IT management

How Mastercard is taking digital payments into a new era

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to Mastercard about how the credit card giant is using new technologies to take digital payments into a new era. After months of unprecedented uncertainty, we ask CIOs how they are planning for the next 12 months. And we examine how the growth in remote working will affect IT salaries. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

How to build an effective vulnerability management programme

As cyber criminals increasingly look to exploit vulnerabilities in software and hardware, businesses must build and implement an effective vulnerability management programme to counter this growing threat Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

Privacy advocates call for European probe into Palantir

Dutch group SOMI is trying to raise awareness of Palantir’s data privacy practices and how it works with European government agencies Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Resident Evil studio Capcom confirms scale of Ragnar Locker breach

Videogame studio says the data of up to 350,000 people was likely to have been compromised in a Ragnar Locker ransomware attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Wireless industry warns of urgent need for more Wi-Fi spectrum

As demand for broadband connectivity surges worldwide, bodies representing wireless companies highlight what they say is a pressing need for access to the 6GHz frequency band Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Martha Lane Fox: My life in tech

The internet entrepreneur discusses the role of tech in society, confidence in coding and encouraging young people to embrace technology Continue Reading

By

• Martha Lane Fox

Human error blamed in Welsh Covid-19 patient data leak

Public Health Wales accepts recommendations of independent probe into data breach that saw PII on 18,105 coronavirus patients leaked Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Hackney systems could be unavailable for months, says council

A month after a highly disruptive cyber attack on its systems, Hackney Council is still struggling to get back up and running Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Post Office explanation of IT system outage so vague it is ‘pointless’

Post Office criticised over vagueness of its explanation of the cause of a UK-wide IT failure that saw subpostmasters unable to do business Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How AI is helping to drive business process optimisation

Automating an inefficient process simply leads to a faster inefficient process. Artificial intelligence needs to be deployed to ensure business processes are optimal Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Ticketmaster fined £1.25m by ICO for failing to protect customer data

Ticket website’s customer data was exposed through an attack on a third-party chatbot Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Dutch IT award recognises importance of research in the wild

Promoter of human-centric scientific research techniques claims the prestigious 2020 Netherlands Prize for ICT Research Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Covid-19 pandemic has increased speed of tech deployments across the NHS

The pandemic has increased use of technology across the NHS, but how has it been received by clinicians, and how has it impacted daily life for NHS organisations? Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Why setting IT budgets for 2021 will be harder - and easier - than ever

It’s the time of year when many IT leaders will be setting budgets for 2021 and trying to persuade their boardroom why they should have more money to invest in technology. After the year we’ve all ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

UK government makes inroads in maritime autonomy

The Maritime Future Technologies team has been formed to facilitate trials of innovative approaches and support regulatory updates Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Humanitarian data collection practices put migrants at risk

United Nations report on smart borders warns that data collection about migrants and refugees by humanitarian organisations risks excluding them from essential basic services like access to food Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Public sector IT leaders struggle with data infrastructure legacy

The impact caused by the pandemic means government tech executives in Europe are looking for ways to quickly modernise their estates, research says Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Police open criminal investigation into potential perjury by Fujitsu staff in Post Office IT trials

Current and former Fujitsu staff could face prosecution for giving false evidence in the trials of subpostmasters accused of theft and false accounting Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UKtech50 2021: Help us find the most influential people in UK IT

Computer Weekly’s annual search for the 50 most influential people in UK IT is on – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year’s list Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

DDoS mitigation strategies needed to maintain availability during pandemic

The growing prevalence of DDoS attacks combined with the increased reliance on internet connectivity during the pandemic means enterprises can no longer afford to ignore the threat of DDoS attacks. Computer Weekly explores organisations’ perceptions of the risks and best practice for mitigation Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Online kids’ game Animal Jam confirms large breach

Cyber criminals have stolen data on 46 million Animal Jam player accounts via a third-party attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Financial Stability Board says it’s time to talk about IT outsourcing risks

International organisation that monitors the finance sector asks for the industry to discuss the risks that IT outsourcing brings to the sector Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IT Priorities 2020: Budgets rejigged to support 2021 recovery

IT has been essential in helping organisations remain operational. IT chiefs are now considering the IT to drive a sustained business recovery Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

DCMS opens talks with private sector on future of digital identity market

Department has met with suppliers to discuss plans for a trust framework to show ‘what good looks like’ as it ploughs ahead with digital identity plans Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Company accused of spying on Assange acted for Ecuadorian Intelligence, says ex UC Global manager

Former operations chief of UC Global told Spanish Court the company accused of spying on Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London was acting on the orders of Ecuadorian Intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly
• Ter García

CW Benelux: Dutch Alzheimer’s app helps dementia patients

An app aimed at helping dementia patients and their families has been developed by the Alzheimer Society in the Netherlands. Also in this issue, read about a Belgian startup's app based on blockchain technology to help container handling at ports, and why Rabobank ditched its legacy backup. Continue Reading

Diversity and inclusion in tech: How to be an effective ally

In this video from Computer Weekly’s annual diversity and inclusion in tech event, in partnership with Spinks, a panel discusses how to be an effective ally and support others at work. Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

TCS acquires Prudential Financial tech operation unit for free

Hot on the heels of its €1 acquisition of Deutsche Bank’s Postbank Systems IT unit, TCS has taken on 1,500 people from the insurance giant’s Ireland-based IT unit Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

What businesses can learn from GovTech’s digital strategy

Modernising its infrastructure and putting digital at its core has given Singapore’s Government Technology Agency the agility it needs to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Tim Berners-Lee startup releases decentralisation tech to enterprises

Roll-out of Inrupt’s decentralised privacy technology to four large organisations is helping the startup to develop explicit use cases, which it hopes will prove the tech and lead to faster adoption Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Security pros coped admirably with remote working transition

Despite facing tight timescales at the onset of the pandemic, security professionals have come through the transition to remote working remarkably well, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Gartner: IT spending to focus on fast time to value

There are no surprises in Gartner’s latest forecast. IT budgets are being spent on supporting remote workers, but CIOs have new metrics Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Norway has lowest physical cash use in the world, says report

Norway claims to use less cash as a proportion of total spending than any other country across the globe, according to a study by its central bank Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Amazon charged with breaching EU antitrust rules

Tech giant accused of using data it collects on smaller retailers to benefit its own e-commerce business Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Microsoft drops fix for serious zero-day among 112 Patch Tuesday updates

November’s Patch Tuesday contains fixes for 112 bugs, including a potentially serious zero-day exploit that malicious actors are already taking advantage of Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Lack of openness on Horizon errors remains as Fujitsu refuses to explain latest outage

Subpostmasters are being kept in the dark about errors in the branch computer system they use, despite the Post Office and Fujitsu being slammed in court over their lack of openness Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

EU aid funds used to train ‘unaccountable intelligence agencies’ in high-tech surveillance

Hundreds of documents obtained by campaign group Privacy International show how the EU is supporting surveillance programmes in the Balkans, the Middle East and Africa Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Intel and AMD processors affected by another side-channel exploit

Two years after Spectre and Meltdown, the x86 processor faces another side-channel exploit – only this time, it is based on sensing temperature Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Border technologies largely fail to respect human rights

AI-powered border technologies used to ‘manage’ migration frequently make the process more arbitrary, discriminatory and unjust, says human rights group Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Industry tells House of Lords committee it has ‘grave reservations’ about CDS

The Customs Declaration Service is untested, unproven and not ready, and HMRC is taking a “cloak and dagger approach” to working with the industry, hears a Lords committee – but HMRC says delivery of Brexit IT is on track Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Leaky AWS S3 bucket once again at centre of data breach

Prestige Software exposed millions of records after failing to pay attention to the security of its cloud instances Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IT Priorities 2020: Covid-19 consolidates storage push to cloud

The emphasis on home and remote working has been felt in storage and backup as in all areas of IT, with continued evolution towards the cloud and as-a-service storage and backup Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Zoom rapped over historic security practices

The US Federal Trade Commission rules that Zoom’s practices undermined the security of its users Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Better data sharing needed to help children during pandemic

Closing gaps in data infrastructure will help the education sector respond better to children’s needs during the Covid-19 pandemic, says Open Data Institute Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Gartner: Composability will make business more resilient and agile

CIOs have stepped up to the challenge of supporting their organisations during the global coronavirus crisis. Now they are set to do more – with less Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

IT Priorities 2020: After Covid-19, security goes back to basics

This year’s transition to remote working highlighted big gaps in the fundamentals of security, as updated TechTarget/Computer Weekly data reveals Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Using digital twins to cut costs and improve safety at Shell

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at Shell’s digital twin strategy, which combines AI, internet of things and big data to improve safety and cut costs. Our latest buyer’s guide examines the best practices and technologies in business process automation. And we find out why securing DNS is critical to fighting cyber crime. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Equinix to open third datacentre in Perth

Datacentre service provider Equinix will open its third facility in Perth to meet the growing demand for digital infrastructure between Australia and Asia Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

How Shell is fleshing out a digital-twin strategy

Digital twins are among the innovations that use AI, IoT and big data to help asset-intensive industries manage their operations Continue Reading

Overhaul business support with a focus on tech to help SMEs weather the Covid crisis

The more digitally capable businesses have come through the pandemic in better shape - government needs to ensure that UK SMEs have the support in place to use tech to survive Covid-19 Continue Reading

By

• Julian David, TechUK

Optus to acquire Amaysim, signals decline of MVNO market

Optus’s A$250m acquisition of Amaysim could signal the decline of the mobile virtual network market, according to Venture Insights Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

MPs unconvinced NHS has learned lessons from failed IT programmes

None of the components needed to deliver NHS digital ambitions are in place, says Public Accounts Committee, as MPs call for the Department of Health and Social care to set ‘realistic targets’ Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Credential stuffing: When DDoS isn’t DDoS

Ten years ago, credential stuffing attacks posed a comparatively minor threat, but with an escalating number of data breaches, the threat posed has now increased. What are the solutions to this very human problem? Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

NHS warned over Ryuk spreading through Trickbot replacements

NHS Digital tells healthcare organisations to be mindful of a marked rise in usage of the Bazar and Buer loaders Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Covid-19 pandemic has significantly affected HMRC’s operations, says NAO

NAO’s insight into HMRC’s annual report and accounts finds that the pandemic has created challenges for the department’s transformation programmes, including Universal Credit and the end of the Brexit transition period Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Lockdown 2: Balancing job retention with automation

As the UK enters its second coronavirus lockdown, experts have questioned the funds that governments across Europe have put aside to support businesses Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

ICO sued over ‘failure’ to address ad industry practices

Privacy campaigner the Open Rights Group claims the advertising technology industry is systematically breaching the GDPR, and the ICO is doing nothing about it Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Finger pointed at Fujitsu as Post Office Horizon system crashes nationally

Post Office branches offline during busy business hours after suffering an IT error that the Post Office said related to IT from supplier Fujitsu Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

HMRC shuns Gov.uk Notify and seeks supplier to unify notifications

Tax collection agency HMRC will spend up to £9.75m to streamline notifications through text, voice and email Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Risk of ‘widespread disruption’ at UK border after Brexit transition period, NAO warns

National Audit Office report highlights concerns over UK’s readiness when Brexit transition period ends, including several IT systems at risk of not being ready in time Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Microsoft to support next generation of security startups

Tech giant lends its support to the NCSC Cyber Accelerator scheme, which is seeking its seventh cohort of startups Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Royal Navy tests new tech in Cyprus

Navy has been trialling drones, autonomous systems and new communication systems under plans to evolve the Royal Marines into a ‘hi-tech raiding and strike force’ Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

GSMA calls for whole-of-government approach to digital societies

Asia-Pacific countries need to take a whole-of-government approach and not regulate the telecoms industry in isolation to advance their digital societies Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Using AI to automate business processes and create revenue streams

We look at how a utility company in Australia is using artificial intelligence to automate at scale, improve the planet and reshape the Australian energy market Continue Reading

By

• Nick McQuire

How crowd simulation modelling enables organisations to develop social distancing strategies

Crowd simulation modelling has a role to play in maximising the Covid security of offices and other buildings by facilitating social distancing to help get people back to workplaces Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Asda recruits new IT chief to handle transition

Former Morrisons CTO Anna Barsby will lead retailer’s tech agenda as part of its acquisition by the Issa brothers Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Government releases funding for green technology businesses

New funding will support UK entrepreneurs and startups in scaling up their eco-friendly innovations Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Contractors claim IR35 reforms pose ‘bigger threat’ to their livelihoods than Covid-19 or Brexit

Latest poll by contractor tax consultancy Qdos suggests freelancers are less concerned about the threat the coronavirus and Brexit pose to their businesses than the havoc the IR35 private sector reforms might cause Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

EU to introduce data-sharing measures with US in weeks

The European Commission is to issue updated standard contractual clauses (SCCs) that will allow organisations in the EU to exchange data with the US, but they may arrive too late to incorporate into UK law Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

GDPR lawsuit against Oracle and Salesforce moves forward

Class action suit seeks claims worth more than £10bn over the processing of personal information Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mixed blessings for robots in retail

Ocado has acquired two US firms to boost its robotics expertise, while Walmart has reverted to using staff for shelf inventory checks Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Government sets out plans for security vetting IT platform

A three-year programme to transform the security vetting process for civil servants includes a technology platform due to be rolled out in summer 2021 Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Robot lawyer gets Sberbank role

Russia's largest state-owned bank creates a robot lawyer to reduce the time taken to process documents and make decisions based on them Continue Reading

By

• Vladimir Kozlov

Subpostmasters’ complaint about government begins its journey to Parliamentary Ombudsman

Government faces scrutiny of its handling of the Post Office IT scandal that destroyed subpostmasters’ lives and livelihoods Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CIO interview: Joe Soule, CTO, Capital One Europe

Never go back, or so they say – but one IT chief’s return to his former employer brought new opportunities and tech transformation Continue Reading

The UK government’s ‘flawed and misleading’ Covid-19 data

In this week’s Computer Weekly, the coronavirus data relied upon by the UK government is ‘flawed and misleading’ say experts – we examine the implications. Ikea talks about how it turned to the cloud to deal with the impact of the pandemic. And we look at the digital transformation underway at credit card giant Capital One. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

HPE to build new Pawsey supercomputers

Hewlett-Packard Enterprise has snagged a A$48m deal to deliver a supercomputer for Australia’s Pawsey Supercomputing Centre Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

NHS weathers cyber crime storm during pandemic, says NCSC

The NCSC dealt with over 700 incidents in the 12 months to August 2020, with over 200 specifically related to Covid-19, and the NHS a critical area of focus Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Maze ransomware shuts down with bizarre announcement

The operators of Maze announce they are shutting down, and claim their crime spree was merely intended to demonstrate lax security at their targets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Tackling multicloud deployments with intelligent cloud management

Organisations are moving to hybrid and multicloud deployments, which complicates software assets tracking and workload management Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Government seeks Council of Science and Technology co-chair

Co-chair will be part of the council that advises the prime minister on science and technology policy issues, including sustainable development, innovation and the UK’s research and science capability Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

How Snowflake is charting its growth in APAC

The cloud data warehouse supplier set foot in Asia-Pacific just three years ago and has started to gain traction among large enterprises in Singapore, India and Southeast Asia Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Being LGBTQ+ in science and tech – Alfredo Carpineti

In this video from Computer Weekly’s annual diversity and inclusion in tech event, in partnership with Spinks, Alfredo Carpineti, founder of charitable trust Pride in STEM, talks about some of the difficulties faced by people from the LGBTQ+ community in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) sectors, and highlights some small things we can all do to act as allies for others. Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Accidental heroes: How one scaleup pivoted to cyber

Simeon Quarrie designed his business using virtual reality and interactivity as a tool to tell stories that effect cultural change in enterprise environments – then a cyber criminal emptied his bank account Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How to practice better allyship – Suzanne McGovern

In this video from Computer Weekly’s annual diversity and inclusion in tech event, in partnership with Spinks, Suzanne McGovern, head of diversity, equity and inclusion at Splunk, discusses how to practice better allyship, explaining why it’s important to have allyship within a business and giving practical tips on how individuals can start supporting minority groups in the workplace. Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

CISOs more confident in identity practice after pandemic shock

Identity practice and management has become a critical element of cyber security strategies to support remote workers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ICO slashes Marriott breach fine to £18.4m

Reduced fine reflects both improvements made to hotel group’s cyber security and impact of coronavirus on the travel and hospitality sector Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government invests £200,000 to boost Scottish geospatial sector

The new Scottish Geospatial Network Integrator will work on developing opportunities in the geospatial services industry Continue Reading

Google third-quarter results highlight public cloud goals

Google is the third player in the public cloud market, but it sees multicloud support as a major differentiator Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Five steps to build an artificial intelligence strategy

Artificial intelligence is the next frontier for IT in businesses, helping to increase competitive advantage. A truly successful AI strategy needs careful planning Continue Reading

By

• Michael Chalmers

Surge in Ryuk ransomware attacks has hospitals on alert

Russian cyber criminals are conducting a targeted campaign against hospitals with Ryuk ransomware Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Victims contest technology firms’ attempt to dismiss cobalt mining deaths case

Technology companies say they cannot be held responsible for the deaths of children mining for the cobalt used in their products Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

How Shell is fleshing out a digital-twin strategy

Digital twins are among the innovations that use AI, IoT and big data to help asset-intensive industries manage their operations Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

UK Hydrographic Office launches innovation programme

The programme aims to help startups and innovators use marine geospatial data to develop products and systems to “support safe, secure and thriving oceans” Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Royal Navy and US Navy evolve joint AI and ML work

The teams are working on improving interoperability and interchangeability of technology between the US and UK Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Zero-trust investment seen accelerating through pandemic

New analyst report details some of the main indicators for success in zero-trust implementation Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why Malaysia’s AmBank is embracing open source and DevOps

AmBank Group is tapping open source, DevOps and data science to improve customer service and develop bespoke services for a broader market Continue Reading

By

• Edwin Yapp

Trump supporters targeted by cryptocurrency scammers

The successful breach of Donald Trump’s official website shows up lax security on his campaign team and is yet another timely warning that nobody is immune to cyber crime Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Finnish therapy centre accused of covering up cyber attack

Private therapy practice Vastaamo faces questions over its security and business practices in the months leading up to one of the biggest data breaches in Finland’s history Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How to write an executive CV for IT leadership jobs

Knowing how to write an IT executive CV requires a deep knowledge and skillset that not everyone has. Find out how to set yourself apart from the competition Continue Reading

By

• Mike Podesto