News

Europe and Middle East information technology (IT)

• December 01, 2021 01 Dec'21

  Unesco member states adopt AI ethics recommendation

  The non-binding recommendation seeks to define a common set of values and principles to guide the development of ethical AI globally

• November 30, 2021 30 Nov'21

  MI6 will ‘open up’ to tech firms to innovate faster than adversaries, says chief Richard Moore

  MI6 will use investment fund to back tech companies to develop long-term technologies that will help it to keep pace with China and Russia

• November 24, 2021 24 Nov'21

  Growing pains: Where next for Gaia-X?

  With one of its founding members preparing to exit the project because of concerns over the growing influence of non-European entities on its operations, questions are being asked about Gaia-X’s future

• November 24, 2021 24 Nov'21

  One in three Norwegian unicorns created in 2021 alone

  Norway’s tech sector has undergone rapid growth in the past year, consolidating the Nordic country’s position as an emerging European tech hub

• November 24, 2021 24 Nov'21

  Societe Generale accelerates data and artificial intelligence strategy

  French investment banking giant increases its focus on data and artificial intelligence as digital transformation matures

• November 18, 2021 18 Nov'21

  How Axa drives digitisation forward

  Digital transformation is not a one-shot project – it’s a continuous and evolving process that requires a mindset change in IT management

• November 18, 2021 18 Nov'21

  Sky ECC provided free cryptophones to a Canadian police force

  Internal emails disclosed in a US court show how Sky Global supplied sample encrypted phones to a Canadian police force before its phone users became subject to an international police investigation

• November 18, 2021 18 Nov'21

  Cryptophone supplier Sky Global takes legal action over US government website seizures

  Canadian tech company Sky Global has filed a legal motion claiming that the US government unlawfully seized the company’s internet sites following police investigations into the use of its cryptophones by organised crime

• November 16, 2021 16 Nov'21

  Can UAE become a world leader in AI?

  The UAE has launched multiple programmes as it bids to be a world-leading location for artificial intelligence innovation

• November 15, 2021 15 Nov'21

  CaixaBank system normal after migration of millions of customer accounts

  Spain’s CaixaBank has successfully completed the migration of millions of Bankia customers to its systems

• November 12, 2021 12 Nov'21

  CaixaBank to complete IT integration of Bankia in two days

  Spanish bank embarks on a massive migration of customer accounts following merger

• November 11, 2021 11 Nov'21

  Stockholm and Copenhagen: Different IT innovation journeys, similar success

  Swedish and Danish capitals have build compelling tech startup success stories, and now rub shoulders with the likes of San Francisco

• November 10, 2021 10 Nov'21

  EU artificial intelligence regulation risks undermining social safety net

  Europe’s proposed artificial intelligence regulation will not adequately protect people from European governments' increasing use of the technology in social security decisions and resource allocation, says Human Rights Watch

• November 09, 2021 09 Nov'21

  Vienna’s tech startup ecosystem gathers momentum

  After a sustained period of inactivity, Vienna’s startup environment is finally on the rise again

• November 04, 2021 04 Nov'21

  The Netherlands works on resilience with large-scale national cyber exercise

  For the Netherlands, the biggest challenge in a large-scale cyber crisis is to maintain speed while exercising due care

• November 01, 2021 01 Nov'21

  Payments through open banking could end card dominance

  Payments made through open banking will eat into those made using cards as the next five years sees an acceleration in adoption

• October 27, 2021 27 Oct'21

  Russian IT market growing steadily after pandemic

  Russia’s enterprise IT sector is recovering steadily after a slowdown caused by Covid-19

• October 22, 2021 22 Oct'21

  MEPs vote to expand Europol data mandate

  The European Parliament has voted in favour of expanding Europol’s mandate to process data and develop AI tools, but critics claim it contradicts a previous vote which opposed using new technologies to predict crime

• October 21, 2021 21 Oct'21

  German regulator imposes limit on number of new customers digital bank can sign each month

  BaFin limits the number of new customers that digital bank N26 can enrol until it is reassured on issues it has raised about the company

• October 21, 2021 21 Oct'21

  Gitex 2021: Batelco brings collaboration to Bahrain operations

  Aiming to deliver evolved teamwork capabilities to its customers to accelerate Bahrain’s transition to the digital workplace, digital communications solutions provider adopts new collaboration technology

• October 20, 2021 20 Oct'21

  What does Saudi Arabia’s autonomous vehicle agenda mean to the rest of the world?

  If all goes according to plan, within a few years, one million people will live in Saudi Arabia’s ‘city of the future’ – and every one of them will depend on a fleet of self-driving cars

• October 18, 2021 18 Oct'21

  Gitex 2021: Avaya builds up AI experience to boost collaboration

  New communications and collaboration ecosystem launched to enable customers to achieve better business outcomes in the experience economy and the new hybrid working mode

• October 14, 2021 14 Oct'21

  Denmark takes another step towards empowering women in tech

  A programme to increase the participation of women in the thriving Danish startup ecosystem moves to the second of three planned stages

• October 14, 2021 14 Oct'21

  SocGen to cull thousands of jobs and move to single IT platform in merger with subsidiary

  French bank’s move to a single banking platform will enable it to cater for changing customer demands

• October 06, 2021 06 Oct'21

  MEPs approve report opposing certain uses of AI by police

  European policymakers have approved a report on the use of AI in criminal matters, rejecting several amendments in the process that would have made it easier for police to potentially conduct predictive analytics and biometric surveillance

• October 06, 2021 06 Oct'21

  Netherlands’ Team Liquid revolutionises e-sports with data analytics

  Data analysis is often used by enterprises, but the discipline is also gaining ground in other areas in the Netherlands, such as e-sports

• October 04, 2021 04 Oct'21

  Mastercard acquisition of Aiia is a further sign of open banking’s big future

  Mastercard’s acquisition of Denmark-based open banking fintech Aiia follows rival’s takeover of Sweden’s Tink

• October 01, 2021 01 Oct'21

  Norway and IoT: A match made in heaven

  Norway is becoming a centre of internet of things innovation as tech developers look for answers to some of the country's unique challenges

• September 30, 2021 30 Sep'21

  Digital bank fined by regulator due to weak anti-money laundering controls

  German digital bank is fined by financial services regulator for failing in relation to its anti-money laundering practices

• September 28, 2021 28 Sep'21

  Dutch IT firm transforms HR policy built on lessons from pandemic

  Software firm rips up human resources rule book and replaces it with a hybrid working policy

• September 27, 2021 27 Sep'21

  Private equity cash fuels Nordic datacentre growth

  Private equity companies are betting on the Nordic datacentre sector as demand for services in the region accelerates

• September 27, 2021 27 Sep'21

  Dubai International Finance Centre’s data protection law to be boosted by new federal regulation

  New UAE data protection regulation on the horizon a year after a Dubai-specific law came into force

• September 22, 2021 22 Sep'21

  Foreign professionals and upskilled locals in demand as UAE sets ambitious coding targets

  The United Arab Emirates is on a mission to grow its tech sector as part of its economic diversification plans, but it needs more talent from inside and outside the country

• September 21, 2021 21 Sep'21

  Dutch scientist receives top award for work on digital media’s effect on society

  Utrecht University media scientist José van Dijck wins the Spinoza Award and funds for her research into the effects of social media on society

• September 16, 2021 16 Sep'21

  Dutch education administrators underestimate threat of cyber crime

  Research shows educational establishments in the Netherlands are becoming favoured targets of cyber criminals and administrators are underestimating the risks

• September 15, 2021 15 Sep'21

  Nordic central banks drive fintech and digital currency

  Banks are working together through a cross-border financial technology development hub

• September 08, 2021 08 Sep'21

  Estonian government opens its digital heart to tech testers

  Tech startups are being invited to build and test their products and services on the Estonian government’s IT estate for free, in return for use of the software developed

• September 06, 2021 06 Sep'21

  Saudi tourism development fund goes cloud-first with Oracle

  $4bn fund will be used to invest in developing Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry as the country reduces its economic reliance on oil and gas

• September 03, 2021 03 Sep'21

  Berlin court reverses ban on use of EncroChat evidence in criminal trials

  Berlin Superior Court allows use of EncroChat evidence in criminal trials but lawyers say the question will ultimately need to be decided by the German Supreme Court

• September 03, 2021 03 Sep'21

  China accused of cyber attacks on Norwegian IT systems

  China-based cyber attackers have been blamed for multiple assaults on IT systems in Norway

• September 02, 2021 02 Sep'21

  The Gulf is counting on its smart cities for a sustainable and profitable future

  The countries in the Gulf region are leading the way in the development of smart cities as part of their economic diversification

• August 20, 2021 20 Aug'21

  Swedish IT industry braced for China’s response to Huawei 5G ban

  Swedish IT and communications equipment suppliers fear economic backlash from China following Huawei ban

• August 19, 2021 19 Aug'21

  Inside Estonia’s tech startup scene

  Estonia is a Baltic tech tiger that is fast-gaining an international reputation for competently delivered government e-services at a level that surpasses most of its European and international counterparts

• August 13, 2021 13 Aug'21

  GoStudent: Europe’s newest edtech unicorn

  Europe’s biggest ed-tech unicorn reaches unicorn status and tests sector traditions

• August 11, 2021 11 Aug'21

  Norway’s government steps up efforts to court overseas datacentre investors and developers

  The Norwegian government is making a concerted push to attract more foreign investment into its datacentre sector by talking up the country’s green credentials

• August 11, 2021 11 Aug'21

  Global fintech investments reach new heights

  The global financial technology industry is emerging from the pandemic-triggered slowdown with record levels of investment to fuel further growth

• August 11, 2021 11 Aug'21

  The Netherlands still lacks digital resilience, says report

  Report by National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security says the Netherlands’ digital resilience has improved, but is still insufficient

• August 10, 2021 10 Aug'21

  Dutch lead the way in protecting themselves against internet risks

  Dutch citizens come top in a study on awareness of internet risks in Europe, which showed major differences across the continent

• July 27, 2021 27 Jul'21

  Gaming could reduce the gamble for users of online finance

  Financial gaming platform designed to educate the increasing number of amateur traders

• July 21, 2021 21 Jul'21

  Infosys to open German operation focused on automotive sector

  Infosys is establishing a centre in Germany that will focus on supporting customers in the German automotive sector

• July 20, 2021 20 Jul'21

  Nordic banks join forces to compete with fintechs

  Collaboration will be key for traditional Nordic banks to retain business amid intense competition from tech companies

• July 20, 2021 20 Jul'21

  Volvo: Our friends in software

  We speak to Volvo’s head of software platform about the company’s strategy to build a software-defined car

• July 15, 2021 15 Jul'21

  Lawyers take EncroChat hacking operation to French supreme court

  Lawyers head to French supreme court after appeals court finds EnroChat inception legal under French law

• July 15, 2021 15 Jul'21

  UAE offers ‘golden visas’ to coders as part of national IT skills programme

  The United Arab Emirates is offering visas to coders across the world as it attempts to attract talent to support its economic diversification

• July 14, 2021 14 Jul'21

  EC approves pan-Nordic payments platform

  Pan-Nordic payments platform will move to its next phase after receiving merger approval from the European Commission

• July 14, 2021 14 Jul'21

  More than half of European IT outsourcing spending will soon be on cloud services

  Cloud services will soon be the largest part of the IT services market in Europe, as enterprises invest in them as part of their Covid-19 recovery strategies

• July 13, 2021 13 Jul'21

  Secureworks sets up in EU datacentre for XDR services

  New datacentre location helps Secureworks’ customers meet EU data residency requirements

• July 13, 2021 13 Jul'21

  Dutch prosecutor ordered to give evidence on EncroChat hack

  Netherlands court rules that a public prosecutor should give evidence about the role of the Dutch in the EncroChat cryptophone hack which has led to arrests of organised gangs worldwide

• July 13, 2021 13 Jul'21

  Russia tightens pressure on global IT companies

  Russian authorities will force certain IT companies with customers in Russia to open local offices

• July 06, 2021 06 Jul'21

  Klarna under investigation by Swedish finance watchdog

  Swedish fintech is being investigated by financial services regulator after customer information was visible to others

• July 06, 2021 06 Jul'21

  Manutan claws back 25% of storage admin time in switch to Pure

  Industrial and office supply giant needed to replace 3Par arrays then made a rapid switch to Pure Storage FlashArray flash storage when the ageing HPE hardware crashed during POC

• July 06, 2021 06 Jul'21

  Gulf hospitals flock to digital health to manage lifestyle diseases

  The Middle East is accelerating its take-up of digital healthcare technologies following lessons learned in the Covid-19 pandemic

• July 06, 2021 06 Jul'21

  Nordic fintech could lead the world

  Will the Nordics become the fintech and open banking innovation capital of the world?

• July 05, 2021 05 Jul'21

  REvil crew wants $70m in Kaseya ransomware heist

  Two days after one of the largest ransomware attacks in history by the REvil/Sodinokibi gang, the security community is assessing its next moves, while over 1,000 victims remain in limbo

• July 05, 2021 05 Jul'21

  Klarna’s alumni thrive with new ventures after witnessing path to success

  Former Klarna employees are using their experiences with the fintech giant to create the next wave of Swedish tech startups

• July 03, 2021 03 Jul'21

  Berlin court finds EncroChat intercept evidence cannot be used in criminal trials

  In a major setback for police hacking operations, Berlin’s regional court has decided that intercepted data from the EncroChat phone network should not be used in criminal prosecutions

• July 01, 2021 01 Jul'21

  Nordic mobile wallets to merge onto single tech platform

  Plans underway to merge the mobile wallets of various Nordic banks into a single public cloud-based technology platform

• June 28, 2021 28 Jun'21

  German merger to fuel savings fintech expansion

  German savings fintechs merge and plan European and US expansion

• June 25, 2021 25 Jun'21

  France TV repatriates backup and archive from public cloud

  France Télévisions Publicité couldn’t always get to critical data, so decided to repatriate backup and archiving from the cloud to on-site locations, with help from a managed service

• June 24, 2021 24 Jun'21

  Visa to acquire Swedish open banking fintech for €1.8bn

  Payments giant Visa agrees to pay €1.8bn to acquire Tink, a specialist open banking fintech

• June 23, 2021 23 Jun'21

  European Union to set up new cyber response unit

  Proposed Joint Cyber Unit will tackle a rising number of serious incidents impacting public services, businesses and citizens of the EU

• June 23, 2021 23 Jun'21

  Bahrain university uses Alexa on campus

  University in Bahrain is using Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant to support users of its campus

• June 23, 2021 23 Jun'21

  Openness can protect Dutch companies against ransomware

  Dutch businesses that suffer ransomware attacks need to be more open about it, if this growing problem is to be brought under control

• June 22, 2021 22 Jun'21

  Green Mountain signs datacentre waste heat reuse agreement with Norwegian lobster farm

  Norway-based datacentre operator signs a waste heat reuse agreement with the world’s first land-based lobster farm

• June 22, 2021 22 Jun'21

  Innova and RISE drive node development in Sweden

  Swedish cyber security project, National Node, opens its doors to the country’s security firms

• June 22, 2021 22 Jun'21

  UK SMEs lack capacity to fend off cyber attacks

  Three-quarters of UK SME leaders would not have sufficient capacity or expertise to deal with a cyber attack, according to a report

• June 18, 2021 18 Jun'21

  Telenor, Telia tap Nokia for 5G joint network roll-out in Denmark

  Nokia to work with leading Danish mobile operators via their joint network to accelerate the delivery of 5G services across Denmark following the availability of 3.5GHz spectrum

• June 17, 2021 17 Jun'21

  Increasing numbers of Dutch women opt for career in ICT

  There’s a shortage of IT professionals in the Netherlands, but the skills gap can be bridged by attracting further women to the sector

• June 15, 2021 15 Jun'21

  Nokia and Ooredoo initiate 4G and 5G fixed wireless access deployment across Oman

  Leading comms tech provider and local Oman operator begin 4G and 5G fixed wireless access deployment for services covering homes and businesses throughout the country

• June 14, 2021 14 Jun'21

  Benelux CIO interview: Benoît Dewaele, Vandemoortele

  CIO of Ghent-headquartered food group says the IT department’s main challenges are improving digital customer experiences, helping implement automation in plants and strengthening cyber security

• June 11, 2021 11 Jun'21

  FBI planned a sting against An0m cryptophone users over drinks with Australian investigators

  Australian Federal Police and the FBI came up with the idea over drinks: build a cryptophone network with a built-in backdoor and sell it to crime gangs around the world

• June 09, 2021 09 Jun'21

  FBI arrests distributors accused of selling An0m encrypted phones to crime groups

  Working with overseas law enforcement, the FBI has arrested eight people and named a further 13 accused of distributing An0m phones to organised crime groups

• June 09, 2021 09 Jun'21

  BBVA to cut 3,000 jobs in Spain as digital technology transforms industry

  Spanish bank is the latest to announce swingeing branch and job cuts amid increased digital competition

• June 09, 2021 09 Jun'21

  Klarna takes on UK credit card providers with feature that breaks up online payments

  Fintech unicorn introduces feature to its app in the UK which will challenge traditional credit card providers

• June 07, 2021 07 Jun'21

  EC launches digital identity framework

  The European digital identity will be available to citizens, residents and businesses across the EU, and member states will offer digital identity wallets on a national level

• June 07, 2021 07 Jun'21

  Updated standard contractual clauses will provide ‘legal certainty’ for transfer of data

  Organisations have 18 months to update data transfer agreements, known as standard contractual clauses, or SCCs, to continue sharing data outside the European Union

• June 04, 2021 04 Jun'21

  Secrecy around EncroChat cryptophone hack breaches French constitution, court hears

  French lawyers claim that investigators are unlawfully withholding details of a cryptophone hacking operation in a case that could impact UK prosecutions

• June 03, 2021 03 Jun'21

  Reports raise alarm over Huawei access to Dutch networks

  Espionage accusations raise security questions for Netherlands organisations using Chinese supplier’s equipment and services

• June 03, 2021 03 Jun'21

  Norway’s auditor general lifts lid on energy industry’s cyber security risks

  Auditor General’s Office questions the security posture of Norway’s energy industry

• June 03, 2021 03 Jun'21

  Swedish university is behind quantum computing breakthrough

  Chalmers University of Technology simplifies the process of measuring the temperatures of quantum computers during complex calculations

• May 27, 2021 27 May'21

  TCS opens its first European innovation centre in Amsterdam

  Netherlands capital hosts TCS’s latest innovation hub, which will bring together an ecosystem to address the challenge of sustainability

• May 27, 2021 27 May'21

  How the pandemic accelerated the Gulf’s edtech revolution

  The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital learning technologies in the Gulf region’s education sector

• May 27, 2021 27 May'21

  NGOs file complaints against Clearview AI in five countries

  Privacy and human rights organisations have asked data protection regulators in the UK, France, Austria, Italy and Greece to investigate controversial facial recognition company Clearview AI

• May 26, 2021 26 May'21

  Nordic CIO interview: Tommi Tuovila, Neste

  Former Olympian talks to Computer Weekly about the challenges facing CIOs in a rapidly changing world

• May 25, 2021 25 May'21

  Stockholm’s startup scene seeks more diversity

  Swedish capital has created a world-leading tech startup environment, but it still lacks the diversity of people needed to move it to the next level

• May 24, 2021 24 May'21

  Dutch researchers build security software to mimic human immune system

  Software could help IT systems develop immunity to some cyber attacks in a similar way to how the body fights infection

• May 24, 2021 24 May'21

  MEPs urge European Commission to revise UK adequacy decisions

  Members of the European Parliament are calling for the European Commission to ensure EU citizens have greater privacy rights

• May 14, 2021 14 May'21

  Dutch police used deep learning model to predict threats to life

  Dutch police developed a deep learning model in their EncroChat investigation to predict which messages contain serious threats to life

• May 13, 2021 13 May'21

  Financial and technical obstacles hit Danish datacentre heat recycling plan

  A datacentre project in Denmark is grappling with the challenges of reusing waste heat in local central heating systems

• May 11, 2021 11 May'21

  Business Finland rolls out 5G industrial initiative

  Finland is incentivising technology businesses to invest in 5G research and development to create export opportunities