IT news in your industry sector

Financiers isolate Middle East over sanctions-evading paytech

Cross-border payment system loses support of association of global central banks Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

CISA looks to global collaboration as fraught US election begins

The US' CISA cyber agency has unveiled a two-year International Strategic Plan to advance collaboration and improve resilience against shared risks and threats Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Outside IR35: What the Autumn Budget’s Employers’ NI changes mean for IT contractors

The UK government used the Autumn Budget to announce an increase to the amount of Employers’ National Insurance Contributions companies will have to pay, which could have big implications for IT contractors Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Bank of England warns against AI ‘complacency’

UK financial services regulator wants to increase understanding of AI’s benefits and how firms are managing the risks it poses, as take-up grows and use cases increase Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Post Office scandal affected relationships of two-thirds of victims

The Post Office scandal, regarded as the UK’s widest miscarriage of justice, destroyed the financial wellbeing of former subpostmasters, took away their liberty and inflicted grief on their relationships Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

DWP appoints Helen Wylie as its new chief digital and information officer

Wylie steps up from chief technology officer to replace her departing boss, Rich Corbridge, to take over one of the largest IT estates in Europe Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Interview: Niall Robinson, head of product innovation, Met Office

Weather and climate data is hugely valuable to government and businesses – and the Met Office is finding ways to innovate with data to deliver improved products and services Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

Fujitsu boss to face tough reappearance at Post Office inquiry, following inaction and sidestepping

Fujitsu’s European boss will have to justify why promises made at the public inquiry months ago have not been followed through Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Autumn Budget: Employment agencies to take on PAYE processing from umbrella firms from April 2026

The government has pledged legislation to make employment agencies and end-hirers responsible for making sure contractors pay the right amount of tax, in a clampdown on non-compliant umbrella companies Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Autumn Budget 2024: Chancellor emphasises importance of tech for UK growth

In her first budget, Rachel Reeves reiterated the vital role of technology in delivering economic growth and improving productivity and efficiency in public services Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Interview: James Fleming, CIO, Francis Crick Institute

Helping to cure cancer with computers puts digital leadership on another level – and the world-leading research institute is turning to data science and artificial intelligence to achieve its groundbreaking goals Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

Interview: Rahul Todkar, head of data and AI, Tripadvisor

The travel website generates huge amounts of data – as a result, artificial intelligence offers equally huge opportunities for the business and its customers Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

RedLine, Meta malwares meet their demise at hands of Dutch cops

A multinational action led by authorities in the Netherlands has resulted in the takedown of the notorious RedLine and Meta infostealer malwares Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Alphabet results reveal extent of AI-powered programming

The parent company of Google is using its Gemini generative artificial intelligence tool to code a quarter of new software development initiatives Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

IAM best practices for cloud environments to combat cyber attacks

The Security Think Tank considers best practices in identity and access management and how can they be deployed to enable IT departments to combat cyber-attacks, phishing attacks and ransomware Continue Reading

By

• Varun Prasad, ISACA

Scality Ring XP to offer object storage at scale with rapid access

Lightweight S3 API trades storage features for microsecond access. Scality pairs it with all-NVMe flash in Ring XP, aimed at AI use cases for small object data in PB-scale datasets Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

No simple replacement for digital evidence rules, says Post Office Horizon trial judge

Judge in Post Office Horizon trial says a more flexible approach to how digital evidence is used in court cases may be required as IT complexity increases Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

EMEA businesses siphoning budgets to hit NIS2 goals

With NIS2 now in effect, European business leaders are having to divert budget from elsewhere to achieve compliance Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government urged to introduce 10-year visas for overseas tech graduates

Labour-linked think tank calls for government to introduce low-cost schemes to boost innovation Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Tata Consultancy Services to deliver Irish pension scheme

Indian IT services giant adds to its growing customer base in the pensions sector with Irish contract win Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Rewiring Whitehall: The next steps in digital government

There’s a new government in place with fresh impetus to accelerate the digital transformation of public services – but what’s going to be different, better and more successful this time around? Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Who is the subject of the Post Office’s Project Tiger investigation?

The Post Office is listening to a campaigner’s complaints almost a decade after ignoring his more serious accusations and warnings Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK launches cyber guidance package for tech startups

The NCSC and NPSA, alongside agencies from the Five Eyes alliance, have issued guidance for startups on how to secure themselves against common cyber threats and targeted industrial espionage Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Western Digital boosts HDD capacity with 32TB shingled drives

An 11th platter gives extra capacity, while shingled (overlapped) writes – best suited to sequential recording use cases – allow for greater density and big gains in thoughput Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT

How Manulife is empowering sales and call centre agents with AI

Canadian insurance giant is leveraging generative AI to personalise customer experiences, transform contact centre workflows and automate underwriting processes Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Lords committee warns about risks of the UK losing its EU data adequacy

The UK government must work with the European Commission (EC) to secure a renewal of UK’s two data adequacy statuses, says cross-party Lords committee, in stark warning about impacts of losing the ability to seamlessly exchange citizens’ personal data Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Government ‘urged’ to overturn all convictions based on Post Office Capture

Influential group has written to the government calling for legislation to overturn the criminal convictions of former subpostmasters that were based on Capture system data Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Data bill will boost NHS and police access to data, says government

The Data Use and Access Bill will pave the way for sharing medical records across the NHS and give police the ability to access databases without having to manually log the reasons for their use Continue Reading

By

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

Prudential taps AI to improve health insurance experience

Insurance giant Prudential teams up with Google Cloud to streamline claims processing, personalise healthcare journeys and improve health outcomes Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Warning shots fired as former subpostmasters have ‘useful’ meeting with Post Office CEO

Acting CEO meets two campaigning former subpostmasters emphasising need for their input into the Post Office’s future direction, including its branch system development Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Kenyan workers win High Court appeal to take Meta to trial

Despite the company arguing that Kenyan courts have no jurisdiction over an American company, the Nairobi High Court has ruled that Meta must face more than 180 content moderators and data labellers in court over allegedly poor working conditions, negative mental health impacts, and loss of pay Continue Reading

By

• Adele Zeynep Walton

Federation requests government investigation into third Post Office branch system

Following public anger over the Horizon scandal and the subsequent unravelling of the controversial Capture system, subpostmaster federation wants third branch IT system to be reviewed Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Democracy campaigner to sue Saudi Arabia over Pegasus and QuaDream spyware in UK court

Pro-democracy campaigner Yahya Assiri given permission to file legal action in London court against Saudi Arabia over its use of Israeli spyware Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Government ‘resets’ pension dashboard programme

Following a National Audit Office report highlighting failings in the project, the government has set out a revised plan Continue Reading

Change to rules on computer evidence will be an ‘outcome’ of Post Office scandal

The executive currently heading up the Post Office’s investigations department has told public inquiry that rules on computer evidence have to change Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Danish government reboots cyber security council amid AI expansion

Denmark’s government relaunches digital security initiative to protect business sectors and society at large Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Labour’s 10-year health service plan will open up data sharing

To save the health service, Labour is focusing on bolstering the NHS app and enabling greater sharing of patient records in England Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Former Post Office IT boss alleged to have misrepresented alternative to in-house build

Internal Post Office document reveals allegations that former transformation boss misrepresented off-the-shelf option to replace Horizon Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Delivering Olympic IT

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we speak to a former Olympian and CIO of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games about continuous improvement. We also look at new enterprise AI services from major IT providers and assess the unified communications as a service market. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Labour signs up to five years of Microsoft AI

The UK government has signed a deal with Microsoft to reduce the cost of running public sector services using the supplier’s cloud and artificial intelligence technologies Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Post Office worker who allegedly told staff to destroy evidence could return, as police investigate

