Opinion

Opinion

• Security Think Tank: Ransomware lessons from the armed forces

  In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good.  Continue Reading

• Facial recognition endangers us all without a clear legal basis

  Technology researcher Stephanie Hare outlines the growing danger of the UK’s failure to legalise and regulate facial recognition technology  Continue Reading

• A local government GDS might work - but only on top of standard technology

  The old debate about an equivalent of the Government Digital Service for local authorities has swung round again - but it will only ever work if it's founded on common standards and technologies  Continue Reading

• Balancing regulation and innovation to ensure the UK remains a global leader in AI

  The EU has taken a lead in regulating artificial intelligence through its AI Act - the UK government needs to respond or it risks losing the UK's status as an AI innovation frontrunner  Continue Reading

• Bit by Bit: Novel techniques to shrink AI's carbon footprint

  We look at some of the new techniques that promise to reduce energy usage of AI by 65%  Continue Reading

• Board-level buy-in: preparing cyber defences the right way

  The cyber security function isn’t a back office team that is never seen and never heard. To truly protect the company, cyber security touches every corner of the business, and it starts from the top  Continue Reading

• How to stop data from driving government mad

  The Institute for Government has recommended reforms to the way Number 10 operates - and a new way of managing and using data in the AI age is central to its proposals  Continue Reading

• Digital government: problems on the horizon

  Are government’s digital programmes becoming the next Post Office Horizon scandal?  Continue Reading

• A new security partnership to build a silicon valley in South Wales

  The £140m acquisition of Newport Wafer Fab by American firm Vishay is to be welcomed but the UK needs needs security, stability and strategic investment to grow our domestic semiconductor capability, writes Alun Cairns MP  Continue Reading

• How to address third-party risk to ensure business resiliency

  Identifying third-party risks, determining risk controls and treating third-parties as allies are some of the ways to address the risks associated with third-party transactions and business engagements  Continue Reading

• How Southeast Asia’s largest bank is riding the AI wave

  DBS has scaled its AI capabilities across all parts of its business to deliver tangible outcomes and productivity gains  Continue Reading

• Going up? Senior tech pay trends – and how to influence them

  Salaries for CIOs and senior IT professionals have continued to grow despite tough economic conditions. What can you expect in 2024?  Continue Reading

• Navigating digital transformation in healthcare

  Beverley Bryant, The CDIO of of Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, shares insights from their joint digital transformation journey: the Apollo project  Continue Reading

• How can we adapt work practices to protect CISO mental health?

  Cyber leaders are finding it harder to keep up with security requirements than just two years ago, risking a domino effect of dissatisfaction, burnout and eventually, resignation  Continue Reading

• Bouncing back from a cyber attack

  Organisations need to move away from victim blaming when cyber attacks on OT systems occur and focus on fostering collaboration between teams to minimise downtime, among other efforts to bounce back and return to business  Continue Reading

• Why AI will push enterprises to eliminate the silos that slow innovation

  Generative AI offers a way to transform developer productivity, by expediting a cultural shift in the way enterprises organise themselves  Continue Reading

• Executives must face down state-sponsored hacking groups targeting firmware

  State-backed groups have ratcheted up the pressure for cyber security professionals and executives. But that’s not an excuse to cede them the territory.  Continue Reading

• A decade after breaking HMRC’s Aspire deal, the Post Office scandal exposes glaring similarities

  HM Revenue & Customs finally broke from its £800m a year Aspire contract in 2016 - and the reasons have parallels with the Post Office scandal. Will government ever learn?  Continue Reading

• The Post Office Scandal: Drawing parallels between Horizon and the UK cloud market

  With the ongoing fallout from the Post Office scandal, questions are being asked about whether the UK government looks set to repeat the mistakes of the past based on its reliance on the cloud technologies of several major US hyperscalers  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: The phishing forecast for 2024

  Egress' Jack Chapman and James Dyer explore how phishing attacks are set to grow in their scope and sophistication this year, with generative AI playing a big role  Continue Reading

• Three predictions for responding to the cyber threat landscape in 2024

  Nominet's Kim Wiles looks to the coming months and calls for cooperation and collaboration on tackling cyber security threats  Continue Reading

• Resetting digital government

  After years of trying to digitally transform the public sector, with varying degrees of success, could a change of government finally herald a new and better approach?  Continue Reading

• The Post Office scandal shows how much AI can and must help humans

  There has been much speculation about the potential for a future AI disaster after the role of IT in the Post Office scandal - but the way to avoid this is to make sure AI and humans work hand in hand  Continue Reading

• AI everywhere all at once

  Artificial intelligence became mainstream in 2023. Advances in technology and accessibility led to increased awareness and use of AI  Continue Reading

• Microsoft hack: Five questions enterprises should ask their IT leaders

  Following the news about a Russia-backed hacking group infiltrating Microsoft's systems, enterprises may want to seek assurances from their IT and security leaders about the implications of the attack for them  Continue Reading

• The shifting winds of SAP's cloud strategy

  In 2023, SAP's strategic pivot towards cloud-centric innovation produced a wave of discontent among its vast on-premises customer base  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Expect more from GenAI in 2024

  But 2024 also feels slightly different; the past 12 months have seen generative AI burst on to the scene, and this year its impact will continue to be felt, says Turnkey Consulting's Harshini Carey.  Continue Reading

• Quantum, AI and geopolitical conflict: '24 will be a big year for cyber

  With big trends like quantum, generative AI and geopolitical conflict, 2024 looks set to be a big year in security, but defenders have an unparalleled opportunity to harness these trends for good, says Quorum's Federico Charosky  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: What to expect in cyber this year

  Risk arising from insecure generative AI, an explosion in mainstream acceptance of zero-trust, and increasingly tight cyber insurance policies will all be high on the agenda in 2024, writes Forrester senior analyst Alla Valente  Continue Reading

• Bulk sender authentication: More vital than ever

  With new guidelines from Google and Yahoo governing bulk emails coming into force in February 2024, here's what you need to know to keep your sales and marketing lists compliant  Continue Reading

• The race to regulate AI: 2024 unpacked

  EU’s AI Act is set to become ‘gold standard’ of AI regulation. Will other countries adopt the same high standards or like the UK opt for a light touch in favour of growth and investment?  Continue Reading

• Mitigating the risks of modern application development

  Organisations need to have visibility over their software supply chain, secure and monitor interfaces to legacy systems and adopt zero trust to mitigate the risks of modern application development  Continue Reading

• IT Sustainability Think Tank: Why 2024 should be less about predicting and more about acting

  With 2023 now behind us, it is time to look ahead at what enterprise leaders should be focusing their IT sustainability efforts on during the year ahead  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: 2024 is the year we bridge the cyber divide

  ISACA's Steven Sim Kok Leong shares his thoughts on the coming year in cyber security, considering the impact of regulatory change, the evolving role of the CISO, and advances in innovative cyber tech  Continue Reading

• Tech trends: what will be hot in 2024?

  Five major technology trends for 2024  Continue Reading

• Powering up cyber security defences with AI

  AI holds great promise when it comes to securing valuable, and vulnerable, data, but security teams face some challenges if they are to get the best out of it, writes IBM’s Christopher Meenan  Continue Reading

• AI will create a thousand Post Office scandals

  Critical computing expert Dan McQuillan weighs in on the proliferation of artificial intelligence throughout the public sector and the potential this opens up for a slew of new IT scandals  Continue Reading

• 2024: The year Generative AI is let out of its cage  

  Instead of worrying about AI taking over their jobs perhaps people should wonder if their work will be taken over by a new starter who knows how to use AI.    Continue Reading

• Paula Vennells fails to practice what she preaches in Post Office scandal

  Reverend Richard Coles tells Computer Weekly how a recent ITV drama ‘moved and enraged’ a public that had missed the unfolding of the biggest miscarriage of justice in modern history, in front of their noses  Continue Reading

• The human toll of ransomware: how IT pros suffer during incidents

  Any ransomware attack causes significant challenges for a business or organisation going through such incident. But ransomware attacks also have tremendous impact on the staff – especially IT teams – working on mitigating the attack’s effect  Continue Reading

• How the UK is supporting the Ukraine tech community

  The launch of a TechBridge between UK and Ukraine allow IT experts from each country to collaborate and share experiences  Continue Reading

• Redefining the cyber domain to tackle the challenges of tomorrow

  Emerging technologies have brought about a new age of cyber – and we need a 360-degree collaborative approach more than ever to succeed  Continue Reading

• Inadequate cloud logs are proving a headache for CISOs

  The mass adoption of cloud environments is pushing strained CISOs to the brink and a lack of attention to logging isn't helping. Vectra's Mark Wojtasiak calls for organisations to do more to improve visibility in their clouds in 2024  Continue Reading

• Designing an IT department for a world defined by change

  Traditional functional organisational models cannot adapt adequately to the demands of a 21st century digital business - especially not in the IT department. How can a service-based structure help?  Continue Reading

• Trauma and fear means victims of the Post Office scandal are suffering in silence

  Just like victims of child abuse, it is likely that issues of trauma, fear, feelings of shame and a complete loss of trust in authority are some of the powerful inhibitors preventing victims of the Post Office scandal from coming forward  Continue Reading

• Mind the gap: AI leaders pulling ahead as LLMs take off

  Advice on how to implement large language models safely within an enterprise IT environment  Continue Reading

• IT Sustainability Think Tank: Why 2024 is the year for IT managers to revamp their green IT plans

  With 2023 now behind us, it is time to look ahead at what enterprise leaders should be focusing their IT sustainability efforts on next year  Continue Reading

• IT Sustainability Think Tank: How enterprises can push sustainable innovation in 2024

  As 2023 draws to a close, it is time to look ahead at what enterprise leaders should be focusing their IT sustainability efforts on next year  Continue Reading

• Beyond the office walls: Safeguarding remote workers from attack

  Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward?  Continue Reading

• Zero-trust principles: Your gateway to securing remote workers

  Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward?  Continue Reading

• What we learned in cyber in 2023, and what to look out for

  PA Consulting's Rasika Somasiri looks back at a busy 12 months in the cyber security world, and highlights some key learnings from 2023  Continue Reading

• IT Sustainability Think Tank: Green IT resolutions for the year ahead

  As 2023 draws to a close, it is time to look ahead at what enterprise leaders should be focusing their IT sustainability efforts on next year  Continue Reading

• Evolving best practice: What next for securing remote work?

  Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Testing to improve remote worker security

  Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Anytime, anywhere access is achievable

  Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward?  Continue Reading

• IT Sustainability Think Tank: Navigating towards a greener future for IT in 2024

  As 2023 draws to a close, it is time to look ahead at what enterprise leaders should be focusing their IT sustainability efforts on next year  Continue Reading

• IT Sustainability Think Tank: How to bake green thinking into IT projects in 2024

  As 2023 draws to a close, it is time to look ahead at what enterprise leaders should be focusing their IT sustainability efforts on next year  Continue Reading

• Governance best practices for citizen developers

  The rise of citizen developers is revolutionising the way organisations approach software development. Here is a guide to supporting them  Continue Reading

• Ending the cycle of rush and burnout in software development

  Instead of focusing on speed in software delivery, addressing risks affecting on-time delivery is the secret to preventing burnout  Continue Reading

• Considerations for the security of evolving workspaces

  Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward?  Continue Reading

• Cyber and remote working: How Covid moved the cursor

  Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Four steps to secure remote workers

  Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward?  Continue Reading

• Prepare for your worst day: How to create a cyber incident response plan

  What goes into a good incident response plan, and what steps should security professionals take to ensure they are appropriately prepared for the almost inevitable attack, and secure buy-in from organisational leadership?  Continue Reading

• Uncertainty lingers with Broadcom’s VMware acquisition

  Large enterprises with complex VMware environments are looking to de-risk their businesses from potential changes resulting from the Broadcom-VMware deal  Continue Reading

• IT Sustainability Think Tank: Circular economy concept picks up speed in 2023

  The conversation around IT sustainability stepped up a gear in 2023, but has it been another year of all talk and no action?  Continue Reading

• Making artificial intelligence fit for all our human futures

  Lord Chris Holmes explains why he has introduced a Private Member's Bill on AI regulation for discussion in Parliament - and the important precedents he hopes it will set  Continue Reading

• IT Sustainability Think Tank: IT leaders must prepare for green challenges in 2024

  The conversation around IT sustainability stepped up a gear in 2023, but has it been another year of all talk and no action?  Continue Reading

• DORA raises the stakes for cloud use in financial services

  The EU's DORA regulations will raise the stakes for cloud in financial services but resilience is more than just a tech issue, says NetApp's Steve Rackham  Continue Reading

• Navigating the DPDI Bill: A transformative shift ahead

  The Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill, or DPDI, is set to reshape the UK’s data protection framework. Louise Brooks of DQM GRC considers the implications  Continue Reading

• The future of business software will put users front and centre

  Today, quantum computing and AI; yesterday, cloud and blockchain. As sure as Moore’s law, there is always a Next Big Thing  Continue Reading

• Why transparency and accountability are important in cyber security

  If we accept that the humans who build technology and systems are naturally fallible and mistakes inevitable, and then deal with that with good grace, we could do much to improve cyber standards, writes Bugcrowd's Casey Ellis  Continue Reading

• Security incident response teams are human, too

  What goes into a good incident response plan, and what steps should security professionals take to ensure they are appropriately prepared for the almost inevitable attack, and secure buy-in from organisational leadership?  Continue Reading

• What’s the smart way of moving forward with artificial intelligence?

  Don’t try to use AI to solve everything at once – be clear about what specific use cases you want  Continue Reading

• Why digital leaders should build their personal branding

  Prioritising the development of personal branding can help your organisation attract talented people  Continue Reading

• Breached? Don't panic… if you created a robust IR plan

  What goes into a good incident response plan, and what steps should security professionals take to ensure they are appropriately prepared for the almost inevitable attack, and secure buy-in from organisational leadership?  Continue Reading

• As the jobs market evolves, maximise opportunities, mitigate AI risk

  Heather Thomson, Director of Skills and Talent at The Data Lab urges society to keep calm and focus on the opportunities afforded by artificial intelligence  Continue Reading

• How the Online Safety Act will impact businesses beyond Big Tech 

  The Online Safety Act will impact an estimated 100,000 online services in the UK and overseas  Continue Reading

• How to manage the cultural and operational impact of AI

  Organisations will need to address workplace fears of potential job losses, manage change and improve their talent mix to drive success in AI adoption  Continue Reading

• The best IR plans are well-revised and deeply familiar

  What goes into a good incident response plan, and what steps should security professionals take to ensure they are appropriately prepared for the almost inevitable attack, and secure buy-in from organisational leadership?  Continue Reading

• IT Sustainability Think Tank: Tracking the green IT hiring trends in 2023

  The conversation around IT sustainability stepped up a gear in 2023, but has it been another year of all talk and no action?  Continue Reading

• The plan for the inevitable cyber attack: Get the gist of NIST

  What goes into a good incident response plan, and what steps should security professionals take to ensure they are appropriately prepared for the almost inevitable attack, and secure buy-in from organisational leadership?  Continue Reading

• Enhancing security: The crucial role of incident response plans

  What goes into a good incident response plan, and what steps should security professionals take to ensure they are appropriately prepared for the almost inevitable attack, and secure buy-in from organisational leadership?  Continue Reading

• IR plans: The difference between disaster and recovery

  What goes into a good incident response plan, and what steps should security professionals take to ensure they are appropriately prepared for the almost inevitable attack, and secure buy-in from organisational leadership?  Continue Reading

• How to solve the computer evidence problem

  The Law Commission is in disgrace for its historic misrepresentations of IT experts when pushing a change to the law on the use of computer evidence through Parliament.  Continue Reading

• Incident response planning requires constant testing

  What goes into a good incident response plan, and what steps should security professionals take to ensure they are appropriately prepared for the almost inevitable attack, and secure buy-in from organisational leadership?  Continue Reading

• Use existing structures to build your incident response plan

  What goes into a good incident response plan, and what steps should security professionals take to ensure they are appropriately prepared for the almost inevitable attack, and secure buy-in from organisational leadership?  Continue Reading

• Law Commission misrepresented experts when it changed rule on computer evidence

  The Law Commission repeatedly quoted vague, arm-waving, un-evidenced comments by judges who offered no insight into anything beyond their own technical ignorance. The law change made miscarriages of justice inevitable.  Continue Reading

• Incident response planning is vulnerable to legacy thinking

  What goes into a good incident response plan, and what steps should security professionals take to ensure they are appropriately prepared for the almost inevitable attack, and secure buy-in from organisational leadership?  Continue Reading

• The cause of the Post Office Horizon scandal? The Law Commission? Judges? Lawyers?

  The appropriateness of the current law on the use of computer evidence in court is under the spotlight following Post Office scandal revelations  Continue Reading

• The implications of biased AI models on the financial services industry

  The Bank of England has warned of the risk artificial intelligence models present in creating bias that could pose a threat to the UK’s financial services sector. How do those risks emerge and how they might be mitigated?    Continue Reading

• We mustn’t let the return to offices kill the growth of women in tech

  How can tech employers continue to attract women to tech jobs as more companies require employees to work from the office?  Continue Reading

• Reported major cyberattacks are falling – but watch out for the massive threats posed by gen AI

   The number of reported major cyberattacks is falling. Are we just getting used to them?  Continue Reading

• The new data landscape: how will the new UK-US data bridge affect businesses?

  With the UK-US data bridge coming into effect on 12 October 2023, find out what steps your organisation can take to take advantage of, and remain compliant with, the new framework  Continue Reading

• DORA: Moving into a new era of digital resilience

  The EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act will come into force in just over a year, the majority of risk management professionals are only at the beginning of their planning journey. Kate Needham-Bennett of Fusion Risk Management explains how to ...  Continue Reading

• Generative AI is a game changer for higher education

  As in most areas of society, generative AI presents risks and opportunities for the higher education sector. But regardless of which side of the debate you fall, it will be a revolutionary technology  Continue Reading

• T Levels expand the work-ready tech talent base and now include a specialism in cyber security

  T Levels are creating a pathway into the technology sector, from software development to cyber security, for people who feel a more academic route is not for them  Continue Reading

• How to move from tech leader to the boardroom

  Five tips to help technology leaders secure a seat on the board  Continue Reading

• AI vs software outsourcing: An opportunity or a threat?

  While artificial intelligence offers unprecedented opportunities for growth, efficiency and automation, it also raises pertinent questions about the future of software outsourcing  Continue Reading

• How AI-powered software development helps digitisation

  AI-powered software development can enable IT leaders to beat the developer shortage and turbocharge innovation  Continue Reading

• The trust deficit in CNI: How to address a growing concern

  When it comes to addressing the trust deficit in CNI, technological advancements, evolving threats, inadequate regulations, insufficient investment, public awareness, and international cooperation are all critical components that need attention  Continue Reading