy put in place with petabyte-scale Scality S3/file deployment
September 24, 2019 24 Sep'19
What next for GDS?

Digital government has lost momentum, according to MPs. As the Government Digital Service enters its “third era”, what will it do to regain its authority and deliver real change?
September 20, 2019 20 Sep'19
Government looks into digitising cultural collections with AI

A government report and trial investigate possibilities around mapping and connecting digitised cultural material with emerging technologies
September 20, 2019 20 Sep'19
Cross-government collaboration is key to overcoming legacy IT issues

Senior civil servants highlight some of the challenges with legacy IT systems and what can be done to overcome them
September 20, 2019 20 Sep'19
Civil service chief appeals to ‘wise, experienced, powerful’ IT leaders to apply for CDIO job

John Manzoni explains why the new government digital leader will carry the power and authority of a Whitehall permanent secretary
September 19, 2019 19 Sep'19
Defra chief digital information officer steps down

John Seglias is leaving the department most impacted by Brexit to join National Grid, after four years in the civil service
September 19, 2019 19 Sep'19
Government insists 'nothing sinister' about web user data gathering

Government Digital Service responds to allegations that personal data gathered through Gov.uk portal could be used to target political messaging to citizens
September 18, 2019 18 Sep'19
Government relaunches search for chief digital and information officer

The role, which will tackle issues such as eradicating legacy and leading data strategy, has been redesigned and elevated at permanent secretary level
September 18, 2019 18 Sep'19
Universities tempting targets for cyber criminals, warns NCSC

As hundreds of thousands of students prepare for the new academic year, universities have been warned that they are at high risk of cyber attack
September 18, 2019 18 Sep'19
Emotet phishing botnet returns from summer vacation

The Emotet phishing trojan-turned-botnet is back in action after a three-and-a-half month break, say threat researchers
September 17, 2019 17 Sep'19
Robotics and Automation: UK must tackle skills, immigration and SME challenges

Home-grown skills may not be enough to enable the UK to build on the government's Industrial Strategy and push robotics and automation
September 17, 2019 17 Sep'19
Northwestern cuts storage costs in half with Komprise

Komprise’s Deep Analytics helps university classify and migrate research data to cheaper disk and cloud as it cuts storage costs from $1.1m to $680,000 per annum
September 17, 2019 17 Sep'19
Network Rail to use automation and analytics in tunnel examinations and station security

Operator Network Rail will tap into its £357m R&D fund to back innovation competitions aimed to improve assessment of more than 600 rail tunnels and station surveillance
September 17, 2019 17 Sep'19
Ecuador citizens’ data breach holds lessons for enterprises

What caused the mass breach of Ecuadorian citizens’ data, and what can businesses learn from it?
September 16, 2019 16 Sep'19
Gartner Catalyst: Prepare for web giants crushing your industry

Companies like Amazon and Alibaba are taking a bigger chunk of the customer journey, but they are also spreading across industry sectors
September 16, 2019 16 Sep'19
NHSX emphasises need for ethical patient data access

The health service's digital unit welcomed the launch of Health Data Research hubs, but stressed that it will control the design of research collaborations
September 16, 2019 16 Sep'19
Councils awarded funding to boost online services

Local authorities received more than £750,000 in the second round of the Local Digital Fund, aimed at improving citizen offerings in areas such as housing and payment
September 16, 2019 16 Sep'19
Police use of algorithms needs stronger safeguards to prevent bias, report says

A study by the Royal United Services Institute calls for new code of practice to guide use of algorithmic tools in policing
September 13, 2019 13 Sep'19
Ditch hoodies and hackers to encourage diverse security recruitment

The cyber security industry needs to address a systemic image problem if it is to succeed in recruiting more diverse teams
September 13, 2019 13 Sep'19
When AIs go to war: Autonomous cyber weapons ‘inevitable’

CISOs must start thinking about how to engage with intelligent, adaptive, non-human attackers, says Trend Micro’s Rik Ferguson
September 13, 2019 13 Sep'19
Dutch banks to work together in fight against money laundering

Dutch banks are sharing expertise and resources to help reduce money laundering through their accounts
September 13, 2019 13 Sep'19
Justice system transformation sees delays and reduction of scope

“Ambitious” timescales and scope for £1.2bn modernisation of services had to be scaled back, says NAO report
September 13, 2019 13 Sep'19
Industry opposition to no-deal Brexit hardens, says TechUK

A survey of TechUK members has found that 71% believe a no-deal Brexit at the end of October will negatively affect them in spite of their preparations
September 12, 2019 12 Sep'19
Government seeks views on post-Brexit security alignment

The government has called for views on its proposals to align the UK’s post-Brexit cyber security policy to that of the European Union
September 12, 2019 12 Sep'19
ICO to probe government over Gov.uk data collection plan

The ICO is to look into the government’s leaked data collection plans over fears they may breach the law
September 12, 2019 12 Sep'19
UN agency Unicef praised for response to accidental data leak

The UN’s children’s agency has disclosed an inadvertent leak of personal data belonging to users of its online learning platform Agora
September 12, 2019 12 Sep'19
Mirai descendants dominate IoT threat environment

Attacks leveraging compromised IoT devices are growing in size, scale and frequency, report security experts at F-Secure and Trend Micro, with Mirai-related botnets a major source of trouble
September 11, 2019 11 Sep'19
Government departments urged to publish R&D spending roadmaps

Issues including funding concentration in the “golden triangle” of London, Oxford and Cambridge must be addressed, according to a Science and Technology Committee report
September 11, 2019 11 Sep'19
UK consumers want biometrics but fear driverless cars and AI

Report also shows many adults across the country have never heard of the internet of things or big data
September 11, 2019 11 Sep'19
GDPR non-compliance worse than feared

Over half of UK businesses do not yet appear to be fully GDPR-compliant, and many have de-prioritised their compliance efforts
September 10, 2019 10 Sep'19
UK calls for cyber capacity-building at UN security group

The UK’s representative to a United Nations cyber security working group has called for increased investment in capacity around cyber security
September 10, 2019 10 Sep'19
Tech startups can boost UK shipping market after Brexit

Increased connectivity and propositions based on tools such as AI and blockchain can provide opportunities to the shipping sector after Brexit, says report
September 10, 2019 10 Sep'19
BT gears up to take on rogue drones

BT’s Enterprise unit is offering customers an anti-drone security solution to protect their physical sites from intrusion
September 10, 2019 10 Sep'19
Ministry of Defence unveils innovation priorities

Artificial intelligence and 3D printing are among the key areas of focus for the Ministry of Defence's latest approach to emerging tech
September 09, 2019 09 Sep'19
Terror watchlist faces reform after court rules it violates rights of people entering US

A secret US terrorist database containing information on more than 1.2 million people – who face repeated interrogations, detentions and electronic searches – violates constitutional rights, a US judge said last week
September 09, 2019 09 Sep'19
Social engineering a factor in virtually all cyber attacks, report claims

Almost every single cyber attack will, at some stage, require a human to be tricked into doing something, according to research by Proofpoint
September 09, 2019 09 Sep'19
Loyal Dutch IT professionals not being rewarded enough, survey shows

Companies warned they could lose loyal IT staff because salary rises do not match those on offer from rival employers
September 06, 2019 06 Sep'19
Towns invited to bid for connectivity boost

Some 100 places in England are eligible to get resources from the £3.6bn fund aimed at creating local jobs and economic growth, with broadband as a key priority
September 06, 2019 06 Sep'19
Royal Navy readies autonomous technology push

A competition ran by new accelerator NavyX will seek to find mature ideas around the approach to improve operations and increase efficiency in maritime operations
September 05, 2019 05 Sep'19
Security pros doubt officials can enact effective security laws

Elected officials cannot be trusted to enact effective cyber security legislation and social media firms should be subject to strict privacy regulation, according to most information security professionals in a survey
September 04, 2019 04 Sep'19
New funding announced to tackle online child abuse

Government announces £30m of new cash to tackle online child harm as part of Spending Review 2019
September 03, 2019 03 Sep'19
Post Office changes IT leadership reshuffle decision

The Post Office has changed its IT leadership reshuffle weeks after announcing its original plan
September 02, 2019 02 Sep'19
Nearly £1m of EU funding to boost tech skills in UK SMEs

An initiative led by the Department for Work and Pensions will focus on enhancing skills in rural locations to unleash competitiveness in areas such as agritech and biorenewables
September 02, 2019 02 Sep'19
Interim GDS boss gives preview of priorities

Alison Pritchard sets out key areas of attention for the digital service, from analytics to Brexit work
September 02, 2019 02 Sep'19
UK organisations join quantum comms pilot

Four UK companies are taking part in a pilot project to build the most secure communication infrastructure in Europe
September 02, 2019 02 Sep'19
Dutch virtual reality can help reduce teacher shortage worldwide

Dutch lecturer uses virtual reality to improve teaching and developments are being watched by the Teachers Task Force of Unesco
August 30, 2019 30 Aug'19
Government confirms GDS minister

Simon Hart appointed minister for implementation, with responsibility for the Government Digital Service
August 30, 2019 30 Aug'19
Location analysis expands Nordic telco’s range of services

Nordic telecoms company works with startup to offer services to businesses through location data analysis
August 29, 2019 29 Aug'19
UK gets first millionaire ethical hacker

Six months after the first millionaire ethical hacker was announced, five more have been recognised, including a Briton, who have collectively discovered nearly 5,000 vulnerabilities
August 29, 2019 29 Aug'19
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency hit by IT workers’ strike

DVSA tech staff are on a month-long strike over working conditions and expect their action to affect the IT workload at the government agency
August 29, 2019 29 Aug'19
Government investigates matching geospatial data with AI

Report looks into the commercial opportunities of matching location data with a number of emerging technologies
August 28, 2019 28 Aug'19
Targeted cyber attacks, including ransomware, on the rise

Governments and healthcare institutions are prime targets of ransomware operators, a report shows
August 28, 2019 28 Aug'19
CIO interview: Network Rail plans digital factory to accelerate modernisation

The operator will enhance its multimillion-pound IT strategy with a sharper focus on areas including mobile, data and cultural change for digital transformation
August 28, 2019 28 Aug'19
Ransomware has evolved into a serious enterprise threat

Ransomware has seen a resurgence since the start of 2019, with cyber criminals changing code and tactics to target enterprises and local authorities for higher ransom payments, McAfee researchers warn
August 27, 2019 27 Aug'19
Councils deliver savings through digital initiatives

Projects under the Digital Channel Shift programme reported fivefold return on investment
August 23, 2019 23 Aug'19
IR35 reforms: HMRC defends off-payroll rules guidance against "woeful" IPSE jibes

HMRC promises there are more preparatory materials in the pipeline to help the private sector prepare for the April 2020 IR35 rules, after IPSE brands its current guidance "woeful"
August 23, 2019 23 Aug'19
Three more identity providers to withdraw from troubled Gov.uk Verify programme

Three of the five companies supporting the government's troubled digital identity scheme are pulling out, raising further questions over the viability of the £175m programme
August 22, 2019 22 Aug'19
Security pros reiterate warning against encryption backdoors

The majority of security professionals believe countries with government-mandated encryption backdoors are more susceptible to nation-state cyber attacks