News

IT strategy

• July 21, 2011 21 Jul'11

  PayPal drives Ebay Q2 sales up 25%

  Ebay has reported second quarter sales of $2.8bn, an increase of sales by 25% compared to the year before.

• July 21, 2011 21 Jul'11

  Mass UK mobile payment adoption remains four years in future, says Gartner

  UK mass market adoption of mobile payment technology, such as near-field communication (NFC), is still four years away, according to analyst Gartner.

• July 21, 2011 21 Jul'11

  Trend Micro aims to secure consumer mobile devices for enterprises

  Security firm Trend Micro has announced an enterprise mobile management product to help organisations integrate consumer devices into an enterprise environment in a secure way.

• July 21, 2011 21 Jul'11

  Capita first half profits grow 7%

  Profits at outsourcing company Capita grew 7% to £174m in the first six months of 2011, compared to the same period in 2010. During the first half of the year the company's turnover grew by just 3% to £1.36bn.

• July 21, 2011 21 Jul'11

  Commons committee calls for submissions on malware and government role in tackling it

  The House of Commons science and technology committee is calling for submissions on the impact of malware and the role of government in fighting malware.

• July 20, 2011 20 Jul'11

  Google warns search users misdirected by fake antivirus to pay-per-click websites

  Google has discovered malware misdirecting users of its internet search service. Google has now taken steps to warn users their computers are infected with the malware.

• July 20, 2011 20 Jul'11

  (ISC)² publishes official guide to CSSLP

  Information security body (ISC)² has published the only official guide to the Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP) certification.

• July 20, 2011 20 Jul'11

  US and India sign cybersecurity agreement

  The US and India have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on cybersecurity.

• July 20, 2011 20 Jul'11

  Specialisterne Scotland contract provides software testing jobs for people with autism

  Specialisterne Scotland, an IT firm which was set up to help people suffering from Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), has won its first contract.

• July 20, 2011 20 Jul'11

  DWP loses £800m in overpayments due to faulty IT systems

  Faulty IT systems at the Department for Work and Pensions have led to £800m in overpayments in 2010-11, a National Audit Office (NAO) report has found.

• July 20, 2011 20 Jul'11

  HMRC slashes IT running costs by £235m

  HMRC will slash running costs in IT by £235m over the next four years, according to a National Audit Office report.

• July 20, 2011 20 Jul'11

  Oracle should take a closer look at security and severity scoring, says Imperva

  Oracle should review the severity scoring of its security updates, as the current system is misleading, according to security firm Imperva.

• July 20, 2011 20 Jul'11

  Police arrest Anonymous suspects in UK, US and Netherlands over PayPal cyber attack

  Police in the UK, US and the Netherlands have arrested more than 20 people as part of an investigation into major cyber attacks.

• July 20, 2011 20 Jul'11

  Data breach at York University highlights urgency of security checks, says ICO

  The University of York's accidental breach of thousands of students' personal data points to a need for improved security checks, according to the Information Commissioner's Office.

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  Carphone Warehouse uses business process management to increase customer satisfaction

  Retailer Carphone Warehouse is claiming a 25% jump in its customer satisfaction ratings after investing in BPM software to help staff deal with sales, queries and complaints.

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  Cisco cuts 6,500 jobs, 9% of workforce

  Cisco Systems will axe 6,500 jobs worldwide, cutting 9% of its workforce, as part of a cost-cutting exercise.

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  Backlash leads Birmingham City Council to reconsider Capita plan to offshore IT jobs

  Birmingham City Council's joint venture with Capita is re-evaluating its plan to offshore IT jobs after a public backlash to news of the plan.

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  Apple releases out-of-cycle patch for iOS 4.3.3 flaw in iPhone, iPad and iPod

  Apple has released an out-of-cycle patch for vulnerabilities in its iOS mobile operating system being exploited for the latest software to jailbreak iPhones and iPads.

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  IBM reports strong second quarter and raises full-year earnings forecast

  IBM has reported second quarter net income of $3.7bn, up 8% on the same quarter last year, and revenue of $26.7bn, which was $1.35bn more than had been expected by analysts and 12% up on the previous year.

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  IT budgets stall until UK jobs market picks up

  IT budgets are unlikely to increase until the industry-wide UK job market improves, according to research. Research shows a strong correlation between IT spending and organisations' head count over the past 15 years.

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  CIO interview: David Jones steers the Crown Prosecution Service into the digital age

  For many, the image of the Crown Prosecution Service is that of a body unchanged for centuries, with reams of lever arch files piled along winding, Kafkaesque corridors. But with the drive for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to use electronic ...

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  Northern Ireland police extends Fujitsu managed service and cuts costs 15%

  The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has extended a managed IT services contract which it hopes will yield a 15% cost saving.

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  LulzSec returns to target Murdoch

  Hacktivist group Lulz Security appears to have returned, claiming responsibility for tampering with the website of News International's Sun newspaper as the phone hacking scandal deepens.

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  NPIA rolls out mobile fingerprint technology to the police service

  The soon-to-be-axed National Police Improvement Agency has rolled out mobile fingerprinting devices enabling police officers to check an individual's identity on the beat.

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  Microsoft offers $250k reward for information on cyber criminals behind the Rustock botnet

  Microsoft is offering a $250,000 reward for new information resulting in the identification, arrest and criminal conviction of those behind the notorious Rustock botnet.

• July 19, 2011 19 Jul'11

  Everything Everywhere boss Tom Alexander steps down for 'personal reasons'

  Tom Alexander will step down as CEO at joint Orange and T-Mobile firm Everything Everywhere at the end of August 2011 for personal reasons.

• July 18, 2011 18 Jul'11

  Security Think Tank: What are the major security issues surrounding virtualisation?

  Virtualisation and security: In what ways is virtualisation helping and hindering enterprise security? What are the security opportunities of virtualisation that should not be missed and what are the security pitfalls that are best avoided?

• July 18, 2011 18 Jul'11

  Public-funded bodies must open data, transparency chief tells Demos

  All bodies in receipt of public sector funding should be made to open up their data, said Tim Kelsey, the government's adviser on transparency and open data.

• July 18, 2011 18 Jul'11

  Sainsbury’s debuts mobile shopping site

  Retailer Sainsbury's has launched a mobile version of its website to extend its commerce platform to additional channels. The optimised mobile site is built using a mobile platform provided by Usablenet. The platform provides access to over 15,000 ...

• July 18, 2011 18 Jul'11

  SANS Institute praises Pentagon's cyber defence strategy

  Information security and education organisation, the SANS Institute has praised the Pentagon's newly-unveiled US cyber security strategy for its focus on innovative training and active defence.

• July 18, 2011 18 Jul'11

  ITC awards Apple preliminary patent ruling against HTC over copyright infringements

  Apple has won a preliminary ruling from the International Trade Commission in a copyright infringement case against smartphone maker HTC.

• July 18, 2011 18 Jul'11

  England’s top councils fail to comply with WAN code and cannot respond to data breaches

  Three of the five largest councils in England are unable to identify potential security breaches to IT systems in real time, freedom of information (FOI) requests have revealed.

• July 18, 2011 18 Jul'11

  Intellect calls for reform in collecting bank data to avoid future financial crisis

  Bank regulators need better quality data, rather than ring-fencing, to analyse risk and protect the UK from a future financial crisis, according to industry body Intellect.

• July 15, 2011 15 Jul'11

  Pentagon admits data breach as it rolls out new cyber strategy

  The Pentagon has unveiled a new US cyber security strategy four months after one of its biggest losses of sensitive data in an attack on a defence industry...

• July 15, 2011 15 Jul'11

  Sales grow again at online retailer Asos

  Online fashion retailer Asos has posted a 69% sales increase to £107.3m in the last quarter to June 30, an increase of £65.8m on the same period a year earlier....

• July 15, 2011 15 Jul'11

  Blacks prospers online as high street struggles continue

  Troubled retailer Blacks has reported an increase in sales through its website, despite posting a generally gloomy set of results...

• July 15, 2011 15 Jul'11

  Cabinet Office collars Liberata as NPIA police data deal crosses open source policy

  The Cabinet Office has pulled in a system integrator, Liberata, for questioning over its acquisition of a police data hub that may give it an influential position over IT projects supporting Big Society initiatives.

• July 15, 2011 15 Jul'11

  'My friend's been hacked!' – Microsoft beefs up Hotmail security to stop account hijacking

  Microsoft is to beef up security around its Hotmail service by introducing two features aimed at tackling account hijacking.

• July 15, 2011 15 Jul'11

  Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust improves performance with Zeus Technology

  Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust has signed a £10,000 three-year contract with Zeus Technology to manage its virtualised medical applications...

• July 15, 2011 15 Jul'11

  Security groups team up to provide IT risk and information assurance assessments

  Key international information assurance organisations plan to create a global repository of assessments for the assurance of the IT supply chain, including cloud services.

• July 15, 2011 15 Jul'11

  Local authorities wanted for agile development pilot programme

  Public sector user group Socitm is launching a programme to test agile methodologies in IT projects for local government...

• July 14, 2011 14 Jul'11

  Government offshoring advice signals shift to more public sector work going overseas

  The Cabinet Office has published guidance on how government departments can save money by offshoring, as public sector organisations feel the squeeze of continued spending cuts.

• July 14, 2011 14 Jul'11

  CIO interview: Phil Pavitt, HM Revenue & Customs

  HM Revenue & Customs CIO Phil Pavitt talks to Computer Weekly about the biggest and most challenging tasks in public sector IT. Pavitt discusses his overhaul of the department's IT; tackling spending cuts; public sector IT strategy and the role of ...

• July 14, 2011 14 Jul'11

  1.3 million websites shut down in China in 2010, researchers say

  More than one million websites closed down in China in 2010 after the government tightened controls on the internet, according to a study by a leading state-run research institute.

• July 14, 2011 14 Jul'11

  UK SMEs hike IT spending after losing business through underinvestment

  UK SMEs have earmarked an average spend of £30,000 on IT this year, according to research from GE Capital.

• July 14, 2011 14 Jul'11

  Majority of Adobe Reader users are running vulnerable versions, says Avast

  Six out of every ten users of Adobe Reader are running unpatched versions of the software, leaving them vulnerable to a variety of malware attacks, according to researchers at security firm Avast.

• July 14, 2011 14 Jul'11

  TCS profits soar by 28% in first quarter results

  Profits at Indian outsourcing company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) grew $631m (£391m), up 28% from last year, according to the company's first quarter results, ended 30 June.

• July 14, 2011 14 Jul'11

  UK retailers to spend quarter of IT budget on e-commerce and mobile platforms

  UK retailers plan to spend almost a quarter of IT budgets on implementing and improving e-commerce and mobile commerce platforms.

• July 14, 2011 14 Jul'11

  Facebook launches Every Phone app to boost growth in developing world

  Facebook has made a new push for growth of the social networking site in the developing world by releasing an app that does not require a sophisticated smartphone.

• July 14, 2011 14 Jul'11

  Outsourcers look to data security transparency for competitive advantage

  Reports of data breaches and malicious attacks on companies have been rife and now outsourcers are scrambling to reassure their clients, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

• July 13, 2011 13 Jul'11

  Businesses should not ignore critical Microsoft Patch Tuesday update, say experts

  Although Microsoft's July Patch Tuesday monthly security update is relatively light, with only four updates as expected, the only critical bulletin MS11-053 should be taken seriously, according to security experts.

• July 13, 2011 13 Jul'11

  GCHQ has lost up to £1m worth of equipment, ISC report reveals

  The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which is responsible for key aspects of the UK's cybersecurity, has lost equipment worth up to £1m, the latest Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) report reveals.

• July 13, 2011 13 Jul'11

  Firefox 5 update for Mac users could have security links, says Sophos

  Mozilla's update to Firefox 5 for Mac users, version 5.0.1, aimed at eliminating crashes when using a downloadable font in OS X 10.7 and fixing the Java plug-in in OS X 10.5, could have security links, says Sophos.

• July 13, 2011 13 Jul'11

  Industrial action at Fujitsu could spread across country, warns Unite union officer

  Industrial unrest at Fujitsu could spread across the country, as union members in Manchester decide whether to strike in support of a sacked union representative.

• July 13, 2011 13 Jul'11

  ISC proposes changes for better oversight of the UK intelligence community

  The latest annual report of the Intelligence and Security Committee calls for several changes to increase the accountability, transparency and capacity for oversight of the intelligence community.

• July 13, 2011 13 Jul'11

  Trusteer launches online cyber fraud intelligence and risk analysis service

  Security firm Trusteer has announced an online fraud intelligence and risk assessment service for financial institutions to provide real-time threat visibility.

• July 13, 2011 13 Jul'11

  Central government staff lack skills in IT

  A significant proportion of civil servants lack skills in areas such as IT, a National Audit Office report has found.

• July 13, 2011 13 Jul'11

  HTC share price hit by latest Apple patent infringement claim

  Smartphone maker HTC's shares have fallen for two consecutive days after Apple accused the company of infringing Apple patents.

• July 13, 2011 13 Jul'11

  HMRC saves £21m with first centralised government procurement contract

  The government has awarded its first centrally managed contract for print services at HMRC with outsourcing company Williams Lea. The deal is expected to save £21m, replacing 140 contracts with one.

• July 13, 2011 13 Jul'11

  Unified communications to push mobile cloud sales to $39bn in next five years

  Mobile cloud services sales are expected to reach $39bn by 2016 as businesses increase spending on cloud-based unified communications, according to Juniper Research.

• July 13, 2011 13 Jul'11

  Microsoft urges businesses to upgrade to Windows 7 as XP faces end of support

  Microsoft has warned businesses to begin Windows 7 deployments as support for Windows XP will end in less than 1,000 days.

• July 12, 2011 12 Jul'11

  Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks protect customers with cyber protection service

  Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks have launched a free service to protect customers against cyber attacks from fraudsters and cyber criminals.

• July 12, 2011 12 Jul'11

  Amazon to create 900 UK jobs

  Some 900 temporary and permanent jobs will be created as online retail giant Amazon is set to open a new fulfilment centre in the UK.

• July 12, 2011 12 Jul'11

  Cisco to axe 10,000 jobs

  Cisco Systems may cut as many as 10,000 jobs, roughly 14% of its workforce, to combat weak profit growth, according to Bloomberg.

• July 12, 2011 12 Jul'11

  Cyber terrorism set to increase after al-Qaeda calls for more cyber attacks, says government

  Cyber terrorism will become an increasing problem as the tools and techniques needed for cyber attacks become more widely available, according to a report on the government's new counter-terrorism strategy.

• July 12, 2011 12 Jul'11

  Cloud computing drives datacentre IT infrastructure spending growth

  Driven by the adoption of private as well as public cloud services, spending on datacentre IT infrastructure is set to grow to $40bn in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) by 2015, according to analyst research.

• July 12, 2011 12 Jul'11

  Infosys changes name and splits into four vertical sector divisions

  Infosys has split itself vertically to enable it to do more work in specific business sectors, while a change of name reflects its broader remit.

• July 11, 2011 11 Jul'11

  Sifting through the wreckage of the failed £469m FireControl public sector IT project

  The failure of the government's £469m FireControl project has been widely condemned as a monumental waste of money, with the government now attempting to achieve interoperability and resilience between fire and rescue control rooms at a cost of £81m...

• July 11, 2011 11 Jul'11

  Police breaches of Data Protection Act highlights problem faced by all businesses, says Cyber-Ark

  Police breaches of the Data Protection Act revealed last week by civil liberties watchdog Big Brother Watch highlight a problem faced by all organisations, according to identity management firm Cyber-Ark.

• July 11, 2011 11 Jul'11

  Global critical infrastructure supplier uses Microsoft SDL to reduce cyber attack risk

  A supplier of automation and software systems to the global manufacturing and critical national infrastructure industries has partnered with Microsoft to reduce the risk of cyber attacks.

• July 11, 2011 11 Jul'11

  IT professionals get multiple job offers and double-digit pay increases as demand surges

  Demand for IT skills has increased as businesses begin to re-invest in IT and professionals with particular IT skills are receiving multiple job offers and double-digit pay increases if they switch employers.

• July 11, 2011 11 Jul'11

  Microsoft packs a lot into July’s four Patch Tuesday security updates

  Microsoft is to release only four security updates in this month's Patch Tuesday security update, but these will cover 22 vulnerabilities in Windows and Office.

• July 11, 2011 11 Jul'11

  Steria staff at Identity and Passport Service strike over pay following PCS union ballot

  Over 160 Steria employees working for the Home Office's Identity and Passport Service are to strike over poor pay.

• July 11, 2011 11 Jul'11

  SAP creates 100 jobs in Ireland to expand technical and R&D functions

  SAP will create 100 jobs in Dublin and Galway as part of an expansion programme in Ireland.

• July 08, 2011 08 Jul'11

  Police officers routinely breach Data Protection Act, says civil liberties watchdog

  Police breaches of the Data Protection Act is an endemic problem across the country, with 904 officers and staff having been subject to internal disciplinary procedures, according to research from civil liberties watchdog Big Brother Watch.

• July 08, 2011 08 Jul'11

  Businesses understand social media risks but fail to take precautions, says survey

  Businesses are using social media without taking adequate measures to monitor staff activity, which could open them up to security attacks and create compliance risks.

• July 08, 2011 08 Jul'11

  Systems integrators could take stake in police agency, says IT chief Gordon Wasserman

  Systems integrators that were paid billions to supply police computer systems could take a stake in the agency managing their contracts when it is privatised next year, police IT chief Gordon Wasserman has told Computer Weekly.

• July 08, 2011 08 Jul'11

  Transport for London appoints Steve Townsend to new combined CIO role

  Transport for London has appointed Steve Townsend, director of information management at London Underground, as CIO.

• July 08, 2011 08 Jul'11

  Communications minister Ed Vaizey says US ISP piracy deal could pave way for UK

  The top five US internet service providers (ISPs) have agreed with film and music producers to issue warnings to customers suspected of online piracy and to take action against repeat offenders.

• July 08, 2011 08 Jul'11

  Financial services industry eyes social media as law changes IFA fee structures

  The financial services industry could prove an ideal home to social media applications as government legislation scheduled for 2012 looks set to transform a sector which has changed little in hundreds of years.

• July 07, 2011 07 Jul'11

  Anonymous attacks Turkish government websites in Antisec campaign protest

  Hacker group Anonymous has hacked and defaced Turkish government websites in protest against internet filtering rules to be introduced in Turkey in August.

• July 07, 2011 07 Jul'11

  FireControl project failed because of inadequate EADS contract, MPs told

  The failure of the canned £469m FireControl project was due to an inadequate IT contract, MPs were told at a Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

• July 07, 2011 07 Jul'11

  Government opens up data on NHS, schools, criminal justice and transport

  The government is opening up public data from the National Health Service, schools, criminal courts and transport as part of its transparency drive.

• July 07, 2011 07 Jul'11

  Industrial action will encourage secure home working, SecurEnvoy survey reveals

  More than half of London workers believe the threat of future strikes will encourage employers to enable staff to work from home.

• July 07, 2011 07 Jul'11

  ICO calls on UK businesses to open their doors to audits and reduce data breaches

  Private enterprises make up a third of data security breach claims, but despite this, many continue to resist the offer of an audit by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), according to the privacy watchdog's latest annual report.

• July 07, 2011 07 Jul'11

  Business analyst skills shortage continues as IT job market grows

  Business analysts are the IT staff most in demand for permanent and contract roles, according to KPMG.

• July 07, 2011 07 Jul'11

  Microsoft Office 365: Could security be the differentiator?

  Since the release of Microsoft's Office 365 cloud-based service, the pros and cons of how it stacks up against its competitors in terms of cost and usability have been hotly debated, but it is Office 365's security credentials that really sets it ...

• July 07, 2011 07 Jul'11

  Tech City gets royal endorsement from Kate and Will

  In what may seem an unlikely endorsement by some, London's "Tech City" is to receive the royal seal of approval by Kate and Will, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

• July 07, 2011 07 Jul'11

  Hackers publish 17,000 e-mail addresses and passwords from US government and military

  A hacker group has stolen and published around 17,000 e-mail addresses and passwords from the US government and military sources.

• July 06, 2011 06 Jul'11

  International cybersecurity alliance gets business backing

  Businesses are backing an initiative to provide private sector training, expertise and equipment to help struggling overseas law enforcement agencies fight cybercrime.

• July 06, 2011 06 Jul'11

  CFOs rule the IT budget, survey finds

  CIOs are increasingly losing control of major IT spending to their chief financial officers, according to a survey.

• July 06, 2011 06 Jul'11

  PayPal UK’s Twitter account hacked

  In another high-profile Twitter attack, hackers have hijacked PayPal UK's Twitter account and posted tweets critical of the online payment processing company.

• July 06, 2011 06 Jul'11

  Morgan Stanley loses personal data of 34,000 customers

  The personal details of 34,000 customers of investment bank Morgan Stanley could have fallen into the wrong hands after compact discs went missing during transit.

• July 06, 2011 06 Jul'11

  Citrix CEO hedges cloud bets on customer demand for web collaboration tools

  At Citrix's annual Synergy conference in May 2011, the company introduced its "personal cloud" concept to replace traditional desktop computing and cater for IT departments supporting multiple devices, delivering on-demand applications and desktops,...

• July 06, 2011 06 Jul'11

  Capgemini launches software development apprenticeships to secure future workforce

  IT services supplier Capgemini will create 24 higher apprenticeships in software development for school leavers.

• July 06, 2011 06 Jul'11

  Vaizey says US could boost UK plans to clamp down on piracy

  The UK government is still looking for a way to stop websites from hosting pirated material or streaming live sporting events without permission.

• July 06, 2011 06 Jul'11

  Gloucestershire moves to multi-agency collaboration for children’s services

  Gloucestershire County Council's has joined up its children's services in a five-year contract with Liquidlogic.

• July 05, 2011 05 Jul'11

  Vaizey claims to favour light-touch regulation in the communications sector

  Communications minister Ed Vaizey has claimed he favours a light-touch approach to regulation in the communications sector.

• July 05, 2011 05 Jul'11

  UK government calls on all sectors to play a role in cybersecurity

  Cybersecurity demands the efforts of the whole of society, says UK armed forces minister Nick Harvey.

• July 05, 2011 05 Jul'11

  National Audit Office casts doubt on smart meter roll-out cost

  The National Audit Office says it expects the cost of implementing smart meters across the UK to exceed the current budget and questions how a critical change in consumer behaviour will be stimulated.