IT for government and public sector

It’s time to party! Yet another government digital identity scheme is on the way

On 14 March 2021, we will mark the tenth anniversary of the official approval for the development of a single government-wide digital identity system. Save the date in your diaries. Intended to ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Green tech needed for post-Covid economic recovery

Green technology investments could help society recover from the coronavirus – and prepare it for the long-term negative social and economic outcomes of climate change Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

GDS 'under duress' - is there a row going on down near Whitechapel?

The Government Digital Service (GDS) has taken its fair share of criticism in recent years – including from Computer Weekly - and much of it justified. But there’s little doubt the team at GDS HQ ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

DWP publishes digital delivery results and cost of IT blunders

DWP released a number of updates of its digital transformation work including several initiatives relating to the Covid-19 outbreak, and reported more than £10m sunk in failed IT projects Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Why a shared channel experience will meet user needs at DWP Digital

The Department for Work and Pensions outlines the approach it is taking to developing user-focused digital services Continue Reading

By

• Cheryl Stevens, DWP Digital

Loan charge MPs denied House of Commons vote on Finance Bill policy amendments

Despite securing the support of 50 named MPs, an amendment to the forthcoming Finance Bill that could have seen thousands of people fall out of scope of the Loan Charge policy has been denied Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Cops take out encrypted comms to disrupt organised crime

The UK’s National Crime Agency, alongside other law enforcement agencies in France and the Netherlands, have busted illicit arms and drugs rings after disabling an encrypted comms platform Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Police secrecy over ‘IMSI-catcher’ mass surveillance of mobile phones

Following a tribunal ruling, constabularies in England and Wales can refuse to confirm or deny whether they use mass surveillance devices, known as IMSI-catchers to monitor people’s location, phone calls and text messages Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Civil and family courts to get video platform for remote hearings

Video platform that has been used in magistrates’ and crown courts during the coronavirus pandemic will be extended to civil and family courts Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

CMA calls on government to revamp regulations for tech giants

Competition regulator says current laws are not fit for purpose and wants a new, ‘pro-competition regulatory regime’ that the likes of Google and Facebook must abide by Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Equity in STEM education more important than ever, says Parliamentary group

All-Party Parliamentary Group on Diversity and Inclusion in STEM suggests recommendations for increasing equity in education after stating coronavirus makes diversity increasingly important Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

UK government announces Office for Talent

The Office for Talent is part of a research and development roadmap, which includes an innovation programme to accelerate innovation in government Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Lenovo, top-of-the-world Chinese supercomputer supplier, sweeps all markets

Supercomputers are not just about computing power, they are a symbol of political ambition. Chinese supercomputer supplier Lenovo is now the dominant supplier across the world Continue Reading

By

• Kevin Cahill

Australia to invest a record A$1.35bn in cyber security

The Australian government is making its largest ever investment in cyber security over the next decade to identify cyber threats, disrupt foreign cyber criminals and build new capabilities Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

HMRC and Treasury accused of ‘direct interference’ in independent loan charge review

Loan Charge All-Party Parliamentary Group report pours scorn on claims that December 2019 review of government’s disguised renumeration policy was conducted independently Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Government expands Future Fund eligibility criteria

The Future Fund will now be accessible to startups that have previously taken part in accelerator programmes, but early-stage firms continue to struggle Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

MPs urged to back Finance Bill amendments to loan charge policy

Loan Charge Action Group urges its members to ask their MPs to support an amendment to the controversial loan charge policy that could see more people fall outside its scope Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Lawyers learn of fresh US allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from press reports

The US has filed an updated indictment against Julian Assange alleging that he conspired with hacking groups to obtain information for WikiLeaks. Defence and prosecution lawyers learned about it from press reports Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

MPs to examine fairness of private prosecutions in light of Post Office IT scandal

Parliamentary Justice Committee to hold short inquiry into the rules and regulations surrounding private organisations’ ability to initiate criminal proceedings Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Lords urge government to take immediate action on online harms

Select committee calls for tech giants to be held responsible for the harm done to individuals, wider society and democratic processes through online misinformation Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

UKCloud signs MoU with CCS to provide public sector with discounted cloud pricing

Public sector-focused IaaS firm UKCloud has become the latest supplier to sign a discounted pricing deal with the UK government Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

CBI: Government must take steps to drive SME business innovation

The coronavirus pandemic has shown how much can be achieved in a short period with a strong partnership between government and industry – and this needs to continue Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

NHSX seeks evolution of digital transformation capabilities

New approaches and team structures could be tested as a result of learnings from the work around Covid-19 Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Former Post Office CEO and Fujitsu play the blame game in Horizon IT scandal

