IT for financial services

App-based Zopa bank buys BNPL fintech

App-based Zopa bank is adding a buy now, pay layer platform to its technology stack through its first acquisition Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Financial advisory firm Succession Wealth probes cyber attack

Aviva-owned wealth consultancy and financial advisory practice Succession Wealth was hit by an undisclosed security incident on 8 February Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: New trends and drivers in cyber security training

Self-paced, interactive, bite-sized learning is becoming the optimum path for cyber security training in the workplace, says John Tolbert of KuppingerCole Continue Reading

By

• John Tolbert, KuppingerCole

Multi-purpose malwares can use more than 20 MITRE ATT&CK TTPs

Report warns of the development of increasingly sophisticated, multi-purpose malwares, and calls on defenders to play close attention to the MITRE ATT&CK framework to ward them off Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft fixes three zero-days in February update

February’s Patch Tuesday update contains fixes for three previously unpublicised zero-days in Microsoft Office, Windows Graphics Component and Windows Common Log File System Driver Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK saw fintech investment collapse in 2022, but is still a world leader

Fintech investment in the UK sees steep drop, but the country was still a top destination for capital Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Vidar, nJRAT re-emerge as prominent malware threats in January

Trojans and infostealers once again dominate the list of most commonly observed threats, according to Check Point’s latest telemetry Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK authorities clamp down on illegal crypto ATMs

The Financial Conduct Authority and West Yorkshire Police have disrupted a number of illegal crypto ATMs Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

‘Buy now, pay later’ crackdown in the making

The finance regulator has proposed bringing ‘buy now, pay later’ providers within its regulatory remit Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Researcher exposes crypto scam network exploiting YouTube

A massive network of fake YouTube videos promoted by automated sock puppet accounts is reeling in hundreds of cryptocurrency enthusiasts and persuading them to hand over their money, WithSecure researchers found Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How to protect your business from fraud during a recession

This winter, the chilly winds of a global recession have fraudsters turning up the heat. PJ Rohall of SEON Fraud Fighters shares some guidance on how to bundle up against fraud Continue Reading

By

• PJ Rohall

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

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security buyers lack insight into threats, attackers, report finds

The majority of cyber security purchasing decisions are made without proper insight into the attackers organisations are facing, according to a Mandiant report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Whistleblower in limbo as sensitive NatWest customer files remain under her bed

Whistleblower and NatWest at stalemate as regulators leave it up to them to come to an agreement on return of sensitive customer data Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

BNPL accounted for 12% of UK online spending in January

Buy now, pay later products from fintech providers accounted for 12% of the £8bn spent online in the UK in January, according to analysis Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Deutsche Bӧrse signs decade-long deal with Google Cloud

German financial exchange firm Deutsche Bӧrse is expanding its long-standing partnership with Google Cloud as part of a push to ‘economise and concentrate’ its cloud strategy Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Cost-of-living crisis creates appetite to switch banks

As millions of Brits struggle with their finances, many view tailored financial services as beneficial Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Banking regulatory body wants a ‘tripwire’ to flag APP fraud

Banking code of practice organisation wants banks to monitor where authorised push payment scammers are sending stolen money Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: Poor training is worse than no training at all

Bad security training is a betrayal of users, a security risk, and ultimately a waste of money, but there are some reasons to be optimistic about the future, say Mike Gillespie and Ellie Hurst of Advent IM Continue Reading

By

• Ellie Hurst, Advent IM
• Mike Gillespie

APP fraud reimbursement proposal is ‘fundamentally flawed’, say MPs

MPs claim the involvement of a bank-sponsored organisation in reimbursing victims of APP fraud would be a conflict of interest Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

‘Profound’ digital pound decision faces policymakers

The UK Treasury has launched a consultation paper to help lay the foundations for a ‘profound decision’ over a digital currency Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

TSB pilots pods as branch replacements

TSB joins Barclays in adopting banking pods to ensure customers have access to physical banking services as the number of high street branches declines Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Online banks still riddled with cyber security flaws, report says

Online bank Virgin Money was found to have the weakest online and application security measures in a Which? study but Nationwide, TSB and The Co-Operative Bank all failed on multiple points, too. Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The Security Interviews: How to overcome data protection compliance challenges

Complying with the vast swathe of data protection legislation around the world is complex, especially for smaller organisations without the necessary expertise. Could the compliance process be simplified, and if so, how? Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Finance regulator finding more misleading promotions quicker through improved digital tools

UK finance regulator able to find and block misleading promotions faster through improved digital tools Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

LockBit gang confirms Ion cyber attack as disruption continues

The LockBit ransomware cartel has taken responsibility for this week’s attack on financial software firm Ion, and is threatening to leak stolen data on Saturday 4 February Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor
• Valéry Rieß-Marchive, Rédacteur en chef

FCA cracks down on misleading promos by social media influencers

Social media is becoming a major part of the FCA’s work in clamping down on misleading financial advertising and promotions, with multiple influencers rapped for their behaviour Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: In 2023, we need a new way to cultivate better habits

Regular, small adjustments to behaviour offer a better way to keep employees on track and cultivate a corporate culture of cyber awareness, writes Elastic’s Mandy Andress Continue Reading

By

• Mandy Andress, Elastic

Security Think Tank: Getting the training and development mix right

Rob Dartnall, CEO at SecAlliance and chair of Crest’s UK Council, describes the need for formal, varied and continuous development in the cyber security sector Continue Reading

By

• Rob Dartnall, SecAlliance

Suspected LockBit ransomware attack causes havoc in City of London

A suspected LockBit ransomware attack on trading software firm Ion has caused chaos for City of London traders Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government announces plans to protect consumers through cryptoasset regulation

UK government wants feedback on its plans to regulate organisations operating in the cryptoasset sector Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cloud security top risk to enterprises in 2023, says study

A PwC study finds senior executives expect cyber attacks on cloud services to increase significantly this year Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

PayPal slashes 2,000 jobs in face of tough economic outlook

Fintech giant making thousands of redundancies as global economic outlook remains poor Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Malware variant can block contactless payments

Kaspersky warns that the latest variant of the Prilex malware can block contactless payments to force people to insert cards, enabling criminals to steal money Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK Cyber Council and ISACA launch audit, assurance programme

The UK Cyber Security Council has teamed up with ISACA to partner on a new audit and assurance programme for security pros Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Crédit Agricole tests quantum in finance

The corporate and investment bank has run experiments with Pasqal and Multiverse to demo quantum computing in finance Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Zurich Insurance Group plots multiyear move to AWS public cloud

Multiline insurance firm Zurich is plotting a move to the AWS public cloud to help revamp its customer offerings Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Digital banking changing the high street forever as banks close branches and open alternatives

Banks are reshaping their channels as customers move to digital services, with physical innovation complementing digital strategies Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Mark Logan on his vision for a Scottish technology ecosystem

The Scottish Government’s entrepreneur advisor speaks to Computer Weekly about the philosophy behind an ambitious technology ecosystem strategy Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Final months of 2022 saw highest ever number of bank account switches

More people than ever before switched their current account provider using the government’s switching service Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK Treasury recruiting digital currency leader

The UK government’s investigation into the merits of a central bank digital currency gathers pace at it looks for a team leader Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Boards struggle to resolve cyber risk in digital supply chains

Accelerated digitisation of supply chains is introducing more cyber risk for which many organisations seem unprepared, according to the BSI’s annual report on supply chain risk Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK insurers need to up their game on cyber gaps, says PRA

Gaps and limitations in how insurers respond to cyber risk need to be addressed, according to the Bank of England regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nationwide Building Society CIO to join Co-operative Bank

Gary Delooze to join Co-operative Bank as CIO after six years heading up Nationwide Building Society’s IT department Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

SSRF attacks hit 100,000 businesses globally since November

There has been a dramatic increase in attacks exploiting the ProxyNotShell/OWASSRF exploit chains to target Microsoft Exchange servers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fake online contest makes Yahoo! most phished brand of Q4 2022

Yahoo! was the most frequently phished brand during the last three months of 2022, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SMEs keen on embedded finance, but more choice needed to increase take-up

Suppliers to small and medium-sized enterprises need to offer more choice when embedding financial products in their services if take-up is to increase Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The rise of fraud in pop culture is impacting consumers’ digital trust

Shows such as The Tinder Swindler and Inventing Anna were big money-earners for Netflix in 2022, but Onfido’s Mike Tuchen says their popularity risks damaging consumer trust Continue Reading

By

• Mike Tuchen

More than 1,000 tech roles chopped at Capital One

US bank makes tech job cuts as its digital transformation moves into a new phase Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Fraudsters and cyber criminals stole more than £4bn in the UK through 2022

The amount of money stolen by fraudsters and cybercriminals in the UK saw a huge increase in 2022 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK fintech payments unicorn cuts back as Covid-19 boost wears off

Payments infrastructure firm Paddle downsizes as Covid-19-generated business boost runs out of steam Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Crest throws support behind CyberUp CMA reform campaign

Cyber accreditation association Crest International has lent its support to the CyberUp campaign for reform to the Computer Misuse Act of 1990 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fintech makes job cuts to workforce amid falling demand

Peer-to-peer lender cuts 14% of its workforce amid a rise in interest rates limiting the popularity of lending services Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cash use rises for first time in 13 years as cost of living increases

The number of cash withdrawals increased last year, for the first time in 13 years, but remains below the pre-Covid-19 figure Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How Indian banks can drive automation in corporate banking

Banks should prioritise their processes for automation based on the level of human intervention, understand their processes thoroughly and put employees at the centre of their automation efforts Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

SMEs eye moving business to challenger bank

Known for their consumer banking success, challenger banks are now winning over hearts and minds in the small business sector Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Microsoft fixes EoP zero-day on January Patch Tuesday

On the first Patch Tuesday of 2023, Microsoft fixed an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Windows Advanced Local Procedure Call, which has been actively exploited in the wild and may be co-opted into ransomware campaigns Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Davos 2023: Pervasive cyber crime and cyber security gaps pose severe risk to organisations

Governments and organisations face tough trade-offs as they balance immediate problems caused by economic recession, energy shortages and rising interest rates with longer-term risks, including the impact of global warming Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Latest Innovate Finance report reveals decrease in UK fintech investment, but like-for-like increase

Innovate Finance’s latest figures on fintech investment show reduction in UK, but report methodology leaves this open to change Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Insurer Beazley introduces catastrophe bond to ease cyber risk

Insurance company Beazley says that its $45m cyber catastrophe bond will help to protect its balance sheet and enable it to offer more cyber insurance cover Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

JPMorgan ordered to face lawsuit over cyber attack on Ray-Ban maker

US banking giant JPMorgan forced to respond to accusations that it failed to inform a business customer about suspicious transactions Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Proposed digital fraud refund rules risk excluding many victims

Proposals to establish a fraud refund mechanism in the UK risk excluding many victims of digitally enabled fraud, a major bank has warned Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How technology is fuelling CommBank’s customer experience

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has built up capabilities in cloud and microservices while empowering engineering teams to solve complex customer problems Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Traditional banking under threat from platform-based alternatives

Banking as a service embedded in non-banking business offerings will take large chunks from traditional banks Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Diversity and inclusion figures high in New Year Honours List 2023

The New Year Honours List 2023 hailed those in the technology community who promote diversity and inclusion Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

The importance of improving data quality at source

Data replication crises have struck government and scientific data quality efforts. A lack of scrutiny over data being used at source has led to oversights from national statistics to financial auditing Continue Reading

By

• SA Mathieson

Cyber security professionals share their biggest lessons of 2022

In the run-up to 2023, cyber security professionals are taking the time to reflect on the past few months and share their biggest lessons of 2022 Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

Top 10 Nordic IT stories of 2022

Here are Computer Weekly's top 10 Nordic IT articles of 2022 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How does red teaming test the ultimate limits of cyber security?

An expert ethical hacker reveals how he goes about carrying out a red team exercise Continue Reading

By

• Rob Shapland

Why the current fraud model is broken, and how to fix it

Scammers and fraudsters are catching up with the good guys; a new technological approach is needed to fight skyrocketing volumes of digital fraud, says Darwinium founder Alisdair Faulkner Continue Reading

By

• Alisdair Faulkner

Top 10 financial services IT stories of 2022

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 financial services IT articles of 2022, looking back at the moves and changes over the past year Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 10 cyber security stories of 2022

The war in Ukraine loomed large over the cyber security news agenda, but 2022 also saw growing awareness of open source security, discussion around cyber insurance, and more besides Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2022

Cyber crime continued to hit the headlines in 2022, with impactful cyber attacks abounding, digitally enabled fraud ever more widespread and plenty of ransomware incidents Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Four-day working week set to stay at Atom bank

Challenger bank Atom has formalised a four-day working week policy after a successful trial Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

TSB hit with huge fine after IT migration disaster

TSB has been fined nearly £50m due to failings during its IT migration catastrophe Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: 2022 brought plenty of learning opportunities in cyber

At the end of another busy 12 months, Turnkey Consulting’s Andrew Morris sums up some of the most important takeaways for cyber pros Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

Ethical hackers flex their muscles in 2022

Ethical hackers working through HackerOne programmes found 21% more vulnerabilities in 2022 than in 2021 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft and London Stock Exchange agree £2.3bn 10-year cloud deal

The London Stock Exchange is building on its acquisition of financial data provider Refinitiv through a deal with Microsoft Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Microsoft fixes two zero-days in final Patch Tuesday of 2022

December’s Patch Tuesday is typically a light month for Microsoft, and this year proved no exception, but there are still several critical issues worth addressing, and two zero-days for defenders to pore over Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

EU issues draft data adequacy decision in favour of US

The European Commission has concluded that the United States does ensure an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the European Union and will now launch the process towards the adoption of an adequacy decision Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The nature of the CISO role will be in flux in 2023

As cyber risk outpaces organisational defences, and cyber attacks and breaches cause more and more damage, the nature of the CISO role is entering a state of flux, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Data focus pays off for NatWest

Data is at the heart of bank’s push to improve customer experience – and enhance its green credentials, as transformation and strategy head David Charnley explains. Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Embrace prioritisation, people, imperfections

Security and IT professionals should try to make peace with their imperfections in 2023, says Nominet CISO Paul Lewis Continue Reading

By

• Paul Lewis, Nominet

Iranian APT seen exploiting GitHub repository as C2 mechanism

A subgroup of the Iran-linked Cobalt Mirage APT group has been caught taking advantage of the GitHub open source project as a means to operate its latest custom malware Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Digital bank to recruit 1,000 tech experts in Manchester

App-based bank Starling is adding 1,000 people to its workforce with technology professionals being recruited for its new operation in Manchester Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: 2022 changed how we thought about resilience

Increasing cyber resilience is at the heart of the people-processes-technology triangle, and 2022 saw shifts in all three of these aspects, says PA Consulting’s Sharon Shochat Continue Reading

By

• Sharon Shochat

Consumers to get new protections against dodgy apps

Government’s new code of practice will impose new privacy and security measures on app store operators and developers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Apple to tap third party for physical security keys

Apple is launching a number of new security protections, including the addition of third-party-provided hardware security keys Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Deutsche Bank powers new banking apps with Nvidia AI acceleration

The bank is looking at how AI acceleration can process financial texts, accelerate risk analysis and support its plans for the metaverse Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Security Think Tank: As cyber pros, we need to articulate our needs better

There is always a lot to learn about security, but one of the most important lessons may not relate to technology at all, says Petra Wenham Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

Don’t become an unwitting tool in Russia’s cyber war

Researchers have turned up evidence that enterprise networks are being co-opted by Russian threat actors to launch attacks against targets in Ukraine. How can you avoid becoming an unwitting tool in a state-backed attack? Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fake investment ads persist on Meta’s social networks

Online adverts for investment scams relating to property and crypto assets are still getting past measures designed to stop them Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Post Office boosted its ‘coffers’ as Horizon system threw up unexplained shortfalls, inquiry told

The Post Office was ‘keen’ to make subpostmasters cover unexplained accounting shortfall as its business struggled, public inquiry hears Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Ransomware: Is there hope beyond the overhyped?

Up-and-coming cyber concepts attack surface management and security mesh architectures seem to hold some promise in tackling ransomware, but they are a little way off maturity Continue Reading

By

• Paul Lewis, Nominet