News

IT for government and public sector

• February 28, 2023 28 Feb'23

  Post Office’s most senior executives hushed up Horizon errors, public inquiry told

  The Post Office messaging strategy was designed to reassure staff that the Horizon accounting system was robust after Computer Weekly first revealed problems in 2009

• February 28, 2023 28 Feb'23

  Government announces national fintech hub

  The UK Treasury has announced a centre for fintech innovation, two years after a major report recommended one

• February 27, 2023 27 Feb'23

  Scotland launches data strategy for health and social care

  The five-year strategy aims to make it easier for people to access their own health and social care data, improve data flows between organisations, and transform the way data is used to enhance services

• February 24, 2023 24 Feb'23

  UK police have ‘culture of retention’ around biometric data

  A culture of retention around biometric data in UK policing is damaging public trust, says UK biometrics commissioner, who is calling for clear regulation to govern police use of biometric technologies

• February 24, 2023 24 Feb'23

  HMCTS Common Platform roll-out put ‘avoidable pressure’ on courts

  The digital case management system was rolled out without adequate assurance it was robust enough to be deployed, and is having a ‘detrimental impact on courts’, the National Audit Office has found

• February 23, 2023 23 Feb'23

  WithSecure proposes ‘undo’ button for ransomware

  WithSecure’s Activity Monitor technology supposedly overcomes the shortcomings of sandbox test environments, and may be able to stop ransomware attacks from ever happening

• February 22, 2023 22 Feb'23

  UK HSE to launch regulatory sandbox for industrial safety tech

  The sandbox will see the regulator work with industry and tech startups to accelerate the development and adoption of a range of safety-related technologies, with a particular emphasis on data and analytics

• February 22, 2023 22 Feb'23

  Tony Blair and William Hague call for a remade strategic state to stoke UK innovation

  Former Labour prime minister and former Conservative Party leader argue for a remaking of the British state to capitalise on artificial intelligence, biotech and climate tech, and reverse the country’s decline

• February 22, 2023 22 Feb'23

  UK forces lead live-fire cyber war exercise

  The seven-day Defence Cyber Marvel 2 exercise put cyber responders from 11 countries through their paces

• February 22, 2023 22 Feb'23

  Researchers find new bug ‘class’ in Apple devices

  A group of vulnerabilities in Apple products that stem from the ForcedEntry exploit used by spyware firm NSO constitutes a whole new class of bug, say researchers at Trellix

• February 22, 2023 22 Feb'23

  Dutch cyber security professionals experience stress akin to soldiers in war zone, claims expert

  Cyber attacks are taking a heavy toll on Dutch IT professionals, with over a third reporting that their mental health suffers as a result

• February 22, 2023 22 Feb'23

  Half of cyber leaders to switch jobs by 2025, citing stress

  A substantial number of cyber security leaders are plotting their great escape, saying the industry is leaving them too stressed to go on, according to a study

• February 22, 2023 22 Feb'23

  Institute for Government cautions government to draw right lessons from pandemic

  The Institute for Government has published a policy document warning government not to draw wrong lessons from data sharing during pandemic

• February 21, 2023 21 Feb'23

  US government Strike Force aims to prevent adversaries from accessing disruptive tech

  The US Strike Force law enforcement initiative will target rogue nation-states that pose a national security threat

• February 21, 2023 21 Feb'23

  HMRC slammed for ‘needlessly’ pursuing CEST-assured outside-IR35 contractor

  HMRC stands accused of needlessly drawing out an IR35-related investigation into an engineering contractor’s tax affairs by ignoring the findings of its own Check Employment Status for Tax tool

• February 16, 2023 16 Feb'23

  Mock crime prediction tool profiles MEPs as potential criminals

  Developed by Fair Trials, the example crime prediction tool uses the same information as police systems to assess the likelihood of someone committing a crime in the future

• February 15, 2023 15 Feb'23

  Home Office partners with BAE Systems on border analytics

  BAE Systems wins three-year contract worth £38m to help Home Office develop Cerberus, a project to secure UK borders through advanced data systems and analytics

• February 15, 2023 15 Feb'23

  Multi-purpose malwares can use more than 20 MITRE ATT&CK TTPs

  Report warns of the development of increasingly sophisticated, multi-purpose malwares, and calls on defenders to play close attention to the MITRE ATT&CK framework to ward them off

• February 15, 2023 15 Feb'23

  Microsoft fixes three zero-days in February update

  February’s Patch Tuesday update contains fixes for three previously unpublicised zero-days in Microsoft Office, Windows Graphics Component and Windows Common Log File System Driver

• February 14, 2023 14 Feb'23

  Vidar, nJRAT re-emerge as prominent malware threats in January

  Trojans and infostealers once again dominate the list of most commonly observed threats, according to Check Point’s latest telemetry

• February 14, 2023 14 Feb'23

  ‘Buy now, pay later’ crackdown in the making

  The finance regulator has proposed bringing ‘buy now, pay later’ providers within its regulatory remit

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Russian spear phishing campaign escalates efforts toward critical UK, US and European targets

  Russian hacking group Seaborgium refines its tactics in a continuation of attacks against targets including not-for-profit organisations with geopolitical affiliations

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  KPMG launches metaverse and digital twin hub in Saudi Arabia

  The Saudi Arabian government’s commitment to investing in metaverse technology has attracted a KPMG centre of excellence to its shores

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Investigatory Powers Act: Home Office proposes rethink of safeguards on bulk data collection

  David Anderson KC will review the safeguards on intelligence service and police use of bulk datasets following a Home Office assessment that they are 'disproportionate'.

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Security buyers lack insight into threats, attackers, report finds

  The majority of cyber security purchasing decisions are made without proper insight into the attackers organisations are facing, according to a Mandiant report

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Killnet DDoS attacks disrupt Nato websites

  A series of distributed denial of service attacks on various public websites belonging to the Nato alliance were largely repelled but some resources remain unavailable

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Police tech needs clear legal rules, says biometrics regulator

  Police use of artificial intelligence and facial recognition needs to be controlled by strict rules and mechanisms to ensure public trust

• February 13, 2023 13 Feb'23

  Northern Ireland integrated care record set to go live in November

  South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust will be the first in Northern Ireland to deploy the Encompass integrated care record system, followed by a phased roll-out to other trusts

• February 10, 2023 10 Feb'23

  Committee launches digital exclusion inquiry

  The Lords Communications Committee has launched an inquiry to investigate how the UK can tackle digital exclusion during the cost-of-living crisis

• February 09, 2023 09 Feb'23

  New Border Force unit to deploy more surveillance tech in Channel

  Newly established Small Boats Operational Command (SBOC) will deploy a range of surveillance technologies in the English Channel in an attempt to deter crossings

• February 08, 2023 08 Feb'23

  Russian hacking group Seaborgium targets SNP MP Stewart McDonald

  Scottish National Party MP Stewart McDonald says his personal emails have been hacked by a group linked to the Russian state in a targeted phishing attack

• February 07, 2023 07 Feb'23

  UK government sets up dedicated department for science and technology

  For the first time, the UK has a Cabinet-level role responsible for all science and technology policy, as part of prime minister Rishi Sunak’s departmental reshuffle

• February 07, 2023 07 Feb'23

  ‘Profound’ digital pound decision faces policymakers

  The UK Treasury has launched a consultation paper to help lay the foundations for a ‘profound decision’ over a digital currency

• February 06, 2023 06 Feb'23

  Cops make arrests and seize drugs after hacking Exclu encrypted messaging app

  Police in the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland raided 80 addresses after covertly intercepting messages from the Exclu encrypted messaging app

• February 06, 2023 06 Feb'23

  MoD needs to transform to succeed with digital strategy, says PAC

  A Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report says the department is ‘not well setup’ to effectively implement its digital change, and calls for both a cultural and organisational shift at the Ministry of Defence (MoD)

• February 06, 2023 06 Feb'23

  The Security Interviews: How to overcome data protection compliance challenges

  Complying with the vast swathe of data protection legislation around the world is complex, especially for smaller organisations without the necessary expertise. Could the compliance process be simplified, and if so, how?

• February 03, 2023 03 Feb'23

  UK seeks head of quantum office

  A vacancy on the civil service jobs site suggests the UK’s new quantum strategy is about to be rolled out – and there’s going to be a new chief

• February 02, 2023 02 Feb'23

  Goodbye NHS Digital – a new era of NHS technology is upon us

  As NHS Digital is officially merged into NHS England, Computer Weekly takes a look at the history of the organisation and what the merger could mean for the future of NHS IT

• February 02, 2023 02 Feb'23

  Government plans to catch tax fraudsters with help of AI

  Cabinet Office signs a deal with data analytics company Quantexa, aiming to use data and artificial intelligence to tackle public sector fraud

• February 02, 2023 02 Feb'23

  UK government announces plans to protect consumers through cryptoasset regulation

  UK government wants feedback on its plans to regulate organisations operating in the cryptoasset sector

• February 01, 2023 01 Feb'23

  NCSC for Startups inducts four companies into programme

  Four more startups are set to join the NCSC accelerator, which helps the UK government develop technology and approaches to pressing cyber security challenges

• February 01, 2023 01 Feb'23

  Cloud security top risk to enterprises in 2023, says study

  A PwC study finds senior executives expect cyber attacks on cloud services to increase significantly this year

• February 01, 2023 01 Feb'23

  Innovative Technology deploys age estimation tech in shops and pubs

  A company involved in Home Office-led trials of biometric age estimation technologies has begun rolling out its hardware to UK shops and pubs so they can use its facial recognition algorithm to assure customers’ ages

• February 01, 2023 01 Feb'23

  UK Cyber Council and ISACA launch audit, assurance programme

  The UK Cyber Security Council has teamed up with ISACA to partner on a new audit and assurance programme for security pros

• January 31, 2023 31 Jan'23

  Tech Nation to shutter after more than a decade

  Tech Nation due to shutter after losing core funding to Barclays Eagle Labs, which will take over its role in supporting UK technology startups and scaleups

• January 31, 2023 31 Jan'23

  MI5 unlawfully collected and held millions of people’s data

  Secretive court finds MI5 knowingly acted unlawfully in use of bulk surveillance warrants, and the Home Office continued granting warrants despite information the agency was operating outside the law

• January 31, 2023 31 Jan'23

  MPs warned of AI arms race to the bottom

  Expert tells Parliamentary committee that tech companies developing artificial intelligence are cutting corners and placing safety on the backburner, opening up ‘enormous risks’ for the future of AI

• January 31, 2023 31 Jan'23

  ATO renews major Macquarie deal

  The contract renewal will enable the Australian Tax Office to tap Macquarie’s security operations centre, among other services, to secure its IT environment and protect sensitive data

• January 31, 2023 31 Jan'23

  Mark Logan on his vision for a Scottish technology ecosystem

  The Scottish Government’s entrepreneur advisor speaks to Computer Weekly about the philosophy behind an ambitious technology ecosystem strategy

• January 30, 2023 30 Jan'23

  Tiger’s hybrid cloud storage targets medical imaging

  Tiger Bridge targets vertical sectors that find it hard to migrate to the cloud by allowing data storage in the cloud while using files locally as if stored on-premise