Post Office and Fujitsu blame each other for many of the failings in the Horizon IT scandal that wrecked lives Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CBI: UK needs an immigration and training rethink

For the UK to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, vast swathes of the population will need retraining – and overseas IT specialists will also be needed Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

CBI: Digital economy needs joined-up regulations and gigabit broadband

The coronavirus pandemic has shown the need for fast, reliable networking across the UK. The CBI is urging the government to do more Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

HMRC yet to begin building UK border IT system

The UK government has still not built its Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) IT system, despite the end of the Brexit transition period looming, while the Port of Dover’s head of EU exit proposes just licensing the French IT system instead Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Firm that investigated controversial Post Office IT system to support criminal conviction appeals

Second Sight is working with law firm in appeals by subpostmasters against criminal convictions in Horizon IT scandal Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IT services giant gives staff time out to volunteer for police clients

IT services company CGI responds to Met Police call by offering its staff the opportunity to take 11 days paid leave to volunteer their time Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

SoftIron aims at data too valuable for commodity storage

UK array maker hopes to be the storage provider of choice for those that really value their data, with highly optimised Ceph-powered hardware aimed at HPC users and enterprises Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Government to publish digital strategy this autumn

Strategy will set out how to increase tech-led economic growth and productivity after the Covid-19 pandemic, says digital secretary Oliver Dowden Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Immigrants’ rights campaigners take Home Office to court over visa algorithm

Campaigners claim built-in algorithmic bias makes processing of visa applications ‘discriminatory’ Continue Reading

By

• Laura Middag Alvarez

East Coast Main Line to get £350m digital signalling boost

Government accelerates the roll-out of electronic signalling, pumping £350m into a digital signalling system on the East Coast Mainline Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Care Quality Commission to discuss concerns over Paula Vennells’ NHS role

Healthcare regulator will be discussing concerns about former NHS boss chairing an NHS trust at an upcoming meeting Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Post Office Horizon scandal victims keep pressure on government’s doorstep

Subpostmasters fighting for justice in IT scandal are pressuring government on numerous fronts, as momentum is regained after reduced activity due to Covid-19 lockdown Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Technology firms come under scrutiny for ties to law enforcement

Three major technology companies have committed to not selling facial-recognition tech to law enforcement, but remain silent on how other technologies can be used to fuel racial injustice and discriminatory policing Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

AI bias and privacy issues require more than clever tech

The new AI Barometer report from the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation has assessed the threats and opportunities of artificial intelligence in the UK Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Facebook allows US users to disable political ads

Users of the social media platform will soon be able to opt out of seeing politically motivated posts Continue Reading

By

• Laura Middag Alvarez

US pulls out of talks with Europe for global digital tax

Despite the US’s resistance to an international digital services tax, the UK and other European countries plan to continue pushing for a global solution to taxing technology giants Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton , Senior reporter

Data protection watchdog calls for controls on police mobile phone stop-and-searches

Information commissioner wants new safeguards on the use of police powers to download sensitive personal data from the mobile phones of suspects and crime victims Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

EU-backed bid to build data preservation cloud for European research community gathers pace

The Archiver project, which aims to create a hybrid cloud-based data preservation environment for scientific researchers across Europe, has named the ICT suppliers in the running to deliver on its vision Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Survey finds 30% of people let down by public-sector tech during pandemic

ThoughtWorks research highlights problems around remote schooling, local government and GP services Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Nordic business is leading open banking charge in Europe

Nordic region has the right ingredients to prove open banking can benefit consumers, businesses and the economy Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Amnesty identifies most privacy-invasive Covid-19 contact-tracing apps

Bahrain’s ‘BeAware Bahrain’, Kuwait’s ‘Shlonik’ and Norway’s ‘Smittestopp’ are the most privacy-invasive contact-tracing apps, reveals Amnesty International study Continue Reading

By

• Laura Middag Alvarez

Select committee chair demands sharper teeth for review of Post Office IT scandal

Call for government review of Post Office Horizon scandal to have the power to force individuals to give evidence under oath Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NHS Digital seeks suppliers for Covid-19 testing service

The NHS Digital tender aims to find a partner to handle the development, delivery and running of the coronavirus testing service Continue Reading

Government publishes geospatial data strategy to capitalise on location data

National Geospatial Strategy will develop the country’s location data framework over the next five years Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Norway’s contact-tracing app suspended over privacy concerns

Norway has been given until 23 June to justify the location tracking of citizens who download its contract-tracing app Continue Reading