Post Office to allow employee, who allegedly told staff to destroy evidence of possible interest to public inquiry, to return to work during police investigation Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Techcombank’s tech investments set to fuel record profit

The Vietnam bank is targeting $1bn in profit in 2024 while maintaining a flat headcount and reducing physical branches, thanks to its investments in artificial intelligence and a data engine Continue Reading

By

• Ai Lei Tao

Synology takes aim at enterprise customers and flash storage

Best known as an SME and consumer brand, Synology claims multiple enterprise customers especially in backup and storage of infrequently accessed data, but has plans for flash, too Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT

Review of late evidence doesn’t change Post Office Capture system report

Conclusions reached in government-commissioned report into pre-Horizon software are unchanged after late evidence reviewed Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK broadband is failing

Getting married and moving home are said to be among the most stressful things people experience. There are plenty more, but a particularly frustrating experience not on that list is attempting to ... Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Met Police investigating senior Post Office worker over evidence destruction allegation

Public inquiry evidence confirms that the Metropolitan Police are investigating a senior Post Office staff member regarding instructions to destroy evidence Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

What are tensor processing units and what is their role in AI?

We look at Google’s TPUs – tensor processing units – and ask what makes them different to CPUs, GPUs and DPUs, as well as how you can take advantage of them in AI processing Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

NCSC chief warns of gap in cyber threats and defence capabilities

The UK and its allies must take collective action to improve their cyber resilience and repel the increasing volume of severe cyber attacks, says NCSC chief Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Sir Alan Bates tells Prime Minister to guarantee Post Office scandal victim redress by March 2025

Campaigner tells Keir Starmer to finalise full and final financial redress to victims of the Post Office scandal by March next year, or face legal action Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

EU cyber security bill NIS2 hits compliance deadline

The EU’s NIS2 bill will harmonise how companies and member states approach cyber security, but its success will depend on how well it is implemented and enforced Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Philippines leaps forward in e-government with cloud-first strategy

A common infrastructure and a ‘once-only’ principle have propelled the Philippines up the UN’s E-Government Development Index, streamlining services and bolstering data sovereignty Continue Reading

By

• Ai Lei Tao

Digitisation forum launched ahead of Norway’s digital strategy

Norway's government is preparing itself for the future by establishing an advisory hub to support its digital strategies Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Former police officer heading Post Office operations did nothing to help innocent subpostmasters

Former chief operating officer did nothing when action could have put a stop to the Post Office wrongful prosecutions Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Tech and digital skills key to improving police productivity

The Policing Productivity Review sees data and technology as a way of improving productivity and outcomes, as well as a potential means of restoring diminishing legitimacy, but warns there needs to be a revamp in digital skills, investment and coordination to harness the full range of benefits Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

UK government unveils AI safety research funding details

Through its AI Safety Institute, the UK government has committed an initial pot of £4m to fund research into various risks associated with AI technologies, which will increase to £8.5m as the scheme progresses Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Hillingdon Council commits £9m to tech revamp in digital strategy

Hillingdon’s three-year digital strategy will see the council fund attempts to modernise its systems and infrastructure, change how residents interact with the local authority and make better use of data Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

NCSC expands school cyber service to academies and private schools

The National Cyber Security Centre is expanding its PDNS for Schools service to encompass a wider variety of institutions up and down the UK Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK sees over £6bn boost in datacentre investments

Following moves to classify datacentres as critical national infrastructure, a number of US tech providers have announced new UK investments Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Google launches Parallelstore file storage at cloud AI training

Originally driven by Intel’s now-defunct Optane storage class memory, Parallelstore offers massive parallel file storage targeted at artificial intelligence training use cases on Google Cloud Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Robust cloud IAM should align to zero-trust principles

The Security Think Tank considers best practices in identity and access management and how can they be deployed to enable IT departments to combat cyber-attacks, phishing attacks and ransomware. Continue Reading

By

• Ricky Simpson, Quorum Cyber

Post Office believes it took £36m from subpostmasters with unexplained losses

The Post Office wrongly blamed subpostmasters for unexplained account shortfalls and made them cover losses out of their own pockets - then banked the money itself Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Azure storage: Key options in Microsoft cloud storage

We survey the key cloud storage options available from Microsoft Azure, which include Files, Blob, Elastic SAN, Managed Disk and NetApp files, for a range of use cases Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

Post Office set to axe in-house-developed New Branch IT software

Troubled business may ditch its plan to build a new core branch system in-house and buy an off-the-shelf alternative Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Gartner: AI can be catalyst for new business models

Gartner expert Nicholle Lindner explains how companies like Klarna are leveraging AI to drive new revenue, and what businesses need to consider when embracing the technology Continue Reading

By

• Ai Lei Tao

Government launches cyber standard for local authorities

Local government bodies are being invited to take advantage of a new NCSC-derived Cyber Assessment Framework to help enhance their resilience and ward off cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Internet Archive web historians target of hacktivist cyber attack

The Internet Archive nonprofit digital library and Wayback Machine operator has been attacked by pro-Palestinian hacktivists Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How Recorded Future finds ransomware victims before they get hit

Threat intel specialists at Recorded Future have shared details of newly developed techniques they are using to disrupt Rhysida ransomware attacks before the gang even has a chance to execute them Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK and US pledge closer working on children’s online safety

In their first agreement on the subject of children’s online safety, the UK and US governments have said they will create a new working group to boost cooperation Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Interview: Bruno Marie-Rose, CIO, Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

The technology chief reflects on a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games – and how what he learned as a former Olympic medallist helped him be a better IT leader Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

Post Office dragging its feet getting rid of tainted staff, despite government ‘green light’

Former minister gave Post Office ‘green light’ to take robust action against existing staff with links to Post Office scandal wrongdoing Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Under-fire Nick Read was unprepared for Post Office challenge

Post Office boss Nick Read was not prepared for the task ahead of him when he joined the organisation as CEO in 2019 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

MoneyGram customer data breached in attack

MoneyGram confirms that customer data has been stolen in an incident that appears to have started with a social engineering attack on its IT helpdesk staff Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Five zero-days to be fixed on October Patch Tuesday

Stand-out vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s latest Patch Tuesday drop include problems in Microsoft Management Console and the Windows MSHTML Platform Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Secureworks: Ransomware takedowns didn’t put off cyber criminals

The number of active cyber criminal ransomware gangs has surged by almost a third in the space of 12 months, according to the latest intelligence from Secureworks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Post Office IT transformation project was ‘set up to fail’, chairman tells inquiry

Post Office interim chairman tells Horizon public inquiry that the Post Office needs to reset New Branch IT project Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK’s cyber incident reporting law to move forward in 2025

The UK government says that enforced cyber incident and ransomware reporting for critical sectors of the economy will help to build a better picture of the threat landscape and enable more proactive and preventative responses Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

DWP CIO Rich Corbridge leaving to join property developer

The digital chief at the Department for Work and Pensions is moving on only 18 months after starting his role in the civil service Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Can the Post Office project to replace Horizon be rescued?

Evidence from the Post Office public inquiry shows huge problems with the critical project to replace the troubled Horizon IT system – after two government-mandated reviews, is there any sign it can succeed? Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Digital government on a budget

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine how Labour’s version of austerity will affect the government’s desire for digital transformation. We find out how the use of AI in the workplace is negatively affecting low-income workers. And an SAP customer explains how it plans to keep running after the end of support for ECC. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Labour sets up new office to coordinate tech innovation regulations

The newly formed Regulatory Innovation Office has been set up to ensure existing regulations do not become barriers to emerging tech innovations Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Post Office boss Nick Read ‘inadequate, greedy and self-interested’, whistleblowers tell inquiry

Outgoing Post Office boss Nick Read faces public inquiry for three days this week, with no shortage of questions to answer Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Why responsible AI is a business imperative

Tools are emerging for real-world AI systems that focus more on responsible adoption, deployment and governance, rather than academic and philosophical questions about speculative risks Continue Reading

By

• Mary Branscombe, Computer Weekly

Whistleblowers call out ongoing cover-up by Post Office CEO in explosive letter

A letter from Post Office staff to MPs, statutory inquiry chair Wyn Williams and the Post Office chairman demands their intervention and an investigation into the organisation's leadership Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK telcos including BT at risk from DrayTek router vulnerabilities

A series of vulnerabilities in DrayTek's Vigor router product lines affects multiple comms service providers in the UK, according to new analysis Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC celebrates eight years as Horne blows in

Outgoing NCSC interim leader Felicity Oswald shares her thoughts on the body’s work over the past eight years as she hands over the reins to incoming CEO Richard Horne Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Post Office senior executive suspended over allegations of destroying evidence

Statement to public inquiry reveals that investigation is underway over allegations that a senior Post Office executive instructed staff to destroy evidence Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cups Linux printing bugs open door to DDoS attacks, says Akamai

The Cups Linux printing vulnerabilities disclosed at the end of September would seem to have a nasty sting in their tail, according to researchers at Akamai Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Post Office recruiting tech-savvy board member amid unravelling IT disaster

Public inquiry told that the Post Office is currently recruiting a tech-savvy non-executive director Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Late evidence in Post Office Capture investigation could not be reviewed

Evidence failed to reach investigators in time for report into controversial pre-Horizon Post Office software Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Data and technology key to the future of the subsurface, report says

The report highlights the important role of the subsurface, but lack of accessible data and the likely need for new policy and regulation on the use of new technologies are barriers to future sustainable and efficient use Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Detective wrongly claimed journalist’s solicitor attempted to buy gun, surveillance tribunal hears

Darren Ellis, who led a surveillance operation against journalists who exposed police failures, wrongly accused a solicitor of attempting to buy arms Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin and Cormac Kehoe

Ex-PSNI officer seeking legal advice over comments made at Investigatory Powers Tribunal

 Ex PSNI officer ‘deeply angered’ by comments made by a former detective at a tribunal investigating allegations of unlawful surveillance against journalists Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Microsoft files lawsuit to seize domains used by Russian spooks

Microsoft has been given permission to seize multiple domains used by the Russian state threat actor Star Blizzard as part of a coordinated disruption effort undertaken ahead of the US elections Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SOC teams falling out of love with threat detection tools

Security operations centre practitioners are fed up of being flooded with pointless alerts and many no longer have much confidence in their threat detection tools, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Local councils need ‘better support’ to buy AI responsibly

The Ada Lovelace Institute says there is lack of adequate support on how councils can safely and responsibly procure artificial intelligence systems in the public interest Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Once more it's deja vu all over again in digital government

When you write about government IT for as long as Computer Weekly has – which is pretty much as long as “government IT” has been a thing – it’s hard not to get a sense of what can most accurately ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Rise of the cyber clones: When seeing isn’t believing

It is frighteningly easy to clone someone else's identity using readily-available artificial intelligence tools Continue Reading

By

• Jake Moore, ESET

DSIT launches digital government panel

The panel, which is being co-chaired by Martha Lane Fox and Paul Willmott, will help government create a 10-year vision for a ‘digital centre’ Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Post Office and Fujitsu: from blood brothers to bad blood

Former Post Office chief transformation officer’s evidence to the public inquiry reveals organisation’s strained relationship with main IT supplier Fujitsu Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Detective behind ‘unlawful’ surveillance blamed Catholics for ‘perverse’ court decisions

A former detective claimed Irish judges were ‘sectarians in robes’ after a court found police had unlawfully arrested journalists who produced a film exposing collusion with paramilitary murderers Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly