IT news in your industry sector

Securing Eurovision’s online voting system against cyber attacks

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we discover how Once.net and Cloudfare defended the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest against cyber attacks. Our buyer’s guide continues to look at integrating software-as-a-service applications, with the governance of SaaS connectivity to the fore. Also, HCLTech’s Ashish Gupta relates how the company has embraced a new, pandemic-influenced, remote working model. And we find out how retail tech leaders influence their boards on transformation projects. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Government offers £600,000 to subpostmasters with overturned convictions

Subpostmasters wrongfully convicted of financial crimes based on evidence from faulty Horizon software will be offered £600,000 compensation by government Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Unregulated DeFi services abused in latest pig butchering twist

Pig butchering scammers are taking advantage of the unregulated nature of DeFi crypto trading apps to siphon off even more money from their victims, according to the latest findings of an ongoing investigation Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government seeks industry views on cyber threat to UK CNI

The Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee is seeking evidence from the cyber sector as it launches an inquiry into the resilience of the UK's critical national infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

TikTok fined €345m under GDPR for failing to protect children’s privacy

Data protection regulators warn social media companies to take all necessary measures to protect children’s privacy Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Las Vegas mainstay Caesars Palace likely paid off ransomware crew

Caesars Entertainment, owner of the lavish Roman Empire-themed Caesars Palace casino in Las Vegas, has revealed it also suffered a ransomware attack, and appears to have paid off its hackers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Number of UK contactless payments rose by 30% last year

UK consumers are increasingly making contactless payments, with the number of payments using the technology up 30% last year Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK space sector needs more people with AI skills, according to survey

Space sector survey shows machine learning and artificial intelligence skills are highly sought after, as the industry struggles to recruit and retain people with the necessary talent Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Manchester police data breach a classic supply chain incident

The developing data breach at Greater Manchester Police follows a cyber attack on the systems of a key supplier of ID services to the force Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Data on over 3,000 Airbus suppliers leaked after breach

An emergent threat actor has leaked details of multiple sensitive Airbus suppliers after claiming to have accessed the firm’s systems having hacked customer Turkish Airlines Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

BlackCat on the hook for cyber attack that crippled Vegas casinos

The ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware operation claimed responsibility for an attack that forced MGM Resorts to shut down systems at some of Las Vegas’ most popular gambling venues Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Bristol Uni to host one of Europe’s most power supercomputer clusters

A high-performance computer system being built at the University of Bristol will run thousands of GPUs to support research in artificial intelligence and scientific discovery Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Government appoints Dave Smith as UK national tech adviser

The former Rolls-Royce technology director will take over the role of UK national technology adviser, following government recruitment campaign for the role in the wake of former tech adviser Patrick Vallance’s departure Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

CIO interview: Petra Tesch, Vizrt

Straight-talking when it comes to getting her messages across to the wider company, Vizrt CIO Petra Tesch revels in transformation and communication Continue Reading

By

• Martin Veitch

As vehicle safety regulations loom, carmakers fret over cyber risks

Global, UN-backed car safety and security regulations come into force next year, and automotive bosses say they are not only unprepared, but “swamped” by a tide of compliance and security risks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

GCHQ breached privacy rights of IT professional and security researcher, human rights court rules

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg finds UK intelligence services breached the privacy rights of two overseas nationals – an IT professional and a security researcher Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

BianLian ransomware gang holds Save the Children hostage

The dangerous and prolific BianLian ransomware gang claims to have stolen almost 7TB of data from NGO Save the Children, but thankfully the charity’s vital work on the ground appears to be unaffected Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Banks less focused on metaverse technology than last year

Senior banking executives have reduced their focus on investigating metaverse technology in the past 12 months Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Patch Tuesday: Microsoft fixes zero-days in Word and Streaming Service

September 2023 brings a light Patch Tuesday, with two zero-days and five critical vulnerabilities listed in the latest release Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ancient MoD IT systems could cause supply issues for frontline troops

Deliveries of inventory to the front line are being put at risk due to legacy IT systems and poor data, according to the National Audit Office Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Whitehall only capable of ‘piecemeal’ digital transformation, says PAC

The Public Accounts Committee is unconvinced government will achieve its digital transformation ambitions as progress is thwarted by staff shortages and a lack of senior leadership engagement Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

US casino giant MGM Resorts battles 36-hour outage after cyber attack

Multiple systems at US hotel and casino operator MGM went down in the wake of the incident on 10 September, crippling several of Las Vegas’ most prominent casinos Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Oxford’s Mini iFactory runs on S/4Hana

The factory, which is part of BMW Group’s digitised automotive production blueprint, iFactory, uses S/4Hana and SAP supply chain software Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

European enterprises to spend more on generative IT to close gap on US

European organisations are upping their spending on generative AI innovation, but face challenges recruiting the right people to support this Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

European fintech investment plummets, but more sustainable future lies ahead

Investment in European fintechs has seen a dramatic drop, but a more sustainable sector will result from investment discipline Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Huawei launches OceanStor Pacific 9920 entry-level NAS

Huawei adds to its OceanStor Pacific NAS family, offering entry-level 9920 with up to 92TB per node which can be combined into clusters and also used as a SAN device Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

University of Glasgow launches Centre for data science and AI

Scottish university will apply artificial intelligence and data science to help solve some of the world's biggest challenges Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Polish election questioned after Pegasus spyware used to smear opposition, investigation finds

Senate committee alerts prosecutors over potential crimes by public officials involved in purchasing Pegasus spyware used to monitor and smear political opponents Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

IR35: HMRC reportedly working to April 2024 start date for settlement offsets fix

HMRC is reportedly planning to roll out its fix for the double-taxation issue affecting IR35 compliance cases by April 2024 Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Transforming healthcare with artificial intelligence

Discover how applying AI to healthcare can optimize the patient experience, drive efficiencies and reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases on the global healthcare system. Continue Reading

By

• Ana Salom-Boira, Editorial manager

HSBC collaborates on hybrid quantum optimisation

The bank, which wants to be at the forefront of quantum computing, is looking at how it can manage collateral assets more efficiently Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Deputy PM urges UK plc not to lose focus on cyber

In a speech at TechUK, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden urges the cyber security community not to lose focus, and to do more to further collaboration across sectors Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

North Koreans using new zero-day to target security researchers

A threat actor linked to the North Korean government is continuing a long-running campaign targeting legitimate security researchers, using an as-yet undisclosed zero-day vulnerability to gain access to their victims Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Sensitive NatWest customer files set to be returned after High Court agreement

Sensitive NatWest customer files set to be secured by bank after years in the home of a data breach whistleblower Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

HGS to provide contact centre support for One Login

The partnership between the Government Digital Service and Hinduja Global Solutions will see the supplier provide contact centre services for the digital identity platform Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

SME disaster recovery: Five key points to consider

We look at key DR considerations for SMEs, including RPOs, RTOs, infrastructure needed for effective continuity and the right combination of cloud and in-house provision Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

UK minister fails to reassure tech companies over encryption risk

Technology companies say reassurances by government ministers that they have no intention of weakening end-to-end encrypted communication services do not go far enough Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Kent Digital tackles digital divide with refurbished laptops

The council has begun working with Circular Computing to support people who do not have access to laptop devices Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Honeywell goes quantum to protect utilities from future threats

Honeywell and quantum computing specialist Quantinuum will integrate quantum-hardened encryption keys into future smart meters Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

GPs in Slough help control patients’ blood pressure through tech

The GP practices use digital technology to identify, diagnose and manage patients with hypertension Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Government AI taskforce appoints new advisory board members

An initial progress report published by the Taskforce provides detail on new appointments to its external advisory board as well as rebrand to focus on “frontier” artificial intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

CXL in the datacentre: Boosting memory for hungry workloads

We look at CXL, how it revolutionises connectivity between memory components, potentially saves energy, and adds oomph to heavily memory-dependent workloads such as AI analytics Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Duplicate waypoints root cause of Nats subsystem failover

Processing of waypoints that determine when a flight enters and leaves UK airspace caused the air traffic system to report a critical error Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Hyundai to launch in-car payments in US

Hyundai will launch an in-car payments service in the US when the company’s latest car model is launched next year Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Interview: Ashish Gupta, head of EMEA, HCLTech

It’s not just enterprises that changed their operating models during and after Covid, but also the suppliers that took them on the journey, HCLTech Europe’s head explains Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

French supreme court dismisses legal challenge to EncroChat cryptophone evidence

Defence lawyers plan to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights after the French supreme court disallowed an appeal over the legality of EncroChat evidence Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Saudi Arabian fintech gets Mastercard boost

Saudi-based fintechs could soon benefit from Mastercard's extensive payments network Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

German court unclear whether intercepted EncroChat cryptophone messages are legally admissible

Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court is waiting to hear five complaints that could decide whether data from the hacked EncroChat phone network can be lawfully used in German courts, but situation remains unclear for now Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

CIO interview: Cynthia Stoddard, Adobe

Adobe's IT chief is looking to build on its cloud migration with widespread adoption of AI, machine learning and robotic process automation – as well as low-code/no-code software development tools Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

HPE storage comes with full IT stack, hybrid cloud and as a service

Storage profile: We look at HPE, its Alletra storage refresh, and Greenlake and the ways the company is re-branding as a full-stack provider across on-prem and hybrid cloud Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Researchers find flaw in Mend.io security platform

WithSecure’s research team uncovered an authentication flaw in an application security platform developed by Mend.io, which has now been fixed Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Hacked Electoral Commission failed Cyber Essentials audit

The Electoral Commission failed an NCSC Cyber Essentials audit on multiple counts at about the same time as cyber criminals breached its systems in 2021, it has emerged Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ryder Cup testbed to feature tech firsts in Rome

This year’s Ryder Cup will test out technology to improve how fans digitally consume the event while reducing the workload on IT teams Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government pumps £18.5m into autonomous vehicles

Government’s funding is part of a £50m pot going to 30 different ‘cutting-edge’ manufacturing projects, with the aim of boosting green technology innovation Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

NCSC names ex-NCC man as new CTO

New NCSC CTO Ollie Whitehouse joins from NCC Group, having also worked at BlackBerry and Symantec Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Plymouth Uni spearheads research into wind farm cyber resilience

Project hosted at the University of Plymouth in Devon aims to develop cyber security measures to protect the UK’s increasingly important offshore wind farm assets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

VMware builds vSAN Max, consolidates multicloud and online deployment

VMware launches new iteration of vSAN Max with up to 8.6PB of independently scalable storage, NSX gets a “+” as it unifies networks and Ransomware Recovery ups efficiency Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Met Police data platform goes £64m over budget

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we reveal a £64m cost over-run for the Metropolitan Police’s new record management system – and the thousands of support requests it’s caused. Our latest buyer’s guide looks at the issues around integrating software-as-a-service applications. And a leading flash storage firm says the age of spinning disk drives is almost over – are they right? Read the issue now Continue Reading

London Stock Exchange plans blockchain-based market

The London Stock Exchange plans to have a blockchain-based trading venue available in the next 12 months Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

TUC launches AI taskforce for workers’ rights and societal benefit

The Trades Union Congress has launched what it calls an AI ‘taskforce’ to draft an AI and Employment Bill, aimed at safeguarding workers’ rights, early in 2024 Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

LockBit ransomware gang allegedly leaks MoD data after hit on supplier

The UK government appears to have become entangled in a LockBit ransomware attack after data was leaked from a third-party supplier online Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How startup Once.net and Cloudflare secured the 2023 Eurovision vote

When the Eurovision Song Contest introduced paid-for public voting from outside Europe in 2023, it faced new cyber challenges. Learn how Dutch startup Once.net and Cloudflare teamed up to secure and support the big night Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ethical perspectives on ChatGPT

In the final of three essays, Marc Steen uses ChatGPT as a case study for how to use different ethical perspectives, and practical steps people can take to start incorporating ethics into their projects Continue Reading

By

• Marc Steen, TNO

Police Scotland five-year digital strategy approved

Police Scotland’s new strategy outlines how the force will approach and invest in its digital transformation over the next five years, but notes its ability to achieve its ambitions is subject to the availability of funding Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

IT experts issue new warnings over Online Safety Bill plans to weaken end-to-end encryption

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, argues the government is seeking a technical fix to terrorism and child abuse without understanding the risks and implications Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Border Target Operating Model gives update on digital border plans

The model aims to make smarter use of data and technology at the border, including a digital gateway for users to provide data and apply for licences and authorisations Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Ducktail social media marketing malware rears its head again

Use of the Ducktail infostealer, which first popped up in 2022 targeting Meta Business accounts, seems to be increasing Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Thousands of Klarna staff access ChatGPT Enterprise

Fintech unicorn Klarna has become an early adopter of the enterprise version of ChatGPT as it continues to focus on artificial intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Home Office and MoD seeking new facial-recognition tech

The UK’s Defence and Security Accelerator is running a ‘market exploration’ exercise on behalf of the Home Office to identify new facial-recognition capabilities for security and policing bodies in the UK Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Post Office to provide in-person identity checks for One Login

Partnership between the Government Digital Service and the Post Office will see postmasters and staff provide face-to-face identity checks for those unable to use the One Login app or website Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

GenAI outranks cloud as business IT strategic priority

Enterprise Strategy Group research on the use cases for generative AI shows it as strategic for corporate IT, with impacts on customer experience, software development and IT Ops Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

MPs say UK at real risk of falling behind on AI regulation

MPs in charge of scrutinising the UK government’s proposals for regulating artificial intelligence have warned that time is running out for the introduction of new AI legislation before 2025 Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

July sees huge jump in open banking payments

The number of open banking payments in the UK have doubled over the past year, according to latest figures Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Met police data platform deployed with data protection issues

Met Police deploys integrated record management system despite data protection ‘compliance issues' that would inhibit its ability to retrieve data, meet its statutory logging requirements, and respond to subject access requests Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Zurich Insurance slashes ServiceNow application development time

Insurance giant cuts time it takes to complete development of ServiceNow applications by days Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Zero-day that forced Barracuda users to bin kit was exploited by China

Mandiant has published details of how a Chinese threat actor targeted high-profile users of Barracuda Networks' Email Security Gateway appliances, including government agencies of interest to Beijing's intelligence goals Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nats resorts to fail-safe manual process after technical hitch

Just a few hours of manual processing has resulted in a massive backlog in flights Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Top-performing CISOs reserve time for professional development

Survey of chief information security officers conducted by Gartner sheds light on habits shared by the top-performing members of the profession Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Is the data guardian hinting that Palantir should be ousted from NHS IT?

Nicola Byrne, the National Data Guardian, published a blogpost on the Gov.uk site on 24 August that seems to suggest Palantir should be excluded from the technology involved in the NHS Federated ... Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

CIO perceptions of vendor AI marketing

With all the recent press coverage, it's not surprising to see IT vendors clamouring to message around their AI creds. In a survey by Freeform Dynamics and the CIO WaterCooler, a bunch of IT ... Continue Reading

By

• Dale Vile, Freeform Dynamics

Bletchley Park to host UK government AI safety summit

An international collaboration event on artificial intelligence safety is being run at the site that was home to the world’s first programmable computer Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

NHS SBS to launch £1.5bn digital workplace solutions framework

NHS Shared Business Services is planning on a second iteration of its digital workplace solutions framework before the current one expires in August 2024 Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

NHS England calls on NHS organisations to take part in wireless trials

NHS organisations are encouraged to apply for funding for the wireless trials programme, which aims to explore how cutting-edge tech can improve patient care Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

AWS debuts Dedicated Local Zones with Singapore government as first customer

The new offering will be fully managed by AWS, built for exclusive use by a customer or community, and placed in a customer-specified location or datacentre Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Inside Micron Singapore’s sustainability journey

The chipmaker has been doubling down on sustainability efforts in Singapore by tapping solar power, recycling water and waste, as well as treating greenhouse gases, in a bid to achieve net zero by 2050 Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Six subpostmaster appeals to be heard in Scottish court

Scottish court will hear appeals against the convictions of six former subpostmasters based on evidence from a Post Office computer system Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

St Helens Council in Merseyside hit by ransomware attack

St Helens Borough Council is investigating a suspected ransomware incident targeting its systems, and is advising residents to be on the alert for follow-on phishing attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber attacks in 2023 develop quicker as average dwell times plummet

The median attacker dwell time shrunk from 10 to eight days in the first seven months of 2023, and in the case of ransomware attacks it is down to just five days Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Innovative UK SMEs spend half of turnover on tech

UK SMEs are increasing spending on technology, with dedicated IT teams set up to enable them to keep pace with tech change Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Met Police data platform £64m over budget

A freedom of information request has revealed that the Met’s Connect integrated record management system is running tens of millions over budget, and has already generated more than 25,000 support requests so far Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Alternative perspectives: relational and virtue ethics in tech

In the second of three essays, Marc Steen explores the benefits of grounding ethical considerations in an understanding of social and power dynamics, and how relational and virtue ethics can help Continue Reading

By

• Marc Steen, TNO

Can low code/no code ease developer skills shortages?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, organisations are increasingly turning to low-code/no-code tools to enable “citizen developers” among staff – can this help to ease software developer skills shortages? SAP says it will restrict availability of its advanced AI capabilities – we examine the implications. And we go behind the scenes of the University of East Anglia’s digital transformation plans. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Cyber attack on Aussie energy services firm may hit UK CNI

Energy One, an Australia-based supplier of tech services to the energy sector, is investigating the possibility that some UK customers may have been caught up in an ongoing cyber attack on its systems Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

BSI launches sustainability-focused startup accelerator

Startups selected to participate in the BSI and Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership’s joint sustainability startup accelerator are working in a diverse range of areas and using a variety of technologies to positively affect society Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

More than 400 Liberty Global IT staff move to Infosys as part of €1.5bn contract

TV and broadband giant outsources the build and operation of its entertainment and connectivity platforms to Indian supplier in five year deal Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NatWest customer calls bank’s handling of breach of his data ‘disgusting’

A second NatWest customer has contacted Computer Weekly after finding out from a whistleblower that his sensitive personal data has been in her home for 14 years Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NUHS taps LLM to boost productivity, patient care

Healthcare professionals at Singapore’s National University Health System can now summarise patient case notes and predict patient healthcare journeys using a large language model trained by a supercomputer Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

MP calls for review of computer evidence rule which led to subpostmasters being wrongly convicted

MP writes to minister in charge of courts requesting he looks at the controversial rules on the use of computer evidence in court Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Accenture’s Brussels AI lab to focus on European public sector and health

Accenture will use its Brussels AI lab to test AI and generative AI's application in the European public sector Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner resigns

Dual biometrics and surveillance camera watchdog will step down at the end of October 2023, noting that while he agreed to stay on until the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill received royal assent, continuing delays to its passage means he will not be able to effectively discharge his functions Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor