IT management

3 tips to reduce enterprise e-waste

Sustainable device management is an important area CIOs and IT teams should focus on to support organizational ESG goals. Learn how it can also help lower e-waste and save money. Continue Reading

Arnold Clark cyber attack claimed by Play ransomware gang

A cyber attack that struck car dealer Arnold Clark prior to Christmas has been claimed as the work of the Play ransomware cartel Continue Reading

State of DevOps: Success happens through platform engineering

The annual State of DevOps report has focused on a phenomenon known as platform engineering Continue Reading

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

Green storage: Savings to be made but tricky to achieve

Storage upgrades can bring energy savings. New hardware, the cloud and as-a-service procurement models all cut costs, but can need careful tweaking to get right Continue Reading

Building teams: A Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

In this podcast, Eric Muntz, former CTO at Mailchimp, discusses diversity of thinking and ethnic diversity in IT engineering teams Continue Reading

Japan researchers develop new data encryption method

Researchers from Tokyo University of Science have combined the best of homomorphic encryption and secret sharing in a new method to handle encrypted data Continue Reading

Chinese IoT suppliers expose UK businesses to espionage and data theft

Chinese companies supplying network components, known as IoT modules, post a greater long-term threat to UK security than the now banned 5G supplier Huawei, according to a study by a Chinese expert and former diplomat Continue Reading

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

IT’s shift to the cloud: Veeam’s data protection report in detail

With half of servers in the cloud, most backup and nearly all disaster recovery cloud-centric, the shift to the cloud is significant – but container backup is one area that is yet to settle down Continue Reading

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

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

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

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

Executive interview: Andrew Roughan, CEO, Plexal

Plexal CEO Andrew Roughan talks about how tech startups collaborate with the government to transform public services, the barriers to entry, and how the process can be improved Continue Reading

BBC under scrutiny over its digital strategy

In this week’s Computer Weekly, the BBC faces in-depth scrutiny over its digital plans – we take a look at progress. Do you need to keep data forever? We examine the technologies behind infinite storage. And we find out about the digital transformation challenges in vehicle dealerships. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

BBC assures UK Parliament digital transformation plans are on track

MPs probe broadcaster’s senior management over plans to reconstruct organisation to be fit for purpose in modern media industry and satisfy multiplatform needs of licence fee payers. Continue Reading

CIO interview: Ed Higgs, group director of IT shared services, Rentokil Initial

The pest control provider has consolidated 77 datacentres globally to just three – but with a corporate culture of acquisitions, there’s still a lot more to do Continue Reading

Trellix automates patching for 62,000 vulnerable open source projects

Since revealing startling statistics about the prevalence of a 15-year-old Python vulnerability, Trellix says it has helped fix almost 62,000 vulnerable projects in the past four months Continue Reading

NGX: Turkish arrays to challenge US mainstream storage vendors

Ankara-based NGX offers block, file and unified storage with use of cache and RAM to speed access. Software-defined storage, cloud and NVMe-over-fabrics are also coming Continue Reading

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

Royal Society calls on public sector to pilot privacy tech

The Royal Society says public sector bodies should lead the way in piloting privacy-enhancing technologies to unlock the value of data without compromising privacy and data rights, but lack of standards and incentives mean adoption is slow Continue Reading

NCSC warning over cyber risk to charity sector

Cash-strapped charities without the resource to tackle their resilience deficit are increasingly at risk from malicious actors, says the NCSC Continue Reading

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

Cloud egress costs: What they are and how to dodge them

We look at how cloud providers charge to move data from their cloud, including to other providers and between storage in the same cloud, and what you can do to mitigate “bill shock” Continue Reading

Is composable business most essential technology trend to meet challenges of 2023 and beyond?

By 2024, Gartner believes that 70% of large and medium-sized enterprises will have composability as a key criteria for new application planning Continue Reading

Royal Mail making limited progress on ransomware recovery

Royal Mail asks customers to hold back from sending post overseas as some services get back on track, while a report warns that disruptive attacks on critical infrastructure are set to become more common Continue Reading

Barclays Eagle Labs awarded Digital Growth Grant over Tech Nation

Barclays Eagle Labs incubator to take over Tech Nation’s role in administering UK government digital growth grant amid backlash from startup ecosystem Continue Reading

Can the economic slowdown propel digital innovation?

The economic downturn is starting to hurt the major tech firms but it is going to be interesting to watch how they react. Any changes they make will have a profound impact on how corporate IT ... Continue Reading

DataCore software-defined storage helps car firm avoid breakdowns

Bontaz used to face regular IT outages that took too long to recover from. Then it got DataCore software-defined storage and the ability to rapidly recover from downtime Continue Reading

How the cost of living crisis is impacting IT

The worsening economic climate is leading to job cuts across the IT sector, with Microsoft only the latest to announce thousands of layoffs - but CIOs will still struggle to find the talent they urgently need Continue Reading

Veeam survey finds ransomware blocks digital transformation

Annual report shows secular trend to the cloud and increased use of containers, but prevalence of ransomware attacks means digital transformation is hindered Continue Reading

Atempo plots course to containerised backup with S3 storage

Containerised modularised backup services will allow integration with third-party systems and backup storage unified onto S3 object storage for cost and analytics purposes Continue Reading

How Mondelez is driving change with tech

From empowering citizen developers to deploying drones to monitor the health of cocoa trees, snack company Mondelez has been firing on all cylinders to disrupt the old ways of doing things Continue Reading

CW APAC January 2023 – Trend Watch: CIO Trends

As we enter a new year, it remains vital for IT leaders to keep track of the latest developments across the industry. In this handbook, focused on CIO trends in the Asia-Pacific region, Computer Weekly looks at predictions for 2023, how the Australian Red Cross managed a donation surge, Mondelez’s digital transformation and Singapore’s public sector IT strategy Continue Reading

WhatsApp’s £4.8m fine raises questions for organisations using behavioural advertising

The Irish Data Protection Commissioner has fined WhatsApp, owned by Meta, in a case that will raise questions for organisations that rely on contracts rather than consent to comply with GDPR when offering behavioural advertising Continue Reading

International post resumes thanks to Royal Mail ‘workarounds’

Royal Mail has resumed limited international services after putting in place operational workarounds to bypass the impact of a ransomware attack Continue Reading

KFC, Pizza Hut parent shuts UK restaurants after cyber attack

A ransomware attack on Yum! Brands, the parent organisation of restaurants including KFC and Pizza Hut, was forced to shut approximately 300 outlets in the UK following a ransomware attack by an unspecified group Continue Reading

Mailchimp suffers third breach in 12 months

Email marketing service Mailchimp has suffered its third data breach in a year, but has been praised for being open about its latest attack Continue Reading

UK seeks to ban sharing ‘positive’ Channel crossing videos online

Under UK government amendments to the Online Safety Bill, video footage that shows people crossing the Channel in a ‘positive light’ could be added to a list of illegal content that all tech platforms must proactively prevent from reaching users, while senior managers could face further criminal sanctions Continue Reading

Newham Council rejects use of live facial-recognition tech by police

Live facial-recognition technology should not be used by police in Newham until biometric and anti-discrimination safeguards are in place, according to a motion passed unanimously by the council, but the Met Police and the Home Office have indicated they will not suspend its use Continue Reading

Outdated IT infrastructure poses growing risk to UK Security Vetting

Delays to UKSV’s important work in safeguarding the country’s national security are in part down to a legacy IT estate in dire need of modernisation, says the NAO Continue Reading

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

APAC consumers expect human-like service from chatbots

Consumer expectations of chatbots in Asia-Pacific have risen in tandem with improved performance of AI applications over the past year, a study has found Continue Reading

Ukraine CERT leaders touch down in London for talks

The UK’s NCSC has been hosting Ukrainian cyber security leaders for a round of bilateral talks on improving resilience Continue Reading

David Anderson KC to review UK surveillance laws

Home Office commissions independent review of the Investigatory Powers Act, known as the snoopers’ charter. It will include a review of bulk datasets and government access to internet connection records held by phone and internet companies Continue Reading

Oracle and CBI: companies cautious, selective in 2023 IT, business investment

Oracle and the CBI are seeing much the same picture of cautious technology investment of UK businesses in 2023, in the context of long Covid and the energy price inflation crisis Continue Reading

IT chiefs raise concerns over cost-of-living crisis

Organisations are looking to cut costs while still innovating with IT, and CIOs and CTOs are worried how staff will cope Continue Reading

Ukraine cyber teams responded to more than 2,000 attacks in 2022

The Ukrainian authorities responded to more than 2,000 major cyber incidents during 2022, and are blocking thousands more potential attacks every day Continue Reading

Advisory board goal for Post Office scandal victims to be returned to rightful financial position

The board set up to monitor the compensation scheme for Post Office scandal victims agrees goal of returning them to the financial position they would be in had the scandal never happened Continue Reading

Gartner: CIOs will struggle to retain and attract IT talent

While the latest spending forecast from Gartner shows continued growth in enterprise IT spending, how budgets are invested is set to change Continue Reading

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

Claim IR35 reform repeal and U-turn cost the government ‘nothing’ called into question

After responding to a question about the cost of the government’s repeal of the IR35 reforms and its subsequent U-turn on the decision, the financial secretary has come under fire for claiming no additional costs were incurred by its flip-flopping Continue Reading

Cloudflare urged to clamp down on pirates, counterfeiters

A whitepaper produced by brand protection specialist Corsearch calls on Cloudflare to do more to stop online content piracy and sales of counterfeit goods Continue Reading

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

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

Royal Mail promises ‘workarounds’ to restore services after ransomware attack

Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson apologises to customers whose businesses are being disrupted by a ransomware attack and promises a ‘workaround’ will be in place in the near future Continue Reading

StarHub to undertake major network transformation

Singapore telco StarHub is deploying a hybrid cloud architecture that will enable it to launch sovereign cloud services, among other capabilities Continue Reading

How PepsiCo works with tech startups to drive growth

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to food and drinks giant PepsiCo about how it works with tech startups to drive growth and digital transformation. Our latest buyer’s guide examines the key elements of a composable business. And with all the chatter about ChatGPT, we look at the implications of generative AI. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

How India is driving the use of open government data

India’s Open Government Data platform has paved the way for new applications and services, but concerns around data quality and privacy remain Continue Reading

Making enterprise apps composable by default

Gartner presents its composable business index to help IT leaders assess and advance the agility of their applications. Continue Reading

A passion for innovation

Food and drinks giant PepsiCo actively seeks out innovative tech startups. David Schwartz is vice-president of a programme it runs to find creative ways to use their products to benefit the business. Continue Reading

IT budgets under pressure due to poor economic outlook

IT leaders in European organisations are facing a shortfall in their IT budgets this year, but the situation is expected to improve after 2024 Continue Reading

The Security Interviews: Protecting your digital self

Our digital self – the virtual presence of who we are online – has a pervasive influence in the real world. People make judgements based on these digital depictions, so what can be done to ensure positive representation? Continue Reading

Microsoft 365 banned in German schools over privacy concerns

German schools cannot legally use Microsoft Office 365 over lack of clarity about how data is collected, shared and used, as well as the potential for unlawful transfer of European citizens’ personal data to the US Continue Reading

IR35 reforms: Contractors cite tax avoidance legislation as ‘biggest concern’ in 2023

Contractors have cited the IR35 reforms as being their biggest concern in 2023, ahead of the cost-of-living crisis and the government’s planned tax rises Continue Reading

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

How to design enterprise applications that are composable by default

Gartner presents a composable business index to help IT leaders assess and advance the agility of their applications Continue Reading

Experts concerned over silence around government obligation to review UK surveillance laws

The government is required to review the UK’s surveillance law, the Investigatory Powers Act, but experts say they are in the dark about its plans. The National Crime Agency’s operation Venetic has highlighted the need for urgent reforms Continue Reading

Government given until autumn 2023 to create technology roadmap to support net-zero strategy

Review into the government’s progress in hitting its 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goal highlights need for more action on the technology front Continue Reading

Cabinet Office looks to expand public data sharing for digital ID

Cabinet Office seeks feedback on proposed legislation to enhance data sharing across the public sector, in support of the UK government’s ambition to have a single sign-on identity-check system for all public services Continue Reading

Unionised contract workers who train Google’s AI win pay rise

Google contract workers employed at artificial intelligence training supplier RaterLabs have secured their first-ever pay rise, following collective demands that Google fulfil its own commitment to pay its extended workforce a minimum of $15 an hour Continue Reading

LockBit cartel suspected of Royal Mail cyber attack

The still-developing cyber incident at Royal Mail may be the work of the infamous LockBit ransomware operation Continue Reading

BBC assures UK Parliament that digital transformation plans are on track

UK Parliamentary accounts watchdog probes British Broadcasting Corporation senior management regarding plans to reconstruct organisation to be fit for purpose in modern media industry and satisfy multiplatform needs of licence fee payers Continue Reading

Companies warned to step up cyber security to become ‘insurable’

Investing in better IT security to protect against cyber crime will make businesses more resilient against other risks  Continue Reading

PC industry sees biggest decline ever, says Gartner

Gartner figures show an industry stuck between high levels of inventory and a lack of affordable products to tempt buyers in the PC market Continue Reading

UK government completes trials of age estimation technology

Government-led trials of age estimation and verification technologies for the sale of alcohol in nightlife venues and supermarkets have been completed, with both government and retail lobbyists pushing for legislation that would allow retailers to adopt the tools for alcohol sales Continue Reading

Government accused of leaving umbrella company regulation in limbo by shelving enforcement body

The UK government is coming under pressure to reveal the state of its plans to regulate umbrella companies after it emerged that the enforcement body it promised to create is unlikely to materialise Continue Reading

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

Chrome vulnerability could have led to widespread data theft

A dangerous vulnerability in Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers could have put billions of users’ files at risk of being stolen Continue Reading

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

UK net neutrality regulation failing all stakeholders

Leading analyst releases study showing net neutrality regulation is failing consumers, innovators and investors, calling for evidence-based broadband policy Continue Reading

Guardian confirms Christmas 2022 cyber attack was ransomware

Guardian Media Group bosses confirm the 20 December cyber attack that left staff locked out of its London office and disrupted several key systems was an untargeted ransomware attack Continue Reading

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

Royal Mail services hit by major cyber attack

UK postal service Royal Mail is asking customers not to send any overseas letters or parcels while it deals with the impact of an ongoing cyber attack Continue Reading

Should we be worried about malicious use of AI language models?

WithSecure research into GPT-3 language models, used by the likes of ChatGPT, surfaces concerning findings about how easy it is to use large language models for malicious purposes. Should security teams be concerned? Continue Reading

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

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

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

Composable IT and ERP data - how to bring the two together

Composabiity offers IT leaders an approach to developing an enterprise software strategy that can meet flexible business requirements Continue Reading

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

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

Tech firms failing to address forced labour in supply chains

Subpar due diligence processes in the tech sector – including poor purchasing practices, sparsely implemented collective bargaining coverage, and a lack of redress for workers – is leaving supply chain workers open to abuse, says KnowTheChain Continue Reading

How to find winning artificial intelligence use cases

Choosing use cases for artificial intelligence requires organisations to take a hard look at business value, risk, data and other capabilities required to realise the technology’s full potential Continue Reading

What will be trending in technology in 2023?

This year will be a bit year for IT spending despite the prospects of recession, inflation and rising costs. But companies will focus more on technology that delivers measurable pay-offs Continue Reading

Former subpostmaster Alan Bates, who ‘pulled up trees and moved mountains’, turns down OBE offer

Alan Bates, who fought for decades to expose the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, says it would be inappropriate to accept an OBE when former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells still holds her CBE Continue Reading

MicroScope: Channel themes for 2023

In this month’s ezine, we provide a guide to the main areas of focus for the channel in the year ahead, with security, sustainability and hybrid working already standing out as major themes. We also look at what makes a good partner incentive programme. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

How to identify a strategic technology platform

A strategic platform has to be broad enough to support a range of business functions while being open, extensible and modular at the same time, according to Forrester Continue Reading

Vulnerable organisations to get free Cyber Essentials support

Charities and legal aid firms are among those to be offered free security checks and certifications from the National Cyber Security Centre Continue Reading

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