News

IT for government and public sector

• September 13, 2018 13 Sep'18

  Autumn Budget 2018: Guarantees sought over future funding of national quantum computing programme

  The chair of the Science and Tech Committee has written to the chancellor Philip Hammond to demand assurances that more funding for the UK's quantum computing efforts will be forthcoming in the Autumn 2018 budget

• September 13, 2018 13 Sep'18

  EU mobile roaming charges will not return post-Brexit, says Dominic Raab

  Amid fears that a no-deal Brexit could lead to the reintroduction of EU mobile roaming charges, the government has pledged to set a legislative limit on how much operators can charge

• September 13, 2018 13 Sep'18

  TechUK blasts European Parliament-backed revamp of EU-wide copyright laws

  Tech industry trade body claims the changes spell bad news for web users, after European Parliament MEPs vote in favour of plans to modernise the copyright laws for the digital age

• September 12, 2018 12 Sep'18

  NCSC issues core questions to help boards assess cyber risk

  The National Cyber Security Centre has published its first in a series of guidance for board members which highlights what businesses should be asking security teams

• September 12, 2018 12 Sep'18

  FCA warns it cannot manage financial crime risks without sharing data with EU

  FCA admits it will be unable to manage financial crime effectively if it cannot share data with EU authorities.

• September 11, 2018 11 Sep'18

  Health secretary launches digital platform for NHS staff

  Matt Hancock hopes the digital Talk Health and Care platform will encourage staff to share their ideas and views on how to make working in the NHS better

• September 11, 2018 11 Sep'18

  UK security vetting IT system failing, says NAO

  The National Audit Office is critical of the government’s project to centralise its security vetting process, as the IT system has been plagued by failures from the start and has led to serious delays

• September 10, 2018 10 Sep'18

  Can technology save our NHS?

  By the technophiles, digital is seen as the holy grail that will save our NHS, but is technology the answer, and how long will it be before we have a digital NHS?

• September 10, 2018 10 Sep'18

  Irish tax office testing out artificial intelligence for customer services

  The Irish tax office and IT supplier Accenture tries out artificial intelligence for its customer service

• September 10, 2018 10 Sep'18

  Government positive to Science and Technology Committee’s report on algorithms

  The government has issued its overwhelmingly positive response to the Science and Technology Committee’s report on the use of algorithms in decision making, published earlier this year

• September 07, 2018 07 Sep'18

  Senior civil servants address TechUK smarter state theme

  Senior government officials spoke at a TechUK “smarter state” event, revealing ambitious AI policy alongside a “back to basics” drive to get data right

• September 07, 2018 07 Sep'18

  North Korean programmer charged for WannaCry attacks

  The US has charged a member of a group of North Korean hackers linked to the WannaCry, Sony Pictures and other cyber attacks around the world

• September 06, 2018 06 Sep'18

  Health secretary Matt Hancock to boost NHS IT with £200m fund

  Matt Hancock will announce a £200m fund for further digital centres of excellence and plans to pilot the NHS app across England, but shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth calls the plans a “pipe dream”

• September 06, 2018 06 Sep'18

  All acute NHS trusts in England now using e-referrals

  NHS trusts have reached 100% uptake of NHS England’s e-referral service, ahead of October 2018 deadline

• September 05, 2018 05 Sep'18

  Government projects watchdog recommends terminating Gov.uk Verify identity project

  Infrastructure & Projects Authority says Whitehall departments are unwilling to fund flagship GDS identity programme – cancellation would mean writing off at least £130m spent so far

• September 05, 2018 05 Sep'18

  Health minister launches code of conduct for health tech data

  The code of conduct – focused around data-driven tech such as AI – aims to deepen trust between researchers, innovators, patients and clinicians, according to health minister James O’Shaughnessy

• September 05, 2018 05 Sep'18

  Nordic states collaborate in Arctic IT projects

  Nordic countries are working together to introduce advanced communications networks in the most isolated Northerly regions

• September 05, 2018 05 Sep'18

  If we don't digitise NHS, we are condemning people to die, says NHS England’s operational director

  NHS England’s national director for operations, Matthew Swindells, calls for a complete overhaul of the way the NHS delivers care, claiming the current model “is not viable”

• September 04, 2018 04 Sep'18

  Three forthcoming government services to use Gov.uk Verify

  Government Digital Service is in the process of private beta testing its identity assurance platform with three new central government services

• September 04, 2018 04 Sep'18

  UK and allies call for backdoors in encryption products

  The Five Eyes intelligence alliance is calling on tech firms to include backdoors in their encrypted products to give access to law enforcement authorities or face various measures

• September 04, 2018 04 Sep'18

  Government confirms West Midlands to become home to UK's first large-scale 5G test bed

  The government has confirmed the West Midlands will be used to carry out the UK's first large-scale test of 5G technology, with trials centred on its use in the health, construction and automotive sectors

• September 03, 2018 03 Sep'18

  Department for Transport invests £10m in digital journey planner

  Digital transport planning system will allow local authorities and utility companies to share and record data on roadworks to reduce disruption and delays for drivers

• August 31, 2018 31 Aug'18

  Met Police begins move to Microsoft Azure as cloud-first push gathers pace

  The Metropolitan Police has enlisted the help of G-Cloud supplier New Signature to support its cloud-first ambitions, as it pushes ahead with plans to migrate applications and its on-premise server capacity to Azure

• August 31, 2018 31 Aug'18

  UK partners with African countries to boost innovation

  UK government has launched partnerships in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria to help startups grow and boost technology innovation in the region

• August 30, 2018 30 Aug'18

  Nearly half of NHS staff rely on instant messaging at work

  43% of NHS staff use apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger for work purposes, and most NHS trusts have no policy discouraging the use of instant messaging, according to supplier CommonTime

• August 30, 2018 30 Aug'18

  Local councils should have a digital leader at board level, says TechUK

  Industry body calls on local councillors to have a digital-first mindset, drive transformation and ensure local authorities have digital leadership in place

• August 29, 2018 29 Aug'18

  DCMS has £95m for full-fibre in final round of LFFN scheme

  The government has announced the third and final round of the Local Full Fibre Network Challenge Fund, with £95m remaining to invest in local ultrafast broadband projects

• August 29, 2018 29 Aug'18

  Cunnington’s role as head of function for DDaT needs changing, says IfG report

  Kevin Cunnington’s role as the head of function for digital, data and technology (DDaT) should be to sit on the Civil Service Board, spread standards and provide targets for digital transformation, the think tank says

• August 29, 2018 29 Aug'18

  IT leaders at a crossroads as they grapple with digital technology

  CIOs have the opportunity to influence their company strategy as digital technology reshapes business. A survey of CIOs across 70 countries charts a path for IT leaders through emerging technologies

• August 29, 2018 29 Aug'18

  Home Office launches EU nationals registration system pilot

  EU citizens working at NHS trusts in the north-west of England – and students and staff at Liverpool’s universities – will be able to apply online for settled status in the UK post-Brexit, as part of private beta pilot

• August 28, 2018 28 Aug'18

  Challenge to anti-GDPR immigration exemption in DPA to go ahead

  Two human rights groups are challenging a controversial clause in new UK data protection legislation that they say is in conflict with the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and undermines the General Data Protection Regulation

• August 28, 2018 28 Aug'18

  Hancock appoints chief technology adviser

  Hadley Beeman will service as Matt Hancock’s chief technology adviser at the Department for Health and Social Care

• August 28, 2018 28 Aug'18

  Amnesty International backs campaign to ban killer robots

  Human rights organisation calls for legally binding international agreement to ban the development and use of autonomous weapons that operate without humans

• August 28, 2018 28 Aug'18

  Finland government to review public procurement laws

  Finland's government is putting its procurement laws under the spotlight after a major IT fraud

• August 24, 2018 24 Aug'18

  UK universities targeted by Iranian hackers

  UK universities are among those targeted by a cyber threat group associated with the Iranian government

• August 24, 2018 24 Aug'18

  Gov.uk Verify chief to leave Government Digital Service

  Nic Harrison is returning to the Department for Work and Pensions, with no replacement as leader of the identity assurance programme yet in place

• August 24, 2018 24 Aug'18

  Corbyn suggests tech tax to fund BBC

  Labour leader says big technology companies and ISPs should contribute to a fund for public interest journalism

• August 23, 2018 23 Aug'18

  Cryptographic agility is key to post-quantum security

  Although post-quantum security is not an issue for all organisations today, an expert believes that those needing to ensure data is secure for decades to come should aim to achieve cryptographic agility above all else

• August 23, 2018 23 Aug'18

  No Deal Brexit papers warn of stark future for UK tech

  The government has published the first of its No Deal Brexit contingency planning notices, containing sobering messages for the UK technology industry

• August 23, 2018 23 Aug'18

  Councils at risk from unsupported Windows Server and SQL Server

  Some local authorities are using unsupported server software, while others are not paying for extended support

• August 22, 2018 22 Aug'18

  Greater Manchester hails cloud as key to delivery of devolved health and social care in region

  Having taken back control from the government for running its own health and social care budgets, The Greater Manchester Health and Social Care (GMHSC) Partnership is now in the throes of establishing what role cloud will play in its work

• August 22, 2018 22 Aug'18

  European cloud adopters still lack basic security

  Despite outpacing the rest of the world, the majority of organisations adopting cloud in Europe, the Middle East and Africa lack basic security, a report reveals

• August 22, 2018 22 Aug'18

  Language barrier won’t hold back chatbots in the Netherlands

  The use of chatbots by Dutch organisations is on the up, with KLM's chatbot a pioneering example

• August 22, 2018 22 Aug'18

  Nearly a third of organisations still not GDPR ready

  As the UK and other states implement the EU’s GDPR, many organisations admit they are still not fully compliant, but most claim to be able to respond to data subject access requests

• August 21, 2018 21 Aug'18

  The risk of upgrading to S/4 Hana

  S/4 Hana has been touted as the evolution of SAP's long-standing ERP suite, but with just six years to upgrade, how can businesses avoid an expensive SAP flop?

• August 21, 2018 21 Aug'18

  Government departments are exploring new tech, according to GDS report

  A GDS-commissioned report has found artificial intelligence and blockchain are the most popular among emerging technologies in government, but projects are often done in silos and departments risk “reinventing the wheel”

• August 21, 2018 21 Aug'18

  Microsoft announces free election cyber defence tools

  Microsoft has revealed it recently disrupted domains associated with a Russian cyber attack group believed to be targeting US political groups ahead of the midterm elections

• August 20, 2018 20 Aug'18

  NHS trusts lose nearly 10,000 patient records a year

  Report calls for NHS trusts to work to abolish handwritten notes in hospitals to prevent loss of personal documents and to introduce a patient identity protocol

• August 20, 2018 20 Aug'18

  Job losses caused by artificial intelligence will dwarf those of Victorian revolution

  The disruption to the jobs market caused by artificial intelligence will be far greater than that caused by industrialisation in Victorian times

• August 20, 2018 20 Aug'18

  Planned Australian law raises tech firms’ security concerns

  A digital industry group representing some of the world’s largest tech firms is opposed to proposed Australian laws aimed at compelling them to help security agencies and police