Europe and Middle East information technology (IT)
Read the latest European and Middle East information technology (IT) news and articles covering IT management topics, including information security, data storage, networking, data centre, cloud computing, mobile applications, virtualisation, big data and more.
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News
19 May 2025
Trump visit bolsters Saudi AI
A new AI datacentre is among the initiatives the White House announced during the president’s Middle East visits Continue Reading
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News
19 May 2025
Dutch universities call for reduced dependence on Big Tech
Dutch universities are calling for greater digital autonomy as more research and educational data is stored in American clouds, posing risks to academic freedom, privacy and accessibility Continue Reading
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Opinion
26 Jul 2023
NATO countries must coordinate their cyber forces to combat the Russian threat
The top item on the agenda at the Vilnius NATO Summit this month was the revamping the alliance’s defences. Continue Reading
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Feature
21 Jul 2023
Handbook helps Dutch organisations migrate to quantum-safe communication
Organisations must start implementing new cryptography standards – as migration is a lengthy process Continue Reading
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News
18 Jul 2023
NATO membership to drive Nordic cyber security sector growth
The Nordic cyber security sector will see increasing demand as Finland and Sweden joint NATO Continue Reading
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News
18 Jul 2023
Traditional IT outsourcing rockets as Europe’s businesses cut costs
Overall spending on IT services is up in European countries despite continued reduction in investments in cloud-based contracts Continue Reading
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News
13 Jul 2023
CaixaBank adds hundreds more IT professionals to support digital transformation
CaixaBank is recruiting 200 more IT professionals in Spain to support its ongoing digital transformation Continue Reading
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E-Zine
13 Jul 2023
CW EMEA: Can we trust AI?
Artificial intelligence and the opportunities and dangers it introduces into society has been a hotly debated subject in tech circles for many years, but today with the increased use of platforms such as ChatGPT, these debates include a wider section of the public. The fact that schoolchildren are even asking ChatGPT for help with their homework brings home the importance of these debates and the responses to them by national policy-makers. Continue Reading
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News
12 Jul 2023
Forensic Institute provides Hansken viewing method for Dutch lawyers
Dutch lawyers can now view crypto communication in criminal cases from their own workplace via digital search engine Hansken. Previously, this had to be done at an external location Continue Reading
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News
11 Jul 2023
EU formally grants data adequacy to US
The European Commission has formally granted the US data adequacy, allowing companies and organisations to freely transfer personal data across the Atlantic via the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. But privacy activist Max Schrems has already committed to legally challenging the decision Continue Reading
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News
11 Jul 2023
Finland’s VTT partners Nokia on data market
Finish state’s involvement in Nokia project will add weight and capital to work on creating a market for data Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Jul 2023
Norwegian data privacy experts sound alarm over generative AI
Hundreds of millions of people embrace generative artificial intelligence, blissfully ignorant of what it’s doing to data privacy. Continue Reading
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News
05 Jul 2023
Germany: European Court of Justice hears arguments on lawfulness of EncroChat cryptophone evidence
The European Court of Justice will decide whether the collection and sharing of data intercepted by law enforcement from EncroChat crypto phone network is compatible with European law Continue Reading
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News
04 Jul 2023
EU judgment sinks Meta’s argument for targeted ads
The EU Court of Justice has issued a significant judgment against Meta, ruling that national anti-trust bodies can investigate GDPR breaches, disrupting the platform’s entire basis for carrying out targeted advertising Continue Reading
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News
03 Jul 2023
BBVA launches tech job portal as it continues to add talent
Spanish bank BBVA ramps up its tech recruitment strategy with new online portal and target of 2,600 more people Continue Reading
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News
29 Jun 2023
The Finnish Food Authority uses AI to accelerate research
Researchers have reduced the time taken to get critical insights into potential public health crises and address issues in real-time, through artificial intelligence Continue Reading
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News
27 Jun 2023
Three years on, EncroChat cryptophone hack nets 6,500 arrests and seizures of €900m
French and Dutch prosecutors say three years after they infiltrated the EncroChat cryptophone network in a novel hacking operation, Europe’s courts are opening the way for more collaboration and data sharing between law enforcement agencies Continue Reading
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News
21 Jun 2023
Software spending grows fastest as finance firms spend $652bn on tech in 2023
Banks and investment firms are increasing their spending on IT despite gloomy economic outlook, but priorities have changed Continue Reading
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Feature
21 Jun 2023
Aalto University: The startup’s starting place
Helsinki's Aalto University is at the heart of one of the world's most productive tech startup hotbeds Continue Reading
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Feature
21 Jun 2023
Interview: Michael Kagan, chief technology officer, Nvidia
The chip maker's CTO explains how the compute demands of AI are pushing semiconductor technology beyond the principles of Moore's Law Continue Reading
