IT suppliers

Post Office employee changed story for witness statement used to destroy subpostmaster

Post Office inquiry hears how an auditor changed her story about a subpostmaster to help win court battle Continue Reading

Government pumps £10m into faster patient access to medtech

The funding aims to give developers support to rapidly develop innovative technologies that can address unmet clinical needs Continue Reading

Nominet and European counterparts link up on intelligence sharing

The new European TLD ISAC, a collaborative project between top-level domain providers across Europe, aims to enhance their collective security posture to better protect internet users Continue Reading

Securing Eurovision’s online voting system against cyber attacks

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we discover how Once.net and Cloudfare defended the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest against cyber attacks. Our buyer’s guide continues to look at integrating software-as-a-service applications, with the governance of SaaS connectivity to the fore. Also, HCLTech’s Ashish Gupta relates how the company has embraced a new, pandemic-influenced, remote working model. And we find out how retail tech leaders influence their boards on transformation projects. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Government offers £600,000 to subpostmasters with overturned convictions

Subpostmasters wrongfully convicted of financial crimes based on evidence from faulty Horizon software will be offered £600,000 compensation by government Continue Reading

Number of UK contactless payments rose by 30% last year

UK consumers are increasingly making contactless payments, with the number of payments using the technology up 30% last year Continue Reading

Manchester police data breach a classic supply chain incident

The developing data breach at Greater Manchester Police follows a cyber attack on the systems of a key supplier of ID services to the force Continue Reading

CIO interview: Petra Tesch, Vizrt

Straight-talking when it comes to getting her messages across to the wider company, Vizrt CIO Petra Tesch revels in transformation and communication Continue Reading

Banks less focused on metaverse technology than last year

Senior banking executives have reduced their focus on investigating metaverse technology in the past 12 months Continue Reading

Patch Tuesday: Microsoft fixes zero-days in Word and Streaming Service

September 2023 brings a light Patch Tuesday, with two zero-days and five critical vulnerabilities listed in the latest release Continue Reading

European enterprises to spend more on generative IT to close gap on US

European organisations are upping their spending on generative AI innovation, but face challenges recruiting the right people to support this Continue Reading

European fintech investment plummets, but more sustainable future lies ahead

Investment in European fintechs has seen a dramatic drop, but a more sustainable sector will result from investment discipline Continue Reading

Huawei launches OceanStor Pacific 9920 entry-level NAS

Huawei adds to its OceanStor Pacific NAS family, offering entry-level 9920 with up to 92TB per node which can be combined into clusters and also used as a SAN device Continue Reading

North Koreans using new zero-day to target security researchers

A threat actor linked to the North Korean government is continuing a long-running campaign targeting legitimate security researchers, using an as-yet undisclosed zero-day vulnerability to gain access to their victims Continue Reading

HGS to provide contact centre support for One Login

The partnership between the Government Digital Service and Hinduja Global Solutions will see the supplier provide contact centre services for the digital identity platform Continue Reading

SME disaster recovery: Five key points to consider

We look at key DR considerations for SMEs, including RPOs, RTOs, infrastructure needed for effective continuity and the right combination of cloud and in-house provision Continue Reading

UK minister fails to reassure tech companies over encryption risk

Technology companies say reassurances by government ministers that they have no intention of weakening end-to-end encrypted communication services do not go far enough Continue Reading

GPs in Slough help control patients’ blood pressure through tech

The GP practices use digital technology to identify, diagnose and manage patients with hypertension Continue Reading

Government AI taskforce appoints new advisory board members

An initial progress report published by the Taskforce provides detail on new appointments to its external advisory board as well as rebrand to focus on “frontier” artificial intelligence Continue Reading

CXL in the datacentre: Boosting memory for hungry workloads

We look at CXL, how it revolutionises connectivity between memory components, potentially saves energy, and adds oomph to heavily memory-dependent workloads such as AI analytics Continue Reading

Interview: Ashish Gupta, head of EMEA, HCLTech

It’s not just enterprises that changed their operating models during and after Covid, but also the suppliers that took them on the journey, HCLTech Europe’s head explains Continue Reading

French supreme court dismisses legal challenge to EncroChat cryptophone evidence

Defence lawyers plan to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights after the French supreme court disallowed an appeal over the legality of EncroChat evidence Continue Reading

Saudi Arabian fintech gets Mastercard boost

Saudi-based fintechs could soon benefit from Mastercard's extensive payments network Continue Reading

German court unclear whether intercepted EncroChat cryptophone messages are legally admissible

Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court is waiting to hear five complaints that could decide whether data from the hacked EncroChat phone network can be lawfully used in German courts, but situation remains unclear for now Continue Reading

CIO interview: Cynthia Stoddard, Adobe

Adobe's IT chief is looking to build on its cloud migration with widespread adoption of AI, machine learning and robotic process automation – as well as low-code/no-code software development tools Continue Reading

HPE storage comes with full IT stack, hybrid cloud and as a service

Storage profile: We look at HPE, its Alletra storage refresh, and Greenlake and the ways the company is re-branding as a full-stack provider across on-prem and hybrid cloud Continue Reading

Researchers find flaw in Mend.io security platform

WithSecure’s research team uncovered an authentication flaw in an application security platform developed by Mend.io, which has now been fixed Continue Reading

Ryder Cup testbed to feature tech firsts in Rome

This year’s Ryder Cup will test out technology to improve how fans digitally consume the event while reducing the workload on IT teams Continue Reading

VMware builds vSAN Max, consolidates multicloud and online deployment

VMware launches new iteration of vSAN Max with up to 8.6PB of independently scalable storage, NSX gets a “+” as it unifies networks and Ransomware Recovery ups efficiency Continue Reading

London Stock Exchange plans blockchain-based market

The London Stock Exchange plans to have a blockchain-based trading venue available in the next 12 months Continue Reading

Ethical perspectives on ChatGPT

In the final of three essays, Marc Steen uses ChatGPT as a case study for how to use different ethical perspectives, and practical steps people can take to start incorporating ethics into their projects Continue Reading

Police Scotland five-year digital strategy approved

Police Scotland’s new strategy outlines how the force will approach and invest in its digital transformation over the next five years, but notes its ability to achieve its ambitions is subject to the availability of funding Continue Reading

Border Target Operating Model gives update on digital border plans

The model aims to make smarter use of data and technology at the border, including a digital gateway for users to provide data and apply for licences and authorisations Continue Reading

Thousands of Klarna staff access ChatGPT Enterprise

Fintech unicorn Klarna has become an early adopter of the enterprise version of ChatGPT as it continues to focus on artificial intelligence Continue Reading

Home Office and MoD seeking new facial-recognition tech

The UK’s Defence and Security Accelerator is running a ‘market exploration’ exercise on behalf of the Home Office to identify new facial-recognition capabilities for security and policing bodies in the UK Continue Reading

Met police data platform deployed with data protection issues

Met Police deploys integrated record management system despite data protection ‘compliance issues' that would inhibit its ability to retrieve data, meet its statutory logging requirements, and respond to subject access requests Continue Reading

Zurich Insurance slashes ServiceNow application development time

Insurance giant cuts time it takes to complete development of ServiceNow applications by days Continue Reading

NHS SBS to launch £1.5bn digital workplace solutions framework

NHS Shared Business Services is planning on a second iteration of its digital workplace solutions framework before the current one expires in August 2024 Continue Reading

NHS England calls on NHS organisations to take part in wireless trials

NHS organisations are encouraged to apply for funding for the wireless trials programme, which aims to explore how cutting-edge tech can improve patient care Continue Reading

Cyber attacks in 2023 develop quicker as average dwell times plummet

The median attacker dwell time shrunk from 10 to eight days in the first seven months of 2023, and in the case of ransomware attacks it is down to just five days Continue Reading

Met Police data platform £64m over budget

A freedom of information request has revealed that the Met’s Connect integrated record management system is running tens of millions over budget, and has already generated more than 25,000 support requests so far Continue Reading

Alternative perspectives: relational and virtue ethics in tech

In the second of three essays, Marc Steen explores the benefits of grounding ethical considerations in an understanding of social and power dynamics, and how relational and virtue ethics can help Continue Reading

Can low code/no code ease developer skills shortages?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, organisations are increasingly turning to low-code/no-code tools to enable “citizen developers” among staff – can this help to ease software developer skills shortages? SAP says it will restrict availability of its advanced AI capabilities – we examine the implications. And we go behind the scenes of the University of East Anglia’s digital transformation plans. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

BSI launches sustainability-focused startup accelerator

Startups selected to participate in the BSI and Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership’s joint sustainability startup accelerator are working in a diverse range of areas and using a variety of technologies to positively affect society Continue Reading

More than 400 Liberty Global IT staff move to Infosys as part of €1.5bn contract

TV and broadband giant outsources the build and operation of its entertainment and connectivity platforms to Indian supplier in five year deal Continue Reading

Accenture’s Brussels AI lab to focus on European public sector and health

Accenture will use its Brussels AI lab to test AI and generative AI's application in the European public sector Continue Reading

Biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner resigns

Dual biometrics and surveillance camera watchdog will step down at the end of October 2023, noting that while he agreed to stay on until the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill received royal assent, continuing delays to its passage means he will not be able to effectively discharge his functions Continue Reading

Nutanix GPT-in-a-Box aims hyper-converged at AI/ML use cases

Nutanix targets a pre-configured bundle of AI/ML and GPT software with hyper-converged infrastructure and GPT to help organisations safely take advantage of learning networks Continue Reading

TSB and Fintech Scotland lab open for applications

High street bank opens applications to its latest fintech programme in partnership with Fintech Scotland Continue Reading

Bank of England core system experiences outage

The “beating heart” of the UK financial system stopped after a technical issue Continue Reading

CMA provisionally clears US healthcare giant’s purchase of GP IT supplier EMIS

US company UnitedHealth is looking to buy UK healthcare technology firm EMIS in a £1.2bn deal Continue Reading

Why technology jobs are proving resilient

The clamour for technology professionals has become less frenetic in recent months but demand for IT skills remains high Continue Reading

Google Help workers claim layoffs are retaliation for unionising

More than 100 Google Help workers claim that Google and Accenture’s decision to layoff two-thirds of the team was done in retaliation for their attempts to form a union, while companies claim decision was made well in advance of unionisation attempt Continue Reading

Babylon Health faces downfall

GP at Hand provider once hailed by Matt Hancock looking to sell UK business after merger plans collapse Continue Reading

AI interview: Krystal Kauffman, lead organiser, Turkopticon

Remote Mechanical Turk workers are responsible for training artificial intelligence algorithms and completing other data-related business processes - we hear about the workplace issues they face Continue Reading

Huawei a big storage hitter despite international troubles

Huawei is a leading storage player with an enterprise product offer across file, block and object storage, and the cloud, despite controversy and trading difficulties Continue Reading

CTO interview: Gavin Rea, Gulf Bridge International

GBI ensures service continuity of submarine cable networks, which bring high-speed internet to the Gulf states, supporting the region’s ambitious plans to be one of the world’s leading poles for technological innovation Continue Reading

Podcast: File synchronisation benefits and use cases

If you’ve got the bandwidth and you need to share files or even synchronise virtual desktops, file synchronisation is worth a look. That’s the view of Peer Software CEO Jimmy Tan Continue Reading

MPs warn about growing prevalence of tech-enabled domestic abuse

The UK government must take action to prevent perpetrators from being able to use connected or smart technologies to conduct their domestic abuse, a select committee has warned Continue Reading

Podcast: HDDs have a long life ahead in certain workloads

Spinning disk hard drives are far from dead, and with data volumes set to explode, there are use cases that suit them well. That’s the view of Rainer Kaese of Toshiba in this podcast Continue Reading

Workplace monitoring needs worker consent, says select committee

Employers looking to monitor their employees through connected devices should only to so with the consent of those affected due to negative impacts such surveillance can have on work intensification and mental health Continue Reading

Ethics as a process of reflection and deliberation

In the first of three essays, Marc Steen outlines a three-step process for how organisations can practically integrate ethics into their IT projects and how different ethical perspectives can inform tech development Continue Reading

HPE’s Alletra MP marries storage to cloud and software-defined choices

HPE’s Alletra was launched in April with an architecture that ties in with GreenLake consumption purchasing, SaaS configuration and addition of software-defined storage services Continue Reading

Biden’s SBOM mandate a ‘shot heard around the world’, report says

Two years and three months after Joe Biden mandated new standards in supply chain security, over 40% of UK respondents to a survey say they have implemented new SBOM policies in direct response Continue Reading

Plexal takes on new cohort for cyber security leadership scheme

Six more cyber security startup founders have been selected to take part in Plexal’s latest Cyber Runway Ignite programme, which is designed to help them develop their leadership skills Continue Reading

Cubbit offers cut-price cloud with DS3 distributed storage

Cubbit’s DS3 offers cloud at up to 20% the cost of the main providers via on-premise software that builds a cloud with other users and targets unstructured data use cases such as backup Continue Reading

Vast Data Platform aims at storage everywhere for AI/ML workloads

Vast Data to offer storage with data lake and warehouse functionality built in natively, in anticipation of a huge surge in AI/ML workloads and a need for ever-larger data stores Continue Reading

CCRC refers two more subpostmaster convictions for appeal

Two more subpostmaster convictions referred to appeal court by the Criminal Cases Review Commission Continue Reading

Mayor of London announces startup funding

Seven technology startups working on the Mayor of London’s Poverty Prevention Challenge will receive up to £50,000 each to further develop their proposals, designed to help alleviate the cost-of-living crisis for the capital’s most vulnerable Continue Reading

CIO interview: Sean Green, University of East Anglia

In his role as director of digital and data at the University of East Anglia, Sean Green provides high-performance computing to researchers and manages the diverse needs of a campus with the characteristics of a small town, all while finding the time to study one of his passions Continue Reading

CunoFS brings Posix file access to S3 object storage capacity

Developed out of data compression tools for genomics, PetaGene gateways allow application servers Posix-based file access to the deep data stores of S3 object capacity Continue Reading

Transforming the financial system's plumbing

Executive heading up the Bank of England’s core system replacement project says the financial services sector plumbing is getting the attention it deserves. Continue Reading

Bank of England’s project to replace ‘beating heart’ is foundation for continuous development

The Bank of England has reached a major milestone in its core system replacement programme, with next landmark in sight Continue Reading

Podcast: Sizing data storage for AI/ML workloads

Artificial intelligence and machine learning workloads come with I/O profiles of different shapes and sizes. We talk to Curtis Anderson of Panasas about how best to procure and size storage for them Continue Reading

Generative AI: Automating storage and backup management

We look at how generative artificial intelligence is being deployed to automate monitoring of repetitive tasks and report on enterprise storage and backup, but also the limits to its implementation Continue Reading

The problem with ‘secure’ messaging

Secure instant messaging is becoming a norm for business communications but it raises three important security and compliance questions   Continue Reading

What the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act means for UK industry

For years, many network-connected devices have lacked adequate security, putting their users and others at risk of cyber attacks. The UK’s Product Security and Telecommunication Act aims to prevent this by mandating minimum security requirements, but what impact will this have on industry? Continue Reading

Government boosts protection for encryption in Online Safety Bill but civil society groups concerned

House of Lords adopts amendment to require Ofcom to commission a report before requiring technology companies to scan encrypted messages, but drops proposals for judicial oversight Continue Reading

Online Safety Bill screening measures amount to ‘prior restraint’

The Open Rights Group is calling on Parliament to reform the Online Safety Bill, on the basis that its content-screening measures would amount to “prior restraint” on freedom of expression Continue Reading

BBC outsources IT to India’s Tata Consultancy Services

TCS continues to build its UK public sector business, with the BBC its latest customer Continue Reading

AI and data experts to be brought into government through secondment programme

The government has announced plans for a secondment programme designed to bring digital experts into government departments Continue Reading

‘Significant gaps’ in UK AI regulation, says Ada Lovelace Institute

UK government’s plans to diffuse regulatory responsibility for AI among existing regulators will mean the tech is “only partially regulated”, while its data reforms will undercut already-limited existing protections, says Ada Lovelace Institute Continue Reading

NATO membership to drive Nordic cyber security sector growth

The Nordic cyber security sector will see increasing demand as Finland and Sweden joint NATO Continue Reading

The essential role of PETs in unlocking the trillion dollar SaaS market

Ahead of the Eyes-Off Data Summit in Dublin, Jack Fitzsimons of Oblivious AI explains why so-called Privacy Enhancing Technologies or PETs may hold the key to unlocking the full potential of SaaS in the enterprise Continue Reading

Police Scotland use cloud for biometric data despite clear risks

Police Scotland confirms it has stored significant volumes of biometric data on a cloud-based digital evidence sharing system despite major ongoing data protection concerns, bringing into question the effectiveness of the current regulatory approach and the overall legality of using hyperscale public cloud technologies in a policing context Continue Reading

Civil society groups call on EU to put human rights at centre of AI Act

Dozens of civil society groups are calling on EU institutions to prioritise people and human rights in AI legislation as secretive negotiations begin Continue Reading

Digital public services ‘riddled’ with problems, says TUC

The UK’s increasingly digitised public services are plagued by design, governance and workplace issues that are undermining the government’s stated goal of improving efficiency, but can be alleviated by giving public sector workers a greater say in how new technologies are being developed, deployed and controlled Continue Reading

Forensic Institute provides Hansken viewing method for Dutch lawyers

Dutch lawyers can now view crypto communication in criminal cases from their own workplace via digital search engine Hansken. Previously, this had to be done at an external location Continue Reading

Ofcom’s online safety preparedness efforts hobbled by government

Despite Ofcom’s progress so far, UK government changes to the scope and timetable of the Online Safety Bill are hobbling the ability of the regulator to successfully prepare for the new regime Continue Reading

EU formally grants data adequacy to US

The European Commission has formally granted the US data adequacy, allowing companies and organisations to freely transfer personal data across the Atlantic via the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. But privacy activist Max Schrems has already committed to legally challenging the decision Continue Reading

Malicious URL volumes soar as cyber criminals pull on Threads

Malicious actors have been quick to exploit the buzz around Meta’s newly launched Threads platform, with thousands of new suspicious domains registered exploiting its branding Continue Reading

Horizon inquiry adjourned as Post Office disclosure failures threaten to ‘derail’ proceedings

Statutory public inquiry into Post Office Horizon scandal adjourned because of Post Office disclosure failures, ‘retraumatising’ victims of a scandal that destroyed the lives of thousands of people Continue Reading

Post Office inquiry must examine rule on IT evidence if miscarriages of justice are to be avoided

Public inquiry must examine role of court rules around use of computer evidence that enabled Post Office to prosecute innocent people Continue Reading

Biometrics watchdog calls for public space surveillance review

The biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner is calling for a review of public space surveillance to gain a clearer picture about the proliferation of Chinese surveillance technology across the public sector, but warns against applying double standards on companies just because they are from China Continue Reading

Privacy campaigners call for UK data adequacy to be revoked

The European Commission should revoke the UK’s data adequacy if its Data Protection and Digital Information Bill passes, which campaigners argue ‘flies in the face’ of the decision Continue Reading

EU judgment sinks Meta’s argument for targeted ads

The EU Court of Justice has issued a significant judgment against Meta, ruling that national anti-trust bodies can investigate GDPR breaches, disrupting the platform’s entire basis for carrying out targeted advertising Continue Reading

Scotland’s Techscaler programme joins forces with CivTech

The partnership between the scaler programme and the innovation accelerator means CivTech alumni companies will be offered Techscaler membership and gain access to its technology hubs, education initiatives and support Continue Reading

AI can never be given control over combat decisions, Lords told

Artificial intelligence is technically incapable of distinguishing between the complex contextual factors of combat situations, and will likely never be able to, according to legal and software experts Continue Reading

SGN pens IT service desk outsourcing deal

Utility company SGN renews its internal IT services managed services contract with new supplier Continue Reading

NHS England signs five-year Microsoft 365 contract

Hot on the heels of its earlier deployment of Microsoft Teams, NHS England is now going all-in on the rest of the software giant’s online productivity tools Continue Reading