IT for government and public sector

Campaigners criticise Starmer post-riot public surveillance plans

A UK government programme to expand police facial recognition and information sharing after racist riots is attracting criticism from campaigners for exploiting the far-right unrest to generally crack down on protest and increase surveillance Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Google's cookie conundrum: What comes next?

Google's revised approach to third-party cookies shouldn't come as a surprise, and may also be welcome Continue Reading

By

• Christian Ward

With the right tools and strategy, public cloud should be safe to use

Despite the complexity and evolving nature of threats, with the right strategy, tools, and constant vigilance, businesses can safely and securely leverage public cloud services Continue Reading

By

• Jason Lau

August Patch Tuesday proves busy with six zero-days to fix

Microsoft patches six actively exploited zero-days among over 100 issues during its regular monthly update Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Newcastle City Council swaps out Oracle Java for Azul

Changes to Oracle’s Java licensing meant the council no longer received free security patches Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Automated police tech contributes to UK structural racism problem

Civil society groups say automated policing technologies are helping to fuel the disparities that people of colour face across the criminal justice sector, as part of wider warning about the UK’s lack of progress in dealing with systemic racism Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

IR35 public sector reforms: HS2 finalises £6.2m settlement with HMRC over compliance failings

After setting aside over £10m to cover its IR35 compliance liabilities, HS2 accounts confirm the organisation reached a final settlement with HMRC totalling £6.2m Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Datacentre Editor

NIST debuts three quantum-safe encryption algorithms

NIST has launched the first three quantum-resistant encryption algorithms, and as the threat of quantum-enabled cyber attacks grows greater, organisations are encouraged to adopt them as soon as they can Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Labour's first cyber priority must be the NHS

With Labour returning to 10 Downing Street after 14 years, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panellists share advice and wish lists for the new government Continue Reading

By

• Adam Button

Social care must ensure IT systems comply with data standards

As social care is moving towards meeting its target of 80% of providers having digital records, the Department for Health and Social Care calls on them to ensure the digital systems meet national standards Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Deep dive into quantum-resistant cryptography for email security

Quantum computers have the potential to crack many of the encryption methods we currently rely on to keep our digital communications safe. Quantum-resistant cryptography may be the answer Continue Reading

By

• Isla Sibanda

How UK firms can get ready for the implementation of NIS2

Many British companies will need to adhere to NIS2’s cyber security risk management and reporting requirements if they want to continue operating in the EU market and avoid huge fines Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

Royal ransomware crew puts on a BlackSuit in rebrand

The Royal ransomware gang is back, with a new name and refreshed capabilities, including an apparently unique ‘partial encryption’ gambit, according to CISA Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

US lawmakers seek to brand ransomware gangs as terrorists

Proposals from legislators in Washington DC could shake up the global ransomware ecosystem and give law enforcement sweeping new powers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Can regulators rein in Google's excesses?

The ruling against Google in a case of anti-competitive practices, filed by the US Department of Justice, reveals the extent to which Google will attempt to thwart legislators. Court documents show ... Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Advanced faces fine over LockBit attack that crippled NHS 111

Advanced Software faces a multimillion pound fine for a series of failings which directly led to a 2022 LockBit ransomware attack that disrupted NHS and social care services across the UK Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

2024 seeing more CVEs than ever before, but few are weaponised

The number of disclosed CVEs soared by 30% in the first seven-and-a-half months of the year, but a tiny fraction of these have been exploited by threat actors, a reminder of the importance of focused security strategies Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IR35 public sector reforms: Chancellor urged to review departmental costs generated by blanket bans

Chancellor Rachel Reeves urged to review ‘non-essential’ departmental spend since the introduction of IR35 reforms in April 2017 as part of her push to close £22bn public spending gap inherited from the Conservatives Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Chinese cyber attack sparks alert over six-year-old MS vuln

After a proof-of-concept for a six-year-old Microsoft vulnerability emerged in a Chinese APT attack chain, defenders should be on the look-out for exploitation of CVE-2018-0824 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

World’s largest companies at near-universal risk of supply chain breach

Data from SecurityScorecard once again focuses on the interconnected nature of business supply chains and the risk posed to operational resilience by unexpected IT problems and cyber threats Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Russia’s luxury car phish continues to prove effective

Government organisations and other bodies operating in Ukraine continue to be targeted by a relatively unsophisticated phishing campaign that has proven so effective for Russia’s cyber spooks that there are now multiple agencies involved Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber lessons, and priorities for the UK's new government

With Labour returning to 10 Downing Street after 14 years, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panellists share advice and wish lists for the new government Continue Reading

By

• Ameet Jugnauth and Mark Pearce

Post Office scandal: Phases 5 and 6 had islands of conscientiousness in great depths of neglect

Computer Weekly rounds up the latest phase of the Post Office Horizon scandal public inquiry after a marathon 16 weeks of questions Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Labour axes £1.3bn AI funding promised by the Conservatives

Government scraps £1.3bn worth of AI and tech programmes launched by the Conservatives, but says it is committed to building technology infrastructure in the UK through its AI Opportunities Action Plan Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Police hunt scammers after takedown of Russian Coms fraud platform

The National Crime Agency has arrested four people after taking down a phone number spoofing platform used by criminals to defraud hundreds of thousands of people in the UK with more arrests to follow Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Is it time to refresh the UK's cyber strategy?

With Labour returning to 10 Downing Street after 14 years, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panellists share advice and wish lists for the new government Continue Reading

By

• Jon Carpenter

Scottish government to roll out digital evidence sharing

Following a controversial pilot scheme, Scotland is investing £33m in deploying digital evidence sharing technology nationally Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Community care neglected in national digital transformation efforts

Digital technologies could help the government’s ambition of delivering care at home for longer, but community services suffer from a lack of basic technologies and access to funding, according to the King’s Fund Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Government needs to meet with the IT users, implementors and managers to deliver its policy aims

The new Labour administration started its time in government with an Olympian sprint before Parliament broke for the summer recess. Among its many new policies and programmes, we’ve seen a ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

When critical cyber response becomes second nature

When alerts and headlines blare out warnings of critical vulnerabilities in widely-used software, the cyber security community needs to adopt a more decisive and clear-cut approach, says Huntress' Chris Henderson Continue Reading

By

• Chris Henderson, Huntress

Police Digital Service confirms resignation of second director in two weeks

Companies House filing states the Police Digital Service has said goodbye to non-executive director Allan Fairley, with a representative from the company confirming his departure is for ‘conflict of interest’ reasons Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Mayor launches London Privacy Register for smart city information

To increase transparency around and trust in London’s smart city technology deployments, the London Privacy Register aims to provide the public with more information about the systems they encounter in their day-to-day lives Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

How India is driving road safety with technology

Traffic departments, law enforcers and new-tech players are betting on technology tools such as AI-powered drones and mobile apps to improve road safety across India Continue Reading

By

• Pratima Harigunani

Basic failures led to hack of Electoral Commission data on 40 million people

UK government identifies Chinese state-linked hackers as likely to have been behind attack on the Electoral Commission Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

CISO mentoring – who to turn to when the worst happens

Those who get the role of a CISO may have overcome some professional hurdles, but are they ready to face what comes as part of the job? And who do they ask for advice? We look at the mentoring dilemma Continue Reading

By

• Dan Raywood

Core British Library services to return for new academic year

The British Library’s recovery from a devastating ransomware attack that laid waste to its IT systems continues - with hopes that some of its most popular services will be running again in September Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

GP digital tools could cause patients harm, says report

Investigation by the Health Services Safety Investigations Body finds some online tools used in general practices could cause risk to patient safety and impact GP workload Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Government commits at least £540m to financial redress for wrongfully convicted Post Office staff

Hundreds of eligible former subpostmasters and branch staff are yet to come forward to have convictions overturned, but government hopes new scheme will encourage them to do so Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CrowdStrike update chaos explained: What you need to know

A botched software update at cyber security firm CrowdStrike has caused IT chaos around the world. Learn more about the global CrowdStrike update outage as it develops Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government sets up AI action plan unit

New government has ambitious plans to use AI to grow the economy, and has hired a tech entrepreneur to help guide the strategy Continue Reading

Scam CrowdStrike domains growing in volume

Hundreds of malicious domains exploiting CrowdStrike’s branding are appearing all over the web in the wake of the 19 July outage. Experts from Akamai share some noteworthy examples, along with guidance on how to avoid getting caught out Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CrowdStrike says most Falcon sensors now up and running

The vast majority of CrowdStrike Falcon sensors affected by a coding error have now been recovered, with a final resolution expected this week Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

WTO digital trade agreement aims to modernise global commerce

A digital trade deal negotiated over five years at the World Trade Organization has been signed by 91 countries, laying the groundwork for a new global digital trade regime Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

UK government invests £106m in five quantum tech hubs

Five university hubs are receiving funding to support the development of quantum applications that can support healthcare and businesses Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Mastering data privacy in the age of AI

AI continues to revolutionise how organisations operate, using vast amounts of personal data to make smart, informed decisions. However, this incredible potential comes with concerns about data privacy. DQM GRC's Mark James explores the issues. Continue Reading

By

• Mark James

Cyber crisis? How good PR can save your brand

Cyber attacks and data breaches can happen to anybody and often bring reputational damage and a loss of customer trust. How organisations publicly respond to such incidents can make or break them, and the importance of a good PR strategy cannot be underestimated Continue Reading

By

• Ed Coram-James

Ban predictive policing and facial recognition, says civil society

A coalition of civil society groups is calling for an outright ban on predictive policing and biometric surveillance in the UK Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Cloud security challenges not just technological

The Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how CISOs and security practitioners should ensure that the business can make use of public cloud services safely and securely and avoid accidental or deliberate data leakage. Continue Reading

By

• Temi Akinlade

Vince Cable says the Post Office ‘lied’ to the government over Horizon issues

In the latest Post Office scandal public inquiry hearings, Vince Cable and Greg Clark reflected on their time as the minister heading the department responsible for the Post Office Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

North Korean cyber APT targeting nuclear secrets

Mandiant has upgraded the North Korean threat actor known as Andariel to APT status and warned of coordinated efforts to steal western military IP, including nuclear secrets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

India bolsters digital agriculture and space tech in Budget 2024

India will extend its digital public infrastructure to the agriculture sector and set up a venture capital fund for space startups, among other tech initiatives in its latest Budget Continue Reading

By

• Kavitha Srinivasa

CrowdStrike blames outage on content configuration update

CrowdStrike publishes the preliminary findings of what will be a lengthy investigation into the root causes of the failed 19 July update that caused Windows computers to crash all over the world Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mimecast to buy insider threat specialist Code42

Mimecast is to buy fellow human-centred risk experts Code42 for an undisclosed sum to take advantage of its insider threat and data loss protection specialisms Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Post Office ‘acted the victim’ and civil servants ‘abandoned their principles’, says former minister

Former government minister tells inquiry the Post Office always played the victim of subpostmasters that it considered either ‘incompetent’ or ‘criminal’ Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

ICO reprimands Essex school for illegal facial recognition use

The Information Commissioner’s Office has reprimanded Chelmer Valley High School in Chelmsford for introducing facial recognition and failing to conduct a legally required data protection impact assessment and obtain the explicit consent of students Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

WhatsApp and Signal messages at risk of surveillance following EncroChat ruling, court hears

Defence lawyers seek leave to appeal a decision by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal that the National Crime Agency lawfully obtained warrants to intercept messages sent over an encrypted phone network Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

NCA seizes thousands of social media accounts used by people smugglers

A three-year campaign has seen thousands of social media posts and accounts used to advertise the services of illegal people smugglers taken down Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Former minister felt she was fighting department over Post Office controversy

Former government minister was fighting with Shareholder Executive officials as she probed for information following allegations brought to her by MPs Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NCSC: Beware of criminal CrowdStrike opportunists

Financially motivated cyber criminals are already conducting opportunistic attacks on organisations that leverage the CrowdStrike incident, and more targeted attacks are sure to follow Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CrowdStrike chaos shows risks of concentrated ‘big IT’

The concentration of so much mission-critical technology in the hands of a few large suppliers makes incidents like the Microsoft-CrowdStrike outage all the more dangerous Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ed Davey and Jo Swinson ‘handled’ by civil servants in Post Office cover-up, says Sir Alan Bates

Evidence in public inquiry revealed how ministers in charge of Post Office were left in the dark at a time when campaigners, MPs and journalists were looking for answers Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Global Microsoft outage hits NHS GP IT system

The Emis Web IT system used by more than half of GP practices in the UK is down, following the worldwide Microsoft outage Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Lawyers and journalists seeking ‘payback’ over police phone surveillance, claims former detective

Former Durham detective will be required to give evidence to a tribunal investigating allegations that police unlawfully monitored journalists’ phones Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Government trusted ‘abuser’ over the abused on Post Office scandal

The government referred allegations about subpostmasters’ mistreatment by the Post Office to the alleged abuser itself Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Glasgow’s digital strategy highlights digital rights for citizens

The strategy aims to create organisational change, equipping Glasgow to reap the benefits of digital and protect its citizens’ rights Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

UK Cyber Bill teases mandatory ransomware reporting

In the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill introduced in the King's Speech, the UK's new government pledges to give regulators more teeth to ensure compliance with security best practice and to mandate incident reporting Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Hackney Council reprimanded over 2020 ransomware attack

The London Borough of Hackney has been reprimanded by the ICO over a series of failures that led to a devastating cyber attack, but at the same time, the regulator praised the local authority for its response and commitment to making improvements Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Police Digital Service CEO Ian Bell resigns as company director following news of staff arrests

Two weeks after news emerged that two employees of the Police Digital Service had been arrested on suspicion of bribery, fraud and misconduct, Companies House confirms PDS CEO Ian Bell has resigned as company director Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Labour government plans new laws around cyber security, data sharing and skills

The King's Speech outlined the legislative agenda for the new Parliament, including several bills that will impact the tech community Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Strategic Defence Review must emphasise cyber security, says industry

Cyber security leaders say the new government's Strategic Defence Review needs to put digital security front and centre Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fujitsu analyst gave witness statements when more qualified colleagues refused

Fujitsu employee provided witness statements to courts in cases against subpostmasters despite not understanding the evidence, after qualified IT experts refused Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CMA looks deeper into Microsoft’s AI hirings

Microsoft recently hired two former co-founders of AI specialist Inflection AI, and signed a deal to host the company’s AI model on Azure Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Labour government begins to dish out digital responsibilities

As the new government begins to settle in, ministers with technology remits begin to emerge as DHSC and others declare which ministers will have digital responsibilities Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

NHS Trusts cancelled over 6,000 appointments after Qilin cyber attack

The two NHS Trusts most heavily impacted by the Qilin ransomware attack on pathology services provider Synnovis have cancelled over 6,000 appointments and procedures in the past five weeks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Schools hit with cost hike as free Microsoft licences end

The A1 Plus academic licence, which gave teachers and pupils access to the Microsoft productivity suite, stops in August Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

DACH education ‘ready for AI’ as parents call for next phase of innovation

A rallying cry for digital intervention in the sector across the DACH region could set the tone for a continental shift towards more dynamic and intuitive learning in the years to come Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

WHO launches digital health collaboration network

The World Health Organisation’s network, which includes 53 member states alongside data and digital health partners, will tackle digital transformation issues in healthcare Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Civil servant said subpostmasters’ threat of legal action was ‘sabre-rattling’

Post Office scandal public inquiry hears damning evidence capping off a bad week for the reputation of high-profile civil servants Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Life sciences, medtech and the NHS must marry, says health secretary

Health secretary Wes Streeting wants the UK to be an international powerhouse for life sciences and medtech, and plans to turn the Department for Health and Social Care into a ‘public growth department’ Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

ITER workshop highlights the role of computing technology in nuclear fusion

One of the themes from the private sector workshop run in France this May is that information technology remains a key enabler for nuclear fusion Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Dutch research firm TNO pictures the SOC of the future

In only a few years, security operations centres will have a different design and layout, and far fewer will remain Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohius

Challenges of deploying AI to run public services more efficiently

A report from an organisation headed by former prime minister Tony Blair has set an AI challenge for the Labour government Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

GDS appoints Christine Bellamy as CEO

The former head of Gov.uk has taken over as CEO of the Government Digital Service following the departure of Tom Read in June Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Civil servant was lone voice on Post Office board to query legal plan that blew taxpayers' cash

Government representative felt he was 'in a minority of one' on the Post Office board of directors in questioning the handling of a High Court battle with subpostmasters that cost £100m Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Week one of a new government and it’s time to talk tech

The new UK government is already making changes around technology delivery and its legislative agenda needs to focus on some important digital priorities, says Lord Chris Holmes Continue Reading

By

• Lord Chris Holmes, House of Lords

Hyper-V zero-day stands out on a busy Patch Tuesday

Microsoft has fixed almost 140 vulnerabilities in its latest monthly update, with a Hyper-V zero-day singled out for urgent attention Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Chinese spies target vulnerable home office kit to run cyber attacks

China’s APT40 is ramping up targeting of victims using vulnerable small and home office networking kit as command and control infrastructure, according to an international alert Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government left monitoring of Post Office to ‘luck’

If the Post Office board failed to spot bad faith within its management, it would be down to ‘luck’ for the government to find out Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Lessons from war: How Israel is fighting Iranian state-backed hacking

The general director of the Israel National Cyber Directorate talks about the rise in cyber attacks and what lessons the country has gleaned to defend against hacking from foreign parties Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Room to grow in UK for Tata Consultancy Services after half a century

Indian-headquartered IT giant has built a large UK footprint as part of its global network, a commitment which is helping it increase its business in the UK’s public sector Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Welcome minister, the next Horizon scandal is here in your department

Ministers in the new UK government should take prompt action to ensure that incorrect use of AI and algorithmic decision-making does not turn into the next Post Office Horizon scandal Continue Reading

By

• Paul Waller

Automating public services - a careful approach

Automation is increasingly integrated into public services, promising enhanced efficiency, cost savings, and improved service quality Continue Reading

By

• Anna Dent

Revamped DSIT to transform digital public services, says government

The incoming government sets out preliminary plans to conduct a major revamp and relaunch of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How data drives decisions at BAE Systems

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to the chief data officer of one of the UK’s biggest manufacturers, BAE Systems, about data strategy and diversity. Microsoft’s claims over sovereign cloud for government IT are under scrutiny – we examine the issues. And our latest buyer’s guide looks at trends in cloud databases. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Synnovis attack highlights degraded, outdated state of NHS IT

More cyber attacks against the health service are likely, and will succeed if something isn’t done to address the increasingly elderly NHS IT estate, experts are warning Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Sir Alan Bates welcomes MP’s elevation to House of Lords

Former Labour MP has moved to the House of Lords where he will continue campaigning for justice for victims of the Horizon scandal Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Dear Prime Minister Starmer, here's how technology can help you transform the UK for the better

Dear Prime Minister Starmer, Look, I know you have a horrendous in-tray to work through in your new job. The previous incumbent(s) made quite a mess of things. But you – like your predecessors – ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

New government, new approach to IT?

There is a long shopping list of policies the incoming government needs to execute to drive the UK forward over the next five years. And while it may not seem like a high priority, getting the IT ... Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

UK data regulator should investigate police cloud deployments

The Scottish biometrics commissioner has called for the UK Information Commissioner’s Office to formally investigate whether Police Scotland’s cloud-based evidence sharing system is fully compliant with data protection laws Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Safeguarding democracy from cyber threat peril  

There has been an increase in disturbing activity emerging on the dark web involving the sale of public sector assets, including election data Continue Reading

By

•  Barry O’Connell