IT news in your industry sector

Surveillance expert ‘unfairly’ refused job at intelligence regulator after MI5 intervened

The Home Office unfairly refused Eric Kind, a specialist in criminal justice and UK surveillance law, clearance for a job at an intelligence watchdog after MI5 claimed he was “insufficiently deferential” Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Sarah Wilkinson resigns as NHS Digital CEO

After four years at the helm of NHS Digital, CEO Sarah Wilkinson will leave in the summer of 2021, and the organisation is looking for an interim replacement Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Backup appliances the hot topic for Pas-de-Calais fire brigade

With requirements for strict, long-duration backup and archiving, French fire brigade set out to replace optical media with a StorageCraft appliance and disaster-proof storage Continue Reading

By

• Pierre Berlemont
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Retailer FatFace pays $2m ransom to Conti cyber criminals

Retailer FatFace paid out a $2m ransom to restore its data following a January 2021 cyber attack by the Conti ransomware syndicate Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor
• Valéry Rieß-Marchive, Rédacteur en chef

Zombified Gov.uk Verify is officially dead - so what's next?

The UK government has finally admitted in public for the first time that its flagship digital identity programme, Gov.uk Verify, is dead. This will be no surprise to anyone following the project, ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

NHS Shared Business Services launches £1bn digital hardware framework

Framework consists of 19 suppliers, and offers user IT hardware products and services to the NHS and public sector organisations Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Cyber security complacency puts UK at risk, says NCSC head

National Cyber Security Centre CEO Lindy Cameron, in her maiden speech in the role, warns of challenges ahead for the UK and sets out the future agenda for cyber Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

DWP completes in-house VME replacement project

The department has taken an in-house approach to swapping its virtual machine environment (VME), getting rid of legacy infrastructure and replacing 11 key benefits systems Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

TUC warns of gaps in British law over use of AI at work

The TUC has published a report warning of AI-powered discrimination against working people enabled by gaps in existing British employment law Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Deliveroo faces pushback from investors and riders ahead of IPO

Two of the UK’s largest fund managers have said they will not buy shares in Deliveroo because of concerns over workers’ rights Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

NHS Wales shapes up ambitious plans for digital patient-facing app

Computer Weekly looks at NHS Wales’ project to create a patient-facing app and a collaborative ecosystem for technology suppliers and NHS providers to deliver joined-up care Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Government faces judicial review into plans for Post Office Horizon inquiry

Subpostmasters that suffered great hardship at the hands of the Post Office are applying for a judicial review of a government inquiry into the scandal, which they see as a "whitewash" Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Liverpool announces test and development area for drone technology

Project aims to stimulate investment opportunities, employment and skills for the region Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Interview: Paul Douglas, Scottish Water

Building an enterprise architecture involves balancing near- and mid-term goals with longer-term business objective, cost and technical challenges, says Paul Douglas, lead enterprise architect at Scottish Water Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

NHS to digitise the ‘red book’ by 2023

Every child born from April 2023 will have a digital ‘red book’, or personal child health record, Matt Hancock has promised Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

The 3-2-1 backup rule: Has cloud made it obsolete?

The 3-2-1 backup rule was made for small-scale use in the pre-cloud era when tape still ruled. Is it relevant in the 2020s, or can we repurpose its fundamental principles? Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Ex-Post Office CEO Paula Vennells walked away from IT scandal with over £400,000 in pay and bonuses

Former Post Office chief was paid over £400,000 when she left despite the organisation being involved in what would become the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IWM uses StorCycle to free capacity for all-flash SAN upgrade

Imperial War Museums set to embark on unstructured data archiving project that will archive cold data to tape and free up capacity for a move to IntelliFlash all-flash SAN Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Oil giant Shell hit through Accellion FTA breach

Energy firm discloses cyber attack through Accellion File Transfer Appliance Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Prime minister says people should be held to account for Post Office IT scandal

Boris Johnson agrees with MP that those responsible for the Post Office Horizon scandal should be brought to book Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Post Office was told in 2013 that Fujitsu witness was unreliable in subpostmaster prosecutions

The Post Office was warned that a former Fujitsu employee had misled courts when giving evidence on its behalf Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cyber criminals forging Covid-19 vaccine certificates

Vaccine passports and certificates are gaining mainstream traction, which means cyber criminals are also on the bandwagon Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Employees must be given the right to disconnect

As enterprises increasingly turn to workplace monitoring technologies and more of the workforce moves to remote or hybrid working, unions are campaigning for workers’ ‘right to disconnect’ and not engage in digitally enabled work after hours Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Pakes, Prospect Union

NUHS taps RPA in Covid-19 swab tests

Singapore’s National University Health System deploys RPA bots to automate patient registration during Covid-19 swab tests as part of broader efforts to improve efficiency Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Former Skyscanner COO will lead Scotland’s tech-led recovery programme

Following his independent review of the Scottish tech sector, Mark Logan will oversee a programme to establish the country as a world-class technology hub Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Anti-money laundering technology must operate in a collaborative ecosystem

With new technologies making it easier for banks to spot money laundering activity, we look at why the problem persists at scale, finding that ecosystems and collaborative processes need to be built Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

IR35 reforms: Confusion over who pays employers’ NI leaves IT contractors out of pocket

Litigators are circling as thousands of contractors realise that the 2017 roll-out of IR35 reforms to the public sector may have resulted in unlawful tax deductions – and the private sector could be next Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

NCSC beefs up support for education sector after spate of attacks

Refreshed guidance from the NCSC recommends a defence-in-depth strategy as schools and universities face a renewed wave of cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Scottish government AI strategy majors on ethics and inclusion

Scottish government announces artificial intelligence strategy that involves the creation of a Scottish AI Alliance to be drawn from across society, including trade unions and companies Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Commission calls for adult social care to get digital revamp

A commission on adult social care has called for the government to fund a personalised social care innovation programme, as well as invest £450m to replace outdated care and housing technology infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

UK defence strategy strengthens AI, cyber and satellite spies

The nature of warfare is changing. Electronic warfare will need to be a key component of the UK’s defence strategy Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Interview: Ivan McKee, Scottish innovation minister

Scotland’s innovation minister talks to Computer Weekly about the country’s new digital strategy, the importance of inclusion, and why the strategy is underpinned by ethical thinking Continue Reading

Home Office completes transfer of all business apps to Oracle Cloud

Home Office has completed its deployment of Oracle’s Cloud Applications suite to all its functions across 35,000 staff, ahead of other government departments Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Security Think Tank: Attacks on CNI – an evolving frontier in warfare

In the light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them? Continue Reading

By

• Asaf Weisberg, ISACA board of directors

CIO interview: David Walmsley, chief digital and omni-channel officer, Pandora

The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic could have been a disaster for the jeweller, but due to its digital transformation programme, it was ready to carry on serving its customers online Continue Reading

Would the UK really nuke a cyber attacker?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, did the UK’s defence and security review really suggest a nuclear response to a cyber attack? Data visualisation has been widely used to explain the Covid-19 pandemic, but not always that effectively. And jewellery retailer Pandora explains how it kept the personal touch as customers went online. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Post Office staff instructed to shred documents that undermined its claims Horizon was robust

Barrister advising the Post Office in 2013 stated that destroying documents would "amount to a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice" Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

$50m ransomware demand on Acer is highest ever

Record-breaking double-extortion cyber attack saw REvil gang exfiltrate financial data from Taiwan-based PC manufacturer Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Unionised drivers call on Microsoft to suspend Uber’s Face API licences

Unionised private hire drivers in the UK are calling for Microsoft to suspend Uber’s licences to use its Face API technology after claims the ride-hailing firm’s ID-checking system has led to drivers losing their jobs and having licences revoked Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

QLC flash storage: What it costs and its best use cases

QLC flash brings high capacities at costs coming down close to spinning disk. So what are the use cases for QLC solid state, which make best use of its relatively low endurance Continue Reading

By

• Maxwell Cooter

Security Think Tank: Back to square one – ground-up CNI protection

In the light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them? Continue Reading

By

• Matthias Reinwarth, KuppingerCole

A real-life example of the self-distribution supply chain model

A self-distribution approach to supply chain management can help a company lower the risk of disruption. Learn how Ahold Delhaize USA is doing just that. Continue Reading

By

• Linda Rosencrance

Government bids final goodbye to Gov.uk Verify

Cabinet Office parliamentary secretary Julia Lopez confirms launch of “discrete” successor to Gov.uk Verify Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Post Office IT scandal executive forced out of job at Football Association of Wales

Angela van den Bogerd has left her role at the Football Association of Wales, following criticism of her part in Post Office IT scandal Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: Properly protecting CNI demands specificity

In the light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them? Continue Reading

By

• Paddy Francis

Coronavirus: How PCs in quarantine and intensive care units can be managed remotely

NHS IT staff generally have limited access to deployed devices, especially if that device is in an operating theatre or intensive care unit Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Tech sector is key to the success of Global Britain

The maturity of its technology sector puts the UK in a good position to reimagine its role on the international stage post-Covid Continue Reading

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• Andrew Roughan, Plexal

Vaccine passports cannot put basic rights at risk, warns BCS

BCS warns of challenges to come as the government presses on with its plans for Covid-19 vaccine passports Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government to bail out Post Office which can’t afford to pay compensation to subpostmasters

The Post Office does not have enough money to pay compensation to the subpostmasters it wrongfully prosecuted Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Reshaping the women-in-tech debate in Denmark, from the top down

Tech Nordic Advocates adopts a different approach to closing the gap between women and men in the Danish tech startup sector Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

NHS will get shared care records by September 2021, says Matt Hancock

The health secretary sets September 2021 target for shared care records roll-out, and wants to explore potential of moving patient data being held in proprietary systems to the cloud Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Survey: Backup failures hit a high as pandemic working hits home

Veeam survey finds distributed working plus operations that span on-prem and the cloud the background to high numbers of failures in backup and restore, with 40% of SLAs not met Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Subpostmasters in Court of Appeal to end 20-year torment

Subpostmasters heading to Court of Appeal to clear their names in what is potentially the biggest miscarriage of justice in English legal history Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Eastern Health reports ‘cyber incident’, takes systems offline

Australian healthcare provider Eastern Health takes IT systems offline as a precaution while it looks into a cyber incident Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Security Think Tank: Take a realistic perspective on CNI cyber attacks

In light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them? Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

Digital Green Certificate proposed for travel in Europe

Digital Green Certificates will supposedly help re-establish freedom of movement within the European Union Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Uber classifies drivers as workers after Supreme Court ruling

Ride-hailing firm will pay its UK drivers minimum wage following court ruling, but has diverged from the court’s interpretation that drivers should be paid from when they log in, not just when passengers are on board Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Capita restructures to simplify its business

Business services supplier creates two core units that focus on public sector and commercial enterprise customers and will sell off non-core assets Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: CNI operators must focus on core issues

In the light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them? Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

Cyber sector welcomes PM’s defence review

Security commentators approve of measures to improve the UK’s cyber resilience, strengthen its R&D and skills base, lead on the development of new technology and promote a free, open, peaceful and secure global internet Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nordic healthcare digitisation drives medtech growth

Nordic medtech is growing rapidly as the healthcare sector adopts technologies such as artificial intelligence and the internet of things Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Children’s learning held back by digital schooling, NAO report finds

Children’s socio-economic status has affected their experiences with digital learning, and most teachers consider their pupils to be, on average, three months behind where they would be expected to be Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

One-fifth of all UK tech investment went to just 10 scaleup firms in 2020

Annual Tech Nation report shows UK technology firms saw record levels of investment in 2020, but a significant proportion of it was concentrated in a small number of scaleup enterprises Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Insurers unable to fill a quarter of tech roles

Insurance companies need to fill tech skills gaps if they are going to prosper in the age of insurtech Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Uber and Ola ordered to hand over more data to drivers

A Dutch court has rejected Uber and Ola’s claims that drivers collectively taking action to access their data amounts to an abuse of their individual data access rights, laying the ground for drivers to form their own union-controlled data trust Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

MoD partners playing fast and loose with confidential data

Clear spike in data breach incidents at defence partners may reflect better reporting standards, claims MoD Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Banks still lack tech skills at the top

Banks have made progress in adding IT knowledge in their boardrooms, but they need more as digital transformation accelerates Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government calls for input into Covid-19 vaccine passports

Evidence gathering exercise will inform the development of the UK’s proposed Covid-19 vaccine passport scheme Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK plans ‘full spectrum’ approach to national cyber security

PM Boris Johnson expands on proposed National Cyber Force and plans to set up a north of England Cyber Corridor Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

5 COVID-19 vaccine rollout lessons for supply chain leaders

The effort and coordination required to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to people across the globe provides powerful lessons. Here are five. Continue Reading

By

• George Lawton

Judges refuse EncroChat defendants’ appeal to Supreme Court

Experts suggest Parliament and Investigatory Powers Tribunal need to consider the implications of a court decision on police use of data from the EncroChat phone network Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Parliamentary PACA Committee slams Gove over Covid-19 data failures

Parliamentary Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee publishes report critical of government accountability regarding data behind the decisions taken during the coronavirus pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

IR35 private sector reforms: IPSE warns of UK contracting talent exodus unless start date delayed

Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed research into what contractors plan to do once the IR35 reforms come into play highlights growing risk of talent shortages Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Government plans for fresh AI strategy

The government wants to “unleash the power of AI” and be “the most pro-tech government ever”, according to digital secretary Oliver Dowden Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Mace Group uses RealWear to support Covid-safe site inspections

Construction consulting business is using augmented reality headsets to enable people on Microsoft Teams to inspect building sites remotely Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Security Think Tank: CNI operators are in an unenviable position

In the light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them? Continue Reading

By

• Mike Lloyd, RedSeal

India is becoming a hotspot for IoT

India is set to be a cradle for internet of things deployments thanks to its vibrant economy and its potential to play a bigger role in global manufacturing Continue Reading

By

• Pratima Harigunani

Arrest warrants issued for Canadians behind Sky ECC cryptophone network used by organised crime

The US has issued arrest warrants for the CEO of Sky Global and a former distributor for racketeering, aiding and abetting the distribution of illegal drugs by supplying encrypted phones to criminals Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Ski firm dumps ‘motley’ storage for DataCore software-defined

Eurogroup cuts power usage by 70% and rackspace from 84U to 7U as it consolidates multiple physical servers and storage protocols onto SANsymphony software-defined storage Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

PAC slams Home Office digital border programme

The Home Office has failed to acknowledge and be transparent about Digital Services at the Border programme problems, according to the Public Accounts Committee Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Amazon Go – is now the right time?

In the beginning of 2021, Amazon launched a physical store in London, but is it the right time to be investing in offline? Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Brewer Molson Coors targeted in cyber attack

Cyber criminals have disrupted beer production at Molson Coors, one of the world’s largest brewers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Interview: Uber driver Yaseen Aslam on his Supreme Court battle and what’s next for gig workers

Private hire driver and union organiser Yaseen Aslam speaks to Computer Weekly about his legal battle with Uber and what the UK Supreme Court ruling means to workers in the gig economy Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

UK technology business created every 30 minutes in 2020

New figures on UK business creation show surge in entrepreneurs setting up technology businesses during 2020, while the sector’s hiring efforts climb back to pre-pandemic levels Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

CW Innovation Awards: Fighting fake Covid-19 vaccines with blockchain

A blockchain-based system developed by Singapore-based Zuellig Pharma can help governments and healthcare providers weed out fake vaccines and manage vaccine distribution and administration Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Why the London Data Charter could be a foundation stone in the city’s recovery

London First’s director of connectivity and competitiveness, David Lutton, explains why data is at the core of the capital’s recovery plan Continue Reading

By

• David Lutton

Potential miscarriages of justice of Scottish subpostmasters move to full review

The Post Office Horizon scandal gets bigger as subpostmaster prosecutions in Scotland are reviewed Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK digital regulators set out plans to strengthen cooperation

Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum outlines plans for the coming year, marking a shift towards a more collaborative regulatory approach Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Scotland launches digital strategy

Updated strategy aims to equip Scotland for technological transformation post-coronavirus and focuses on building an ethical digital nation Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Data-driven innovation needs trustworthy governance

The pandemic has given us a glimpse of what data-driven technology can do for society – and we cannot go back to the status quo Continue Reading

By

• Edwina Dunn, Computer Weekly

CW Europe: Nordic tech startups create blueprint for post-Covid working environment

Business can learn lessons from Nordic tech startups to prepare employees to return to the office after Covid restrictions end. Also read why Netherlands police need a training ‘roadmap’ to get them up to speed to tackle cyber crime. Continue Reading

Scottish farm subsidy body slashes dev time with Pure all-flash

Rural directorate ditched hybrid flash EMC SAN for Pure all-flash storage and cut developer time in half, while beta testing Cloud Block Store and planning container project Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Digital knowledge must be integral part of Dutch police training

 Continue Reading

UK launches fellowship to attract tech talent to government

Programme jointly run by Number 10 and Government Digital Service will see 10 leaders enlisted to address key challenges in the public sector Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Met Police chooses Capgemini as strategic IT infrastructure services provider

Capgemini has a history of providing the force with day-to-day technology services, and will now deliver its infrastructure services under the Pegasus programme Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Welsh FA boss linked to recruitment of controversial former Post Office executive to step down

Football Association Wales CEO Jonathan Ford is stepping down after losing a vote of no confidence triggered by the controversial appointment of Angela van den Bogerd, who was involved in the Post Office IT scandal Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government’s refusal of freedom of information request about Post Office scandal ‘deeply concerning’

MP condemns department’s ‘bizarre’ rejection of freedom of information request linked to Post Office IT scandal Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Police crack world’s largest cryptophone network as criminals swap EncroChat for Sky ECC

Belgian and Dutch police have breached the encryption of users of Sky ECC, the world’s largest cryptophone network. There are significant parallels with the international police operation against the EncroChat cryptophone network which led to hundreds of arrests Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

How biotech firm Luminex manages field service

Technicians at Luminex work remotely, but their schedules, spare parts for repairs and customer site visits need to link to tech support and the CRM Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Hybrid working, diversity progress – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

In this episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna discuss hybrid working, progress in diversity and data in healthcare Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor
• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK
• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications