IT news in your industry sector

Stronger regulations needed to fix banking IT problems, say MPs

Regulators need to use more potent tools to get banks to sort out problems with their IT systems, as customers become more reliant on digital channels Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK government announces new funding for robot development

The £34m package will go towards research around autonomous technologies to improve safety and public trust Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

P27 pan-Nordic payments system moves a step closer

Six regional banks sign shareholders’ agreements, agree business plan and make financial commitments to payments platform Continue Reading

By

• Alex Cruickshank

How the DWP lifted two decades of outsourcing to adopt a cloud-first model

For the past four-and-a-half years, the Department for Work and Pensions has been evolving into a cloud-first organisation. We find out how it has been getting on Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Exploring the UK’s tech opportunity in China

China is investing in technology at a scale unseen in the West – but it's open to British tech collaboration and as the UK seeks a new role in the world, the opportunities are enormous Continue Reading

By

• Russ Shaw, Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates

Government provides boost to artificial intelligence skills

PhDs and researchers will be sponsored as part of a programme aimed at creating and retaining experts in artificial intelligence technology Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

NHSX seeks chief technology officer

The principal technology adviser to the organisation's CEO, Matthew Gould, should be interviewed by early December Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Refinitiv appoints first female CTO after IT leadership shake-up

Alex Cesar steps up to be chief technology officer at financial service data provider Refinitiv, after previous CTO Phil Wellard took over as global CIO in September Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Know Fraud database became backlog dump

Reports to Action Fraud handled by City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau were quarantined as security risk, finds HM’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

British Gas powers customer experience with third-party Salesforce app

Its parent company, Centrica, uses Salesforce to support Hive – now British Gas is using a third-party Salesforce app to improve customer experience Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Key storage choices: Cloud vs tape for archive storage?

Tape still has benefits, such as an ‘air gap’ that can insulate archives from threats to data integrity. But what are the opportunities for cloud in tape’s traditional use cases? Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

Verizon to give 5G, Fios customers a year’s worth of free Disney content

US comms giant will offer all new and existing 4G LTE and 5G unlimited wireless customers access to the forthcoming Disney+ direct-to-consumer service Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Total saves £95,000 a year with Nutanix hyper-converged

Gas and electricity supplier struggled with ageing traditional infrastructure, but moved to hyper-converged for projects that include containers and DevOps deployments Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Ministry of Defence to access IT skills via £1.5bn framework

The new procurement vehicle is part of the department's plan to improve how it engages with the tech industry Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

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

Abdul Nasser Al Mughairbi is leading digital developments at Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil giant Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Banks move to contain impact of Samsung biometric flaw

NatWest and Nationwide have moved to lock down their mobile banking apps after Samsung warned of a biometric security flaw on its Galaxy and Note S10 devices Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company uses blockchain for inter-group network

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is using blockchain internally, with plans to expand it beyond the group boundaries Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government to provide local data to proptechs

Minister announces creation of a national index of brownfield site data and other initiatives to allow startups and property development companies to use public data to generate business Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Brexit: Withdrawal agreement lists EU IT data link beyond transition

Document lists system-to-system IT and network connectivity that will be required after the UK leaves the European Union Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Attacker hit VPN firm Avast through its VPN

Avast has published details of how attackers attempted to gain access to its network over a five month period Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft vs Google – who’s winning the cloud email race?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, there’s a two-horse race for dominance in the cloud email market between Microsoft and Google, but they are not alone – we examine the runners and riders. Our latest buyer’s guide looks at governance, risk and compliance solutions. And we assess the progress of public cloud in the banking sector. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Equifax lawsuit offers more evidence against passwords

Equifax’s internal security policies were a mess and directly led to one of the largest recorded data breaches in history, according to a lawsuit, demonstrating fundamental insecurities inherent in the use of passwords Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NHS Digital announces suppliers for GP IT Futures framework

The NHS’s previous IT supplier framework for GPs – composed of just four suppliers – will be replaced by a pool of nearly 70 IT companies Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Virtual Instruments is now Virtana and aims at cloud, containers

Searches for “Virtual Instruments” returned too many synthesizers, so storage monitoring pioneer went through a blue sky ordeal. It has new plans for cloud and container capability, too Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

NHS e-prescriptions roll-out aims for £300m savings by 2021

The final stage of digitising prescriptions in the NHS is expected to reduce inefficiencies, errors and paper usage Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

How retailers are using social to reach Gen Z and beyond

The younger generation of shoppers are all using social media, so how are retailers using influencers to reach these potential customers and their spending power? Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Chapman

Home Office Brexit app finally available for iPhone

A mobile app to help EU citizens apply for Settled and Pre-Settled Status after Brexit is finally available for Apple iPhone devices, but only on newer generations Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Two-thirds of UK financial services firms are using machine learning

The use of machine learning in the finance sector is set to increase as obstacles to its take up are not seen as being insurmountable Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Huge rise in rogue banking apps driving fraud attacks

Fraud perpetrated through fake mobile apps purporting to be from legitimate banks has seen a statistically significant spike, says RSA Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

O2 promises ‘revolutionary’ offers as it joins UK 5G party

O2 has become the latest operator in the UK to offer a 5G network and claims to be able to demonstrate real-world 5G business use cases that can potentially boost the British economy Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Do non-compete clauses risk stifling cloud innovation?

Non-compete clauses in tech employment contracts are commonplace – and understandably so – but could they be limiting innovation in the public cloud? Continue Reading

By

• Sooraj Shah

Barclays demonstrates proof-of-concept quantum clearing algorithm

Barclays and IBM researchers publish paper on a quantum computing algorithm for securities transaction trading Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

NHSX could transform NHS security capabilities

The health sector is increasingly confident that NHSX can deliver a streamlined, effective cyber security policy for the health service Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Report calls for urgent replacement of health screening IT

Major review of cancer screening programmes urges NHSX to prioritise the update of the underlying technology systems Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

The demise of Lehman Brothers sparked Inbotiqa’s flame: Fintech interview 29

Following its demise former IT workers at Lehman Brothers used the experience they gained at the bank to create a tech start up Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IR35 private sector preparation: What the banks’ take on the reforms means for IT contractors

With six months until IR35 tax avoidance reforms are extended to the private sector, a number of financial services firms are thinning out their contractor workforce – is that the way to ensure compliance? Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Government shelves age verification plans for online porn

Plans to introduce age verification to access online pornography will not go ahead, with provisions around protecting children from inappropriate content on the internet to become part of wider regulations Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Commvault adds Metallic SaaS backup and Hedvig features

Backup software maker adds software-as-a-service Metallic, which can protect on-premise, cloud and hybrid platforms. Meanwhile, Hedvig gets datacentre features and erasure coding Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Pitney Bowes ‘considering options’ after malware attack

Mailing and shipping services firm in recovery mode after key systems were encrypted by a malware attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Key differences between cloud storage offerings

Cloud storage offerings are often largely similar. We run through the key areas where they can differ, such as location, range of services and data protection Continue Reading

By

• Paul Stringfellow, Gardner Systems

CIO interview: Michael Cole, CTO, PGA European Tour

Younger generations are turning away from golf – so golf is turning to technology to revolutionise the sport and improve engagement with fans and players Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

Government IT hosting providers fail to provide emissions data

Cloud computing is driving the government’s IT and sustainable tech strategy, but cloud and hosting providers are unable to divulge emissions data Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

HMRC fails to get new customs system ready for Brexit

A National Audit Office report reveals that HMRC has opted for a multimillion-pound enhancement of a legacy platform rather than working on its planned replacement Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Zopa continues in its mission to apply a Netflix user experience to banking

Zopa has made a credit scoring tool available as it continues to expand the portfolio of products it offers beyond loans. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CIO interview: Hugo Mathias, CIO, Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust

For all the talk of a ‘paperless NHS’, replacing legacy systems and eliminating paper records is a challenge – but one that Hugo Mathias is tackling through real-time information and cultural change Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

UK government aims to measure success of digital initiatives

Responding to a critical parliamentary report on digital progress, the government has laid out plans to develop better metrics and to overhaul legacy IT Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

TfL to use artificial intelligence to run London’s road network

Transport for London is seeking input from companies about how it can use data-intensive technologies to predict the impact of road problems across the capital Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Braintree boasts broadband benchmark

Braintree in Essex claims to have access to some of the fastest broadband speeds in the world Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

UK government confirms gigabit broadband roll-out, rows back on 2025 delivery commitment

UK government confirms plans to roll out gigabit-capable broadband across the UK, yet quietly shelves previous pledge to do so by 2025 Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Private equity swoops on Sophos

British cyber security star picked up by technology sector investors for $3.9bn Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Researchers reveal the cyber campaign that built China's new airliner

CrowdStrike has published details of a coordinated campaign of cyber espionage and hacking, forced technology transfer and physical theft as China seeks to gain an advantage in the commercial aviation industry Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Digital and innovation apprentices to start NatWest programme

NatWest is kicking off a tech apprentice programme, with its digital innovation hub set to play a key role Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

PCI DSS: Credit card data and what to expect from version 4.0

We preview October’s PCI Europe Community Meeting where attendees will discuss credit card payment data, with topics covered likely to include the cloud and point-to-point encryption Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

NHS Digital brings in biometric login functionality

Two new libraries released to allow developers in the NHS to include functionality to digital services Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

French and German banks end talks on challenger bank sale

After months of negotiations, BPCE's proposed sale of Fidor Bank to OLB has fallen through Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Deputy chief executive at NHS Digital departs

NHS Digital’s deputy chief executive, Rob Shaw, will leave the organisation in December to work with foreign governments on national health and care infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

How code reuse drives business change at the DWP

Department for Work and Pensions is using application programming interfaces to promote reuse of granular microservices across the organisation Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

SAP CEO Bill McDermott steps down

McDermott will be replaced by SAP board members Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Why would a bank that made billions of pounds’ profit cut thousands of staff?

HSBC is the latest bank to make thousands of staff cuts as even profitable businesses need to reshape themselves for the challenges that digital transformation brings Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

OECD pushes international digital services tax agenda

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development wants to reach agreement on addressing issues around taxation for online giants by 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

GoCardless gives 95% of its staff business intelligence at their fingertips

Fintech payments company GoCardless is enabling staff to carry out business intelligence queries themselves Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CIO interview: Shaun Le Geyt, CIO, Parkinson’s UK

A major shift from Microsoft Office 365 to Google's G Suite, the implementation of Salesforce and better use of data are combining to help the charity enhance its support for people with Parkinson’s Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

How AWS is cracking the public sector cloud market

The public sector cloud business takes time and resources to build, but the rewards can be meaningful, as the founder of Amazon Web Service’s public sector division has found Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Kroger drives data-driven customer experience

Scott Crawford, data science lead at 84.51°, the data business at US grocery retailer Kroger, discusses data projects and iterative programmes Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

CW Middle East: Saudi banks trial biometrics in ATMs

Biometric and blockchain technologies are being used in tandem to provide ID verification at Saudi Arabian cash machines. Also read about the first government organisation in Bahrain to migrate to Amazon Web Services, and an interview with Yasmeen Al Sharaf, head of fintech and innovation unit, Central Bank of Bahrain. Continue Reading

UK and Middle East PR firm ditches NetApp for Nutanix and Talon Fast

Four Communications needed better connectivity for collaboration between the UK and its gulf sites, so dumped server/storage for hyper-converged and a distributed file system Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Mental health issues concern UK tech professionals

Staff shortages, long hours and lack of flexibility are impacting the wellbeing of people in the sector, according to a Harvey Nash survey. Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Interview: Yasmeen Al Sharaf, head of fintech and innovation unit, Central Bank of Bahrain

 Continue Reading

Saudi banks trial blockchain-based identity technology at ATMs

 Continue Reading

Survival of accountants 'at stake' as HMRC presses ahead with tax digitisation

Advances in technology are bringing a series of dilemmas for professionals as the government continues plans to digitise all tax for UK businesses, according to a new report Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Small business guide: How to keep your organisation secure from fraudsters and hackers

Doing a few things well can keep your organisation protected from common cyber attacks and fraudsters Continue Reading

By

• Jan Youngren

BT goes local with UK jobs boost under ‘beyond limits’ banner

Telco to boost UK call centre staff numbers, up high-street presence and add in-home tech support Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 33

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Brian McKenna and Clare McDonald are joined by Alex Scroxton to talk about cyber warfare and digital healthcare Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor
• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor
• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

HETT 2019: Digital literacy gap will never be fully closed, says panel

The increasing use of digital technology in healthcare means it is important for people to be digitally literate to take part, but the digital literacy gap will always be there, says an expert panel Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

DBS Bank touts digital logistics offering for SMEs

Singapore’s DBS Bank has launched a digital logistics solutions package for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the logistics sector that are looking to expand their regional footprint. ... Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

More Institute of Technology centres planned to tackle skills gap

A second wave of centres offering higher technical education nationwide has been announced Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Nadella sees Azure as the world’s computer

The Microsoft CEO wants organisations to consider Azure as a distributed cloud for next-generation AI applications Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Sweden’s SEB explores core banking in the cloud

Swedish Bank is the latest organisation to agree to start using a Google-inspired, cloud-native core banking platform Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CIO interview: Matt Harris, head of IT, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport

The IT chief at the world-leading Formula 1 team is focused on using technology to support and deliver marginal gains in performance for the team’s drivers Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

Deutsche Bank to set up innovation division to drive digital transformation

More details about Deutsche Bank’s new technology division in internal company email Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

What next for GDS?

Digital government has lost momentum, according to MPs. As the Government Digital Service enters its “third era”, what will it do to regain its authority and deliver real change? Continue Reading

Showcasing the potential of 5G

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we visit an ambitious trial in Bristol that is showcasing the possibilities offered by 5G roll-out. We look at how emerging automation technologies are enhancing the use of identity and access management tools. And we assess the Government Digital Service plan for transforming public services. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

PLC flash: A solid state candidate for analytics and archives?

We thought flash would end at QLC, but storage media makers are working on penta-level cell, which could push capacity to double figures, but at a further performance cost Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Scottish Parliament launches inquiry on police use of facial recognition

The circumstances and implications of the technology’s application in the police service will be investigated in the coming months Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

UK chief data officer recruitment plans still on

Minister says CDO will work closely with the chief digital and information officer, who is still to be recruited Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Openreach tests new digging tech for rural broadband builds

Openreach is testing new tools and techniques to roll out full-fibre broadband faster in rural areas Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government departments sign up to web data-sharing plan

All but four Whitehall departments have so far agreed to share web analytics data to allow the government to monitor user behaviour across the Gov.uk domain Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

UKtech50 2019 – help us find the most influential people in UK technology

Computer Weekly’s annual search for the 50 most influential people in UK technology reaches its 10th anniversary – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year’s list Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Home Office picks supplier for £300m biometrics project

The department has chosen US company Leidos to provide critical elements of the national system under a £300m contract with a 10-year timespan Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

UK and US call on Facebook to walk back encryption plans

The US, Australian and UK governments have asked Facebook to ditch plans to deploy end-to-end encryption across Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Swedish authorities introduce robots to help social workers

Software robots free up time for social workers to help benefits claimants find employment Continue Reading

By

• Jane Hamrin

Government planning for ‘undeliverable’ ESN

The government has agreed to all of the Public Accounts Committee’s findings in its investigation into the Emergency Services Network, but there is still a chance the programme could collapse Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NatWest bank uses artificial intelligence to predict the future

NatWest is using artificial intelligence to help it paint a more accurate picture of future trends Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government issues Brexit guidance for technology firms

Ten-point checklist released to help firms prepare for leaving the European Union without a deal Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Local authorities hit by 800 cyber attacks every hour

Local authorities and councils in the UK have reported being hit by more than 263 million cyber attacks in the first six months of this year Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Post-Brexit passport checking tool to start pilot

The government is looking for companies that can carry out large-scale tests of the Document Checking Service, which will allow organisations to digitally check the validity of passports Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

New threat group behind Airbus cyber attacks, claim researchers

Context Information Security’s threat intel and response teams says it has evidence that the recent supply chain attacks on Airbus are the work of a newly identified group called Avivore Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Southern Water embarks on £15m datacentre modernisation programme

Southern Water has enlisted the help of service provider MTI Technology to revamp its datacentres, with a greater emphasis on the use of software-defined processes and hyper-converged technologies Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

IR35 reforms: Lloyds Bank contractors to get deadline on future employment status

Lloyds Banking Group is the latest large firm set to end engagement of IT contractors through personal service companies due to impending IR35 tax reforms Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Disabled consumers left logged out of retail’s digital revolution

Retailers are being urged to make their digital assets more accessible to disabled consumers, not just for moral and social reasons, but because of the commercial opportunity Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe