News

IT for government and public sector

May 29, 2012 29 May'12
Plymouth city council uses Microsoft SCCM to cut PCs by 20%

Plymouth City Council has introduced hot-desking and reduced its PC estate by 20% through a migration to Windows 7.
May 29, 2012 29 May'12
IT security linked to saving lives, survey reveals

More than a quarter of companies believe that if their websites go down or they suffer a major security breach it could potentially cost lives, a survey has revealed.
May 29, 2012 29 May'12
UK lottery operator keeps eye on cyber threats

UK National Lottery operator Camelot has bolstered its cyber defences in response to an increase in targeted attacks on high-profile organisations
May 29, 2012 29 May'12
ICO reviews Google WiFi snooping investigation following US report

The ICO may re-open investigations into Google's WiFi snooping after a US report doubted Google's claim it had collected the data by accident

May 28, 2012 28 May'12
Security researchers discover powerful cyber espionage weapon 'Flame'

Security researchers have discovered a cyber espionage weapon, dubbed 'Flame', with a functionality greater than any other known threat
May 28, 2012 28 May'12
Google Apps for Business wins ISO 27001 certification

Google Apps for Business has earned ISO 27001 certification, a move welcomed by analysts and the UK cloud computing industry
May 28, 2012 28 May'12
EC website fails to comply with EU data privacy cookie law

As the UK starts enforcing EU rules on cookies, it emerges that the EC's own website does not comply with the data privacy legislation
May 28, 2012 28 May'12
EU to launch trade case against Chinese telcos Huawei and ZTE

The European Union has accused the two Chinese telecoms firms of obtaining illegal government subsidies and selling products below cost
May 28, 2012 28 May'12
Universal Credit systems go live early in Manchester

Universal Credit systems are to go live in the Greater Manchester and Cheshire region in April 2013, six months before the national roll-out
May 28, 2012 28 May'12
Greenwich University one log-in portal evolves into development hub

A web portal implemented by Greenwich University in 2006 has enabled it to continuously improve processes with a central source of information

May 28, 2012 28 May'12
Everything Everywhere brings NFC to buses

The mobile operator partnership teams with Stagecoach for NFC payments on bus and rail travel
May 28, 2012 28 May'12
Wandsworth residents sign up for council services through Facebook

Wandsworth Council is planning to enable residents to sign up for its online services through their Facebook pages
May 28, 2012 28 May'12
UK regulator PhonepayPlus shuts down Angry Birds smartphone scam

UK users of Android smartphones have been targeted by premium-rate phone scams masquerading as popular apps such as Angry Birds
May 28, 2012 28 May'12
ICO criticised for last-minute changes to cookie law

The ICO has come under fire for updating its policy on the newly-enforced cookie law at the last minute
May 25, 2012 25 May'12
UK takes slice of $40m Intel university research investment

Intel is to invest more than $40m in a network of university research centres in the UK, Germany and Israel over the next five years
May 25, 2012 25 May'12
Interview: Nigel Shadbolt on the Open Data Institute

Co-head of the Open Data Institute Nigel Shadbolt discusses how the £10m programme is starting to take shape.
May 25, 2012 25 May'12
Video: ICO publishes new guidance on cookie law

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published new guidance on cookie law and revealed the organisations it has approached on the issue
May 25, 2012 25 May'12
Last working day before cookie law enforcement

The deadline for compliance with UK cookie law expires this weekend, but there is no need to panic, says data protection lawyer Stewart Room
May 25, 2012 25 May'12
Kelsey steps down as transparency czar

Tim Kelsey, the Cabinet Office’s transparency czar, has stepped down to become national director for patients and information at the NHS Commissioning Board Authority
May 24, 2012 24 May'12
Research shows dangers of user-generated content

Hackers are exploiting user-generated content features of social media websites, a study has revealed
May 24, 2012 24 May'12
Unions will work together to fight HP job cuts

Union Unite said up to 1,600 UK jobs at HP are at risk following the IT giant’s announcement of an 8% reduction in its global workforce
May 24, 2012 24 May'12
Cookie law: many UK organisations still unprepared, says law firm

With UK "cookie law" to be enforced at the weekend, many UK organisations are unprepared, as the ICO appears to change tack..
May 24, 2012 24 May'12
Cabinet Office launches second G-Cloud framework worth £100m

The Cabinet Office has launched a second G-Cloud framework with a procurement value of £100m, revised from the previous £60m estimate
May 24, 2012 24 May'12
Hewlett-Packard to cut 27,000 jobs

HP is to cut 27,000 jobs, or 8% of its workforce, as part of a plan to achieve annual savings of up to $3.5bn by the end of fiscal year 2014
May 23, 2012 23 May'12
Overrun in big IT projects leads to one in three failures

One-third of big IT projects are likely to get derailed after they have been running for two years, according to research.
May 23, 2012 23 May'12
What are the challenges for the NHS IT strategy?

As the NHS publishes its Information Strategy Computer Weekly examines the challenges and the relevance of a central IT agenda now the structure is devolved to local commissioning groups
May 23, 2012 23 May'12
Science minister David Willetts brands IT education 'catastrophic'

David Willetts, minister for universities and science, says IT teaching in schools and universities is putting young people off technology careers
May 23, 2012 23 May'12
SAP to expand cloud offerings with acquisition of Ariba

SAP strikes $4.3bn deal to acquire cloud-based business commerce network, Ariba
May 23, 2012 23 May'12
Virgin Media criticises UK rural broadband subsidy policy

Virgin Media has criticised government broadband subsidy policy, claiming that it favours BT
May 22, 2012 22 May'12
UK cyber attacks driven by fraud, says Ponemon Institute

Financial fraud is the motivating factor behind 63% of targeted cyber attacks on UK businesses, reveals a study by the Ponemon Institute
May 22, 2012 22 May'12
EC calls on Google to address competition concerns

The European Commission (EC) is pushing Google to address concerns about abusing its dominant position in the internet search engine market
May 22, 2012 22 May'12
CIOs need to 'relinquish their control of technology'

CIOs will need to take a hands-off approach to IT as the speed of digital technology gathers pace, says Ovum analyst
May 21, 2012 21 May'12
CloudStore 2 launched ahead of supplier accreditation

The second iteration of the government’s CloudStore has gone live ahead of suppliers from the first framework having been accredited to sell products on the first G-Cloud framework.
May 21, 2012 21 May'12
Interview: Giles Wilmore on the NHS Information Strategy

Giles Wilmore,owner of the Department of Health’s information strategy, discusses plans for a health portal and IT standards post-NPfIT.
May 21, 2012 21 May'12
Patients records to go digital by 2015

Patients will be able to access their own health records electronically and book appointments with GPs online by 2015.
May 18, 2012 18 May'12
Mobile threats demand focus on data protection, says Websense

Business needs to focus on data protection as cyber criminals turn to mobile malware, says Websense.
May 18, 2012 18 May'12
Howard Schmidt to step down as White House Cyber Czar

White House Cyber Czar Howard Schmidt is stepping down after two-and-a-half years in the role.
May 18, 2012 18 May'12
Police crack mobile phones to extract evidence

The Met Police force is to use software that can crack mobile phones to extract data to speed up investigations
May 18, 2012 18 May'12
CSC chief takes charge of NHS negotiations

CSC's new CEO has taken direct control of protracted negotiations over its failed contract to deliver the NHS National Programme for IT.
May 17, 2012 17 May'12
Government guides civil service in social media use

The Government Digital Service has published a guide for civil servants to advise them on how to use social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
May 17, 2012 17 May'12
UK leaps up hacking league table, finds NCC Group

The UK is in the top ten sources of cyber attacks for the first time this year, according to the latest Origin of Hacks report from NCC Group
May 17, 2012 17 May'12
The Pirate Bay is latest site to be hit by DDoS attack

The Pirate Bay has become the latest high-profile website to be hit by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack
May 17, 2012 17 May'12
UK government websites miss cookie law deadline

Most UK government websites will fail to comply with the "cookie law" to be enforced from 26 May 2012
May 16, 2012 16 May'12
Key IT influencer Ian Watmore quits civil service

Ian Watmore, permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office and one of the main drivers of the government's IT strategy, is leaving the civil service next month.
May 16, 2012 16 May'12
UK business braces for more cyber attacks, survey shows

85% of UK businesses expect cyber attacks to increase in the coming years, a survey shows
May 16, 2012 16 May'12
Leeds Teaching Hospitals consolidates IT

NHS trust Leeds Teaching Hospitals simplifies its applications platform in £37m IT investment plan to enable clinicians to access data more easily
May 16, 2012 16 May'12
Tackle cyber security with ad campaign, says Labour defence spokesman Jim Murphy

Labour shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy says government should address cyber security with a mix of regulation and education
May 14, 2012 14 May'12
DWP appoints ex-BAA IT chief Philip Langsdale as new CIO

The Department for Work and Pensions has appointment former BAA CIO Philip Langsdale as its new chief information officer.
May 14, 2012 14 May'12
Lincolnshire County Council to save £2.5m a year with PSN

Lincolnshire County Council expects to save £2.5m a year in its network costs by joining the East Midlands Public Services Network.
May 14, 2012 14 May'12
IT suppliers losing race to build smart cities

Banks, developers and construction companies are taking over from the IT industry as the diving force behind smart cities
May 14, 2012 14 May'12
BYOD not popular with US CIOs

Most CIOs are not yet allowing employees to access company networks using personal computing devices, a US national survey has revealed.
May 14, 2012 14 May'12
SAP tech support needs to improve, say BusinessObjects users

SAP technical support needs to improve, according to 40% of BusinessObjects users in 96 organisations polled by the UK & Ireland SAP User Group
May 11, 2012 11 May'12
Hackers compromise Amnesty International UK website

Hackers compromised Amnesty International's UK website using remote administration tool Gh0st RAT, according to Websense Security Labs
May 11, 2012 11 May'12
Indian ID scheme has already enrolled 160 million citizens

The Indian government’s plan to give all of its 1.2 billion citizens biometric ID cards is gathering pace, with 14 million enrolments a month
May 11, 2012 11 May'12
Court stops Dutch party sharing Pirate Bay links

A court in The Hague has ordered a political party in the Netherlands to stop publicising ways to get around blocks to Swedish file-sharing site, The Pirate Bay
May 11, 2012 11 May'12
Police arrest suspected Team Poison hacker

Police have arrested a Newcastle teenager suspected of being a member of the Team Poison hacker group
May 10, 2012 10 May'12
EU votes in favour of roaming charge cuts

The European Union passes a new bill to slash the prices of using mobile phones on the continent
May 10, 2012 10 May'12
Cyber attackers increasingly targeting applications, research shows

Web and mobile applications are the new frontiers in the war against cyber attack, according to an HP cyber security risks report
May 10, 2012 10 May'12
IP theft drives demand for security analytics, says HP

While traditional cyber threats remain, businesses are being hit increasingly by intellectual property theft, says HP
May 10, 2012 10 May'12
Apple software update includes security improvements

Apple has released software updates that fix bugs and security vulnerabilties
May 10, 2012 10 May'12
Suspected SOCA website hackers arrested in Norway

Police in Norway have arrested two teenagers thought to be linked to a DDoS attack on the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) website
May 10, 2012 10 May'12
Troubled RPA systems to be replaced by 2015

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is to roll out a new payments system for the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) by 2015
May 09, 2012 09 May'12
Government snooping plans unveiled

The Queen's Speech has revealed that the government still plans to make it easier for security and police services to spy on e-mails, phone calls and internet activity
May 09, 2012 09 May'12
Interview: RSA executive chairman Art Coviello

A year after RSA's data breach, Art Coviello discusses the company's vision of intelligence-led security.
May 09, 2012 09 May'12
Department for Work and Pensions spent £24m with Atos in 2011

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spent nearly £24m with outsourcing company Atos in 2011
May 09, 2012 09 May'12
European firms have holes in risk strategies, survey shows

Security professionals in Europe have significant gaps in their enterprise risk strategies, despite thinking that they are on track, a survey has revealed
May 09, 2012 09 May'12
Home Office admits ignorance of IT equipment costs

The Home Office does not know how much it has spent on computer equipment over the last two years
May 09, 2012 09 May'12
'Sons of Duqu' targeted in Microsoft May security patches

Microsoft releases seven bulletins – three critical and four important – for 23 vulnerabilities in its May Patch Tuesday monthly security update
May 09, 2012 09 May'12
Nevada gives Google's driverless car the green light

Google's driverless car has passed its driving test in Nevada, where licences for autonomous vehicles came into effect on 1 March 2012
May 09, 2012 09 May'12
Anonymous attacks Virgin Media for blocking The Pirate Bay

Anonymous has taken down Virgin Media's website for complying with a UK High Court ruling to block access to file-sharing site The Pirate Bay
May 08, 2012 08 May'12
MoD business services transformation avoids IT upheaval

The transformation of the MoD's business services will examine business processes to find savings before changing IT infrastructure
May 08, 2012 08 May'12
TfL seeks £2m contract for RTI screens

Transport for London (TfL) is seeking a supplier for its £2m roll-out of real-time information (RTI) customer service displays
May 04, 2012 04 May'12
UK Border Agency to introduce postal visa system following IT failure

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) may introduce a postal visa service for foreign nationals, following the outage of its ID card computer system.
May 04, 2012 04 May'12
Acta effectively dead, admits EU digital agenda commissioner

The controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement (Acta), is effectively dead, the European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda has admitted.
May 04, 2012 04 May'12
Case study: Council IP telephony switch about more than just money

When Portsmouth City Council achieved a cut-price deal for an IP telephony infrastructure it quickly realised the technology offered more than just cost savings.
May 04, 2012 04 May'12
London to test urban operating system

London is to test an operating system developed to support the smart cities of the future to keep buildings, traffic and services running smoothly.
May 04, 2012 04 May'12
‘Super-connected’ city contenders named

The £50m government cash pot for ultra-fast broadband will be competed over by 27 cities
May 04, 2012 04 May'12
UK to expand cyber info-sharing hub after initial success

A public/private cyber security initiative exposed a campaign of malicious emails targeting UK defence companies, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude has revealed.
May 04, 2012 04 May'12
UK is global leader in open healthcare data, says Tim Kelsey

The UK is leading the world in its publication of healthcare datasets, the government’s transparency tsar Tim Kelsey has said.
May 04, 2012 04 May'12
FTTH Council: UK broadband ‘not ambitious enough’

The president of the European organisation claims the UK needs to ‘widen its eyes’ to the opportunity better broadband could bring to businesses
May 04, 2012 04 May'12
MoD admits hackers have breached top secret systems

Hackers have breached some of the top secret Ministry of Defence computer systems, the military's head of cyber-security has revealed.
May 04, 2012 04 May'12
60% of London NHS trusts lack disaster recovery systems

Patients in London could be at risk if hospital IT fails, as 60% of London NHS trusts lack disaster recovery systems, according to a report.
May 03, 2012 03 May'12
Second DDoS attack on SOCA highlights need to be proactive

The UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has confirmed that its website has suffered another distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.
May 03, 2012 03 May'12
UK prepared for Olympic cyber attack, says minister

The 2012 Olympics in London will not be immune to cyber attacks, but the UK is prepared, says Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude.
May 03, 2012 03 May'12
What UK citizens think about digital government

Two-thirds of UK citizens already use the internet to interact with government, according to Accenture research.
May 03, 2012 03 May'12
UK will lose out globally from underinvesting £1.1bn in broadband, says LSE

The UK’s global competitiveness is at risk due to an under investment of £1.1bn in its broadband infrastructure, according to a report from the London School of Economics.
May 03, 2012 03 May'12
Hackers deploy new attack method targeting Android

Compromised websites are serving a new Trojan targeting Android devices, warns security firm Lookout.
May 03, 2012 03 May'12
Motorola Mobility wins injunction against Microsoft in Germany

Motorola Mobility has been granted an injunction against the distribution of key Microsoft products in Germany
May 03, 2012 03 May'12
GP record data to be released in September

GP record information will be opened up in the next six months as part of the Department of Health’s plan to release healthcare data
May 03, 2012 03 May'12
European copyright ruling good for IT innovation, say lawyers

The top European court's ruling on copyright is good news for innovation, say lawyers
May 03, 2012 03 May'12
Virgin Media first ISP to block Pirate Bay after High Court ruling

Virgin Media is the first UK internet service provider (ISP) to block access of millions of customers to The Pirate Bay following a High Court ruling
May 02, 2012 02 May'12
Oracle zero-day patch should be applied with caution, warns Qualys

Oracle has released an out-of-band patch for a zero-day vulnerability, but security firm Qualys warns against rushing to apply it
May 02, 2012 02 May'12
Hasty legislation a threat to internet freedom, says OSCE watchdog

Hasty legislation passed by governments in response to security fears poses a threat to internet freedom, says global media watchdog OSCE
May 02, 2012 02 May'12
Government’s £376bn project spend needs more assurance, says NAO

The National Audit Office (NAO) says government must produce transparent data if the £376bn cost of public sector projects is to be spent effectively
May 02, 2012 02 May'12
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales helps put UK research online

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales is to help the government make taxpayer-funded research in the UK freely available to the public online
May 02, 2012 02 May'12
US to legislate to protect Facebook passwords from employers

The US is planning legislation that will protect Facebook passwords from prying employers
May 01, 2012 01 May'12
Rochdale saves £300,000 with PSN-ready network

Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council has saved £300,000 per year by rolling out a PSN-ready network.
May 01, 2012 01 May'12
G-Cloud cost £4.93m to set up, says Maude

The government’s G-Cloud programme and CloudStore cost £4.93m to set up, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said in response to a parliamentary question.
May 01, 2012 01 May'12
O2 launches £250,000 IT fund for cash-strapped councils

Telecoms provider O2 has launched a £250,000 IT investment fund for cash-strapped local councils.
May 01, 2012 01 May'12
Court rules UK ISPs must block The Pirate Bay

The High Court has ruled that five of the UK's largest internet service providers must block access to Swedish-based file-sharing site The Pirate Bay.