By

• Laura Middag Alvarez & Bill Goodwin

6G, European internet, censorship: EU Parliament sets out vision for digital services

Research outlines trends for the coming decade and an action plan with some controversial recommendations to inform the decisions of policymakers around the upcoming Digital Services Act. Continue Reading

UK quantum technology projects get a £70m boost

Government is funding 38 projects, one-third of which are focused on quantum computing Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Why UK needs independent oversight body for contact-tracing app

The public needs and deserves clarity, and not just assurances, over the UK’s Covid-19 contact-tracing app Continue Reading

By

• Dan Cooper  

Northern Ireland invests £1.7m in online learning

Package of online skills interventions aimed at people who have been affected by the coronavirus Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Blow to government review of Post Office scandal as key forensic accountants refuse to support it

The government’s proposed review of the Post Office IT scandal has received a further setback as forensic accountants join subpostmasters in refusing to back it Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NHS email service users ensnared in phishing attack

More than 100 accounts on the NHSmail service were affected by attack, but health service says no patient data was accessed Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK to boost data science efforts in citizen services

Government Digital Service launches Data Labs to enhance services with tools such as artificial intelligence and natural language processing Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

UN secretary general calls for global digital cooperation

Antonio Guterres launches roadmap for digital cooperation and calls for world leaders to come together to “connect, respect and protect people in the digital age” Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Subpostmasters will not cooperate with government review into IT scandal

A group of subpostmasters who suffered at the hands of the Post Office’s error-prone IT system refuse to participate in a government review into the scandal, describing it as a sham Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Tech firms respond to Nordic government calls

Nordic firms are working with tech suppliers to help them get back up and running after Covid-19 Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Government lays out future trade plan for UK tech

Measures aim to create jobs and increase technology exports, as well as encouraging international investments into the UK Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Data insights will define post-coronavirus city planning

Who would have imagined that in 2020, the majority of people would work remotely and buy online? Cities are going to have to change how they are set up Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Anger as government launches ‘pathetic’ and ‘pointless’ review of Horizon scandal

The government has been accused of launching a review that fails in getting to the bottom of one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in UK history Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IBM divests from facial-recognition market

IBM’s CEO writes to US congress about decision to stop using and selling facial-recognition technology, and says we should re-evaluate whether it should be sold to law enforcement agencies Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

UK tech professionals feel impact of lockdown easing

Mental health concerns increase, with a possible negative effect on the quality of work, as companies get ready to return to the office, study shows Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

CogX 2020: Matt Hancock on tech during Covid-19

Health secretary Matt Hancock says technology companies have been vital in dealing with the pandemic, and praises UK for testing more people “than almost anywhere in the world.” Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

CogX 2020: Rethinking technological innovation

Innovation processes and relationships must be fundamentally restructured to bring in more stakeholders, and spread the benefits of technological change as far as possible Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Virtual GP practice accidentally exposes patient video calls

A small number of users of Babylon’s GP at Hand service were briefly able to view other patients’ video GP consultations thanks to a bug in a new software feature Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

6G, European internet, censorship: EU Parliament sets out vision for digital services

Research outlines trends for the coming decade and an action plan with some controversial recommendations to inform the decisions of policymakers around the upcoming Digital Services Act Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Meet the Identity and Attributes Exchange – GDS’s future for digital identity after Verify

As the Government Digital Service (GDS) prepares for the winding down of its Gov.uk Verify service, its future plans for digital identity are becoming a little clearer. In recent weeks, GDS has ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Covid-19 global co-ordination is off the mark, Tony Blair tells CogX

Former UK prime minister, now head of a global institute that advises governments, tells CogX attendees that global co-ordination to combat Covid-19 is far from where it needs to be Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Government publishes artificial intelligence procurement guidance

A document has been published outlining the challenges for public sector buyers as well as best practices on procuring AI technology Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Select committees to continue with Zoom virtual meetings until September

Although MPs have returned to Parliament, House of Commons select committees will continue with virtual meetings until 17 September Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

NHS Covid-19 datastore contracts published under pressure from privacy groups

The government has published the contracts with Palantir, Faculty, Microsoft and Google for the controversial NHS datastore ahead of court proceedings initiated by civil liberties organisation OpenDemocracy Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Police chiefs working with Public Health England on contact-tracing security

Police force representatives are in talks with Public Health England over operational security concerns arising from the NHS Test and Trace coronavirus contact-tracing scheme Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

London Tech Week to go ahead through Zoom

London Tech week will go ahead next week, with the tech industry attending through Zoom Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Ministry of Defence forms new cyber security regiment

