News

IT for government and public sector

September 17, 2012 17 Sep'12
Intel lends a hand eliminating passwords

Intel is working on palm-scanning technology to eliminate weak password-based user authentication
September 17, 2012 17 Sep'12
US collecting citizens’ data illegally, says whistleblower

The US is collecting huge amounts of data on its citizens, according to former National Security Agency official Bill Binney
September 14, 2012 14 Sep'12
GOV.UK to replace Directgov in October

Government information services website Directgov is to be replaced by GOV.UK from 17 October
September 13, 2012 13 Sep'12
Cloud computing: Could it cost more?

Cloud computing is meant to cut costs, but some organisations are reporting increased cost instead. How is this possible?

September 13, 2012 13 Sep'12
De Montfort University to launch cyber security centre

De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester is launching a centre dedicated to cyber protection
September 13, 2012 13 Sep'12
MDM is not security, warns mobile security expert Eric Green

Mobile device management (MDM) is not about security, says US security expert Eric Green from Mobile Active Defense Partners
September 13, 2012 13 Sep'12
Government launches £3.8m cyber security institute

The government has ramped up moves to tackle growing cyber security threats by launching a £3.8m research institute.
September 13, 2012 13 Sep'12
Few firms test security of mobile apps, survey shows

Organisations are struggling to manage the challenges of the mobile era, with less than a third formally testing their mobile applications
September 12, 2012 12 Sep'12
Huddle gets US federal government breakthrough

US public sector workers get cloud-based collaboration software from Huddle after two major US government departments sign up
September 12, 2012 12 Sep'12
Two UK students chosen for (ISC)² IT security scholarships

Students at UK universities are among the recipients of the 2011 and 2012 Information Security Scholarships from (ISC)²

September 12, 2012 12 Sep'12
Big business not learning from cyber attacks, says researcher

Many big companies are failing to learn from information security incidents, says malware analysis firm Solutionary
September 12, 2012 12 Sep'12
Government should stop reinventing the IT security wheel, says (ISC)2

In good government IT strategy, only collaboration will work in the long term, says head of (ISC)2 Hord Tipton
September 12, 2012 12 Sep'12
AT&T takes APTs seriously

APTs are real and all companies should be taking them seriously, says telecommunications company AT&T
September 12, 2012 12 Sep'12
Salford City Council offers cloud service to local businesses

Salford City Council is to offer private cloud service to local businesses through a partnership with ANS Group
September 12, 2012 12 Sep'12
IT system cuts visa abuse across Schengen Area

An IT system integrating disparate national border controls has reduced visa abuse across the borderless Schengen Area of continental Europe
September 11, 2012 11 Sep'12
New malware age demands new security approach, says threat researcher

We are entering a new age of cyber threats and must change our approach to cyber defence, according to ICSA Labs
September 11, 2012 11 Sep'12
CISOs key to transition to cloud, says (ISC)2

CISOs have an important role in moving their organisations to a cloud computing environment, says professional certification body (ISC)2
September 11, 2012 11 Sep'12
Skills shortage means no unemployment in IT security, says (ISC)2

Zero unemployment in IT security shows a huge shortage of skills in the profession, says Hord Tipton, executive director of (ISC)2
September 11, 2012 11 Sep'12
Cabinet Office blacklists Fujitsu from government IT contract tenders

The Cabinet Office has banned Fujitsu and another IT supplier from tendering for public sector IT contracts as they constitute too high a risk
September 11, 2012 11 Sep'12
(ISC)2 launches programme to attract young security professionals

(ISC)2 has announced a Young Professionals Group to attract young people to the field of information security
September 10, 2012 10 Sep'12
Will fibre deregulation for ISPs hasten or hold back broadband roll-out?

As culture secretary Maria Miller cuts planning rules for ISPs building fibre cabinets, resistance from councils could restrain broadband roll-out
September 07, 2012 07 Sep'12
Government invests into shared Janet education network

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills allocates £30m of funding for the Janet network to serve schools, colleges and universities
September 07, 2012 07 Sep'12
UK cookie law compliance mixed, study finds

Three months after the enforcement of the cookie law, only 12% of UK websites have prominent privacy notices and robust cookie controls, a study shows
September 07, 2012 07 Sep'12
Maria Miller lets ISPs build fibre cabinets without council permission

Culture minister Maria Miller unveils rules for broadband deployment, allowing ISPs to install cabinets without local council consent
September 07, 2012 07 Sep'12
Warwick University cyber security graduates fast-track CISSP course

The University of Warwick has entered an agreement with (ISC)2 to help ease its cyber security graduates into work with a compact CISSP course.
September 07, 2012 07 Sep'12
BT network consolidation saves Surrey County Council £5m

Telecoms giant BT signs a deal with Surrey County Council to bring together at least 20 of its public services onto one network and save £5m
September 07, 2012 07 Sep'12
UK sets deadline to decide fate of UFO hacker Gary McKinnon

The Home Office is to decide by 16 October whether to extradite self-confessed hacker Gary McKinnon to the US
September 06, 2012 06 Sep'12
Southwest One is blocking Somerset cuts, says county councillor

Somerset County Council's troubled outsourcing contract with Southwest One has stalled the authority's programme of cost cuts, according to a Conservative member of its cabinet.
September 06, 2012 06 Sep'12
Ministry of Justice CTO quits to take up role at key supplier

The former chief technology officer at the Ministry of Justice has left to join Steria, a major provider of IT services to the department
September 06, 2012 06 Sep'12
More than a quarter of London’s Wi-Fi networks are poorly secured

Some 27% of Wi-Fi networks in London are poorly secured or not secured at all, a study by security firm Sophos has revealed.
September 06, 2012 06 Sep'12
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales slams Draft Communications Data Bill

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has slammed as “technologically incompetent” the UK Draft Communications Data Bill
September 05, 2012 05 Sep'12
Ex-US cyber czar advises executive order to protect critical networks

US President Barack Obama should consider an executive to help protect critical networks from cyber attack, says ex-White House cyber security chief Howard Schmidt
September 05, 2012 05 Sep'12
Irish environment department goes green with Polycom

Around 900 government workers will be able to use the unified communications system for video and content sharing
September 05, 2012 05 Sep'12
Cyber security is a board-level issue, warn government spooks

Companies must take responsibility for cyber security at board level to tackle the exponential growth in attacks, the government has urged
September 05, 2012 05 Sep'12
McAfee reports largest malware spike in four years

The second quarter of 2012 saw the biggest increase in malware samples detected in the past four years, says security company McAfee
September 05, 2012 05 Sep'12
Cambodia to deport Pirate Bay co-founder2

Cambodia says it will deport the detained co-founder of file-sharing website, The Pirate Bay.
September 05, 2012 05 Sep'12
FBI denies link to leaked Apple device codes

The FBI says there is no evidence that Anonymous gained access to 12 million identity codes for Apple devices by hacking an FBI agent's laptop
September 04, 2012 04 Sep'12
NHS claws back £1bn as CSC negotiations come to an end

The Department of Health claws back £1bn from CSC as negotiations with the troubled supplier come to an end.
September 04, 2012 04 Sep'12
Glasgow City Council slammed for losing 700 computers

Glasgow City Council has been slammed for losing more than 700 laptops and PCs in a probe into security malpractice
September 04, 2012 04 Sep'12
UK Border Agency ordered to crack down on bogus student visas

The UKBA must crack down on bogus student visas ahead of the roll-out of its troubled e-Borders program, MPs have urged
September 04, 2012 04 Sep'12
Anonymous claims a million Apple IDs in FBI breach

Hacking group Anonymous claims to have released over a million Apple Unique Device Identifiers (UDIDs) obtained from breaching FBI networks
September 04, 2012 04 Sep'12
Apple adds Samsung Note and Galaxy S3 to hit list

Apple has asked a US court to ban sales of two more Samsung handsets as part of its ongoing patent dispute
September 03, 2012 03 Sep'12
Android SMS malware firm fined £50,000

UK premium phone services regulator PhonepayPlus has fined a Moscow-based firm £50,000 for fraud
September 03, 2012 03 Sep'12
Powerful cyber attack tools widely available, say researchers

More low-level cyber criminals are getting access to sophisticated attack tools, say cyber intelligence specialists
September 03, 2012 03 Sep'12
Cambodian police arrest The Pirate Bay co-founder

Cambodian police have arrested one of the founders of file-sharing website The Pirate Bay.
August 31, 2012 31 Aug'12
Somerset Council braces for lawsuit from Southwest One shared service venture

Somerset County Council is making preparations for legal action from Southwest One, the shared services joint venture it formed with IBM in 2007.
August 31, 2012 31 Aug'12
Paralympic protests against Atos reaches Whitehall

A protest about French outsourcing firm Atos’ work capability assessments for disabled people on benefits has moved from the company’s headquarters to the Department for Work and Pensions
August 31, 2012 31 Aug'12
Department of Health announces digital services funding

The ‘Information Sharing Challenge Fund’ will give NHS organisations up to £99,000 for new digital services
August 31, 2012 31 Aug'12
Businesses worldwide fail to prepare for cyber threats, says Kaspersky Lab

Companies around the world have failed to address cyber threats, according to a survey from security organisation Kaspersky Lab
August 31, 2012 31 Aug'12
Cyber Security Challenge tackles IP theft in Aston Martin racing scenario

The UK national Cyber Security Challenge has announced two new competitions to launch a risk analysis and policy development stream
August 31, 2012 31 Aug'12
WikiLeaks supporter hacks Hertfordshire Police website

A supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has hacked a Hertfordshire Police website and posted data apparently relating to members of the force
August 31, 2012 31 Aug'12
Oracle releases emergency patch for Java

Oracle has released an out-of-cycle security update to patch newly identified vulnerabilities in Java 7 that have been widely exploited
August 30, 2012 30 Aug'12
UK data breaches up tenfold since 2007

Data breaches in the UK across all sectors have increased an average of more than tenfold in the past five years, research has uncovered.
August 30, 2012 30 Aug'12
Antivirus detection gap widening, say security researchers

Incident response investigations show businesses cannot rely on antivirus systems alone for protection, say security researchers
August 30, 2012 30 Aug'12
Britons get behind London 2012 legacy, Cisco survey reveals

More than half of Britons believe the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will benefit UK businesses in the long run
August 30, 2012 30 Aug'12
US president Barack Obama vows to fight for free internet

US President Barack Obama has promised to fight for a free internet, while answering questions on social networking site Reddit
August 30, 2012 30 Aug'12
Java zero-day vulnerability hits Metasploit and Blackhole

The latest Java zero-day vulnerability is already available to users of the Metasploit tool and Blackhole exploit kit, say security researchers
August 30, 2012 30 Aug'12
Samsung gets three-month reprieve from US sales ban

Samsung is to be able to keep all its products on sale in the US for at least another three months after Apple’s application for a ban on some product sales was rescheduled
August 29, 2012 29 Aug'12
Explosion in malware bypassing traditional defences, study shows

Advanced malware that evades signature-based detection has increased nearly 400% in the past year, according to research by security firm FireEye
August 29, 2012 29 Aug'12
FBI arrests another Sony hacking suspect

The FBI has arrested another suspected member of LulzSec in connection with a breach of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s computer systems
August 29, 2012 29 Aug'12
Google takedown requests double

Google says the number of requests by copyright holders to have content removed has doubled in the past month to 1.5 million a week
August 29, 2012 29 Aug'12
Samsung vows to fight Apple US ban

Samsung has vowed to take all "necessary measures" to stop Apple securing a ban on some product sales in the US.
August 29, 2012 29 Aug'12
IBM bets on smaller, faster, more secure mainframe

IBM unveils a smaller, faster, more secure mainframe computer to compete with increasingly popular, low-cost, PC-based enterprise servers
August 28, 2012 28 Aug'12
Disability activists hijack Paralympics for Atos protest

Disability activists intend to protest against Olympic sponsor and IT supplier Atos for the way it carries out work capability assessments
August 28, 2012 28 Aug'12
Security researchers spot new zero-day Java vulnerability

Security researchers have spotted a new Java vulnerability in the wild for which there is no security patch as yet
August 28, 2012 28 Aug'12
Saudi Aramco oil firm claims to be over cyber attack

International oil company Saudi Aramco claims to be over a cyber attack on 15 August and maintains that oil production was not disrupted
August 24, 2012 24 Aug'12
National Health Service seeks CIO

The NHS is looking for a new CIO after Katie Davis stepped down as managing director for NHS Informatics at the Department for Health
August 24, 2012 24 Aug'12
VMware users can protect against virtual machine malware, says Trend Micro

New malware that attacks VMware virtual machines is no cause for undue concern, but users can take basic steps to protect data, says Trend Micro
August 24, 2012 24 Aug'12
East London College gets cloud-based communications

Havering Sixth Form College is implementing a cloud-based telephony system and unified communications after selecting InTechnology
August 24, 2012 24 Aug'12
UK should have more control of the web, says IT entrepreneur

The UK should take more control of the internet to counter the US stranglehold, says an IT entrepreneur.
August 24, 2012 24 Aug'12
GDS rolls out Drupal

The Government Digital Service is rolling out open source content management system Drupal.
August 23, 2012 23 Aug'12
Government could see exodus of IT contractors

Government could see an exodus of IT contractors, as new guidelines will force freelancers earning more than £220 a day onto payroll
August 23, 2012 23 Aug'12
Isle of Wight College goes wireless with Brocade

Campus-wide wireless network and internet telephony aims to boost student and staff productivity and cut costs
August 23, 2012 23 Aug'12
New malware campaign targets Blackberry users, says Websense

Security firm Websense has identified a new malware campaign that targets Blackberry users with a malicious attachment in fake emails.
August 23, 2012 23 Aug'12
APTs: Are they really a concern for all businesses?

Many businesses make themselves vulnerable by failing to consider advanced persistent threats (APTs) in their information security strategy
August 23, 2012 23 Aug'12
HP reports $8.9bn loss in third quarter

Hewlett-Packard (HP) reports an $8.9bn loss in its third fiscal quarter, with earnings 568% down compared with the same period the year before
August 22, 2012 22 Aug'12
Morcut malware may be first to target virtual machines, says Symantec

Advanced analysis of the Morcut Mac OS X malware has revealed that it also targets virtual machines and Windows mobiles
August 22, 2012 22 Aug'12
Apple and Samsung give closing arguments in US patent trial

Lawyers have delivered closing arguments in the first US jury trial in the patent dispute between smartphone makers Samsung and Apple
August 22, 2012 22 Aug'12
Anonymous hits UK government websites in support for Julian Assange

Anonymous claims it brought down government websites in protest at the UK's handling of Julian Assange's asylum case
August 22, 2012 22 Aug'12
Dell expects tough next quarter

Dell expects third-quarter revenue to be down between 2% and 5% on second-quarter levels due to the “uncertain economic environment”
August 21, 2012 21 Aug'12
RIM set to lose stranglehold on government mobile market

Blackberry is set to lose its stranglehold on government, as moves to broaden the number of smartphone suppliers in Whitehall gather pace
August 21, 2012 21 Aug'12
Bristol Council opts for open source electronic document management

Bristol City Council has opted for an open source electronic document and records management (EDRM) system as part of moves to slash operational budget by £70m
August 21, 2012 21 Aug'12
Is Ofcom’s 4G decision good for users?

Everything Everywhere has a green light for its 4G roll-out, but will this encourage industry to ramp up provision or lead to more litigation?
August 21, 2012 21 Aug'12
Latest Cyber Security Challenge to address Linux skills shortage

The UK national Cyber Security Challenge has launched another competition aimed at addressing a critical Linux security skills gap
August 21, 2012 21 Aug'12
At least 9 out of 10 top mobile apps hacked, study shows

An average of 96% of the top 100 paid mobile apps have been hacked, a study has revealed
August 20, 2012 20 Aug'12
Government may struggle to deliver end-user device strategy

The government may struggle to deliver its end-user device strategy due to limited resources and a lack of centralised planning, says review
August 20, 2012 20 Aug'12
Hunt: Ofcom 'beset by threats of litigations'

Culture secretary calls on mobile operators to call off the lawyers and focus on the future of 4G to help government achieve broadband targets by 2015
August 20, 2012 20 Aug'12
More than 1,000 school application details leaked on the internet

Personal information about more than 1,000 children has been published on the UK Independent Schools Guide website after an alleged cyber attack
August 15, 2012 15 Aug'12
John Linwood, BBC CTO, on the Olympics output and digitisation

The BBC’s chief technology officer John Linwood talks about managing record-breaking Olympics online viewing and the digital future of the BBC
August 14, 2012 14 Aug'12
Shared services see five councils save £31m

Five local authorities have saved £31m by moving to shared services arrangements, according to a report.
August 13, 2012 13 Aug'12
The Olympics in technology stats

Computer Weekly takes a look at how we experienced “the most connected Games ever” with our round-up of key technology stats
August 13, 2012 13 Aug'12
Slough Borough Council outsources datacentre

Slough Borough Council has outsourced its datacentre for a monthly cost of £30,000
August 10, 2012 10 Aug'12
Entrust commits to SSL despite CA/Browser Forum exit

Security firm Entrust has announced that it is withdrawing from a voluntary online security standards organisation that it co-founded and co-chaired for six years
August 10, 2012 10 Aug'12
Government sees dramatic supplier drop off for tower contracts

Whitehall departments spearheading moves to break up large system integrator contracts into separate ‘towers’ have seen a dramatic drop off in suppliers bidding to co-ordinate the multiple providers.
August 10, 2012 10 Aug'12
New Gauss cyberweapon targets Middle East

A new Flame and Stuxnet-related cyber-threat, dubbed Gauss, is targeting users in the Middle East, security researchers have revealed.
August 09, 2012 09 Aug'12
NHS sees £100m reduction in exposure to CSC contracts

The Department for Health’s financial exposure to its contracts with troubled supplier CSC have decreased by £100m in just three months.
August 09, 2012 09 Aug'12
Nearly half of firms supporting BYOD report data breaches

Nearly half of enterprises that allow bring your own device (BYOD) schemes have experienced a data breach, a study has revealed.
August 09, 2012 09 Aug'12
SMEs concerned over G-Cloud accreditation delay

SMEs are concerned over the delay in the accreditation process for G-Cloud services.
August 09, 2012 09 Aug'12
Virtualisation is often a missed security opportunity

Virtualisation can improve security, but only if it is done correctly, says Rik Ferguson, director of security research at Trend Micro.
August 09, 2012 09 Aug'12
Demand for NHS contractors on the rise, according to recruitment firm

Demand for information management and technology professionals is soaring, as employers compete for the best.