IT news in your industry sector

IT expertise in banking boardrooms reduces risk, finds Europe’s central bank

Banks with more IT knowledge in the boardroom are more realistic about risk, according to Europe’s banking regulator Continue Reading

CW Europe: IT expertise in banks’ boardrooms reduces risk, says European regulator

Banks have for many years been underpinned by vast IT operations, but in the age of digital banking the IT is now front, centre and back of operations. It is therefore surprising that there are relatively few IT professionals sitting on the boards of Europe’s big banks. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Microsoft drops out of TikTok talks, paves way for Oracle partnership

Microsoft confirms it is dropping out of the running to acquire the US operations of TikTok, leaving the way clear for an imminent partnership deal with Oracle Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Facebook takes legal action against Irish privacy watchdog

Facebook’s legal action against the Data Protection Commission will attempt to preserve the company’s ability to transfer European citizens’ data to the US despite its lower privacy protections Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Government 'making progress' on Smart Freight System prep ahead of Brexit transition deadline

The government appears to be heeding warnings about the readiness of the Smart Freight border IT system, as the January 2021 Brexit transition deadline looms large Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

UK ‘future tech’ development gets government funding boost

£65m in funding will be used to develop electric batteries, robotics and advanced healthcare treatments Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Travel industry websites are laughably insecure, claims Which?

The travel industry is failing to take the data security of its customers seriously, according to a Which? investigation Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Zoom adds two-factor authentication for all users

Latest enhancements to Zoom security make it easier for organisations to protect users and prevent breaches and unauthorised meeting access Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Santander to double investment in fintechs

Santander is doubling the amount of money it invests in fintech startups after the success of its funding arm, which was established in 2014 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Russian interference in US elections ramps up on schedule

With the critical US 2020 presidential election looming, Russian-state backed hackers are once again after organisations directly involved in political elections, launching thousands of targeted attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government funds digital manufacturing projects

The business secretary has announced £300 million of funding for virtual assistants, augmented reality and digital supply chain innovations Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Irish privacy watchdog orders Facebook to stop sending user data to the US

Irish privacy watchdog orders Facebook to suspend transfers of European citizens’ data to the US after Schrems II ruling that Europeans have no effective way to challenge American government surveillance Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

HMRC signs up Fujitsu for two years of user computing support

As it disentangles the Aspire contract, HMRC has been working directly with key IT suppliers, with this latest agreement providing managed desktop IT Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Edinburgh council to create smart city operations centre

Edinburgh council extends an outsourcing agreement with CGI as it steps up its smart city programme Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Datacentre firm Equinix investigating ransomware attack

A number of internal systems at cloud and datacentre firm Equinix have been affected by a ransomware attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government launches £500k healthcare security plan

A £500,000 funding pot from the government aims to help support small and mid-sized healthcare firms during the pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nordic CIO interview: Maria Lundberg, ICA Gruppen

The CIO of Swedish retail giant ICA Gruppen, Maria Lundberg, who is overseeing the digitisation of four retail sectors, tells Computer Weekly about the challenges of providing shared IT services for localised needs Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

London councils to share technology procurement platform

A new technology procurement platform will help all 33 local councils in London diversify their IT supplier portfolios Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Technology businesses vital to UK post-Covid economic recovery

Technology firms are set to play a larger role in UK’s post-Covid economy and are being encouraged to expand overseas after a strong year for digital exports Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Branch-based anti-fraud scheme to be expanded to online banking

A successful branch-based anti-fraud scheme will be expanded by banks to include online and telephone banking Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Abu Dhabi government launches peer-to-peer coding campus

Abu Dhabi government launches a specialist programming school that uses peer-to-peer teaching methods and gamification Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Hyundai-Kia expands Rimini Oracle contract to regional offices

Car manufacturer expands its existing third-party support contract. Savings will help fund autonomous and electric car development Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Government publishes long-promised national data strategy

The government has published a national data strategy aimed at fostering innovation and increasing economic growth. It will also appoint 10 data fellows each year to work in the orbit of Number 10, and create 500 analyst jobs by 2021 Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Julian Assange warned against interrupting witnesses in extradition hearing

On the second day of his extradition hearing at the Old Bailey, judge informs the WikiLeaks founder he could be removed and potentially banned from court for interrupting witnesses Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Nordic banks invest and innovate to keep digital rivals at bay

Large traditional banks are accelerating their digital transformations as the regional fintech sector makes its presence felt Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

UK leads Europe in net zero venture capital investment

With the UK leading venture capital investment in net zero enterprises, Tech Nation have launched a new, government-backed scaleup programme to further develop the sector Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Post Office Horizon IT scandal victims face further battles as government digs heels in

The government repeats that it won’t pay victims’ legal costs and confirms review into the scandal will not have the power to call witnesses Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Matt Hancock announces £50m for healthcare AI projects

The NHS and industry must have a ‘symbiotic’ relationship, says health secretary Matt Hancock as he promises to improve the environment for innovation in healthcare and announces £50m in funding for a series of healthcare AI projects Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

TechUK urges government to back emerging digital clean technology sector

To ensure the UK reaches its climate and decarbonisation goals, TechUK is calling on the government to support the emerging clean tech sector Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

CIO interview: Paul Neville, director of digital and ICT, Waltham Forest

The IT chief at one of the most digitally advanced London boroughs talks to Computer Weekly about the past, present and future of tech-enabled transformation in times of crisis Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

NHS whistleblowers at risk due to poor IT policies

In this week’s Computer Weekly, our investigation into NHS practices shows how poor IT policies are putting whistleblowers at risk. Our buyer’s guide examines the networking implications of the surge in remote working. And we assess how well the public cloud giants responded to the demands of the coronavirus pandemic. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

NHS whistleblowers’ anonymity at mercy of paltry trust IT policies and processes

They were clapped in the streets for their bravery at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, but some NHS staff who raise workplace concerns are suffering abuse as a result Continue Reading

Experts slam government digital ID response

TechUK panel members say the government’s response to its digital identity consultation provides no concrete plan for moving forward Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Court rejects request to exclude ‘11th hour’ US evidence against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

Lawyers for Julian Assange say the US has introduced an 11th hour indictment against the WikiLeaks founder that provides additional grounds for his extradition Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Artificial intelligence keeps HSBC ATMs stocked with cash

HSBC is using artificial intelligence technology developed in-house to help it make sure ATMs are appropriately stocked with cash Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Dutch bank set to save €5m via Veeam backup upgrade

Rabobank ditched legacy backup where patching took months and restores took hours. Those times are now cut down massively and the bank has a readily available test environment Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

AI Summit 2020: Regulating AI for the common good

Speakers and panellists at the virtual AI Summit 2020 spoke about the tensions between cooperation and competition in the development of artificial intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Government awards £32m funding for ‘pioneering’ health tech projects

Science minister Amanda Solloway will announce £32m in funding for six healthcare technology research projects, including artificial robotic muscular assistance and quantum imaging for monitoring Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

UK funds coronavirus research for vulnerable global communities

The £7.2m fund will support UK university research into supporting refugees and children affected by the global health crisis Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

HotelBeds uses API management platform to reduce cost

HotelBeds has switched from its legacy suppler to a licensed service in an effort to reduce API management costs after traffic doubles Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Covid-19 has strained London tech firms but they have central role in recovery

London tech startups are feeling the effects of the economic slowdown brought on by Covid-19, but there is a huge opportunity for those with the right focus Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government should learn lessons from Brexit, says NAO

National Audit Office report finds government did not plan adequately for Brexit and needs to be better prepared to deal with uncertainty and improve communication, engagement and planning Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Virtual London Tech Week is a sign of the future

London Tech week's virtual event is another sign of how the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Scottish government to spend £4m on creating five tech hubs

Following a review of the tech sector, the Scottish government is creating five technology hubs to support startups in the country, aiming to support 300 startups by 2025 Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Major border disruption on the horizon as Brexit IT portfolio becomes ‘unmanageable’

The proliferation of new platforms and work behind schedule is among the list of concerns cited in a leaked memo Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Phishing scam targets Lloyds Bank customers

Bank customers warned of emails and SMS messages that direct them to a fraudulent site and then request account log-in details Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Fund helps Good Things Foundation give 4,000 people digital access

Charity Good Things Foundation has been given £500,000 by the National Lottery Fund to help 4,000 digitally excluded people gain technology skills Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Amazon to recruit 7,000 permanent workers in UK during 2020 hiring spree

The online retail giant’s UK workforce looks set to expand to 40,000 employees by the end of 2020, as its network of fulfilment centres continues to grow Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Insurers accept they were slow to adopt digital

Insurance companies know they must prioritise digital investment and are planning in-house development to help make up lost ground Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

M&S and Ocado enter first week of online delivery partnership

Customers can now order M&S food through online supermarket Ocado’s website as part of an ongoing partnership between the two retailers Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

One actor behind Magecart skimmer kit

RiskIQ has identified that variations in software tools used for Magecart ecommerce site attacks are based on kits from the same group Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

UK tech firms urged to seek out international opportunities

Tech Nation study finds UK businesses are in a strong position to take advantage of global tech growth Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

HMRC appoints Daljit Rehal as CDIO

Former digital and data chief at Centrica, Daljit Rehal, takes the helm at HMRC as chief digital and information officer Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Nimbus Data launches 64TB of QLC flash in one drive for £8,000

Flash pioneer aims QLC-equipped ExaDrive NL at AI/ML, analytics, media streaming and archiving use cases. Nimbus eschews NVMe for well-established SAS and SATA connectivity Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra and Antony Adshead

Guernsey to revamp digital local service delivery following double datacentre build-out

The State of Guernsey’s ongoing push to revamp how it delivers digital services to its citizens continues apace with the completion of two new datacentres on the island Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Asos launches TikTok brand campaign

Fashion brand Asos has launched a campaign on TikTok to bring awareness of its products to a wider audience Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Northumbria University suffers major disruption after cyber attack

Some exams cancelled as university appoints external specialists to investigate incident Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK to build commercially available quantum computer

The UK government is backing a quantum computing project that will provide businesses with access to the technology Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Ethical and professional data science needed to avoid further algorithm controversies

BCS is calling for higher ethical and professional standards in algorithmic development to ensure public trust in future government information systems Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Sharing responsibility: Why we need to work together to keep the cloud secure

The education sector has been fundamentally altered by months of lockdown, with cloud services topping must-have lists for academic staff, but now it’s time to consider security Continue Reading

By

• Andy Powell, JISC

App integration means emergency services can identify caller location in three words

Capita integrates What3words app into its emergency services control centre platform to help respondents identify the exact location of people who need help Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UBS streamlines software product development with GitLab

The bank hopes to double the speed of software development, testing and deployment to support applications for clients Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

The subtle clues that show UK government is taking digital identity seriously at last (cough...)

The UK government has finally unveiled its response to the digital identity consultation that concluded a year ago this month, and along with that announced a new Digital Identity Strategy Board to ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Pure aims at unified file and object and launches new QLC storage

Flash storage maker says unified storage in file and object is what is needed for contemporary analytics and AI workloads, while it launches a new all-QLC version of FlashArray//C Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

UK government unveils next steps in digital identity plans

Long-awaited response to July 2019 consultation highlights private sector demands for digital identity support from government Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Norway’s corporates want government to support ‘herd immunity’ to cyber attack

Leading business organisations in Norway call on government to play a more active role in improving and coordinating the country’s cyber defences Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Here East CEO advises startups to generate own revenue streams

In a time of deep uncertainty, startups with their own streams of revenue independent of investors and large corporates will have more options and be in a much stronger negotiating position Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

How Bank Mandiri is driving the use of big data analytics

Indonesia’s largest bank has built a big data platform to track transactions and monitor the health of its workforce, among other big data analytics initiatives Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

How India’s Tata Capital is expanding its digital footprint

Tata Group’s financial services arm has been migrating branch walk-ins and voice calls to self-service digital channels staffed by chatbots as it expands its digital footprint Continue Reading

By

• Pratima Harigunani

NHS gets £50m in AI funding for digital pathology

Government funding package focuses on earlier diagnosis of cancer in the West Midlands, north of England and London Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

University of Staffordshire recruits robots to get more out of its people

University staff were bogged down with administrative work, but will now have time to be creative Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Office for National Statistics defines better cross-government data linkage

ONS review of data-linking practices across government is consistent with Cummings and Johnson drive to put data in command of government Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

New Zealand activates security services as DDoS outage enters fourth day

New Zealand government calls in its national cyber security agencies to help investigate a continuing cyber attack on the country’s financial systems Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Interview: Frankie Kay, interim director general for data capability, ONS

The Office for National Statistics’ interim director general for data capability talks about how data plays an important role in the battle against Covid-19 and how the pandemic has unearthed new ways of collaborating Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Machine learning wards off threats at TV studio Bunim Murray

TV studio behind reality hits including The Real World and Keeping Up With The Kardashians turned to Darktrace’s Antigena email protection service to keep its people safe from Covid-19 threats Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Benefit fraud: Underground trade in stolen identities revealed

A roaring underground trade in stolen identities is undermining the Universal Credit system and could potentially defraud it out of millions of pounds Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

DDoS downs New Zealand stock exchange for third day

Distributed denial of service attack from overseas has left stock exchange offline for days Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Tour de France 2020 fans to get virtual experience delivered by NTT

This year’s Tour de France was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. IT services company NTT has teamed up with event organiser ASO to offer a virtual experience to fans who cannot be at the roadside Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

NHS whistleblowers’ anonymity at mercy of inadequate trust IT policies and processes

They were clapped in the streets for their bravery at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, but some NHS staff who raise workplace concerns are suffering abuse as a result Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Financial services business leaders and CIOs disagree on IT infrastructure

IT leaders and senior business executives need to align their technology infrastructure priorities as businesses attempt to emerge from the Covid-19 crisis Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CTO interview: David Rafalovsky, Sberbank Group

Russia’s Sberbank is well into its digital transformation journey, with artificial intelligence and supercomputing now at the centre of its plans Continue Reading

By

• Vladimir Kozlov

TikTok CEO clocks off

TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer has resigned from the firm after just three months Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Tech and telecoms advisory group set up to help trade negotiations

Department of International Trade launches new Trade Advisory Groups to guide trade negotiations with other countries Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

CW Nordics: Bergen’s tech hub seeks global success

Norway’s second-largest city, Bergen, is building a tech ecosystem that is beginning its development with a focus on the city’s industrial heritage. Also in this issue, read why now might be the time for businesses to consider how they will invest in outsourcing IT once the Covid-19 pandemic wanes. And read how Norway’s government has had to backtrack on a law that removed tax relief on energy consumption at datacentres that process cryptocurrency mining. Continue Reading

Asda trials platform for customer parcel updates

Retailers Asda is trialling delivery management from tech platform Sorted to provide customers who have ordered clothing online with a better customer experience Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

UK government publishes new insights on transport tech attitudes

The latest wave of the study investigates public attitudes on innovations such as autonomous vehicles and drones Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Aggrieved Amazon employees organise protests at homes of Jeff Bezos

A newly formed workers’ collective will protest outside the homes of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos seeking to secure a number of concessions for essential workers Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Ministers urge local councils to lead on broadband and mobile

Digital minister Matt Warman and local government minister Simon Clarke want local councils to do their bit to help ensure better access to connectivity during the Covid-19 recovery Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Co-operative cuts branch network and jobs

Co-operative bank will rely more heavily on its digital channels as 18 more branches are shuttered Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Lidl Finland speeds up with new local server racks

 Continue Reading

Amazon UK boss to help select new government CDO

Outgoing Amazon UK boss Doug Gurr is on the selection panel to assess candidates for the government chief digital officer role, which offers a salary of up to £200,000 per year Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

CIO interview: Steve Otto, chief technology officer, The R&A

When the coronavirus pandemic caused The Open to be cancelled, The R&A’s tech team took the UK’s flagship golf tournament online Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

DWP searches for talent as part of apprenticeship programme

The Department of Work and Pensions is looking for diverse talent to fill software and networking roles while developing skills on the job Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Government must urgently prioritise digital identity, says tech sector

TechUK calls on government to make digital identity a focus of its digital strategy as the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the ‘urgent need’ for digital IDs Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Digital identity must not remain the missing link in the UK’s digital strategy

The UK's digital economy is desperately in need of a viable digital identity strategy - to recover from the pandemic, the government cannot wait any longer to resolve this much-delayed issue Continue Reading

By

• Julian David, TechUK

Storage analytics: How AI helps storage management

We look at storage analytics products that measure key metrics in storage hardware, single-vendor and multi-vendor tools, and how AI-based storage management and AIOps is emerging Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

Intel’s DAOS tops the IO500 speed challenge for HPC storage

Following on from Lustre, Intel’s DAOS is an object storage-based system with that is designed specifically for use with Optane for metadata and SSD for bulk storage in HPC environments Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra and Antony Adshead

Gig economy, summer special look-back – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

In this summer special episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna look back to pre-lockdown episodes, and reflect on the podcasting experience since. First, they discuss the gig economy through the prism of new bite-sized BBC comedy Mandy Continue Reading

By

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

Nordic startups send a message to global investment community

Early-stage tech companies across the world should set up Nordic operations earlier in their development journeys Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

North Korea’s Lazarus targets cryptocurrency vertical

APT group behind the infamous WannaCry incident is targeting cryptocurrency operators, according to new research Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor