IT for government and public sector
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News
14 Jun 2024
Post Office scandal victims in Scotland have convictions quashed
Scotland follows England, Wales and Northern Ireland in exonerating wrongfully convicted subpostmasters en masse Continue Reading
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News
13 Jun 2024
General election 2024: Labour promises to boost digital infrastructure
The Labour Party manifesto for the UK general election promises a new industrial strategy and an overhaul of planning rules to help support the digital and tech sector Continue Reading
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News
29 Sep 2023
UK tech sector ‘let down’ and ‘betrayed’ over Rishi Sunak’s net-zero policy tweaks
Now the dust has settled on the news Rishi Sunak is tweaking several of the policies underpinning the government’s net-zero goal, the UK tech industry has hit back at the news Continue Reading
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News
29 Sep 2023
First subpostmaster Horizon conviction overturned in Scotland
Scotland has seen its first Post Office Horizon conviction overturned, taking the UK total to 92 Continue Reading
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News
29 Sep 2023
Government to hire 2,500 people for digital roles by 2025
Government is aiming to ramp up digital skills in Whitehall with a promise to recruit 2,500 new tech and digital roles through apprenticeships and talent programmes Continue Reading
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News
29 Sep 2023
Government ‘breached privacy’ of Horizon victims with compensation offer, says lawyer
The government breached the privacy of victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal through making a compensation offer public Continue Reading
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News
29 Sep 2023
Government launches £65m space tech fund
The funding from the UK Space Agency is part of the National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP), and aims to support and accelerate innovation in the sector Continue Reading
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Opinion
29 Sep 2023
The trust deficit in CNI: How to address a growing concern
When it comes to addressing the trust deficit in CNI, technological advancements, evolving threats, inadequate regulations, insufficient investment, public awareness, and international cooperation are all critical components that need attention Continue Reading
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News
29 Sep 2023
Scottish watchdog urges wider biometric oversight
Scotland’s biometrics watchdog urges Scottish Parliament to extend oversight of biometric information to include the entire criminal justice system, not just police Continue Reading
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News
28 Sep 2023
Strasbourg court condemns Turkey for jailing teacher for using ByLock encrypted messaging app
The case is expected to have implications for the use of digital evidence in prosecutions against users of other encrypted phone apps Continue Reading
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News
27 Sep 2023
Five more subpostmasters have IT system-related convictions overturned
Over 90 former subpostmasters have so far seen wrongful convictions overturned since it was proved that software errors were to blame for accounting shortfalls Continue Reading
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News
27 Sep 2023
Post Office had no interest in subpostmaster welfare when taking legal action, says Fujitsu memo
Fujitsu memo reveals Post Office didn’t care how legal action would affect its subpostmasters as it placed the reputation of its computer system before their welfare Continue Reading
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News
27 Sep 2023
City of Las Vegas masters cyber incident response with Darktrace
The high-rolling city of Las Vegas experiences unique cyber security challenges rarely seen elsewhere. CIO Mike Sherwood reveals how he turned to Darktrace to help address incidents quicker and with confidence Continue Reading
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News
26 Sep 2023
UK government quietly disbands data ethics advisory board
The government has disbanded its Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation’s advisory board in favour of pulling the relevant artificial intelligence (AI) and data knowledge from a pool of external experts Continue Reading
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News
26 Sep 2023
HMRC names and shames non-compliant umbrella firms for running tax avoidance schemes
The government tax collection agency is stepping up its efforts to prevent contractors falling victim to non-compliant umbrella firms with three new names added to its list of known tax avoidance schemes Continue Reading
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News
25 Sep 2023
Visa to fund AI scholarships for underrepresented students in government scheme
Payments giant supports UK scheme to increase diversity in the data and artificial intelligence sector through funding Continue Reading
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News
25 Sep 2023
Apple fixes three vulnerabilities found by spyware researchers
Apple has patched three more vulnerabilities uncovered by spyware and surveillance researchers at The Citizen Lab Continue Reading
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News
22 Sep 2023
Cyber experts set out plan to secure future US elections
A group of experts are setting out to enhance election cyber security in the United States, and restore public faith in a process tainted by interference and misinformation in the past Continue Reading
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News
22 Sep 2023
Lords begin inquiry into large language models
Lords will examine the risks and opportunities of large language models and look at how government can effectively manage them in the coming years Continue Reading
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News
20 Sep 2023
Parliament passes sweeping Online Safety Bill but tech companies still concerned over encryption
Ofcom will consult on standards to enforce new powers, but tech companies remain concerned about the impact of the bill’s ‘spy clause’, which could require them to scan encrypted messages Continue Reading
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Opinion
20 Sep 2023
The most important law you’ve never heard of - the Electronic Trade Documents Act
The UK's Electronic Trade Documents Act has come into force, and it promises to make international trading easier, cheaper, faster and greener - but only if companies and government adopt its measures Continue Reading
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News
19 Sep 2023
Braverman puts pressure on Meta to pause end-to-end encryption plans
The home secretary is calling on Meta to halt its plans to introduce encrypted messaging services on Facebook and Instagram until the company puts measures in place to detect abuse Continue Reading
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News
19 Sep 2023
New revelations from the Snowden archive surface
A decade after Snowden exposed NSA’s mass surveillance in cooperation with the British GCHQ, only about 1% of the documents have been published – but three major facts can finally be revealed thanks to a doctoral thesis in applied cryptography by Jacob Appelbaum Continue Reading
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News
19 Sep 2023
Post Office employee changed story for witness statement used to destroy subpostmaster
Post Office inquiry hears how an auditor changed her story about a subpostmaster to help win court battle Continue Reading
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News
19 Sep 2023
UK wants international collaboration on AI for development
Foreign secretary James Cleverly uses speech at United Nations General Assembly to set out vision for potential of AI technology to speed up development in the world’s poorest nations Continue Reading
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News
18 Sep 2023
Government offers £600,000 to subpostmasters with overturned convictions
Subpostmasters wrongfully convicted of financial crimes based on evidence from faulty Horizon software will be offered £600,000 compensation by government Continue Reading
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News
18 Sep 2023
Government seeks industry views on cyber threat to UK CNI
The Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee is seeking evidence from the cyber sector as it launches an inquiry into the resilience of the UK's critical national infrastructure Continue Reading
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News
15 Sep 2023
UK space sector needs more people with AI skills, according to survey
Space sector survey shows machine learning and artificial intelligence skills are highly sought after, as the industry struggles to recruit and retain people with the necessary talent Continue Reading
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News
15 Sep 2023
Manchester police data breach a classic supply chain incident
The developing data breach at Greater Manchester Police follows a cyber attack on the systems of a key supplier of ID services to the force Continue Reading
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News
14 Sep 2023
Bristol Uni to host one of Europe’s most power supercomputer clusters
A high-performance computer system being built at the University of Bristol will run thousands of GPUs to support research in artificial intelligence and scientific discovery Continue Reading
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News
14 Sep 2023
Government appoints Dave Smith as UK national tech adviser
The former Rolls-Royce technology director will take over the role of UK national technology adviser, following government recruitment campaign for the role in the wake of former tech adviser Patrick Vallance’s departure Continue Reading
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News
13 Sep 2023
GCHQ breached privacy rights of IT professional and security researcher, human rights court rules
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg finds UK intelligence services breached the privacy rights of two overseas nationals – an IT professional and a security researcher Continue Reading
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News
13 Sep 2023
Patch Tuesday: Microsoft fixes zero-days in Word and Streaming Service
September 2023 brings a light Patch Tuesday, with two zero-days and five critical vulnerabilities listed in the latest release Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2023
Ancient MoD IT systems could cause supply issues for frontline troops
Deliveries of inventory to the front line are being put at risk due to legacy IT systems and poor data, according to the National Audit Office Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2023
Whitehall only capable of ‘piecemeal’ digital transformation, says PAC
The Public Accounts Committee is unconvinced government will achieve its digital transformation ambitions as progress is thwarted by staff shortages and a lack of senior leadership engagement Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2023
European enterprises to spend more on generative IT to close gap on US
European organisations are upping their spending on generative AI innovation, but face challenges recruiting the right people to support this Continue Reading
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News
11 Sep 2023
University of Glasgow launches Centre for data science and AI
Scottish university will apply artificial intelligence and data science to help solve some of the world's biggest challenges Continue Reading
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News
11 Sep 2023
Polish election questioned after Pegasus spyware used to smear opposition, investigation finds
Senate committee alerts prosecutors over potential crimes by public officials involved in purchasing Pegasus spyware used to monitor and smear political opponents Continue Reading
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News
11 Sep 2023
IR35: HMRC reportedly working to April 2024 start date for settlement offsets fix
HMRC is reportedly planning to roll out its fix for the double-taxation issue affecting IR35 compliance cases by April 2024 Continue Reading
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News
08 Sep 2023
Deputy PM urges UK plc not to lose focus on cyber
In a speech at TechUK, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden urges the cyber security community not to lose focus, and to do more to further collaboration across sectors Continue Reading
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News
08 Sep 2023
HGS to provide contact centre support for One Login
The partnership between the Government Digital Service and Hinduja Global Solutions will see the supplier provide contact centre services for the digital identity platform Continue Reading
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News
07 Sep 2023
UK minister fails to reassure tech companies over encryption risk
Technology companies say reassurances by government ministers that they have no intention of weakening end-to-end encrypted communication services do not go far enough Continue Reading
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News
07 Sep 2023
Kent Digital tackles digital divide with refurbished laptops
The council has begun working with Circular Computing to support people who do not have access to laptop devices Continue Reading
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News
07 Sep 2023
Government AI taskforce appoints new advisory board members
An initial progress report published by the Taskforce provides detail on new appointments to its external advisory board as well as rebrand to focus on “frontier” artificial intelligence Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Sep 2023
Interview: Ashish Gupta, head of EMEA, HCLTech
It’s not just enterprises that changed their operating models during and after Covid, but also the suppliers that took them on the journey, HCLTech Europe’s head explains Continue Reading
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News
06 Sep 2023
French supreme court dismisses legal challenge to EncroChat cryptophone evidence
Defence lawyers plan to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights after the French supreme court disallowed an appeal over the legality of EncroChat evidence Continue Reading
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News
06 Sep 2023
German court unclear whether intercepted EncroChat cryptophone messages are legally admissible
Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court is waiting to hear five complaints that could decide whether data from the hacked EncroChat phone network can be lawfully used in German courts, but situation remains unclear for now Continue Reading
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News
05 Sep 2023
Hacked Electoral Commission failed Cyber Essentials audit
The Electoral Commission failed an NCSC Cyber Essentials audit on multiple counts at about the same time as cyber criminals breached its systems in 2021, it has emerged Continue Reading
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News
05 Sep 2023
Government pumps £18.5m into autonomous vehicles
Government’s funding is part of a £50m pot going to 30 different ‘cutting-edge’ manufacturing projects, with the aim of boosting green technology innovation Continue Reading
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News
05 Sep 2023
NCSC names ex-NCC man as new CTO
New NCSC CTO Ollie Whitehouse joins from NCC Group, having also worked at BlackBerry and Symantec Continue Reading
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News
05 Sep 2023
Plymouth Uni spearheads research into wind farm cyber resilience
Project hosted at the University of Plymouth in Devon aims to develop cyber security measures to protect the UK’s increasingly important offshore wind farm assets Continue Reading
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E-Zine
05 Sep 2023
Met Police data platform goes £64m over budget
In this week’s Computer Weekly, we reveal a £64m cost over-run for the Metropolitan Police’s new record management system – and the thousands of support requests it’s caused. Our latest buyer’s guide looks at the issues around integrating software-as-a-service applications. And a leading flash storage firm says the age of spinning disk drives is almost over – are they right? Read the issue now Continue Reading
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News
04 Sep 2023
TUC launches AI taskforce for workers’ rights and societal benefit
The Trades Union Congress has launched what it calls an AI ‘taskforce’ to draft an AI and Employment Bill, aimed at safeguarding workers’ rights, early in 2024 Continue Reading
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News
04 Sep 2023
LockBit ransomware gang allegedly leaks MoD data after hit on supplier
The UK government appears to have become entangled in a LockBit ransomware attack after data was leaked from a third-party supplier online Continue Reading
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News
01 Sep 2023
Police Scotland five-year digital strategy approved
Police Scotland’s new strategy outlines how the force will approach and invest in its digital transformation over the next five years, but notes its ability to achieve its ambitions is subject to the availability of funding Continue Reading
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News
01 Sep 2023
IT experts issue new warnings over Online Safety Bill plans to weaken end-to-end encryption
BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, argues the government is seeking a technical fix to terrorism and child abuse without understanding the risks and implications Continue Reading
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News
31 Aug 2023
Border Target Operating Model gives update on digital border plans
The model aims to make smarter use of data and technology at the border, including a digital gateway for users to provide data and apply for licences and authorisations Continue Reading
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News
31 Aug 2023
Home Office and MoD seeking new facial-recognition tech
The UK’s Defence and Security Accelerator is running a ‘market exploration’ exercise on behalf of the Home Office to identify new facial-recognition capabilities for security and policing bodies in the UK Continue Reading
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News
31 Aug 2023
Post Office to provide in-person identity checks for One Login
Partnership between the Government Digital Service and the Post Office will see postmasters and staff provide face-to-face identity checks for those unable to use the One Login app or website Continue Reading
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News
31 Aug 2023
GenAI outranks cloud as business IT strategic priority
Enterprise Strategy Group research on the use cases for generative AI shows it as strategic for corporate IT, with impacts on customer experience, software development and IT Ops Continue Reading
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News
31 Aug 2023
MPs say UK at real risk of falling behind on AI regulation
MPs in charge of scrutinising the UK government’s proposals for regulating artificial intelligence have warned that time is running out for the introduction of new AI legislation before 2025 Continue Reading
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News
30 Aug 2023
Met police data platform deployed with data protection issues
Met Police deploys integrated record management system despite data protection ‘compliance issues' that would inhibit its ability to retrieve data, meet its statutory logging requirements, and respond to subject access requests Continue Reading
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News
29 Aug 2023
Zero-day that forced Barracuda users to bin kit was exploited by China
Mandiant has published details of how a Chinese threat actor targeted high-profile users of Barracuda Networks' Email Security Gateway appliances, including government agencies of interest to Beijing's intelligence goals Continue Reading
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News
29 Aug 2023
Nats resorts to fail-safe manual process after technical hitch
Just a few hours of manual processing has resulted in a massive backlog in flights Continue Reading
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News
29 Aug 2023
Top-performing CISOs reserve time for professional development
Survey of chief information security officers conducted by Gartner sheds light on habits shared by the top-performing members of the profession Continue Reading
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News
24 Aug 2023
Bletchley Park to host UK government AI safety summit
An international collaboration event on artificial intelligence safety is being run at the site that was home to the world’s first programmable computer Continue Reading
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News
24 Aug 2023
NHS SBS to launch £1.5bn digital workplace solutions framework
NHS Shared Business Services is planning on a second iteration of its digital workplace solutions framework before the current one expires in August 2024 Continue Reading
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News
24 Aug 2023
NHS England calls on NHS organisations to take part in wireless trials
NHS organisations are encouraged to apply for funding for the wireless trials programme, which aims to explore how cutting-edge tech can improve patient care Continue Reading
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News
24 Aug 2023
AWS debuts Dedicated Local Zones with Singapore government as first customer
The new offering will be fully managed by AWS, built for exclusive use by a customer or community, and placed in a customer-specified location or datacentre Continue Reading
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News
23 Aug 2023
Six subpostmaster appeals to be heard in Scottish court
Scottish court will hear appeals against the convictions of six former subpostmasters based on evidence from a Post Office computer system Continue Reading
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News
23 Aug 2023
St Helens Council in Merseyside hit by ransomware attack
St Helens Borough Council is investigating a suspected ransomware incident targeting its systems, and is advising residents to be on the alert for follow-on phishing attacks Continue Reading
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News
23 Aug 2023
Cyber attacks in 2023 develop quicker as average dwell times plummet
The median attacker dwell time shrunk from 10 to eight days in the first seven months of 2023, and in the case of ransomware attacks it is down to just five days Continue Reading
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News
22 Aug 2023
Met Police data platform £64m over budget
A freedom of information request has revealed that the Met’s Connect integrated record management system is running tens of millions over budget, and has already generated more than 25,000 support requests so far Continue Reading
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E-Zine
22 Aug 2023
Can low code/no code ease developer skills shortages?
In this week’s Computer Weekly, organisations are increasingly turning to low-code/no-code tools to enable “citizen developers” among staff – can this help to ease software developer skills shortages? SAP says it will restrict availability of its advanced AI capabilities – we examine the implications. And we go behind the scenes of the University of East Anglia’s digital transformation plans. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
17 Aug 2023
NUHS taps LLM to boost productivity, patient care
Healthcare professionals at Singapore’s National University Health System can now summarise patient case notes and predict patient healthcare journeys using a large language model trained by a supercomputer Continue Reading
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News
17 Aug 2023
MP calls for review of computer evidence rule which led to subpostmasters being wrongly convicted
MP writes to minister in charge of courts requesting he looks at the controversial rules on the use of computer evidence in court Continue Reading
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News
16 Aug 2023
Accenture’s Brussels AI lab to focus on European public sector and health
Accenture will use its Brussels AI lab to test AI and generative AI's application in the European public sector Continue Reading
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News
15 Aug 2023
Biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner resigns
Dual biometrics and surveillance camera watchdog will step down at the end of October 2023, noting that while he agreed to stay on until the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill received royal assent, continuing delays to its passage means he will not be able to effectively discharge his functions Continue Reading
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News
15 Aug 2023
Norfolk and Suffolk police hit by FoI-linked data breach
Latest UK police data breach relates to crime suspects, victims and witnesses across East Anglia, and comes just days after a similar incident at the Northern Irish service Continue Reading
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News
14 Aug 2023
CMA provisionally clears US healthcare giant’s purchase of GP IT supplier EMIS
US company UnitedHealth is looking to buy UK healthcare technology firm EMIS in a £1.2bn deal Continue Reading
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Opinion
11 Aug 2023
Why technology jobs are proving resilient
The clamour for technology professionals has become less frenetic in recent months but demand for IT skills remains high Continue Reading
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News
11 Aug 2023
Biden administration bans investment in Chinese high tech
Executive Order prohibits investment firms from supporting Chinese firms specialising in AI, quantum and advanced semiconductors Continue Reading
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News
10 Aug 2023
DWP accounts highlight decline in outside IR35 workers in wake of department’s £87.9m tax bill
The Department for Work and Pensions has seen a marked decline in the number of outside IR35 contractors it engages since the department was hit with a £87.9m tax bill several years ago, its accounts show Continue Reading
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News
10 Aug 2023
Babylon Health faces downfall
GP at Hand provider once hailed by Matt Hancock looking to sell UK business after merger plans collapse Continue Reading
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News
10 Aug 2023
Sutton Council steps up tech-enabled care for residents
Council partners with technology-enabled care provider to support vulnerable residents living independently in their own homes Continue Reading
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News
10 Aug 2023
MoD embarks on cloud-based push to digitise data protection request service
After previously finding itself on the receiving end of a reprimand from the UK data protection watchdog for taking too long to respond to subject access requests, the Ministry of Defence sets out how its turned the situation around with the help of cloud-based system eCase Continue Reading
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News
10 Aug 2023
PSNI investigating second breach after laptop stolen
Just hours after accidentally disclosing the personal details of 10,000 personnel, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has notified a second data breach after a police issue laptop and documents were stolen from a parked car Continue Reading
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News
09 Aug 2023
Northern Irish police expose staff data in botched FoI response
Human error is being blamed for the leak of personally identifiable information on all serving officers and civilian staff at the Police Service of Northern Ireland Continue Reading
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News
08 Aug 2023
MPs warn about growing prevalence of tech-enabled domestic abuse
The UK government must take action to prevent perpetrators from being able to use connected or smart technologies to conduct their domestic abuse, a select committee has warned Continue Reading
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News
08 Aug 2023
UK voter data hacked in cyber attack on election watchdog
An unknown threat actor who attacked the UK’s Electoral Commission had access to data on millions of UK voters for over a year, the watchdog has revealed Continue Reading
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News
03 Aug 2023
Plexal takes on new cohort for cyber security leadership scheme
Six more cyber security startup founders have been selected to take part in Plexal’s latest Cyber Runway Ignite programme, which is designed to help them develop their leadership skills Continue Reading
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News
03 Aug 2023
UK government recruits panel to focus on semiconductors
A panel of experts is being recruited as part of the government's national semiconductor strategy to ensure the UK’s chip sector can grow Continue Reading
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News
02 Aug 2023
Ivanti MDM users told to patch against two dangerous flaws
Users of Ivanti’s mobile device management platform have been warned to act now to patch two vulnerabilities that were chained by a threat actor in a series of cyber attacks on the Norwegian government Continue Reading
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News
02 Aug 2023
Wirral Council set to deploy Microsoft Fabric data platform
The platform, which is being developed in collaboration with Simpson Associates, will be used to aid decision-making and improve operations Continue Reading
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Feature
31 Jul 2023
Large language models harnessed for education
Large language models are being used to teach, support and assess students, enhancing education rather than impairing it Continue Reading
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News
31 Jul 2023
G-Cloud 13 suppliers claim framework extension is making it ‘commercially unviable’ to sell through
Government procurement chiefs at the Crown Commercial Service are under fire for extending the life of the G-Cloud 13 framework and preventing suppliers from upping their prices as inflation bites Continue Reading
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News
28 Jul 2023
Lancaster Uni lends cyber support to nuclear decommissioning body
Lancaster University’s cyber team has joined with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to help support and protect its 300-year mission, while enhancing its own capabilities in the process Continue Reading
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News
28 Jul 2023
Scottish university hit by Rhysida ransomware gang
Data allegedly stolen from the University of Western Scotland has been put up for sale on the dark web by a ransomware gang going by the name Rhysida Continue Reading
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News
27 Jul 2023
Post Office tried to convince independent IT witness that he was wrong about Horizon
‘Delusional’ Post Office tried to influence an expert witness and get him to change his view about IT evidence which was detrimental to its case against a subpostmaster Continue Reading
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Opinion
26 Jul 2023
NATO countries must coordinate their cyber forces to combat the Russian threat
The top item on the agenda at the Vilnius NATO Summit this month was the revamping the alliance’s defences. Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2023
CCRC refers two more subpostmaster convictions for appeal
Two more subpostmaster convictions referred to appeal court by the Criminal Cases Review Commission Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2023
Tetra radio users’ comms may have been exposed for years
A number of flaws in the encryption algorithms used in the secure Tetra radio communications standard have potentially left users exposed to snooping Continue Reading