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News
21 Jun 2023
Belgian researchers build energy-efficient AI frameworks
Researchers in Belgium are working on a new generation of platforms to support artificial intelligence applications in an energy-efficient manner Continue Reading
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News
19 Jun 2023
Jordan’s Ahli Bank launches app on cloud-native platform
Middle East bank launches app on latest cloud-native banking platform from Google-inspired company Continue Reading
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News
19 Jun 2023
Visa takeover means economic turmoil won’t slow Tink’s progress
Tink is one of the pioneers of the open banking sector, and under Visa’s light-touch ownership is continuing to think like a startup Continue Reading
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News
19 Jun 2023
Dutch government puts up €123m to address shortage of ICT workers
Financial injection aimed at improving cooperation between vocational education and business in the Netherlands, and making the tech professions more attractive Continue Reading
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News
16 Jun 2023
BBVA uses AI and analytics services from AWS
BBVA invests in Amazon Web Services cloud platforms to help transform itself into an organisation driven by AI and data Continue Reading
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News
15 Jun 2023
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030: Progress report
Halfway into its plan to give the country a makeover by 2030, Saudi Arabia’s emphasis on technology is starting to pay off Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Jun 2023
Helping small deep tech companies become giants in Belgium
Imec researchers are helping deep tech startups in Belgium become global giants Continue Reading
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News
08 Jun 2023
Sweden’s Ikano Bank outsources core banking to TCS
Ikano Bank moves to cloud banking platform from Indian IT services giant Tata Consultancy Services Continue Reading
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News
08 Jun 2023
Netherlands enables contactless payments on entire public transport network
All modes of public transport now accept payments using contactless technology after the completion of major project in the Netherlands Continue Reading
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E-Zine
08 Jun 2023
CW EMEA: IT budgets buck economic trends
Despite the gloomy economic outlook across the world, IT leaders in the EMEA region appear confident that they will have more to spend on IT this year, with 44 expecting IT budgets to increase, according to TechTarget/Computer Weekly’s IT Priorities survey for 2023. Also in this issue, we look at how health authorities in the United Arab Emirates are increasing their emphasis on new, smart technologies to modernise healthcare services, we find out how global tech pioneers Finland and Estonia are increasingly sharing their expertise, and we look at what the Dutch government is doing to address unconscious stereotypes and bias that are still preventing girls in the Netherlands to study engineering or IT. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
07 Jun 2023
Researchers in Belgium move towards industrial production of qubits
Using existing equipment and know-how, researchers at the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (Imec) in Belgium are finding ways of mass-producing qubits Continue Reading
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News
06 Jun 2023
Netherlands makes case for harmonisation of cloud security standards
Harmonisation of cyber security standards is necessary to reduce the regulatory burden on Dutch SMEs – and regulators need to cooperate better Continue Reading
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News
05 Jun 2023
Sweden is developing its own big language model
Artificial Intelligence Sweden is leading an initiative to build a large language model not only for Swedish, but for all the major languages in the Nordic region: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese Continue Reading
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News
01 Jun 2023
DE-CIX switches on Internet Exchange in Finland
Comms tech provider celebrates 10 years of partnership with Internet Exchange operator and home to leading carrier and datacentre neutral interconnection ecosystem Continue Reading
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News
30 May 2023
Europe’s central bank reveals drop in Euro Zone card fraud
Euro Zone card fraud drops with card-not-present scams down following the introduction of Strong Customer Authentication rules Continue Reading
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News
24 May 2023
Kuwait bank introduces biometric payments card
Middle East bank launches payment cards with fingerprint sensor technology embedded Continue Reading
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News
23 May 2023
Visa to recruit 1,500 tech staff in Poland
Visa’s latest global tech hub will recruit up to 1,500 staff, with focus on artificial intelligence, cyber security, and resilience in payments and ecommerce sectors Continue Reading
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News
19 May 2023
Spanish lawyers claim police hacking of EncroChat cryptophones breaches human rights law
Lawyers speaking at the Madrid Bar Association question the legality of a cryptophone hacking which has led to arrests of organised criminals in multiple countries Continue Reading
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News
18 May 2023
Eticas outlines approach to ‘adversarial’ algorithmic auditing
Algorithmic auditing firm Eticas speaks to Computer Weekly about its approach to ‘adversarial’ algorithmic auditing, including its strengths and limitations, and how the process works Continue Reading
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News
17 May 2023
CTO interview: Europe benefits from energy gains in AMD chips
AMD’s chief technology officer explains how the latest chip technology can help European organisations solve the energy puzzle facing IT departments Continue Reading
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News
12 May 2023
MEPs vote in raft of amendments to EU AI Act
The proposed amendments to the EU’s AI Act have garnered a mixed reception from both industry and civil society, with the former seeing it as too stringent and the latter as not stringent enough in many areas, despite positive progress in others Continue Reading
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News
11 May 2023
Investigatory Powers Tribunal finds NCA EncroChat hacking warrants were lawful
Investigatory Powers Tribunal refers questions over whether messages obtained from the EncroChat encrypted phone network are legally admissible back to the criminal court Continue Reading
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E-Zine
11 May 2023
CW EMEA: The future of work
In this month’s CW EMEA, we look at the future of work in Europe after the pandemic forced a change in entrenched human behaviour. For years, people talked about flexible working being the way forward, but scepticism within the management of large companies held it back. This all changed when Covid-19 began to spread out of control and governments and businesses quickly told people to work from home where possible. We also look at the increasing problem of IT failures in Dutch hospitals and how they are affecting patient care, highlighting the need to improve IT security in hospitals. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
09 May 2023
OVHcloud aims to bring Glacier-like cloud archive to Europe
OVHcloud makes Cold Archive GA with deep archive storage cheaper than AWS’s offer and all based on IBM 3592 tape hardware spread across four sites with Atempo backup Continue Reading
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News
08 May 2023
Chat control: EU lawyers warn plans to scan encrypted messages for child abuse may be unlawful
Leaked legal advice warns that European ‘chat control’ proposals to require tech companies to scan private and encrypted messages for child abuse are likely to breach EU law Continue Reading
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News
05 May 2023
Employee perception may be key to success of UAE’s big data initiative
Study shows the impact employee perception can have on big data projects in the United Arab Emirates Continue Reading
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Feature
04 May 2023
Icelandic researcher advocates for an overhaul of artificial intelligence
While technologies such as ChatGPT provide a glimpse of what may lay ahead, they are still a long way from real intelligence Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2023
UAE improves healthcare through information technology
Health authorities in the United Arab Emirates are increasing their emphasis on new, smart technologies to modernise healthcare services Continue Reading
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News
24 Apr 2023
Finland and Estonia deepen cross-border digital partnerships
Finland and Estonia, two global tech pioneers, are increasingly sharing their expertise Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Apr 2023
From Nokia to Merge Mansion: Helsinki’s tech expertise is sparking a new era for global gaming
Helsinki has a reputation as the go-to place for game development, and now the city’s tech community is taking gaming into new areas Continue Reading
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News
21 Apr 2023
Biases keep Dutch girls out of STEM and IT
Unconscious stereotypes and bias still ensure few girls in the Netherlands choose to study engineering or IT. Government, education and businesses need to make significant steps to turn this around Continue Reading
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News
19 Apr 2023
IT Priorities 2023: Budget optimism among EMEA IT leaders
IT leaders across the EMEA region are optimistic that their budgets will increase over the coming year Continue Reading
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News
19 Apr 2023
Global finance firms take part in NATO cyber attack simulation
Global financial services organisations take part in NATO annual event which simulates cyber attacks on critical infrastructure Continue Reading
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News
18 Apr 2023
Reduced spending on cloud services weighs European IT services market down
Reduced spending on cloud services in the EMEA region meant a year-on-year drop in total IT and BPO services spend Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Apr 2023
Belgian experts take on data challenges
Having been involved in storage and data management for more than two decades, Belgian experts are positioned to help tackle the challenges brought on by a growing volume of unstructured data Continue Reading
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News
13 Apr 2023
Italy to lift ChatGPT ban subject to new data protection controls
Italian regulator will lift its ban on OpenAI’s ChatGPT subject to a strict new data protection regime Continue Reading
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News
13 Apr 2023
Sweden and Finland make advances in quantum computing
Separate Swedish and Finnish quantum computing projects make promising advances in the technology of the future Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Apr 2023
The CIO challenges brought by e-commerce in Kuwait
E-commerce is growing fast in Kuwait, resulting in new challenges for CIOs in the retail sector Continue Reading
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News
12 Apr 2023
Deutsche Bank to close Russian software operations
German bank has been winding down its Russia-based software development operations and is close to shutting them down Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Apr 2023
Inspired by the human brain, Belgian researchers develop a new generation of sensors
Belgian researchers have found ways of mimicking the human brain to improve sensors and the way they pass data to central computers Continue Reading
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News
05 Apr 2023
Nordic app-based bank offloads its peer-to-peer lending business
Danish fintech Lunar has sold its peer-to-peer lending business to Sweden’s SaveLend Continue Reading
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News
05 Apr 2023
Cops bust Genesis cyber crime marketplace
Multinational Operation Cookie Monster takes down Genesis Market, a crucial source of compromised data used by criminals for fraud and other cyber attacks Continue Reading
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News
05 Apr 2023
Italy’s ChatGPT ban: Sober precaution or chilling overreaction?
Italy’s data protection authority issued a temporary ban on ChatGPT citing data protection concerns and alleged breaches of the GDPR. Is this a reasonable precaution, or a chilling restriction on personal freedoms? Continue Reading
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News
04 Apr 2023
UAE central bank selects partners for phase one of digital currency programme
The UAE central bank has kicked off the first phase of its project to launch a digital currency Continue Reading
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News
28 Mar 2023
BNP Paribas moves to Swedish datacentre in high-performance computing strategy
BNP Paribas is moving data-intensive workloads to a Swedish datacentre to increase capacity while reducing its carbon footprint Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Mar 2023
Dutch discovery brings energy-efficient computers a step closer
An international group of researchers at the University of Twente have developed a molecular switch that can increase the energy-efficiency of electronics Continue Reading
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News
21 Mar 2023
Nordics move towards common cyber defence strategy
Nordic countries agree to work together to improve their cyber defences amid increasing threat Continue Reading
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News
21 Mar 2023
UK signs digital trade deal with Ukraine
The UK and Ukraine have agreed a trade deal that will reduce the cost of IT imports from the war-torn country Continue Reading
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News
21 Mar 2023
Ferrari rejects ransom demand after cyber attack
Italian carmaker Ferrari says it will refuse to pay a ransom after an unspecified threat actor broke into its IT systems and stole customer data Continue Reading
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News
21 Mar 2023
Danish law firm transforms digital collaboration through core system replacement
NJORD has transformed how it shares documents among lawyers through a cloud-based platform Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Mar 2023
The changing role of the CIO from a Finnish perspective
A small country with a sophisticated workforce, Finland has its own perspective on how IT leadership is changing in both the public and private sector Continue Reading
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News
15 Mar 2023
IT gives Ukrainian economy resilience in the face of adversity
Computer Weekly speaks to IT companies from Kharkiv a year after the Ukrainian city became headline news across the world as Russian troops invaded Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Mar 2023
As Covid fades away, what’s the future of remote work in Europe?
Many IT leaders are still supporting some form of work from home, and a trend is beginning to take shape in Europe Continue Reading
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News
09 Mar 2023
Millions in the Arab world use VPNs to overcome restrictions and bandwidth throttling
Citizens in the Arab world are using VPNs to help them bypass internet restrictions and increase available bandwidth Continue Reading
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E-Zine
09 Mar 2023
CW EMEA: How Sweden is accelerating digitisation
Large conglomerates with diverse business portfolios face challenges when digitally transforming because one size cer-tainly doesn’t fit all. In this month’s CW EMEA, we find out how Richard Ventre, group CIO at Dutch company SHV Holdings, goes about ensuring his IT department pro-vides the foundations for a wide variety of businesses to thrive digitally. We also find out how to make the most of a composable enterprise architecture and how green storage can deliver savings if done right. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Mar 2023
AI in the Netherlands: Talent, data and responsibility
Applied researchers in the Netherlands are working to bring AI to a higher level Continue Reading
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News
07 Mar 2023
Dutch hospitals underestimate impact of cyber attack
IT failures in acute care organisations in the Netherlands have increased considerably since 2010, affecting patient care and stressing the need to improve IT security in hospitals Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Mar 2023
What can security teams learn from a year of cyber warfare?
With the passing of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we reflect on the ongoing cyber war, and ask what security leaders can learn from the past 12 months Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Mar 2023
Software enables new business model for Sweden-headquartered car manufacturer
One of the many things software now does with cars is to enable ‘mobility as a service’, a new business model that provides people with freedom of movement, without the cost and hassle of ownership Continue Reading
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News
22 Feb 2023
Dutch cyber security professionals experience stress akin to soldiers in war zone, claims expert
Cyber attacks are taking a heavy toll on Dutch IT professionals, with over a third reporting that their mental health suffers as a result Continue Reading
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News
17 Feb 2023
CIO interview: Hans van der Waal, director of global IT, Travelex
Travelex has weathered a storm that saw it sink into administration, before emerging to solidify its digital foundations for the future Continue Reading
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News
16 Feb 2023
Helsinki’s tech and business ecosystem in 90 days
Helsinki gives tech entrepreneurs a taste of life and business in Finland for 90 days as it bids to attract global tech startups Continue Reading
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News
14 Feb 2023
Payment tech provider opens Finnish tech hub
Nordic payment tech supplier opens a hub in the Finnish city of Espoo to access expertise Continue Reading
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News
14 Feb 2023
UAE central bank programme to accelerate digital transformation
The United Arab Emirates government launches programme to accelerate the digital transformation of the country’s finance sector Continue Reading
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News
13 Feb 2023
Russian spear phishing campaign escalates efforts toward critical UK, US and European targets
Russian hacking group Seaborgium refines its tactics in a continuation of attacks against targets including not-for-profit organisations with geopolitical affiliations Continue Reading
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News
13 Feb 2023
KPMG launches metaverse and digital twin hub in Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Arabian government’s commitment to investing in metaverse technology has attracted a KPMG centre of excellence to its shores Continue Reading
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News
13 Feb 2023
Ice Norway looks for 4G, 5G Network revolution with converged packet core
Norway’s third-largest mobile operator implements cloud-native converged packet core, supporting 4G, 5G NSA and 5G SA for network over cloud-native network software provider’s cloud automation for telco framework in private datacentres Continue Reading
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News
09 Feb 2023
UK imposes sanctions on Conti ransomware gang leaders
Seven Russian nationals associated with the Conti and Ryuk ransomware operations have been sanctioned by the UK Continue Reading
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News
07 Feb 2023
Benelux CIO interview: Marijn Grevink, leader of digital transformation, Mars
In an interview with Computer Weekly, the digital head at Mars, Marijn Grevink, takes the wrapper off digital transformation at the company in the Netherlands Continue Reading
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News
06 Feb 2023
Cops make arrests and seize drugs after hacking Exclu encrypted messaging app
Police in the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland raided 80 addresses after covertly intercepting messages from the Exclu encrypted messaging app Continue Reading
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News
06 Feb 2023
Estonian anti-money laundering platform used to fight APP fraud
A real-time data-sharing platform originally built to identify money laundering is also being applied to the fight against authorised push payment fraud Continue Reading
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News
03 Feb 2023
MEPs vote to amend platform worker directive
MEPs have voted in favour of amendments to the European Commission’s platform worker directive that would introduce a presumption of employment and increase algorithmic transparency Continue Reading
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News
27 Jan 2023
Hive ransomware gang taken down after FBI hacks back
The FBI hacked into Hive’s servers, stole its decryption keys and then took down its servers in a major action that has successfully disrupted a prolific and dangerous ransomware operation Continue Reading
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News
19 Jan 2023
Swedish government launches accelerated digitisation plan
The Swedish government has launched a four-year plan which will help to digitally transform the country’s public sector Continue Reading
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News
17 Jan 2023
Benelux CIO interview: Richard Ventre, SHV Holdings
In his role at Netherlands-based SHV Holdings, Richard Ventre is tackling the challenge of enabling a diverse set of digital transformations across a range of industries Continue Reading
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E-Zine
16 Jan 2023
CW EMEA: Protecting the privacy of schoolchildren
In this month’s CW EMEA, we look at how schools in Germany have stopped using Microsoft Office 365 over lack of clarity over how data is collected, shared and used. We also delve into how former UK spy boss Richard Dearlove leaked names of MI6 secret agent recruiters in China to back an aggressive right-wing US campaign against tech company Huawei. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
12 Jan 2023
Insights on Nordic artificial intelligence strategies
Report provides overview on how Nordic countries are dealing with challenges and opportunities brought on by artificial intelligence Continue Reading
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Opinion
12 Jan 2023
Europe’s cyber security strategy must be clear about open source
Europe’s cyber security policy on open source is lagging behind the US, and despite growing government awareness of the issues, that poses a problem Continue Reading
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News
11 Jan 2023
Internet shutdowns cost global economy $24bn in 2022
Deliberate disruption of people’s access to the internet by governments is having a substantial economic impact and contributing to a range of human rights abuses, primarily against protestors Continue Reading
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News
05 Jan 2023
Cashless Denmark has no bank robberies in a year for first time
Denmark saw no bank robberies in a single year for the first time ever, but online fraud continues to increase Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Dec 2022
High tech meets agriculture in Denmark
Thanks to a few strategic investments, Denmark may one day become a major exporter of farming technology Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Dec 2022
How Finland develops its national plan for investment in innovation
A small country with limited resources, Finland carefully chooses strategic technologies to lead it into the future Continue Reading