News

IT for government and public sector

• February 21, 2024 21 Feb'24

  CVE volumes set to increase 25% this year

  The number of reported Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures is likely to grow significantly in 2024, hitting a new high of almost 35,000, according to Coalition, a cyber insurance specialist

• February 21, 2024 21 Feb'24

  Assange created a ‘grave and immediate risk’, says US government, as it seeks extradition

  Lawyers for the US government hit back at claims that extraditing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is politically motivated

• February 21, 2024 21 Feb'24

  Unisys investigating potential involvement in controversial Post Office system

  IT supplier wants to get to the bottom of its role in the distribution of the Post Office’s controversial Capture software, linked to potential wrongful convictions

• February 20, 2024 20 Feb'24

  Birmingham City Council needs a further £45m to fix ‘disastrous’ Oracle system

  Birmingham City Council’s ERP system is failing to deliver an accurate ledger, which means finance staff have spent months manually entering cost centre data

• February 20, 2024 20 Feb'24

  US extradition of Julian Assange is ‘state retaliation’ for exposing war crimes, court hears

  Lawyers argue that the US extradition case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is politically motivated and in is breach of the UK-US extradition treaty

• February 20, 2024 20 Feb'24

  Government agrees law to protect confidential journalistic material from state hacking

  The government will update Investigatory Powers Act to require secret intelligence agencies to seek independent approval before accessing confidential journalistic material obtained by bulk hacking, but journalists remain vulnerable to other bulk ...

• February 19, 2024 19 Feb'24

  UK government launches tech talent campaign

  The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is encouraging people to sign up to digital skills bootcamps as government-funded research reveals huge demand for entry-level and junior tech talent

• February 19, 2024 19 Feb'24

  Controversial Post Office Capture system was developed in-house

  Second controversial Post Office system was the work of developers in its own IT operation

• February 16, 2024 16 Feb'24

  Poor data and IT hamper cross-government working, PAC report finds

  Report cites inadequate data, poor IT systems and departmental silos as major barriers to cross-government working, and calls on government to do better

• February 16, 2024 16 Feb'24

  Government awards £10m to medtech developers

  The government has awarded £10m to eight technology companies to create innovative medical devices and bring them to market

• February 16, 2024 16 Feb'24

  Post Office IT insider and the software decision that lit the Horizon scandal

  As the Post Office replaces its controversial Horizon software, a former Post Office IT executive describes disastrous mistakes of the past

• February 15, 2024 15 Feb'24

  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces last appeal against ‘political’ extradition

  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seeking leave to appeal against extradition to the US in a case that could have chilling implications for journalists reporting on national security

• February 14, 2024 14 Feb'24

  Dutch Supreme Court approves use of EncroChat evidence

  Defence lawyers plan appeal to European Court of Human Rights after Supreme Court upholds a conviction based on intercepted messages from the EncroChat encrypted phone network

• February 14, 2024 14 Feb'24

  Met Police to scrap and replace ‘racist’ Gangs Violence Matrix

  A database used by the Metropolitan Police to identify and track people linked with gang violence is being decommissioned and replaced. The decision follows a long-running controversy over its discriminatory impacts on young black people, but ...

• February 14, 2024 14 Feb'24

  Microsoft patches two zero-days for Valentine’s Day

  Two security feature bypasses impacting Microsoft SmartScreen are on the February Patch Tuesday docket, among more than 70 issues

• February 14, 2024 14 Feb'24

  Security experts: Investigatory powers plans will delay security updates

  Cyber security experts warn that government proposals to amend the Investigatory Powers Act will limit tech companies’ ability to respond to security threats and could hamper the use of end-to-end encryption

• February 14, 2024 14 Feb'24

  Post Office CEO refused to meet government minister without her lawyer after 2015 Horizon report

  Post Office statements on the Horizon system, whether to journalists or the government, were routinely carefully crafted by lawyers

• February 13, 2024 13 Feb'24

  Hunter-killer malware volumes seen surging

  Latest Picus Security report on malware tactics, techniques and procedures reveals an increasing focus on disabling security defences

• February 13, 2024 13 Feb'24

  DSIT pumps £100m into biotech projects

  The funding will be given to six engineering biology mission hubs, aiming to pioneer new technologies and address global challenges

• February 13, 2024 13 Feb'24

  NHS England awards £1m for wireless tech trials

  The funding is split between seven trusts, which will be running wireless technology pilots aimed at improving patient care and improving connectivity

• February 12, 2024 12 Feb'24

  More than 1,000 subpostmasters could have used second faulty Post Office system

  More than 1,000 subpostmasters could have used a previous faulty computer system in their branches as more people come forward with information following Post Office scandal TV drama

• February 09, 2024 09 Feb'24

  Amazon defends facial-recognition tech sale to FBI despite moratorium

  The FBI has confirmed it is using Amazon’s Rekognition image and video analysis software, but Amazon says it is ‘false’ to suggest this violates the company’s self-imposed moratorium on selling facial-recognition technology to US police

• February 09, 2024 09 Feb'24

  MoD ethical hacking programme expands after initial success

  The Ministry of Defence has expanded the scope of its defensive security partnership with HackerOne

• February 09, 2024 09 Feb'24

  Europe carves out niche in quantum computing

  As the US, China and Europe accelerate investment in quantum computing, Europe is beginning to develop its own unique position in the fledgling global ecosystem

• February 08, 2024 08 Feb'24

  Why open data is needed in the battle to address homelessness

  Centrepoint needed to send FOIs to more than 300 local authorities in England to access required information

• February 08, 2024 08 Feb'24

  Executive alleged to be behind EncroChat encrypted phone network arrested

  A businessman allegedly behind EncroChat, an encrypted phone network that was used by organised crime groups, has been extradited from the Dominican Republic to France

• February 08, 2024 08 Feb'24

  University Hospital of Wales launches digital cardiology test requests

  The Cardiff-based hospital is switching from a paper-based system to a digital service, which is integrated into the Welsh Clinical Portal

• February 07, 2024 07 Feb'24

  NCSC warns CNI operators over ‘living-off-the-land’ attacks

  Malicious, state-backed actors may well be lurking in the UK’s most critical networks right now, and their operators may not even know until it is too late, warn the NCSC and its partners

• February 07, 2024 07 Feb'24

  Dozens of surveillance companies are supplying spyware to governments, says Google

  Google’s Threat Analysis Group has identified 40 companies involved in selling and supplying security exploits and spyware services to governments

• February 07, 2024 07 Feb'24

  The challenges of open source in government

  Public sector bodies may find their policy decisions are stymied due to the inflexibility of the software they deploy. Is open source the answer?

• February 07, 2024 07 Feb'24

  Government reaffirms commitment to hold off on AI laws

  The UK government reaffirming its commitment hold off on artificial intelligence legislation has been received positively by industry for balancing innovation and safety

• February 07, 2024 07 Feb'24

  Government funds two semiconductor centres

  So-called information knowledge centres in Bristol and Southampton are each receiving £11m

• February 06, 2024 06 Feb'24

  UK’s McPartland Cyber Review to probe trust in technology

  The UK government has launched a cyber security review that will investigate how best to give businesses the confidence they need to use new technologies

• February 06, 2024 06 Feb'24

  UK government responds to AI whitepaper consultation

  The UK government is considering introducing binding legal requirements for companies developing the most powerful AI systems, and has outlined a range of funding to realise the ambitions of its ‘pro-innovation’ framework for artificial intelligence

• February 06, 2024 06 Feb'24

  Inquiry to explore cyber risk to Sunak-Starmer showdown

  The UK’s Joint Committee on National Security Strategy is opening an inquiry into securing the democratic process ahead of the next general election

• February 06, 2024 06 Feb'24

  UK and France push for international agreement on spyware

  The UK and France are hosting diplomats, big tech companies and civil society groups, in a two-day conference in London targeting the proliferation of spyware tools and ‘hackers for hire’

• February 06, 2024 06 Feb'24

  Post Office scandal: Phase four’s rogues’ gallery

  Phase four of the public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal revealed ‘a parade of liars, bullies, amnesiacs and arrogant individuals’ that made up the teams investigating and prosecuting subpostmasters

• February 05, 2024 05 Feb'24

  Blackbaud blasted for failing to prevent customer breaches

  A supply chain attack at software supplier Blackbaud in 2020 saw data on multiple UK organisations compromised. The US authorities are now taking steps to ensure it can’t happen again

• February 05, 2024 05 Feb'24

  US sanctions Iranians behind CNI cyber attacks

  US government issues new sanctions against six Iranians suspected of being behind a series of cyber attacks targeting critical national infrastructure, notably water supply systems

• February 05, 2024 05 Feb'24

  UK quantum initiatives get funding boost

  Government funds new initiatives to drive quantum computing opportunities across the public sector

• February 02, 2024 02 Feb'24

  ‘People are now listening,' Post Office inquiry told as latest phase ends

  The latest phase of the public inquiry into the widest miscarriage of justice in modern UK history – the Post Office Horizon IT scandal – closes with a bang

• February 01, 2024 01 Feb'24

  UK ranks third in OECD Digital Government Index

  The UK has dropped from overall second to third place in the international digital government survey, but fails to feature in the top 10 countries when it comes to having a data-driven public sector

• February 01, 2024 01 Feb'24

  Defra legacy IT: 180 applications refreshed, over 1,500 remain

  The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has a 10-year plan to update technology. So far, 180 have been replaced or updated

• February 01, 2024 01 Feb'24

  UK government signs AI, science and innovation deals with Canada

  The agreements will see the two countries collaborate on AI compute – a development component of artificial intelligence – and work together on technology innovations such as quantum and semiconductors

• February 01, 2024 01 Feb'24

  Government ‘dragging it out’ by refusing to share knowledge of Post Office trial ‘delaying tactic’

  Subpostmasters will have to wait to find out if the government knew of the Post Office’s plan to derail group litigation order, by trying to push managing judge out

• January 30, 2024 30 Jan'24

  We need backup! Pennsylvania police data loss shows why

  Police evidence systems data was lost during ‘routine maintenance’, with human error blamed – the case clearly illustrates why data protection can’t be left to chance

• January 30, 2024 30 Jan'24

  Pre-Horizon users contacting lawyers as more Post Office IT horror stories emerge

  Lawyer says there is no reason to believe the Post Office treated unexplained shortfalls on systems prior to Horizon any differently to the way it dealt with unexplained Horizon shortfalls

• January 29, 2024 29 Jan'24

  Proposed changes to investment thresholds highlights lack of funding diversity

  The government is introducing a law to raise the income threshold for potential angel investors, potentially making it harder for people from underrepresented groups to fund startups

• January 29, 2024 29 Jan'24

  Lords question legality of police facial recognition

  Lords committee ‘deeply concerned’ about the rapid expansion of live facial recognition by UK police, which it says is progressing without any real oversight or accountability

• January 29, 2024 29 Jan'24

  MP demands answers from government minister over second faulty Post Office IT system

  Kevan Jones MP highlighted evidence of injustices caused by a computer system used in Post Office branches prior to the introduction of the controversial Horizon system.