IT news in your industry sector

Council to connect hundreds of its sites through wide area network

Local authorities invest in networking and contact centre technology through IT outsourcing contracts Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Obituary: Lord Harry Renwick – a parliamentary pioneer for IT interests

Lord Harry Renwick, once a key influencer for technology policy in Parliament, and a long-standing friend of Computer Weekly, passed away this month Continue Reading

By

• John Riley

TikTok takes Trump to court

Under-fire video app TikTok files a formal complaint in the federal courts challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to ban it in the US Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

When algorithms don’t play fair

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we report on the auditing of algorithms to countervail bias. We examine what CISOs can learn from Covid-19. And in our buyer’s guide to modern software development, we assess how competent artificial intelligence is at building applications that deliver the best possible customer experience. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Dutch Alzheimer’s app developed to aid interaction for dementia patients

An app aimed at helping dementia patients and their families has been developed by the Alzheimer Society in the Netherlands. Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Government makes digital leadership changes

The government has begun recruiting for a chief digital officer at permanent secretary level and Government Digital Service director general Alison Pritchard is leaving to join the Office for National Statistics Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

CCS to launch £800m NHS IT framework

Collaborative framework agreement will cover a range of IT management services for use by NHS Digital and other public sector health and social care organisations Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Scottish government reveals broadband voucher scheme to make up project shortfall

Government reveals details of funding for Scottish residents who fall outside reach of its primary broadband project Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

TikTok’s GDPR compliance probed amid accusations of data misuse

Dutch privacy organisation SOMI claims TikTok falls short in protecting young users, and that it is likely violating GDPR Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SMEs outperform Q2 expectations but remain cautious about Q3 prospects

Small confidence boost for small to medium-sized enterprises puts tech investment back on the table over coming 12 months Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Drop in number of students taking GCSE computing in 2020

The amount of students deciding to take GCSE computing in England drops despite an increase last year Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Government launches anti-crime tech competition

Government seeks technologies that allow police officers to use less lethal means to stop violent or armed offenders Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Social media data leak highlights murky world of data scraping

A data brokerage left its database of 235 million Instagram, TikTok and YouTube profiles exposed to anybody who cared to access it Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Pandemic behaviour shift will continue for many consumers, research finds

A large number of customers say the way they have been forced to shop during the pandemic will have a lasting impact on their shopping behaviours Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Hangar 51 supports startups taking off in travel tech

International Airlines Group’s accelerator programme aims to give travel technology companies a flying start in the sector Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

CW APAC: Expert advice on hybrid cloud

Despite numerous benefits, organisations with lots of legacy applications can’t or won’t move everything to the public cloud. Some organisations may also choose to retain sensitive data on-premise for security reasons. In this edition of Expert Advice, we look at why and how APAC firms are deploying and managing their hybrid cloud infrastructure. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Scotland announces £15m investment to boost connectivity

Funding package aimed at improving internet access for 23,000 low-income households Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Veeam to add CDP, plus Google cloud as a target

Backup giant set to add continuous data protection for the most critical workloads, plus Google cloud as a target – all on the back of a storming quarter during the pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Marriott slapped with class action lawsuit over 2018 breach

Group action brings together millions of victims who stayed at the Starwood hotel chain over a four-year period Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Loan charge MPs urge chancellor to get HMRC to soften contractor settlements

Co-chairs of Loan Charge All Party Parliamentary Group write to Rishi Sunak to seek a fairer deal for contractors caught by HMRC’s disguised remuneration policy Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Government scraps Public Health England

NHS Test and Trace boss Dido Harding will run a new National Institute of Health Protection dubbed “the best chance” of beating coronavirus by health secretary Matt Hancock Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Department for Transport seeks industry views on autonomous vehicle technology

The government wants industry’s views on plans to use automation technology to take control of cars travelling at speeds of up to 70mph, keeping them safely in the lane on motorways Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

UK Biobank to build AWS-hosted data analysis platform with DNAnexus to speed research

UK Biobank is looking to the cloud to help democratise access to its research data, and ensure the information it holds can be used by as broad a user base as possible Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Northern Ireland Covid-19 tracing app reaches 250,000 downloads

In the two weeks since it went live, Northern Ireland’s Covid-19 test and trace app has been downloaded a quarter of a million times Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Carnival cruise lines hit by ransomware, customer data stolen

Cruise ship operator is likely to be the victim of a major data breach after customer information is apparently stolen in a ransomware attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

TikTok in peril, A-level and Scottish Highers algo fiascos – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna discuss the fortunes of TikTok, the A-level results, and the algorithm controversies in which they and Scottish Highers have been mired Continue Reading

By

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

Reports Oracle to enter TikTok bidding war

Oracle may be about to make a bid to acquire the US operations of TikTok from its Chinese parent ByteDance, according to the FT Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Panasas launches storage tiering by size instead of usage

Dynamic Data Acceleration moves data to media dependent on file size and claims performance advantage over rival as it gets the best out of flash and spinning disk hard drives Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

HPE signs 12-month hybrid cloud-focused MoU with UK government

Hardware giant becomes the first non-cloud provider to sign preferential pricing deal with government’s Crown Commercial Service, as push to encourage public sector move to cloud accelerates Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Coronavirus: Government faces renewed calls for extended support for self-employed

The second phase of the government’s income support scheme for the self-employed goes live today, prompting renewed calls for the eligibility criteria to be broadened so that more people can benefit Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

DBS Bank teams up with AWS on AI skills

Singapore’s DBS Bank is organising an AWS DeepRacer League to equip thousands of employees with skills in artificial intelligence and machine learning Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

UK government investigates AI labour market

Survey will seek to discover new requirements and issues posed by artificial intelligence technology Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Executive interview: Sri Shivananda, chief technology officer, PayPal

Computer Weekly talks to PayPal’s tech head about the payment provider’s SOA, security, open source and the lockdown Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

A CIO’s journey through the Covid-19 crisis

FDM’s IT chief takes us through the challenges of responding to the coronavirus pandemic, and the future opportunities that the changes introduced now present Continue Reading

By

• Jonathan Young, FDM Group

CIO interview: Mark Gannon, director of business change and information, Sheffield City Council

Like many organisations, the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated digital change in Sheffield, and its IT leader is looking to build further on that momentum Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

CW Benelux: Security system concerns at Schiphol Airport

A report has revealed problems with critical security systems at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. Also read why the Netherlands’ digital sector is yearning for attention from the government, and how data weaknesses persist despite Dutch companies investing heavily to comply with GDPR. Continue Reading

Report reveals inadequate cyber security at Schiphol Airport

 Continue Reading

EU and US start discussions on ‘enhanced’ Privacy Shield data-sharing agreement

Talks begin on a successor to the Privacy Shield EU-US data-sharing agreement declared unlawful in July 2020 – a decision by the European Court of Justice that left thousands of businesses facing legal uncertainty Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Government awards funding for innovation projects

The funding for innovative projects forms part of the government’s plan to increase research and development spending, which it claims will aid the UK’s post-Covid-19 economic recovery Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Pure and Cohesity launch FlashRecover for flash-speed restores

Flash market pioneer links up with scale-out backup product maker to provide bundled backup plus super-fast recovery based around Pure FlashBlade storage arrays Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

NHS SBS spies £75m savings on IT purchases through new procurement framework

NHS organisations and public sector bodies will be encouraged to use £500m procurement framework to acquire IT software and hardware in a more cost-effective way Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Police use of facial recognition found ‘unlawful’ in court

In a landmark decision, the Court of Appeal has ruled that South Wales Police’s facial recognition deployments breached human rights and data protection laws Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

NHS hit by thousands of malicious emails at height of pandemic

The NHS received nearly 30,000 malicious emails at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in March and April Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nutanix launches Clusters in AWS for hybrid cloud hyper-converged infrastructure

HCI pioneers launches Nutanix Clusters, which will provide hyper-converged deployments across customer datacentres and the Amazon cloud, but only in Acropolis and on AWS for now Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Cloud storage costs: How to get cloud storage bills under control

Many organisations look to the cloud to cut storage budgets, but the potential costs are many and varied. So what are the key ways to cut cloud storage costs? Continue Reading

By

• Rene Millman

Hospitality sector is failing on contact-tracing obligations

Cyber security experts urge the government to do more to help small hospitality businesses improve their contact-tracing data-handling practices Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Looming threat of Covid-19 and IR35 reform conspire to keep contractor confidence dampened

Quarterly data on how confident freelancers feel about their job and earning prospects highlights the negative impact Covid-19 and the government's looming tax reforms are having on the sector Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Government launches digital identity checking pilot

More than a year after first announced, the government has launched a year-long pilot of its post-Brexit digital identity checking service Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Retailer Monsoon allegedly exposing data via Pulse Connect server

A researcher has found a critically insecure Pulse Connect Secure VPN version belonging to UK retailer Monsoon Accessorize, but claims the firm is ignoring his disclosures Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Gartner flags continued growth in global IaaS spend as enterprise demand for public cloud soars

Global spend on IaaS continues to surge, with a growing competitive threat posed by Chinese providers Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Gov.uk Verify continues to pose ‘notable risk’ to Cabinet Office

Government Digital Service put in place “unprecedented measures” in response to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic and built several new digital services, but its Gov.uk Verify programme continues to “pose notable risk” to the department, according to Cabinet Office annual report Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

CIO interview: DFS’s Russell Harte on the Google ecosystem

The furniture retailer has standardised on G Suite and has bought into the Google Cloud Platform and Chrome OS devices Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Cyber attack combined with Covid-19 puts Travelex into administration

Foreign exchange firm Travelex has cut UK staff by 1,300 and physical outlets will remain closed Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Virgin Media customers targeted in Twitter phish

Customers seeking help from the ISP are being targeted by a scam Twitter account Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Data Standards Authority publishes guidance on government data sharing

The Data Standards Authority (DSA) wants government departments to use new open data standards when sharing data, with the aim of improving public services Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Challenger bank sees huge growth during pandemic

Starling Bank has seen a big increase in its business amid the Covid-19 slowdown Continue Reading

Government should prioritise product-led startups, says UKTCG

UK Tech Cluster Group report calls on government to prioritise startups, provide test beds for digital innovation and establish programmes to enable tech careers for people who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19 Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Government pumps £650m into Northern Ireland border

Funding for the Northern Ireland border includes £200m for a Trader Support Service and £155m to develop technology to support traders during post-Brexit transition period Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

TikTok to be banned in US in 45 days

Trump says his Executive Orders against Chinese mobile apps are in the interests of dealing with a national emergency Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

If you hire foreign IT staff, ‘you’re fired’, Trump tells bosses in government-owned entities

Donald Trump has fired a pre-election warning to government organisations that give IT jobs to workers from overseas Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

TfL Go launched to support travel in London during pandemic

New tool aims to enable users to plan routes and comply with social distancing measures while using public transport Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Planning system to get digital overhaul

Government proposal on reform of the planning system sets out plans for modernising the planning process though use of data, interactive online systems and collaboration with the property technology sector Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Footballers to take legal action over use of performance and tracking data

Planned lawsuit will argue that the use of players’ statistics by third-party companies is incompatible with footballers’ data rights Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

NHS seeks new national data guardian for health and care

New national data guardian will take over the post from Fiona Caldicott, working to build trust in data use across health and social care Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Netherlands investigates innovative privacy technology SSI

Dutch research organisation is looking into areas where self-sovereign identity technology could be used in society and business Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Egypt’s datacentre plans take key step forward

Government lays the foundations for a datacentre industry with its new data protection law Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Home Office drops ‘racist’ visa algorithm

The Home Secretary has pledged to stop using an algorithmic decision-making system to assess visa applications after migrant welfare and technology justice groups challenged the tool for helping to create a hostile environment for migrants Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Brits, terrified of impact of second Covid-19 wave on finances, turn to money management apps

People are using apps to help them manage their money amid fears of a second coronavirus lockdown in the UK Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Police require radical reform to deal with 21st century challenges

Early findings from a major review of policing reveal forces are struggling to keep pace with the changing nature of crime Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

The future of fashion in contactless commerce

GUEST BLOG: In this contributed blog post Jessica Murphy, co-founder of apparel and footwear retail personalisation platform True Fit, discusses how technology can help bridge the gap between ... Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Google links with eight US banks for current accounts

Tech giant works with banks to layer digital services on top of secure and regulated banking infrastructures Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Nordic enterprises look for SAP price reductions as they navigate Covid-19

Businesses in the Nordics are using SAP Cloud Platform to address Covid-19 challenges and are also seeking price reductions Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The UK’s $500m space technology gamble

In this week’s Computer Weekly we ask why the UK government is spending $500m on a bankrupt satellite technology company. After a European court quashes the EU-US data sharing agreement, we examine the implications for a UK-EU data protection deal after Brexit. And how have small cloud suppliers coped in the pandemic? Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Private equity leads Nordic IT sector consolidation

Private equity firms and industrial giants are triggering mergers and acquisitions in the Nordic tech sector as investment slows amid the Covid-19 pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Covid-19 forces TechHub into administration

Silicon Roundabout mainstay TechHub has been forced into administration after Covid-19 pandemic undermines ability to generate revenue Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Estonian police and border services need better IT to block criminals from becoming e-residents

Police and Border Guard Board of Estonia needs to improve its IT systems to stop criminals from becoming e-residents, says report Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Economic Affairs Committee calls for Universal Credit reform

Lords Select Committee finds the design of the Universal Credit system is ‘failing millions of people’, including a ‘significant minority’ who struggle with the digital service Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Parents accuse Amazon of inaction in combatting child abuse material online

Parents protest over Amazon Web Services’ alleged inaction in dealing with child sexual abuse material hosted on its servers Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Experts launch digital skills project for civil servants

International tech education experts from 10 institutions across the world have developed an online education programme for public servants Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Hancock: Better tech means better healthcare

The coronavirus pandemic has “catalysed” data-driven decision making in the NHS, according to health secretary Matt Hancock, promising a future NHS that “doubles down” on technological advances Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Labour Party is latest victim of Blackbaud ransomware attack

Widening Blackbaud data breach ensnares the Labour Party as the cloud software firm continues to duck questions about its behaviour Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

US lawmakers grill big tech chiefs over market power

Sixth antitrust hearing sees CEOs of major technology companies face combative questioning from members of Congress over their market power and dominance Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

HMCTS video hearings service scrutinised in LSE report

Independent evaluation looks at user experience of video functionality for courts and tribunals Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

EC launches digital identity consultation

European Commission’s consultation will look at revisions to the eIDAS regulation, aiming to improve effectiveness and extend it to the private sector Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Barclays CEO says Canary Wharf office set to stay despite home working success

Barclays chief says the success of home working during the Covid-19 pandemic has taught the banks lessons, one of which is that major centres like Canary Wharf will remain Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How Broxbourne is evolving digital transformation beyond Covid-19

The small town of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire is building on work before and during the pandemic to advance its modernisation agenda Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Treasury plans speedy approach to project delivery

Treasury will become the “new radicals” of Whitehall, taking charge of getting rid of legacy IT, making data-driven decisions and investing in data infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Tech sector calls on government to 'urgently' resolve delays in digital identity policy

Trade body TechUK has written privately to DCMS secretary of state to express industry frustrations and request ‘urgent needs’ are resolved to enable digital identity market in UK Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Finland government funds work on potential quantum leap

Finland's government is committing money to the development of quantum computing technologies to potentially provide a giant leap for the nation's industries Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

BASF partnership develops AI-powered smart mining

A collaboration with IntelliSense.io is being used to power AI-based optimisation of mining processes Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Accenture selected for key role in Bank of England core settlement system replacement

Accenture will be technology delivery partner in project to replace the core system used to settle payments between banks Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

List of Blackbaud breach victims tops 120

More than 120 education and third-sector organisations may have had their data compromised through the breach of Blackbaud’s cloud platform Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Amazon to create 1,000 skilled tech roles in Ireland

Retail giant Amazon will be adding several skilled tech roles to its locations in Ireland over the next two years Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Bank of Ireland fined for six-year-old IT breach

Bank of Ireland fined by regulator for its failings to prevent fraud six years ago Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Campaigners urge government to resist big tech lobbying pressure

Lobbyists for big tech, supported by senior US politicians, have rallied against stricter regulation of technology companies, and threatened the US-UK trade deal unless Britain scraps plans to levy a digital services tax Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Schrems steps up pressure on Irish data protection commissioner on Facebook’s data sharing with US

Austrian lawyer is considering ‘other’ options if the Irish data protection commissioner does not make a decision by October on his seven-year-old complaint against Facebook Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Five on-premise and cloud options for network-attached storage

We look at five options for file access storage, from ‘traditional’ NAS in a standalone appliance to distributed hybrid cloud file storage and NAS cloud gateways Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Cosmetics firm Avon faces new cyber security incident

Technical information relating to Avon’s web and mobile sites was inadvertently left exposed on an unsecured Microsoft Azure server Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Taking back control of government data mustn’t leave the public in the dark

Boris Johnson has quietly transferred control over government data to Number 10, without explaining why. The public deserves more involvement in how their personal data is being used, says Labour Continue Reading

By

• Chi Onwurah, Labour

Why supply chain visibility is key to APAC retailers

Having complete visibility over the supply chain will enable retailers to tide over the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic and transform their businesses Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget