News

IT for government and public sector

September 20, 2017 20 Sep'17
Most UK councils hit by cyber attacks

A study has revealed that most UK local authorities have suffered cyber attacks in the past year, showing local government is a key target for cyber criminals and that legacy software is a top security concern
September 20, 2017 20 Sep'17
Blockchain tests delivering results and IBM seen as leader

Businesses that have invested in trials of blockchain technology will repeat their investments
September 19, 2017 19 Sep'17
Public sector cloud use still too focused on ‘low-hanging fruit’ IT projects, finds research

Public sector cloud adoption continues to rise, but wide-scale digital transformation success remains elusive, claims Cloud Industry Forum research
September 15, 2017 15 Sep'17
HMRC builds blockchain proof of concept for UK border

HMRC‘s Mike Potter says department has built blockchain proof of concept to coordinate interventions at the border, and highlights the need for an ‘API economy’ in Whitehall

September 14, 2017 14 Sep'17
HMRC confirms Microsoft corporate vice-president Jacky Wright as new CDIO

HMRC has tasked Microsoft corporate vice-president Jacky Wright with helping the department achieve its goal of becoming one of the world's most digitally advanced tax authorities
September 14, 2017 14 Sep'17
GDS is ‘sidelined’ and government as a platform ‘is dead’, says Francis Maude

Former Cabinet Office minister cites diminishing of Government Digital Service role as he criticises civil service resistance to change
September 14, 2017 14 Sep'17
BT offers enterprise customers flexible bandwidth for peak usage

New element of BT IP Connect Global WAN service will enable businesses to dial their network capacity up and down at will
September 14, 2017 14 Sep'17
Lack of skills main barrier to civil service tech adoption

TechUK civil servants survey highlights need for skills training, common standards and working practices across departments to deliver joined-up public services
September 12, 2017 12 Sep'17
Home Office agrees back-office transformation deal

The Home Office is moving more of its back-office processes into the cloud
September 11, 2017 11 Sep'17
Martha Lane Fox warns UK is 'sleepwalking' through digital disruption

During a House of Lords debate, Martha Lane Fox claimed the UK has been “sleepwalking” through digital change and urged for more to be done to promote “digital understanding”

September 06, 2017 06 Sep'17
European Union states question copyright law proposal

European states are questioning legality of a new copyright law proposed by the EU
September 06, 2017 06 Sep'17
IoT networks a massive sales opportunity for operators, claims GSMA

Commercial initiatives around low power wide area network infrastructure will present mobile operators with a potential $1.8tn revenue opportunity over the next decade
September 05, 2017 05 Sep'17
People with non-IT backgrounds could help fill cyber security skills gap

Organisations should look to fill cyber security roles with people who are curious and have work experience rather than focusing solely on graduates
September 05, 2017 05 Sep'17
Met Police IT strategy: CCTV footage shared through Box

The Met Police digital policing strategy is taking shape under CIO Angus McCallum, and will use Box for sharing documents and CCTV footage
September 04, 2017 04 Sep'17
HMRC denies IR35 reforms to blame for public sector IT project delays and cancellations

New research from ContractorCalculator suggests contractors have left the public sector in droves since the IR35 reforms came into force, but HMRC has a different take on the situation
September 04, 2017 04 Sep'17
Women still under-represented in Nordic IT despite region’s efforts

Although countries in the Nordic region are often hailed as pioneers of digital and equal worker rights, there is still gender inequality in the IT sector.
September 04, 2017 04 Sep'17
Government launches FTTP pilot for businesses, schools and hospitals

The government has released £10m to six FTTP trial projects around the UK, testing ultrafast broadband technology in businesses, schools and hospitals
August 29, 2017 29 Aug'17
Saudi Telecom Company creates cloud computing giant

The IT joint venture in Saudi Arabia will drive the digitisation of government services
August 24, 2017 24 Aug'17
UK business welcomes government post-Brexit data sharing plan

Business has welcomed government proposals for data protection to enable unhindered data sharing with the EU after Brexit
August 23, 2017 23 Aug'17
Dutch e-voting is waiting for an opportunity

Despite years of opposition and distrust in voting machines, a small Dutch initiative is aiming for a new form of e-voting
August 23, 2017 23 Aug'17
UAE telco Du pushes SaaS adoption in Middle East

The Middle East looks set to see strong growth in software as a service and IT departments need to take a different approach
August 22, 2017 22 Aug'17
Blockchain skills in high demand and jobs being swept up quickly

Job vacancies for people with blockchain skills are being filled in just seven days, on average, once they are advertised online
August 17, 2017 17 Aug'17
School leavers urged to look at cyber security apprenticeships

Cyber security apprenticeships are a good alternative to ‘clearing’ and debts, according to security certification body, Crest
August 17, 2017 17 Aug'17
World's largest’ data center planned in Norway

Norway will soon have the biggest datacenter in the world which will harness the countries rich natural resources
August 16, 2017 16 Aug'17
Huddle in trouble: Did the journey from startup to scaleup cause the UK cloud firm to lose its way?

What does the future hold for cloud collaboration firm Huddle, once a darling of the UK tech startup scene but now seemingly in need of a financial bailout?
August 16, 2017 16 Aug'17
Hackers hit Holyrood with Westminster-style brute-force attack

The Scottish parliament has been hit by a cyber attack similar to the one that struck Westminster in June
August 11, 2017 11 Aug'17
Russian cyber espionage group targeting hotel Wi-Fi

A Russian cyber espionage group is targeting hotel Wi-Fi networks to carry out malware infections and potentially steal credentials, researchers warn
August 10, 2017 10 Aug'17
China tests hack-proof quantum satellite communications

China has tested a prototype communication system that uses the principles of quantum mechanics to make it impossible for hackers to access
August 10, 2017 10 Aug'17
IT pros urged to support ‘WannaCry hero’ Marcus Hutchins

Computer experts fear chilling effect on security research over US arrest of Marcus Hutchins who halted the spread of the WannaCry ransomware
August 10, 2017 10 Aug'17
Gov.uk Verify fails to meet key business case targets

Government’s controversial online identity system has missed important milestones that formed the basis of its original 2015 business case
August 09, 2017 09 Aug'17
Over 40% of IT professionals want another general election this year

A large proportion of IT workers in the UK want another general election this year in the hope it will stave off a hard brexit
August 09, 2017 09 Aug'17
Nordic countries top digital nations ranking, but risk stalling

Nordic countries are leaders when it comes to digitisation – but they must continue to innovate to retain their position
August 08, 2017 08 Aug'17
NIS Directive plans show UK is serious about tackling cyber threats

UK government plans to implement the EU’s Network and Information Systems (NIS) Directive have been welcomed for assuring its commitment to cyber defence post-Brexit
August 04, 2017 04 Aug'17
ICO highlights challenge Slack-like tools pose to public sector FOI request compliance

The Information Commissioner’s Office outlines how the growing use of cloud-based communication channels could complicate how public sector organisations respond to Freedom of Information requests
August 03, 2017 03 Aug'17
Cyber criminals make it difficult to follow the money

Following the money is a classic technique used by law enforcement to link criminals to crimes by tracing associated financial exchanges, but that may not be easy in the case of the WannaCry attacks
August 03, 2017 03 Aug'17
Sub-postmasters allege 'bullying and intimidation' by Post Office over Horizon IT system

Campaigners have submitted initial evidence in group litigation against Post Office over controversial Horizon IT system
August 01, 2017 01 Aug'17
Why Facebook’s AI termination raises safety concerns

Revelations that researchers at Facebook had to switch off two bots that went rogue have raised questions about the safety of artificial intelligence
July 31, 2017 31 Jul'17
Parliament’s digital chief quits to become Arup CIO

Rob Greig is leaving in September for a new role in the private sector
July 26, 2017 26 Jul'17
GDS wants IT suppliers to use its GaaP products – but won’t offer service guarantees

The Government Digital Service encourages tech firms to adopt the platform services it has developed – but can’t offer any service or support guarantees
July 25, 2017 25 Jul'17
Big data means big risk, Swedish Transport Agency leak shows

The Swedish Transport Agency exposed sensitive information by transferring its databases to a third party cloud provider without following data protection procedures
July 24, 2017 24 Jul'17
IR35 reforms: IT contractor fleshes out details of potential HMRC legal challenge

Following the early-stage success of efforts to crowd-fund a legal challenge against the IR35 reforms, one of the IT contractors behind the campaign outlines details of what could happen next
July 19, 2017 19 Jul'17
Newcastle council data leak shows need for security automation

Leak of child adoption information by Newcastle City Council resulted from accidental email attachment by employee
July 17, 2017 17 Jul'17
Post Office defence in computer system legal case due this week

The Post Office will this week present its defence against allegations brought by subpostmasters in a group legal action
July 14, 2017 14 Jul'17
Defence minister opens £3m cyber security centre in Gloucester

UK minister for defence procurement has opened Lockheed Martin’s job-creating cyber security centre aimed at boosting UK cyber defence capability and skills
July 13, 2017 13 Jul'17
Encryption keys too predictable, warn security researchers

Encryption keys are not as random as most people think, which means encrypting data is often not as secure as it could be, according to security researchers
July 13, 2017 13 Jul'17
HMRC’s customs IT system may not be ready before Brexit

National Audit Office is concerned that customs declaration service will not be ready in time for the UK’s departure from the EU because significant challenges remain
July 12, 2017 12 Jul'17
MoJ electronic monitoring programme fails to achieve value for money, says NAO

National Audit Office slams severely delayed MoJ electronic tag project for series of failures, including being too ambitious, not delivering benefits and procurement shambles
July 12, 2017 12 Jul'17
UK ranked as top 10 digital economy

The UK has been ranked among the top 10 nations in terms of digital capabilities
July 11, 2017 11 Jul'17
Met Police signs £8m digital forensics deal

MASS wins seven-year contract to supply a digital forensics managed service to London’s Metropolitan Police Service
July 07, 2017 07 Jul'17
Second phase of Dubai Health Authority’s electronic records implementation to start in August 2017

Unified electronic medical record (EMR) system to be rolled to more medical facilities across Dubai