WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
NCSC; More to do every week |
The National Cyber Security Centre which is part of GCHQ, last week welcomed specialists from across government, industry & law enforcement to the start of their flagship CYBERUK 2018 summit. Criminals are launching more online attacks on UK businesses than ever before, it was revealed in a report published to mark the start of the country’s biggest cyber security conference. 'The Cyber Threat to UK Business', jointly authored by the NCSC and the National Crime Agency (NCA) in collaboration with industry partners, has been published to mark the start of the conference. The report details some of the biggest cyber attacks from the last year and notes that risks to UK businesses continue to grow. Emerging threats are also highlighted, such as theft from cloud storage and cryptojacking, in which computers are hijacked to create crypto currencies such as bitcoin. The report acknowledges that a basic cyber security posture is no longer enough and most attacks will be defeated by organisations which prioritise cyber security & work closely with government and law enforcement. |
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NCSC: Cyber summit launches with report showing growing threat to UK businesses ~ NCSC: Nicola Hudson opens CYBERUK 2018 In Practice ~ techUK: Home Secretary Announces £50m Funding At CyberUK ~ NCSC: New Cyber Attack categorisation system to improve UK response to incidents ~ ICO: Building the cyber security community ~ Cyber crime effects everyone ~ Be ‘proactive’, not ‘reactive’ when protecting your website ~ Portsmouth City Council Selects NCSC Certified Mobile Solution for Secure Mobility: Latest Case Study ~ Building a (cyber) secure future |
Chasing down those who have chosen the ‘Dark Side’ of the web |
The Home Secretary has launched a crackdown on criminals who exploit the dark web. |
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Home Secretary announces law enforcement crackdown on dark web ~ Boost to operations against dark web criminality ~ The GDPR and Beyond: Privacy, Transparency and the Law ~ Dark web drug dealers get 56 years in jail ~ “My priority is your satisfaction … we’ll find the perfect, custom concentration for you” ~ Teenager attempted to buy explosives to kill parents ~ Man tried to buy hand grenades on the dark web with bitcoins ~ Gwent man admits buying and selling toxic synthetic opioid on dark web ~ Identity fraud figures soar ~ Two of dark web’s biggest criminal marketplaces shut down ~ WannaCry Ransomware: Putting Cybercriminals’ Finances Under the Microscope ~ NCSC publishes new report on criminal online activity ~ Dark web gun buyer had sensitive prison information |
techUK: But take note of latest cyber security warning! |
G-Cloud gives central government, local councils, NHS Trusts and other public sector bodies a way to purchase cloud-based services. Read More Last month the Cabinet Office announced that a new version of the G-Cloud procurement framework will open for bids in April, allowing new companies to join the framework - after delivering £1.4bn of spend to small businesses since its inception. The decision to release a new version of the framework will support new companies, including small businesses, to supply to government, while also giving current suppliers the opportunity to update their service offer & pricing. G-Cloud 10 could eventually be worth £600m. NCSC; 'The Cyber Threat to UK Business', ……... Emerging threats are also highlighted, such as theft from cloud storage ….. |
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techUK: G- Cloud 10 market briefing ~ techUK: Demystifying Local Government: Growing the Local Govtech Market ~ 'The Cyber Threat to UK Business' |
DCMS; An increasing threat |
A new £13.5m cyber innovation centre - The London Cyber Innovation Centre - located in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, will help secure the UK’s position as a global leader in the growing cyber security sector. |
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DCMS: World-leading cyber centre to be developed in London’s Olympic Park |
GDS; Revision of Open Standards Principles |
They have iterated the existing Principles as part of the Government Transformation Strategy & the UK Digital Strategy. The updated version uses clearer language & clarifies several important points. The Cabinet Office mandates the use of the Open Standards principles, which say that all documents and data we create need to be available in open formats. It is vitally important to ensure that the Civil Service adheres to these principles. |
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Cabinet Office; All have equal chance |
The government is announcing tough new measures to level the playing field for smaller businesses bidding to win government contracts. Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden has announced proposals to exclude suppliers from major government procurements if they cannot demonstrate fair & effective payment practices with their subcontractors. Other plans include allowing subcontractors to have greater access to buying authorities to report poor payment performance, signalling the government’s commitment to improving payment practice in the UK. Further requirements mean suppliers will have to advertise subcontracting opportunities via the Contracts Finder website, and to provide the government with data showing how businesses in their supply chain, including small businesses, are benefiting from supplying to central government. |
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Cabinet Office: New changes to encourage small businesses to apply for government contracts ~ CCS: Prompt payment by Government suppliers |
DfT; Nice if it actually delivers! |
The government has set out its plans to make the country’s aviation sector world-leading in prioritising passengers, fostering sustainable growth and promoting trade. The aviation strategy next steps document outlines proposals which will build on the aviation industry’s work to improve the flying experience for passengers at every stage of their journey. This will include new measures to help passengers make a more informed choice about their flight including providing more transparency on additional costs. The document also outlines how the government will work with industry to ensure all passengers have a dignified & comfortable travelling experience, including ways to improve accessibility at airports and on aircraft and tackling the issue of disruptive passengers. Work will be carried out to improve the compensation scheme for consumers, ensuring passengers are properly informed about their rights to claim when things go wrong & exploring greater powers to enforce regulations. |
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DfT: News story: Government puts consumers at heart of the aviation industry ~ CBI comments on Aviation Strategy ~ Airline Insolvency Review to examine protection for air passengers ~ Working together for a thriving aviation sector ~ Government to clamp down on unsafe lasers ~ Ensuring safe flights ~ Great! ~ Up, Up or flight delayed? ~ Could raise cost of flights? ~ Montreal Convention not fit for purpose? ~ Airports National Policy Statement: more work needed before Parliamentary approval ~ Government outlines next steps for delivering airport expansion ~ Additional hand luggage restrictions on some flights to the UK |
NHS England; Not all is ‘doom & gloom’ in the NHS |
Four innovations that will be fast-tracked into use through NHS England’s Innovation & Technology Payment programme.
The scheme delivers improvements in patient care by cutting bureaucracy for clinicians & other innovators and encouraging uptake through the NHS. NHS England has also announced £1.5m to pump prime the spread of innovations including DrDoctor, a nationally backed trial of a technology to cut missed hospital appointments. Promising developments are sometimes not adopted because of a lack of evidence to support their use. The money found by NHS England will fund real world evaluation of innovations. |
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Heart patients among those to benefit as NHS England backs innovation ~ Innovative care ~ Technology at heart of a future ‘improved & cost efficient’ NHS ~ Healthy funding ~ With medical staff costs continually rising, we need other alternatives ~ An example of why the NHS has to continually ‘invest’ in research / pilot schemes ~ We must break the habit of decades and commercialise UK inventions in the UK ~ NHS innovates to provide better care |
10DS; The male equivalent of Breast cancer |
The PM has set out ambitious new plans to help thousands of men with prostate cancer get treated earlier & faster. Over 40,000 men will be recruited into prostate cancer studies over the next 5 years, which will be backed by £75m to support new research into early diagnosis & treatment. |
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10DS: PM to announce new research & funding in drive to fight prostate cancer ~ Time is of the essence |
MHCLG; And so they should be! |
Measures will be introduced to professionalise the estate agent market, driving up standards & bringing an end to ‘rogue managing agents’. Estate Agents will now be required to hold a professional qualification and to be transparent about the fees they receive for referring clients to solicitors, surveyors and mortgage brokers. |
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MHCLG: Government to professionalise the estate agent market ~ CMA: Estate agent cartel directors disqualified |
DfT; A lifeline for some |
Disabled & older people in England will continue to benefit from free off-peak bus travel, keeping them connected with their local towns and cities as the government has now amended legislation. |
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DfT: Free bus passes for older and disabled people protected for the future ~ Welsh Government to consult on discounted bus travel for 16-24 year olds ~ LGA: Bus passenger journeys fall to lowest level in a decade, councils warn ~ LGA: Bus services - new figures reveal reductions forced on councils ~ Half of counties now enable older persons' bus pass applications online reveals Better connected ~ Buses form the backbone of our local transport network ~ First Minister launches new Young Persons Discounted Travel Scheme and upgraded TrawsCymru T3 Service ~ Cardiff & Valleys Lines rail discount for free bus pass holders ~ Age UK - Life without a bus would be worse, say 9 out of 10 |
Electoral Commission: Is ‘yours’ a vote? |
The ‘Got 5?’ campaign is encouraging anyone who isn’t registered to go online at gov.uk/register-to-vote whilst they wait in the pub for their mates & register before the deadline on 17 April2018. |
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Electoral Commission: Say cheers to voting, final week left to register ~ We have to provide ID for many other things |
CO; Voter ‘impersonation’ |
If you live in Swindon, Woking, Watford, Gosport or Bromley, you will need identification to vote on 3 May 2018, as the government is working with 5 LAs to pilot the use of identification at polling stations. In Swindon and Watford, you will need to take your poll card to the polling station. These are being delivered to every eligible voter with a reminder to keep it safe for use on polling day. In Bromley and Gosport, you will need one piece of photo identification, like a passport or driving licence, or two pieces of non-photo ID, such as a recent bank or credit card statement and utility bill of which one must contain your address. In Woking, you will need photo identification, like a passport, driving licence or senior bus pass. |
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Don’t forget to take ID to vote in five pilot areas on 3 May |
SFO; An intelligent solution to a major problem |
The Serious Fraud Office has announced a significant upgrade to its document analysis capability as artificial intelligence is made available to all of its new casework from April 2018 By automating document analysis, AI technology allows the SFO to investigate more quickly, reduce costs and achieve a lower error rate than through the work of human lawyers, alone. Able to process more than half a million documents a day, a pilot “robot” was recently used to scan for legal professional privilege content in the SFO’s Rolls-Royce case at speeds 2,000 times faster than a human lawyer. Building on this success, ‘Axcelerate’ a new AI powered document review system from OpenText, is now being rolled out alongside the robot, and will enable SFO case teams to better target their work & time in other aspects of investigative and prosecutorial work. Not only will the new AI document review system be able to recognise patterns, group information by subject, organise timelines, and remove duplicates, it will eventually be able to sift for relevancy thereby removing documents unrelated to an investigation. |
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SFO: AI powered ‘Robo-Lawyer’ helps step up the SFO’s fight against economic crime ~ AI automation starts to transform legal profession - Computer Weekly |
HMCTS; What about those with no internet access? |
A new online service to make it quicker & easier for people to claim money owed, resolve disputes out of court and access mediation has gone live. The new service, introduced by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), can be used to start a claim against anyone in England & Wales, and provides a quicker, more user-friendly way to start an action in the County Court for amounts up to £10,000. Rather than having to fill in and post a paper form, or use an outdated online system from 2002, the new pilot allows people to issue their County Court claim more easily, settle the dispute online and recommends mediation services – which can save time, stress, and money. More than 1,400 people have already used an earlier pilot of the system launched in August 2017. |
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HM Courts & Tribunals Service: Quicker way to resolve claim disputes launched online |
ScotGov; Apply now |
Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) is now open for business and asking both full & part time students to submit their 2018-2019 funding applications at www.saas.gov.uk. |
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techUK; Heads-Up for UK Data Centre Operators |
Existing CCA participants will continue to benefit from CCL discount until 2023 but the scheme is due to close this year to new entrants. Companies who want to apply should do so now. |
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DWP; Fighting inflation |
A number of welfare reforms have come into effect from April 2018, including an increase in the State Pension rate and extra financial support for disabled people in the workplace are among a number of welfare reforms. |
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DWP: More support for disabled people plus other welfare & pension reforms start in April |
Editorial Commentary; EU and Spain ‘two-faced’ on border issues? |
An interesting article from ‘Briefings for Brexit’ invites readers to compare the EU negotiators stance on citizen’s rights when comparing their attitude to the RoI – NI border and that of the Spain – Gibraltar border after Brexit. One could argue that the DUP’s ‘right to veto’ any settlement is on a par with the Spanish government’s! |
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BfB: Gibraltar and the EU – lessons from an unprincipled approach ~ Editorial Commentary; Further look at the report by European Committee of the Regions (CoR) detailing the consequences of Brexit on trade & the economy in the EU27 regions & cities ~ DExEU: Gibraltar & UK Government agree measures to ensure strong relationship continues ~ OE: Henry Newman - The EU cherry-picks whenever it is politically convenient. Brexit should be such a time |
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