IT news in your industry sector

WikiLeaks founder Assange ‘put lives at risk’ by disclosing names in leaked documents, court hears

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange ‘put lives of US informants at risk’ by publishing unredacted documents, lawyers for the US argued at the first day of a week-long extradition hearing Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Estonia to give citizens Alexa-like access to public services

The Estonian government is working on a project that will ultimately allow citizens to ask Siri, Alexa or almost any other virtual digital assistant to interact with government departments on their behalf Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IR35 private sector reforms: First year of enforcement won't be ‘heavy-handed’, claims chancellor

New chancellor Rishi Sunak has moved to assure business leaders that HMRC will not be heavy-handed in enforcing the new IR35 rules Continue Reading

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• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Tech reaction to UK’s upcoming immigration rules

The government has outlined its plans for a new points-based immigration system to ensure only skilled workers can enter the UK – but what does the technology sector think? Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Australian government inks sourcing deal with Rimini Street

The whole-of-government agreement will provide Australian government agencies with easier and cheaper access to third-party software support Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Labour condemns Google data plans

Shadow digital minister Chi Onwurah challenges the government to stop Google’s plans to move UK user data out of the EU Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Scotland to set up payments service for public sector

Scottish government seeks supplier to work on beta phase of development Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Exploring the Nordics’ healthy advantage in leisure tech

The Nordic region is home to an increasing number of global leisure tech startups Continue Reading

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• Matthew Staff

Executive interview: Making IT sustainable

Defra recently reported that “cloud-first” IT strategies are driving green information and communications technology in government. This puts a greater emphasis on datacentre transparency Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

EU defies big tech firms and proposes single data market

The European Commission outlines actions needed to enable the continent's digital success Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Deutsche Telekom claims most successful year ever

Global telco releases end-of-year results showing record revenue and profit growth in all of its operating segments Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Refinitiv uses Google Cloud to revolutionise delivery of huge datasets

Financial data giant is expanding delivery of its services in the cloud, removing the need for customers to use hard disks and trucks to transport large datasets onsite Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

EU puts up AI and data strategies with an ethical twist

European Commission launches strategies for artificial intelligence and data economics, making the fight against climate change their raison d’être Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Swedish consumer-protection legislation will hit fintechs

New financial regulation to protect consumers from agreeing to unnecessary credit will force financial technology companies to make changes to their products Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Data sharing between private healthcare and NHS to move into new phase

A consultation has been launched to seek views on the creation of a single source of healthcare data in England, with a series of pilots announced Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Air transport industry examines blockchain that could boost revenue by $40bn

Businesses supplying aircraft parts and maintenance services are collaborating to investigate the potential of blockchain technology to improve logistics Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Dutch tech firm transforms real-life football through video game concept

Tech company that helped the Belgian football team in the last World Cup is changing the way footballers are scouted and teams are trained Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

US ‘breached due process’ in spying operation against Julian Assange’s lawyers

Surveillance footage of Julian Assange’s meetings with lawyers and doctors in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London was an “abuse of process” Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly
• Sander Priston

IR35 private sector reforms: National Grid contractors up in arms over tax status assessments

Assessments are claimed to have resulted in “99%” of utility firm’s off-payroll workers having their roles reclassified as inside IR35 Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Is this Netflix-style thriller the future of security training?

Cyber awareness specialists at KnowBe4 reckon that bringing Netflix-style production values to corporate videos heralds a new approach to security training Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 47

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna discuss IR35 protests, the Oracle vs SAP cloud applications dog fight, and a Goldman Sachs cloud service for its banking sector Continue Reading

By

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

Swedish council tests virtual reality in care for vulnerable people

Local authority is testing virtual reality technology to provide care services to vulnerable groups such elderly and disabled citizens Continue Reading

By

• Jane Hamrin

Trust no one – the benefits of zero-trust security

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we take an in-depth look at zero-trust security and examine how it changes traditional IT risk models. After SAP extended the support deadline for its ECC ERP system, we find out the options for users. And we analyse explainable AI and the ethical importance of understanding algorithms. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Isilon’s multi-dot upgrade to OneFS 8.2.2 masks big changes

The latest quarterly update to OneFS sees maximum file size grow to 16TB, brings in data deduplication in real time for HDDs, better load balancing and a new Kubernetes CSI Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT

Government invests in tech to tackle traffic congestion

Councils and SMEs will get a share of £1.5m government funding to work on trials aimed at improving driving conditions Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Concerns raised over former Post Office CEO’s appointment at NHS trust under review

Care Quality Commission to review concerns over Paula Vennells’ appointment after they were raised by a former NHS consultant psychiatrist Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Mastercard opens European security resilience unit

Mastercard’s European Cyber Resilience Centre will bring together its partners and other industry bodies to support enterprise resilience Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ex-soldiers to become ethical hackers

A new programme will give armed forces veterans in Scotland a grounding in cyber security skills, including penetration testing and ethical hacking Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

From Pixar to GovTech: The inside story of Singapore’s AI whizz

After nearly a decade at Pixar, GovTech’s Chong Jiayi is leading a team of experts to solve hard problems in robotics and artificial intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Met Office gets a decade of funding to update supercomputers

As the UK goes through another storm battering, the Met Office has received a £1.2bn investment to power the next decade of weather forecasts Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Smart use of data takes Dutch railways further

De Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways), ensures, among other things, that 1.2 million train passengers arrive at their destination every day. Through a subsidiary, it’s using data to improve both the customer experience and internal processes Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Want to hear the latest on Gov.uk Verify? Sorry, GDS still has nothing to say

The great and the good of the digital identity sector gathered in London yesterday (13 February) for the Think Digital Identity for Government conference – a popular bi-annual event that always ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

CIO Interview: Siim Sikkut, Estonian government CIO

Siim Sikkut is one of a generation of tech native Estonians, who is turning his knowledge and experience to transforming government services Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

PM Johnson shuffles technology and digital ministers again

Boris Johnson has changed all the key Cabinet appointments responsible for tech and digital policy for the second time since becoming prime minister last year Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Calls for inquiry into Post Office IT scandal increase in Parliament, with cross-party support

Many MPs might not yet fully understand the suffering subpostmasters have endured because of the Post Office’s faulty IT system and its oppressive behaviour, but they will soon Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cyber criminals spread coronavirus conspiracy theories

The latest email campaigns identified by Proofpoint are spreading conspiracy theories about the coronavirus outbreak Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW Benelux: Ericsson helps driverless buses hit European streets

Ericsson has revealed its plans for new technologies including 5G, the internet of things and self-driving buses. Also read about the Dutch government lacking the knowledge and skills for its own IT strategy, and the Dutch government’s need to push for an electronic ID system for its citizens. Continue Reading

Half of technology workers want to find a new job in 2020

Better pay and work/life balance are major reasons for tech workers to seek a new job, according to a new study Continue Reading

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• Angelica Mari

Dutch government must sort IT mess as priority

 Continue Reading

Brexit cited as reason for German digital bank’s UK exit

German challenger bank N26 leaves the UK, saying Brexit is the reason behind the decision due to the removal of passporting rights Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Emotet evolving to exploit coronavirus fear

With coronavirus cases now reported across the world, Emotet campaigns are exploiting legitimate fears to compromise their targets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Communications watchdog Ofcom to gain extra powers as online harms regulator

The government has released its initial response to 2019’s Online Harms White Paper, setting out a number of decisions about how it will regulate harmful content on the internet Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Adult social care organisations get £4.5m in funding for digital

A group of 16 local authorities was selected to receive the grant from NHS Digital to fund digital projects for adult social care Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Pressure for public inquiry into Post Office IT system scandal begins with mountain to climb

Members of Parliament seeking a public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal face huge challenges, but pressure and time could force justice Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IBM unifies storage arrays under FlashSystem brand

IBM to bring together all non-mainframe storage arrays as FlashSystem product, with options from entry-level to petabyte-scale with NVMe flash and storage class memory Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

MI5 failed to disclose failings in handling intercepted data, court hears

MI5 failed to disclose serious failures in the way it handled intelligence data to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the surveillance regulator and ministers. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Mobile checkout expanded to 50 M&S stores

After a successful trial, retailer Marks & Spencer has expanded its mobile checkout-free offering to 50 stores around the UK Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – episode 46

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna are joined by special guest Hannah Foulds, head of marketing and membership at the Open Data Institute, who flags stories about humans tricking AI. The group then discusses the Women in Software Powerlist, the loan charge and online targeting Continue Reading

By

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

Chinese military personnel accused of Equifax hack

A US federal grand jury has indicted four Chinese army personnel over the 2017 Equifax breach Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Alan Bates: The ‘details man’ the Post Office paid the price for ignoring

In 2003, subpostmaster Alan Bates had his contract terminated when he refused to comply with Post Office policy. A decade and a half later, against the odds, he took the Post Office to the High Court and won a multimillion-pound legal case. Continue Reading

