IT for government and public sector

Future of parliament report calls for digital engagement and online voting

A report outlines how parliament should embrace digital technology to be more transparent, inclusive and better able to engage the public Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Universal Credit bodged its bodge

Iain Duncan Smith looked like a fall guy when he started work on Universal Credit. He humbled forward to take the stage for his grand social project, with a little shove from his superiors. He ... Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

UK leads in global ranking of social open data sharing

The UK has been named the number one country to use open data for social and economic benefit Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

MPs force inquiry into Post Office subpostmaster mediation scheme

MPs force inquiry into Post Office scheme to redress grievances of subpostmasters claiming to have been wrongly punished for false accounting Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NHS to bring two IT systems in-house away from BT

Two NHS IT systems will be moved from BT to be managed in-house by the Health and Social Care Information Centre from February 2015 Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

HMRC trials Gov.uk Verify in busiest month of the year

Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs is to trial the government’s Verify identity assurance scheme in its busiest month Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

UK's fastest supercomputer upgrades to 2Pflops and 5PB of tiered storage

The UK's fastest supercomputer upgrades to 4,920 nodes and 2 Petaflops performance with tiered storage including 5PB of direct-attached disk Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Blackburn with Darwen Council renegotiates Capita outsourcing deal

Blackburn with Darwen Council is renegotiating its £200m 15-year outsourcing deal with Capita as it tries to save millions of pounds in its budget Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Supplier relationship management lessons from the car industry

IT can learn a lot from the car industry, which has transformed supplier relationship management Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Obama calls for single US data breach notification law

The US president is calling for a single US data breach notification law as part of proposed legislation to improve data security Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber attack now primary weapon for countries, says ViaSat UK

Cyber attacks are becoming the first weapon of choice for countries in conflict, says ViaSat UK Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2014

Computer Weekly looks back at the most significant stories on cyber crime in the past 12 months Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Top 10 CIO interviews of 2014

The top technology chiefs in the UK shared their opinions and experiences of modern IT leadership Continue Reading

By

• Computer Weekly Staff

Accenture and BT to battle for NHS email contract

The NHS has shortlisted two suppliers for its email system, with BT and Accenture still in the mix Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

MP accuses Post Office of acting "duplicitously" in IT investigation

MPs claim Post Office was being "high handed" towards MPs and running a "flawed, deteriorating" accounting system Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cabinet Office begins procurement for next stage of Gov.uk Verify

The Cabinet Office has submitted a tender notice for a £150m three-year framework for the provision of identity assurance services Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Technology needed to help ambulance services cope with increased demand

The future of the ambulance and emergencies services needs more investment in networking Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

US interception in the EU faces new legal challenges

US government orders against Microsoft to hand over email data 'infringes privacy legislation' in other countries Continue Reading

By

• Fiona O’Cleirigh

MPs to debate subpostmaster IT injustice claims

Debate about the Post Office scheme to redress grievances of subpostmasters will be held in Westminster Hall Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Lloyd’s Register Foundation grants £10m to Alan Turing Institute

The Lloyd’s Register Foundation has announced £10m in funding over five years to support research by the Alan Turing Institute Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

IBM named as supplier for NHS HR replacement system

IBM has been named as the preferred supplier for the new NHS electronic staff record (ESR) project Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Care.data faces more delays over concerns about patients

The NHS’s Care.data scheme may face more delays due to concerns over lack of publicity and clarity of the proposed programme Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Why MPs lost faith in the Post Office's IT investigation, but vowed to fight on

A group of 140 MPs has removed its backing for a Post Office scheme to redress subpostmasters' grievances over alleged false accounting Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Digital governments meet in London to commit to best practices

Digital governments from across the world are meeting in London today as part of the inaugural D5 summit Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

MPs blast Post Office over IT system investigation and remove backing

Post Office scheme to redress sub-postmaster grievances over IT system is failing, say MP group supporting alleged victims Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UKtech50 2014 - The most influential people in UK IT

Computer Weekly has announced the fifth annual UKtech50, our definitive list of the movers and shakers in UK IT Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Computer Weekly UKtech50: Rising Stars 2014

Chosen by the Computer Weekly team from people we’ve met over the past 12 months, here are our five rising stars of 2014 Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Ministry of Defence consolidates with green datacentre

The MoD is aiming to reduce its IT carbon footprint with the construction of a new datacentre to replace the existing host site in Bath Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Pressure on Universal Credit’s digital service mounts as testing begins

Risks remain for Universal Credit as DWP continues its twin-track gradual roll-out of live and digital services Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Cert-UK calls for better cyber threat data-sharing

Cert-UK has called for more UK firms to join the government’s Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK police make four arrests in international cyber crime crackdown

UK police make four arrests during an international crackdown on cyber criminals using malware tools to steal data Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Home Office continues to engage with suppliers over Emergency Services Network

The Home Office is continuing its discussions with suppliers around the requirements for the new Emergency Services Network (ESN). Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

HM Revenue and Customs hopes electronic forms will save £800,000 by March 2015

Taxpayers completing forms for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will be able to do so online by the end of 2014 Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

US State Department bolsters email security after suspected breach

The US State Department took its unclassified email system offline to bolster security after a suspected breach in October 2014 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

The business challenges and benefits of identity and access management

IT leaders gathered at a CW500 Club meeting to hear from peers about the challenges of identity and access management Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Revolutionising digital public service delivery

Public sectors across the world are attempting a transition away from closed, top-down, bureaucratic, and paper-based transactional models Continue Reading

By

• Alan Brown, Jerry Fishenden & Mark Thompson

Ministry of Justice searches for IT staff to join digital team

The Ministry of Justice is recruiting people to join its team tasked with designed digital public services Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Government CTO Liam Maxwell says Microsoft “conversation has changed”

CTO Liam Maxwell says the government's relationship with Microsoft has changed after meeting CEO Satya Nadella Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

US Postal Service latest government target for cyber attack

Hackers breach the networks of the US Postal Service in the latest of a series of attacks on US government agencies Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Ofcom to auction tranche of MoD-owned spectrum

190 MHz of spectrum in two bands currently controlled by the Ministry of Defence is to go under the hammer Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Police forces use private cloud to access Holmes database

Police forces across the UK will access the Holmes major investigation system via a private cloud service Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Southampton university fuels research with IBM Watson analytics

The University of Southampton has begun a far-reaching initiative to redefine the future of research powered by IBM Watson analytics Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Why national roaming may not be the answer to mobile not-spots

Industry suggests alternative strategies as government threatens to force mobile operators to allow national roaming Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government open standards - the curious case of Microsoft and the minister

What role, if any, did science minister David Willetts take in helping Microsoft try to overturn government IT policy? Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Government asks for more information on digital currencies

The government has released a Call for Information to invite views on the benefits and risks of digital currencies Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Inside Kashiwa-no-ha: Hitachi Smart City near Tokyo

Hitachi shares what its Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City looks like near Tokyo, Japan. Continue Reading

By

• Kayleigh Bateman, Computer Weekly

Ipswich hospital improves healthcare service with Esri data visualisation

Health pilots location-based technology that delivers data visualisation Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Problems surface as first users attempt to use Gov.uk Verify

Problems have surfaced as users try to use Gov.uk Verify to prove their identities Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Business needs to take cyber crime seriously, says top EU cyber cop Troels Oerting

Troels Oerting, head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, says businesses must heed the risk of cyber crime Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Half a million citizens to be using Gov.uk Verify by April 2015

Government now expects to have nearly half a million people using its Gov.uk Verify service for online identity assurance by April 2015 Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

How the BBC became digital in three-and-a-half years

The BBC has undergone a digital transformation that started 18 months prior to the London 2012 Olympic Games Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Home Office appeals against $300m Raytheon payment in e-Borders dispute

The Home Office has appealed against a decision to award $300m to Raytheon over the cancellation of its e-Borders contract Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

HMRC to save £200m per year by scrapping Aspire outsourcing deal

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) expects to save over £200m a year by moving away from its Aspire IT outsourcing contract in June 2017 Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Government replaces Becta education IT procurement framework

Government seeks up to 20 suppliers to form a £300m procurement framework for ICT services to public-sector education organisations Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Met Police trials analytics to fight gang crime

The Metropolitan Police is experimenting with analytics software to help predict which criminals are likely to re-offend Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Universal Credit digital service set for first public test in Sutton

Digital service for Universal Credit to start testing with benefit claimants in Sutton, south London, in the next two months Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Universal Credit digital system reaches key milestone as DWP delays roll-out

The digital system supporting the Department for Work and Pension's Universal Credit programme has passed a major development milestone Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

BBC takes iPlayer video production to AWS cloud to beat bottleneck and storage woes

Having run Video Factory on AWS for over a year, BBC's Robert Shield explains how he overcame iPlayer bottleneck and availability challenges Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Interview: Ed Vaizey MP talks digital economy and digital skills

Minister for the digital economy Ed Vaizey discusses his new role and the future of digital policy Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Firms lack technology for workforce of the future

European businesses will rely increasingly on freelance, geographically dispersed employees as they vie to attract the top skills to their organisations over the next 5 years. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Defra first department to implement Gov.uk Verify

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs first to utilise government’s new identity assurance system Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Drones a threat to privacy, says former GCHQ chief David Omand

The use of drones in the UK raises significant safety, security and privacy concerns, according to a report from ex-head of GCHQ, David Omand Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government releases social media guidance for civil servants

New social media guidelines for civil servants have been released by the Cabinet Office Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

GCHQ embodies British values, says Iain Lobban

Outgoing GCHQ director Iain Lobban has defended the intelligence agency in his final speech before retiring Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FBI director James Comey joins call for online surveillance tools

FBI director James Comey has reiterated the need for online surveillance and joined calls for more tools to do so Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Local government outsourcing shrinks workforce 35%

The number of staff directly employed by a fifth of local authorities will reduce 35% by 2020 as a result of outsourcing Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK is prime target for cyber attacks, says FireEye

The UK has been greatest target of advanced cyber attacks in Europe, the Middle East or Africa in the first half of 2014, report shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Industrial control systems: What are the security challenges?

Targeted attacks on industrial control systems are the biggest threat to critical national infrastructure, says Kaspersky Lab Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Gov.uk Verify identity assurance service ready to go live

Government expected to launch first service using digital identity assurance in "next couple of weeks" Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Fear and loathing could hold back UK internet of things, says KPMG report

More than two-thirds of UK consumers fear growing number of interconnected devices make it too easy for things to go wrong Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Housing associations launch shared internet service from BT

BT promises housing association tenants lower internet costs through new scheme Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The future of digital government in the UK

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the last political party conferences before the election come to an end, we examine the future of digital government in the UK, featuring interviews with Whitehall’s digital chief Mike Bracken and Labour’s policy leader Chi Onwurah. Also, we look at the growth of the open-source cloud computing platform Openstack, and find out what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a data breach. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Cyber Essentials for public sector IT suppliers: pros and cons

What are the pros and cons of the Cyber Essentials Scheme certification mandated for public sector IT suppliers? Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Nationwide roll-out of Universal Credit to start in early 2015

Controversial welfare reform programme to be accelerated nationwide for single people only, using much-criticised IT systems Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Google to build giant '40-football pitch' datacentre in the Netherlands

Google will invest €600m to build a giant, 120-megawatt datacentre in the Netherlands Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

UKtech50 2014 - help us choose the 50 most influential people in UK IT

Computer Weekly is launching the fifth annual UKtech50, our definitive list of the movers and shakers in UK IT - tell us your nominations Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Interview: Government digital chief Mike Bracken on the next five years

The Government Digital Service celebrates its third anniversary soon, but has plenty more challenges ahead to change Whitehall thinking Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Government digital chief signals move away from 'tower model' approach to IT outsourcing

Government digital chief Mike Bracken has signalled a move away from the “tower model” approach to IT outsourcing Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Risk management key to cyber strategy, says BP

Cyber attacks constitute a group-level risk that is managed as part of BP’s standard set of risk management processes, says group chief Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GDS unveils 'Gov.UK Verify' public services identity assurance scheme

The Government Digital Service (GDS) debuts a system to prove users’ identities when using public services online, branded as 'Gov.UK Verify' Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Government seeks £110,000 director for Parliamentary Digital Service

Parliament is recruiting a digital director for the revamped Parliamentary Digital Service in a role offering a salary of £110,000 a year Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

TechUK tasks future government with making the UK a digital leader

TechUK has launched a digital manifesto detailing how the next government must turn the UK in a digital leader Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

CIO interview: Stephen Hale, head of digital, Department of Health

“I want to make digital less of a novelty,” says the Department of Health’s head of digital Stephen Hale Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

The IT challenges facing an independent Scotland

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as Scotland goes to the polls to vote on independence, we assess the IT challenges the country would face. We look at the products available in the fast-growing market for object storage. And we ask if it will be worth migrating to future version of Windows given the rise in mobile usage. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

WikiLeaks reveals Australian police are using surveillance software

Australia's New South Wales police are using spyware that has been linked to repressive states, according to leaked documents Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Claims against Post Office IT system approach completion

Investigation into sub-postmaster claims against the Post Office over problems with its Horizon accounting system coming to an end Continue Reading

Fresh questions raised over Post Office IT system's role in fraud cases

A leaked report has revealed more details about the role of the Horizon accounting system in sub-postmaster fraud cases Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Ransomware on the rise, warns cyber threat report

The first half of 2014 saw an increase in online attacks that lock up user data and hold it for ransom, reports F-Secure Labs Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

'Bungled' Army 2020 IT recruitment contract loses £70m of savings

Mismanaged IT contracts lead to further setbacks in Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Army recruitment drive Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Government's digital strategy could cut red tape

Governments can harness digital technology to make public services more efficient and generate significant cost savings Continue Reading

By

• Lisa Kelly

Ordnance Survey to release open data on green spaces

The Ordnance Survey is to release information and statistics on green space in England and Wales as open data Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Aberdeen to get city-wide gigabit network

Aberdeen will this month become Scotland’s first city to be fully covered by a high speed fibre network Continue Reading

Suppliers discuss Emergency Services Network with Home Office

Suppliers have attended an event held by the Home Office to discuss details of the new Emergency Services Network Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Nato set to clarify stance on cyber attack

Leaders will discuss changing the mission of collective defence with respect to cyber attack at this week’s Nato summit Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Rolls-Royce CIO joins HMRC as non-executive director

Rolls-Royce CIO Simon Ricketts has been appointed non-executive director of Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Government appoints former Credit Suisse CIO as deputy CTO

The government has appointed former Credit Suisse CIO Magnus Falk as its new deputy chief technology officer (CTO) Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Surrey makes strides in paperless policing

Surrey Police Force has been leading the way in paperless policing, with help from Airwave. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

BDUK arrives on the Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight inaugurates its first rural fibre cabinet delivered by BDUK as the project finally crosses the Solent Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government sees 820,000 voters register online

Over one million UK citizens have registered to vote over the last two months, with around 820,000 opting for a new online registration service Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Local authorities can improve data protection, says ICO audit

There is room for improvement in how local authorities protect personal data, says an audit report by the ICO Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst