IT management

Exploring the metaverse

In this week’s Computer Weekly, the metaverse is set to become a highly competitive commercial playground –profitable markets but also high-profile failures will follow. IT contractors have been hit by cyber attacks on the firms that pay their wages – we examine the impact. And we ask if it’s time to plan for quantum computing. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

TV provider MediaHub boots SAN and NAS for Scality object storage

Sydney-based TV content provider MediaHub got tired of performance issues and scaling difficulties with SAN and NAS, so powered its as-a-service offer with Scality object storage Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Breaking the noise barrier: The startups developing quantum computers

Noise limits the scalability of quantum computing. Computer Weekly speaks to startups that are turning down the volume Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Met police deploy facial recognition in Westminster

Police facial recognition deployment resulted in four arrests, but questions remain about the necessity, proportionality and legality of the technology’s use Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Four emerging data integration trends to assess

To accelerate their performance in data integration, companies are evaluating and adopting a range of contributing technologies Continue Reading

By

• Noel Yuhanna

Cyber attacks on European oil facilities spreading

Following a cyber attack on distribution facilities in Germany, more incidents have been reported in Belgium and the Netherlands, but it is too early to necessarily draw a link between them Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Female tech founder programme hits Helsinki

From Denmark to Finland: Helsinki’s women in tech are introduced to Tech Nordic Advocates’ International Mentoring Programme Continue Reading

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• Matthew Staff

EC proposes new directive to improve gig economy work conditions

Gig economy workers in Europe could be entitled to more rights and better workplace protections under a directive proposed by the European Commission Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

6GHz Wi-Fi spectrum critical to enable Australian technology innovation

Global spectrum organisation calls on Australia to set aside the full 1200MHz of available 6GHz spectrum for Wi-Fi applications under the country’s communications and media authority licensing framework Continue Reading

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• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Cack-handed government compensation scheme prolongs suffering of Horizon scandal victims

Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal are being denied the millions of pounds they are owed as the government delays compensation resolution Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Brookson and Parasol cyber attacks: Contractor complaints about delayed payments continue

Several weeks on from the suspected ransomware attack that blighted two of the umbrella industry’s biggest players, contractors are still chasing their missing money Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Danish researchers develop a socially aware robot

A new breed of robots gracefully interacts with humans in an autonomous fashion Continue Reading

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

French Supreme Court raises constitutional questions over EncroChat hacking secrecy

Conseil Constitutionnel to decide whether ‘defence secrecy’ over state EncroChat cryptophone hacking breaches French constitution Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

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

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• Merry Song, Turnkey Consulting

Mechanism underlying cookie popups found in breach of GDPR

A fundamental element of the mechanism by which the advertising industry requests tracking consent from web users has been found in breach of the General Data Protection Regulation Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government slammed for not living up to broadband promises

Broadband industry criticises UK government for not living up to its promises as new connectivity goals announced Continue Reading

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• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Reforms needed to tackle economic crime, says Treasury Committee

The Treasury Committee is disappointed at progress towards tackling economic crime and fraud in both the online and offline worlds, and is calling for more action Continue Reading

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• 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

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Finland brings cryostats and other cool things to quantum computing

Not only is Finland the clear leader in refrigeration technology for quantum computers, but it also leads in fundamental research into the underlying quantum information theory Continue Reading

By

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

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

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

British Council data exposed by third-party cyber failure

The British Council entrusted confidential data on its students to a third-party and was let down Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

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• Nicholas Fearn

Ikea hopes to fill 150 tech roles across Europe this year

Swedish furniture brand Ikea has plans to hire more than 150 tech and data workers across Europe in 2022 Continue Reading

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• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency appoints first CEO

The government has named the first CEO of the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

German fuel supplier taken offline in cyber attack

Cyber attack against Germany’s Oiltanking, a major fuel logistics company, affects 13 distribution terminals across Germany, in an incident with echoes of last year’s hit on Colonial Pipeline Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Met Police faces legal action over Gangs Matrix

Campaign group Liberty is taking legal action against the Met over its use of the Gangs Matrix, claiming it is driven by racial stereotypes and disproportionately affects people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Sweden’s Husqvarna expands IT outsourcing deal with HCL

Swedish power tool maker expands its contract with Indian IT service provider as it continues on its digital journey Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Dutch software engineers join campaign for research funding

Software researchers from all over Europe are sounding the alarm: to maintain a strong international competitive position, more financial resources must be committed to software research Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

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

CTO interview: James Donkin, Ocado Technology

Ocado is a cloud-first business and develops its own software cloud-natively, but some things need to be processed on-premise or at the edge Continue Reading

Dubai’s fledgling drone programme gets another nudge

Through a series of initiatives, Dubai is positioning itself to reap the benefits of a promising global market for drone technology Continue Reading

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

How Ocado pushes technological boundaries

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to Ocado’s CTO about how the e-commerce company pushes technological boundaries. Our latest buyer’s guide looks at the importance and technical challenges of data integration. There’s a growing dispute over the use of end-to-end encryption – we look at the differing perspectives. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Nebulon SmartInfrastructure brings cloud-defined storage to datacentre

Cloud-defined storage allows customers to build private clouds on-site, with pools of storage built from commodity hardware, Nebulon PCIe cards and its browser-based console Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Data on children of armed forces personnel exposed in breach

Data on 4,142 children of serving armed forces personnel was exposed in a data breach at the Ministry of Defence Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How apprenticeships are helping bridge the digital skills gap

Apprenticeships are not only for young people – they can help make IT departments more diverse and inclusive, as well as plugging skills gaps, as DWP Digital has proved Continue Reading

By

• Richard McHugh

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

Google inks $1bn deal with Bharti Airtel

The wide-ranging deal covers Google’s equity investment in Airtel, as well as efforts to spur cloud adoption and lower barriers to smartphone ownership Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Microsoft gives Nasa a lesson in timeshare optimisation

A quantum-inspired algorithm has been used to help Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Lab schedule its Deep Space Network comms system Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust advances digital-first strategy

Trust is making progress with its 10-year plan, centred around an electronic patient records system Continue Reading

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• Angelica Mari

Korean researchers invent silk-based security device

Experts from the Gwangju Institute of Science have built a digital security device based on natural silk fibres that they claim is practically unbreachable Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK spectrum sharing should be a spectrum policy priority, says UK SPF

UK Spectrum Policy Forum and Ofcom makes call for mobile spectrum sharing to be a policy priority as demand is expected to increase in the coming years Continue Reading

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• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

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

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• 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

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Microsoft uses Q2 2022 earnings to delve into metaverse

Company’s CEO sees a role for Microsoft that takes the metaverse beyond gaming and into the business sphere Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

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

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• 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

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Refrigeration firm freezes legacy backup for one Cohesity cluster

France-based Clauger had reached limits of capacity and complexity with multi-supplier legacy backup, so moved to one Cohesity cluster and gained restores that took mere minutes Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

The road less travelled paves the path to stealth disruption

During the recent Ocado Re:Imagined event, the company’s founder and CEO, Tim Steiner, discussed how stealth disruptors were used to invent something he described as “really radical”. Really ... Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Navigating PIPL: European businesses plot their next steps into China

How does China’s strict new Personal Information Protection Law impact European businesses? Continue Reading

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• Matthew Staff

Cloud-era disaster recovery planning: Setting strategy and developing plans

In the second in a series on cloud-era disaster recovery, we look at how to formulate a DR strategy and develop detailed DR plans for your organisation, while taking cloud services into account Continue Reading

By

• Paul Kirvan

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

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• Tom Everard

Umbrella company cyber attacks prompt fresh calls for sector regulation to protect contractors

With the umbrella company industry increasingly finding itself under attack from cyber criminals, contracting market stakeholders embark on a fresh round of calls for the industry to be regulated Continue Reading

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• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Ocado showcases 3D printing innovation

Having delivered its first orders 20 years ago, Ocado is now reinventing the business process for online grocery delivery Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Storage tech brief: Look out for PCIe gen 5 drives in 2022

PCIe 5.0 will offer bandwidth up to 128GBps per drive. We look at what’s available and when, including in the new EDSFF form factor, as well as looking forward to PCIe gen 6 Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage 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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

MPs to debate landmark IoT security law

Proposed bill mandates tighter protections for connected products, and adds new rules for broadband roll-out into the bargain Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch education anticipates quantum technology

Dutch academic talks about the Netherlands’ role in a pan-European quantum computing project as university investigates the technology’s possibilities Continue Reading

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• Kin Loohuis

Should IT leaders plan for the quantum computing era?

Quantum computing is still at an early stage of development, but there are a handful of use cases where nothing else matches the horsepower it offers Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

EY to open Neuro-Diverse Centre of Excellence in Manchester

Professional services firm EY is launching a Neuro-Diverse Centre of Excellence in the UK to create a perfect working environment for neuro-diverse tech innovators Continue Reading

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• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Demands on Fujitsu to contribute to £1bn Horizon scandal compensation costs

Fujitsu cannot hide away as taxpayers pick up the bill for the Post Office scandal triggered by its IT system, say peers Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IBM fourth-quarter results show hybrid refocus

Big Blue continues its journey to rebuild its business around hybrid cloud platforms, software infrastructure and consulting services Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Vodafone UK to begin 3G switch-off in 2023

UK mobile operator gives notice that it will begin to retire its legacy network in a year’s time, with 4G and 5G networks to get coverage and speed boost from repurposing of 3G spectrum Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Icelandic research could revolutionise AI

Icelandic team is researching potential artificial intelligence that will not choke when faced with the unknown Continue Reading

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

More evidence needed to establish 5G’s green credentials

Research paper from UK university cautions that received wisdom of sustainability associated with next-generation mobile technology is not currently backed up by a strong, publicly available, fully transparent evidence base Continue Reading

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• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

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

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber Essentials programme gets biggest update since launch

NCSC implements a thorough revision of its Cyber Essentials scheme to reflect the changing security landscape Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government launches internal cyber strategy

Multi-pronged government security strategy is designed to protect both core systems and public services Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK launches international data transfer council

Businesses, academics and trade bodies convene to help the UK seize data-sharing opportunities Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Twitter to expand Singapore engineering hub

Twitter will double its engineering workforce in Singapore by 2023, as part of its regional expansion plans Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Subpostmaster campaign group to meet government over unfair compensation settlement

A group of subpostmasters excluded from fair compensation in the Horizon scandal is to meet government department to discuss their demands Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CIO interview: Michael Cole, CTO, European Tour and Ryder Cup

The highly traditional sport of golf is proving to be an innovator in its field, with internet of things technology and cloud adoption transforming tournaments after Covid Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

Why watching your remote workers doesn’t work

In this week’s Computer Weekly, the surge in home working led many firms to mandate use of surveillance software – we look at why it hasn’t worked. It’s an important year for public sector IT – we examine the trends for 2022. And with robotic process automation (RPA) booming, a Swedish bank explains the benefits. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Retailers mired by manual data integration

Retail relies on third-party data sources to drive business decisions and competitive pricing, but many struggle to pull in this data Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Hybrid cloud storage: The devils are in the details

When it comes to storage, one thing is clear – cloud does not change everything Continue Reading

By

• Tony Lock, Freeform Dynamics

MPs say Online Safety Bill fails to tackle full range of harms

A DCMS select committee has warned that the Online Safety Bill should be expanded to cover more types of harmful content, such as child abuse material designed to circumvent content removal Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Ethereum

Ethereum is an open source, distributed software platform based on blockchain technology. Continue Reading

By

• Sean Michael Kerner
• Ben Lutkevich, Site Editor

EDSFF brings built-for-NVMe connectivity to the datacentre

Aimed at enterprise use cases, EDSFF offers incredible flash density in shared storage and hyperscale deployments, but storage products that use it are still thin on the ground Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

CIO interview: Sheri Rhodes, CIO, Workday

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated digital change for many businesses – and even for cloud software leader Workday, there are always new things to learn and introduce Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

How Forensic Architecture uses tech to protect human rights

Forensic Architecture speaks to Computer Weekly about how it uses various digital technologies to investigate human rights abuses around the globe, including the pushback of migrants over the Greek border and the killing of Mark Duggan by London police Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Outdated systems core to DWP £1bn pension underpayment blunders

Old software is among the main reasons behind the pension errors affecting 134,000 people, says a House of Commons committee report Continue Reading

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• Angelica Mari

Hybrid cloud storage: Options for rearchitecting enterprise IT

Hybrid cloud is seen as a way to have the best of both the on-premise and public cloud worlds. We look at the pros and cons of hybrid cloud storage Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Tinder algorithm charging users more based on age

Popular dating app Tinder could have broken data protection and equality laws by using personal data about people’s age to set different prices Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

CTO interview: James Donkin, Ocado Technology

Ocado is a cloud-first business and develops its own software cloud-natively, but some things need to be processed on-premise or at the edge Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Mandiant analysts: Russia-backed APTs likely to ramp up attacks

More cyber attacks like those perpetrated against targets in Ukraine are to be expected, and they may become more destructive Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber pros: Don’t revel in REvil’s downfall just yet

The arrests of REvil’s alleged kingpins is a welcome step, but as with any disruption to cyber criminal activity, it is never wise to assume law enforcement action means the threat has passed entirely Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

New normal sees SASE, SD-WAN surge as MPLS is phased out

Research confirms that MPLS is ‘out’ and SD-WAN and SASE systems are the clear winners in enterprise networking as more and more European organisations are eliminating all on-prem datacentres, with cloud adoption steaming ahead Continue Reading

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• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

MoJ faces ICO enforcement over subject access requests backlog

Ministry of Justice receives enforcement notice from information commissioner over ‘substantial’ backlog of subject access requests described as being of ‘significant concern’ Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Ransomware attacks dropped 37% in December, claims NCC

Latest monthly data reveals a significant decline in ransomware attacks at the end of 2021, but a new, emergent gang is making waves Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

India’s tech workforce set for hybrid work

A Nasscom study reveals that India’s tech workers and their employers are planning to return to offices thrice a week, paving the way for hybrid work Continue Reading

Top IT predictions in APAC in 2022

Operationalising zero trust, talent retention and containerisation are just some of the key trends that will shape Asia-Pacific’s technology landscape in 2022 Continue Reading

CW APAC: CIO trends

IT leaders would be wise to embrace the technology expected to become prevalent in 2022. In this handbook, focused on CIO trends in the Asia-Pacific region, Computer Weekly looks at the top IT predictions for the year ahead, how India is preparing for a hybrid future, the benefits of digitising manual processes and Krungsri Bank’s reasons for adopting open APIs Continue Reading

Government ‘has nothing against’ paying 555 subpostmasters fair compensation

Government officials are open to finding a way to properly compensate victims of the Horizon scandal without setting a dangerous legal precedent Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Updated cyber security regulations proposed for managed services sector

The Network and Information Systems regulations are to be updated to include MSPs and outsourcers, following a spate of supply chain attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Data of 515,000 vulnerable people stolen in Red Cross attack

The International Committee of the Red Cross is probing a cyber attack that has already seen the personal data of hundreds of thousands of the world’s most vulnerable people compromised Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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