IT news in your industry sector

Tech Nation Libra programme selects 35 scaleups for second cohort

The Libra 2.0 programme is designed to help underrepresented founders in the UK who are growing and seeking specific support for scaling up their business Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Hotel group IHG confirms cyber attack after two-day outage

IHG, the operator of hotel chains Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Intercontinental and Kimpton, says it has been targeted by an unknown threat actor Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

US remains favoured datacentre location for world’s hyperscale cloud and internet giants

Data released by Synergy Research Group confirms thatr the US remains the favoured location for hyperscale datacentres, but the analyst house predicts this could change in the years to come Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Datacentre Editor

VMware’s vSAN 8 gets a rebuild for the solid-state storage era

At VMware Explore 2022, we interview VMware’s John Gilmartin about the new, faster vSAN, plans to use DPUs, the vSAN+ cloud offering, and VMware Ransomware Recovery Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Digital identity is key to coping with surge in air travel

The International Air Transport Association’s One ID digital identity initiative will pave the way for seamless air travel from curb to gate and help airports cope with growing passenger traffic Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

IWGB to take Deliveroo to Supreme Court over riders’ rights

The legal challenge to establish riders as workers rather than self-employed comes months after Deliveroo and GMB signed a voluntary partnership agreement, which IWGB says does not grant riders the full range of rights they are entitled to Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Companies House to introduce digital ID system

Companies House will introduce a digital identity verification process for people wanting to register and run a company in the UK Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Bus company Go-Ahead fighting off cyber attack

Go-Ahead Group, which operates bus companies around the UK, says it is in the process of dealing with a cyber attack that may cause disruption to services Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

New prime minister Liz Truss urged to press on with IR35 and loan charge policy reviews

Contracting stakeholders are calling on Liz Truss to make good on her pledge to undertake a review of the IR35 rules when she became prime minister Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Datacentre Editor

Saudi Arabian organisations choose to outsource to improve cyber security posture

Overwhelmed by rising threats and a growing number of government mandates, many organisations in Saudi Arabia are looking for outside help to take care of cyber security Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Out with the old at Asda

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to Asda’s CIO, Carl Dawson, about the supermarket’s cloud-oriented renovation of its technology stack. We narrate the security woes at Twitter. And we examine best practices for data backup. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

It’s all systems go for Asda as takeover brings in brand new e-commerce platform

As the IT handover from Walmart looms, Asda CIO Carl Dawson tells Clare McDonald how the business is renewing all of its technology, putting the retailer in the rare position of being able to start from scratch. Continue Reading

UK payments upgrade to add more than £3bn to GDP, but much more on offer

UK GDP will increase when its ageing payments infrastructure is replaced with the latest technology to enable real-time payments Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Data-driven government needs practical steps

We should build data platforms for government with the same techniques used in creating anything digital, argues Jim Stamp, head of data at Made Tech Continue Reading

By

• Jim Stamp

Huge leap to contactless payments in past three years

Covid-19 pushes the use of contactless payments for face-to-face transactions to 90% of total Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How Okta is regaining customer trust after a cyber attack

In early 2022, cyber firm Okta was among several tech companies hit by the Lapsus$ gang. Vice-president of customer trust Ben King talks about how he has been working behind the scenes to rebuild confidence after the incident Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cloud bursting: What it is and what it’s good for

We look at cloud bursting, which allows organisations to meet demand by bursting compute and storage to the cloud Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

Interview: Sibstar, the fintech app for dementia sufferers

Creator of app and debit card designed to support people living with dementia tells Computer Weekly how the idea developed Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

BBVA to add 2,000 software engineers to workforce this year

Spanish bank BBVA is boosting its IT department while its traditional workforce reduces amid digital transformation Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Dutch government finally allowed to use public cloud

Public cloud is finally within reach for Dutch public services. Previously, the Dutch government was only allowed to use private clouds due to risks concerning privacy and security Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Unstructured vs semi-structured data: Order from chaos

We look at alternatives to relational databases that have emerged to help bring some structure to unstructured data and gain valuable insight by making it semi-structured Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

HMRC to review how IR35 works in practice following PAC criticism

Several months have passed since the Public Accounts Committee issued its damning report on the fallout from the introduction of the IR35 reforms in the public sector, and HMRC has shared its feedback on its contents Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Datacentre Editor

Police interview Horizon scandal victim in investigation into potential perjury by Fujitsu staff

The Met Police have interviewed a former subpostmaster as part of an investigation into potential perjury by former Fujitsu staff Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Local authorities experience 10,000 attempted cyber attacks every day

Local authorities across the UK face a daily deluge of cyber incidents, with phishing and DDoS attacks the most prevalent, according to an insurance broker Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google workers oppose cloud contract with Israeli government

Google workers and Palestinian rights activists call on company to divest from involvement in cloud and artificial intelligence contract with Israeli government and military, following allegations the tech giant has retaliated against an employee for being publicly critical of the deal Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Podcast: Storage the key bottleneck for AI processing

We talk to Panasas about the need for storage that can cope with delivering high volumes of small files for artificial intelligence with the throughput and latency needed to service costly GPUs Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Security Think Tank: Effective DevSecOps requires collaboration

Application security and effective DevSecOps can only be achieved through collaboration with the business – the ultimate goal is to make it safer to do business, which requires considering integrated risk management and identity and access management alongside cyber security and application security Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

Regional tech hub leaders want more support with levelling-up from next prime minister

Several senior leaders from the regional-focused UK Tech Cluster Group have shared their views on what they think the next prime minister should do to ensure tech funding is distributed more evenly across the UK Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Google debuts open source bug bounty programme

Google is calling on hackers to take pot-shots at its open source projects for the first time through a new vulnerability research programme Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Norway has NOK200m plan to bolster cyber defences

Norway is investing heavily in its cyber defences amid heightened threat from Russia Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

NHS staff fall further behind amid ransomware attack

While some NHS bodies are now recovering their services after the ransomware attack on a crucial software supplier, others are still being forced to rely on pen and paper, and some will be waiting months to recover Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Quantum computing: Industrial opportunities

Mainstream quantum computing may be years away, but some companies are finding ways to pilot the technology now, to see if it can deliver tangible business benefits Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

IAM house Okta confirms 0ktapus/Scatter Swine attack

Following last week’s disclosureby Group-IB researchers of a major phishing campaign, Okta has warned its customers to be on their guard Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government presses on with new cyber rules for telcos

Government has finalised new security rules for telecoms companies and will move to make them binding in the near future Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NetApp storage goes GA for VMware Cloud on AWS

Move will bring up to 50% decrease in TCO for customers running VMware apps in the Amazon cloud, says NetApp. No date yet for extension of the service across other public clouds Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

One Login digital identity project makes headway

Government services are lining up to work with the GDS on its One Login digital identity system, according to its director of digital identity, Natalie Jones Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Making her mark in financial technology

Archana Manjunatha’s career in financial technology took her to the trading floors in India, where she learned the ropes of futures and options trading and the back offices of some of the world’s largest banks Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Criminal 0ktapus spoofed IAM firm in massive phishing attack

Researchers at Group-IB have published research on a major phishing campaign that ensnared victims at the likes of Cloudflare and Twilio Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Adaptive RedAlert, Monster ransomwares go cross-platform

Kaspersky researchers have shared new intelligence on two emergent cyber criminal groups that have adapted their ransomwares to target different operating systems at the same time Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW Nordics: Norway struggles to keep up with demand for tech specialists

The growing importance of IT in all industries, along with a shortage in skills, make for an excellent high-tech job market for candidates in Norway. Read how recruiters are struggling to keep up with demand. Also read how the Danish government encourages research in strategic fields to attract tech companies. Continue Reading

Millions of Plex users may be at risk in password breach

Up to half of Plex’s 30 million users may have had their personal data stolen by an unknown threat actor Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security pros fret about stress and promotion over cyber attacks

CIISec’s annual report on the state of the security profession reveals some home truths for security leaders Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

LockBit 3.0 cements dominance of ransomware ecosystem

Ransomware attacks were up 47% in July compared with the previous month, according to the latest threat data from NCC Group, with the LockBit family largely to blame Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Most CISOs think they’ve been attacked by a nation state

Most organisations have made changes to their cyber strategies and policies following Russia’s invasion, and almost two-thirds suspect they have been directly targeted or impacted by a nation-state cyber attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Alleged Twitter security failings spell trouble ahead

Twitter’s former security head, Peiter Zatko, has alleged a number of serious cyber failures at the social media platform, raising the spectre of investigations and sanctions Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cloud storage TCO: Key pitfalls and how to avoid them

Cloud’s flexibility is part of the attraction, but it can also lead to costs that spiral. We look at key elements in cloud TCO and how to intelligently make use of the cloud Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

homomorphic encryption

Homomorphic encryption is the conversion of data into ciphertext that can be analyzed and worked with as if it were still in its original form. Continue Reading

By

• Alexander S. Gillis, Technical Writer and Editor

Home Office announces Scale-up visa for fast-growth firms

Scale-up visa launched to help high-growth businesses employ talent from overseas, but sponsorship requirements could undermine effectiveness Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Bfloat16: What it is and how it impacts storage

Bfloat16 is an emerging way to handle very large numbers, developed by Google for its machine and neural learning and prediction. We look at what it means for IT and storage Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

NCSC shares cyber guidance for large infrastructure builds

Balfour Beatty and McAlpine are among the large construction firms to have input into latest NCSC guidance for ensuring the security of major infrastructure projects Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Farming tech projects get £16.5m in government funding

Projects receiving funding through latest round of farming innovation programme include tech to improve fruit farming and the use of artificial intelligence to improve pigs’ welfare Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

ODI: Smart data promise could founder against paywalls

The Open Data Institute’s Mahlet Zimeta examines the government’s smart data plan, which could boost competition and empower the public, but needs to be set up to allow rapid creation of new markets without barriers Continue Reading

By

• Mahlet Zimeta

Merlin and the magic of tech

The theme park giant faced a huge challenge during Covid with its venues closed, but digital tech came to the rescue, as Merlin CTO Lee Cowie explains. Continue Reading

How digital technology rescued Merlin

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to the CTO of Merlin Entertainments – operator of Legoland, Sea Life and Alton Towers – to find out how digital saved the company when Covid shut all its theme parks. We look at how software and data analytics can help to track – and reduce – greenhouse gas emissions. And Southern Water explains how data helps to support its most vulnerable customers. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Google Cloud and Singapore government team up on AI

Singapore’s National AI office will tap Google Cloud’s expertise in artificial intelligence to build artificial intelligence applications and train public sector officers on AI Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

private sector

The private sector is the part of a country's economic system that is run by individuals and companies, rather than a government entity. Continue Reading

By

• Ben Lutkevich, Site Editor
• Ivy Wigmore

Kaspersky threat data added to Microsoft Sentinel service

Microsoft and Kaspersky have agreed a collaboration to integrate Kaspersky’s threat data feeds into Microsoft’s cloud-native SIEM/SOAR service Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Lloyd’s to end insurance coverage for state cyber attacks

Lloyd’s of London has instructed its members to exclude nation state cyber attacks from insurance policies beginning in 2023, saying they pose unacceptable levels of risk Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google employees demand end to collection of abortion data

In the wake of the US Supreme Court rolling back abortion rights, Google employees are calling on the company to stop collecting abortion-related data, so that it can never be shared with police Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Cozy Bear targets MS 365 environments with new tactics

Cozy Bear, or APT29, is trying out new tricks as it seeks access to its targets’ Microsoft 365 environments Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Data sharing: How can we make sure the UK is a world leader?

The UK government risks missing out on the benefits and opportunities laid out in its National Data Strategy – and could lose international competitiveness as a result Continue Reading

By

• Julian David, TechUK

LexisNexis sued by immigration advocates over data practices

Four immigration advocacy groups launch lawsuit in Illinois alleging data broker’s collection, aggregation and sale of people’s personal data, including non-public information, to corporations and government bodies Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Growing MFA use spurs ‘pass-the-cookie’ attacks

The exploitation of stolen session cookies by cyber criminals is once again back on the agenda, thanks to the growing popularity of multifactor authentication tools Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

It takes a breach to force boards to take notice of cyber, says UK government

Too often, it takes a major incident for business leadership to pay attention to cyber issues, according to a government-commissioned study of victims Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Contactless accounted for one-third of all payments made in the UK in 2021, research shows

Latest data from finance industry body reveals how the payments market is bouncing back after the pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Datacentre Editor

GPS tagging of migrants breaches UK data protection law, says Privacy International complaint

Privacy group files complaints with Information Commissioner’s Office and Forensic Science Regulator over Home Office’s GPS monitoring of migrants Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

CTO interview: Steve Otto, CTO, The R&A

The Open Championship was fully back in 2022 after Covid, and back at golf’s spiritual home of St Andrews – and it was an opportunity for the club’s CTO to reflect on where technology will take the sport next Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

The Turing Trust receives first batch of donated Govia Thameslink computers

Train operator plans to donate 600 computers to the charity, which will refurbish them and send them to schools in Malawi Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Cyber security accelerator launches in Greater Manchester

Accelerator will add to Manchester’s growing cyber security ecosystem, which already includes several tech unicorns, arms companies and the offices of GCHQ Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Older customers prefer phone calls to chatbots

Businesses are increasingly adopting customer-facing digital technologies, but the older generation are not so keen to embrace tech Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

South Staffs Water is victim of botched Clop attack

South Staffordshire Water moves to reassure customers that their supplies remain safe after its attackers screw up their initial assault Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why organisations need to harmonise their CIO and CISO roles

Unless properly managed, conflicting responsibilities between the chief information officer and the chief information security officer can cause project delays and budget overruns, says Netskope’s Mike Anderson Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

DWP looks to hire new CDIO

Department is on the hunt for a chief digital and information officer to lead on its digital agenda, offering up to £200,000 pa for the role Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Lawyers and journalists sue CIA and Mike Pompeo over Assange surveillance claims

CIA and its former director sued over allegations that they authorised unlawful spying on US citizens when they visited WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London Continue Reading

How clean data helps Southern Water identify vulnerable customers

Escalating prices means households around the country are having to tighten spending, with many struggling to pay their bills. Water4All, a consortium led by Southern Water, is using data to identify low-income and vulnerable households so they can be better supported Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Lightbits offers NVMe-over-TCP at 5x less than NVMe-over-FC et al

Lightbits builds NVMe-overTCP SAN clusters for Linux servers with Intel cards that accelerate network processing to give millions of IOPS with storage for public and private clouds Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Royal Mint turns to Circular Computing for remanufactured Lenovo laptops

BSI Kitemark for laptops supplied by Circular Computing intended to certify remanufactured products that are ‘as good as’ brand new devices Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Heineken puts employees in charge of their own careers with new HR system

 Continue Reading

Department of Health investigates bias in medical devices and algorithms

The government has launched a review to look at the problem of discrimination in medical devices and decision-making software Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

UK Amazon workers stage series of wildcat strikes over pay offers

Amazon warehouse workers across the UK have organised a series of spontaneous strike actions after the e-commerce giant’s management offered them pay rises between 35p and 50p Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Online Safety Bill ‘not fit for purpose’, say tech experts

IT specialists lack confidence that legislation compelling tech firms to tackle online harms will work as intended, with only a small minority believing ‘harmful but legal’ content can be effectively and proportionately policed by internet platforms Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Cisco averts cyber disaster after successful phishing attack

A potentially serious cyber attack on Cisco’s systems that began after a threat actor successfully exploited an employee’s carelessly secured credentials was thwarted without major damage Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NHS may take a month to recover from supply chain attack

Ransomware attack victim Advanced warns its NHS customers they could be waiting until early September to fully recover their operations Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Online retail sales see year-on-year drop of 2.3% in July 2022

Despite another year-on-year drop in online retail sales in July, the fall is smaller than those seen in previous months of 2022 as online sales decline slows Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Nokia on track to modernise Western Australia rail communications

Leading comms tech provider to upgrade Public Transport Authority of Western Australia’s railway communications system with private wireless and mission-critical IP/MPLS covering 250km of railway track and tunnels in project including designing, building and maintenance Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Increase in UK startups scaling to exit, but half still struggle

Despite more startups scaling to the point of exit than ever before, half are still stuck in low growth stages – particularly those working with emerging technologies Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Microsoft fixes two-year-old MSDT vulnerability in August update

August’s Patch Tuesday drop fixes more than 120 CVEs, including another MSDT RCE zero-day that is being actively exploited. Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Waterstones’ supply chain disrupted in Blue Yonder implementation

Bookseller Waterstones is recovering from the effects of a Blue Yonder implementation that has seen authors and readers up in arms Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

‘Coopetition’ a growing trend among ransomware gangs

Sophos shares data from its new X-Ops unit at Black Hat in Las Vegas, revealing a growing number of ransomware victims being attacked by multiple gangs at the same time Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK to surveil convicted migrants with facial recognition

A Home Office scheme to biometrically scan the faces of convicted migrants who have already carried out punishments has come under fire from privacy and human rights groups for being discriminatory Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

HS2 sets aside £9.5m to cover cost of IR35 non-compliance

HS2 has become the latest public sector entity to have fallen foul of the IR35 rules, with its accounts confirming that it is anticipating a tax bill of £9.5m for failing to assess the status of contractors provided to it by a third party Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Datacentre Editor

NHS recovering key services after attack on supplier

Incident at software provider Advanced took out multiple NHS services before the weekend, including the 111 advice service Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NAO guide for senior government leaders flags barriers to better data use

A National Audit Office guide for government chiefs on improving data use points to difficulties in achieving data sharing benefits and laments variability in cross-government data quality Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

CIO interview: Stephen Booth, CIO, Coventry University

After more than 20 years at the university, the CIO is still taking on new responsibilities – including his team becoming a commercial entity and acquiring its own software Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

Reliance on PSN may have exacerbated cyber attack impact

As it seeks a new supplier to reinvigorate the migration away from the Public Services Network, the Cabinet Office says relying on the legacy network may be putting public sector bodies at heightened risk in cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Podcast: How storage AIOps is revolutionising hybrid cloud ops

We talk to Tintri about storage and AIOps, which is the application of AI and machine learning-based software to monitor storage infrastructure to be able to detect patterns and predict failure, the need to upgrade, and so on Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

UK has biggest card fraud problem in Europe

Social Market Foundation calls on the UK to get a grip on its huge problem with bank card fraud in Europe Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

SBRC to administer NCSC training across Scotland

The Scottish Business Resilience Centre has been awarded a £500,000 contract to extend cyber resilience training across more than 250 at-risk organisations Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Financial services regulator opens digital delivery centre in Leeds

The Financial Conduct Authority is increasing the number of tech experts in its workforce through a new digital delivery centre in Leeds Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Spyware activity particularly impactful in July

After a quiet June, vulnerability exploitation ramped up in July, with intrusions linked to spyware seeing unusually high volumes of activity, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor