News

IT for government and public sector

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 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 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 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
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 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
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
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 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 07, 2012 07 Feb'12
More than half of government projects behind schedule

More than half of major government projects are behind schedule, according to the head of Whitehall's Major Projects Authority.
February 07, 2012 07 Feb'12
UK to take part in weekend protests against Acta

Protests against the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement (Acta) have been organised across Europe, with most set to take place on 11 February.
February 06, 2012 06 Feb'12
FBI investigates Anonymous intercept of call with Scotland Yard

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is looking into how a conference call with Scotland Yard was intercepted by a member of the activist hacking group Anonymous.
February 03, 2012 03 Feb'12
St. Helens and Knowsley NHS trust signs £1.3m storage deal

St. Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has signed a £1.3m deal with EMC as part of its five-year plan to overhaul its storage infrastructure.
February 01, 2012 01 Feb'12
Fewer than a third of UK organisations plan mobile security projects

Despite the media hype around the adoption of mobile technologies and the need to secure them, relatively few UK organisations are planning mobile security projects, a survey has revealed
January 30, 2012 30 Jan'12
Oracle and SAP worst for government ERP cost differences

Oracle and SAP have been singled out as having the most inconsistent prices for ERP systems across government departments.
January 30, 2012 30 Jan'12
ICO fines Midlothian Council £140K for data breaches

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has imposed its highest penalty yet of £140,000 on Midlothian Council for breaching personal data
January 30, 2012 30 Jan'12
MEP quits as thousands protest ACTA signing

A European MP has resigned after thousands of people in Poland protested against the international anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA)
January 25, 2012 25 Jan'12
EC publishes proposed data protection reforms

European Justice Commissioner, Viviane Reding, has unveiled the new European data privacy framework that includes new regulation.
January 23, 2012 23 Jan'12
Advocacy group La Quadrature du Net rallies opposition to ACTA

As controversial anti-piracy legislation stalls in the US, a European group of free internet supporters, La Quadrature du Net, calls for a halt to similar legislation in the European Union.
January 16, 2012 16 Jan'12
NHS Trust saves £1m a year with text reminder service

Barts Hospital and the London Hospital NHS Trust have saved nearly £1m a year with an automatic appointment reminder text service.
January 16, 2012 16 Jan'12
Apple aims to improve working conditions for technology workforce

Apple has published a list of all suppliers for the first time and says it will allow independent observers into its facilities around the world to monitor working conditions.
January 16, 2012 16 Jan'12
Rupert Murdoch attacks Barack Obama over online piracy legislation

News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch has accused Barack Obama's administration of siding with "Silicon Valley paymasters" as two anti-piracy bills go through US Congress.
January 13, 2012 13 Jan'12
NHS Trust to appeal £375k data loss penalty

An NHS Trust is to appeal against a proposed monetary penalty of £375,000 after after patient records were stolen from a hospital and sold on eBay.
January 11, 2012 11 Jan'12
ICT curriculum for GCSE is scrapped

The government is to scrap the teaching of GCSE ICT in schools this September, with plans to replace the subject with the “rigorous” teaching of computer science and programming subjects.
January 10, 2012 10 Jan'12
Healthcare IT is a beneficial force, say doctors

IT in the NHS has had a bad press in recent years as a result of the problems associated with the now defunct £12bn NHS National Programme for IT, but most doctors in England believe IT improves patient care.
January 10, 2012 10 Jan'12
Accenture bolsters public sector skills

Services giant Accenture has recruited two former civil servants to its ranks to boost its UK and global public sector services capabilities.
January 09, 2012 09 Jan'12
Olympics resale site still offline after two days

The Olympics tickets resale site has been offline for more than two days, after tens of thousands of people clamoured online buy unwanted tickets on 6 January.
January 06, 2012 06 Jan'12
Ramnit worm steals 45,000 Facebook passwords

A computer worm has begun targeting Facebook accounts and has stolen at least 45,000 login credentials from users, say security researchers.
January 03, 2012 03 Jan'12
British Waterways Scotland signs £2.3m ICT deal

British Waterways Scotland has signed a £2.3m deal with business technology company Amor Group to develop its ICT systems.
January 03, 2012 03 Jan'12
Hacktivists plan to use satellites to by-pass internet censorship

Hacker activists plan to launch communication satellites to overcome the threat of internet censorship.
December 23, 2011 23 Dec'11
Top 10 SME IT stories of 2011

For small businesses, 2011 has been another tough year, with many continuing to batten down the hatches as the economy continues to stall. But at the same time it has also been a year of technological innovation, both in terms of SMEs using the ...
December 20, 2011 20 Dec'11
Atos to provide £8m GP data mining system

IT services company Atos has won an £8m five-year contract to provide a computer system which will retrieve patient information across GP practices.
December 15, 2011 15 Dec'11
How HP played a key role in RAF air crew support in Libya

The Ministry of Defence has praised HP over its Advanced Mission Planning Aid system, most recently used to support air crew in Libya.
December 14, 2011 14 Dec'11
DWP seeks £200m identity assurance framework

The Department for Work and Pensions has issued a contract notice for a £200m framework agreement to provide identity assurance services for 21 million people on benefits
December 13, 2011 13 Dec'11
CIOs believe cloud, SaaS, consumerisation and mobility increase risk

Business models such as cloud computing and trends such as the consumerisation of IT, social media and mobility are exposing performance blind spots in IT management, a CIO survey has revealed.
December 12, 2011 12 Dec'11
Cloud leaves many firewalls wanting – but could automation prove the silver bullet?

Most companies rely on firewalls, but the IT landscape is changing and so must approaches to security. Is there a silver bullet?
December 09, 2011 09 Dec'11
Martha Lane Fox launches Government Digital Service

The launch of the Government Digital Service will “fundamentally transform the lives of millions,” says digital champion Martha Lane Fox.
December 08, 2011 08 Dec'11
Adobe to release out-of-cycle patch for latest vulnerability

Adobe has issued a security advisory about a newly discovered and still unpatched vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat which is being used in "limited, targeted attacks in the wild".
December 08, 2011 08 Dec'11
UKtech50: Meet Mike Lynch, the most influential person in UK IT

Mike Lynch, voted as the most influential person in UK IT, doesn’t like to think about challenges, but about opportunities.
December 07, 2011 07 Dec'11
Government extends G-Cloud deadline

The government has extended its G-Cloud deadline following the application of more than 500 businesses to its framework.
December 05, 2011 05 Dec'11
One in four IT security staff abuse admin rights, survey shows

At least one in four IT security staff use their privileged login rights to look at confidential information, a survey has revealed.
December 05, 2011 05 Dec'11
SAP buys SaaS firm SuccessFactors in $3.4bn deal

Enterprise software company SAP announces a $3.4bn deal to acquire software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider SuccessFactors.
November 30, 2011 30 Nov'11
Essex County Council invests £15m in IT to cut costs

Essex County Council is pumping £15m into an IT infrastructure upgrade expected to create efficiency savings of £7m per year, says CIO David Wilde.
November 30, 2011 30 Nov'11
United Nations Development Programme investigates hacking claims

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is investigating claims from hacker group Team Poison that it extracted over 100 e-mail addresses and login details belonging to UN staff.
November 29, 2011 29 Nov'11
Framework accelerates safety-critical defence systems development

Manufacturers and academics are collaborating in a 3.5 million project to create a software modelling framework that will speed up the development and certification of safety-critical systems used in aerospace and defence.
November 23, 2011 23 Nov'11
Government mutual will be a beacon for IT procurement

The pension administration mutual being set up by the government will be the first of a wave of new business models that could shake-up central government outsourcing contracts.
November 21, 2011 21 Nov'11
Government opens its procurement heart to IT suppliers

The government has promised more openness with suppliers and published its first forward-looking pipeline of business, with £25.9bn of IT projects.
November 18, 2011 18 Nov'11
Olympic volunteers to use virtual communication

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Locog) is to deploy virtual meeting rooms to enable its 6,000 staff and volunteers to communicate during the Olympics.
November 18, 2011 18 Nov'11
MIT scientists take a step closer to artificial intelligence

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed an analogue silicon chip with 400 transistors that emulates the activity of a brain synapse in the first step to building truly intelligent systems.