IT operations management and IT support

July Patch Tuesday brings more than 80 fixes, one zero-day

While some admins can put their feet up and let Windows Autopatch do the hard work of updating their Microsoft estates, for the rest of us, the Patch Tuesday bandwagon keeps on keeping on Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Goldman Sachs hires Google incubator founder

Bank recruits co-founder of Google’s incubator as it continues to transform its business through digital technology Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

ICO calls for review into government use of private email and WhatsApp messages

Information Commissioner’s Office reprimands Department of Health and Social Care after ministers and officials conducted government business on their own email accounts and messaging apps Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Is time running out for legacy payments technology used by banks?

The company bringing Google-like processing to core banking for banks has added the same proposition in payments Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Microsoft Windows Autopatch now generally available

Microsoft customers with Windows Enterprise E3 and E5 licences can now take full advantage of its new automated patching service Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft VBA macro block will return

Microsoft provides more details about its sudden decision to rollback a landmark security policy, and reassures users it is a temporary measure Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SMEs lagging on multifactor authentication

Only 46% of small business owners say they have implemented multifactor authentication, and just 13% mandate its use, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber insurance: An effective use of your scant security budget?

The ISF’s Paul Watts asks if cyber insurance is a must-have item, an expensive luxury, or the emperor’s new clothes Continue Reading

By

• Paul Watts, Information Security Forum

Stop telling clients to pay ransomware gangs, solicitors told

The NCSC and the ICO are calling on solicitors to help tackle the rising number of ransomware payments being made, and to stop giving erroneous advice to victims Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Sweden and GDPR – four years on

Swedish data protection coordinator talks to Computer Weekly four years into the General Data Protection Regulation Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Microsoft appears to reverse VBA macro-blocking

Microsoft quietly reverses VBA macro-blocking across its Office portfolio in a move that has left security experts puzzled Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Lots to consider when buying cyber insurance, so do your homework

When considering implementing a cyber insurance policy, due diligence should be your watchword, says Paddy Francis of Airbus CyberSecurity Continue Reading

By

• Paddy Francis

MI5, FBI chiefs warn of Chinese cyber espionage threat

In a joint appearance in London, MI5 director general Ken McCallum and FBI director Chris Wray warn of the growing threat posed by the Chinese government to UK and US interests Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Cyber insurance – A nice safety blanket, but don’t count on it

In the second instalment of this month’s Security Think Tank, Mike Gillespie argues that cyber insurance should be thought of like car insurance – you don’t start driving recklessly because you’re covered Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie

Most APAC banks to spend more on cloud this year

More than nine in 10 banks across Asia-Pacific are increasing their cloud spending in 2022 after years of hesitation due to initial regulatory hurdles Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Legacy UK customs system stops accepting registration requests

HMRC closes new applications to legacy customs system as its shutdown nears Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Prepare for long-term cyber threat from Ukraine war, says NCSC

The NCSC has published refreshed guidance on cyber preparedness as the war on Ukraine continues, urging organisations to pay attention to the state of their security teams Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Netherlands’ AMdEX seeks to democratise the internet

Last year, five Dutch organisations launched an initiative to set up the Amsterdam Data Exchange to simplify data sharing and help democratise the internet Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

NCSC CEO: Why we should run towards crises to elevate cyber security

National Cyber Security Centre CEO Lindy Cameron, the 2022 Computer Weekly UKtech50 Most Influential Person in UK IT, reflects on a career immersed in crisis management, and how she is using this to elevate cyber security standards across the country Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Subpostmaster campaigning forces government to set up compensation scheme and make interim payments

Subpostmaster campaign group is a step closer to achieving what it was originally set up to do as government launches compensation scheme for its members who did not receive fair payouts Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government sets NHS digital transformation plan

The government expects to save billions of pounds and improve patient outcomes through digital transformation Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Russia-aligned hacktivists behind Lithuania DDoS attack

Killnet hacktivist collective targeted Lithuania with distributed denial of service attacks after its government angered the Kremlin Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Executive interview: Chris Conradi, chief digital officer, FSN Capital

Chris Conradi is taking his learnings at Google into the private equity industry at Norway’s FSN Capital Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The cyber security impact of Operation Russia by Anonymous

The campaign against the Russian government by Anonymous surprised many with the depth and scale of the cyber attacks. What can we learn from this online war? Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

US cyber agency in fresh warning over Log4Shell risk to VMware

Many VMware Horizon and UAG servers remain defenceless against Log4Shell, and organisations continue to fall victim to the vulnerability Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Assessment and knowledge: Your key tools to secure suppliers

There is no silver bullet that will resolve all the issues arising from today’s interconnected businesses and complex supply chains, but there are some key tools at your disposal Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

Ukraine cyber agency enlists Radware to protect government networks

Ukraine’s State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection is using Radware cloud DDoS protection and web application firewall services to protect the government from persistent Russian attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What the world can learn from Saudi Arabia’s fight against industrial control system attacks

Iran learned from attacks on its infrastructure and unleashed similar malware on Saudi Arabia. The world has now gained valuable lessons from the Saudi response Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Security Think Tank: Supply chain security demands systematic approach

Supply chain security measures need to be systematic and assessed so as to minimise the complexity and cost to the business Continue Reading

By

• Paddy Francis

PagerDuty expands Japan presence with joint venture

PagerDuty forms joint venture with Japan Cloud and is eyeing business from financial, telecoms and e-commerce companies as it seeks to grow its footprint in Japan Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

NatWest files under whistleblower’s bed contain live customer data

Former Royal Bank of Scotland worker wants bank to take back customer files and provide an ‘adequate receipt’ Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How TDCX is building a people-centric business

Every digital tool deployed by the Singapore-based services firm is aimed at augmenting the performance and experience of its employees, says TDCX’s group CIO, Byron Fernandez Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Security Think Tank: Balanced approach can detangle supply chain complexity

Achieving an appropriate balance between people, processes and technology can help to detangle the complexities of the supply chain and create better security practices Continue Reading

By

• Francesca Williamson, Information Security Forum

Post Office IT investigator to be released from confidentiality obligations for inquiry

Forensic accounting firm that ‘knows where the bodies are buried’ will be released from confidentiality obligations by the Post Office to give evidence to public inquiry Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CNI leaders’ attitude to ransomware lackadaisical at best

A survey of security decision-makers in sectors regarded as critical national infrastructure reveals a disappointing attitude to ransomware threats Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Supply chain security goes deep – forget this at your peril

It may have hit the headlines as an IT issue, but supply chain security goes far deeper into an organisation than just technology Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie

Dreams come true – how data and communication saved a failing company

In this week’s Computer Weekly, the former CEO of bed retailer Dreams explains how digital, data and communication helped turn round a failing company. The UK government has a new digital strategy – but it all seems rather familiar. And we talk to the tech firms trialling a four-day working week. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Lords move to protect cyber researchers from prosecution

A cross-party group in the House of Lords has proposed an amendment to the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill that would address concerns about security researchers or ethical hackers being prosecuted in the course of their work Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Complex Russian cyber threat requires we go back to basics

The situation in Russia is anything but simple, but it is the fundamentals of cyber security hygiene that pose the best defence against the country’s digital threat, as Mandiant’s Jamie Collier explains Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

Minister says compensation offer to 555 subpostmasters close

Government minister says an announcement on subpostmaster compensation could be made within weeks Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

British businesses to recognise Google skills certificates

Google training programmes are being made available to more people in the UK as part of an initiative from the supplier and major UK businesses Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Tech sector sustainability efforts need full ecosystem approach

Reorienting the tech sector around collaboration rather than competition and reassessing the industry’s conventional wisdom around economic growth is essential to improving sustainability on the timescale needed, London Tech Week attendees are told Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Fintech firm chooses Salesforce software to support growth

Revolut is to use Saleasforce software to support sales and marketing as part of its expansion plans Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Finnish recruiter says cultural fit is the key ingredient for executive positions

Job skills are important, but a good match of personality traits is a better predictor of long-term success in a company Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Office 365 loophole may give ransomware an easy shot at your files

Researchers at Proofpoint have discovered potentially dangerous Microsoft Office 365 functionality that they believe may give ransomware a clear shot at files stored on SharePoint and OneDrive Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Best practices for boosting supply chain security

In a highly connected world, managing the supply chain landscape requires an adaptation of the ‘traditional’ approach to managing cyber risk Continue Reading

By

• Carl Nightingale

$2k to access your organisation on the dark web

Dark web brokers will sell access to company networks and systems for an average of $2,000 to $4,000 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Patch Tuesday dogged by concerns over Microsoft vulnerability response

The last Patch Tuesday in its current form is overshadowed by persistent concerns about how Microsoft deals with vulnerability disclosure Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Virgin Money slashes loan application time through fintech

Business loan application process at Virgin Money cut from days to minutes through fintech platform Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK tech job opportunities at 10-year high

Rapid adoption of digital technology, along with the sector’s growing success, has driven tech hiring to heights not seen since the London Olympics Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Basic steps to secure your supply chain

When it comes to supply chain security, there are some core things you should be doing – but remember, the devil is in the detail Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

CIO interview: Morten Holm Christiansen, Haldor Topsoe

There’s no point digitising if there is no benefit to the customer, says the Danish chemicals giant’s head of IT Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

MS Azure Synapse vulnerability fixed after six-month slog

Microsoft patched a critical Azure Synapse vulnerability twice, but each time the researcher who discovered it was able to bypass it with ease, leading to a lengthy saga Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Digitising the future of Nordic energy

Finland calls for digital intervention as part of the global transition to renewable energy Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

Swedish recruiters prepare for a tsunami of AI projects

Several programmes are underway in Sweden to attract and retain AI talent to meet a swelling demand in the job market Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Macs in the enterprise – what you need to know

With Apple Mac hardware and operating systems in business becoming more commonplace, how should IT teams best manage users? Continue Reading

New warning over tech suppliers in thrall to hostile governments

Ukraine war could lead to shakeup of dual-use tech exports, says former UK intelligence officer Continue Reading

By

• Joe Fay

Qatar bolsters cyber security in preparation for World Cup

With hackers honing their cyber weapons to target the upcoming football World Cup, Qatar is busy developing countermeasures and raising awareness Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Researchers find eight CVEs in single building access system

A series of eight vulnerabilities in Carrier LenelS2 building access panels could enable malicious actors to obtain physical access to their targets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SolarWinds CEO offers to commit staffers to government cyber agencies

A new proposal from SolarWinds’ outspoken CEO, Sudhakar Ramakrishna, could see software companies commit key staff to work with government cyber agencies to improve cooperation and incident response Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IBM winding down its Russian business

After three months in suspension, IBM’s operations in Russia are being wound down, CEO tells staff Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NHS invites suppliers to apply to join latest tech marketplace

Health service launches new IT framework for suppliers offering technologies that can transform GP operations Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Danish recruiter provides advice on a crazy market for tech jobs

Global trends make it difficult for Danish companies to hire people with IT skills, and a Danish recruiter is providing both companies and developers with some much-needed advice Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

ProxyLogon, ProxyShell may have driven increase in dwell times

The median network intruder dwell time was up 36% to 15 days last year, thanks to massive exploitation of the ProxyLogon and ProxyShell vulnerabilities by IABs, according to new Sophos data Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

P27 advance could replace multiple national clearing systems in Nordics

Nordic payments project promises to make payments to other countries as easy as sending a text message Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Weak IT and SecOps collaboration in ANZ opens doors to cyber attacks

The weak collaboration between IT and security teams in Australia and New Zealand is exposing their organisations to data loss, business disruption and other potential consequences of cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Prison and Probation Service’s tagging ambition ‘outstripped its ability to deliver’

HM Prison and Probation Service’s programme to transform the tagging of offenders has failed to deliver after software platform was scrapped Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IT departments need holistic circular economies to fight climate change

With sustainability moving up the boardroom agenda, IT managers should revamp procurement strategies to align with the principles of the circular economy, but what does this mean for managing the IT lifecycle? Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Environmental social governance law enhances Danish tech’s impact

A new environmental and social law in Denmark could help the country’s tech startup ecosystem to differentiate Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

The importance of making information security more accessible

Robin Smith, CSO of Aston Martin Lagonda, talks about how an accessible approach to cyber is helping him to keep the organisation secure Continue Reading

By

• Robin Smith, chief security officer, Aston Martin Lagonda

Majority of organisations are hiring more IT staff to work remotely

IT leaders are increasingly recruiting staff to work remotely as changing working methods brought by the Covid-19 pandemic look set to stay Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Iceland’s natural and digital approach to healthcare disrupts global sector

Iceland has the perfect blend of natural health remedies and tech startup entrepreneurship to shake up the world healthcare sector Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

Log4Shell: How friendly hackers rose to the challenge

HackerOne CISO Chris Evans looks back at how the security community successfully rose to the challenge of Log4Shell, and saved end-user organisations millions Continue Reading

By

• Chris Evans, CISO and chief hacking officer, HackerOne

Macs in the enterprise – what you need to know

A guide to managing Apple Mac hardware and operating systems in the enterprise Continue Reading

By

• Tom Bridge, JumpCloud

Global business insurer saves 50,000 hours through RPA

QBE started its robotic process automation journey in 2017 and has already saved 50,000 hours, enabling staff to focus on customer care Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: Core security processes must adapt in a complex landscape

The modern-day abundance of platforms, apps and IT tools presents malicious actors with a web of interconnection that is easily exploited to move rapidly through the network to compromise critical assets. Security teams need to understand these attack pathways better in order to fight back Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

Dutch companies struggle to fill tech jobs

There are plenty of IT job vacancies in the Netherlands, but a shortage of IT professionals Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

The barristers that broke their backs to break the Post Office’s shield of lies

Computer Weekly spoke to the barristers at Henderson Chambers that fought the Post Office in the High Court to expose the widest miscarriage of justice in UK history Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

binary

Binary describes a numbering scheme in which there are only two possible values for each digit -- 0 or 1 -- and is the basis for all binary code used in computing systems. Continue Reading

By

• Rahul Awati

Ransomware volumes grew faster than ever in 2021

Verizon’s annual DBIR assessment of the security landscape highlights an unprecedented boom in ransomware volumes, to the surprise of nobody Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Netherlands approves beyond-visual-line-of-sight inspection drones

Drones can automate the traditionally challenging job of inspecting industrial sites, including hard-to-reach infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Government has no plans to review controversial court rules on computer evidence

Government accused of ‘passing the buck’ and ‘not knowing what it is talking about’ after stating it has no plans to review court rules on computer evidence Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Did the Conti ransomware crew orchestrate its own demise?

Analysts examining the shutdown of the Conti ransomware syndicate suggest the cyber crime collective orchestrated its own demise Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Understanding attack paths is a question of training

The modern-day abundance of platforms, apps and IT tools presents malicious actors with a web of interconnection that is easily exploited to move rapidly through the network to compromise critical assets. Security teams need to understand these attack pathways better in order to fight back Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie

How Ivanti views patch management with a security lens

Bringing development, operations and security teams together will help organisations to improve their visibility of IT assets and vulnerabilities while keeping threat actors at bay Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Applying international law to cyber will be a tall order

Many in the security community have voiced their support for the UK government’s ambitions to work towards agreement with other countries on the application of international law to cyber space, but not without some reservations Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Third of organisations to outsource more IT amid talent shortage

Cutting costs is not the main reason for outsourcing IT in the UK, according to a major study Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Microsoft drops emergency patch after Patch Tuesday screw up

Microsoft fixed a certificate mapping issue that caused server authentication failures on domain controllers for users that had installed the most recent Patch Tuesday updates Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government will legislate to protect access to cash amid digital revolution

The government is giving the Financial Conduct Authority more powers to force banks to ensure cash withdrawal and deposit services are within easy reach of customers Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Nature of cyber war evolving in real time, says Microsoft president

The past three months have seen the rapid evolution of the very nature warfare to incorporate cyber attacks, Microsoft’s Brad Smith tells the audience at its Envision conference in London Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Deliveroo accused of ‘soft union busting’ with GMB deal

Smaller grassroots unions have criticised Deliveroo and GMB for making a “hollow” deal that will ultimately undermine workers’ self-organising efforts Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Red teaming will be standard in Dutch governmental organisations by 2025

The Dutch government wants to include the testing of the digital security of systems, processes and people – also known as red teaming – in all of its governmental organisations’ test planning and budgeting by 2025 at the latest Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Security Think Tank: Yes, zero trust can help you understand attack paths

The modern-day abundance of platforms, apps and IT tools presents malicious actors with a web of interconnection that is easily exploited to move rapidly through the network to compromise critical assets. Security teams need to understand these attack pathways better in order to fight back Continue Reading

By

• Paul Holland, Information Security Forum

Relentless branch closures at Lloyds Bank continue as digital banking takes hold

UK bank branches are being shuttered in large numbers as consumers choose online banking, with Lloyds Banking Group announcing more closures Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: To follow a path, you need a good map

The modern-day abundance of platforms, apps and IT tools presents malicious actors with a web of interconnection that is easily exploited to move rapidly through the network to compromise critical assets. Security teams need to understand these attack pathways better in order to fight back Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

Post Office scandal victim calls for government’s role in silencing victims to be investigated

Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal in Scotland raise further questions about Post Office and government conduct Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

(ISC)² to train 100,000 cyber pros in UK

Security association (ISC)² unveils ambitious UK training programme Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Controversial Post Office IT system to be replaced by 2025

Work is ongoing by the Post Office to replace the controversial Horizon retail and accounting system used in nearly 12,000 branches Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

troubleshooting

Troubleshooting is a systematic approach to problem-solving that is often used to find and correct issues with complex machines, electronics, computers and software systems. Continue Reading

By

• Paul Kirvan
• Andrew Zola

Santander has so far moved 80% of IT infrastructure to cloud

Spanish banking giant Santander continues its journey into the cloud as it strives to be cloud native Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA