IT news in your industry sector

UK’s phone and internet bulk data surveillance unlawful, says EU court opinion

The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice issues legal opinions finding that the UK, French and Belgian bulk surveillance regimes are unlawful Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Lloyds Banking Group to create digital workplace with Microsoft

Bank is transforming how its staff work as part of a multibillion-pound digital transformation Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Big storage meets cloud in the datacentre 'as-a-service' revolution

Cloud is mainstream but the datacentre’s here to stay. This has resulted in a trend towards as-a-service in the datacentre where big storage array makers and the cloud giants meet Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

CIO interview: Merck Healthcare’s Alessandro da Luca on supply chain automation era

The CIO of Merck Healthcare, Alessandro da Luca, talks about how his organisation has automated its supply chain using machine learning software from Aera Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Windows 7: Don’t cry for me

It may have gone unnoticed with the January 14 end of support deadline for Windows 7, but Microsoft’s 10 year old OS, had one last Patch Tuesday update. And , surprise, surprise, this included a ... Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Lorca announces new cohort of 20 security scaleups

20 scaleups will focus their attention on automation, zero trust and supply chain security Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

TSB signs up IBM Services and announces Edinburgh tech hub

TSB has contracted IBM to provide hybrid cloud services as part of its £120m digital transformation plans, which will see more tech jobs in Scotland Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Travelex warns customers to be alert to phone scams

Under-fire forex provider warns that criminals may try to take advantage of its predicament to scam customers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Bristol University uses Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to speed up smoking cessation drug discovery

Scientists from the University of Bristol used Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to speed up research into how nicotine causes addiction by binding to specific receptors in the brain Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Loan charge under review: IT contractors slam government's planned policy revamp

The IT contractor community shares its verdict on the UK government's plans to revamp its controversial loan charge policy, which has left thousands of people facing life-changing tax bills and financial ruin Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

LGBTQ+ social app Grindr accused of breaching GDPR

Norwegian Consumer Council files complaints about LGBTQ+ social networking app, alleging it is in breach of the General Data Protection Regulation Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Gates Foundation mobile money projects in developing world to go live this year

Mobile money projects aim to give millions of the world’s poorest people access to financial services Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

AWS to request temporary halt to Microsoft’s work on $10bn JEDI cloud contract

Amazon to file temporary restraining order with the US federal court to prevent Microsoft undertaking any substantial work relating to its delivery of US government’s JEDI cloud contract Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Case study: How Trainline keeps customers satisfied

The Trainline is encouraging customers to discover cheaper rail fares for the same journey with its AI-enabled SplitSave option Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Dasa awards AI warship contracts

First wave of £4m funding aims to transform defence platforms and tackle issues such as information overload faced by crews Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Government distances itself from Post Office decisions in Horizon IT litigation

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy says it did not make decisions in the Post Office’s recent court battle Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Royal Bank of Canada gives Mencap a ‘leg-up’ in automating processes

UK charity gets help from Canadian bank in a collaboration aimed at creating a robotic workforce Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NSA Windows 10 security disclosure raises questions

In an unprecedented move, the NSA has got out in front of a critical cryptographic flaw in Windows 10, but in doing so has raised multiple questions Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Asos trials AR tool to give customers idea of fashion fit

Online fashion brand Asos has launched an augmented reality trial to help customers see how garments will fit their body type Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Two-thirds of UK healthcare organisations breached last year

The majority of healthcare organisations in the UK experienced a cyber security incident during 2019, with almost half the result of viruses and malware introduced on third party devices Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 42

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna greet the new decade with reflections on the Travelex ransomware attack and Dominic Cummings’ call for data science to rejuvenate Whitehall. And they take stock of the retail sector’s grim 2019, while remembering to mention the big story of the moment: Harry and Meghan Continue Reading

By

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

Building the internet of the future

In this week’s Computer Weekly, Cisco unveils the $5bn platform that it believes will be the future of the internet – we look through the details. The McLaren Formula One team discusses how IoT and data analytics have been key to its revival on the track. And we examine the importance of diversity in software development. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Why subpostmasters are calling on the government to pay Horizon trial costs

The damages that subpostmasters will receive after their court victory against the Post Office fall well short of their calculated losses Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IfG warns systems needed after Brexit transition are “impossible to deliver”

The IT required to be operational after December 2020 is almost certainly undeliverable, according to Institute for Government report Continue Reading

Secure data erasure is needed to ensure more people recycle their tech

A dedicated team of IT recycling experts offers free data erasure to give people confidence that their old tech can be safely disposed of Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Travelex to begin restoring foreign exchange services two weeks after ‘Sodinokibi’ attack

Travelex says it is making “good progress” in its recovery and is to begin restoring electronic foreign exchange services, but is silent about whether it has agreed to pay hackers a $6m ransom to decrypt computer files Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

$5bn buy-out set to make backup giant Veeam a US company

Veeam’s founders are out as investment fund gets its hands on a pioneer of virtual machine backup. Now it will be a US company and eligible to target US government customers Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT

UK urged to take centre stage in global digital trade

Trade association TechUK sets out vision to liberalise digital trade policy, under principles such as the opposition to data localisation in exchange for market access to fend off the trend towards digital protectionism Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

US, South Korea to drive 5G to reach 1.5 billion users by 2025

Aggressive pricing strategies and extensive device support, especially in the US and Korea, set to drive an explosion in 5G uptake over the next five years Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

National Lottery hacker jailed for nine months

Small-time cyber criminal jailed for his role in a cyber attack on lottery operator Camelot that netted him just £5 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Subpostmaster group calls for government to pay legal costs for Horizon trial

The group of subpostmasters that defeated the Post Office in court over a faulty IT system are calling for the government to pay the costs of the legal action Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Learning from the Travelex cyber attack: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail

The key lesson to take from the Travelex breach is that an effective response to a breach is a critical business function and no longer the sole province of the IT department Continue Reading

By

• Brian Honan, BH Consulting

The UK civil service is broken and needs reform to deliver true digital government

Boris Johnson’s special adviser, Dominic Cummings, has attracted criticism for his plans to overhaul Whitehall culture, but one former government digital chief argues that he is absolutely right Continue Reading

By

• Paul Shetler

Travelex hackers threaten to sell credit card data on dark web

Sodinokibi cyber gangsters have threatened to sell Travelex customers’ private data on a Russian underground cyber crime forum if it fails to pay a $6m ransom Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Retail group Dixons Carphone fined £500,000 over data breach

Dixons Carphone receives maximum possible pre-GDPR fine from the ICO following a 2018 data breach Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Automation could help resolve store shortfalls, says Capgemini

As consumers become more receptive to in-store technology, introducing automation to improve the retail experience could increase footfall, says Capgemini Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

New Cabinet Office junior minister takes over GDS duties

Jeremy Quin is the seventh minister to be responsible for the digital service since Francis Maude's departure in 2015 Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Don’t become the next Travelex: Get ready for ransomware

With Travelex’s IT still in disarray and banks and travellers left without access to funds more than a week after it was hit by a ransomware attack, we ask what others can learn from the foreign exchange services company’s response to the incident Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

PowerTrick backdoor used to target high-value businesses

Threat actors are exploiting a PowerShell-based backdoor called PowerTrick to go after high-value targets, warns SentinelLabs Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Can fintech succeed where schools and parents have failed?

Young people in Britain are unprepared to manage their finances when they leave home and, as a result, many run into serious problems Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CW Middle East: Digital leads the way for Abu Dhabi oil giant

The state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is transforming its business through digital projects that range from deciding where to drill for oil and gas, to helping the company decide where to sell its final products. Also find out in this issue why the UAE is setting up a university dedicated to artificial intelligence, and read an interview with Mohamed Sater, head of IT at Bahrain sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat. Continue Reading

CES 2020: IBM grows Q network collaborators

ExxonMobil hopes quantum computing will enable it to model processes at the atomic scale – something that cannot be achieved today Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Sadiq Khan calls for evolution of London Datastore

As the initiative reaches its 10th anniversary, City Hall wants data to be a key tool in tackling the capital's challenges and outlines future opportunities Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Interview: Abdul Nasser Al Mughairbi, head of digital, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company

 Continue Reading

Why the banking industry needs an IT makeover

UK banks face huge challenges keeping their service availability levels at 99.99% Continue Reading

By

• Sascha Giese

Here we go again - strap yourself in for the next 10-year ride in digital government transformation

There’s a new UK government, one with a comfortable majority, and it’s clear it wants to use that advantage for radical change. The new prime minister says the government has “a mission to ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Half of UK citizens want tighter data regulations

Over 50% of UK citizens believe the gathering and use of personal data should be subject to more stringent government oversight, according to Fujitsu Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Deliveroo exceeds tech recruitment target in Edinburgh

Food delivery firm has increased the number of technology staff it wants in its Edinburgh hub Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Five ways that backup has changed since the days of tape

Back in the day, all this was tape, but times have changed, with cloud-to-cloud backup, cloud storage, virtual and physical backup appliances and myriad endpoint hardware Continue Reading

By

• Rene Millman

Fujitsu must face scrutiny following Post Office Horizon trial judgment

While the Post Office has suffered financial and reputational damage after losing its court battle with subpostmasters, the supplier of the IT system at the centre of the dispute has major PR challenges ahead Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Implementing a 21st century approach to digital identity

The government’s attempts at digital identity have failed – it is time for a new, modern approach Continue Reading

By

• Jerry Fishenden

Scale’s HE150 the first of a big push to small edge HCI hardware

Scale Computing aims to scale to micro-sized hyper-converged with a lightweight operating system it claims its competitors can’t match for edge and remote location deployments Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Facebook to ban deepfake videos

New policy closes some loopholes around misinformation, but seems to leave others wide open Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Bus open data portal to go live in January 2020

The service will start by publishing route and timetable data and will evolve to provide fare and real-time location data in 2021 Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Broadcom flogs Symantec enterprise security unit to Accenture

Acquisition is set to make Accenture a global leader in managed cyber security services Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Met Police to upgrade command and control system

Metropolitan Police Service signs Leidos to renew command and control setup under a 10-year programme Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Swede’s war on cancer moves to a digital battlefield

One man’s blog in Sweden turned into a healthcare app to support cancer sufferers and is now expanding globally Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

Digital fashion for sustainable consumption

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at fashion for online personas, report on a programme to get more young women into cyber security, and examine edge computing as the new data frontier and how cloud-native platforms and AI might transform the datacentre. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Cyber gangsters demand payment from Travelex after ‘Sodinokibi’ attack

Cyber criminals are demanding payment to decrypt Travelex’s computer files after a devastating malware attack. New questions have been raised about the security of Travelex’s computer network after it emerged the company waited eight months to patch vulnerable VPN servers Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Highways England uses robot to speed up roadworks

A machine equipped with precise positioning technology carried out, in a few hours, road marking work that usually takes a week Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Personal transport as a service drives across Nordics

New mobility-as-a-service projects are gaining traction in major cities across Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden Continue Reading

By

• Alex Cruickshank

The Post Office computer problem that destroyed the lives of pillars of the community

The Post Office’s refusal to believe subpostmasters were suffering losses due to computer system errors was incompetent and cruel Continue Reading

By

• James Arbuthnot

Iran likely to hit back with cyber attacks, security experts warn

The possibility of cyber attack by threat groups acting on behalf of the Iranian government has dramatically increased following US actions in Iraq Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK cyber security boss Ciaran Martin to step down

NCSC chief Ciaran Martin will leave his post in the summer of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Holy grail of digital banking is, at first glance, a new channel, not a new concept

Details of Google’s plans in the financial services sector have emerged with nothing groundbreaking so far, but the sector is guessing what comes next. Continue Reading

Government injects £40m into single sign-on NHS programme

The government has put aside funding to speed up login times. Additional funding has been announced to support adult digital health services Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Survey about Swedish people’s attitude to the internet reveals growing distrust of social media

Swedish citizens are becoming more concerned about the activities of social media companies and are reducing their online interaction with them as a result Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Cummings issues recruitment call for data scientists to reshape Whitehall

Government’s most senior adviser appeals to data scientists to step forward to refashion how the UK state works Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Suspected ransomware attack causes worldwide disruption for Travelex

Travelex switches off computer systems and resorts to cash-only currency sales after malware attack. Insiders claim the currency exchange chain has been hit by ransomware which has left critical files containing customer data encrypted Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Google Health pioneers breast cancer AI scanning

An algorithm developed by Google Health promises to reduce the likelihood of patients being wrongly diagnosed, and improve abnormal mammogram scan identification Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Call for former Post Office CEO to step down from public roles after IT court battle lost

Conservative peer is calling for former Post Office CEO to step down from high-profile public roles for her part in Horizon IT scandal Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Processors re-imagined: Will cloud and AI lead mean all change in the datacentre?

We look at the changes cloud-native platforms and artificial intelligence could bring about in the datacentre. Continue Reading

By

• Daniel Robinson

Virtuous circles: Skilling up for an ethical web

Tim Berners Lee’s Contract for the Web aims to drive the internet in a more ethical, open and human-centred direction. What does this mean for the future of IT skills and governance? Continue Reading

By

• Jim Mortleman

UK satellite data to spearhead fight against climate change

The Universities of Edinburgh and Leeds have joined forces in a £5m government-backed programme to use satellite data to combat climate change Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

How to optimise remote workforces while tackling loneliness

Remote working is very common in tech companies and IT departments. How can it be managed to optimise productivity and keep employees socially connected to their companies? Continue Reading

By

• Cath Everett

Top 10 NHS stories of 2019

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 NHS stories of 2019 Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Overcoming the infrastructure and connectivity challenges of cloud gaming

The cloud gaming market has a number of infrastructure challenges to overcome to reach its potential, and the supplier community is intent on helping it address them Continue Reading

By

• Arti Loftus

Top 10 enterprise IT in the Benelux region stories of 2019

Here are Computer Weekly’s top enterprise IT stories from the Benelux region over the past year Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 10 government IT stories of 2019

Computer Weekly looks back at the main stories related to government IT this year Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Top 10 financial services IT stories of 2019

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 financial services and fintech stories of 2019 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 10 enterprise IT in the Middle East stories of 2019

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 enterprise IT in the Middle East stories of 2019 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Former Post Office CEO apologises to subpostmasters over Horizon scandal

Subpostmasters criticise former CEO’s apology for their suffering as “too little, too late” Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How Halfords is using tech to rev up its customer service

Live chat, virtual contact centres and a new unifying web platform are set to enhance Halfords’ customer service proposition in the year ahead Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

Top 10 enterprise IT in the Nordics stories of 2019

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Nordic enterprise IT stories of 2019 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 10 storage deployment stories of 2019

Here are ComputerWeekly’s top 10 storage deployment stories for 2019, which see quite a move away from traditional SAN and NAS to hyper-converged, software-defined storage and object storage Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Has Y2K windowing been addressed by banks or is Y2.02K a risk?

Big banks that haven't replaced legacy systems or fixed temporary windowing solutions to Y2K could have problems at the beginning of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

National Federation of Subpostmasters cries foul after court ruling on controversial computer system

The National Federation of Subpostmasters said it was misled by the Post Office about the robustness of the IT systems its members use Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Finnish government supports local authorities in cyber security initiative

The Finnish government has committed resources to a cyber security project aimed at local authorities Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Top 10 retail technology stories of 2019

Computer Weekly looks at what 2019 had in store for the retail industry – what technologies were retailers rushing to adopt and how is customer behaviour changing? Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Home Office details seven-point plan to cutting its Immigration Technology team's cloud costs by 40%

The Home Office has revealed how its Immigration Technology team cut cloud costs through spot and reserved instances, scheduling, auto-scaling and encouraging developers to spring clean test environments Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Top 10 storage stories of 2019

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 storage stories for 2019, with the latest trends in enterprise storage arrays, hyper-converged, object storage, scale-out NAS, and more Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Criminal Courts Review Commission to review Horizon judgment ‘swiftly’

The CCRC’s review of potentially unfair prosecutions of subpostmasters is just one of the unresolved issues in in relation to subpostmasters’ battle with the Post Office over its faulty IT system Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

HM Treasury mulls loan charge review findings, but will not confirm public release date

Contractor community frustrated by lack of concrete release date for review as loan charge settlement date of 31 January 2020 looms Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Nicky Morgan given oven ready bill to move fast to protect children on social media

Draft Bill will enable government to deliver on ambitious manifesto commitment to ‘legislate to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online’ Continue Reading

By

• Philip Virgo, Winsafe Ltd

Artificial intelligence drives autonomous ship project at Stena Line

Swedish ferry operator plans to cut costs and become more environmentally friendly by operating autonomous ships Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

How Saudi Arabia plans to become the Silicon Valley of the Middle East

With its young and educated population, Saudi Arabia has the potential to become a hub for tech innovation Continue Reading

By

• Alicia Buller

The Horizon scandal is over but the fight continues - an inquiry into the Post Office is essential

There are not enough words to fully express the depth of scandal and outrage that should accompany the conclusion of the High Court case that finally and completely found that the Post Office ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

What are the key issues facing healthcare CIOs?

Six healthcare IT leaders give their views on the major challenges for digital transformation across the NHS Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 41

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna have their Christmas Special, picking out a few gems, including the CW Diversity and Inclusion conference, and the team’s discussions of The Capture and The Circle Continue Reading

By

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

Subpostmasters proved right on IT system failures as calls for full public inquiry mount

Post Office has been “in denial” about the robustness of its core retail system, which a judge said was to blame for problems experienced by subpostmasters in a multimillion-pound group action Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA