News

IT for government and public sector

• July 11, 2022 11 Jul'22

  Microsoft VBA macro block will return

  Microsoft provides more details about its sudden decision to rollback a landmark security policy, and reassures users it is a temporary measure

• July 08, 2022 08 Jul'22

  Ofcom publishes Online Safety Roadmap

  The roadmap sets out how the online harms regulator will approach implementing the UK’s online safety regime, and tells tech firms to start preparing for the new rules

• July 08, 2022 08 Jul'22

  Stop telling clients to pay ransomware gangs, solicitors told

  The NCSC and the ICO are calling on solicitors to help tackle the rising number of ransomware payments being made, and to stop giving erroneous advice to victims

• July 08, 2022 08 Jul'22

  Microsoft appears to reverse VBA macro-blocking

  Microsoft quietly reverses VBA macro-blocking across its Office portfolio in a move that has left security experts puzzled

• July 07, 2022 07 Jul'22

  UK government does not yet understand threat of technology to foreign policy

  Select committee chair warns government that the threat posed to global security by malign actors influencing tech standards is no ‘dystopian fantasy’

• July 07, 2022 07 Jul'22

  MI5, FBI chiefs warn of Chinese cyber espionage threat

  In a joint appearance in London, MI5 director general Ken McCallum and FBI director Chris Wray warn of the growing threat posed by the Chinese government to UK and US interests

• July 07, 2022 07 Jul'22

  UK signs ‘in principle’ data adequacy agreement with South Korea

  Bilateral adequacy agreement will allow businesses to conduct cross-border data transfers with minimal restrictions

• July 07, 2022 07 Jul'22

  Tech companies face pressure over end-to-end encryption in Online Safety Bill

  An amendment to the Online Safety Bill, currently going through Parliament, will put pressure on tech companies over end-to-end encrypted messaging services

• July 06, 2022 06 Jul'22

  ESET: Lazarus APT hit aero, defence sector with fake job ads

  ESET researchers present new findings into a series of cyber attacks on the aerospace and defence sectors by North Korea’s Lazarus crime syndicate

• July 05, 2022 05 Jul'22

  Legacy UK customs system stops accepting registration requests

  HMRC closes new applications to legacy customs system as its shutdown nears

• July 05, 2022 05 Jul'22

  Prepare for long-term cyber threat from Ukraine war, says NCSC

  The NCSC has published refreshed guidance on cyber preparedness as the war on Ukraine continues, urging organisations to pay attention to the state of their security teams

• July 05, 2022 05 Jul'22

  NCSC CEO: Why we should run towards crises to elevate cyber security

  National Cyber Security Centre CEO Lindy Cameron, the 2022 Computer Weekly UKtech50 Most Influential Person in UK IT, reflects on a career immersed in crisis management, and how she is using this to elevate cyber security standards across the country

• July 04, 2022 04 Jul'22

  MPs call for ban on Chinese surveillance camera technology

  Nearly 70 MPs have called on the government to ban Chinese camera technology that is widely used by UK government agencies despite links to human rights abuses in China

• July 04, 2022 04 Jul'22

  Government rejects Lords police tech inquiry recommendations

  The government has largely rejected the findings and recommendations of a House of Lords inquiry into police tech, which called for an overhaul of how police deploy artificial intelligence and algorithmic technologies

• July 04, 2022 04 Jul'22

  Assange appeals against Priti Patel’s extradition order

  WikiLeaks founder is expected to raise concerns over the political nature of his prosecution, the likelihood of him receiving a fair trial, and the risk of a coercive plea bargain

• June 30, 2022 30 Jun'22

  ICO to cut back on fines for public sector data breaches

  Information commissioner John Edwards sets out a revised approach to how the ICO handles data breaches in the public sector, saying fining victims risks punishing the public twice over

• June 30, 2022 30 Jun'22

  Subpostmaster campaigning forces government to set up compensation scheme and make interim payments

  Subpostmaster campaign group is a step closer to achieving what it was originally set up to do as government launches compensation scheme for its members who did not receive fair payouts

• June 30, 2022 30 Jun'22

  Independent scrutiny brought into compensation negotiations for wrongly prosecuted subpostmasters

  Former Supreme Court judge will offer his view on the valuation of compensation for wrongly convicted subpostmasters

• June 29, 2022 29 Jun'22

  Government sets NHS digital transformation plan

  The government expects to save billions of pounds and improve patient outcomes through digital transformation

• June 29, 2022 29 Jun'22

  Urgent need for new laws to govern biometrics, legal review finds

  Independent review says new framework is needed to clear up legal and ethical concerns over the use of biometric data and technologies, which can impact privacy, freedom of expression and other human rights

• June 29, 2022 29 Jun'22

  New cyber extortion op appears to have hit AMD

  Semiconductor specialist AMD has confirmed it is investigating reports that a ‘bad actor’ has stolen hundreds of gigabytes of its data

• June 28, 2022 28 Jun'22

  Digital Poverty Alliance unveils evidence review

  Evidence review into the state of digital poverty in the UK sets out policy principles and recommendations, which will be used as the basis for a national action plan to eliminate the issue

• June 28, 2022 28 Jun'22

  Russia-aligned hacktivists behind Lithuania DDoS attack

  Killnet hacktivist collective targeted Lithuania with distributed denial of service attacks after its government angered the Kremlin

• June 27, 2022 27 Jun'22

  Brexit a net negative for UK cyber, say CISOs

  Six years on from the UK’s Brexit vote, the majority of security professionals say leaving the EU has raised concerns over their ability to keep their organisations safe

• June 27, 2022 27 Jun'22

  LockBit ransomware gang launches bug bounty programme

  A bug bounty programme is among a number of features LockBit’s developers have added to ‘version 3.0’ of the ransomware

• June 24, 2022 24 Jun'22

  Black Basta ransomware crew aiming for ‘big leagues’

  Emergent Black Basta ransomware gang has hit more than 50 countries since bursting onto the scene earlier this year, says Cybereason

• June 24, 2022 24 Jun'22

  US cyber agency in fresh warning over Log4Shell risk to VMware

  Many VMware Horizon and UAG servers remain defenceless against Log4Shell, and organisations continue to fall victim to the vulnerability

• June 23, 2022 23 Jun'22

  Ukraine cyber agency enlists Radware to protect government networks

  Ukraine’s State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection is using Radware cloud DDoS protection and web application firewall services to protect the government from persistent Russian attacks

• June 23, 2022 23 Jun'22

  Non-European tech giants could be subject to EU-backed anti-greenwashing directive

  EU-backed push to tighten up the sustainability reporting processes for companies that do business in Europe gathers pace

• June 21, 2022 21 Jun'22

  Government won’t regulate on professional cyber standards

  The government has elected not to proceed with regulatory intervention to embed standards and pathways across the cyber profession

• June 21, 2022 21 Jun'22

  Post Office IT investigator to be released from confidentiality obligations for inquiry

  Forensic accounting firm that ‘knows where the bodies are buried’ will be released from confidentiality obligations by the Post Office to give evidence to public inquiry

• June 21, 2022 21 Jun'22

  CNI leaders’ attitude to ransomware lackadaisical at best

  A survey of security decision-makers in sectors regarded as critical national infrastructure reveals a disappointing attitude to ransomware threats

• June 21, 2022 21 Jun'22

  CIO interview: Mark Bramwell, CIO, Saïd Business School

  After seven years in the job, there are still fresh challenges for the IT leader, including a second digital strategy to deliver

• June 21, 2022 21 Jun'22

  New coalition lifts Finland’s 6G status

  Finland is laying the foundations for future European leadership in 6G research and development

• June 20, 2022 20 Jun'22

  Minister says compensation offer to 555 subpostmasters close

  Government minister says an announcement on subpostmaster compensation could be made within weeks

• June 17, 2022 17 Jun'22

  British businesses to recognise Google skills certificates

  Google training programmes are being made available to more people in the UK as part of an initiative from the supplier and major UK businesses

• June 17, 2022 17 Jun'22

  Government responds to Data Reform Bill consultation

  Westminster claims its new data laws will boost British benefits, protect consumers, and seize the ‘benefits’ of Brexit

• June 17, 2022 17 Jun'22

  MoD sets out strategy to develop military AI with private sector

  The UK Ministry of Defence has outlined its intention to work closely with the private sector to develop and deploy a range of artificial intelligence-powered technologies, committing to ‘lawful and ethical AI use’

• June 16, 2022 16 Jun'22

  Loan charge MPs want contractor adviser community to participate in latest call for evidence

  Loan Charge and Taxpayer Fairness All-Party Parliamentary Group seeks input from accountants, lawyers and tax advisers who work with contractors in-scope of the loan charge policy

• June 16, 2022 16 Jun'22

  Office 365 loophole may give ransomware an easy shot at your files

  Researchers at Proofpoint have discovered potentially dangerous Microsoft Office 365 functionality that they believe may give ransomware a clear shot at files stored on SharePoint and OneDrive

• June 15, 2022 15 Jun'22

  Patch Tuesday dogged by concerns over Microsoft vulnerability response

  The last Patch Tuesday in its current form is overshadowed by persistent concerns about how Microsoft deals with vulnerability disclosure

• June 14, 2022 14 Jun'22

  MS Azure Synapse vulnerability fixed after six-month slog

  Microsoft patched a critical Azure Synapse vulnerability twice, but each time the researcher who discovered it was able to bypass it with ease, leading to a lengthy saga

• June 14, 2022 14 Jun'22

  Government data talk to the fore at London Tech Week

  Data figured prominently in the unfolding of the government’s digital strategy at the start of London Tech Week, with privacy-enhancing technologies and anonymous health data sharing notable

• June 13, 2022 13 Jun'22

  Government recommits to UK’s cyber future in Digital Strategy

  New strategy leans heavily on cyber security but stops short of announcing any initiatives that have not already been launched or heavily trailed

• June 13, 2022 13 Jun'22

  New UK digital strategy aims to secure future growth for £150bn digital economy

  Government publishes plan that brings together existing and new initiatives intended to expand the digital sector and help to establish the UK as a ‘superpower’ in science and tech

• June 13, 2022 13 Jun'22

  New warning over tech suppliers in thrall to hostile governments

  Ukraine war could lead to shakeup of dual-use tech exports, says former UK intelligence officer

• June 13, 2022 13 Jun'22

  Health data strategy to exorcise ghosts of GPDPR

  Government publishes a revised data in health strategy, with an emphasis firmly on preserving the integrity and privacy of patients’ confidential information

• June 13, 2022 13 Jun'22

  London Mayor pledges £500,000 for city’s data economy

  At the start of London Tech Week 2022, the Mayor of London is announcing £500,000 in funding for the city’s data economy, in the form of the Data for London platform

• June 13, 2022 13 Jun'22

  What’s new about the new digital government strategy?

  There’s a new plan for improving the UK’s digital public services – and we’ve heard a lot of it before. But among all the hyperbole, there is a welcome realism in the latest approach to transforming government

• June 10, 2022 10 Jun'22

  ICO fails to disclose majority of reprimands issued under GDPR

  London law firm Mishcon de Reya forces disclosure of reprimands issued to organisations by the Information Commissioner’s Office for contraventions of UK data protection law