The 13th Signal Regiment brings together personnel from across the armed forces to provide specialist security services Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch organisations invest heavily in compliance – but in vain

Despite the fact that companies in the Netherlands have invested heavily to comply with GDPR legislation introduced two years ago, 90% of them are still discovering fundamental weaknesses in their IT environment Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Government evades being pinned to a date for online harms legislation

MPs challenge government on online harms bill timetable, but have to settle for “clear assurances” that it will brought to parliament before the end of the session Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

OVHcloud brings healthcare-focused private cloud offering to UK market

French infrastructure-as-a-service provider OVHcloud is making its sector-specific portfolio of private cloud and bare metal services available to UK-based healthcare providers Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

MPs' investigation into Post Office Horizon IT scandal bares teeth

Select committee chair writes to former Post Office CEO demanding answers over her role in IT scandal Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security procurement framework goes live for NHS and public sector

Cyber Security Services Framework, developed by NHS Shared Business Services, has formally launched Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CCRC sends 47 subpostmaster miscarriages of justice for appeal, asks for prosecution powers review

The Criminal Cases Review Commission sends 47 more subpostmaster cases to Court of Appeal and asks government to review private prosecution powers Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government departments could cut payment costs through API deal

The UK government adds fintech to its approved procurement list which promises to cut the costs of receiving payments Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Hull supercomputer helps fight Covid-19

University’s Viper supercomputer team join forces with Sheffield-based HPC specialist in global distributed computing project focused on the coronavirus Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

NIS security regulations proving effective, but more work to do

The UK’s NIS cyber security and risk regulations are proving somewhat effective, according to a government report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Subpostmasters to force scrutiny of government’s role in Post Office IT scandal

The government's role in the Post Office Horizon IT scandal could soon be put under the microscope as subpostmasters take their complaints to the Parliamentary Ombudsman Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Employees must be consulted on technologies monitoring the return to work

Experts say the workforce must be ‘in the room’ and given a meaningful say about technologies introduced to monitor their return to work following the Covid-19 pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange misses court hearing due to respiratory problems

The WikiLeaks founder is expected to call 21 witnesses during a three-week extradition hearing in September Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

How Saudi Arabia is using cloud to navigate the Covid-19 downturn

Organisations in Saudi Arabia are using cloud computing services to help them navigate challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Alicia Buller

UK-Ireland frictionless border tech far from ready, EU Select Committee finds

The government has promised a frictionless UK-Ireland border, but currently technology only has the capacity to mitigate rather than eliminate friction, and the government’s technical advisory group on the border seems to be on hiatus Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Coronavirus: Government under renewed pressure to ramp up support for limited company directors

Chancellor of the Exchequer's announced extensions of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme prompt renewed calls for more tailored financial support for limited companies Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Councils don't have a consistent view of cyber security, says report

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government releases findings around security perceptions of local authorities Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Test and Trace has not passed data protection impact assessment

Public Health England failed to complete the required impact assessment before launching the Covid-19 Test and Trace programme Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK to join Covid-19 High-Performance Computing consortium

UK becomes first country outside the US to join group enabling researchers and scientists to access top supercomputers to help their work on the coronavirus Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

IT contractors hit by delays in Covid-19 furlough scheme payments from umbrella companies

A lack of clarity over how Covid-19-related furlough pay calculations should be totalled up for IT contractors working for umbrella companies has left many facing financial hardship, it is claimed Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Departments launch 69 services on Gov.uk during coronavirus pandemic

During the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, government departments have launched 69 online customer facing services on Gov.uk, with another 46 on track to be delivered Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

UK government seeks innovations to tackle space debris

Organisations developing solutions in space surveillance and tracking will be able to bid for a share of a £1m funding pot Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Revealed: Surveillance camera network that covered Dominic Cummings’ lockdown travel

A network of automatic number plate recognition and local authority traffic cameras could help police track Downing Street chief of staff Dominic Cummings’ journeys to Durham and Barnard Castle during the Covid-19 lockdown Continue Reading

By

• Duncan Campbell , 2QQ Ltd, Sussex University

Subpostmasters crowdfund for justice in IT scandal

Campaign group calls for public support to help potential victims of Post Office Horizon IT scandal Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

London Data Commission: Sharing data to help support London’s response to Covid-19

London First’s director of connectivity and competitiveness, David Lutton, talks about establishing the London Data Commission, and its contribution to coping with the coronavirus crisis Continue Reading

By

• David Lutton

900 more criminal prosecutions of subpostmasters could be unsafe because of IT failures

Post Office re-examines hundreds of prosecutions that could have resulted from faults in Horizon IT system Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA