IT management

CW Middle East: $60m venture capital fund targets 120 startups

Countries in the Middle East see technology as an industry of the future and are investing heavily in the sector as part of their economic diversification plans. Read in this issue how the latest development will see a $60m venture capital fund, based in Bahrain, invest in 120 early-stage startups across the Middle East region. Also read how Saudi Arabia has signed two agreements with Chinese IT suppliers as it strives to deliver its ambitious programme to diversify its economy. Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Plan for hybrid working to become normal

After a year of unprecedented disruption thanks to Covid-19, it looks like remote working is set to remain with us for now, which means security strategies will change in 2021. What will this change look like, and what tools and services will be selling like hot cakes? Continue Reading

By

• Martin Kuppinger, KuppingerCole

Court to rule on Facebook data sharing after Schrems drops legal challenge against Irish regulator

Irish High Court says it will issue a judgment as soon as possible over a draft decision by Ireland’s data protection commissioner to order Facebook to stop the transfer of data about EU citizens to datacentres in the US Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

What does Brexit mean for the future of UK digital policy? A view from Europe

Any decisions by the UK government to diverge from EU policies and values over digital policy and regulation could cause real economic problems for UK businesses Continue Reading

By

• Adam Bowering

Three-quarters of finance firms report more potentially criminal activity in their networks

Fears of failing to comply with strict regulations grow as financial services firms identify more suspicious financial activity on their networks Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Unravelling the new digital leadership plans in UK government

In September 2019, the then civil service chief executive John Manzoni told Computer Weekly that the new digital leader he wanted to recruit for the UK government would “have to be very wise, very ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

World’s largest dark web market disrupted in major police operation

Coordinated international operation including Europol and the UK’s National Crime Agency has successfully taken DarkMarket offline Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Covid-19 immunity passport tests to begin in UK

A Covid-19 immunity and vaccination passport developed by two UK firms and backed by Innovate UK has entered the live testing phase Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Stolen Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine data leaked

Data dump understood to include screenshots of emails, peer review information, PDFs and PowerPoint presentations Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

European IT outsourcing spend up in 2020 after cloud boost

IT outsourcing sector growth is an indication that businesses are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic disruption it has brought Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Critical zero-day features in first Patch Tuesday of 2021

Microsoft releases fixes for 84 bugs on the first Patch Tuesday of 2021, including a critical zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft Defender Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Telstra International appoints South Asia head

The international arm of Telstra has hired former DXC Technology executive Geraldine Kor as its managing director for South Asia to tap new growth opportunities Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Mimecast latest security firm to be compromised

Users of a specific Mimecast certificate used to authenticate services to Microsoft Office 365 may be at risk of compromise in an attack that may relate to the ongoing SolarWinds incident Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government appoints digital leadership roles and sets up new digital office

The government is creating a new Central Digital and Data Office, which will be led by Home Office tech boss Joanna Davinson Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Cloud DR from the Big Three: Who’s best at what?

We look at cloud disaster recovery from AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google to see which is best for provision of turnkey solutions, breadth of portfolio and modular building blocks Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

Data Dynamics aims at single view of unstructured data

Data volume is ballooning, and storage is becoming more disparate, which makes the need for a single platform to manage storage and compliance a key requirement for organisations Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Retail giant Walmart to launch a fintech

Fintech will be geared towards offering the services Walmart’s customers and employees want Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IR35 private sector reforms: Research highlights lack of preparedness ahead of April 2021 start date

As the private sector start date for the IR35 reforms looms large, research suggests some companies are still dragging their feet with their preparations Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Former ministers speak out on Mike Lynch extradition

As Mike Lynch, founder and former CEO of Autonomy, awaits his US extradition hearing, several former Tory MPs have expressed their concerns Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Security Think Tank: Time for security teams to learn from Covid

After a year of unprecedented disruption thanks to Covid-19, it looks like remote working is set to remain with us for now, which means security strategies will change in 2021. What will this change look like, and what tools and services will be selling like hot cakes? Continue Reading

By

• Elliot Rose and Cate Pye

Early stage UK security startups face funding crisis

Overall cyber security funding since the advent of the pandemic is well up, but investment is dominated by safe, later-stage firms while those raising capital for the first time fall away Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Wales invests £4.9m in digital services improvement

Government funding aims to accelerate the design and delivery of citizen-focused offerings in Wales Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Can AI ever match the power of the brain?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, artificial intelligence is still no match for the brain – we talk to Intel’s neuromorphic computing lab to see how researchers are trying to address that. Our buyer’s guide examines identity and access management. And we find out why datacentres are becoming a new target for financial investors. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

APAC firms’ ‘future readiness’ a mixed bag

Led by firms in China, Singapore and Australia, just over a quarter of businesses in APAC fit the bill as a future-ready business, study finds Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

New SolarWinds CEO sets out rescue plan

Customers can expect to see more regular and thorough checks on SolarWinds products, alongside greater engagement with the security community Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Jobs in fintech bounce back after brief lockdown lull

Fintechs and payments companies need to make staff recruitment a priority as talent pool shrinks Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Tech key to improving lives of people with rare diseases, says government report

The UK Rare Diseases Framework will build on advances in genomics and data analysis to improve testing and diagnosis Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Kaspersky claims link between Solorigate and Kazuar backdoors

Researchers say they have found specific code similarities between the Solorigate/Sunburst malware and the Kazuar backdoor, suggesting some relationship Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Pennine NHS trust gets new imaging tech

Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is the first of eight NHS trusts to go live with a Manchester-wide diagnostic imaging project Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Security Think Tank: Don’t bet on a new normal just yet

After a year of unprecedented disruption thanks to Covid-19, it looks like remote working is set to remain with us for now, which means security strategies will change in 2021. What will this change look like, and what tools and services will be selling like hot cakes? Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

Picking the right IAM tools is based on more than today’s needs

With remote working now normal, it is important to take proactive steps in managing credentials across platforms that can be subject to multiple data protection regulations. IAM services can streamline this process, but care must be taken to ensure the correct one is chosen Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Tech sector reacts to Trump social media bans

Facebook, Instagram and others moved to limit US president’s social media access after the violence in Washington DC, but experts have condemned them for acting too slowly, while disinformation about the riots persists Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

BT offers unlimited data for remote learning

UK incumbent telco joins campaign to make sure disadvantaged children can get connected as Covid-19 lockdown closes schools and other educational establishments Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

‘Litany’ of UK government failures in gigabit broadband roll-out

Second UK MPs’ report in matter of weeks slams government for dismal failure and lack of sufficient progress in meeting already scaled-back benchmark for gigabit-capable connectivity by 2025 Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Competition and Markets Authority battles with cookies and privacy

CMA is looking at proposed privacy changes to Google’s Chrome browser that could be seen as anti-competitive Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Major facial-recognition supplier builds system to identify masked faces

Facial-recognition supplier claims new system can accurately identify masked faces, therefore promoting public health during the pandemic. But questions remain about whether its existing UK law enforcement clients will be deploying the technology Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Brexit deal grants UK temporary data adequacy

The EU-UK Brexit deal has granted the UK temporary data adequacy to allow for the continued flow of data across borders, but the agreement has divided data protection experts Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

The nation state threat to business

The SolarWinds hack shows the widespread damage possible from a nation state cyber attack. What is the threat to business and how can it be mitigated? Continue Reading

By

• Kate O'Flaherty

British Gas tackles omnichannel customer correspondence

Utility firm hopes to map out customer communications to help deliver a better customer experience and improve the business Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Which? online banking investigation reveals ‘worrying gaps’ in security

Consumer rights organisation has ranked the security of UK online current account providers Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Majority of suppliers won’t have software ready for CDS until March

Brexit IT systems are all up and running, but little traffic through the borders means they haven’t yet been put to the test, and in Northern Ireland, suppliers don’t yet have software ready to use the Customs Declaration Service Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

How AI is helping to drive business process optimisation

 Continue Reading

Biden picks cyber veteran to reinvigorate security response

Appointment of career intelligence operative Anne Neuberger signals refreshed security approach for the US government under Joe Biden's administration Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The five tenets of quality ITAM

At the end of last year we looked at some of ITAM’s failings. This time we explore how to improve ITAM Continue Reading

By

• Eric Chiu, FisherITS

Trump bans Chinese payment apps

US president signs executive order banning the use of Chinese payments app, citing national security risks Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Hackney Council data leaked by Pysa ransomware gang

Council data stolen in October is leaked online in a double extortion attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Most British people don't trust government with personal data

The UK ranks high in a list of countries where citizens are least confident about how their private information is handled by public authorities, research shows Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Robust member administration system indispensable for Dutch Coeliac Society

Organisation had to find a dedicated member administration system to support existing members, new members and countless volunteers Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

DBS opens tech academy in skills training drive

The DBS Future Tech Academy will focus on training the bank’s technologists in three disciplines for a start – site reliability engineering, data processing and analytics, and application security Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to remain in prison despite winning extradition battle

Judge cites Assange’s support of NSA whistleblower as one of the reasons for him being at high risk of absconding. He will remain in Belmarsh prison until the US government completes its appeal Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

SolarWinds attack almost certainly work of Russian spooks

Investigations into the far-reaching SolarWinds Solorigate attack did not let up during the holidays Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Distributed supercomputer DiRAC gets a £20m upgrade

New funding will be used to boost performance and make the HPC system much more energy efficient Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Why Jack Ma might be too good a tech entrepreneur for China's leaders

Tech pioneer Jack Ma is facing new regulatory pressure from the Chinese authorities – is this some ideological spat, or simply that he's too good at what he does compared to the state-owned financial system? Continue Reading

By

• Tim Worstall, Adam Smith Institute

NHS trust says appointment processes robust despite criticism of role for Post Office scandal CEO

NHS trust defends its director appointment process following an external review of its recruitment of former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Five key points about cloud vs in-house disaster recovery

The cloud is well suited as a disaster recovery failover option. The key questions are about what you should keep on-site and what goes to the cloud. We look at five key points to consider Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

Diversity and inclusion in tech: The pandemic and the pay gap

In this video from Computer Weekly’s annual diversity and inclusion in tech event, in partnership with Spinks, Suki Fuller, founder of Miribure and co-lead of TLA Women in Tech, discusses the gender pay gap in the context of a pandemic world, alongside a panel of experts Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

AI advancement: Mimicking decision-making

In The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger is transported back to 1984. If Arnie had to rely on cloud connectivity, he’d still be walking around naked Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Huawei battles for market access in Nordics

Chinese networking equipment supplier Huawei fights to retain access to potential 5G contracts across the Nordic region Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Banking trade body calls for increased contactless payment limit

UK Finance proposes an increase in the limit on spending using contactless cards Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

AAT calls on government to re-think the Making Tax Digital exemption threshold

The Association of Accounting Technicians calls for improvements to HM Revenue and Customs’ Making Tax Digital programme, and says the exemption threshold, currently at £10,000, should be raised Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Government delays digital strategy

The digital strategy, originally due in autumn 2020, is likely to be published at some point in 2021, and the government is ‘continuing to consider the best timeframe for delivering the strategy’ Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

The tech sector cannot build back better from the kitchen table

While technology has supported the lockdown economy by allowing millions to work from home, the in-person collaboration and shared experience on which the tech sector thrives will need to return soon Continue Reading

By

• Amy French, Level39

Security Think Tank: Cyber effectiveness, efficiency key in 2021

After a year of unprecedented disruption thanks to Covid-19, it looks like remote working is set to remain with us for now, which means security strategies will change in 2021. What will this change look like, and what tools and services will be selling like hot cakes? Continue Reading

By

• Simon Persin, Turnkey Consulting

Nominations open for Computer Weekly Innovation Awards APAC

Computer Weekly is looking for nominations for its inaugural Innovation Awards in APAC to honour digitisation initiatives that have transformed organisations in seven industries Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Caerphilly council delivers free school meals through automation

Welsh council expands its robotic process automation project, which has successfully helped the council deliver free school meals during the Covid-19 pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange cannot be extradited to face charges in US, court rules

Court rules it would be oppressive to send Julian Assange to the US to face trial after finding he is at high risk of suicide. US government says it will appeal Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Security Think Tank: The year of the work-from-home hangover

After a year of unprecedented disruption thanks to Covid-19, it looks like remote working is set to remain with us for now, which means security strategies will change in 2021. What will this change look like, and what tools and services will be selling like hot cakes? Continue Reading

By

• Mike Lloyd, RedSeal

Journalists’ FOI bids stayed as court reconsiders freedom of information rights of people outside UK

Tribunal questions whether people without a British passport or Britons living overseas are eligible to use the UK’s Freedom of Information Act Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Covid-19’s impact on the retail supply chain

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed gaps in the ability of retailers to mitigate supply chain imbalances Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Top 10 investigations and national security stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 investigations and national security stories of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Top 10 NHS IT stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 NHS IT stories of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Top 10 technology and ethics stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 technology and ethics stories of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

UK-EU Brexit deal passes Commons with six-month data adequacy bridge

IT industry trade body TechUK has welcomed a six-month data adequacy bridge, in the wake of the EU-UK trade deal that the House of Commons has voted for Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

How to monitor remote workers humanely

Monitoring employees who work remotely has taken on a whole extra dimension in the Covid-19 pandemic year of 2020. Financial services firms are among those which suggest ways of doing it humanely and legally Continue Reading

By

• SA Mathieson

Top 10 government and public sector IT stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 government and public IT stories of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Top 10 Benelux IT stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Benelux IT stories of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 10 financial services stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 financial services IT stories of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 10 software development stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 software development stories of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Top 10 IT leader interviews of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 IT leader interviews of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Computer Weekly staff

Security Long Reads: Cyber insiders reveal what’s to come in 2021

In this long read, we gather together the thoughts of cyber security insiders from across the industry to get their take on what will happen in 2021 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Top 10 Middle East stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Middle East stories of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How to manage non-human identities

Identity management has traditionally focused on human identities, but non-human identities are proliferating and must not be overlooked. Businesses can reduce risk by managing both types of identity in the same way using a services-based approach Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Top 10 Australia IT stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Australia IT stories of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Wipro acquires IT units at German wholesalers

German wholesaler Metro has sold IT units to Indian IT services company Wipro, as part of a long-term agreement Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

It’s time to accept that disinformation is a cyber security issue

Tackling the manipulation of truth and facts is no easy task, and it’s time for the cyber security sector to take up the challenge Continue Reading

By

• Saj Huq, Plexal

Patching: Balancing technical requirements with business considerations

With an increasing reliance on subscription models alongside the regular patching of software, updates have become an essential part of modern business practices. However, care needs to be taken to ensure the optimum patching process is implemented Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Top 10 startup stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 startup stories of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Top 10 cloud storage stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 cloud storage stories of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Ministry of Justice in the dock for catalogue of serious data breaches

Annual report reveals major incidents of personal data loss affecting 121,355 people and including misplaced, unencrypted USB stick containing documents from a trial, accidental disclosure of identities, and staff files made visible to unauthenticated users Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Top 10 end-user computing stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 end-user computing stories of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

A Covid-19 response to supply chain fragility

The global pandemic, lockdowns and local lockdowns have required organisations to operate agile supply chains Continue Reading

By

• Selina Yuan

Openreach announces massive job creation plan for gigabit network deployment

New green fleet for engineers as BT broadband provision aims to create 2,500 new roles in its own organisation and about 2,800 with partners to supporting full-fibre network build-out Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Nordic CIO interview: Åsa Melvanius, Lund municipality

For Åsa Melvanius, CDO at the Swedish municipality of Lund, created a “robot factory” that has saved the city more than 6,500 hours by automating routine processes Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

Interview: AWS’s Teresa Carlson talks about new role and cloud adoption during Covid-19

AWS executive talks about her expanded remit beyond public sector to include other industries, and driving a unified agenda to push cloud and data adoption worldwide Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

HANA or ‘na’?

With alternatives abundant, many organisations are holding off on enterprise software upgrades Continue Reading

By

• Janine Burns

Top 10 enterprise IT in the Nordics stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Nordic enterprise IT stories of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 10 container storage stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 container storage stories for 2020, when providing persistent Kubernetes storage, backup and disaster recovery became a key challenge for many organisations Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Top 10 artificial intelligence stories of 2020

AI has moved beyond a tool for web giants and internet startups to something mainstream businesses should take seriously Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

THKD taps SAP and Azure to improve patient experience

Malaysian healthcare group THKD is deploying new SAP systems and plans to tap Azure’s cloud infrastructure to enhance patient experience Continue Reading

Government to spend more on IT consultants as skills gap remains unsolved

According to a Public Accounts Committee report, the need to fill gaps in tech expertise as a result of Covid-19 and Brexit means the public sector will resort to costly third-party support Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari