News

IT for government and public sector

• January 14, 2013 14 Jan'13

  Post Office announces amnesty for Horizon evidence

  The Post Office is calling for evidence from people who have used the Horizon IT system which some have blamed for accounting discrepancies

• January 14, 2013 14 Jan'13

  Oracle rushes out patches for Java zero days

  Oracle has released two out-of-band security updates for the latest zero day vulnerabilities in Java

• January 11, 2013 11 Jan'13

  Schools to save £10m in Microsoft licensing costs, claims DfE

  An updated agreement between Microsoft and the Department for Education means UK schools will benefit from new licensing discounts

• January 11, 2013 11 Jan'13

  European Cybercrime Centre opens in The Hague

  Cecilia Malmström, EU commissioner for home affairs, has opened the European Cybercrime Centre (EC³) at Europol in The Hague

• January 11, 2013 11 Jan'13

  Disable Java to protect from latest zero-day

  Security researchers are warning of a zero-day vulnerability in all versions of Java, including the latest Java 7 update 10

• January 11, 2013 11 Jan'13

  Google faces tough EU stance, says Joaquin Almunia

  Google faces a tougher stance on market position abuse in Europe than in the US, says EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia

• January 10, 2013 10 Jan'13

  Government extends employer £1,500 apprenticeship grant for further 12 months

  Government and National Apprenticeship Service extend AGE 16-24 grant for further 12 months

• January 10, 2013 10 Jan'13

  Ruby on Rails flaws expose thousands of websites to attack

  More than 240,000 websites that use Ruby on Rails web applications are at risk of being exploited by attackers

• January 10, 2013 10 Jan'13

  Fashion Retail Academy boosts Wi-Fi with Networks First

  The Fashion Retail Academy (FRA) has worked with Networks First to bring improved Wi-Fi connectivity to its staff and students

• January 10, 2013 10 Jan'13

  Software piracy international in scope, says Fast

  The scale of software piracy is both international in scope and military in its execution, says the Federation Against Software Theft (Fast)

• January 10, 2013 10 Jan'13

  Software development key reason for £468m MoD overspend, says NAO

  Software development problems have been cited as a key reason for forecast overspend of £468m at the Ministry of Defence over the past year

• January 10, 2013 10 Jan'13

  Drive-by and XXS attacks will increase in 2013 – but why?

  Drive-by download and cross-site scripting attacks (XSS) will remain top hacking methods in 2013. But what is their enduring appeal for hackers?

• January 10, 2013 10 Jan'13

  Internet firms concerned over EU data protection proposals

  Internet firms such as Facebook may have to get permission to use data if the EU adopts proposals giving users more control over personal data

• January 09, 2013 09 Jan'13

  IT contractors seek to fill skills gap left by public sector cuts

  IT contractors are increasingly confident about job opportunities in the public sector due to reductions in the civil service's head count, finds research

• January 09, 2013 09 Jan'13

  EC welcomes reports on proposed data protection reform

  The European Commission (EC) has welcomed support for data protection laws by rapporteurs of two European parliamentary committees

• January 09, 2013 09 Jan'13

  UK Border Agency tenders for security systems

  The UK Border Agency (UKBA) and Border Force is tendering for an integrated border security system

• January 09, 2013 09 Jan'13

  Google offers free Wi-Fi in New York

  Google is to create a public outdoor wireless network in New York to provide free internet access in the Chelsea area where it has offices

• January 09, 2013 09 Jan'13

  US military gets new software testing rules

  The US has introduced new policies for military software engineers aimed at pre-empting software supply chain attacks

• January 09, 2013 09 Jan'13

  UK military at risk of cyber attack, warn MPs

  UK military reliance on technology could leave it fatally compromised by cyber attack, says the parliamentary defence select committee

• January 08, 2013 08 Jan'13

  Network Rail to invest extra £333m in IT over five years

  Network Rail is to invest an additional £333m in IT, as part of the body's £37.5bn railway investment plan for 2014-2019

• January 08, 2013 08 Jan'13

  Online growth buoys retailers over Christmas

  Strong e-commerce growth kept retailers' heads above water during flat Christmas trading, with sales up 17.8% compared with December 2011

• January 08, 2013 08 Jan'13

  Businesses overconfident about cyber security, says Deloitte

  Businesses are overconfident about cyber security and should treat security breaches as inevitable, says business advisory firm Deloitte

• January 08, 2013 08 Jan'13

  VoIP awareness up but user numbers remain low

  A report from Ofcom claims four in five consumers know what voice over internet protocol (VoIP) is, but just 29% use the technology

• January 08, 2013 08 Jan'13

  MPs slam the award of government contracts to tax-avoiding IT firms

  MPs allege that Accenture used revenue from its deal with HMRC to reduce its tax bill

• January 07, 2013 07 Jan'13

  Government broadband policy must refocus on business

  Policy Exchange claims Whitehall has focused for too long on consumer and retail broadband and needs to give the enterprise equal attention

• January 07, 2013 07 Jan'13

  Ernst & Young email keyword analysis identifies fraudsters

  Fraud investigators have revealed the most common words used in email conversations by employees engaged in rogue trading and fraud

• January 07, 2013 07 Jan'13

  Dutch government publishes security flaw disclosure guide

  The Netherlands has published guidelines to encourage the responsible release of security flaws

• January 07, 2013 07 Jan'13

  German state accuses Facebook of violating privacy

  A German state claims Facebook is violating local privacy laws by not allowing users of the social network to use pseudonyms

• January 04, 2013 04 Jan'13

  Executive brings own software which is adopted by business

  Rochdale Development agency (RDA) has started using cloud based Huddle collaboration software after a development officer started using it at work.

• January 04, 2013 04 Jan'13

  Microsoft Patch Tuesday offers no easy start to 2013

  The first Microsoft monthly security update for 2013 contains seven bulletins covering a wide variety of software

• January 03, 2013 03 Jan'13

  Immigrants wrongly told to leave UK due to inaccurate data

  Some immigrants have been accidentally contacted by Capita and told to leave the UK as a result of inaccurate data used in a government push to remove thousands of illegal immigrants

• January 03, 2013 03 Jan'13

  Ofcom proposes early exit to combat price rises

  Regulator Ofcom says users should be able to leave mobile, broadband and landline contracts without charge if their provider ups the price

• January 03, 2013 03 Jan'13

  Government targets £600m savings through shared services

  The government aims to save £600m per year through its Next Generation Shared Services Strategic Plan

• January 03, 2013 03 Jan'13

  UK to launch public cyber security awareness campaign

  The UK government is to launch a public cyber security awareness programme early this year aimed at consumers and small businesses

• January 02, 2013 02 Jan'13

  DWP CIO Philip Langsdale has passed away

  Philip Langsdale, CIO at the Department for Work and Pensions, has passed away.

• January 02, 2013 02 Jan'13

  Israel launches cyber warfare training programme

  Israel has launched a national initiative to train young people for cyber warfare

• January 02, 2013 02 Jan'13

  UK amateur is top civilian in international cyber challenge

  A 26-year-old Essex software developer has finished as the highest-ranked civilian and second overall in the 2012 DC3 Digital Forensics Challenge.

• January 02, 2013 02 Jan'13

  Post Office admits that Horizon system needs more investigation

  Campaigners have forced the Post Office to look again at a computer system blamed for sub-postmasters being wrongly accused of false accounting

• January 02, 2013 02 Jan'13

  Microsoft issues quick fix for IE zero-day vulnerability

  Microsoft has released a workaround for a zero-day vulnerability in older versions of its Internet Explorer browser that is being exploited by attackers.

• December 31, 2012 31 Dec'12

  IT gets honours in New Year list

  Olympic CIO Gerry Pennell and Lastminute.com co-founder Martha Lane Fox are included in this year’s New Year honours list

• December 28, 2012 28 Dec'12

  Top 10 CIO interviews of 2012

  The top IT leaders in the UK talked to Computer Weekly throughout 2012 to share their opinions and experiences

• December 28, 2012 28 Dec'12

  Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2012

  Ten articles that illustrate some of the major trends in cyber crime in 2012

• December 28, 2012 28 Dec'12

  Hospitals to implement child protection database to log children who visit A&E

  The Department of Health is introducing a £9m child protection information system to log children who visit A&E in hospitals

• December 28, 2012 28 Dec'12

  US Department of Justice is investigating allegations of accounting fraud at Autonomy

  HP has revealed that the US Department of Justice has been investigating fraud allegation at Autonomy since last month.

• December 27, 2012 27 Dec'12

  Top 10 broadband stories of 2012

  We give a run down the top 10 broadband stories throughout 2012

• December 24, 2012 24 Dec'12

  Facebook pays £2.6m tax on £840m profit

  The social networking giant faces criticism for paying minimal tax by pushing all of its operations outside of the US through Ireland

• December 24, 2012 24 Dec'12

  Top 10 IT security stories of 2012

  Ten articles that illustrate some of the key challenges and strategies around information security for governments, businesses and individuals

• December 21, 2012 21 Dec'12

  Suffolk cuts costs by 30% with PSN-ready network

  Suffolk County Council has rolled out a next generation network, which it expects will cut costs by up to 30%.

• December 21, 2012 21 Dec'12

  BT wins BDUK broadband contract in Norfolk

  Over £40m of funding from both the public and private sector will see 80% of the county have access to superfast broadband by 2015

• December 21, 2012 21 Dec'12

  First wave of government services to go digital

  The government has named the first public services to go digital, following the publication of 18 individual departmental digital strategies outlining moves to digital by default public services.

• December 20, 2012 20 Dec'12

  Government to cut large frameworks following procurement review

  Government is to put an end to large ICT frameworks, following a review into the efficacy of procurement practices for SMEs

• December 20, 2012 20 Dec'12

  BT bids in Ofcom 4G spectrum auction

  BT sets up a specialist company – Niche Spectrum Ventures – to bid for 4G spectrum, despite claims it is uninterested in the mobile market

• December 20, 2012 20 Dec'12

  Essex County Council signs £81m PSN deal

  Essex County Council has signed a £81m network and telephony deal to introduce a Public Services Network (PSN) across its 200,000 users

• December 20, 2012 20 Dec'12

  Australian University to give Freshers iPads

  The University of West Sydney is planning to distribute 11,000 iPads to students that enroll next year

• December 18, 2012 18 Dec'12

  Forestry Commission uses the cloud to fight tree disease

  The Forestry Commission has used Huddle’s cloud collaboration services in a project to control the spread of a tree disease known as ash dieback.

• December 17, 2012 17 Dec'12

  MoD to sell military spectrum for 4G

  The Ministry of Defence (MoD) will auction off public services spectrum to help the government free up the airwaves for commercial purposes

• December 17, 2012 17 Dec'12

  Virgin Media targets Wi-Fi at 30 UK super-connected cities

  Virgin Media plans to wholesale small-cell technology to mobile operators to bring in funding for local fibre-based Wi-Fi networks in 30 UK cities

• December 14, 2012 14 Dec'12

  McKinnon will not face UK trial

  Computer hacker Gary McKinnon will not face trial in the UK after US authorities refuse to share witnesses or transfer intelligence to the CPS

• December 14, 2012 14 Dec'12

  ITU internet regulation blocked by UK and US

  The International Telecoms Union (ITU) has failed to gain consensus on new rules that would give more power to states to regulate the internet

• December 14, 2012 14 Dec'12

  DoH awards £2.2m information sharing challenge funding

  Over 40 NHS Trusts will receive funding from the Department of Health to develop new digital services and improve patient information sharing

• December 13, 2012 13 Dec'12

  Liam Maxwell named as first government chief technology officer

  Liam Maxwell becomes the first Whitehall CTO, in the latest stage of a major shake-up of the government IT leadership organisation

• December 13, 2012 13 Dec'12

  PCeU arrests three suspected ransomware blackmailers

  The UK Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) has arrested three people in connection using ransomware, which security experts say poses a threat to businesses as well as consumers.

• December 13, 2012 13 Dec'12

  Little change to antivirus spend in 2013, survey shows

  Most organisations (71%) say spending on antivirus/antimalware technologies will not change in 2013.

• December 13, 2012 13 Dec'12

  Most IT pros do not trust cloud services with sensitive data

  Just over half of IT professionals who focus on cloud computing do not trust cloud services for any of their personal data, a survey has revealed.

• December 13, 2012 13 Dec'12

  Facebook to boost privacy controls

  Facebook is to make the biggest changes to the social networking site’s privacy controls in more than a year

• December 13, 2012 13 Dec'12

  Authorities arrest 10 suspected botnet data thieves

  Authorities in several countries have arrested a total of 10 people suspected of setting up a botnet of hijacked computers.

• December 12, 2012 12 Dec'12

  Government IT reformers criticise IT leadership shake-up

  Government IT reformers have criticised plans to give procurement chief Bill Crothers a more prominent role in the IT leadership team

• December 12, 2012 12 Dec'12

  Cornwall Council opts for IT outsourcing after rejecting BT privatisation

  Cornwall County Council has voted for an IT outsourcing and telehealth partnership with BT after rejecting a comprehensive privatisation plan

• December 12, 2012 12 Dec'12

  Ghost Shell hacktivists publish over a million credentials

  The Ghost Shell group, an offshoot of the Anonymous hacking collective has published the log-in details from 1.6 million accounts

• December 12, 2012 12 Dec'12

  CIO interview: Susan Cooklin, CIO, Network Rail

  Susan Cooklin has had an eventful 2012, delivering major technology upgrades while driving projects to help the Olympic Games run smoothly

• December 11, 2012 11 Dec'12

  European Parliament approves single EU patent system

  The European Parliament votes in a patent statute to cover the European Union (EU), but Italy and Spain stay out due to language concerns

• December 11, 2012 11 Dec'12

  Network Rail CIO takes on wider shared services role

  Network Rail chief information officer Susan Cooklin has taken on the added responsibility for finance and HR shared services

• December 11, 2012 11 Dec'12

  Housing group GreenSquare cuts costs with GIS tool

  Housing group GreenSquare has improved efficiency and cut costs by using a geographical information system (GIS)

• December 11, 2012 11 Dec'12

  MPs slam draft Communications Data Bill

  MPs have slammed plans to give the Home Secretary carte blanche to retain any type of data in the draft Communications Data Bill dubbed ‘the Snoopers’ Charter’.

• December 10, 2012 10 Dec'12

  4G application day arrives

  Mobile operators wanting to apply to take part in Ofcom’s spectrum auction have to submit their bids before the regulator kicks off the process

• December 10, 2012 10 Dec'12

  Cloud: security threat or solution?

  Can cloud computing tackle new and emerging cyber threats – or is this just a new round of security industry marketing hype?

• December 10, 2012 10 Dec'12

  CIO interview: Steve Whatson, IT director, Metropolitan Police

  Steve Whatson, director of ICT for the Olympics and Major Change at the Metropolitan Police Service, discusses the challenges of IT transformation at the Met

• December 10, 2012 10 Dec'12

  UK CIOs see EU regulation as key

  A third of UK CIOs are more concerned with EU regulation, such as the data protection directive, than their own local laws, a study has revealed.

• December 10, 2012 10 Dec'12

  Hacktivists target MP's website

  An inquiry is underway after the website of Conservative MP David Morris was hacked at the weekend.

• December 10, 2012 10 Dec'12

  Rivals square up over internet governance at WCIT

  The future of internet governance is to be decided this week as rival groups hammer out a new international telecoms treaty.

• December 07, 2012 07 Dec'12

  UK government jobs website exploited by hackers

  Hackers have been able to exploit security flaws in a new government jobs website to steal personal information about job applicants

• December 07, 2012 07 Dec'12

  Government IT leadership team sees major reshuffle

  The government's IT leadership team is to see a major organisational reshuffle, led by Cabinet Office chief operating officer Stephen Kelly

• December 07, 2012 07 Dec'12

  Barnet councillors challenge Capita outsourcing deal

  Barnet Council’s Labour opposition will lead a challenge to the council cabinet’s decision to sign a ten-year £320m outsourcing deal with Capita

• December 07, 2012 07 Dec'12

  UK student convicted for Anonymous cyber attacks

  A leading player in the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks by four UK youths in the name of Anonymous in 2010 and 2011 convicted

• December 07, 2012 07 Dec'12

  Antivirus systems fail to detect unknown viruses, study shows

  Less than 5% of the top 40 antivirus systems are able to detect previously non-cataloged viruses initially, a study has revealed

• December 07, 2012 07 Dec'12

  Hackers hit UN conference debating future internet governance

  A suspected hacking attack has hit the Dubai UN meeting to discuss telecoms regulations that could alter the way the internet is governed

• December 06, 2012 06 Dec'12

  Vast majority of public sector organisations lack BYOD policies

  Some 87% of public sector organisations have no formal bring-your-own-device' (BYOD) strategy, according to Freedom of Information research

• December 06, 2012 06 Dec'12

  David Cameron confirms £50m for Tech City regeneration in Old Street

  Prime Minister David Cameron announces a regeneration project for Old Street's Tech City area to build facilities for start-ups in Shoreditch

• December 06, 2012 06 Dec'12

  MPs call for wider promotion of mutuals beyond Whitehall

  Mutuals need to be effectively promoted across the whole public sector, not just Whitehall, say MPs

• December 06, 2012 06 Dec'12

  Are ‘super-connected cities’ the best investment?

  George Osborne’s pledge of £50m to bring superfast broadband to more cities is welcomed, but is it the best use of the budget?

• December 06, 2012 06 Dec'12

  Capita to cut 70% of staff in Barnet council outsourcing deal

  Barnet Council will cut 70% of staff from the back-office functions it is outsourcing to Capita in a controversial deal to automate services

• December 06, 2012 06 Dec'12

  Court to review Apple, Samsung patent verdict

  A US court is to review a jury’s decision to award Apple $1bn in damages in its patent dispute with rival Samsung

• December 06, 2012 06 Dec'12

  EC competition authorities delay Google decision

  Google could face a multi-billion euro fine as EC competition authorities debate if it has tackled issues about abusing its dominant market position

• December 05, 2012 05 Dec'12

  HMRC admits RTI budget overrun

  HMRC has run over budget with its Real Time Information (RTI) system, the PAYE system crucial to the roll-out of Universal Credit next year

• December 05, 2012 05 Dec'12

  NHS Commissioning Board publishes plans for GPs' IT

  The provision of GP IT services are to be given to Clinical Commissioning Groups, which could see doctors’ systems outsourced

• December 03, 2012 03 Dec'12

  HMRC slammed for 'undue complacency' on RTI systems

  Report labels HMRC “unduly complacent” about the roll-out of the Real Time Information (RTI) system crucial to the Universal Credit programme

• December 03, 2012 03 Dec'12

  Open Data Institute receives first £750,000 investment

  The Open Data Institute (ODI), which opens this week, has received its first investment of $750,000

• November 30, 2012 30 Nov'12

  Leeds and Bradford to get free Wi-Fi

  Leeds and Bradford have signed a deal with Virgin Media Business to get free public Wi-Fi as part of the government’ super-connected cities scheme.

• November 30, 2012 30 Nov'12

  The Ministry of Defence signs software deal with IBM

  The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a deal with IBM to provide greater insight into the management of its £22.5bn property portfolio.

• November 30, 2012 30 Nov'12

  G-Cloud success depends on champions and a change in attitude

  G-Cloud director Denise McDonagh has called for public sector champions to push forward adoption of the service.