IT management

The technology that enabled Covid-19 genome sequencing success

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to the scientists behind the UK’s gene sequencing work during the coronavirus pandemic to find out how cloud and data analytics enabled their success. It’s three years since GDPR entered into law – we assess its progress. And we examine low-code software development for a small business. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Why a cloud operating model matters

Successful cloud adoption requires organisations to go beyond tools and techniques to map out a cloud operating model, says consulting firm Contino Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

How computational storage delivers datacentre benefits

Computational storage is an emerging field of IT that features compute processing power closely coupled with storage. We look at what it can be used for Continue Reading

By

• Daniel Robinson

Great Eastern doubles down on data analytics

Singapore insurer Great Eastern has started a centre of excellence to drive adoption of data analytics and hone its capabilities in data governance and data engineering Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Privacy experts concerned over NHS data collection plans

Security and data privacy experts warn NHS Digital that its data collection plans could increase risk and cause a public backlash Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IR35 reforms: Blanket-banning firms risk losing contractors and suffering reputational damage

Research by contrator-focused accountancy firm inniAccounts shines a light on how contractors are responding to their clients’ handling of the IR35 reforms Continue Reading

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• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Essential Guide: How APAC firms can ride out the pandemic

In this Essential Guide, we examine the impact of Covid-19 on Asia-Pacific businesses, how they have responded and important lessons that can be learned as they ready themselves for the post-pandemic world. Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

BCS demands reform to rules on computer evidence following Post Office Horizon scandal revelations

Professional IT body wants changes to how computer evidence is used in court in the wake of the Post Office case Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Loss of 150,000 police records made worse by management failures

The loss of 150,000 records from a number of national policing systems was caused by a human coding error, but made worse by process and management failures Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Uber signs collective bargaining agreement with GMB

Uber and GMB sign “landmark” collective bargaining agreement with no ability to negotiate on earnings, attracting criticism from smaller unions that it lacks teeth Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

MP-backed push to stop tech giants claiming super-deduction tax relief thwarted

Move to prevent the likes of Amazon using the government's new super-deduction policy to minimise their UK tax liabilities even further fails to win support in the House of Commons Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

TCS opens its first European innovation centre in Amsterdam

Netherlands capital hosts TCS’s latest innovation hub, which will bring together an ecosystem to address the challenge of sustainability Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security ops teams struggle to switch off at home

Spiralling stress levels among SOC and IT security teams can be attributed mainly to alert overload, says Trend Micro Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CIO interview: Tarah Lourens, chief product and technology officer, Rightmove

Rightmove’s chief product and technology officer is working to create fresh data-led services and products, growing the team and building capacity and capability Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

How supply chain digitisation is paving the way to gene therapy

Big pharma has been on the frontline to vaccinate the world against Covid-19. Digitising supply chains sets them up to personalise patient care Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

CW Nordics: Denmark takes a top-down approach to gender equality in tech entrepreneurship

Tech Nordic Advocates has adopted a new approach to closing the gender gap in Danish technology startups, looking to emulate Canada’s top-down approach. Also in this issue, find out the state of play with the adoption of open banking in Europe. Continue Reading

Openreach taps Ciena to boost connectivity services for UK carriers

To hasten full-fibre network build out and help meet growing customer demand, BT-owned broadband provision division deploys new routing, switching and optical solutions Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Singapore deploys drones to monitor reservoir water quality

Singapore’s national water agency PUB is deploying autonomous drones at six reservoirs to monitor water quality and other activities to improve operational efficiency Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

How the pandemic accelerated the Gulf’s edtech revolution

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital learning technologies in the Gulf region’s education sector Continue Reading

By

• Alicia Buller

NGOs file complaints against Clearview AI in five countries

Privacy and human rights organisations have asked data protection regulators in the UK, France, Austria, Italy and Greece to investigate controversial facial recognition company Clearview AI Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Department for Education’s e-learning unpreparedness widens inequality among students

Department is ‘surprisingly resistant’ to a lessons-learned exercise based on findings during Covid, says Public Accounts Committee report Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Build 2021: Code abstraction and automatic code generation

Microsoft’s annual software developers’ event, Build, opened up with the company’s CEO painting a picture of opportunity for software developers Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

More data stolen in January 2021 than in all of 2017, says report

The volume of data being stolen through breaches is growing steadily and shows no sign of slowing, according to a report from Imperva Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Millions of pounds lost to crypto fraud on social media

More than £63m has been lost nationally by victims of investment fraud via a social media platform, says Action Fraud Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google offers free tech skills training to UK jobseekers

Online training in areas such as IT support and UX design will be available through the Department for Work and Pensions Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

‘It's a good day when we refer a case,’ CCRC tells MPs during review of Post Office prosecutions

