News

IT for government and public sector

March 09, 2012 09 Mar'12
Former Newham Council CIO comes out of retirement

Former Newham council CIO and Socitm president Richard Steel has returned from retirement to take over from Intellect president Julian David as general manager at the UK arm of a Hong Kong systems supplier.
March 09, 2012 09 Mar'12
IT SMEs could exceed government's 25% target, says Maude

Technology SMEs could comprise more than 25% of government business, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude has said.
March 09, 2012 09 Mar'12
Conficker still a threat to business, finds Security Intelligence Report

Conficker and other malware that exploit a vulnerability in the Windows Autorun feature continue to be top threats to business, according to security researchers at Microsoft
March 09, 2012 09 Mar'12
Police Central e-Crime Unit arrests anti-abortion hacktivist suspect

The Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) has arrested a man in Wednesbury, West Midlands, on suspicion of hacking the website of the UK's largest abortion clinic

March 09, 2012 09 Mar'12
NHS saves £1.8bn with CSC contract reductions

£1.8bn has been taken out of the Department of Health’s IT contracts following negotiations with CSC, says health secretary Andrew Lansley
March 09, 2012 09 Mar'12
Google's Chrome browser hacked twice in one day

Google's Chrome browser – untouchable in the past two Pwn2Own challenges – was the first to be compromised at CanSecWest 2012
March 08, 2012 08 Mar'12
Proposed EU data protection framework needs work, says ICO

There is a lot that is welcome in the proposed EU data protection framework, says deputy information commissioner David Smith.
March 08, 2012 08 Mar'12
Telehealth could save NHS £1.2bn

The NHS could save £1.2bn over five years by encouraging three million patients with long-term conditions to use telehealth technology.
March 08, 2012 08 Mar'12
Smartcards for transport to be rolled out nationally

The government is working with industry to roll out smartcard ticketing similar to London’s Oyster card across England and Wales.
March 08, 2012 08 Mar'12
UK views on data protection will go to Brussels, says Lord McNally

Government negotiators will take UK views to negotiations over the proposed EU data protection regulatory framework, says justice minister Lord McNally

March 08, 2012 08 Mar'12
Local authorities save £675,000 with real-time data-sharing

Councils in Gloucestershire and West Oxfordshire are to share real-time data through a fibre optic network in a move expected to save £675,000 a year
March 08, 2012 08 Mar'12
Buckinghamshire County Council cuts ICT support time by 50%

Buckinghamshire County Council has implemented a self-service desk management system in a move it expects will cut ICT call support by 50%
March 08, 2012 08 Mar'12
Councils meet first superfast broadband deadline

All but two local authorities have met government deadlines to submit plans to roll out superfast broadband
March 07, 2012 07 Mar'12
Systems integrators 'charge more in paperwork than SMEs do in delivery’

A systems integrator asked for more money from the government for an IT product proposal than an SME was able to deliver the actual service for.
March 07, 2012 07 Mar'12
SMEs comprise 15% of DWP system integrators' supply chains

SME technology contractors comprise an average of 15% of the suppliers to system integrators at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
March 07, 2012 07 Mar'12
Cabinet Office shunned £47m Oracle ERP upgrade costs, says NAO

The Cabinet Office’s new shared services strategy was driven by the prospect of a £47m upgrade for Oracle ERP systems, says the National Audit Office (NAO)
March 07, 2012 07 Mar'12
Government’s shared services strategy failing, says NAO

The government’s £1.4bn shared services centres have failed to achieve value for money, according to a report from the National Audit Office (NAO)
March 07, 2012 07 Mar'12
BT and Talk Talk lose appeal against Digital Economy Act

Internet service providers BT and Talk Talk have lost an appeal against measures to tackle copyright infringement online in the Digital Economy Act
March 07, 2012 07 Mar'12
FBI informer Hector Xavier Monsegur aids in arrest of LulzSec hackers

Authorities in the US, UK and Republic of Ireland have arrested seven suspected members of hacktivist group LulzSec, including Hector Xavier Monsegur, who helped investigators
March 06, 2012 06 Mar'12
Laptop remains top mobile enterprise device, study reveals

The laptop remains the most popular mobile device for work despite an influx of smartphones and tablets, a study has revealed
March 05, 2012 05 Mar'12
Microsoft Trustworthy Computing: what next?

Ten years ago, Microsoft set up the Trustworthy Computing (TwC) group, but a lot has changed since then. How relevant is Microsoft's trustworthy computing mission in today's world?
March 05, 2012 05 Mar'12
NHS trusts to be freed from CSC contract commitments

The Department of Health has proposed a deal with CSC to release trusts in the National Programme for IT from their contractual obligations to use software from the troubled supplier.
March 05, 2012 05 Mar'12
Justice ministry aims for £100m saving on £14m annual ERP costs

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spends £14m per year running its ERP systems, but hopes for major savings through shared services.
March 05, 2012 05 Mar'12
CloudStore services will slash IT costs, says first G-Cloud buyer

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has procured agile services through the government’s CloudStore in a move it hopes will cut IT costs
March 05, 2012 05 Mar'12
Congress tells Nasa to continually improve data security following hack admission

A US Congressional subcommittee has called on Nasa to ensure its data protection is constantly updated after the agency admitted hackers gained control of computer systems in 2011
March 02, 2012 02 Mar'12
G-Cloud project completes its first CloudStore purchase

A Department for Transport agency has become the first government department to purchase a service through the new CloudStore online catalogue using the G-Cloud framework.
March 02, 2012 02 Mar'12
Somerset Council to bring Southwest One services back in house

Somerset County Council is seeking to bring key services back in house from Southwest One , the troubled joint-venture it created with IBM in 2007.
March 02, 2012 02 Mar'12
Universities investing in back-office IT systems

Increased competition and the need to cut costs are driving universities to replace archaic processes in the back office with software that automates key processes.
March 02, 2012 02 Mar'12
Post Office turns to Twitter during computer system crash

The Post Office branch network is back up and running after it failed for several hours on Thursday.
March 02, 2012 02 Mar'12
Big government departments may struggle with 50% cloud target, says HMRC CIO

Larger departments may struggle to meet government targets of 50% of all new IT spend through cloud computing, says HMRC CIO Phil Pavitt
March 01, 2012 01 Mar'12
RSA 2012: IT security experts urge enterprises to ban smartphone BYOD schemes

Enterprises should ban employees from using their own smartphones for work, a panel of IT security practitioners told the RSA Conference 2012
March 01, 2012 01 Mar'12
DWP tenders for £25m IDA services

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has tendered for a £25m identity assurance (IDA) framework to create a marketplace of providers across the public sector.
March 01, 2012 01 Mar'12
RSA 2012: Trustworthy Internet Movement launched

The trustworthiness of the internet is at risk, Philippe Courtot, chief executive officer at Qualys, warned attendees of RSA Conference 2012.
March 01, 2012 01 Mar'12
MoJ is first department to sign up to PSN

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has become the first government department to sign up for a public services network (PSN), in a deal with BT that is expected to save £8m per year by 2015
March 01, 2012 01 Mar'12
Improved websites could save councils £500m, says Socitm

Councils across the country could save £500m with modest investment in their websites, says public sector IT organisation Socitm
March 01, 2012 01 Mar'12
RSA 2012: Forget about hacktivists, say security experts

Businesses should forget about hacktivists and concentrate on getting the security basics right, a panel of IT security practitioners told attendees of RSA Conference 2012 in San Francisco
March 01, 2012 01 Mar'12
RSA 2012: Rationalise security compliance obligations for greater efficiency, says Microsoft

Meeting compliance obligations, passing audits and dealing with false alarms can distract information security professionals from keeping data secure, but Microsoft has found ways of managing the noise
February 29, 2012 29 Feb'12
RSA 2012: RSA takes market-leader position seriously, says Heiser

RSA takes its market-leader position seriously to pull together the IT security industry, says Tom Heiser, president of RSA.
February 29, 2012 29 Feb'12
Microsoft Azure cloud outage hits customers globally

Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform has experienced an outage, hitting organisations across the world including the UK government CloudStore.
February 29, 2012 29 Feb'12
Does the PSN need to happen before the cloud?

The deployment of public services networks (PSN) will need to happen before widespread uptake of CloudStore services occur, IT heads said at a roundtable meeting.
February 29, 2012 29 Feb'12
Child maintenance IT system costs double, says NAO

The cost of the IT systems underpinning the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC) have nearly doubled to £275m, according to the National Audit Office.
February 28, 2012 28 Feb'12
RSA 2012: RSA issues security industry call to arms

Security supplier RSA urges the security industry to collaborate to win the war against cyber threats to information security
February 28, 2012 28 Feb'12
RSA 2012: Trustworthy computing more important than ever, says Microsoft

Information security is becoming increasingly challenging rather than easier, according to Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing group
February 28, 2012 28 Feb'12
What skills will the new government CIO leadership team need?

Computer Weekly asks what qualities the next CIO leadership team will need if they are to succeed with the government’s ICT strategy.
February 28, 2012 28 Feb'12
RSA 2012: IT security industry in challenging position

A number of events over the past ten years has put the IT security industry in a challenging position, says Art Coviello, executive chairman of RSA, the Security Division of EMC.
February 27, 2012 27 Feb'12
Post Office reveals plans for identity assurance services

The Post Office is tendering for hardware and software which will enable it to be a provider of the government's Identity Assurance (IDA) services.
February 27, 2012 27 Feb'12
Food Standards Agency chooses managed IT contract

The Food Standards Agency has signed a £19m managed services deal that will see Capita supply IT services to five UK sites for five years
February 27, 2012 27 Feb'12
Government expands biometric identity scheme

The government has doubled the number of people that will be forced to hold biometric proof that they can live in the UK.
February 24, 2012 24 Feb'12
More than two-thirds of companies risk downtime, survey reveals

Most companies are risking downtime of their critical business systems in the light of recent data breaches suffered by third-party digital certificate authorities (CAs), a survey has revealed.
February 24, 2012 24 Feb'12
Shanghai iPad sales allowed to continue, for now

Sales of Apple's iPad will be allowed to continue in Shanghai, at least until a High Court rules in a dispute between Apple and electronics firm Proview Technology.
February 24, 2012 24 Feb'12
White House unveils a 'bill of rights' for web users

The White House has unveiled a bill of rights for web users, calling for stronger privacy protections to ensure the internet remains "an engine for innovation and economic growth".
February 23, 2012 23 Feb'12
CIO priorities 2012: Chris Price, CIO, West Midlands Police

Chris Price, CIO of West Midlands Police, talks about his IT challenges for 2012.
February 23, 2012 23 Feb'12
Cloudstore succeeds in easing bidding process for suppliers

The government announcement of the launch of its CloudStore has been welcomed by suppliers
February 23, 2012 23 Feb'12
Wakefield council slashes costs with flexible working technology

Wakefield Council expects to save £1m in property costs and a further £100,000 per year in telephony expenditure through technology deployments which will promote flexible working.
February 23, 2012 23 Feb'12
OSSIM update enables cyber threat intelligence sharing

The latest update to the Open Source Security Information Management (OSSIM) base system includes a mechanism for sharing cyber threat intelligence.
February 23, 2012 23 Feb'12
Interview: Ian Watmore, Cabinet Office permanent secretary

Ian Watmore was the first ever government CIO in 2004. Now he oversees government IT policy as the top Cabinet Office civil servant.
February 23, 2012 23 Feb'12
Pirate Bay looks to overcome potential High Court ban

Controversial file-sharing site The Pirate Bay has vowed to go underground in the face of a potential UK ban after the High Court ruled the site illegally encourages users to infringe music copyright.
February 22, 2012 22 Feb'12
Health apps will be key to NHS Information Strategy

The Department of Health is to put mobile apps at the heart of the NHS Information Strategy, says project chief Giles Wilmore.
February 22, 2012 22 Feb'12
Acta ratification stalled pending top EU court ruling

The European Commission is to refer the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement (Acta) to the European Union's top court for legal guidance.
February 22, 2012 22 Feb'12
SAP and Samsung team up to push enterprise Android

SAP and Samsung are reported to be joining forces to make mobile devices running Google's Android operating system safer to use in the corporate environment.
February 22, 2012 22 Feb'12
US to expand wireless broadband spectrum

The US government is calling for US wireless broadband spectrum to be nearly doubled in the next ten years to cope with the surge in wireless data traffic.
February 21, 2012 21 Feb'12
How will the CloudStore impact government IT?

The CloudStore could signal a new model for procuring IT, making it easier for the public sector to do business with SMEs and breaking up the traditional supplier monopoly.
February 21, 2012 21 Feb'12
CIO priorities 2012: Jos Creese, CIO, Hampshire County Council

Jos Creese, CIO at Hampshire County Council, says IT is the absolute key to reducing costs
February 21, 2012 21 Feb'12
Google bypassed IE too, says Microsoft

Microsoft has accused Google of bypassing the privacy settings of Internet Explorer users after Safari faux pas
February 21, 2012 21 Feb'12
Met Office needs 10-year supercomputer plan, but no clouds

With the UK set for the worst drought since 1976, the Met Office needs a 10-year supercomputer plan, says the Science and Technology committee
February 20, 2012 20 Feb'12
Is the ICO's focus on public sector about to change?

Is the Information Commissioner finally planning to tackle data protection failures in companies with the same vigour as in the public sector?
February 20, 2012 20 Feb'12
Ed Vaizey urged to fight new EU mobile roaming charges

A group comprising a UK mobile operator, consumer groups, trade bodies and industry associations is calling on UK communications minister Ed Vaizey to fight planned EU mobile roaming charges.
February 20, 2012 20 Feb'12
CIO priorities 2012: Ali Jaffri, ICT manager, Gallions Housing

Ali Jaffri, ICT manager at Gallions Housing, talks about the challenges of 2012.
February 19, 2012 19 Feb'12
Government launches CloudStore and names G-Cloud suppliers

The government has launched its CloudStore, a catalogue of 1,700 cloud-based, pre-approved IT services now available for the public sector to buy.
February 17, 2012 17 Feb'12
Hartlepool nuclear plant report lost on unencrypted memory stick

The UK Office for Nuclear Regulation has lost an unencrypted USB memory stick containing a safety assessment of Hartlepool’s nuclear plant
February 17, 2012 17 Feb'12
G-Cloud suppliers about to be named

Suppliers on the government’s G-Cloud framework will be named on Sunday 19 February, with the CloudStore service catalogue expected to go live in the next week.
February 16, 2012 16 Feb'12
Up to 500 CSC UK jobs at risk

Up to 500 people working on the NHS project for US IT services firm CSC could lose their jobs.
February 16, 2012 16 Feb'12
Apple and social networks under fire over iPhone privacy

Apple and social networks are under fire for distributing social media apps through Apple’s iTunes store that harvest iPhone contact data without users’ permission
February 16, 2012 16 Feb'12
Cisco wants EU to reconsider Microsoft Skype deal

Cisco is calling on European Union authorities to reconsider the unconditional approval of Microsoft’s $8.5bn acquisition of Skype.
February 15, 2012 15 Feb'12
South West One shared service venture is failing, says Somerset council leader

Somerset's council leader has publicly condemned its South West One joint venture with IBM as a failure.
February 15, 2012 15 Feb'12
Nine NHS London trusts seek electronic record system for £400m

An electronic patient record and administration system worth £400m is sought in a collaborative tender between nine NHS trusts
February 15, 2012 15 Feb'12
Competition Appeals Tribunal demands steeper cuts for landline to mobile call costs

The Competition Appeals Tribunal has called for cuts in costs for connecting landline calls to mobile phones to be phased in faster
February 14, 2012 14 Feb'12
IBM bails out struggling South West One venture with £10m loan

IBM has bailed out troubled Somerset shared services firm South West One with a £10m loan as the local authority venture starts bidding for work as an IT services company.
February 14, 2012 14 Feb'12
MoJ tenders for £3bn electronic monitoring services

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has put out a tender for an electronic monitoring (EM) service worth up to £3bn.
February 14, 2012 14 Feb'12
Infosec offers stability and mobility in 2012, survey shows

The information security profession offers stability and mobility, according to the latest Career Impact Survey by industry and certification body (ISC)².
February 14, 2012 14 Feb'12
President of European Parliament critical of Acta

After a weekend of public protests against the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement (Acta), the president of the European Parliament has added his voice to those of critcs.
February 13, 2012 13 Feb'12
Croydon Council fined £100,000 for data loss

Croydon council has been fined £100,000 for the loss of a bag containing papers about a child sex abuse victim.
February 13, 2012 13 Feb'12
Government to use cloud services from overseas

Government departments could soon have services delivered from offshore locations as part of the G-cloud initiative.
February 13, 2012 13 Feb'12
IE update top priority for Patch Tuesday

Microsoft releases nine bulletins addressing 21 vulnerabilities in its monthly Patch Tuesday security update on 14 February
February 13, 2012 13 Feb'12
Thousands of Europeans protest against Acta

Thousands of people have taken part in co-ordinated marches across Europe in protest against the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement (Acta)
February 10, 2012 10 Feb'12
Government takes on proprietary software lobby in open standards battle

The government wants to push through open standards against vested interests keen to maintain the dominance of proprietary systems.
February 10, 2012 10 Feb'12
ICO asks government to extend powers of compulsory audit

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office has submitted a business case to the government for extending the privacy watchdog’s powers to carry out compulsory audits.
February 10, 2012 10 Feb'12
US agency NOAA moves 25,000 users from RIM BlackBerry to Apple iOS

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) loses 25,000 users as US government agency NOAA moves staff to rival Apple iOS
February 10, 2012 10 Feb'12
Google launches cloud storage service Drive to rival Apple iCloud

Google is launching a cloud storage service called Drive to rival Dropbox and Apple’s iCloud
February 10, 2012 10 Feb'12
LinkedIn Q4 revenue more than doubles

Social networking site LinkedIn has reported 2011 fourth quarter revenue of $167.7m, up 105% from Q4 2010; and net income of $6.9m, an increase of 30%
February 09, 2012 09 Feb'12
Cabinet Office asks public for open standards definition

The Cabinet Office is launching a consultation to provide a definition of open standards.
February 09, 2012 09 Feb'12
US fraud investigators to examine CSC's £2.9bn NHS contract

CSC’s controversial NHS IT contract is to be examined as part of a US fraud investigation into accounting irregularities at the supplier.
February 09, 2012 09 Feb'12
ACPO announces 3 regional cybercrime units

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has announced the launch of three regional police cybercrime units at a cost of £6m.
February 09, 2012 09 Feb'12
Cisco back on acquisition trail after record quarter

Cisco Systems has reported record revenues of $11.5bn for the second fiscal quarter that ended 28 January 2012, up 11% on the year-ago quarter, and profits of $2.6bn or 47 cents a share, up 27%.
February 09, 2012 09 Feb'12
Hybrid clouds most popular with UK business, survey reveals

Hybrid clouds are the most popular cloud computing models with UK businesses, a survey has revealed.
February 08, 2012 08 Feb'12
Former security minister Pauline Neville-Jones highlights UK cyber security skills deficit

Former security minister Pauline Neville-Jones says the UK cyber security skills base is “wholly inadequate”
February 08, 2012 08 Feb'12
CSC writes off $200m from NHS IT contract

CSC, a key supplier to the troubled National Programme for IT, reported a loss of $204m relating to its NHS contracts.
February 08, 2012 08 Feb'12
CIO interview: Jan Ford, head of ICT strategy at the Ministry of Justice

Computer Weekly speaks to Jan Ford, head of ICT strategy at Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and lead on the government’s fast stream graduate IT programme, about the importance of nurturing the next generation of IT leaders in government.
February 08, 2012 08 Feb'12
Greater Manchester Police deploys two-way CMS

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has implemented a case management system from STL Technologies that has a two-way interface with the Crown Prosecution Service’s system.
February 08, 2012 08 Feb'12
Application security not a top priority for UK organisations

As operating systems become increasingly attack-resistant, cyber criminals are moving up the stack, butt relatively few UK organisations are planning application security projects.