Opinion

Opinion

IT for utilities and energy

• Security Think Tank: Consider cyber policies and procedures as you welcome employees back

  With Covid-19 restrictions easing, offices are welcoming back remote workers this summer, bringing with them their notebooks and mobiles, and creating an endpoint management headache for CISOs. What do security teams need to account for to protect ...  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Reopening is an opportunity to reassess wider security posture

  With Covid-19 restrictions easing, offices are welcoming back remote workers this summer, bringing with them their notebooks and mobiles, and creating an endpoint management headache for CISOs. What do security teams need to account for to protect ...  Continue Reading

• Long-term thinking is vital to secure UK’s critical infrastructure

  To face down the threat of cyber warfare against UK CNI, the government needs long-term thinking that looks beyond the next general election cycle, says Advent-IM’s Mike Gillespie  Continue Reading

• IR35 private sector reforms: What firms need to do now the start date has passed

  While the start date for the onset of the IR35 private sector reforms may have passed, firms in-scope of the revamped tax avoidance legislation may find themselves still with plenty of compliance work still to do  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Evolving threats, tech, leaves CNI exposed

  In light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Attacks on CNI – an evolving frontier in warfare

  In the light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Back to square one – ground-up CNI protection

  In the light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Properly protecting CNI demands specificity

  In the light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Take a realistic perspective on CNI cyber attacks

  In light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: CNI operators must focus on core issues

  In the light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: CNI operators are in an unenviable position

  In the light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them?  Continue Reading

• Rogue drones beware: We’re here to ground you

  Eugene Kaspersky exclusively lifts the lid on a mysterious, shiny device that’s been sitting in his office  Continue Reading

• Top 10 skills to include in your IT CV

  Find out what skills and keywords you should include on your CV to stand out as an IT professional in a competitive market  Continue Reading

• EC publishes approach to human and ethical implications of AI, but what will UK do?

  The European Commission has published a guide to the EU’s approach to the human and ethical effects that artificial intelligence might bring  Continue Reading

• The super-resilient IT function

  IT functions don’t have to continue taking the blame for organisational failures, they can take the lead in transforming the business  Continue Reading

• The five software testing techniques every software developer should know about

  Five simple testing techniques that will help developers test their software systematically, thoroughly and quickly  Continue Reading

• Businesses need to keep investing in tech and hope to avoid a no-deal Brexit

  A no-deal Brexit could have serious consequences for the UK tech sector and skills base, making it more difficult to recruit technology specialists and hire freelancers  Continue Reading

• Building a cyber-physical immune system

  Shantanu Rane, researcher in cyber-physical systems security at the Palo Alto Research Center, explains how our own immune systems can inspire the design of modern cyber-physical systems  Continue Reading

• Why the rise of IT managed by the business is driving creative thinking

  Organisations that encourage business units to implement and run their own IT systems have an edge over competitors that rely entirely on the IT department, research from Harvey Nash and KPMG reveals  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: In-app segregation more intelligent and permissive

  What are the security benefits and challenges of segregating IT environments, and how best are these challenges overcome?  Continue Reading

• Goliath vs Goliath and the complexities of 5G intellectual property

  Is Apple the good guy or the bad guy? It has violated patents and had its wrist slapped by the courts (bad), yet its products are still available for adoring fans to buy (good)  Continue Reading

• Making the move to cloud work for you

  Getting the best out of a move to the cloud means getting the size right, turning off what you don’t need, smart purchasing and continuously decluttering your new environment  Continue Reading

• Can we live without passwords?

  Can you imagine a future in which we can be secure online without having to remember an unwieldly list of passwords? Solutions are emerging that could make passwords redundant, but there will be other security problems to resolve  Continue Reading

• Douglas Engelbart, the forgotten hero of modern computing

  Half a century ago, Douglas Engelbart demonstrated an experimental computer that laid the foundations for modern computing. His vision to use computing power to solve complex problems in all areas of human activity has become reality, but not in the...  Continue Reading

• Drawing the line for cyber warfare

  With alleged Russian meddling in elections and the state-backed attack on Iran’s nuclear programme, it is becoming difficult to define the boundaries of cyber warfare  Continue Reading

• Agile becomes mainstream

  There are clear parallels between the conditions that led the IT industry to adopt agile approaches and the challenges facing business today  Continue Reading

• More effective digital transformation through the power of your own people

  The old model of escalating decisions up and down the management chain does not work any more. Business leaders need to delegate responsibility for projects to business and technology specialists and eliminate the fear of failure  Continue Reading

• From Aberdeen to Brighton: Investing in the UK’s digital future

  More investment in the UK’s broadband infrastructure is critical to ensure the UK’s future success in technology in a post-Brexit world  Continue Reading

• Mind your drone business

  Amazon is just the tip of the iceberg – companies are pouring hundreds of millions into the development of commercial drones  Continue Reading

• Big data skills shortages – and how to work around them

  Businesses are finding it hard to recruit enough people with big data and analytics skills, but for CIOs there are alternative strategies to consider  Continue Reading

• Tier 2 visas – a challenge for the tech sector

  With staff shortages already being reported in the technology sector and Brexit potentially adding to the problem, tech departments need to get their Tier 2 visa applications right  Continue Reading

• Taking the quantum leap: What is quantum technology for business?

  Quantum computers are many years away, but the first applications of quantum technology will arrive in only one or two years – so businesses need to be ready  Continue Reading

• Hacking the internet of things just got easier – it’s time to look at your security

  Are you taking security for internet-connected devices seriously enough?  Continue Reading

• Outsourcing is not dead or dying – it just needs to be done properly

  The collapse of Carillion and the profit warning at Capita have created a false sense of fear about the stability of the outsourcing sector  Continue Reading

• Protecting your intellectual property in a digital world

  Your business is creating innovative computer code, slick user interfaces, and is using digital technology to solve new problems. How do you protect your investment?  Continue Reading

• The seven levers of digital transformation

  Organisations that embark on digital transformation projects often run into difficulties. Following the seven principles of digital transformation will help them reap the benefits of digital technology  Continue Reading

• Why businesses must think like criminals to protect their data

  Cyber criminals use three main methods of operation to steal commercial data. Understanding their mindset can help organisations put the right defences in place  Continue Reading

• Hawaii missile alert: Why the wrong guy was fired

  In January 2018, an employee at Hawaii’s emergency management agency sent out a false alarm of an imminent missile attack, and was subsequently fired – but perhaps poor system design is really to blame  Continue Reading

• How to futureproof your career as a CIO

  Many CIOs have yet to earn the right to be on the board. How can IT leaders upgrade their business acumen, to benefit their own careers and the health of their employer?  Continue Reading

• Why Europe’s GDPR privacy regulation is good for business

  Organisations will need to become more sensitive about the way they handle personal information, but the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) also makes good business sense  Continue Reading

• Embrace the new normal – re-platform your cloud services

  Huge improvements in cloud technology are opening up markets and solutions that previously didn’t exist. But complacent suppliers often don’t offer these innovations to long-established customers  Continue Reading

• The NIS Directive: the implications for UK technology businesses

  With the European Union NIS Directive to be implemented into UK law in May 2018, it is important for technology companies to ascertain if and how they will be affected  Continue Reading

• How creative and innovative can technology made in China be?

  China's IT industry is becoming more Silicon Valley-like and, as a result, more attractive to the CIOs of western enterprises  Continue Reading

• Energy and healthcare primed for blockchain disruption

  Blockchain applications are upending traditional industries, with startup activity expected to ramp up in years to come  Continue Reading

• Managed crowdsourcing model: Another ‘made in China’ idea

  Chinese suppliers are using managed crowdsourcing to help them provide high-volume services to their customers  Continue Reading

• In an age of uncertainty, now is the time to rethink your outsourcing strategy

  Brexit and Trump are not only creating challenges but also opportunities in the outsourcing sector, and outsourcing deals will need to be flexible to exploit them  Continue Reading

• Building business value with IT4IT

  To reinvent IT, CIOs must go beyond current process-based approaches and equip their teams with the right information and tools, completely automate end-to-end workflows, and provide the business with the controls to govern IT  Continue Reading

• How AI is disrupting the role of call centres and call centre staff

  Artificial intelligence could eliminate many white-collar jobs in coming decades. Its effects are already being felt in the call centre industry, but there is still no substitute for the human touch  Continue Reading

• The digital opportunity for CIOs

  CIOs have a unique opportunity to lead the digital strategy in their organisations, but they have to move quickly to make sure they have the right skills and infrastructure in place  Continue Reading

• A new nearshoring game is emerging

  Countries selling themselves as nearshore business services locations need to change their sales pitches to avoid becoming like all the other countries doing the same  Continue Reading

• UK tech firms spend less, deliver more on training

  Survey shows technology firms spend 46% of the national average on learning and development per employee, but deliver an above-average number of hours’ training  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: EU data security principles apply, regardless of Brexit

  What are the pros and cons of Brexit for information security professionals and data protection?  Continue Reading

• Creating a CIO legacy beyond the systems

  So much of what a business does today needs to be technology-driven that CIOs have a choice between leading and lagging behind  Continue Reading

• Digitisation, energy and the future of Europe

  Peter Terium, CEO of RWE AG, looks at how digitalisation and the increased demand on power is the third industrial revolution  Continue Reading

• What to expect from Europe’s NIS Directive

  With cyber crime on the rise, the European Union is trying to fight back with its NIS Directive. The five main points are oulined here  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: For cyber resilience, assume the worst

  How can organisations build cyber security resilience?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: What should be in an incident response plan

  What does a good information security incident response plan look like?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Minor failings can trigger major data breaches

  It’s not just the big data breach risks that matter – ignore the near misses and the minor policy infractions and you will end up with a major incident  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Key elements of an incident response plan

  What does a good information security incident response plan look like?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Ready for your data breach moment?

  Sooner or later, you will have to deal with a data breach. Do you have an incident response plan ready that will limit the repercussions?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Three steps to effective incident response

  What does a good information security incident response plan look like?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Incident response – prepare, test, and test again

  What does a good information security incident response plan look like?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Planning key to incident response

  What does a good information security incident response plan look like?  Continue Reading

• Cyber risk and the UK’s Cyber Essentials Scheme

  Cyber risk is on the radar as a threat to business and private life, and it is also grabbing the attention of governments  Continue Reading

• Four defensive steps to a successful World Cup

  Four cyber security defensive steps to mitigate the threat of scoring an inadvertent own goal this summer  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Automated security testing is not for all

  What is the best approach to automating information security?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Humans still at the heart of information security

  What is the best approach to automating information security?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Automation is good, assumptions are bad

  What is the best approach to automating information security?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Automation requires management, monitoring, governance

  What is the best approach to automating information security?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Do not trust the network to ensure secure collaboration

  What is the best approach to increasing collaboration without reducing security in an enterprise?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: How to share data securely

  What is the best approach to increasing collaboration without reducing security in an enterprise?  Continue Reading

• The digital CIO: The CIO is dead. Long live the CIO

  There is a new breed of CIOs who are defining what it means to be a digital leader  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Secure collaboration not just about technology

  What is the best approach to increasing collaboration without reducing security in an enterprise?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Secure and seamless collaboration key for business

  What is the best approach to increasing collaboration without reducing security in an enterprise?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Enable collaboration by putting data at the heart of security

  What is the best approach to increasing collaboration without reducing security in an enterprise?  Continue Reading

• The digital CIO: Regaining the technology high ground – one blog post at a time

  IT leaders should use blogging and social media to raise their profile and build influence in their organisations  Continue Reading

• Employee monitoring: How to avoid the legal pitfalls

  What is, and what is not acceptable in terms of employee monitoring?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Business context still missing from context-aware security

  Despite the hype around context-based security, has this technology evolved to the point where it is useful to the enterprise and is having a measurable effect?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: New sandbox tech will help enable context-aware access

  Has context-based security evolved to the point where it is useful to the enterprise and is having a measurable effect?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Cloud, mobile deepen need for context-aware security

  Despite the hype around context-based security, has it evolved to the point where it is useful to the enterprise and having a measurable effect?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Enterprise adoption of context-based security slow

  Ignoring the hype around context-based security, has it evolved to the point where it is useful to the enterprise and exerting a measurable effect?  Continue Reading

• BCS faces 'plebeian revolt' over business reforms

  The Chartered Institute for IT is haemorrhaging money and losing touch with its members, claims a member of the BCS's governing council  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: CISOs should be first stop on the way to cloud

  Hybrid cloud environments provide the most flexibility, but how can businesses decide when public or private cloud is more appropriate?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: UK firms still not entirely comfortable with cloud

  Hybrid cloud environments provide the most flexibility, but how can businesses decide when public or private cloud is more appropriate?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Choose public or private cloud with a clear head

  Hybrid cloud environments provide the most flexibility, but how can businesses decide when public or private cloud is more appropriate?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Balancing cloud risk and reward

  Hybrid cloud environments provide the most flexibility, but how can businesses decide when public or private cloud is more appropriate?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Striking the hybrid cloud balance

  Hybrid cloud environments provide the most flexibility, but how can businesses decide when public or private cloud is more appropriate?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Before cloud, engage with asset owners

  Hybrid cloud environments provide the most flexibility, but how can businesses decide when public or private cloud is more appropriate?  Continue Reading

• Where should a CISO look for cyber security answers – hardware, software or wetware?

  While users are often cited as the weakest link in cyber security, they could also be the answer to the problems faced by businesses today  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: A pragmatic and practical guide to secure hybrid clouds

  Hybrid cloud environments provide the most flexibility, but how can businesses decide when public or private cloud is more appropriate?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Cloud is not that different

  Hybrid cloud environments provide the most flexibility, but how can businesses decide when public or private cloud is more appropriate?  Continue Reading

• Why Europe is wrong to kill Safe Harbour

  Suspending the EU-US Safe Harbour agreement on data protection will do nothing to address surveillance, says international policy analyst  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Consider security training before high-end technology

  How should the Snowden revelations about the NSA and GCHQ be influencing future information security strategies in the UK?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Snowden leaks highlight a common business vulnerabilty

  How should the Snowden revelations about the NSA and GCHQ be influencing future information security strategies in the UK?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Snowden likely to prompt security reviews

  How should Edward Snowden's revelations about the NSA and GCHQ influence future information security strategies in the UK?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Never mind Snowden, think best practice

  How should the Edward Snowden revelations about the NSA and GCHQ be influencing future information security strategies in the UK?  Continue Reading

• European Cloud Computing Strategy to create 2.5 million new jobs

  All those involved in cloud computing, whether providers or customers, should follow developments in Europe in 2014 closely  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Snowden proves technology is only part of security

  How should Edward Snowden's revelations about the NSA and GCHQ influence future information security strategies in the UK?  Continue Reading

• User acceptance testing needs real training, not just a short course

  In spite of its importance, user acceptance testing (UAT) is often chaotic, problematic and ineffective  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Targeted attacks drive investments in niche areas of security

  What are the top security issues businesses need to address going into 2014?  Continue Reading