IT news in your industry sector

Audi fine-tunes its digital performance to boost online car sales

In this week’s Computer Weekly, the digital chief at Audi UK discusses how the carmaker is tackling the slump in new car sales. One of the largest global malware botnets has been taken down, but how much of a blow will it be for cyber criminals? And we hear how one county council made huge savings on its SAP installation. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Interview: Robert Opp, chief digital officer, United Nations Development Programme

Chief digital officer of the United Nations Development Programme talks about the relationship between digital technologies and sustainability, and how it can be used for a more environmentally-friendly and inclusive future Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

NHSX backs mobile app to detect kidney disease

The app, which is being funded by the AI in Health and Care Award programme, turns a smartphone camera into a clinical-grade tool to help detect kidney disease Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

North-West England ‘perfect’ growth area for tech startups

Industry groups mapping the UK’s technology landscape say the North-West of England is a hotspot for growing tech firms, which benefit from increasing investment and geographic proximity to academic and business support networks Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Data of thousands of Dutch citizens leaked from government Covid-19 systems

Weak access controls and outdated systems blamed for leaking of the personal details of thousands of Dutch citizens tested for Covid-19 Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

EncroChat: Appeal court finds ‘digital phone tapping’ admissible in criminal trials

Appeal Court decides EncroChat-encrypted phone records can be used in criminal trials. Critics say the decision means phone tapping no longer has a ‘clear meaning in the digital age’ Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Mayor of London launches digital inclusion initiative

Taskforce focused on increasing digital inclusion in London will promote digital skills and increase access to devices and connectivity Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Government R&D funding fails to maximise ‘catapult’ potential

Barriers in the UK’s research and development funding system mean technology and innovation centres, also known as catapults, are prevented from maximising their potential economic impact Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Financial regulatory body bombarded with malicious emails

New disclosures reveal the FCA’s systems bounced almost a quarter of a million malicious emails in a three-month period Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security firm Stormshield loses source code in cyber attack

Source code from two products developed by French cyber security firm was compromised in a December 2020 incident Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UKRI should speed up Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund approval processes, says NAO

Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund’s lengthy approval process leads to delays in funding projects and could be a deterrent, according to the National Audit Office Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Five key points about unstructured data storage on-prem and cloud

We look at unstructured data, the myriad forms of data it comprises and the key storage options available, which include NAS and object storage on-prem and in the cloud Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Revolut rewrites policy to include permanent remote working

Challenger finance firm Revolut is redesigning its office spaces and introducing permanent remote working policies Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Woodland Trust hit by cyber attack in December

Conservation charity is investigating what it describes as a ‘sophisticated’ cyber attack but has waited nearly two months to inform its members Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Boeing outsources to Dell affecting 600 IT jobs

US aircraft manufacturer contracts hundreds of IT roles to Dell as it accelerates outsourcing plans Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

SolarWinds chases multiple leads in breach investigation

Investigators at SolarWinds are exploring multiple theories as to how the company’s systems were compromised Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CCS goes live with £800m NHS IT framework

Digital Capability for Health framework covers development and IT management services for health and social care organisations Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Fraud and cyber crime still vastly under-reported

The scale of digitally enabled crime in the UK is dramatically under-reported, new statistics indicate Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Let’s build on the innovation shown by UK tech during pandemic

The UK’s technology sector has innovated and shown leadership through the Covid-19 crisis, particularly with developments in AI. It is now time to maintain and build on that progress, so the UK remains a global force in tech innovation Continue Reading

By

• Bev White, Nash Squared

CDEI: Local government data use must keep up Covid momentum

The Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation says momentum in local authority data use during the Covid-19 pandemic is in danger of being dissipated without central government investment and support for data skills development Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

CIO interview: David Walmsley, chief digital and omni-channel officer, Pandora

The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic could have been a disaster for the jeweller, but due to its digital transformation programme, it was ready to carry on serving its customers online Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

Has Covid-19 made bank branch closures easier to sell?

Big banks continue to close branches and invest more in technology as the Covid-19 pandemic makes a case for digital banking Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Healthcare and life sciences dominate 2021 DataIQ 100 list

NHS England’s managing director of data and analytics, Ming Tang, joins data leaders from pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and GSK in the top 10 of this year’s DataIQ 100 list Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Venture capital trusts lobby for relaxed state aid rules

Venture Capital Trust Association chair speaks to Computer Weekly about how the UK’s exit from the EU means state aid rules can be rewritten to allow for the expansion of funding mechanisms used by tech startups Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Google grows cloud sales as parent’s profits top $40bn

Alphabet announces massive overall profits and increased Google cloud sales Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

‘Classic’ Cerber ransomware targets health sector in high volumes

Cerber ransomware-as-a-service seems to have re-emerged as one of the most critical cyber threats facing healthcare organisations, reports VMware Carbon Black Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SolarWinds patches two critical CVEs in Orion platform

New vulnerabilities disclosed as SolarWinds reels from December 2020 Solorigate/Sunburst attack – but do not appear to have been exploited yet Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CIO interview: Deryck Mitchelson, director of digital, NHS Scotland

We speak to NHS Scotland’s head of digital about the IT to help ease the pressure on the health service, which has intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Ten startups graduate from virtual reality-focused accelerator

Startups focusing on building new immersive technology products have completed Digital Catapult’s Augmentor accelerator programme Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Nordic region provides autonomous vehicle test bed

Nordic region has the suppliers, environment and appetite for pioneering the development of autonomous vehicles Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Nordic countries dominate European online banking take-up

Nordics dominate online banking take-up in Europe, but the UK is not far behind Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Chelsea and Westminster NHS launches diabetes app

Together with supplier Sensyne Health, clinicians at the trust have designed a diabetes app that allows patients to manage their condition at home Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Liverpool City Council upgrades to cloud-based contact centre

An 8x8 integrated cloud PaaS contact centre with voice, team chat and meetings support is helping to drive the council’s digital agenda Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Ford makes Google preferred cloud partner for next-generation connected car push

The Ford Motor Company has gone public with details of the next phase of its ongoing connected car push, which involves a newly struck six-year tech collaboration with Google Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

IT scandal exposes legal rule that made it easy for Post Office to prosecute the innocent

Lawyers call for changes to digital evidence rule that made it easier for the Post Office to ‘bamboozle courts’ and make subpostmasters pay a heavy price for its IT failings Continue Reading

Business intelligence helps ambulance service’s pandemic response

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how one ambulance service is using business intelligence tools to join up datasets to improve its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Our latest buyer’s guide examines video conferencing and collaboration. And we look at the benefits of real-time streaming data analytics. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Financial services giants form EU-focused coalition to boost sector’s public cloud adoption pace

A dozen or so European financial institutions have joined forces to stimulate the pace of public cloud adoption in the sector Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Business and HR leaders face COVID-19 vaccine dilemmas

COVID-19 vaccines open up a Pandora's Box of issues for companies learning how to deal with the return to offices and other workplaces. Here's why technology is critical. Continue Reading

By

• Scot Marcotte

Serco confirms Babuk ransomware attack

Outsourcing firm was hit by the ransomware last week but insists most of its operations are running as normal Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NHS Digital completes NHSmail migration to the cloud

NHS Digital’s Chris Parsons shares how the organisation managed to migrate more than 2.1 million NHSmail accounts to the cloud during a global pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Chris Parsons

West Midlands refreshes digital strategy

Combined authority’s 2021-2026 digital roadmap aims to address the digital divide and make the West Midlands the most digitally connected region in the country Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Netbackup 9 adds flexibility with hyper-converged backup options

Veritas’s enterprise backup flagship is available in hyper-converged infrastructure and has embraced containerisation, for better hardware and application scalability Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT

UKRI suspends services after ransomware attack

UK Research and Innovation was hit by an undisclosed strain of ransomware at the end of January Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IR35 private sector reforms: Zurich Insurance under fire over contractor blanket ban

Zurich Insurance is the latest high-profile financial services company to declare contractors can only continue to engage with it via umbrella setups from April 2021, ahead of the IR35 rules coming into force Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

‘Victory for free speech and openness’ after tribunal confirms no territorial restrictions to FOIA

Freedom of information tribunal rules that investigative journalists and others can use the Freedom of Information Act if they live outside the UK or are not British citizens Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

SBRC picks Check Point to support cyber helpline

The Scottish Business Resilience Centre has enlisted Check Point as the first security supplier to join its incident response partnership programme Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Biometrics ethics group addresses public-private use of facial recognition

Home Office’s Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group releases briefing note on the use of live facial recognition in public–private collaborations following a year-long investigation Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Revealed: Brits who fuelled ‘vicious’ conspiracy theory by Trump supporters

Trump supporters have apologised and paid millions in damages to the family of murdered Democratic Party staffer Seth Rich for promoting false allegations that Rich – not Russian agents – stole emails from the Democratic National Committee Continue Reading

By

• Duncan Campbell , 2QQ Ltd, Sussex University

Commerzbank announces big job cuts and branch closures

German bank is closing hundreds of branches and cutting thousands of jobs as it reshapes for the digital age Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Manufacturing particularly at risk of Solorigate-linked breaches

Every fifth victim of the SolarWinds Solorigate/Sunburst attack was a manufacturing organisation, say researchers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Rethinking IT recruitment

IT job applications tend to look for skills in particular technologies, but for some tech roles, life skills and worldly experience are equally important Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Five key questions about Kubernetes backup answered

We look at when to back up containers, what to protect, the main methods of backup for Kubernetes and the main Kubernetes backup products available in the market Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

JP Morgan Chase hires for UK digital bank launch

US banking giant hires in the UK in preparation for digital consumer bank launch Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Contactless payment limit could rise to £100 as FCA seeks industry views

UK financial services regulator is considering raising the contactless card payment limit to £100 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Nakivo to use AWS Object Lock as anti-ransomware tool

Backup software maker leverages AWS Object Lock’s ability to create immutable WORM repositories as a means of helping organisations protect against malicious deletion or corruption Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Yorkshire Building Society migrating application development to improve customer satisfaction

Yorkshire Building Society is moving to new application development platform to support the creation of customer-friendly online services Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NHS Scotland uses ServiceNow to power vaccination and contact-tracing

ServiceNow is at the heart of NHS Scotland’s digital response to the coronavirus, supporting the mass vaccination programme Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Grindr complaint results in €9.6m GDPR fine

Norway’s data protection authority plans to apply a fine totalling 10% of LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr’s revenues over its data sharing practices Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

After a push at the start, Mencap’s automation journey is gathering pace

UK charity was helped out by a bank at the start of an automation investigation that is now a project sweeping across the organisation Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

HMRC IT PAC rebuke, neurodiversity in focus – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

In this episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna discuss the recent Public Accounts Committee report into HMRC IT, neurodiversity, and Gaurav Dhillon as a Silicon Valley CEO Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor
• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK
• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Conservatives broke data law to racially profile millions

The Conservative Party acted illegally in collecting data that inferred voters’ ethnicity and religious background, a Select Committee has heard Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

North Korean state attacks legitimate security researchers

Threat researchers specialising in vulnerability research and development appear to be being targeted by a North Korean state-backed group Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Customers turn to cash as IT issue hits card payments at major supermarkets

IT problem at payment processing company has forced shoppers to resort to cash in Morrisons and Co-op stores Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust launches digital service for HIV patients

Klick service triages patients according to their clinical needs and allows them to review results, manage appointments and complete health assessments Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Cyber fraud a national security issue, says Rusi report

A report from the Rusi think tank calls for fresh approaches to how we think about fighting fraud Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Salad as a service: How tech could revolutionise farming

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how new technologies are supporting the rise of vertical farming, and could revolutionise food supply chains. We examine one of the biggest trends in the cloud – serverless computing. And Brexit has not yet ended the debate about UK-EU data protection. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Salad as a service: Retailers’ interest in vertical farming grows

Retailers are waking up to the potential of vertical farming, with technology-enabled agriculture a core part of supply chain bosses’ and food buyers’ plans. Continue Reading

Are banks overburdened with responsibility for money lost to online scams?

Bank boss calls for cross-industry cooperation to reduce scams that trick people into making instant payments online Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

McLaren Group hires new CIO

Chris Hicks will take on the role as CIO for McLaren Group following the departure of Karen McElhatton in December 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Department for International Trade signs £2.6m deal with Capita

Deal will see department deploy a digital platform to distribute grants to small and medium-sized enterprises Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

HMRC criticised over continued ‘shortcomings’ in loan charge policy response

House of Lords committee tells HMRC it still has work to do to improve its response to past criticisms of its handling of the government’s controversial loan charge policy Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Government Gateway at 20 – looking back at the UK’s most successful digital identity system

Not all legacy IT systems in government cause problems – one has been at the heart of many of the most important online public services for 20 years Continue Reading

By

• Jerry Fishenden and Alan Mather

Nine out of 10 UK card payments in 2020 were contactless

Contactless cards payments accounted for around 90% of card payments in the UK in 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Sepa data leaks as agency resists ransom demands

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is resisting extortion demands from a ransomware gang, but has suffered a data leak in retaliation Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google threatens to cut off Australia

Google’s threat to end its Australian Search operation comes in the face of new legislation that would force it to pay media publishers for news content Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

MinIO stakes leadership claims in cloud object container storage

2016 startup MinIO reckons it has first mover advantage as a container-native platform that provides private/cloud object storage in and orchestrated by Kubernetes Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Immigration exemption in data protection law faces further legal challenge

Human rights groups set to take legal challenge against immigration exemption to Court of Appeal on the basis that everyone, regardless of their nationality or residence, should have their fundamental rights and freedoms protected as stated in the GDPR Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Hackney Council tenders for cyber security upgrade

Suppliers are being invited to tender for enhanced cyber security capabilities at ransomware victim Hackney Council Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Gamarue malware found on government-issued school laptops

Devices handed out by the government to support vulnerable children contain malware that appears to be contacting C2 infrastructure in Russia Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How can healthcare organisations fight increased cyber crime in 2021?

As the Covid-19 pandemic enters what may be its most dangerous phase, we explore how healthcare organisations can ward off cyber threats while preserving their ability to deliver critical care Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

UKtech50 2021: Vote for the most influential person in UK technology

Our judges have picked a shortlist, and now we invite readers to tell us who should be chosen as the most influential person in the UK tech scene for 2021 – submit your vote now Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Interview: Tony Porter, chief privacy officer, Corsight AI

Tony Porter speaks to Computer Weekly about the changes in facial-recognition during his time as surveillance camera commissioner, the ethics of using the technology, and his new role as chief privacy officer at Corsight AI Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

NHS Business Services Authority launches digital strategy

NHS body’s digital strategy aims to change culture, practices and processes to create an environment where people can do their best Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Government needs to ‘take stock’ of digital progress, says Reform

Think-tank says Covid-19 has shown the importance of a ‘digitally enabled’ public sector, but there is still a long way to go to realise the full potential of technology Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Digital knowledge must be integral part of Dutch police training

Research reveals gaps in digital knowledge among Netherlands police, with calls for a training ‘roadmap’ to get officers up to speed to tackle cyber crime Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Levanstoleski

One of Donald Trump’s last acts as US president was to pardon Anthony Levandowski, a former Google engineer who faced 18 months for being caught with his fingers in the intellectual till. Citing ... Continue Reading

By

• Ryan Priest

More subpostmasters’ prosecutions sent to appeal for wrongful conviction

Four more subpostmasters are to have their appeals against criminal convictions heard in the appeal courts Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Where is the UK’s digital strategy?

While the devolved nations press on with their digital plans, the UK government has delayed its digital strategy – yet this is too important for the economy to be put off any further Continue Reading

By

• Amanda Brock, OpenUK

HSBC closing more branches as customers turn to digital channel

Bank announces branch closures as it reshapes its network for the digital age Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

PAC demands rejigged IT investment action plan from HMRC by end of March 2021

A report by the Public Accounts Committee confirms HMRC is spending too much money on patching legacy IT systems, and needs to prioritise investing in the modernisation of its digital estate Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Architect slashes 20% off storage costs with Nasuni NAS gateway

LA-based Jerde Partnership replaced on-premise storage and backup with Nasuni hybrid cloud NAS gateways to provide seamless access across timezones to project files Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

IT scandal exposes legal rule that made it easy for Post Office to prosecute the innocent

Lawyers call for changes to digital evidence rule that made it easier for the Post Office to ‘bamboozle courts’ and make subpostmasters pay a heavy price for its IT failings Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Malwarebytes also hit by SolarWinds attackers

The nation state group that attacked SolarWinds in December got inside Malwarebytes by exploiting privileged access to its Microsoft Office 365 tenant, the firm reveals Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Five key benefits of AWS, Azure and Google Cloud file storage

The big three offer cloud file storage that can ease hybrid cloud operations, with consistency between cloud and on-premise as well as greater enterprise application compatibility Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

Questions raised by New Zealand central bank boss, following cyber attack investigation

The governor of New Zealand’s central bank said the organisation must answer questions about its security following a ‘significant’ attack Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The UK’s struggle with digital schooling

In this week’s Computer Weekly, the UK government’s sudden decision to close schools left many unable to provide children with online schooling - we examine the home learning challenges. Cyber security experts give us their forecasts for 2021. And we find out how technology supports the work of the Guide Dogs charity. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Parler v AWS, digital schooling, ambulance data – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

In this episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna discuss the purgation of Parler, the traumas of digital schooling and the South Central Ambulance Service’s use of data to support their operations during the Covid-19 pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor
• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor
• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Click fraud levels reach new heights in pandemic

Small companies risk losing £10,000 a year, and enterprises as much as £520,000, to cyber criminals as click fraud volumes spike Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Criminals fiddled stolen Covid-19 vaccine data to damage trust

Malicious actors manipulated stolen Covid-19 data in a way clearly intended to damage public trust in vaccines, says the EMA Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fixing the cracks in public sector digital infrastructure

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the flaws in the UK's digital government set-up. The appointment of new IT leadership presents an ideal opportunity for the government to fix them Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Fetzer, Reform