IT for government and public sector

Nordic business is leading open banking charge in Europe

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

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

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

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

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

NHS Digital seeks suppliers for Covid-19 testing service

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

Government publishes geospatial data strategy to capitalise on location data

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

Norway’s contact-tracing app suspended over privacy concerns

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

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

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

UK quantum technology projects get a £70m boost

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

Why UK needs independent oversight body for contact-tracing app

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

Northern Ireland invests £1.7m in online learning

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

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

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

NHS email service users ensnared in phishing attack

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

UK to boost data science efforts in citizen services

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

UN secretary general calls for global digital cooperation

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

Subpostmasters will not cooperate with government review into IT scandal

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

Tech firms respond to Nordic government calls

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

Government lays out future trade plan for UK tech

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

Data insights will define post-coronavirus city planning

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

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

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

IBM divests from facial-recognition market

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

UK tech professionals feel impact of lockdown easing

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

CogX 2020: Matt Hancock on tech during Covid-19

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

CogX 2020: Rethinking technological innovation

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

Virtual GP practice accidentally exposes patient video calls

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Government publishes artificial intelligence procurement guidance

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

Select committees to continue with Zoom virtual meetings until September

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

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

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

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

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

London Tech Week to go ahead through Zoom

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

Ministry of Defence forms new cyber security regiment

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

Dutch organisations invest heavily in compliance – but in vain

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

Government evades being pinned to a date for online harms legislation

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

OVHcloud brings healthcare-focused private cloud offering to UK market

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

MPs' investigation into Post Office Horizon IT scandal bares teeth

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

Security procurement framework goes live for NHS and public sector

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

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

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

Government departments could cut payment costs through API deal

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

Hull supercomputer helps fight Covid-19

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

NIS security regulations proving effective, but more work to do

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

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

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

Employees must be consulted on technologies monitoring the return to work

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

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange misses court hearing due to respiratory problems

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Test and Trace has not passed data protection impact assessment

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

UK to join Covid-19 High-Performance Computing consortium

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

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

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

Departments launch 69 services on Gov.uk during coronavirus pandemic

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

UK government seeks innovations to tackle space debris

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

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

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

Subpostmasters crowdfund for justice in IT scandal

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

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

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

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

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

CW Nordics: Startups face tough decisions as coronavirus hits

Tech startups based in the Nordic region face difficult decisions as the Covid-19 pandemic leads to falling sales and investment. Also read why Swedbank is rebuilding its anti-money laundering systems, and how Nordic fintechs are developing apps to prevent more adults getting into financial difficulty. Continue Reading

UK government spent over £50m on digital response to Covid-19 pandemic

NAO report outlines public spending on responding to the coronavirus crisis, which also includes a £1.2bn hit from delaying controversial IR35 tax reforms Continue Reading

Cheshire deploys digital child health system during lockdown

Commissioning support unit joins up records of children across county into one integrated digital system, despite pandemic challenges Continue Reading

Facial-recognition suppliers race to identify hidden faces

The number of companies claiming to have developed facial-recognition tools that can identify masked faces has skyrocketed since the start of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic Continue Reading

Coronavirus: Dutch work on XR technology shows promise in pandemic scenario

Netherlands leads the way in the development of extended reality technology, which could prove its value in a crisis such as Covid-19 Continue Reading

Government eyes virtual reality projects with new funding

Investment increases in competition aimed at fast-tracking development of innovations arising from the coronavirus crisis Continue Reading

Coronavirus: NHSX enlists military innovation hub for Covid-19 app project

Organisations will work together to gather and share coronavirus symptom data from third-party tracker apps Continue Reading

Gov. U OK?

These times of ours, you might have heard, are being described as both “strange” and “unprecedented”. There’s also been some talk of a “new normal”, although while for some that means extra-long ... Continue Reading

Serco exposes contact tracers’ data in email error

Error saw almost 300 coronavirus contact tracers’ email addresses made visible to other recipients of the message Continue Reading

Covid-19 contact-tracing apps under review – The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly and Brian McKenna are joined by networking editor Joe O’Halloran to discuss the government’s Covid-19 contact-tracing app. They also discuss the design of software for older people Continue Reading

Post Office executive who tried to mislead judge in Horizon trial leaves via back door

Angela van den Bogerd leaves position as Post Office director quietly, despite many years of service Continue Reading

Scotland calls on tech companies to help build a digital nation

Trade body launches challenge for tech firms to contribute ideas to create a “critical national digital infrastructure” for Scotland Continue Reading

Innovate UK seeks ways to transform aviation with technology

Projects to develop new forms of air transportation can get a share of up to £30m in funding from Innovate UK Continue Reading

Privacy advocates demand clarity over Covid-19 datastore

Government and NHS face questions about the involvement of private technology companies with coronavirus datastore Continue Reading

NHS Scotland begins contact-tracing tech pilot

Three Scottish health boards are trialling coronavirus contact-tracing software which will be rolled out across the country at the end of this month Continue Reading

NHS looks for remote monitoring tech

NHSX is seeking suppliers to help scale up remote monitoring across the health service in England, particularly for Covid-19 patients, and will go out to tender shortly Continue Reading

CIO interview: Simon Liste, chief information technology officer, Pension Protection Fund

Experience of delivering digital change in the private sector means the PPF’s IT chief is well positioned to lead transformation in a critical public sector organisation Continue Reading

HMRC on the hunt for permanent CDIO

New chief digital and information officer will earn at least £200,000 a year and be responsible for a £1bn tech budget Continue Reading

Interview: Bev White, chief executive, Harvey Nash

The Harvey Nash executive talks about recruitment during the coronavirus crisis, a new wave of interest in outsourcing, and leadership skills and challenges Continue Reading

Government pushes towards digital to reignite housing market

Minister calls for more virtual viewings and greater use of online tools for planning as the UK prepares to get its housing and construction sector up and running again Continue Reading

Harman seeks to bring private member’s bill over contact tracing

Chair of Human Rights Committee aims to put the proposed Contact Tracing (Data Protection) Bill 2020 before parliament as a private member’s bill if necessary Continue Reading

CW APAC: Trend Watch – business response to coronavirus

With countries the world over reeling from the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, which has meant sweeping changes both economically and socially, Computer Weekly looks at how firms in the Asia-Pacific region have adapted to what has so quickly become the new normal. Continue Reading

Surveillance capitalism in the age of Covid-19

Could the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic further consolidate surveillance capitalist practices and enterprises? Author Shoshana Zuboff warns Computer Weekly it is possible Continue Reading

Government tells social media companies they must go further to address disinformation

House of Lords committee hears about government collaboration with social media firms to combat pandemic-related disinformation and online harms Continue Reading

Coronavirus: Why the public sector must pursue IT transformation

It is clear that the current coronavirus crisis has had a major impact on digital transformation efforts in the public sector Continue Reading

MPs take part in first live test of remote voting during Covid-19 debate

MPs will use phones and computers to vote from their homes in a House of Commons debate today in the biggest change in parliamentary procedure for 150 years Continue Reading

Police failing to consult public on new technologies

A freedom of information campaign has revealed that UK police are largely failing to consult the public on their use of new technologies, with the potential to undermine the principle of policing by consent Continue Reading

Smart thinking for modernised IT in the public sector

Far from lagging behind the private sector, many public sector organisations are embracing modern IT practices such as DevOps and agile methodologies Continue Reading

Government launches online portal to arrange coronavirus testing kits for care homes

UK care homes are now able to digitally arrange deliveries of Covid-19 test kits through the launch of an online portal Continue Reading

Will the NHS’s Covid-19 contact-tracing app work?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we get the expert reaction to find out if the NHS contact-tracing app will work. Staying close to clients is crucial through lockdown – we look at the importance of customer experience management. And imagine implementing a digital transformation plan in two weeks – one CIO explains how he did it. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

DWP takes centre stage in future of Gov.uk Verify

The Government Digital Service (GDS) has published its first blog post on Gov.uk Verify since July 2019. Given the dearth of communications about the troubled digital identity system, it tells a ... Continue Reading

How Sage scrambled software development team for Job Retention Scheme module

Small team of Sage developers, testers and payroll specialists in race against time to help customers facilitate HMRC’s furlough scheme Continue Reading

Scottish government launches tech sector review

Review, to be led by former Skyscanner COO Mark Logan, will look at how tech sector can help Scotland’s economy recover from Covid-19 Continue Reading

IT transformation steps pave the path to new ways to work

The CEO of Difrent discusses how her roles in local and central government have played a role in public sector IT transformation Continue Reading

Five pillars of public sector IT

Finding better ways for people to collaborate and share information digitally is the challenge government needs to embrace. We look at ways in which this can be achieved Continue Reading

HM Treasury tells GDS: No further online services can use Gov.uk Verify

The recent 18-month reprieve for Verify came with strict conditions – the digital identity scheme must not be added to any more services, and existing users must find alternatives Continue Reading

App launched to support social care workers through coronavirus

The Care Workforce tool will be rolled out to 1.5 million professionals as a hub for practical guidance and support Continue Reading

Facebook announces oversight board members

New board will rule on freedom of expression issues and make policy recommendations to social media giant. Continue Reading

FBI search warrants reveal Trump aide’s messages to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

FBI search warrants reveal Trump campaigner Roger Stone sent private messages to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after the site published thousands of documents that damaged Hillary Clinton’s election campaign Continue Reading

Digital skills for the future, today

The education sector’s response to the coronavirus crisis demonstrates how digital systems and skills will be essential to the future of learning Continue Reading

CW Benelux: IT budgets up in the air as Covid-19 disrupts business

Computer Weekly's annual IT priorities survey, which was carried out before the arrival of Covid-19 disrupted business plans, found that more than half of the IT leaders in the Benelux region expected budgets to be higher this year than last, and digital transformation would be the main recipient of budget increases. Also find out in this issue why fintechs are attracted to the Netherlands, and how Estonia emerged from Soviet rule to become a digital nation. Continue Reading

Criminal justice system is failing cyber crime victims

Victims of cyber crime face barriers to reporting, receiving support and achieving justice, says a Home Office-backed study Continue Reading