IT for government and public sector

Interview: GDS head Mike Bracken on Estonia's digital services

UK government IT could learn much from Estonia’s open source model, says head of Government Digital Services (GDS), Mike Bracken Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Ethiopian government blocks Tor Network online anonymity

The Ethiopian government is blocking access to the Tor Network that enables online anonymity, according to Reporters Without Borders Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Asian scientists call for government action on supercomputers

Scientists in India, China, Japan, Korea and India have called on their governments to collaborate on supercomputer technology Continue Reading

Vodafone in the clear for UK tax bill

The National Audit Office states Vodafone’s £1.25bn settlement with HMRC was "reasonable" and "good" for the public purse Continue Reading

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• Jennifer Scott, TechTarget

Cumbria votes against broadband proposals from BT and Fujitsu

Cumbria County Council turns down bids from BT and Fujitsu, claiming they don’t fulfil the full requirements for superfast broadband in the area Continue Reading

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• Jennifer Scott, TechTarget

South Lanarkshire moves to IBM XIV disk storage platform

South Lanarkshire council has invested in an IBM XIV disk storage platform as part of its move to virtualisation. Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Teachers share concerns and ideas for ICT in 2014 curriculum

IT professionals and education bodies used Westminster Education forum to air concerns over the government’s decision to remove ICT from the curriculum two years before it is replaced by a computer science alternative Continue Reading

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• Kayleigh Bateman, Computer Weekly

2012: Will this be the year TPM finally comes of age?

Will 2012 be the year that TPM finally delivers on its potential to provide a hardware-based "root of trust" for enterprise information security? Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Flame malware gets kill command

The controllers of Flame, the most powerful cyber weapon discovered to date, have recently sent a kill command that removes the malware from some infected computers Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK technology sector gets financial support

A US hi-tech investment bank with $20bn in assets has opened its first UK branch offering banking and loan services to the technology industry Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

eHarmony, Last.fm join LinkedIn with password leaks

Online dating site eHarmony and Last.fm have joined LinkedIn with password leaks, as hackers focus on social networks Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Apple faces £1.43m fine in Australian 4G iPad case

Apple has agreed to pay a £1.43m fine for misleading Australians about the 4G capacity of its latest iPad in a case brought by the national consumer watchdog Continue Reading

Microsoft publishes its response to government open standards consultation

Microsoft has become the first major IT supplier to publish its submission to the government's consultation on the use of open standards. Continue Reading

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• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

TfL opens up live bus data

Transport for London (TfL) has finally released live bus data, several months after it delivered the Countdown Live Bus Arrivals website Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Top 10 tips for IPv6 security

Many organisations are being misled about the complexities surrounding IPv6 security, according to security firm Stonesoft Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Royal Signals ‘Unsung Heroes’ Awards

IT experts from the Royal Signals were rewarded for their support and commitment to the service during an event for "unsung heroes" at Mansion House. Continue Reading

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• Kayleigh Bateman, Computer Weekly

Majority of UK websites fail to comply with cookie law

Most UK websites are not yet compliant with the newly enforced cookie law, a study has revealed Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Former MI5 boss loses laptop

The former boss of the UK's MI5 security service has caused a security scare by losing her laptop at Heathrow. Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cambridgeshire launches PSN to cut £1m per year

Cambridgeshire County Council will save £1m per year with the launch of its public services network (PSN) Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Security researchers discover powerful cyber espionage weapon 'Flame'

Security researchers have discovered a cyber espionage weapon, dubbed 'Flame', with a functionality greater than any other known threat Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

EU to launch trade case against Chinese telcos Huawei and ZTE

The European Union has accused the two Chinese telecoms firms of obtaining illegal government subsidies and selling products below cost Continue Reading

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• Jennifer Scott, TechTarget

UK regulator PhonepayPlus shuts down Angry Birds smartphone scam

UK users of Android smartphones have been targeted by premium-rate phone scams masquerading as popular apps such as Angry Birds Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Video: ICO publishes new guidance on cookie law

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published new guidance on cookie law and revealed the organisations it has approached on the issue Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Overrun in big IT projects leads to one in three failures

One-third of big IT projects are likely to get derailed after they have been running for two years, according to research. Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Mobile threats demand focus on data protection, says Websense

Business needs to focus on data protection as cyber criminals turn to mobile malware, says Websense. Continue Reading

Analyst Insight: Is There a Smart City Market?

The value of the IT market for smart cities globally is approximately $35bn, according to this in depth analysis from Ovum. Continue Reading

Smart Cities: The anywhere working city

This report from Microsoft presents a vision for the development of smart cities which bring together technology, architecture and people. Continue Reading

The Pirate Bay is latest site to be hit by DDoS attack

The Pirate Bay has become the latest high-profile website to be hit by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Court stops Dutch party sharing Pirate Bay links

A court in The Hague has ordered a political party in the Netherlands to stop publicising ways to get around blocks to Swedish file-sharing site, The Pirate Bay Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber attackers increasingly targeting applications, research shows

Web and mobile applications are the new frontiers in the war against cyber attack, according to an HP cyber security risks report Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Troubled RPA systems to be replaced by 2015

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is to roll out a new payments system for the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) by 2015 Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

The future of Government operations: Digital citizen survey

This report from Accenture looks at the challenges facing the public sector in offering digital services. Continue Reading

Government snooping plans unveiled

The Queen's Speech has revealed that the government still plans to make it easier for security and police services to spy on e-mails, phone calls and internet activity Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

London to test urban operating system

London is to test an operating system developed to support the smart cities of the future to keep buildings, traffic and services running smoothly. Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK to expand cyber info-sharing hub after initial success

A public/private cyber security initiative exposed a campaign of malicious emails targeting UK defence companies, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude has revealed. Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Why the public sector is turning to multi-sourcing

Sarah Burnett explains why the public sector is moving from single sourcing to multi-sourcing, in an age of austerity. Continue Reading

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• Sarah Burnett, NelsonHall

What UK citizens think about digital government

Two-thirds of UK citizens already use the internet to interact with government, according to Accenture research. Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

European copyright ruling good for IT innovation, say lawyers

The top European court's ruling on copyright is good news for innovation, say lawyers Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

US to legislate to protect Facebook passwords from employers

The US is planning legislation that will protect Facebook passwords from prying employers Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

G-Cloud cost £4.93m to set up, says Maude

The government’s G-Cloud programme and CloudStore cost £4.93m to set up, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said in response to a parliamentary question. Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Half of UK networks vulnerable to APTs

Many UK corporate networks are vulnerable to advanced persistent threats (APTs), a survey has revealed. Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government launches MyCSP mutual project

The government has launched the first of a planned series of mutuals which take public services and split the ownership between government, staff and private sector. Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Infosec 2012: Unscrubbed hard drives a threat to business, says ICO

Unscrubbed hard drives on computers that are decommissioned and sold on represent a significant risk to business Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Infosec 2012: Internet security body to tackle SSL problems

The Trustworthy Internet Movement (TIM) is to tackle implementation and governance internet communication protocol (SSL) as its first project. Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Infosec 2012: Patching alone can deliver 80% protection

Keeping software up to date with security patches can deliver 80% protection from cyber threats, says security firm Secunia. Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK firms see competitors as greater cyber attack risk than criminals

More than half of UK firms expect a cyber attack in the next six months, but see competitors as a greater risk than criminals Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Open standards are about the business model, not the technology

Software companies, abuzz with lobbyists and patent lawyers over government open standards, are similar to the record industry 10 years ago. Continue Reading

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• Mark Thompson, Exeter Business School and DIGITLab

Supercomputers will reach 'exascale' speeds within decade

Supercomputers will be powerful enough to simulate the human brain within seven years, says founder of Top500 list. Continue Reading

Staff at IT services firm CSC protest redundancy policy

Workers at IT services giant CSC in the UK are holding a lunchtime protest today (19 April) to protest at the company’s redundancy policy Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government unaware how much it pays for e-mail services

Government departments do not know how much they are spending on e-mail services, according to research by Computer Weekly. Continue Reading

HP losing grip of EDS’s Ministry of Defence contract

HP’s grip on a flagship Ministry of Defence contract could be weakening after CSC took over a key outsourcing deal. Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Transforming IT at HM Revenue & Customs - Phil Pavitt, CIO for HMRC

HMRC CIO Phil Pavitt talked to the CW500 club about IT transformation. These are his slides with a report of his talk. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin & Faisal Alani

Busy security patch month for Microsoft administrators

Microsoft has released six patches, four critical, for 11 vulnerabilities in Office, Windows and various server products in its April security update. Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CIO interview: David Jones, CIO, Crown Prosecution Service

CPS CIO David Jones is leading a comprehensive technology revamp to modernise operations across the entire criminal justice system. Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Department of Health and CSC in deadlock over Lorenzo records system

The Department of Health and CSC failed to meet the deadline to agree new terms for the troubled electronic records systems Lorenzo Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

South West police roll out £1.1m central data repository

Police forces in the South West of England are going live with a £1.1m data sharing system across the region Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Euro crisis: Key questions CEOs and CIOs should ask each other

With a potential economic crisis looming in the Eurozone, Gartner offers a checklist of questions that CIOs and CEOs should ask each other. Continue Reading

STFC ploughs £30m into high performance computing centre with IBM

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has signed a £30m deal with IBM to develop high performance computing (HPC) Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Everywoman in Technology Awards 2012: Winners

See all the pictures, including the winners, from the Cisco Everywoman in Technology Awards 2012 Continue Reading

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• Kayleigh Bateman, Computer Weekly

UK business fears impact of new EU data protection framework

More than half of senior UK IT managers in large enterprises believe the proposed new EU data protection framework will cost their business more money, a survey has revealed Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Eight UK universities awarded excellence in cyber security research status

The first eight UK universities have been awarded 'Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research' status Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Warwickshire-based company to revamp data protection following breach

A Warwickshire-based company has committed to taking action to protect personal data, following a breach of the Data Protection Act Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Department for Work and Pensions outsources IT for universal credit welfare to India

The government is outsourcing IT development for the universal credit welfare programme to India despite promises to keep data projects in the UK Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Information management: lessons from the public sector

Freeform Dynamics identifies the lessons organisations can learn from the public sector's approach to information management Continue Reading

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• Martha Bennett, Forrester Research Inc.

Half of education institutions victims of mobile IT theft

According to research, 45% of UK education establishments claim to have had mobile IT equipment stolen during the last three years. Continue Reading

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• Kayleigh Bateman, Computer Weekly

Birkbeck College consolidates servers to cut PUE rating to 1.3

Birkbeck College has consolidated four equipment rooms into one £700,000 datacentre with a PUE rating of just 1.3 Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

UK hacktivist cases should spur business to action, says lawyer

The last of four alleged UK members of hacktivist group LulzSec has appeared in Westminster magistrates court in London Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Hampshire and Oxfordshire councils sign SAP ICT partnership

Hampshire County Council and Oxfordshire County Council have signed an ICT partnership to save £1m, focusing on SAP systems for HR and financial services Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

SourceForge takes down Anonymous operating system

The open-source collaboration website SourceForge has taken down an Ubuntu Linux OS project purportedly affiliated with online hactivist group Anonymous, after a review by security experts Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

BBC cyber attacks highlight difficulty of attribution

The BBC has said it is was targeted by cyber attacks following a campaign by Iran against its Persian service, but stopped short of accusing Tehran of ordering the cyber attacks Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Interview: Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude on open data

Francis Maude, Cabinet Office minister, talks to Computer Weekly about the importance of open data to the UK economy. Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

NHS trust to use iPads for real-time access to patient records

An NHS trust in the Midlands is planning to equip medical staff and community nurses with iPads to give real-time access to patient records on the move. Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

IT as a driver of M&A success

This report from Ernst & Young examines why IT considerations are not given adequate attention in the due diligence prior to mergers and acquisitions. Continue Reading

Councils meet first superfast broadband deadline

All but two local authorities have met government deadlines to submit plans to roll out superfast broadband Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Systems integrators 'charge more in paperwork than SMEs do in delivery’

A systems integrator asked for more money from the government for an IT product proposal than an SME was able to deliver the actual service for. Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Government’s shared services strategy failing, says NAO

The government’s £1.4bn shared services centres have failed to achieve value for money, according to a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

FBI informer Hector Xavier Monsegur aids in arrest of LulzSec hackers

Authorities in the US, UK and Republic of Ireland have arrested seven suspected members of hacktivist group LulzSec, including Hector Xavier Monsegur, who helped investigators Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NHS trusts to be freed from CSC contract commitments

The Department of Health has proposed a deal with CSC to release trusts in the National Programme for IT from their contractual obligations to use software from the troubled supplier. Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Somerset Council to bring Southwest One services back in house

Somerset County Council is seeking to bring key services back in house from Southwest One , the troubled joint-venture it created with IBM in 2007. Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

RSA 2012: IT security experts urge enterprises to ban smartphone BYOD schemes

Enterprises should ban employees from using their own smartphones for work, a panel of IT security practitioners told the RSA Conference 2012 Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

DWP tenders for £25m IDA services

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has tendered for a £25m identity assurance (IDA) framework to create a marketplace of providers across the public sector. Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Does the PSN need to happen before the cloud?

The deployment of public services networks (PSN) will need to happen before widespread uptake of CloudStore services occur, IT heads said at a roundtable meeting. Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Post Office reveals plans for identity assurance services

The Post Office is tendering for hardware and software which will enable it to be a provider of the government's Identity Assurance (IDA) services.    Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

OSSIM update enables cyber threat intelligence sharing

The latest update to the Open Source Security Information Management (OSSIM) base system includes a mechanism for sharing cyber threat intelligence. Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Google bypassed IE too, says Microsoft

Microsoft has accused Google of bypassing the privacy settings of Internet Explorer users after Safari faux pas Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CIO priorities 2012: Ali Jaffri, ICT manager, Gallions Housing

Ali Jaffri, ICT manager at Gallions Housing, talks about the challenges of 2012. Continue Reading

Government launches CloudStore and names G-Cloud suppliers

The government has launched its CloudStore, a catalogue of 1,700 cloud-based, pre-approved IT services now available for the public sector to buy. Continue Reading

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• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Cisco wants EU to reconsider Microsoft Skype deal

Cisco is calling on European Union authorities to reconsider the unconditional approval of Microsoft’s $8.5bn acquisition of Skype. Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

The problem with Open Data

Although clearly a good thing in theory, Open Data risks increasing the digital divide and social inequality unless approached right. Continue Reading

By

• Tony Roberts

President of European Parliament critical of Acta

After a weekend of public protests against the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement (Acta), the president of the European Parliament has added his voice to those of critcs. Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IE update top priority for Patch Tuesday

Microsoft releases nine bulletins addressing 21 vulnerabilities in its monthly Patch Tuesday security update on 14 February Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government takes on proprietary software lobby in open standards battle

The government wants to push through open standards against vested interests keen to maintain the dominance of proprietary systems. Continue Reading

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• Mark Ballard

LinkedIn Q4 revenue more than doubles

Social networking site LinkedIn has reported 2011 fourth quarter revenue of $167.7m, up 105% from Q4 2010; and net income of $6.9m, an increase of 30% Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cisco back on acquisition trail after record quarter

Cisco Systems has reported record revenues of $11.5bn for the second fiscal quarter that ended 28 January 2012, up 11% on the year-ago quarter, and profits of $2.6bn or 47 cents a share, up 27%. Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Greater Manchester Police deploys two-way CMS

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has implemented a case management system from STL Technologies that has a two-way interface with the Crown Prosecution Service’s system. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

More than half of government projects behind schedule

More than half of major government projects are behind schedule, according to the head of Whitehall's Major Projects Authority. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

UK to take part in weekend protests against Acta

Protests against the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement (Acta) have been organised across Europe, with most set to take place on 11 February. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FBI investigates Anonymous intercept of call with Scotland Yard

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is looking into how a conference call with Scotland Yard was intercepted by a member of the activist hacking group Anonymous. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

St. Helens and Knowsley NHS trust signs £1.3m storage deal

St. Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has signed a £1.3m deal with EMC as part of its five-year plan to overhaul its storage infrastructure. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Fewer than a third of UK organisations plan mobile security projects

Despite the media hype around the adoption of mobile technologies and the need to secure them, relatively few UK organisations are planning mobile security projects, a survey has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst