IT management

Microsoft thwarts mega-DDoS attack on Azure platform

2.4Tbps DDoS attack on an undisclosed Microsoft Azure customer may have been the largest ever attempted against a single target Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government outlines strengths and weaknesses in innovation

As part of the government’s overall innovation strategy, an evidence paper lists factors that influence the pace and direction of developments in the field Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

AI estimated to provide 10% boost to UK GDP by 2030

AI has financial benefits but there are concerns the technology could displace a significant number of human workers in the next decade, says report Continue Reading

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• Angelica Mari

How AI – and puffins – are boosting renewable energy

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how an artificial intelligence system for tracking puffins could help boost renewable energy use. We examine the often-overlooked, but often damaging, diversity issue of age discrimination in tech. And we look at the key considerations when choosing enterprise cloud file services. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

UnaBiz raises $25m in Series B funding

Regional IoT tech supplier will use the funds to strengthen its foothold in key markets and develop new products and services Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Covid-19 will loom over cyber strategy for years to come

In remarks delivered to a Chatham House conference, NCSC head Lindy Cameron reflects on the security challenges facing the UK, and sets out some plans for the future Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IR35: FCSA defends Charter change that lets umbrella firms operate offshore setups

Umbrella company accreditation body has moved to clarify the rationale behind a recent tweak to its membership charter amid accusations it could harm the sector’s reputation and encourage offshore tax avoidance Continue Reading

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• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

The Great Resignation: Opportunities for MSPs

How can MPS providers help their customers get ahead of the talent drain with technology to drive better employee experience, engagement and productivity across the hybrid work environment? Continue Reading

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• Louella Fernandes, Quocirca

Sensitive documents to stay with whistleblower after deadline for agreement for their return passes

A deadllne to agree the safe return of the sensitive banking details of former and current NatWest Group customers has passed without agreement Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

West Midlands expected to grow by £2.7bn with tech sector drive

The region is expected to create 52,000 job positions in the next four years Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Developing an integrated customer and employee experience strategy

We explore what customer experience and employee experience have in common – and the benefits of combining them Continue Reading

By

• Dale Vile, Freeform Dynamics

Singapore refreshes cyber security strategy

The city-state updates its national cyber security strategy to shore up the security of critical infrastructure and enterprises while growing its cyber security industry, among other goals Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Craft beer specialist Brewdog fixes serious app vulnerability

Vulnerability in brewer’s mobile app could have resulted in serious consequences for its shareholders and customers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fast-moving Ryuk campaign targets healthcare organisations

Newly designated FIN12 gang leverages the work of the cyber criminal ecosystem to conduct lightning-fast ransomware attacks Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NatWest admits to weaknesses in anti-money laundering systems

Bank pleads guilty to failures concerning the laundering of hundreds of millions of pounds, but says it has since improved its anti-money laundering systems Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

ONS publishes technical learnings of UK’s first online census

Use of agile delivery and cloud computing were among the highlights of the Census 2021, which received 22 million responses countrywide Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

HCL Benelux telco partnership targets SME and government

Indian IT service provider signs partnership that will see it modernise the core technology of Proximus to offer its services through Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Addressing the backup dilemma to ransomware recovery

Everyone knows good backups are essential if one is to recover from a ransomware attack, but using them effectively poses challenges that IT teams need to know about Continue Reading

By

• W Curtis Preston

Open source for good

Imagine volunteering to build a home for a struggling family and the entire community shows up to help – that is what open source is all about Continue Reading

By

• Melissa Di Donato

ICO expresses concerns over its future independence

In its response to the government’s data protection consultation, the Information Commissioner’s Office has raised worries over its future ability to function independently of government interference Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Twitch data breach investigations continue

Investigations are ongoing into a 125GB data breach that hit livestreaming platform Twitch, apparently the work of hacktivists Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW Middle East: Middle East hospitals accelerate take-up of healthcare technologies

The Middle East is accelerating its take-up of digital healthcare technologies following lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic, with regional government turning to technology to track disease trends and monitor treatment. Also read in this issue how the UAE’s National Program for Coders will offer ‘golden visas’ to 100,000 entrepreneurs, enterprise owners and startups. Continue Reading

How data drives Air Canada’s cargo business

Data-driven insights and artificial intelligence are helping Air Canada to find a new business path as it expands its cargo business following the pandemic Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Ron Thompson, CDO, Nasa: Mind the data gap

Data is the crown jewels of business, but is often siloed. We speak to the chief data officer at Nasa about developing a data integration culture Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Glasgow publishes draft digital housing strategy

Reducing digital exclusion, improving connectivity and citizen services are part of the plan Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Backup scheduling best practices to ensure availability

For daily work files, databases and mission-critical systems and data, the more frequent the backup, the better. But how often should you back up all your data? Continue Reading

By

• Paul Kirvan

MEPs approve report opposing certain uses of AI by police

European policymakers have approved a report on the use of AI in criminal matters, rejecting several amendments in the process that would have made it easier for police to potentially conduct predictive analytics and biometric surveillance Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

US lawmakers propose ransomware reporting rules

Former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren lends her support to a bill that would require corporate ransomware victims to disclose more information about their attacks to the authorities Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Responsible vulnerability disclosure is a joint effort

By working hand-in-hand, developers and security researchers can both play a vital role in ensuring newly-discovered vulnerabilities are addressed appropriately, writes Paddy Francis of Airbus CyberSecurity Continue Reading

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• Paddy Francis

The power of two: quantum or neuromorphic computing?

No one wants to run a computer operating at temperatures close to absolute zero – this is pushing the boundaries of new computing architectures Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Gaming service Twitch hacked, data leaked

Users of livestreaming platform Twitch may be at risk after a 125GB torrent of data was leaked Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Windows 11: this ‘feel good’ update could actually help IT pros

Much has been written about Windows 11, and many YouTube videos have been published. If you want a detailed walkthrough of the good, the bad, the confusing and the contentious, you’ll find no ... Continue Reading

By

• Dale Vile, Freeform Dynamics

Tech Nation adds 30 fintech scaleups to growth programme as funding continues to rise

UK government-backed startup network adds 30 fintechs to its growth programme amid record investments in finance tech sector Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Apache web server users urged to patch immediately

New zero-day in Apache HTTP Server is already being actively exploited and must be addressed immediately Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ocado gets closer to autonomous delivery with Wayve trial

Startup Wayve takes what it believes is a different approach to autonomous driving by modelling the behaviour of a driver Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Auto-enrolment begins for Google multi-factor authentication

Google has started to turn on multi-factor authentication on consumer accounts by default, and aims to auto-enrol 150 million users by the end of 2021 Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

5PRING issues call for 5G innovation in UK events sector

West Midlands telecoms industry testbed challenges innovators to help lead the next-generation networks revolution as live events industry gets back to life Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Israeli Orca to invest in UK cyber scene

Tel Aviv-headquartered Orca Security wants to set up a new R&D centre in the UK Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Netherlands’ Team Liquid revolutionises e-sports with data analytics

Data analysis is often used by enterprises, but the discipline is also gaining ground in other areas in the Netherlands, such as e-sports Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Five tips to bridge application management service gaps

The watermelon effect is defined in the ITIL 4 Foundation guide as a breakage between the SLA client wants and what the service provider delivers Continue Reading

By

• Emmanuelle Hose

New strategies needed to close the cyber security skills gap

Teaching cyber security in schools is a long-term solution to a present-day problem Continue Reading

By

• Martin Smith, SASIG

CIO interview: Lisa Heneghan, chief digital officer, KPMG

KPMG UK’s digital leader says that in her 25-year career she has never known a more exciting time to work in IT Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

New Python-based ransomware attacks unfold in record time

Sophos researchers detail a new variety of Python-based ransomware attack targeting VMware ESXi-hosted VMs Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Invest in cyber security with confidence using a structured approach

Cyber security has never been more challenging or important in rapidly changing business, regulatory, IT and threat environments. There is a need for a more structured approach to investment Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Concerns raised over confidentiality and transparency in government data innovation

National data guardian Nicola Byrne warns about central principles that should be observed as data-driven innovation gathers pace in areas such as health and care Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Microsoft’s financial services cloud available next month

Financial finance sector-focused cloud service will be available at the beginning of November Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Britain needs its amazing migrants

Fintech entrepreneur Michael Kent explains why Britain needs migrants and why government policy and media horror stories will damage the UK’s economy and reputation Continue Reading

By

• Michael Kent, Azimo

Keeping the UK in the global race to adopt digital identity

The UK government’s proposed digital ID trust framework is a step in the right direction, but more is needed to ensure the successful adoption of digital identity across the economy Continue Reading

By

• Nick Mothershaw, OIX

ICO cookie consent: How will the plan affect businesses?

A data privacy and compliance expert considers what the ICO’s proposals for an overhaul of cookie consent procedures could mean for businesses Continue Reading

By

• Peter Borner

Direct Line hires former Virgin Atlantic IT chief as CIO

Ash Jokhoo will be joining the insurance company as a member of the executive board Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

The Most Influential Women in UK Technology 2021

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we reveal the 50 women chosen as the most influential in UK technology for 2021, and talk to the 10th winner of our annual list – Poppy Gustafsson, CEO of Darktrace. Also, our latest buyer’s guide looks at digital customer experience technologies. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Australian organisations lack maturity in responsible AI

Most Australian organisations are still in the early stages of their responsible artificial intelligence efforts despite growing use of AI by businesses and consumers, study finds Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Mandiant name returns to fore ahead of FireEye sale

Mandiant has completed its corporate rebrand pending the imminent sale of the FireEye products business to a private equity group Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NHSX publishes IT standards and interoperability priorities

The creation of an IT strategy, a governance model and an open source playbook are among the areas of focus for the interoperability team of NHSX Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Chancellor uses Tory Party conference speech to announce AI scholarships

Artificial intelligence holds the key to unlocking productivity, and developing the right skills to harness this potential was one of the focal points at the Tory Party conference Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

NHSX IT chief outlines opportunities of elective recovery tech fund

Priorities for the digital unit of the health service include remote recovery with virtual wards, pre-surgical digital support, and use of robotic process automation to reduce the administrative burden on staff Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

One Identity buys OneLogin for access management expertise

Acquisition of OneLogin adds access management solutions to One Identity’s Unified Identity Security platform Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Two arrests made in European ransomware investigation

Unnamed ransomware operation was disrupted last week in Kiev, Ukraine, following a coordinated investigation Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Embracing vulnerability management for the greater good

When it comes to vulnerability management, CISOs should define a responsible disclosure policy so that they can receive and manage identified vulnerabilities transparently, practically and collaboratively, says Paul Watts of the ISF Continue Reading

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• Paul Watts, Information Security Forum

A post-pandemic recipe for developing customer experience

Covid-19 has led to many people reassessing their priorities so customer experience needs to adapt to meet new expectations Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

How GYG Singapore moved to paperless contracts

The Singapore franchisee of Mexican cuisine specialist Guzman y Gomez has turned to electronic agreements and digital signatures to ease the administrative burden on its HR team Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Met Police purchase new retrospective facial-recognition system

Retrospective facial-recognition software purchased for £3m by the Met Police will be deployed in coming months amid continuing controversy around the use of biometric technologies by law enforcement bodies Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

BEIS urged to prioritise funding to protect umbrella workers in government Spending Review

In an open letter to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, umbrella regulation draft policymakers Rebecca Seeley Harris and James Poyser urge the government to prioritise funding for a single enforcement body Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Norway and IoT: A match made in heaven

Norway is becoming a centre of internet of things innovation as tech developers look for answers to some of the country's unique challenges Continue Reading

By

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

Amnesty International exploited in malware campaign

According to new intelligence from Cisco Talos, Amnesty International’s branding and profile is being used as part of a new malware campaign that exploits people’s fears of the notorious Pegasus spyware app Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Local Digital Capital Index: A framework for levelling up

How can the tech sector ensure digital equality across the UK in support of the government's levelling-up agenda? TechUK is trying to set the benchmarks Continue Reading

By

• Julian David, TechUK

JVCKenwood hit by Conti ransomware attack

Nearly 2TB of data was stolen from Japanese electronics firm in a Conti ransomware hit Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IR35: Giant Group cyber attack prompts renewed calls for statutory regulation of umbrella companies

As details about the fallout from the cyber attack on the Giant Group umbrella company emerge, stakeholders say the incident should prompt the government to expedite regulating contractor payroll processing firms Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Computer Weekly’s 2021 women in tech Rising Stars

Despite a lack of women in the technology sector, new champions of diversity, inclusion and technology are always surfacing – so who is likely to appear in Computer Weekly’s top 50 list in the future? Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Stop being ‘apologetic’ for differing skillsets, says Most Influential Woman in UK Tech 2021

There are many routes into technology, and many different skillsets that contribute to making great tech work, so people need to be ‘less apologetic’ for a less technical skillset, says Poppy Gustafsson, this year’s Most Influential Woman in UK Tech Continue Reading

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• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Computer Weekly announces the 2021 Most Influential Women in UK Tech

Computer Weekly has revealed who is on the 2021 list of the 50 Most Influential Women in UK Tech, including this year’s winner Poppy Gustafsson Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Digital bank fined by regulator due to weak anti-money laundering controls

German digital bank is fined by financial services regulator for failing in relation to its anti-money laundering practices Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Team leaders urged to address developer mental health

The pandemic led to many developers working from home, and many have experienced burnout Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Will the end of furlough help fill tech vacancies?

The closure of the government’s furlough scheme may not help the tech sector fill the most technical vacancies, but it could bolster available talent for the longer term Continue Reading

By

• Bev White, Nash Squared

Starling Bank takes its banking-as-a-service into European Union

API-based banking-as-a-service offering means customers can access services such as current accounts or debit cards without the need for heavy tech development or regulatory approval Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK consumers would collectively pay over £1bn a year for control of their data

UK consumers are willing to pay a small fee per month to have control of the data they share with Google and Facebook Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NUS and Thales to develop quantum technologies

The National University of Singapore and Thales have joined hands to test quantum technologies for commercial applications in security and sensing Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Russia arrests prominent cyber security executive

Founder and CEO of cyber security firm Group-IB detained in Moscow on treason charges Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

FoggyWeb malware latest tool of dangerous Nobelium APT

Microsoft’s threat intelligence team warns of a new strain of malware being used by the Russia-linked Nobelium APT Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security boost in Windows 11 limits PC reuse

Microsoft has put a lot of emphasis on improving security in Windows 11, but this comes at a cost as old hardware is no longer supported Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

UK government announces industry group to lead digital pound debate

Joint forums set up by HM Treasury and the Bank of England for a Central Bank Digital Currency include representatives from big tech firms, fintechs and incumbent banks Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Dedicated number for victims of fraud launched amid national security threat

Consumers that suspect they are being targeted by fraudsters can call 159 to be directly linked to their bank, as part of a 12-month pilot Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Women in fintech welcome Barclays initiative and demand more from the sector

Women in UK financial technology have welcomed bank’s new female-focused lab and funding initiative and call for more like it from the sector Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Could Iceland be the best place in the world for high-performance computing?

Most of Iceland’s cheap, sustainable energy is currently used by aluminium smelters, but recognising the need to diversify, the Landsvirkjun power company now promotes other uses Continue Reading

By

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

NVMe-over-fabrics: Five need-to-knows

We look at five need-to-knows about NVMe-over-fabrics, such as its implementations – RDMA, Fibre Channel and TCP – use cases, hardware and operating system support Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

The Security Interviews: How SolarWinds came through its darkest hour

In his first major UK press interview, SolarWinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna tells Computer Weekly how a relentless focus on transparency saw the company safely through a nightmare cyber breach scenario Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK consumer trust in banks, retailers and telcos declines as scams increase

Consumers are blaming banks, retailers and social media for the huge increase in online scams, survey shows Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Blue Prism deal adds RPA to Tibco software product range

Robotic process automation provides another piece of the jigsaw in Tibco’s drive to be a data company Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Digital regulators need discrete but cooperative remits

The UK’s information commissioner has told MPs that digital economy regulators need discrete remits backed up by strong information sharing powers to both provide clear focus as well as allow for greater cooperation between their disparate but interlinked regimes Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

How one red team exercise averted a new SolarWinds-style attack

Palo Alto Networks shares details of how its red teamers found and sealed a customer vulnerability that could have led to another SolarWinds-style supply chain attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ultimate questions require ultimate understanding in the quantum era

In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Deep Thought calculates the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything as ‘42’. But what of quantum computing? Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Pure launches Fusion cloud control layer for storage

Pure Fusion is a storage control plane across cloud and datacentre. Portworx Data Services also launches to provide database management for container storage platform Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Dutch IT firm transforms HR policy built on lessons from pandemic

Software firm rips up human resources rule book and replaces it with a hybrid working policy Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Executive interview: Chris McShane, MD, Halfords Mobile Experts

Cycling and motoring retailer Halfords has developed its own service management software, which it is now taking to market Continue Reading

Government announces data strategy for defence

The plan sets out the goals around treating data as a strategic asset to be achieved by 2025 Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Chancellor Rishi Sunak talks tech

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to the Chancellor of the Exchequer about his plans to support innovation and growth in the UK tech sector. Composable IT is the latest trend in building software to support business change. And Halfords built its own service management software – and now is selling it to other retailers. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

APAC IT spending to grow by 9.3% in 2021

Organisations across the region will spend more on technologies such as AI and IoT this year, as part of their long-term investment plans to improve operational efficiency and customer service Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

GCP gets triple-redundant NAS and built-in Kubernetes backup

Google Filestore Enterprise will provide synchronous replication across three zones, while Backup for Google Kubernetes Engine brings built-in container cluster data protection Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Fixing the SME tech crisis

Although technology can drive post-pandemic economic recovery, the gap between those businesses with sufficient IT skills and those struggling is widening Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Private equity cash fuels Nordic datacentre growth

Private equity companies are betting on the Nordic datacentre sector as demand for services in the region accelerates Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer