Three US agencies get failing grades for not following IT best practices
CIOs at the EPA, DHS, and GSA are called out for failure to implement critical cybersecurity recommendations
Public Sector05 Aug 2025 | 1
Public Sector
Your Public Sector Pulse: Where Policy Meets Tech Innovation
There’s so much happening at The Register in our coverage of government tech, we've created a dedicated section for the public sector, which offers you a front-row seat to the intersection of governance and technology. From e-governance initiatives and cybersecurity protocols to digital transformation in public services, however fast (or slow) it happens, we bring you analyses, updates, and insights that matter.
Eutelsat LEO revenue rockets 84% as governments cool on Starlink
OneWeb constellation may be smaller, but it's suddenly looking like a safer bet for some
Networks05 Aug 2025 | 10
Forget the Space Force! Trump needs to create a Cyber Force, says think tank
One new military branch per term would have to be some sort of record
Public Sector04 Aug 2025 | 19
Microsoft briefly turned off Indian company’s cloud, perhaps due to EU sanctions on Russia
Oh, the irony of Europe demonstrating the importance of the sovereign cloud it craves
Off-Prem04 Aug 2025 | 32
$10 billion, 10 year US Army contract elevates Palantir to defense contracting royalty
Crashes the multibillion-dollar DoD party alongside Boeing, Lockheed, and Raytheon
Public Sector01 Aug 2025 | 11
Panic buying ahead of Trump tariffs added $825 million to Apple's sales last quarter
World War Fee iBiz warns import imposts set to rise
Personal Tech01 Aug 2025 | 4
US lowers tariffs on major tech exporting nations - but buyers will still pay more
World War Fee Malaysia's attitude of 'This could be worse and our neighbors are copping it too' is a typical response
Public Sector01 Aug 2025 | 22
Ex-CISA chief slams MAGA 'manufactured outrage' after sudden West Point firing
comment US Army Sec appears to fold under pressure from far-right conspiracy theorist
Public Sector31 Jul 2025 | 35
NHS disability equipment provider on brink of collapse a year after cyberattack
Government officials say they are monitoring the situation
Cyber-crime31 Jul 2025 | 16
Capgemini wins £107M HMRC extension – no competition needed
Updated Deal for legacy applications support reaches £322M as they continue to be decommissioned
Public Sector31 Jul 2025 | 14
Trump officials float plan for Americans to share their medical data more freely
Apple, Google, AI biggies, and for-profit insurance all eagerly rubbing their hands
Public Sector31 Jul 2025 | 28
The TSA likes facial recognition at airports. Passengers and politicians, not so much
Few passengers are told they can opt out, and when they do, airport staff may push back
Security31 Jul 2025 | 36
India gets its turn on the Trump tariff train: 25% levy to start Friday
world war fee The US president also hints at an extra penalty for New Delhi over trade with Russia
Public Sector30 Jul 2025 | 29
US Navy won't torpedo hurricane forecast satellite feed after all
Data stream from aging sensor to continue after public backlash and amateur workaround
Science30 Jul 2025 | 12
Broadband biz fined for emergency caller location data fail
Gigaclear slapped by watchdog for failings, admits 'seriousness of the error'
Networks30 Jul 2025 | 5
Australia bans kids from signing up for YouTube accounts, angering Google
‘We want kids to know who they are before platforms assume who they are’ says Minister
Legal30 Jul 2025 | 63
Florida Man earns five-year sentence for $100 million telco fraud
Q Link claimed subsidies for ineligible customers
Legal30 Jul 2025 | 10
CISA caves to Wyden, agrees to release US telco insecurity report - but won’t say when
The security nerds' equivalent of the Epstein files saga
Security29 Jul 2025 | 3
US agencies log nearly 9x more GenAI use cases in 2024 - but deployments stall
Strict regulations, lack of funding, and hallucinations remain hurdles to implementation
AI + ML29 Jul 2025 | 2
US science left out in the cold amid plans to retire Antarctic icebreaker
Another week, another protest over budget proposals
Science29 Jul 2025 | 29
Popular
Millions of age checks performed as UK Online Safey Act gets rolling
But it's OK, claims Brit government, no personal data stored 'unless absolutely necessary'
Tech bro denied dev's hard-earned bonus for bug that overcharged a little old lady
Who, Me? Startups aren't good at testing software, or respecting contracts
IT firing spree: Shrinking job market looks even worse after BLS revisions
The payroll growth we thought we experienced in May and June? Gone, like tears in the rain
China’s botched Great Firewall upgrade invites attacks on its censorship infrastructure
Attempts to censor QUIC traffic create chance to block access to offshore DNS resolvers
Mozilla flags phishing wave aimed at hijacking trusted Firefox add-ons
Devs told to exercise 'extreme caution' with emails disguised as account update prompts
Microsoft briefly turned off Indian company’s cloud, perhaps due to EU sanctions on Russia
Oh, the irony of Europe demonstrating the importance of the sovereign cloud it craves
Antivirus vendors fail to spot persistent, nasty, stealthy Linux backdoor
Updated 'Plague' malware has been around for months without tripping alarms
Python-powered malware snags hundreds of credit cards, 200K passwords, and 4M cookies
PXA Stealer pilfers data from nearly 40 browsers, including Chrome
Google agrees to pause AI workloads to protect the grid when power demand spikes
On hot summer days, air conditioning is rather more important than search summaries
Lazarus Group rises again, this time with malware-laden fake FOSS
Infosec In Brief PLUS: Slow MFA rollout costs Canucks $5m; Lawmakers ponder Stingray ban; MSFT tightens Teams; And more!
STORIES
UK buys time with £1.65B extension to G-Cloud framework
Replacement deal not ready, so old one gets 6 more months and budget bump
Public Sector29 Jul 2025 | 9
Microsoft used staff in China to help babysit US govt cloud services, report says
But they were supervised by American 'digital escorts'
Public Sector28 Jul 2025 | 14
Trump pushes EU into trade 'deal' that several EU leaders aren't happy about
world war fee Europe is acting like the victim of a bully
Public Sector28 Jul 2025 | 136
UK needs to pick up handsets for troubled Emergency Services Network project
Up to £925M on table as government pushes ahead with project likely to be a decade late
Networks28 Jul 2025 | 21
Microsoft admits it 'cannot guarantee' data sovereignty
Under oath in French Senate, exec says it would be compelled – however unlikely – to pass local customer info to US admin
PaaS + IaaS25 Jul 2025 | 95
Advisor to Brit tech contractors Qdos confirms client data leak
Updated Policy management not affected, but some personal data may have been snaffled
Cyber-crime25 Jul 2025 | 6
Trump promises he won't put his boot on Musk's neck
We're all businesspeople here, right?
Public Sector24 Jul 2025 | 27
Weapons jam: Pentagon sucks at removing foreign objects from its gear, auditors say
Component origin isn't tracked, says GAO, meaning the circuits in equipment could be from anywhere
Public Sector24 Jul 2025 | 20
Trump AI plan rips the brakes out of the car and gives Big Tech exactly what it wanted
'Build, baby, build', and forget about regulation and wokeness is the gist of it
Public Sector24 Jul 2025 | 49
IRS has lost one-quarter of its IT staff since Trump took office
The 2026 tax year ought to be fun
Public Sector23 Jul 2025 | 28
Stop flooding us with AI-based grant applications, begs Health Institute
ai-pocalypse Already reeling from staff cuts, the health agency is choking on slop
AI + ML23 Jul 2025 | 13
Biden broadband benchmarks are BS, says Trump FCC
No more consideration of affordability or 1 Gbps speed goal if Chairman Carr gets his way
Public Sector22 Jul 2025 | 40
UK government swoons over OpenAI in legally meaningless love-in
Credulous minister claims MoU – not contract – with chatbot biz could help 'fix NHS' and 'drive economic growth'
AI + ML22 Jul 2025 | 22
The real reason why Trump is killing the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawai'i
Column The Keeling Curve, measured there, is irrefutable evidence of increasing CO2 emissions
Science22 Jul 2025 | 255
UK to ban ransomware payments by public sector organizations
'We're going to smash the business model' NHS, councils, and schools told
Cyber-crime22 Jul 2025 | 31
UK Post Office names public inquiry as risk to £410 million Horizon replacement project
After abandoning in-house replacement for scandal-hit system, government company looks to off-the-shelf software
Public Sector22 Jul 2025 | 53
Radio geeks reveal how to access crucial hurricane data after US Department of Defense cut it off
Hams for the win: Amateur-built decoder taps SSMIS satellite data amid NOAA cutoff
Networks21 Jul 2025 | 62
Fujitsu sorry for Post Office horror – but still cashing big UK govt checks
Updated Non-competitive £220M datacenter deal with tax collector tops £510M pile of public money
Public Sector17 Jul 2025 | 47
UK tech minister negotiated nothing with Google. He may get even less than that
Comment Peter Kyle promised alternative to 'ball and chain' of legacy systems, but he has no plan and little power
Public Sector16 Jul 2025 | 39
Security shop Adarma ceases trading, confirms it will enter administration
Former staffers of struggling UK biz say they don’t expect to be paid for July
Security16 Jul 2025 | 3
AMD cleared to join Nvidia and resume selling some underpowered AI chips to China
Waiting for license approval but plans to resume shipments of the MI308 accelerator soon-ish
Systems16 Jul 2025 | 4
IT consultancy settles US battle over alleged $14.75M government contract fraud
Outfit was accused of charging for specialist IT labor performed by uncertified folks
Public Sector15 Jul 2025 | 2
Britain's billion-pound F-35s not quite ready for, well, anything
Stealth jets can't fight, can't fly much, and can't shoot UK missiles, says NAO
Security15 Jul 2025 | 182
Nvidia to resume sales to China – with Trump administration approval
Maybe CEO Jensen Huang's million-dollar meal at Mar-a-Lago has paid off in the form of permission to sell the H20 and a new RTX Pro GPU
Public Sector15 Jul 2025 | 8
Malaysia closes a back door that may have allowed US-sourced AI chips to reach China
Stricter regulation follows last week's tariff whack
Public Sector15 Jul 2025 | 4
Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and xAI get $800M to hop in bed with Pentagon
Updated Looks like DoD FOMO struck Silicon Valley
Public Sector14 Jul 2025 | 13
Iran seeks at least three cloud providers to power its government
Despite loathing the USA, Iran wants providers who match NIST’s definition of cloud computing
Public Sector14 Jul 2025 | 9
Google Indonesia tangled up in $600 million Chromebook corruption probe
Asia In Brief PLUS: China’s massive lithium find; Cisco’s new Asia boss; Japan and EU plan satcomms collab; and more
Public Sector14 Jul 2025 | 8
Hegseth signs flying memo to expand military use of cheap drones in oddball video
video An announcement so weird it could only come from the Trump administration
Public Sector11 Jul 2025 | 87
Pentagon snaps up ownership stake in America's only rare earths mine
Rare earth metals are vital to electronics, and most of them are mined in China
Public Sector11 Jul 2025 | 47
Chinese censorship-busters claim Tencent is trying to kill its WeChat archive
UPDATED Alleges Singaporean infosec outfit sent feeble legal demands to hosting company, which caved
Security11 Jul 2025 | 5
China's biggest car rental company now offers autonomous cars
Three-seater from Baidu delivers itself, follows directions, then finds its way home
AI + ML11 Jul 2025 | 17
Thousands of NASA senior staffers expected to quit after budget slashed
It could have the same headcount as 1960 by the end of the month
Public Sector10 Jul 2025 | 51
Please don't cut funds for space traffic control, industry begs Congress
TraCSS is like an FAA for space, and it's slated for the chopping block
Public Sector10 Jul 2025 | 7
Former reality TV star appointed NASA interim administrator
Can Sean Duffy embrace the challenge?
Science10 Jul 2025 | 62
Write-back to aging UK health systems lessens benefits of Palantir-based platform
Controversial system requires local NHS investment to maximize productivity
Databases10 Jul 2025 | 30
Chinese TV uses AI to translate broadcasts into sign language. It’s not going well
Deaf professor who worked on one product says developers won’t listen to feedback – about their products or their tech bro ways
AI + ML10 Jul 2025 | 25
Shiny object syndrome spells doom for many AI projects, warns EPA CIO
Chasing the hype without a clear use case? You may crash and burn
Public Sector09 Jul 2025 | 20
Google Cloud lands gig to make 100,000 UK civil servants tech-literate
But Chocolate Factory love-in sorely lacks detail
Public Sector09 Jul 2025 | 19
Privacy campaigners pour cold water on London cops' 1,000 facial recognition arrests
Activists argue the resources spent on tech aren't leading to worthwhile numbers
Security09 Jul 2025 | 32
Army and Navy have both asked for right to repair, now Senators want to give it to them
You want that military contract? Then no more proprietary repairability clauses!
Public Sector08 Jul 2025 | 22
Trump's budget bill opens wide swath of spectrum for sale
updated Including frequencies that overlap with Wi-Fi 6E and private mobile networking
Public Sector08 Jul 2025 | 5
Post Office and Fujitsu execs 'should have known' Horizon IT system was flawed
First volume of inquiry report focuses on the UKscandal's human impact
Public Sector08 Jul 2025 | 95
UK police dangle £75 million to digitize its VHS tape archives
Those pirated video nasties won’t last forever
Public Sector08 Jul 2025 | 41
Trump administration announces tariffs that may make plenty of tech more expensive from August 1
World War Fee Memory from Korea, hard disks from Thailand, plenty of stuff from Japan
Public Sector08 Jul 2025 | 63
'Cyber security' behind decision to end defense satellite sharing of hurricane data
Official notice confirms delay to cutoff until the end of July. Not to worry, AI modelling's in the wings
Networks07 Jul 2025 | 55
EU businesses want a pause on AI regulations so they can cope with unregulated Big Tech players
Mistral fears continental companies may not get time to escape 'distant, behemoth corporations'
AI + ML04 Jul 2025 | 42
Won’t somebody think of the European children? Meta and Google put up their hands to help on the same day
Zuck backs a ‘digital majority age’ and Google open sources tech that might enforce it
Public Sector04 Jul 2025 | 17
US budget bill passes without controversial block on states regulating AI
And with some increases to rural broadband funds, fresh spectrum auctions, and wholesale dismantling of clean energy subsidies
Public Sector03 Jul 2025 | 18
US Air Force holds hypersonic resupply site review amid seabird concerns
Red-tailed tropicbirds stymie Johnston Atoll maneuvers
Public Sector03 Jul 2025 | 18
'Quad' nations launch plan to stop China making critical minerals into Unobtanium
India, Japan, USA and Australia see risks and opportunities in rare earths
Public Sector03 Jul 2025 | 12
Senate decides free rein for AI companies isn't such a good thing
Trump's budget bill moves back to the House with some mods
Public Sector01 Jul 2025 | 13
DRAM spot prices doubled last week
Fears that DDR4 has hit the end of the road and the return of tariffs may be to blame
Systems01 Jul 2025 | 9
Sinaloa drug cartel hired a cybersnoop to identify and kill FBI informants
Device compromises and deep-seated access to critical infrastructure exposed surveillance vulnerabilities in agency's work
Security30 Jun 2025 | 11
Canada orders Chinese CCTV biz Hikvision to quit the country ASAP
Asia In Brief PLUS: Broadband blimps to fly in Japan; Starbucks China put ads before privacy; and more!
Public Sector30 Jun 2025 | 30
Australia not banning kids from YouTube – they’ll just have to use mum and dad’s logins
Regulator acknowledges that won’t stop video nasties, but welcomes extra ‘friction’
Public Sector27 Jun 2025 | 29
Glasgow City Council online services crippled following cyberattack
Nothing confirmed but authority is operating under the assumption that data has been stolen
Cyber-crime26 Jun 2025 | 14
Qilin ransomware attack on NHS supplier contributed to patient fatality
Pathology outage caused by Synnovis breach linked to harm across dozens of healthcare facilities
Cyber-crime26 Jun 2025 | 7
UK to buy nuclear-capable F-35As that can't be refueled from RAF tankers
Aircraft meant to bolster NATO deterrent will rely on allied support to stay airborne
Security26 Jun 2025 | 276
Top AI models - even American ones - parrot Chinese propaganda, report finds
Communist Party tracts in, Communist Party opinions out
AI + ML26 Jun 2025 | 31
French city of Lyon ditching Microsoft for open source office and collab tools
Ingredients of future software salade Lyonnaise will include Linux, PostgreSQL, and OnlyOffice
Public Sector26 Jun 2025 | 102
Visiting students can't hide social media accounts from Uncle Sam anymore
Visa seekers are reportedly censoring their own posts to visit the land of the free
Public Sector25 Jun 2025 | 116
Brit politicians question Fujitsu's continued role in public sector contracts
Updated Despite Horizon scandal promises to end bidding, bids keep popping up
Public Sector25 Jun 2025 | 23
UK govt dept website that campaigns against encryption hijacked to advertise ... payday loans
Company at center of findings blamed SEO on outsourcer
Security25 Jun 2025 | 17
Bank of England expands data and cloud framework by £26.7 million after revising data strategy
Dependent on SAP and Oracle, UK central bank wants to modernize in the cloud, refresh data strategy
Public Sector25 Jun 2025 | 4
Don't look up: NASA is struggling to execute its planetary defense plan
Audit finds budget uncertainties and tiny staff make it hard to mount a fight against killer space rocks
Science25 Jun 2025 | 28
China’s trying to slim down, which will fatten the smartwatch market
Sales are already surging thanks to Beijing's subsidies and Trump's tariffs
Personal Tech24 Jun 2025 | 16
America and Britain gear up with Project Flytrap to bring anti-drone kit to the battlefield
video Prepping to fight the next war, not the last one
Public Sector23 Jun 2025 | 19
Economists sceptical over UK Spending Review's partly AI-driven 10% budget cuts
MPs hear doubts over efficiency savings that are reliant on speculative gains from IT, machine learning
Public Sector23 Jun 2025 | 26
US patent office wants an AI to scan for prior art, but doesn't want to pay for it
'The selected vendor must be willing to receive consideration that is primarily non-monetary,' says the USPTO
AI + ML20 Jun 2025 | 44
Eutelsat seeks €1.35B to boost LEO network and take the fight to Starlink
French satellite operator plans capital raise backed by state and key investors including Bharti
Science20 Jun 2025 | 9
OVHcloud chief talks up sovereignty discussions with the European Commission
... And then promptly deletes comment. Optimism or an opportunity? Or perhaps both
PaaS + IaaS20 Jun 2025 | 9
Attack on Oxford City Council exposes 21 years of election worker data
Services coming back online after legacy systems compromised
Cyber-crime20 Jun 2025 | 24
Australia finds age detection tech has many flaws but will work
Probe into how to implement social media ban finds privacy risks, developer overreach, infosec uncertainties
Personal Tech20 Jun 2025 | 40
China just two years behind USA on chip design, says White House tech Czar
Expects Huawei to start exporting AI chips soon, creating global fight for tech stack dominance
Public Sector20 Jun 2025 | 36
UK gov asks university boffins to pinpoint cyber growth areas where it should splash cash
Good to see government that values its academics (cough cough). Plus: New board criticized for lacking 'ops' people
Public Sector19 Jun 2025 | 11
Space manufacturing company Varda gets clearance to launch more uncrewed capsules
UPDATED Startup has already shown how to make drugs in space
Science19 Jun 2025 | 2
Europe slams online tat bazaar AliExpress for dodging obligation to stop dodgy traders
Illegal products abound on Chinese site and its processes to stop ‘em are hopeless
Public Sector19 Jun 2025 | 43
Iran’s internet goes offline for hours amid claims of ‘enemy abuse’
Bank and crypto outfits hit after Israeli commander mentioned attacks expanding to ‘other areas’
Public Sector19 Jun 2025 | 13
Judge smacks down Pentagon plan to slash university research funding awards
Sec Def Hegseth says funds better spent elsewhere, because it's not like the military needs new tech, right?
Public Sector18 Jun 2025 | 23
Biting the hand that feeds IT