Two-thirds of workers at risk of robot-driven redundancy are unaware of the threat to jobs

People who do jobs that are most likely to be automated through technology are unaware and unprepared of the impending threat to their livelihoods, with Nesta calling on the government to do more to up-skill those at risk Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Scotland makes inroads in digital identity project

The government has started building a prototype of what is planned to be a "user-centric" platform to access public services online Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

AI in public service must be accountable

Committee on Standards in Public Life recommends that government departments make ethics a top priority when tendering artificial intelligence systems Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

The big retail tech themes from Retail’s Big Show

The National Retail Federation’s Big Show signals the kick-off of the retail events calendar. We look over the themes promised for retail tech over the next year Continue Reading

By

• Glynn Davis

US hotel group ditches datacentre for Nasuni cloud NAS

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts got rid of its datacentre and put everything in the cloud, with Nasuni cloud NAS providing storage from which any user can restore files Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Australian government to roll out SAP S/4 Hana

Australia’s finance department earmarks S/4 Hana as its ERP system to provide common financial and HR services across government Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

IR35 private sector reforms: HMRC confirms last-minute tweak to incoming off-payroll rules

The government is rolling out a tweak to the IR35 private sector reforms that it claims will give businesses more time to prepare, but stakeholders are unconvinced Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Goldman Sachs considers building cloud service to sell to other finance firms

Internal memo reveals that bank could provide an Amazon Web Services-like cloud service to financial services companies Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is ‘most dangerous’ movie

Ahead of the 2020 Oscars, Kaspersky researchers say they found more than 300 files masquerading as the Joker movie Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Startup success is ‘The Finnish Dream’

Finland has a startup mentality running through its veins and its water, with an “all for one” attitude driving fledgling tech companies Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

NHS Digital appoints new CISO

Pete Rose will also act as deputy chief executive at the IT partner for the National Health Service Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Nordic industries increase IT outsourcing for IoT and big data skills

Nordic industries are outsourcing more to support their internet of things and big data capabilities Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Maastricht University pays €200,000 to Russian hackers

A Dutch university has taken the difficult decision to pay hundreds of thousands of Euros to Russian hackers that compromised its systems through a ransomware attack Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

UK investigates drone use for search and rescue

Maritime & Coastguard Agency will examine whether drones can be used to aid missions by visiting rescue sites Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Darktrace signs to McLaren for 2020 F1 season

McLaren Racing has enlisted Darktrace to become its official artificial intelligence cyber security partner Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Scammers using fake PayPal emails stole over £1m in the UK in last quarter

Fraudsters tricked Brits into sending over £1m worth of goods to them that they hadn't paid for Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Veeam pushes subscription licensing in cloud-centric ‘Act II’

Backup specialist wants to “win the cloud” as it pushes towards a cloud-focused vision that includes pay-for-what-you-use and multicloud after its acquisition last month Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Finnish digital initiative to drive EU digital-based passenger services

Finnish-driven transport-as-a-service concept gets EU-wide appeal as a way of increasing customer satisfaction and reducing fuel consumption Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Digital sector contributes £400m a day to UK economy

Sector is growing six times faster than economic growth overall, according to government figures Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

NHSX to mandate minimum technology spend for trusts

Recent guidelines for NHSX sets out plans to define spending levels required so organisations can achieve digital aims Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Caribbean island hospital rebuilds after hurricane with DataCore

Hurricane Irma tore the roof off a server room and flooded IT hardware, but that was an opportunity to rebuild redundant IT using DataCore’s SANsymphony software-defined storage Continue Reading

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• Yann Serra, LeMagIT

Acronis CEO bullish as specialist goes beyond backup

Acronis is set to launch Cyber Protect as it rides a wave of confidence based on increasing revenues and investor funding. Will the backup-plus-cyber protection calculation pay off? Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Social media targeting algorithms need regulation, says CDEI

The Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation is recommending regulation of social media algorithms as part of a drive to make user targeting safe and ethical Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Azimo gets loan from European Investment Bank to build cross-border payments infrastructure in EU

UK fintech gets validation from EIB through €20m loan which will contribute to building its smartphone app-based payments infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 45

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna are joined by investigations editor Bill Goodwin to delve deeper into the Travelex and related affairs, and to discuss public sector cloud trends, AI and the NHS, and the Hangar 51 startups accelerator programme Continue Reading

By

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

Swedish rail firm’s digital journey running on time

Swedish rail company tells Computer Weekly about its successful mission to improve customer experience Continue Reading

By

• Jane Hamrin

MI5 faces court ruling over unlawful surveillance warrants

Privacy groups Liberty and Privacy International ask the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to order MI5 to disclose full details of ‘unlawful’ conduct, after classified documents reveal the spy agency failed to comply with surveillance laws Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Record-breaking rise in global cloud infrastructure spend between Q3 and Q4

Synergy Research Group’s fourth-quarter look at the cloud infrastructure market reveals a huge jump in sequential spend since the third quarter Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Ethics and the internet – how to build a web we can trust

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine the steps being taken to ensure the future development of the web is ethical and open. We discuss the UK’s cyber security skills gap and ask what more the government should be doing. And we find out how cloud technology could help people stop smoking. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Australia’s Avalon Airport to provide self-service kiosks

Avalon Airport, located between Melbourne and Geelong in Victoria, is implementing self-service kiosks to improve passenger experience and operations Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Digital strategy for 2020-2030 sets out police technology plans

National policing strategy sets a number of technological ambitions for the next decade, placing a particular emphasis on collaborative working and building common standards or frameworks Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

New jobs in Ireland as Brexit forces Revolut to migrate work from London

Brexit has pushed the financial technology firm into moving London jobs to Ireland Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government announces fast-track visa scheme for scientists and researchers

Government also removes cap on the number of people who can enter the UK via the Exceptional Talent route Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Government refuses request to pay legal costs for subpostmasters in Post Office case

The government has refused to pay the huge legal costs subpostmasters incurred in their battle with the government-owned Post Office, which they won Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NHS adds supplier security audits to procurement platform

A new feature in the NHS’s Edge4Health procurement platform will help NHS suppliers improve their cyber security posture and NHS organisations make better buying decisions Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NHSX appoints new chief technology officer

David Turner will join the digital unit of the National Health Service in May 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Estonian CIO gives UK IT professionals hope as Brexit removes rights

Tech chief says Estonia’s door is open to UK IT professionals if they want to continue enjoying an EU lifestyle Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Alan Bates: The ‘details man’ the Post Office paid the price for ignoring

In 2003, subpostmaster Alan Bates had his contract terminated when he refused to comply with Post Office policy. A decade and a half later, against the odds, he took the Post Office to the High Court and won a multimillion-pound legal case Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Davos: The clock is ticking on climate change but cyber crime and emerging technologies add to risks

Climate change, natural disasters, extreme weather and loss of biodiversity are the greatest risks we face. With cyber conflicts, state-sponsored hacking and internet fragmentation, doing nothing is not an option, says the World Economic Forum Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

UK police arrest three over Maltese cyber bank robbery

The NCA has made three arrests in Belfast and London following an investigation into money laundering linked to a cyber heist on a bank in Malta Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Australia’s Iconic Hotels taps cloud for speed and cost savings

The independent hotel operator in the Australian Capital Territory has saved IT manpower and costs by moving from an on-premise hospitality management system to a cloud-based application Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Harvey Nash hires first female CEO

Beverley White takes over as Albert Ellis steps down after 14 years leading the IT recruitment and services firm Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

UK’s Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa system ‘does not work well’, says MAC

During a review of whether the government should introduce a points-based system for migration, the Migration Advisory Committee claims the current Tier 1 system for exceptional talent is not fit for purpose Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Northern Rail will trial tech to tackle overcrowding

Troubled operator Northern Rail will attempt to improve services by using technology as it is brought under government control Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Sorting out the Dutch government’s IT mess

Tech experts discuss the challenges and potential solutions to the Netherlands government’s IT problems Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

UKCloud moots multi-cloud as a way to speed up public sector cloud adoption

Contributors to UKCloud's public sector-focused State of Cloud Adoption report flag barriers to using off-premise technologies, but could adopting a multi-cloud strategy assist with overcoming them? Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Microsoft contractor hit by health and safety violation claims at Israel datacentre building site

Microsoft declines to comment on a local media report that the site of its Israel datacentre campus has been subject to stoppage notices after two accidents there in two days Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

UK cyber security sector worth more than £8bn

The UK’s cyber security industry employs 43,000 full-time workers, and contributed nearly £4bn to the UK economy in 2019, according to DCMS Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Formulus Black Forsa turns memory into block storage

Forsa allows customers to bring application data into memory, by provisioning DRAM or persistent memory as block access storage with latency several times better than NVMe flash Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

NHS suffers fewer ransomware attacks, but threat persists

Ransomware attacks against the NHS have tapered off dramatically, according to statistics obtained under FoI legislation, but this does not mean the threat has diminished Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor