Opinion

Opinion

IT governance

• Security Think Tank: The cloud needs security by design

  Misconfigured cloud environments are increasingly identified as the source of damaging data breaches and leaks, raising serious questions for enterprises. Where does responsibility for data security in the cloud lie, and how can security ...  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Secure the cloud when negotiating contracts

  Misconfigured cloud environments are increasingly identified as the source of damaging data breaches and leaks, raising serious questions for enterprises. Where does responsibility for data security in the cloud lie, and how can security ...  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: In the cloud, the buck stops with you

  Misconfigured cloud environments are increasingly identified as the source of damaging data breaches and leaks, raising serious questions for enterprises. Where does responsibility for data security in the cloud lie, and how can security ...  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Embedding security in governance

  How can security professionals help their organisations move from traditional governance, risk and compliance to integrated risk management that integrates risk activities from across an organisation to enable better strategic decision-making?  Continue Reading

• Gartner: Three Barriers to AI Adoption

  CIOs are set to include artificial intelligence in their IT strategy. Technical, legislative and cultural challenges could influence their AI ambitions  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Focus on metrics to manage risk

  How can security professionals help their organisations move from traditional governance, risk and compliance to integrated risk management that integrates risk activities from across an organisation to enable better strategic decision making?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Embed security professionals in your risk strategy

  How can security professionals help their organisations move from traditional governance, risk and compliance to integrated risk management that integrates risk activities from across an organisation to enable better strategic decision-making?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Risk management must go beyond spreadsheets

  How can security professionals help their organisations move from traditional governance, risk and compliance to integrated risk management that integrates risk activities from across an organisation to enable better strategic decision making?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Consider risk holistically, not just from an IT angle

  How can security professionals help their organisations move from traditional governance, risk and compliance to integrated risk management that integrates risk activities from across an organisation to enable better strategic decision making?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: The operational approach to integrated risk management

  How can security professionals help their organisations move from traditional governance, risk and compliance to integrated risk management that integrates risk activities from across an organisation to enable better strategic decision-making?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Risk is unavoidable in digital transformation

  How can security professionals help their organisations move from traditional governance, risk and compliance to integrated risk management that integrates risk activities from across an organisation to enable better strategic decision-making?  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

• How to avoid AI myopia

  Artificial intelligence holds much promise and is generating a lot of excitement, but it can have unintended consequences. Technologists need to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past  Continue Reading

• The UK must play a leading role in global collaboration on digital policy and ethics

  All countries must work together to ensure digital technologies such as AI are ethical and trustworthy – and the UK has an opportunity to be a global leader  Continue Reading

• Making threat intelligence greater than the sum of its parts

  Organisations can become more secure if they join up their varied sources of intelligence about business threats, and avoid losing valuable information within individual silos  Continue Reading

• Should we be worried that half of UK organisations don’t have a policy for the safe use of AI?

  As artificial intelligence becomes more mainstream, business leaders must be aware of the risks and make sure their firms do not build bias into AI algorithms  Continue Reading

• Audit services – the next frontier for tech giants?

  As data analytics, AI and automation technology advance, could we be about to see technology firms take on some of the responsibilities of the big financial audit firms?  Continue Reading

• Brexit and data protection: What’s next?

  PA Consulting assesses how a no-deal Brexit would affect the flow of data from the UK into and out of Europe  Continue Reading

• Feudal Lords and anarchic allies – the new models for software collaboration

  Software developers often take an unconventional view of contracts for the work they undertake, which can come back and bite them  Continue Reading

• Raising security awareness through phishing simulation – how to get it right

  Testing employees’ security practices by sending fake phishing emails has become commonplace, but few organisations are conducting such exercises effectively  Continue Reading

• Everyone, everywhere is responsible for IIoT cyber security

  Cyber security in the industrial internet of things is not limited to a single company, industry or region – it is an international threat to public safety, and can only be addressed through collaboration that extends beyond borders and competitive ...  Continue Reading

• Why the government should rethink the UK’s surveillance laws

  The European Court of Human Rights has made clear that the Snoopers’ Charter is an unlawful violation of people’s rights and freedoms  Continue Reading

• Better the data you know – how GDPR is affecting UK tech companies

  As the dust settles from the General Data Protection Regulation, the implications for technology firms in the UK are becoming clearer  Continue Reading

• Cyber security – why you’re doing it all wrong

  Most organisations can list the IT security tools and controls they have, so why do most of them still get the security basics wrong?  Continue Reading

• After the TSB debacle, is it time for IT people to run retail banking?

  Given that high-street banks are effectively little more than a computer system processing algorithms, would they be better off run by tech experts than bankers?  Continue Reading

• How a new ISO standard helps you take control of your IT assets

  The updated ISO standard 19770-1:2017 offers IT managers a way to bring their hardware and software assets under a single management standard  Continue Reading

• SAP licensing – reassuringly expensive?

  SAP’s recent settlement with AB InBev has again put audits and licensing under the spotlight. We look at how to get the best value and avoid fines  Continue Reading

• GDPR gotchas and how to handle them

  We look at common problems organisations encounter when dealing with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into force on 25 May 2018  Continue Reading

• Europe’s shameful role in spy-tech exports that led to torture and jail

  Governments in Europe actively assisted in government oppression in Iran, Bahrain and Russia by providing states with sophisticated surveillance equipment. The European Parliament is pressing for changes in the law to restrict exports of ...  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Encourage employees to use an approved messaging app

  What criteria should organisations use to assess the security of smartphone messaging apps and how can they ensure only approved apps are used by employees?  Continue Reading

• My brother Lauri Love should have the right to a trial in the UK

  Lauri Love should face trial over hacking allegations in a British Court, rather than be extradited to the US, where his extraordinary skills will be lost to society, says his younger sister  Continue Reading

• The legal quagmire of creativity in artificial intelligence

  AI holds the promise to solve problems beyond the scope of human imagination. But if an AI can create, who owns its work?  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

• A guide for businesses to China’s first cyber security law

  Companies that break China’s new cyber security law may be fined or even have their licence to trade in the country removed  Continue Reading

• Is it time to stop blaming organisations for being breached?

  The IT security industry needs to look at itself and its practices before blaming organisations that have been hit by cyber attacks  Continue Reading

• Max Schrems’s mass surveillance complaint knocked back another year or two by Irish judge

  Irish data protection commissioner Helen Dixon has neatly avoided having to deal with the US surveillance of Facebook users in Europe by referring a complaint by Austrian lawyer Max Schrems to the European Court of Justice  Continue Reading

• GDPR for the CIO: Data protection is about more than GDPR compliance

  If you approach GDPR as if compliance is all that matters, then you're bound to fail – data protection should be at the heart of business strategy  Continue Reading

• The children of the digital revolution

  Digital professionals are emerging as the source of expertise within the agile enterprise. They understand how to use digital technologies, starting small then building big  Continue Reading

• Legal hurdles cloud Max Schrems complaint over US spying

  The Irish High Court in Dublin has embarked on a long hearing into the legality of standard contractual clauses. It is a sideshow from the real issue – the legality of US surveillance in the UK and Ireland  Continue Reading

• The high price of not understanding how automation works with existing software licences

  Businesses must check their software licences before they introduce robotic process automation or they risk breaking the rules  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

• GDPR: Five myths you will encounter on your compliance journey

  The General Data Protection Regulation comes into force in May 2018. We explore common myths surrounding GDPR  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

• Gov.uk Verify and identity assurance - it's time for a rethink

  The government's Verify identity platform is not meeting user needs - it's time to step back and review how best to make online identity for public services work  Continue Reading

• How government can use digital procurement to spend its way out of Brexit troubles

  Better use of the government's purchasing power could help to boost sectors, such as technology, likely to be affected by Brexit  Continue Reading

• Finance firms are vulnerable to cyber attacks, so why do customers think they are secure?

  The public are overly confident in the ability of banks and financial institutions to protect their data, but that will change when mandatory reporting comes in next year under the General Data Protection Regulation  Continue Reading

• Escaping waterfall government and the myth of 'digital transformation'

  An agile approach to digital programmes will not transform Whitehall unless the waterfall approach to policy and decision-making is overhauled too  Continue Reading

• Four reforms to deliver competitive broadband

  The UK will never benefit from ‘gold standard full fibre’ broadband without major reforms to the fabric of government, writes Ed Straw  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

• Is ‘OK’ OK? Delivering the next government network platform

  As GDS signals its intent to move away from the Public Services Network, the industry and public sector must work together to create a new internet-based network platform for government  Continue Reading

• Telecoms: Opportunities and challenges in 2017

  The telecoms sector is undergoing profound change, particularly in terms of consumer demand and technology, says Angus Finnegan of law firm Taylor Wessing  Continue Reading

• Fight against Investigatory Powers Bill may not be over

  Labour's shadow home secretary Diane Abbott says that wider society must now debate the controversial Investigatory Powers Bill, despite Parliamentary approval  Continue Reading

• Acquiring public sector software systems – an alternative role for GDS?

  Controlling and measuring software systems in government is notoriously difficult, so could a healthcare model offer a better alternative?  Continue Reading

• Gary McKinnon: Why Lauri Love should be spared the nightmare of extradition

  Computer activist Lauri Love should be spared a life sentence in a US jail, says former hacker Gary McKinnon  Continue Reading

• The benefits of digital business process management with blockchain technology

  Distributed and decentralised ledger technologies, smart contracts and the internet of things have the potential to disrupt and revolutionise business process management and optimisation  Continue Reading

• Investigatory Powers Bill – the case for mass surveillance

  As the Investigatory Powers Bill goes through its final stages in Parliament, a former GCHQ intelligence officer puts the case for the bulk surveillance powers contained in the legislation  Continue Reading

• Local authorities must collaborate to survive

  Councils need to seek opportunities to work with their peers if they are to take advantage of digital transformation at a time when budgets are squeezed  Continue Reading

• A Good American: a personal take on mass surveillance

  Director Friedrich Moser draws some conclusions on mass surveillance from his groundbreaking documentary on the work of NSA whistleblower, Bill Binney  Continue Reading

• Escaping legacy – removing a major roadblock to a digital future

  Legacy IT and legacy thinking are preventing many organisations from embracing the digital economy – but it is an obstacle that can and must be overcome  Continue Reading

• Prism and the law: The state of play in August 2016

  Computer Weekly assesses the history, legal aspects and latest developments in the story of the mass surveillance programme launched by the US National Security Agency  Continue Reading

• It’s not too late to turn the tide on Investigatory Powers Bill

  The government has set David Anderson QC an almost impossible task in his review of the sweeping bulk powers proposed in the Investigatory Powers Bill – but it is not too late to make a difference  Continue Reading

• A day in the life of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal

  Britain's most secretive court combined the surreal with the deadly serious, as it debated the legality of bulk data collection by MI5, MI6 and GCHQ  Continue Reading

• Privacy Shield gets green light – for now

  Privacy Shield faces inevitable legal challenges, so organisations should prepare by considering legal and practical alternatives  Continue Reading

• What CIOs should know about Brexit

  CIOs should start talking with other executives and their teams and begin planning now for potential changes  Continue Reading

• Brexit and technology: How network effects will damage UK IT industry

  Although largely ignored in the Brexit debate, network effects will damage the UK's high-tech industry if Britain leaves Europe  Continue Reading

• The true cost of running technology

  Ministry of Justice digital chief Arif Harbott discusses the importance of disclosing the costs of technology – and why it makes sense to invest to avoid expensive glitches  Continue Reading

• Fear, uncertainty and data doubt hold back public Wi-Fi

  Venue owners’ uncertainty and befuddlement over what they can actually do with their Wi-Fi infrastructure and the data carried over it is hindering their ability to realise the full potential of public Wi-Fi  Continue Reading

• A legal perspective on Ofcom’s BT Openreach review

  Frances Murphy, partner, and Joanna Christoforou, of counsel, from the London office of global law firm Morgan Lewis examine Ofcom’s review of BT’s Openreach  Continue Reading

• Fighting the ‘fortress mentality’ at DWP – my search for the truth about Universal Credit

  IT programme manager and freedom-of-information campaigner John Slater reflects on his four-year battle to force the Department for Work and Pensions to release key documents  Continue Reading

• EU moves towards digital single market with online content portability

  Lawyers Chris Watson and Tom Scourfield explain how the EU is moving towards the creation of a digital single market with its proposal for online content portability  Continue Reading

• Will people be at the heart of your business transformation?

  Areas of the business that hold workforce data face a huge opportunity to help their organisations accelerate end-to-end transformation and increase their odds of success  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Start with threats to increase value of penetration testing

  How can an organisation ensure it gets value from penetration and security testing services?  Continue Reading

• What CIOs need to know to ensure their PMOs deliver

  The most effective project management organisations spend most of their time and resources on relationships and minimal time on tasks  Continue Reading

• The missing ingredient for effective problem management

  Problem management implementations often fail or have limited success because they lack managers who are trained to lead problem investigations using structured methods  Continue Reading

• The need for a 'Capability Exchange' for digital government

  In the last of a three-part series, Mark Thompson outlines a digital vision to make government a more cohesive, integrated organisation  Continue Reading

• The power of situational awareness for digital government

  In the second of a three-part series, Mark Thompson outlines a digital vision to make government a more cohesive, integrated organisation  Continue Reading

• Time to get mapping - how a blind government can develop sight

  In the first of a three-part series, Mark Thompson outlines a digital vision to make government a more cohesive, integrated organisation  Continue Reading

• Supercharging cyber security protection: Questions to ask when hiring a managed services provider

  With information security concerns and challenges at an all-time high, and a global shortage of security professionals to address them, some enterprises are turning to managed security services for help. To ease the selection process, Dragana Vranic...  Continue Reading

• Where next for UK government as a platform and GDS?

  Amid all the debate about the direction of digital government, it's important to take a critical look at the GDS plan for government as a platform  Continue Reading

• Driving digital productivity in the UK

  There is a need for British businesses to improve their adoption of digital technologies  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Security needs to be part of change management processes

  How can development, operations and security teams collaborate around change to ensure security is maintained and even improved?  Continue Reading

• What corporate IT can learn from startups

  Former Hailo and Betfair CTO Rorie Devine shares his experience of working with startups and what IT leaders can learn from them  Continue Reading

• Forrester: Manage business technology outcomes, not IT assets

  Why CIOs need to adopt a business technology agenda if they want to survive in the age of the customer  Continue Reading

• IT is a platform for economic success and a fairer society

  Labour's Chi Onwurah, formerly shadow Cabinet Office minister for digital government, outlines the party's policies for IT and digital  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Avoid the audit toxic cocktail of obfuscation and back-protecting

  What is the role of information security professionals in handling uncomfortable truths about data security from internal auditors?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Internal audit an essential component of data security

  What is the role of information security professionals in handling uncomfortable truths about data security from internal auditors?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Engage with auditors early to improve security

  What is the role of information security professionals in handling uncomfortable truths about data security from internal auditors?  Continue Reading

• Why you need smarter case management

  Business users will see myriad benefits from an emerging wave of case management applications  Continue Reading

• What is government as a platform and how do we achieve it?

  There are lots of discussion going on at the moment about digital “platforms”, and the impact they might have on UK public services  Continue Reading

• Five questions every board should ask after Sony Pictures breach

  What can the board do to avoid having to answer embarrassing questions at the next shareholder meeting?  Continue Reading

• US technology companies facing growing UK pressure over internet spying

  Tension is growing between the UK and US over Prism spying  Continue Reading

• Let’s get digital on the electoral curriculum for all our politicians

  More politicians need to understand how changing the business model of government through digital methods can help UK plc's bottom line  Continue Reading

• A practical framework for digital public service delivery

  There is a tension between governments’ need to be more flexible and agile, and the discipline to use standard platforms and open architecture  Continue Reading

• Why digital governance and data protection matters

  In a digital world, new approaches to data protection and governance are vital for minimising risks and maximising performance  Continue Reading

• Government doesn’t get complexity

  Why do some government things go well and others not? The reason - complexity  Continue Reading

• Government must be a platform entrepreneur to deliver 'digital 2.0'

  The government needs to start with a clear policy and architecture for digital 2.0  Continue Reading

• The digital CIO: ‘Fear of Google’ and the ethics of digital business

  Could the big digital players be using their dominance by exerting unfair competition?  Continue Reading

• Balancing user desires with business needs

  With users increasingly taking IT decisions into their own hands, businesses need to try harder to keep up  Continue Reading

• How to prevent getting caught up in the minefield of large IT programmes

  The recent number of large IT write-offs suggests that we are stuck in a vicious cycle of failure, which is nothing new.  Continue Reading

• Tools for CIOs leading M&A projects

  IT mergers and acquisitions are reaching a peak and are becoming more complex. This poses a distinct set of challenges for CIOs  Continue Reading