IT news in your industry sector

Emergency Services Network delay to cost hundreds of millions

The Emergency Services Network roll-out has hit further delays and is likely to become very costly indeed, the Public Accounts Committee has heard Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government will deliver at least 89 digital services by 2020, says Caroline Nokes

New minister for digital government talks about plans for more digital services, the importance of digital in Brexit, and the roll-out of Gov.uk Verify Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Waltham Forest Council gives 5G network plans a boost

Waltham Forest Council in London is to allow Arqiva to deploy small cell technology on 16,000 lampposts across the borough Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How fashion is turning to tech to get closer to customers

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine how the fashion world and clothing retailers are using technology to better understand customers and grow in such a competitive market. Brexit continues to dominate the conversation in the UK tech sector – we find out the hopes and fears of the industry. And we look at how to use OpenStack in a hyper-converged IT infrastructure. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Only a quarter of UK law firms are ready for GDPR, study shows

Just 25% of UK law firms are ready for the General Data Protection Regulation and one in five have experienced an attempted cyber attack in the past month Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Why UK police are learning cyber forensics

The need for the UK police force to conduct forensic investigations on computers is nothing new, but a rapid escalation of cyber crime has demanded a different approach Continue Reading

By

• Alex Bennett, Firebrand Training

Muslim hactivists hack “unhackable” IS news site

A Muslim hacktivist group has hacked into Islamic State’s news site and published thousands of subscribers’ details just hours after the site claimed it was impenetrable Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

DBS teams up with Equinix to reduce datacentre footprint

Building on earlier efforts to harness cloud computing to support growing compute workloads, DBS’s new private cloud datacentre will be smaller, greener and cheaper to run Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

What are some elements of sustainable product design?

With waste from electronics, plastics and other materials growing at a frightening rate, manufacturers can help address the problem with sustainable product design efforts. Continue Reading

By

• Dave Turbide

ISPs agree to Ofcom broadband compensation proposals

BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Zen Internet have agreed to introduce automatic compensation for consumers when their broadband service goes down Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

WikiLeaks publishes code and analysis of CIA hacking tool

Security experts are questioning the wisdom of WikiLeaks releasing more source code for US intelligence agency hacking tools Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

TSB customers can use their faces to authenticate payments

Bank’s latest addition to its mobile apps is a facial recognition option for Apple iPhone X users Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CW Benelux: Young wayward hackers could help fill Dutch IT skills gap

In this issue, read how an initiative in Rotterdam is helping young people get into the IT sector by targeting those overlooked by traditional methods. Also find out how Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport is utilising open source software to create and use a multi-cloud platform with an open API, and how the Netherlands’ Rabobank has moved from tape libraries and robotic arms to a platform-based storage and retrieval system. Continue Reading

Bangalore offers the best ecosystem for digital transformation, says Economist report

Bangalore ranked as the number one location for businesses looking to access the right ecosystem to support digital transformation Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

GDPR fines may affect almost 80% of US firms, poll shows

Most US companies risk fines for non-compliance with new European data protection laws that apply to all organisations processing any personal data of EU citizens Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CIO interview: How River Island is using cloud to fend off its fast fashion competitors

River Island's CIO, Doug Gardner, discusses how embracing cloud, online and mobile devices is driving sales in its high street stores Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Bank of Scotland testing out artificial intelligence on customer iPhone app

Bank of Scotland pilots artificial intelligence within its iPhone banking app. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Go beyond GDPR for a competitive edge

By exceeding the bare minimum requirements set by privacy regulations, businesses can win customers by offering greater assurances, says a business adviser Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Monique Shivanandan leaves Aviva

CIO has left the insurance company after more than three years in the role Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Businesses unprepared for cyber attacks, warn cyber professionals

Businesses are nowhere near prepared enough for a cyber attack, according to a poll of information and security professionals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Dear digital minister, a little more clarity - anything, really - on Brexit, please

The government’s digital minister, Matt Hancock, is a busy and enthusiastic advocate for the UK’s digital economy. In the past month alone, he’s given five speeches, published an independent review ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Middle East blockchain forum moves to accelerate adoption of the distributed ledger technology

Blockchain technology is becoming more widely used by financial services companies in the Middle East, and is finding its way into other sectors in the region Continue Reading

By

• Edward Banda

NHS England on the hunt for new CCIO

NHS England is looking for a chief clinical information officer to replace Keith McNeil, who resigned from his role earlier this year Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Shell makes $200m saving with virtual learning environment

Royal Dutch Shell has saved hundreds of millions by replacing field trips with interactive training that allows employees to interact with geological formations from their computer screen Continue Reading

By

• Christian Annesley

Cyber security professionals urged to embrace AI and automation

IBM security intelligence head says professionals should embrace artificial intelligence and automation to ensure they do not become obsolete Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

TomTom navigates move onto global HR platform

TomTom went live with HR platform in all 37 countries, serving 5,000 staff, in March 2017 Continue Reading

By

• Christian Annesley

Image recognition system clears cheques in one day

All cheques paid in the UK will be cleared on the next working day once an image-based clearing system is fully rolled out Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Court dates set for Post Office accounting system trials

An end is in sight for sub-postmasters’ campaign against alleged wrongful prosecution, which they blame on a faulty computer system Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Nordea lays off 6,000, citing digital transformation as the driver

Nordea is cutting staff as a result of its ongoing digital transformation, which means it needs less people Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

Carglass France feels benefit of employee knowledge sharing

Automobile glass repair company Carglass France is using knowledge-sharing technology to distribute expertise among 3,000 employees Continue Reading

By

• Christian Annesley

Airbus saves millions after building a digital learning library

Airbus has created a digital learning library that is helping more than 100,000 staff in 35 countries keep their skills updated Continue Reading

By

• Christian Annesley

NAO calls on NHS to ‘get its act together’ after WannaCry attack

The NHS could have prevented the WannaCry cyber attack had it followed basic IT security best practice, according to National Audit Office boss Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

No guarantees HMRC’s customs declaration service ready for Brexit

HMRC CEO tells MPs the department needs an extra £7.3m to upgrade current Chief system as a contingency, should new customs IT system not be ready in time for Brexit Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

IOActive warns of security flaws in maritime communication system

Researcher discovers critical security flaws in an Inmarsat maritime communication system, highlighting the cyber risks facing the shipping industry Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Kaspersky Lab explains how NSA data was uploaded

Malware detection triggered an upload of data from a National Security Agency contractor’s home computer, Kaspersky Lab says an internal investigation has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Oversight of intelligence agencies’ data sharing has ‘failed’, court hears

UK’s intelligence services lack adequate oversight and written guidelines when sharing databases of sensitive information, Privacy International argues in secret court Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

On HMRC, cloud providers, SMEs – and cloud-first government IT

There’s an interesting story doing the rounds this week that highlights some important issues around the UK government’s aim to have a cloud-first policy for IT purchasing. The original scoop, ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

A history of hacking and hackers

A security professional’s view on criminal hacking has shifted away from the traditional stereotype of the hacker, towards a much more diverse cross-section of wider society Continue Reading

By

• Danny Moules

Bad Rabbit malware raises fears of third global ransomware attack

A ransomware attack that has commonalities with WannaCry NotPeya is reportedly hitting organisations in Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Bulgaria and Germany Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Nearly 200 arrested for airline ticketing fraud

Police have arrested nearly 200 people for airline ticketing fraud in an international operation involving public and private sector organisations Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Almost 70% of customers willing to use fingerprint biometrics to shop

Consumers are becoming more comfortable using biometrics to pay when shopping, with fingerprint payments proving the most popular biometric identification method Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Where will artificial intelligence take us?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, artificial intelligence (AI) enthusiasts and sceptics debate the opportunities and risks of the much-hyped technology – we listen in to the House of Lords investigation. Our latest buyer’s guide examines the benefits and challenges of cloud-native applications. And we look at the best practice in defending email systems from cyber attacks. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Nordic finance watchdogs losing patience over anti-money laundering systems at banks

The financial services watchdogs have informed banks that they have to do more to improve anti-money laundering systems Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Royal London Hospital uses virtual reality to operate on patient

Remotely located surgeons use Microsoft Hololens headsets to “virtually appear” in operating theatre to help with cancer surgery Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

IBM’s Joanna Davinson to become new Home Office tech boss

IBM executive to replace Sarah Wilkinson as chief digital, data and technology officer Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

National Police Technology Council launches set of ICT principles

The national ICT strategic principles include cloud first, enabling data sharing and interoperability standards, and ensuring any tech decision made benefits the organisation as a whole Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

IT security hindering productivity and innovation, survey shows

IT security is hindering productivity and innovation across enterprises, research has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government cuts cost of network infrastructure roll-out

Parts of the Electronic Communications Code have been updated to help communications providers deploy new infrastructure more quickly Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SAP Q3 2017 results show steady growth in cloud revenue to €937m

SAP’s third quarter 2017 results show steady growth in cloud revenue, S/4 Hana adoption, and some uptake for its “digital transformation” spearhead SAP Leonardo Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Millions being lost due to downtime in industrial systems

Industrial companies are losing $260,000 per hour due to unplanned downtime, but predicting failure using digital twins can help overcome the problem Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Post Office computer system legal case reaches important procedural juncture

Sub-postmasters group action against the Post Office reaches an important milestone Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Norway’s Trondheim embraces the cloud with Google G Suite

Municipality is reaping the benefits of moving productivity software to the cloud Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

Infoblox partners with McAfee to combine web and DNS security

Infoblox is to collaborate with McAfee to combine web and DNS security to deliver unified protection Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

McAfee forges ahead with analytics, deep learning and AI

McAfee is forging ahead with its innovation efforts in advanced analytics, deep learning and artificial intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Focus needs to shift to breach impact, says McAfee researcher

Breach investigations commonly focus on the attackers and their motives, but a security researcher believes there needs to be more emphasis on business impact Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Openreach to open ‘grey’ fibre to broadband providers

Openreach is proposing to add a new feature to its optical spectrum access product to give broadband communication services providers more control over their networks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Shadow Cabinet Office minister slams Gov.uk Verify for being ‘inefficient’

Labour’s Jon Trickett says the government’s identity assurance platform is a poor use of taxpayers’ money and is “being handled appallingly” Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Cloud service spending almost matches traditional IT outsourcing

Traditional outsourcing spending has plummeted in the latest three-month period, but spending on cloud-based IT services is going some way to filling the void Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

RSA’s Middle East cyber security conference gains its own identity

RSA Abu Dhabi conference focuses on region’s cyber security needs as digital technology deployments expand Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CW500: How the NHS WannaCry cyber attack unfolded

NHS Digital’s head of security talks about the security landscape in the NHS and why it led to extra challenges when the WannaCry cyber attack hit the NHS in May 2017 Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Government gives ODI £6m to improve data knowledge

The Open Data Institute has been awarded £6m in funding from InnovateUK for a series of projects aiming to improve the UK’s data expertise Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

UK intelligence agencies ‘unlawfully’ sharing sensitive personal data, court hears

A secret court will decide whether Intelligence agencies are “unlawfully” sharing huge datasets containing sensitive information about the population with industry, government departments and overseas intelligence services. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin & Julia Gregory

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on empathy and innovation

In this week’s Computer Weekly, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella explains why he has made empathy a key part of technology innovation at the software giant. We examine the latest developments in the debate over the tax status of IT contractors in the public sector and the IR35 reforms they claim are hampering digital government projects. And we ask if an emphasis on creativity will help attract more young people to work in IT. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

How technology is transforming healthcare delivery in Gulf region

IT will transform the healthcare sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries over the coming years Continue Reading

By

• Alicia Buller

Pizza Hut data breach shows need for board control

The poor handling of the data breach by fast food chain Pizza Hut shows that company boards need to take control, a London-based law firm advises Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

SMEs more vulnerable than ever to cyber attacks, survey shows

The biggest cyber threat to UK and US small businesses is employees’ weak passwords, as the frequency, intensity and cost of cyber attacks continue to rise, a study has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

ADMCC monitors Abu Dhabi with Cisco technology

Abu Dhabi's surveillance system is using technology from Cisco Continue Reading

By

• Edward Banda

How is e-commerce packaging waste an issue, and what can be done?

As the world turns to online shopping for convenience, a pressing issue is developing -- packaging waste. Here are some considerations to get the conversation started. Continue Reading

By

• Dave Turbide

UK bank Standard Chartered opens IT service centre in Bangalore

Bank is expanding its operation in India, which provides business services to its operations globally Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CW Middle East: Internet of things can help Gulf countries to diversify

The Middle East’s push towards economic diversification is driving innovation in internet of things (IoT) applications for emerging services sectors, such as transport and logistics, telecommunications, financial services and tourism. Also read how the Dubai Health Authority is rolling out Salama, a unified electronic medical record (EMR) system, and a survey shows organisations in the Middle East are not offering IT staff enough training and don’t employ enough women in IT. Continue Reading

CW500: A perfect storm – the cyber attack that hit Parliament

The former director of the Parliamentary Digital Service shares details and lessons learned from the cyber attack that hit UK parliament in June and explains why it was a “good experience” Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Teva Pharmaceuticals turns to cloud HR as it weathers difficult trading conditions

One of Israel’s largest manufacturing companies has invested more than $10m in cloud HR. The technology is helping Teva Pharmaceuticals turn its fortunes around. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Will the review of Gov.uk Verify fix the UK's digital identity problems?

The rumoured review of the UK government’s identity assurance programme provides the ideal opportunity to fix problems and accelerate progress Continue Reading

By

• Jerry Fishenden

Dutch government agreement increasingly focuses on IT security

The coalition government in the Netherlands has agreed its plan for the next four years, with IT security prominent Continue Reading

By

• Tijs Hofmans

Abu Dhabi transport department uses drones to improve traffic flows

Data collected by live video stream from drones is analysed at control centre to help alleviate traffic jams and other issues Continue Reading

By

• Edward Banda

Belgian telco Proximus picks Cloudify to support NFV roll-out

Belgium’s largest telecoms operator Proximus will deploy a cloud-native orchestration platform to support its adoption of NFV services in the business Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Global cyber security collaboration initiative launched in Krakow

Cyber security ecosystems around the world have launched an initiative aimed at strengthening collaboration between regional ecosystems Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Some IT contractors earning more than £700 a day

Research shows 40% of contractors reach the average annual IT salary within three months Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

All EU countries sign up to implement digital-by-default services

Declaration reaffirms commitment to bring public sector services into the digital age and improve citizens’ interaction with government Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Singapore’s public sector finds agility and speed in AWS

City-state’s government has been able to meet peak demands and address security issues through a cloud-based web-hosting platform powered by Amazon Web Services Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Yahoo breach affected 3 billion accounts

Yahoo’s personal data breach affected three billion user accounts, the company’s new owners have revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber security industry key to solving skills gap

In the face of a growing shortage of cyber security skills around the world, the security industry itself needs to do more to attract people Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Tech entrepreneur aims to take digital skills to refugees

Tech entrepreneur Emma Sinclair hopes to raise £150,000 to run an education programme for displaced young people in a Unicef programme that aims to develop skills that might otherwise be lost Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CIOs moving to revenue-generating roles

Gartner survey shows changing role for CIOs to cover revenue generation and deriving value from data, and spending less time on traditional IT delivery Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Digitally preserving history

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how cloud technologies are helping Gibraltar to digitally preserve historic documents and safeguard its cultural heritage. We examine progress on the roll-out of the new NHS national network. And our latest buyer’s guide looks at the benefits and challenges of cloud-based ERP software. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Peer-to-peer CDN improves customer experience for Equinix

Datacentre and colocation services provider Equinix cut page load times at its customer information resource library using a developing peer-to-peer model of content delivery networking Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Hard Brexit would see UK tech exports fall by £1.7bn

UK manufacturers including those in the technology sector will lose billions of pounds of export revenue if the government completes a hard Brexit Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Where the device hits the network – a mobile device management update

As business becomes increasingly mobile, we look at the latest trends in mobile device management to give businesses the edge Continue Reading

By

• Rene Millman

WannaCry an example of pseudo-ransomware, says McAfee

The global WannaCry and NotPetya attacks were both examples of pseudo-ransomware, according to McAfee researchers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

RHB Bank rolls out chatbot for loan applications

The Malaysian lender hopes to improve the loan application experience and grow its personal loan business by 60% through a new chatbot Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

How retailers are using technology to remain relevant

From the constant innovation at Asos, Amazon and Missguided to the new supply chain prowess flaunted by Diesel and Gap, fashion retailers are investing in tech to stay relevant to their customers Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

Global hacker botnet tops 6 million hijacked devices

A year after the first Mirai botnet attacks, the global botnet has grown, with many countries and cities unwittingly hosting large number of bot-infected devices Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Building on legacy IT

In this week’s Computer Weekly, experts at VMworld 2017 discussed how to adapt legacy IT to make the most of modern technology – we listened in. Artificial intelligence is touted as an aid to decision-making, but its limitations mean AI needs to be handled with care – we look at the lessons learned. And we find out how Wales has become a hotspot for cyber security innovation. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Cage director found guilty of terrorism offence after refusing to disclose passwords

Muhammad Rabbani, international director of Cage, is convicted of an offence under the terrorism act after refusing to disclose his mobile phone PIN and laptop password under Terrorism Act Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Amazon launches Middle East region

Amazon opens its latest delivery hub in Bahrain to serve customers in the Middle East Continue Reading

By

• Triska Hamid

NotPetya attack cost up to £15m, says UK ad agency WPP

Advertising giant was one of many companies hit in June 2017 by malware distributed through Ukrainian accounting software Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FSA connects 220 abattoirs to fibre for food safety monitoring

Food Standards Agency picks Exponential-e to revitalise connectivity across 220 sites as it strives to improve operational efficiency and compliance processes Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Uber fails to get licence to operate in London renewed

Transport for London has rejected Uber's application for its licence renewal, citing a lack of corporate responsibility as the reason Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CIO interview: Russell Harte, group technology director, DFS

The furniture store’s group head of IT speaks to Computer Weekly about how customer experience can be used internally Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Malware hidden in CCleaner targeted tech firms

Major tech firms were targeted by malware hidden in Avast’s Piriform CCleaner software, researchers have found, leading to speculation that it may have been state-sponsored espionage attack Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst