IT for financial services

How multiphysics simulation might accelerate the advent of quantum computing – and vice versa

Sophisticated tools that simulate more than one physical phenomenon at a time may help designers home in on optimal architectures for quantum computers at less cost – and much faster Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Value of contactless transactions doubles in two years

Almost £166bn was spent in the UK last year using contactless technology, compared with £80.5bn in 2019 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Estonian anti-money laundering software pilot reaps benefits

Estonian startup and local banks have successfully piloted a data-sharing platform that prevents money laundering Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

No end to UK bank branch closures as HSBC shuts 69 more

HSBC closes another 69 branches as customers continue to migrate to digital channels Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

By

• Keiron Holyome

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

By

• Nicholas Fearn

‘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

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

BNP Paribas to recruit 1,000 more women in IT

Spanish bank sets target of adding 1,000 more female IT professionals to its workforce over the next two years Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

By

• Petra Wenham

Open banking’s next big thing could replace direct debits

Variable recurring payments could fuel the next stage of open banking take-up in the UK Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW Europe: Luxembourg sees big role in global fintech market

Read about Luxembourg’s aim to play a larger role in the rapidly growing global financial technology market. Also find out how a Siri-like digital assistant will automate the completion of government service requests in Estonia, and how drones can get life-saving equipment to heart attack victims in Sweden before emergency services can arrive on the scene. Continue Reading

Fintech players get cosy in Luxembourg

 Continue Reading

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

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Boardroom does not see ransomware as a priority

Less than a quarter of company directors think ransomware is a top priority for their security teams, according to Egress Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Gothenburg University makes breakthrough in energy efficient computers

Swedish and Japanese universities make advancement in the development of computers that can work as energy efficiently as a brain Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Middle East IT spending to recover to at least pre-pandemic levels

Middle East IT leaders expect budgets to increase this year, with spending to match or exceed pre-Covid levels Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Software firm saves storage array costs with Nutanix hyper-converged

Banking SaaS provider Vialink needed more IOPS when its NetApp arrays slowed up, but Nutanix hyper-converged proved a better package than Pure Storage and Dell EMC, too Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Nationwide suffers payday payments outage

Nationwide customers were left unable to pay bills on payday as the building society suffered a software outage Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The British people are waking up to the scandal that happened under their noses

Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal have been suffering in silence for many years, but the current public inquiry is giving them a voice, and people are listening Continue Reading

Ukraine cyber attacks seen spiking, but no destructive cyber war yet

While cyber attacks linked to Russia’s war on Ukraine are taking place, they are having little impact beyond the region Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cracking the code on blockchain and crypto: What might adoption mean for datacentres?

A high share of datacentre customers look set to adopt blockchain technologies, including digital currencies, over the next few years Continue Reading

By

• Fleur Doidge

KnowBe4 cyber drama tackles Colonial Pipeline in fourth season

KnowBe4’s ongoing cyber security training drama, The Inside Man, reaches its fourth season with a plot drawing inspiration from one of the most impactful cyber attacks of 2021 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Russia behind dangerous Cyclops Blink malware

Joint NCSC CISA advisory attributes a dangerous malware, dubbed Cyclops Blink, to Russia’s Sandworm APT, likely a GRU unit, with WatchGuard users at particular risk Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Backups ‘no longer effective’ for stopping ransomware attacks

Traditional methods of mitigating ransomware are less efficacious thanks to the rise in double and triple extortion techniques Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft extends Defender umbrella to Google Cloud Platform

Redmond says extending Defender for Cloud native capabilities to the Google Cloud Platform will help simplify security for organisations pursuing multicloud strategies by eliminating the gaps where the bad guys can get in Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

No imminent cyber threat to UK from Russia

Intelligence officials say they have no evidence or indication that Russian cyber attackers are preparing offensive assaults on infrastructure or organisations in Britain Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Attempted burglary exposes risk of NatWest customer data in former worker’s home

Former Royal Bank of Scotland employee offers bank a compromise in her dispute over the return of confidential customer information Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK organisations swift to chide phishing victims

While UK organisations are doing better at security training, many are quick to punish employees who fall victim to phishing attacks, whether real or simulated Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Good training is all about context

In-house or outsourced? What makes a good security training programme, and what questions should buyers ask when procuring training as a service? Continue Reading

By

• Emma Bickerstaffe, Information Security Forum (ISF)

Sweden completes phase two of e-krona pilot

Sweden’s central bank is well into its second year of testing a new digital currency, but so far, no firm decision has been made by the government to adopt it Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

UK joins US in pinning Ukraine DDoS attacks on Russia

A series of DDoS attacks on Ukrainian defence and banking organisations last week is now being firmly attributed to Russian action Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Open banking surpasses five million UK customers

Upwards of five million people in the UK are using open banking services as the financial sector’s fintech revolution gathers pace Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Amazon and Visa resolve UK credit card ban threat

Companies reach ‘broad, global agreement that includes the acceptance of Visa at all Amazon stores and sites’ Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK organisations untroubled by Trickbot surge

A surge in Trickbot infections is targeting some of the world’s most prominent brands, but UK organisations seem thankfully unaffected Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CIO interview: Adam Miller, group head of IT, Markerstudy Group

The insurer and Auto Windscreens owner is using cloud-based virtual desktops to ease acquisitions and support home working during the pandemic – and its IT chief has a growing range of projects on the go Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

The British people are waking up to the scandal that happened under their noses

Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal have been suffering in silence for many years, but the current public inquiry is giving them a voice, and people are listening Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

2021 another record year for UK cyber investment

Total revenue generated by the UK’s cyber sector was up 14% last year, and UK-registered security firms raised over £1bn in investment Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

DDoS attacks hit Ukrainian defence ministry and banks

A further wave of cyber attacks has taken place against targets in Ukraine amid heightened tension in the region Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nordic countries lack a unified approach to AI

Nordic countries need to work together on a pan-regional artificial intelligence strategy Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

UK finance regulator effects changes to ‘buy now, pay later’ contract terms

BNPL finance providers have agreed to make their contracts with consumers fairer, amid concerns Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NatWest group shutters 32 more branches as digital shift continues

Banking group announces more branch closures as part of its digital transformation, but promises that no customers will be left behind Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

China emerges as leader in vulnerability exploitation

Threat actors linked to China are emerging as a significant force in the weaponisation of newly discovered CVEs Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why security professionals should pay attention to what Russia is doing

Even though the average organisation is an unlikely target for a Russian state cyber attack, here's why security teams still need to watch what Russian threat groups are up to Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IR35 reforms: HMRC slammed for ‘over-collecting tax’ from non-compliant public sector bodies

HMRC has moved to play down claims it is collecting more tax than it is due when tackling non-compliance with the IR35 reforms in the public sector Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Phishing tests are a useful exercise, but don’t overdo it

The vast majority of cyber attacks start with a phish, so it’s not surprising that phishing tests form part of cyber training plans. But sometimes these tests go too far. Cyberis’ Gemma Moore looks at how to avoid the pitfalls Continue Reading

By

• Gemma Moore

UK second in money laundering hall of shame

Banks need to step up their anti-money laundering processes if billions of pounds’ worth of criminal activity is to be prevented Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Linux-based clouds an open door for attackers, says VMware

Its prevalence as a cloud operating system means Linux is becoming a meal ticket for malicious actors, but the security industry does not seem to have cottoned on to this yet, says VMware Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ransomware ever more sophisticated and impactful, warns NCSC

UK’s National Cyber Security Centre teams up with US and Australian partners in a joint advisory warning organisations of the increasing sophistication exhibited by criminal ransomware gangs Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft stomps on 48 bugs in February Patch Tuesday update

It’s a light Patch Tuesday for February 2022, as Microsoft issues fixes for just 48 CVEs, including a solitary zero-day Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft to start blocking macros to thwart malware

Microsoft is making changes to web macro permissions across multiple Office apps to help improve user security Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The Security Interviews: Building the UK’s future cyber ecosystem

As the government lays out the next iteration of its Cyber Security Strategy, we speak to Plexal and Lorca’s Saj Huq about his work building a cyber ecosystem to support the UK’s future ambitions Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK fintech investment sees sevenfold increase in a year

UK fintech investment rose from $5.2bn in 2020 to $37.3bn in 2021, with 603 private equity, venture capital and merger and acquisition deals Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UAE chooses Accenture to develop national payments platform

Consortium led by Accenture to build new payments infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: How to build a human firewall

In-house or outsourced? What makes a good security training programme, and what questions should buyers ask when procuring training as a service? Continue Reading

By

• Merry Song, Turnkey Consulting

Zero-trust to soar in 2022, but dogged by implementation challenges

IT leaders are keen to invest in zero-trust, but face issues around a lack of expertise, and selling the concept into the C-suite Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nationwide Building Society streamlines digital onboarding through API

Building society is improving its digital onboarding process through application programming interface-based technology from a US startup Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

MPs call on government to ‘push harder’ and ‘act faster’ amid online fraud epidemic

MPs on the Treasury Committee want the government to act quickly to reduce the amount of money being stolen through online fraud Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

What neurodivergent people really think of working in cyber security

Many firms are filling cyber security skills gaps by hiring neurodivergent talent – but more support is needed for neurodivergent cyber security professionals, writes autistic tech journalist Nicholas Fearn Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

Saudi Arabia to invest billions of dollars in technology and startups

Saudi Arabia announces $6.4bn investment in its tech sector as part of plans to diversify its economy Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Check Point buys Spectral to safeguard cloud development

Check Point’s latest acquisition of Israel-based startup Spectral expands its developer-centric security toolset Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Over one-fifth of ransomware attacks target financial sector

Newly published data reveals a significant uptick in cyber attacks against the financial services sector during the third quarter of 2021 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK has record year for tech IPOs in 2021

Tech companies represented 29% of all UK initial public offerings last year, raising a record $6.6bn Continue Reading

Understand your cyber training ‘need’ before committing to a programme

In-house or outsourced? What makes a good security training programme, and what questions should buyers ask when procuring training-as-a-service? Continue Reading

By

• Paddy Francis

Cyber skills gap affecting data privacy practice, finds ISACA

Organisations are struggling to fill both legal and technical privacy roles, with potentially damaging consequences, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CISOs must get out in front of Ukraine cyber crisis, says NCSC

The National Cyber Security Centre is urging UK organisations to take steps to bolster their cyber security resilience in response to the ongoing Ukraine crisis Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Novel phishing campaign highlights need for MFA, says Microsoft

Microsoft details a new multi-stage phishing campaign that only affects victims without multifactor authentication in place Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Barclaycard customers increase contactless spending following limit rise

Barclaycard customers have increased their contactless card spending by 40% with most of their card payments using the technology Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Nightmare Log4Shell scenario averted by prompt, professional action

Prompt and professional community response to the Log4Shell disclosure means the dangerous and widespread vulnerability has not been exploited to the extent many had feared Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Bank account switching accelerates as consumers choose digital services

Surge in UK consumers changing current account providers is a sign that digital banking services are eating into the traditional sector Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: Focus on ‘nudging’ to build effective cyber training

In-house or outsourced? What makes a good security training programme, and what questions should buyers ask when procuring training-as-a-service? Continue Reading

By

• Tom Everard

Mr 500,000 Chips

We recently saw a TikTok of the new guy on Dragons’ Den explaining the virtues of obtaining enough money to own a private jet: to maximise the number of what he refers to as his 500,000 chips – the ... Continue Reading

By

• Ryan Priest

More intel emerges on WhisperGate malware that hit Ukraine

Security experts have been poring over the WhisperGate malware with which alleged Russia-backed entities targeted Ukrainian government websites Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

PwnKit bug endangers Linux distributions worldwide

Qualys researchers share intel on a memory corruption vulnerability in a program installed by default on every major Linux distribution Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Prepare, but don’t panic, over supposed Russian cyber threat

A fresh alert from the US Department of Homeland Security may have IT security teams jumpy over the possibility that their organisations could be targeted by Russian state actors Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ikano Bank’s team of robots exceeds 2021 targets

How the Swedish bank’s robotic automation project reached its time-saving target with time to spare, automating 168 processes, creating an in-house RPA team and embedding automation in every department’s thinking Continue Reading

MoonBounce firmware bootkit shows advances in malicious implants

MoonBounce firmware bootkit shows evident technical improvements over others, making it a more dangerous threat to organisations. It is being used by Chinese state-backed actors Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Advantages of traditional banks are weakening amid digital challenge, says FCA

Weakening of the advantages enjoyed by traditional banks over the years is “driven by digital innovation and changing consumer behaviour”, says regulator Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Zopa Bank hits £1bn deposits in just 18 months

Bank has seen rapid growth since its launch and has set ambitious targets for the next 12 months Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Danish digitisation partnership delivers plan to government

Public-private collaboration submits plan setting out “how Denmark can take advantage of the opportunities presented by digitisation moving forward into the future” Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Twelve million jobs to be lost to automation in Europe by 2040

Millions of current jobs in Europe will be carried out by robots as software robots automate processes Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The race to quantum computing

In this week’s Computer Weekly, researchers are racing to create the first commercially useful quantum computer – we look at one of the European candidates. Cyber security is one of the greatest risks facing the global economy, warns the World Economic Forum. And we examine the role of employee experience in hybrid working. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Nordic fintech to use Google-inspired core banking from Thought Machine

Nordic fintech Lunar is modernising its banking platform as it sets out to expand free of the limitations of its current systems Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Amazon puts UK Visa ban on hold

Online retail giant Amazon continues to allow UK Visa credit card payments as negotiations over fees with the card provider continue Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Microsoft veteran turns her attention to levelling up IT industry for women

Diversity goes beyond balancing the internal workforce and should include working with partners that also have diversity as a core objective, says Gavriella Schuster Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Ikano Bank’s team of robots exceeds 2021 targets

How the Swedish bank’s robotic automation project reached its time-saving target with time to spare, automating 168 processes, creating an in-house RPA team and embedding automation in every department’s thinking Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Microsoft fixes six zero-days in January Patch Tuesday update

A larger than of late Patch Tuesday update from Microsoft comes as defenders continue to grapple with Log4Shell Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch cyber volunteers receive major funding boost

The Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure has received a $100,000 donation to expand the scope of its work Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Almost half of Log4j downloads still dangerously exposed

Whether by error or design is unclear, but a great many IT teams are still exposing themselves by downloading outdated, insecure versions of Apache Log4j Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Banks accused of neglecting customer security measures

Which? singles out Metro Bank, Virgin Money and TSB over insecure online banking processes Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

New supercomputer opens doors for researchers in Sweden

More than twice as powerful as its predecessor, a new supercomputer ushers in new opportunities for researchers who rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Record amount invested in UK fintech last year, but female founders still overlooked

Last year the UK financial technology sector attracted the most investment ever following a slowdown in 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Which? raises concerns over buy now, pay later schemes

The ease of use and increased availability of buy now, pay later schemes masks the risks, says consumer protection champion Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How far has Saudi Arabia come with open data?

While clearly on the right path, Saudi Arabia still has a lot to do before it reaps the full benefits of open data Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Google buys Siemplify in first phase of cyber investment

Once integrated into Google Cloud, Siemplify’s platform will serve as the basis for deeper security development at Google Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fintech players get cosy in Luxembourg

Luxembourg aims to play a larger role in the rapidly growing global fintech market Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Top 10 Nordic IT stories of 2021

Computer Weekly selects some of the biggest Nordic tech stories of 2021 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA