News

IT for government and public sector

• 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

• August 22, 2019 22 Aug'19

  A helping hand from the Nordics in the eye of the GDPR storm

  Nordic IT companies are well suited to supporting enterprises in their data protection projects, even though openness is more natural to them

• August 22, 2019 22 Aug'19

  Student Loans Company appoints chief information officer

  Stephen Campbell will be leading a complex transformation programme and handling problems including high staff turnover

• August 22, 2019 22 Aug'19

  NHSX aims for mental health services transformation

  Digital unit of the NHS has started a discovery process focused on children and young people

• August 21, 2019 21 Aug'19

  Healthcare faces triple cyber threat, says FireEye

  Criminal and nation-state cyber attackers are increasingly targeting the healthcare industry to steal data, carry out espionage and cause disruption, a report reveals

• August 20, 2019 20 Aug'19

  NHSX kicks off discovery process to revamp screening

  The digital unit decides to prioritise improving the delivery of services and starts discovery exercise

• August 20, 2019 20 Aug'19

  Government opens new round of digital funding for councils

  Grants of up to £350,000 will be invested from the £7.5m Local Digital Fund for local authorities to enhance their projects focused on innovation

• August 20, 2019 20 Aug'19

  YPO debuts £400m datacentre and cloud framework for local councils and schools

  Procurement management organisation YPO has set live a public sector framework designed to support local authorities and educational institutions embrace hybrid cloud

• August 20, 2019 20 Aug'19

  Buyers think SD-WAN is too expensive and complicated

  Building and maintaining an SD-WAN is perceived as a complicated endeavour, and the industry’s messages are not getting through, says a new report

• August 19, 2019 19 Aug'19

  Q2 shows ransomware proliferation, Kaspersky warns

  Ransomware modifications have more than doubled in the past year, the number of ransomware families has grown, and the number of attempted infections is up nearly 50%

• August 16, 2019 16 Aug'19

  ICO to probe facial recognition at King’s Cross

  UK privacy watchdog is to investigate whether the use of live facial recognition technology at King’s Cross complies with data protection laws

• August 16, 2019 16 Aug'19

  UK government advances plans for National Robotarium

  Edinburgh-based facility National Robotarium is hoped to support the growth of national smart robotics companies

• August 16, 2019 16 Aug'19

  NHS readies data-driven health checks

  The government takes another step towards ramping up use of data-driven technologies in the public health system, with expected benefits including reduced pressure on public resources

• August 15, 2019 15 Aug'19

  Australia needs to get digital identity right

  A top Ping Identity executive urges Australia to put more focus on digital identity management following the government’s efforts to lay the groundwork for an open banking regime

• August 15, 2019 15 Aug'19

  Latest Post Office Horizon problems fixed with software update to blame

  The Post Office has fixed the latest problems with its Horizon system, affecting hundreds of branches

• August 15, 2019 15 Aug'19

  2019 set to be another record year for data breaches

  The number of data breach incidents continues to rise and looks set to reach another record this year, with the business sector first in the firing line, according to a mid-year breach report

• August 14, 2019 14 Aug'19

  Publicly accessible biometric database highlights key failings

  The discovery of a publicly accessible database of biometric information highlights failings by the supplier, the need for supply chain security, and the challenges of using biometric data

• August 14, 2019 14 Aug'19

  NTT Security partners with Europol

  Link-up is part of a commitment to share strategic information with partners and law enforcement to bolster threat intelligence in the global fight against cyber crime

• August 13, 2019 13 Aug'19

  Government drives surge in outsourcing spend

  Back-office transformation is a key area of focus for the government as new deals continue to flow despite economic uncertainty, according to research

• August 13, 2019 13 Aug'19

  HS2 rolls out augmented reality for staff training

  Immersive technology will support processes around the development of high-speed railway’s London super hub before it is built

• August 12, 2019 12 Aug'19

  South Wales Police starts facial recognition trial despite opposition

  The use of the facial recognition app by South Wales Police marks the latest deployment of controversial facial recognition technology by police forces in the UK

• August 12, 2019 12 Aug'19

  Department for Work and Pensions claims payments progress

  Key milestones were completed as the government department seeks to evolve its service delivery with innovations such as distributed ledger technologies

• August 12, 2019 12 Aug'19

  Hundreds of Post Office branches hit by new Horizon problem

  Subpostmasters suffering slow running and frozen terminals while Post Office searches for a fix to issues apparently caused by a software update