By the London technology team
Goodbye GDS?
Despite recent praise from none other than David Cameron himself, the Government Digital Service (GDS) is at risk of being broken up at the forthcoming Spending Review. Analysts Kable believe one such scenario may involve the GDS’ responsibilities divided up between various Whitehall departments.
The speculation comes after David Cameron praised the GDS as one of the public sector’s “great unsung triumphs” and the recent resignation of Mike Bracken as Director. There is concern that any moves to tear apart the GDS could lead to a return to the past where some Department’s needs dominated government IT.
You can find an excellent summary by IT PRO.
MI5 boss says tech companies need to do more to tackle terrorism
The head of MI5, Andrew Parker, said tech companies have an ethical responsibility to do more to report suspicious users on their networks.
In the first live media interview ever given by a serving British security chief, Parker stressed the need for legislation that would allow intelligence agencies to monitor terror suspect’s online communications. He also raised concerns over online encryption, stating that advances in technology would cause terror suspects to “go dark.”
The landmark interview was covered by The Guardian as well as Computer Weekly.
First drone related conviction in the UK
A UK first happened this week when a man was convicted for illegally flying a drone over popular London landmarks and disturbing police horses at a football match. He was fined £2,400 for breaching the Air Navigation Order (which bans flying over a built up area) and was banned from owning unmanned aircraft for two years.
The Civil Aviation Authority is considering revising air navigation rules in light of the rising popularity of drones and is a classic case of new tech challenging existing laws.
Ars Technica covered the case as did BBC News.