Criminal Cases Review Commission will not allow pressure on its resources to prevent subpostmasters seeking a review of their criminal convictions Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Nordic CIO interview: Tommi Tuovila, Neste

Former Olympian talks to Computer Weekly about the challenges facing CIOs in a rapidly changing world Continue Reading

By

• David Benady

Policies key to revolutionising Identity Governance and Administration

The proliferation of digital identities, applications, data, security threats and compliance requirements means that Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) has never been more important, but not all organisations are approaching it in an effective and efficient way Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IR35: MPs denied vote to amend Finance Bill to ‘curb or kill’ umbrella companies

MPs were denied the opportunity to vote in favour of amending the incoming Finance Bill to ‘curb or kill’ umbrella companies, prompting industry watchers to double down on calls for regulation Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Trust is key to keeping the digital customer happy

Consumers were forced into using digital channels during the coronavirus lockdowns, but some digital users now plan to return to the physical world Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Threat of group GDPR legal action haunts CISOs

The vast majority of security leaders questioned for a new report say they are concerned about the possibility of group legal settlements against them following a serious data breach Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

McAfee to change terms of auto-renewing consumer plans

Consumers who found their McAfee antivirus contracts auto-renewed will be able to get out of their contracts and get their money back Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Where to run containers? Bare metal vs virtual machines

We look at the key differences between running containers in virtualised environments and on bare metal servers and focus in on the main trade-offs and decision points Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Think 2021: AI and automation dominate IBM’s growth strategy

Think 2021 was an opportunity for IBM to showcase its progress in a vision for hybrid cloud operations and artificial intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas McQuire

Industry reflects on three years of GDPR

Looking back on 12 tumultuous months, we assess how GDPR has weathered the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, and consider what the coming year may hold for data protection Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Stockholm’s startup scene seeks more diversity

Swedish capital has created a world-leading tech startup environment, but it still lacks the diversity of people needed to move it to the next level Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

Online Safety Bill: an opportunity for tech to get it right

Long-awaited proposals for regulating internet companies still leave much to be defined – and the tech sector must take the lead in finalising a plan that works for society and government Continue Reading

By

• Julian David, TechUK

UK startups lack gender diversity in senior technical roles

Women account for about 2-3% of engineering and technology directors in startups and scaleups, says report Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Legacy vulnerabilities may be biggest enterprise cyber risk

While high-profile cyber attacks and zero-days grab headlines, statistics gathered by network security specialists Cato suggest CISOs should be addressing legacy threats Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Making data an asset, not a threat

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine the latest developments in the UK government’s National Data Strategy and what it means for the economy. Our latest buyer’s guide explains the emerging technologies around computational storage. And we look at the advances in customer experience management during the pandemic. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Air India is latest victim of Sita hack

Data on millions of people who flew with Air India between 2011 and 2021 appears to have been compromised in the recent Sita supply chain attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How Virgin Atlantic used Workplace from Facebook to great advantage during the pandemic

Virgin Atlantic was an early adopter of Workplace from Facebook. We find out how the collaboration tool has supported the airline throughout the pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

UK to have digital border by end of 2025

Home secretary’s plans for immigration reform include border crossing technology, online immigration status service and electronic travel authorisation system Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Dutch researchers build security software to mimic human immune system

Software could help IT systems develop immunity to some cyber attacks in a similar way to how the body fights infection Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Government pumps £166.5m into green technology

The government funding will be awarded to innovators, businesses and academics across the UK to develop technologies in carbon capture, greenhouse gas removal and hydrogen Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

How Bureau Veritas migrated 85% of its applications to the AWS cloud

In six years, France-based services giant BV has migrated 115 applications to the AWS cloud, mostly using in-house expertise. We talk to the company’s IT director Continue Reading

By

• Gaétan Raoul, LeMagIT
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

How education reform promises could plug tech skills gap

Skills and Post-16 Education Bill will support lifelong learning, offering people an opportunity to retrain Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

IR35: MPs urged to back ‘curb or kill’ umbrella company-focused Finance Bill amendments

Two amendments to the incoming Finance Bill that have the potential to ban the use of umbrella companies are being voted on by MPs in the House of Commons today Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Innovation and skills at the heart of CBI report

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) wants an inclusive and innovative economy, with increased research and development (R&D) investment and better digital intensity and adoption, particularly among SMEs Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Lack of developer attention to cloud security prompts alerts

The personal data of over 100 million Android users may have been put at risk through a variety of cloud service misconfigurations Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government Digital Service sets out three-year strategy

The new GDS strategy up to 2024 includes a focus on making Gov.uk a single, trusted source of information, joining up services, and creating a pan-government digital identity solution Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Alibaba taps machine learning to digitise Chinese classics

