IT for government and public sector

Log4Shell, ProxyLogon, ProxyShell among most exploited bugs of 2021

These 15 CVEs were the most commonly exploited last year, and if you haven’t mitigated against them, now is the time Continue Reading

Ransomware victims paying out when they don’t need to

Sophos’s annual State of Ransomware report shows dramatic increases in the impact of ransomware attacks, but also finds many organisations are paying ransoms when they don’t need to Continue Reading

Government digital ignorance puts Dutch economy at risk

In this interview, Michiel Steltman, managing director of Digital Infrastructure Netherlands, tells Computer Weekly why the Dutch digital economy is at risk due to a lack of knowledge and understanding at government level Continue Reading

Police question former Fujitsu worker again in Post Office scandal perjury investigation

Police have interviewed a former Fujitsu employee for the third time in the investigation into potential perjury during trials of wrongfully convicted subpostmasters Continue Reading

BCS passes defiant Ukrainian tech industry message to its members

BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, has passed on a message from Ukrainian IT suppliers that the country is open for, and in need of, business Continue Reading

Emotet tests new tricks to thwart enhanced security

The operators of the Emotet botnet seem to be trying to find a way to get around recent changes made by Microsoft to better protect its users Continue Reading

Did HMRC really 'lock taxpayers out' from their online accounts?

Did HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) really “lock taxpayers out” from their online accounts, as The Guardian has claimed? It’s a situation that arose from a predictable and – according to HMRC – ... Continue Reading

Majority of workers using umbrella companies see no benefits

Research from trade body for independent professionals finds that most self-employed workers operating through an umbrella company think there are no advantages to the arrangement Continue Reading

Government appoints head of technology transfer unit

Government announces a CEO to lead its initiatives around commercialising its knowledge assets Continue Reading

Post Office scandal victims still waiting for compensation a year after convictions overturned

Former subpostmasters at the centre of one of biggest miscarriage of justice in modern history are still waiting for compensation a year after their wrongful convictions were overturned Continue Reading

EU lawmakers propose limited ban on predictive policing systems

MEPs’ joint report on European Artificial Intelligence Act sets out limited ban on predictive policing systems alongside a raft of further amendments to improve redress mechanisms and extend the list of AI systems deemed high-risk Continue Reading

Five Eyes in new Russia cyber warning

Latest cross-body alert warns of Russian threat to utilities and other core elements of national infrastructure Continue Reading

European cities moving fast to change business of parking

German cities are using the latest smart parking technology to reduce traffic and car pollution while collecting more fees for parking Continue Reading

Dutch schools struggle with digitisation

Now is the time for schools in the Netherlands to determine how the opportunities of distance and digital learning resources can be made to work and how the risks involved can be mitigated Continue Reading

More Scottish subpostmaster conviction reviews expected as part of Post Office scandal

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission expects more subpostmasters with potential wrongful convictions to come forward Continue Reading

Home secretary Priti Patel to decide whether to extradite Assange

Home secretary will decide in four weeks whether to approve Julian Assange’s extradition to the US, where he faces espionage and hacking charges Continue Reading

NSO Group faces court action after Pegasus spyware used against targets in UK

Three human rights activists whose phones were targeted by spyware traced to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have begun legal action against both countries and Israel’s NSO Group Technologies Continue Reading

Financial Ombudsman Service chooses TCS as digital transformation partner

Tata Consultancy Services will build and implement key systems as part the Financial Ombudsman Service’s digital transformation Continue Reading

ODI data literacy report laments technical skills inflation in government data strategy

An Open Data Institute report on data literacy and UK government data strategy sees a lack of clarity in definition, fragmentation of responsibility, and a disconnect between government and citizens Continue Reading

Lack of expertise hurting UK government’s cyber preparedness

UK government bodies and critical infrastructure owners cite a lack of staff resources, and internal and external expertise, as hampering factors when it comes to cyber readiness, according to a report Continue Reading

Zhadnost DDoS botnet deployed against Finland

A coordinated DDoS attack hit two government ministries in Finland at the same time as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a virtual address to the Finnish parliament Continue Reading

Government agrees bulk surveillance powers fail to protect journalists and sources

Campaign group Liberty to launch legal appeal that will call for journalists to receive stronger legal protections from state surveillance Continue Reading

WatchGuard firewall users urged to patch Cyclops Blink vulnerability

The US authorities have seen fit to add the WatchGuard vulnerability used by Sandworm to build the Cyclops Blink botnet to its list of must-patch vulnerabilities Continue Reading

Microsoft patches two zero-days, 10 critical bugs

Patch Tuesday is here once again. This month, security teams must fix two privilege escalation zero-days in the Windows Common Log File System Driver and the Windows User Profile Service Continue Reading

AI researcher says police tech suppliers are hostile to transparency

Expert witness in Lords police tech inquiry welcomes committee’s findings but questions whether its recommendations on how to end the ‘Wild West’ of police artificial intelligence and algorithmic technologies in the UK would be implemented Continue Reading

Border IT system fixed after 10-day outage

Post-Brexit border IT system failure fixed after going down at the start of April, allowing traders to once again file customs documents electronically rather than by hand Continue Reading

EncroChat: France says ‘defence secrecy’ in police surveillance operations is constitutional

Constitutional court finds that invoking ‘defence secrecy’ to withhold information about the state hacking of EncroChat cryptophones is constitutional. Defence lawyers now head for the supreme court Continue Reading

Goldacre review outlines recommendations on safer use of health data

The findings of an investigation into use of health data for research and analysis includes a number of proposals to improve innovation in the NHS Continue Reading

Online Safety Bill: Collaborating to make the internet safer for all

The UK government's plan to regulate the internet and social media includes some positive and progressive measures – but by working with industry, a lot more could be achieved Continue Reading

MPs and editors sound alarm over threat to Freedom of Information

Government secrecy and trend for departments to block Freedom of Information requests pose a long-term risk to accountability Continue Reading

Amazon workers defeat company to form first US union

Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island, New York, have successfully formed the first union at the company, with organisers pledging to help their colleagues across the US do the same Continue Reading

European IT and BPO outsourcing off to strong start

European IT and business process outsourcing services continue to increase rapidly, with cloud-based services now more than half of the total Continue Reading

IR35 reforms: Private sector warned HMRC's 12-month 'light-touch' enforcement period is ending

HMRC confirmed, in the lead up to the IR35 reforms coming into force in the private sector in April 2021, that it would be taking a ‘light-touch’ approach to enforcing the rules for 12 months. And that grace period ends today Continue Reading

How data sharing and collaboration can solve great challenges

Daniel Hirst and Arjan Dhaliwal from Ordnance Survey argue for the value of data sharing, collaboration and data skills enhancement to address social, ecological economic problems Continue Reading

Secrecy over police EncroChat hacking is unconstitutional, defence lawyers tell top French court

France’s constitutional court, the Conseil Constitutionnel, has heard arguments that the use of ‘defence secrecy’ to withhold information about police surveillance operations breaches the French constitution Continue Reading

Triple-threat Borat malware no joke for victims

Unlike its namesake, the newly discovered Borat malware won’t raise a smile for IT security pros Continue Reading

Saudi Arabian ICT sector hits $32.1bn after strong pandemic response

The Saudi Arabian IT and communications sector is recovering strongly from the Covid-19 pandemic Continue Reading

UCL and AWS team up for health tech-focused startup accelerator

AWS is lending its cloud expertise to UCL’s startup accelerator programme, which is geared towards helping health and education organisations address global health issues Continue Reading

Fujitsu bags £430m government contracts despite rising cost of Post Office Horizon scandal

Fujitsu has won two huge government IT contracts, worth over £400m, while taxpayers face footing the massive bill for the Post Office scandal caused by its software Continue Reading

Environmental campaigners halt Meta datacentre construction in the Netherlands

Datacentre being built to serve ‘metaverse’ worlds would consume nearly half as much energy as all other datacentres in the country Continue Reading

Four moves to ‘checkmate’ critical assets thanks to lax cloud security

Malicious actors can compromise 94% of critical assets within four steps of the initial breach point, according to a report Continue Reading

TechUK calls on government to seize post-Brexit data opportunities

Ahead of the government’s reply to its late 2021 consultation about proposed post-Brexit reforms to the data protection regime, TechUK has published a paper declaring six data governance principles Continue Reading

EU Act ‘must empower those affected by AI systems to take action’

Ada Lovelace Institute publishes recommendations on how European institutions can improve the Artificial Intelligence Act by establishing a ‘comprehensive remedies framework’ around those affected by the deployment of AI systems Continue Reading

Global upheaval shows cyber security isn’t good enough, says GCHQ director

Generational global upheaval has laid bare significant gaps in national cyber strategies, GCHQ chief Jeremy Fleming has said in a speech Continue Reading

Compensation goal finally in sight for 555 Post Office scandal victims

The subpostmaster campaign group which exposed the Post Office Horizon scandal could be close to achieving the objective it was established for, with fair compensation for its members in sight Continue Reading

Why diversity in AI remains a challenge and how to fix it

With artificial intelligence set for a global economic explosion, its development must put diversity at its core to avoid discriminating systems Continue Reading

One-third of UK firms suffer a cyber attack every week

New statistics from the annual DCMS Cyber security breaches survey reveal the extent and frequency with which UK organisations are being attacked by malicious actors Continue Reading

Recruitment risks: Avoiding the dangers of fraudulent candidates

Tech companies are seeing an increase in fraudulent job applications, with associated impacts on risk and cyber security. So how can organisations protect themselves from fraudulent applicants while ensuring they recruit the best talent? Continue Reading

Overhaul of UK police tech needed to prevent abuse

Lords inquiry finds UK police are deploying artificial intelligence and algorithmic technologies without a thorough examination of their efficacy or outcomes, and are essentially ‘making it up as they go along’ Continue Reading

NCSC: Not necessarily wise to ditch Kaspersky

UK’s National Cyber Security Centre issues refreshed guidance on organisations’ usage of technology and services of Russian origin, but stops short of advising users to expunge all Russian products from their IT estates Continue Reading

UK tech ecosystem reaches $1tn valuation

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic prompted massive investment in the UK’s digital companies, which are collectively valued at $1tn Continue Reading

Wave of Log4j-linked attacks targeting VMware Horizon

Sophos issues a new warning to organisations that have so far failed to patch their VMware Horizon servers against Log4Shell Continue Reading

Spring Statement lays the foundation for a make-or-break Budget for business in the autumn

The tech sector has welcomed much of the chancellor’s latest financial plans, but says there is more to do if technology is to achieve its full potential for driving economic growth Continue Reading

Cabinet Office publishes playbook with rules for government digital projects

Digital, Data and Technology guide outlines measures supporting overhaul intended to “get things right at the start” Continue Reading

IT professionals wary of government campaign to limit end-to-end encryption

Members of the Chartered Institute of IT, the professional body for technology professionals in the UK, warn against limiting end-to-end encryption Continue Reading

Sajid Javid pushes digitisation of social care records

Health secretary wants 80% of providers to abandon paper-based records by 2024 ahead of broader plans for digital health and care Continue Reading

European Commission proposes new cyber security regulations

New cyber and information security regulations have been proposed by the European Commission to create a minimum set of standards in both areas Continue Reading

London police arrest seven in connection to Lapsus$

Seven people arrested by London police over cyber attacks carried out by Lapsus$ group, which is responsible for a number of recent, high profile attacks Continue Reading

NHS advances digital trials with high-tech mobile health clinic

The NHS’ Find and Treat van uses tech tools including artificial intelligence software and a tele radiology network to care for vulnerable, high-risk Londoners Continue Reading

CW Innovation Awards: Transforming Australia’s national assessment programme

Education Services Australia has transformed the country’s national assessment programme through an online platform that has enabled teachers to design adaptive tests and improved student engagement Continue Reading

UK government promises high-speed internet for all schools by 2025

Hot on the heels of announcing upgrades to UK mobile networks in hard-to-reach places, and as part of its latest plans to roll out gigabit broadband across the country, government turns connectivity focus on educational establishments Continue Reading

Spring Statement: Chancellor expands R&D tax relief to cloud computing and storage

Rishi Sunak announces further measures intended to improve innnovation and tech-enabled productivity in UK businesses Continue Reading

Chinese state media use Facebook to push pro-Russia disinformation on Ukraine war

Facebook owner Meta accused of failing to follow its own policies by not disclosing how Chinese state media were targeting Facebook users with ‘propaganda’ ads about the conflict in Ukraine Continue Reading

Biden issues warning about Russian cyber attacks

President Biden has said that US companies running critical infrastructure should immediately harden their defences in anticipation of potential cyber attacks from Russia Continue Reading

Interview: Eddie Copeland, director, London Office of Technology and Innovation

The leader of the London Office of Technology and Innovation discusses local government’s response to the pandemic and its priorities for collaborative work around data and innovation in 2022 Continue Reading

Revised scope of UK security strategy reflects digitised society

The omission of the word ‘security’ from the title of the UK government’s new National Cyber Strategy is a telling one, reflecting our increasingly digitised society, say Maximillian Brook and Arunoshi Singh of the ISF Continue Reading

555 subpostmasters to get fair compensation after government U-turn

Government finally agrees to pay 555 Post Office scandal victims fair compensation Continue Reading

Siloed data holding back coordinated health responses

Digital health experts discuss the role of data in coordinating the NHS’s pandemic response and how managing privacy and governance issues are key to further success Continue Reading

DWP Digital launches Birmingham hub

The new space will aim to create 130 jobs and tap into the digital talent pool of the West Midlands Continue Reading

UK Cyber Strategy a welcome injection of progress

The National Cyber Strategy should be seen as a welcome injection of both focus and investment in bettering cyber defence for everyone, says Turnkey Consulting senior consultant Louise Barber Continue Reading

University of Reading tracks fruit tree flowering as spring breaks, with Oracle

University is working with Oracle for research to monitor fruit trees as they blossom into spring Continue Reading

Electronic patient records key to NHS digital transformation

Getting EPR systems rolled out across NHS organisations will help boost digital transformation efforts, and are key to fulfilling government healthcare plans Continue Reading

The state of digital identity in the UK - such a great idea, you'll need a whole bunch of them

The promise of digital identity is a simple one: Prove once that you are who you say you are, and then forever more you have a single method to log in to any online service you choose. No more ... Continue Reading

Ukrainian cyber defences prove resilient

Thanks to a combination of prior experience and global support, Ukraine’s defences against cyber incidents are holding strong in the face of Russian attacks Continue Reading

National Cyber Strategy will enhance UK’s cyber power status

The UK punches above its weight when it comes to wielding cyber power around the world, but challenges to this status are clear. The National Cyber Strategy has a clear role to play in maintaining and enhancing this status, writes Paddy Francis of Airbus Cybersecurity Continue Reading

Russian IT sector faces unprecedented crisis

The Russian IT sector faces a major crisis as IT professionals and businesses flee the country after its invasion of Ukraine Continue Reading

Online Safety Bill introduced in Parliament

The government has introduced its long-awaited Online Safety Bill in Parliament, alongside new criminal offences and sanctions for tech company execs Continue Reading

Two men convicted after using EncroChat cryptophones to plot killing

Evidence from the encrypted phone network EncroChat led to the conviction of two men for conspiracy to murder Continue Reading

UCL report projects 5,500 ‘open data’ jobs in Newham by 2035

Report from University College London’s Institute for Global Prosperity says London borough is ‘uniquely placed to seize the data opportunity’ Continue Reading

German authorities warn on Kaspersky but stop short of ban

Germany authorities warn Kaspersky users to consider alternatives to the firm’s flagship antivirus software, citing national security concerns and the war on Ukraine Continue Reading

How cyber security teams can conquer the four-day working week

The four-day week may be an idea whose time has come, but for always-on cyber security professionals, the impact of squeezing more work into fewer days is a tricky proposition Continue Reading

Cross-party group of MPs calls on Loan Charge contractors to participate in call for evidence

The Loan Charge and Taxpayer Fairness All Party Parliamentary Group is seeking input from contractors about the real-world toll the loan charge policy is having on them Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms one year on: Assessing the impact on the UK’s tech talent pool

With the first anniversary of the IR35 reforms taking effect in the private sector fast approaching, IT contractors set out how the changes have affected their ability to find work in the UK Continue Reading

Supreme Court refuses Julian Assange extradition appeal

The case will be referred to the home secretary Priti Patel to make a decision. The WikiLeaks founder has yet to say whether he will file further appeals Continue Reading

Ukraine: Cyber warfare and IT industry boycott of Russia – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

Alex Scroxton joins the team to discuss the cyber war dimension of the conflict arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the IT industry’s response to Putin’s war Continue Reading

How can I avoid an exodus of cyber talent linked to stress and burnout?

Cyber security professionals have played a crucial role during the pandemic, yet many feel like their employers aren’t providing adequate mental health support and have considered quitting their jobs as a result. What can employers do to help them? Continue Reading

‘Technical issues’ leave Post Office branches with ATM cash discrepancies

Discrepancies of up to £2,000 reported after an ‘IT change’ impacted more than 200 Post Office branches Continue Reading

Majority of UK adults support legal right to disconnect

The introduction of ‘right to disconnect’ legislation to stop employees having to engage in work-related electronic communications outside their normal hours remains popular in the UK Continue Reading

Police EncroChat cryptophone hacking implant did not work properly and frequently failed

Surveillance operation against EncroChat encrypted phone network had repeated technical failures Continue Reading

Government launches outcome of digital ID consultation

Government document includes the launch of the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes, and a pledge that ID cards will not be introduced Continue Reading

National Cyber Strategy misses the mark in one important way

The National Cyber Strategy is full of fine words, says Petra Wenham, but as the old expression goes, fine words butter no parsnips, and it misses the mark in one very important way Continue Reading

Tech brands sign on to HackerOne responsible security drive

Tech companies sign HackerOne’s new corporate security responsibility pledge to bring cyber out of the shadows and promote effective, secure development practices Continue Reading

AI assistant Bürokratt to reduce bureaucracy in Estonian government

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Government to force tech firms to stop fraudsters using their platforms for scams

Changes to legislation will make social media and search engine firms responsible for preventing fraudsters using their platforms to commit crimes Continue Reading

Paid-for advertising measures included in Online Safety Bill

New measures to deal with fraudulent paid-for advertising have been included in the government’s draft Online Safety Bill, marking the fourth extension in two months Continue Reading

Strategic Review of Policing: Police tech needs better ethical scrutiny

The Strategic Review of Policing confirms the central role that tech will be playing going forward, but warns of the need for greater ethical scrutiny to ensure public trust Continue Reading

China’s APT41 exploited Log4j within hours

APT41 compromised multiple government organisations via the Log4Shell exploit within hours of its initial disclosure, Mandiant claims Continue Reading

Microsoft serves up three zero-days on March Patch Tuesday

Three zero-days pop up in Microsoft’s March update, along with a number of other noteworthy concerns for defenders Continue Reading

Subpostmasters won their David and Goliath battle, but initial goal still not reached

Despite exposing the Post Office Horizon scandal, Alan Bates, the former subpostmaster who drove the campaign for the truth, says the goal of repaying people what they lost has not yet been achieved Continue Reading

Horizon inquiry hearing sheds light on subpostmaster federation’s role in hushing up IT problems

A National Federation for Subpostmasters official had huge unexplained loss written off by Post Office despite many in the same position being convicted for crimes they didn't commit Continue Reading