Alibaba’s research arm Damo Academy has developed a machine learning model to convert scanned pages of ancient Chinese classics into text Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

UK regulators commit to closer cooperation on digital economy

Two UK regulators have issued a joint statement and signed a memorandum of understanding on the need for closer collaboration on digital markets Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

What digital transformation means for data storage

We survey the key planks of digital transformation and look at the storage technologies emerging to support it, such as NVMe and QLC flash, hyper-converged infrastructure and cloud storage Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Pandemic tech use heightens consumer privacy fears

Report on consumer attitudes to privacy finds evidence of a “heightened sense of fear” as digital footprints expand inexorably Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW APAC: Buyer’s guide to HR software

In this handbook, focused on HR software in the Asia-Pacific region, Computer Weekly looks at the considerations when choosing a human resource management application Continue Reading

Government sets out implementation plan for genomics strategy

The 2021-22 implementation plan for government’s 10-year Genome UK strategy includes improving diversity of genomics data, rolling out whole genome sequencing to rare diseases patients, and delivering a proof of concept for a next-generation approach to cancer treatment Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

GDPR-readiness of EU Cloud Code of Conduct wins backing of European data protection authorities

The EU Cloud Code of Conduct, which aims to help IT buyers source GDPR-compliant cloud services, has found favour with the European Data Protection Board Continue Reading

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• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Subpostmaster campaign group to meet Post Office scandal inquiry chair

The subpostmaster campaign group JFSA refused to cooperate with initial inquiry because it ‘lacked teeth’, but is now willing to talk after it was put on a statutory footing Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Malicious scans for at-risk systems start minutes after disclosure

Statistics collated by Palo Alto Networks reveal malicious actors begin scanning the internet for systems at risk of new CVEs within minutes Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Throwback Thursday: Even data fragmentation has gone virtual

If there’s one thing that our report Storage Anywhere and Everywhere from eight years ago reminds us, it’s that the risks of uncontrolled data growth are nothing new. As our contribution to the bit ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Betts, Freeform Dynamics

5G-enabled sales to surpass €400bn and offer huge green gains by 2030

Commissioned by global telco, study in five European geographies finds hugely positive socio-economic impact from 5G roll-out in terms of enabled sales, employment and reduced greenhouse gas emissions Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

The National Security and Investment Act: What datacentre operators and investors need to know

The incoming National Security and Investment Act will give the UK government enhanced powers to pre-screen and intervene on datacentre M&A deals, prompting concerns it could dampen the sector's soaraway growth rates Continue Reading

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• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

UK government publishes framework on automated decision-making

The framework focuses on making the use of algorithms and automated decision-making systems within the public sector more ethical, transparent and accountable Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Edging closer to composable business

Covid-19 forced organisations to try radical new things. Building apps from pre-built functions is one that Mulesoft believes has longevity Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

‘Nothing off the table’ in statutory Post Office scandal inquiry

The government confirmed that the inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal will be given statutory status and wider scope Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Reports of stolen Irish health service data being leaked online

Leaking of deeply confidential and personal information on patient healthcare marks a new low for the criminal Conti gang Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Barclays first bank to publish online scam refund details

All banks must be transparent about the proportion of victims of authorised push payment fraud they refund, says consumer rights organisation Which? Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Legacy data and IT issues ‘laid bare’ during Covid-19, says NAO

The pandemic has exposed challenges with legacy data and IT systems in government, and has made the government response more challenging, says the National Audit Office Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Paying for IT

For much of IT history, your options for acquiring IT solutions were pretty limited. It was a choice between a one-off capital charge, combined with annual maintenance fees, and a three year lease ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Lock, Freeform Dynamics

Post Office Horizon inquiry set to be given statutory status with wider powers

The government inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal is set to be made statutory with the power to call witnesses under oath and compel provision of evidence Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Microsoft EU Data Boundary dubbed ‘smoke and mirrors’

Data protection experts claim Microsoft’s decision to create an EU Data Boundary is a tacit admission that it routinely transfers and processes the personal data of European citizens outside the bloc Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Santander says sorry for weekend tech outage

Bank’s customers were unable to access multiple banking channels because of technical problems Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cisco acquires Kenna Security amid security expansion

Cisco announces a new acquisition alongside service enhancements around XDR and SASE in support of its security customers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Irish High Court dismisses legal bid by Facebook over EU-US data transfers

Latest twist in long-running legal battle sees Facebook lose legal bid to prevent the Irish Data Protection Commissioner suspending its transfer of data about European citizens to the US Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Australian budget lends support to digital economy

Australia’s A$1.2bn Digital Economy Strategy ticks most of the right boxes, but some industry experts say areas such as broadband infrastructure and artificial intelligence are still underfunded Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Withers

The real-life consequences of ransomware attacks

In this week’s Computer Weekly, after a ransomware attack shut a major US oil pipeline, we examine the real-life consequences for organisations facing similar threats. We ask the experts for their top tips in reducing datacentre running costs. And we hear how data science skills are helping government make better decisions. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Post Office scandal: The rise of computers and the decline of English justice

The Post Office prosecuted its subpostmasters up and down the country with a zeal that would not have embarrassed the Inquisition Continue Reading

By

• Paul Marshall

Half of UK workforce lacks essential digital skills for work

A ‘hidden middle’ of more than 17 million people do not have the abilities needed to participate and contribute to the digital world in life and at work, study says Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Conti ransomware syndicate behind attack on Irish health service

More details continue to emerge of the significant ransomware attack on Ireland’s HSE Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IR35 reforms: Government gifted roadmap to umbrella regulation by ex-senior policy adviser

Rebecca Seeley Harris, a former senior policy adviser to the Office of Tax Simplification, has joined forces with Offpayroll.org founder James Poyser to pen a draft policy to help the government fast-track its umbrella market regulation plans Continue Reading

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• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

NCSC study to probe disability and neurodiversity in cyber

National Cyber Security Centre and KPMG have launched a new diversity study aiming to capture benchmarks on disability and neurodiversity in cyber Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government seeks input on supply chain security

Amid concerns that too few companies are addressing vulnerabilities in their supply chain, DCMS is opening a consultation on new measures to enhance security Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why new EU rules around artificial intelligence are vital to the development of the sector

Shawn Tan, CEO of global AI ecosystem builder Skymind, explains why the European Union’s new rules on artificial intelligence are a good thing Continue Reading

By

• Shawn Tan

How M1 is striving to be a digital telco

Singapore’s M1 is dialling up its digital chops by monetising its data, building more personalised services for subscribers, and going beyond connectivity as it evolves into a digital telco Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Container-native storage: A definition, and what to ask suppliers

We look at container-native storage – aka cloud-native storage – what defines it, and its benefits as a way of bringing persistent Kubernetes storage to containerised applications Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Transparency is essential as we enter the era of ‘government by algorithm’

The public sector is increasingly allowing algorithms to make vital decisions that affect people’s lives – but how do we know those algorithms work or what they do? Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Rees, Reform

The right tech choices for hybrid workers

Various studies give a mixed reaction to businesses returning to office work, but what is apparent is that support for remote working will continue Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Colonial Pipeline paid $5m ransom, reports say

Colonial Pipeline may have paid a significant ransom within hours of being attacked, it has emerged, but it’s unlikely the story ends here Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Irish health service hit by major ransomware attack

IT systems in hospitals across Ireland have been switched off following a significant ransomware attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Digital bootcamp initiative could kickstart new thinking about technology skills

The government’s digital bootcamps initiative could help begin to shift the way we think about the roles of technology professionals Continue Reading

By

• Bev White, Nash Squared

More former subpostmasters have criminal convictions quashed

Two former subpostmasters pushed to the brink of suicide after being convicted for financial crimes finally have their names cleared Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Dutch police used deep learning model to predict threats to life

Dutch police developed a deep learning model in their EncroChat investigation to predict which messages contain serious threats to life Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor
• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Cabinet Office launches climate challenges for startups

The Cabinet Office has partnered with government technology accelerator Public to run a programme for startups developing innovative digital and data technologies that can help with some of the most pressing climate issues Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

The shape of fraud and cyber crime: 10 things we learned from 2020

While a pandemic-driven increase in cyber crime and an exacerbation of existing fraud trends were, to a large extent, to be expected, the LexisNexis Risk solutions UK cybercrime report 2020 still contained a few surprises Continue Reading

By

• Neira Jones

Mars expands Microsoft strategy to drive business agenda

Mars plans to drive new data insights and AI across its supply chains to optimise production and lower its carbon footprint Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Portworx gets container-native array management for Pure hardware

Container storage player Portworx builds in container-native functionality to allow discovery, provisioning and management from inside Kubernetes cluster, but only on Pure arrays so far Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Publishing exploit code does more harm than good, says report

Disclosing exploit code before patches are available gives malicious actors a ‘massive’ head-start, says Kenna Security Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Too many disconnected systems in government, says minister

Cabinet Office minister Julia Lopez wants to address issues with legacy systems, improve digital skills across government and improve department collaboration, including in procurement Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Biden beefs up public-private security cooperation

Joe Biden has signed a new Executive Order to harden US cyber security and government networks, with an emphasis on information sharing Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor