Copyright TechTarget - All rights reserved ComputerWeekly’s best articles of the day https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html Techtarget Feed Generator en Wed, 20 May 2026 04:04:30 GMT https://www.computerweekly.com editor@computerweekly.com <p>After publishing research into the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in network automation, which found that the comms industry is rapidly moving to build infrastructure capable of enabling powerful and successful AI, Nokia has unveiled agentic AI capabilities for its fixed network product lines to help drive productivity and operational intelligence across broadband networks.</p> <p>The global comms tech provider said that with the telecoms industry set to invest $6.2bn in <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366639478/Nokia-AWS-demo-agentic-AI-network-slicing-with-du-Orange">agentic AI</a> by 2030, agentic AI <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366642566/Extreme-Connect-26-Agent-ONE-takes-forward-network-AI">systems capable of autonomous reasoning and decision-making</a> will be a key driver of the cognitive broadband era, enabling networks to move beyond basic connectivity towards self-optimising, AI-driven infrastructures.</p> <p>Designed for the cognitive broadband era, Nokia’s AI-enabled fixed networks portfolio is claimed to boost user experience, increase operational efficiency and accelerate fibre roll-out. The move will see the supplier embed AI agents and natural language interaction across its <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366632286/Nokia-launches-FTTH-digital-twin-AI-tools-to-boost-network-reliability">Altiplano</a>, Corteca and Broadband Easy platforms, enabling network providers to modernise operations and reduce costs.</p> <p>Drawing on insights, experience and expertise from over 600 million broadband lines, Nokia said it was confident that the agentic AI capabilities would help operators tackle fibre and Wi-Fi challenges, from design and planning to roll-out and operations. Moreover, it assured that an open and secure AI agent approach would allow providers to integrate their own AI tools and data sources.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="How AI agents will benefit network operators"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>How AI agents will benefit network operators</h2> <p>As a result, Nokia said operators would be able to resolve problems proactively, scale operations without adding headcount and diagnose network issues using automated root cause analysis.</p> <p>Importantly, the tech firm said the AI agents would make an immediate and tangible difference for operators, including lifting first-contact helpdesk resolution rates above 50%, network incident qualification within five minutes, and a 50% reduction in return visits to construction sites and <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366639043/Silverstone-takes-mobile-connectivity-to-full-throttle">connected homes</a>.</p> <p>Underpinning this is an open and secure approach that is attributed with integrating AI agents, live data and external services while ensuring compliance, data sovereignty and supplier independence. Operators are said to be able to retain full control and choose to work with a large language model (LLM) that best fits the specific use case, use their own interfaces, or connect data sources as they scale AI across their business.</p> <p>Specific capabilities attributed to the agents include an AI assistant with a conversational interface that gives technicians and support teams instant access to product knowledge, accelerating training and day-to-day problem-solving.</p> <p>AI-powered text, voice and image guidance assists field technicians during surveys and installations, and computer vision technology helps validate the quality of work done and build a live <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366632286/Nokia-launches-FTTH-digital-twin-AI-tools-to-boost-network-reliability">digital twin of a fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network</a>.</p> <p>In addition, automated diagnostics will be used to detect degradations and prevent outages, giving frontline support teams more operational precision and analytical depth. A troubleshooting agent is designed to improve root cause analysis and speed up remediation across home and access networks, using advanced reasoning to pinpoint faults faster, reduce ticket volume and increase first-call resolution rates.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="AI support for field teams and troubleshooting"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>AI support for field teams and troubleshooting</h2> <p>Commenting on the launch, Nokia’s fixed networks president, Sandy Motley, noted that AI makes users less likely to churn, engineering and helpdesk teams more productive, and field teams able to make more connections more quickly.</p> <p>“We’re fundamentally changing how home and broadband networks are deployed and run,” she remarked. “AI only works with quality data, and when data is AI-ready. Our recent market outlook on AI in network automation underscored that the industry is rapidly moving to build infrastructure capable of enabling powerful, successful AI.”</p> <p>Grant Lenahan, partner and principal analyst at Appledore Research, said suppliers such as Nokia, which combine deep domain expertise with real-world scale, were best positioned to deliver reliable outcomes.</p> <p>“Nokia’s approach reflects many of the right architectural principles, including autonomous control loops, structured data models and open APIs [application programming interfaces], which are critical to making automation easy and AI responses accurate,” he said.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">Read more about AI in networking</h3> <ul class="default-list"> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366642566/Extreme-Connect-26-Agent-ONE-takes-forward-network-AI">Extreme Connect 26 – Agent ONE takes forward network AI</a>: Network firm launches ‘smarter, faster, autonomous’ approach to enterprise networking, with its operating model moving from assistive AI to autonomous, always-on operations.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366641094/Marvell-scales-up-networking-to-extend-Nvidia-AI-ecosystem">Marvell scales up networking to extend Nvidia AI ecosystem</a>: AI GPU leader sees extension of AI infrastructure through collaboration with infrastructure technology to deliver more choice and flexibility for customers with fully compatible systems.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366641242/Cisco-network-readiness-a-determining-factor-for-AI-success">Network readiness a determining factor for AI success</a>: Report reveals how&nbsp;firms are harnessing AI to drive progress and overcome industry challenges, with most expecting ‘significant’ increases in connectivity and reliability demands.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366641133/AI-driven-operating-model-key-to-cloud-native-autonomous-networks">AI-driven operating model key to cloud-native, autonomous networks</a>: Operator-driven guidance outlines how mobile network operators can adopt AI-based operating models to enable increasingly autonomous network operations.</li> </ul> </div> </div> </section> As the telecoms industry looks to invest heavily in agentic AI, Nokia unveils a plan to tackle fibre and Wi-Fi challenges, boost user experience and increase operational efficiency https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/HeroImages/Nokia-PON-2024-PR-hero.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366642981/Nokia-enters-cognitive-broadband-era-with-agentic-AI-capabilities Tue, 12 May 2026 08:10:00 GMT <p><a href="https://www.qunnect.inc/">Qunnect</a> and Cisco have unveiled what they say is the first entanglement-swapping demonstration of its kind over deployed metro-scale fibre using a commercial quantum networking system.</p> <p>The demonstration combined Qunnect’s room-temperature quantum hardware with <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366632022/Cisco-unveils-software-to-accelerate-quantum-networks">Cisco’s quantum networking software stack</a>. The net result of the project is regarded by the partners as being able to bring practical quantum networks closer to scalable deployment, validating a spoke-and-hub model for scaling quantum networks through commercial datacentres.</p> <p>The companies see these techniques as being able to underpin future ultra-secure links, quantum-safe architectures, and the ability to connect distributed quantum processors and datacentres.</p> <p>Qunnect believes that one of the challenges in scaling real-world quantum networks is the practical realisation of protocols to route entanglement between network nodes. To achieve that, it says, requires entanglement “swapping”.</p> <p>That is, the operation that extends entanglement from two nodes to multiple ones through an intermediate hub. Swapping itself is already established in quantum science, but the tech firms stress that performing it on telecom-compatible infrastructure under real-world constraints has remained rare in the industry. Loss, noise and hardware complexity make it far more challenging outside of controlled laboratory settings.</p> <p>In addition, current quantum networks can be constrained by a complex physical “tether”, relying on a shared master laser to connect all nodes. By using Qunnect’s independent atomic sources, the experiment looked to remove the need for nodes to be physically “tethered” by shared lasers.</p> <p>To validate their model, Cisco and Qunnect conducted a demonstration on the latter’s GothamQ testbed, which runs throughout New York City in a network that spans 17.6km of deployed telecom fibre connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan through QTD Systems’ datacentre at 60 Hudson Street.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">Read more about quantum networks</h3> <ul class="default-list"> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366634683/IBM-Cisco-light-up-quantum-networking-collaboration">IBM and Cisco light up quantum networking collaboration</a>: Firms collaborate to design a connected network of large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers, laying the groundwork for a quantum computing internet.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366636697/BT-UKs-next-phase-of-quantum-progress-hinges-on-network-build">UK’s next phase of quantum progress hinges on network build</a>: UK’s leading network provider reflects on the country’s quantum progress to date, and proposes what needs to happen next as funding and focus shift towards delivery.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366634549/UAE-to-launch-first-space-to-ground-quantum-communication-network">UAE to launch first space-to-ground quantum communication network</a>: Technology Innovation Institute and Space42 unveil a collaboration at the Dubai Airshow to deliver the UAE’s first space-enabled quantum communication network, strengthening national cyber resilience and advancing sovereign leadership.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366621104/Nokia-Numana-Honeywell-Aerospace-team-to-advance-quantum-safe-networks">Nokia, Numana, Honeywell Aerospace team to advance quantum-safe networks</a>: Collaboration designed to drive innovation and enable a global post-quantum security economy for enterprises using quantum key distribution and advanced cryptographic network technologies to safeguard digital.&nbsp;</li> </ul> </div> </div> <p>At the centre of this integration is Qunnect’s turnkey Carina system, a technology capable of generating an entangled photon pair. To maintain signal integrity, Qunnect’s automatic polarisation controllers (APCs) continuously compensate for polarisation drift – a persistent challenge in deployed fibre that has historically limited real-world networking.</p> <p>These technologies were integrated with Cisco’s unified quantum networking software stack, functioning as a “digital air traffic controller” for the city-wide network. The software autonomously coordinates Qunnect’s turnkey Carina hardware across geographically separated nodes.</p> <p><a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.15653">The collaboration is said to have generated record swapping rates</a> of over 1.7 million pairs/hour locally and 5,400 pairs/hour over deployed fibre. This is said to be nearly 10,000 times better than previous benchmarks using similar platforms. As the first demonstration of polarisation entanglement swapping over deployed fibre, the system maintained over 99% polarisation fidelity.</p> <p>End nodes used room-temperature detectors, concentrating cryogenic equipment solely at the central hub to significantly reduce the cost of network scaling. Using independent entanglement sources meant no shared lasers, allowing for modular network expansion.</p> <p>Cisco and Qunnect regard the results from the trial as demonstrating the integrated system can operate reliably in one of the world’s most demanding urban environments, providing a deployable blueprint for distributed quantum computing and secure metro-scale quantum networks.</p> <p>This decoupling of nodes allowed for a scalable hub-and-spoke architecture for quantum networking, enabling new endpoint nodes to be added without dedicated synchronisation links to all other nodes. The two firms say this achievement serves as a first proof point in a journey towards practical, entanglement-based quantum networks, laying the foundation for distributed quantum computing.</p> <p>“Entanglement swapping is a fundamental operation in the quantum internet,” said Mehdi Namazi, co-founder and chief science officer for Qunnect. “Today, we not only broke the record for rate and scalability, we did so in New York City using some of the noisiest, most chaotic fibre on earth. This is a milestone the field has been waiting for.”</p> <p>Reza Nejabati, head of quantum research at Cisco, added: “This milestone accelerates our quantum networking vision. Our orchestration software enabled field-ready entanglement distribution and swapping – foundational capabilities for distributed quantum computing and the global quantum grid.”</p> IT and networking giant collaborates with scalable quantum networks firm for what is said to be a successful demonstration of quantum networking connecting a datacentre to two research facilities in New York City https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/German/article/Hero-quantum-computing-abangaboy-adobe.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366639275/Cisco-Qunnect-claim-quantum-first-with-datacentre-connectivity Thu, 19 Feb 2026 07:15:00 GMT <p>European governments are increasingly turning towards open standards alternatives to end-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration services dominated by WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams.</p> <p>An open network messaging architecture, known as Matrix, is attracting interest from European governments that are seeking “sovereign” alternatives to encrypted collaboration and messaging tools supplied by US Big Tech companies.</p> <p><a href="https://matrix.org/">Matrix</a> aims to create an open standard for messaging, that would allow people to communicate irrespective of which messaging service they use, in much the same way that people can send emails to anyone irrespective of which email provider they use.</p> <p>The German armed forces and the French government each have hundreds of thousands of government employees using messaging technology based on Matrix.</p> <p><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366616219/Swiss-encrypted-messaging-service-ePost-targets-one-million-postal-users">Swiss Post</a> has used the technology to build an encrypted messaging service for postal users, and other projects are underway in <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366633195/Inspired-by-the-EU-Sweden-eyes-open-standard-for-encrypted-chat-services">Sweden</a>, the European Commission and the Netherlands.</p> <p>Matthew Hodgson co-founded Matrix as a not-for-profit open source project to develop technical standards for secure decentralised messaging, video and voice services in 2014.</p> <p>When he is not working for Matrix, Hodgson is the CEO of Element, which provides encrypted communications services based on the Matrix protocol, to France, Nato and other government organisations.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Risk of US sanctions"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Risk of US sanctions</h2> <p>He says European governments have shown increasing interest in using open source IT as a way of reducing their dependence on US Big Tech suppliers and creating their own sovereign alternatives in the wake of increasing geopolitical uncertainty.</p> <p>The decision by the US to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague in February 2025, showed that sovereign states can no longer assume that cloud-based IT services supplied by Microsoft and other Big Tech companies are immune from world politics.</p> <p>The sanctions impacted US suppliers that provide the court with “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-sanctions-on-the-international-criminal-court/">financial, material, or technological support</a>,” prompting the ICC - which is heavily reliant on Microsoft - to seek to <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/despite-trump-sanctions-icc-staff-160252803.html">negotiate new IT contracts</a> with other non-US suppliers.</p> <p>“We have seen first-hand that US Big Tech companies are not reliable partners and out of common sense, for your country to be operationally dependent on another country is a crazy risk,” said Hodgson.</p> <p>The “<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/When-leaders-ignore-cybersecurity-rules-the-whole-system-weakens">Signalgate</a>” scandal was also a “huge wake-up call”. In April, it emerged that US national security advisor Mike Waltz inadvertently added a journalist to a classified group discussion on a Signal-based messaging service.</p> <p>The incident led to renewed concerns about the proliferation of shadow communications technology among governments.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Encryption double-think"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Encryption double-think</h2> <p>However, the same European governments that are advocating developing sovereign encrypted messaging services are also resisting the spread of end-to-end encryption.</p> <p>This is happening through mechanisms like <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366632677/Chat-Control-encryption-plans-delayed-after-EU-states-fail-to-agree">Chat Control</a>, a European proposal to require technology companies to scan messages for illegal content before being encrypted, which has the unintended consequence of undermining the security of communications.</p> <p>“There are obviously different factions and governments pushing in different directions,” said Hodgson. “I think Chat Control comes from a curious combination of ignorance and political gamesmanship, trying to score points.”</p> <div class="imagecaption alignLeft"> <img src="https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/computerweekly/Matthew Hodgson_Source_Matrix_140x180.jpg" alt="Photo of Matthew Hodgson, co-founder and CEO, Element"> </div> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><span style="color: #34495e;">“My hope is that we will end up in a big, global peer-to-peer network without servers that cannot be compromised, undermined, surveilled or otherwise disrupted”</span></strong></span></p> <p><em><span style="color: #34495e;">Matthew Hodgson, Element</span></em></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>In the UK, the <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366632159/Home-Office-issues-new-back-door-order-over-Apple-encryption">Home Office has required Apple</a> to give law enforcement and the intelligence services the capability to access the encrypted data that UK citizens have backed-up on Apple’s iCloud service.</p> <p>Hodgson says that if the Home Office issues a similar order against Element, it would have no choice but to withdraw its services from the UK, or from Europe, if Chat Control was ever introduced.</p> <p>The result would not be the disappearance of encrypted messaging apps, says Hodgson, but more likely a proliferation of home-grown encryption apps as people seek ways to maintain their privacy.</p> <p>Look back to the crypto wars of the 1990s, when the US government sought to control and limit the spread of encryption technology - those efforts were thwarted by Phil Zimmerman who developed PGP encryption software.</p> <p>Although it was technically illegal to distribute PGP, “mysteriously,” said Hodgson, “everyone was using it”.</p> <p>“Even if Element was unable to publish apps in the app stores of European countries because of Chat Control, I strongly suspect that many other people will go and publish their own apps and make them available somehow,” he added.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="No single point of attack"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>No single point of attack</h2> <p>One of Matrix’s advantages as a communications standard is that it is decentralised. That means there is no single point of attack that would allow hackers to gain access to the whole network.</p> <p>Hodgson contrasts that with Signal, an encrypted messaging service widely used by journalists and human rights campaigners, which presents a bigger target for hackers.</p> <p>“Signal has very good encryption, and we use their encryption so we owe a lot to them,” he said. “On the flip side, if you are a motivated bad actor, with Signal there is only one app and one instance that you have to compromise.”</p> <p>Another advantage of Matrix is that is interoperable, which means that one messaging platform built on Matrix, should have the capability to communicate with another.</p> <p>With Nato deploying Matrix-based communications, for example, it would make sense for Nato forces to use encrypted Matrix-based messengers to communicate with each other.</p> <p>France and Germany are understood to be in discussions about enabling messaging between the two countries.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Matrix 'at least as good' as WhatsApp"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Matrix 'at least as good' as WhatsApp</h2> <p>Apps built on Matrix have been less slick and less easy to set up than alternatives such as Signal and WhatsApp but that is beginning to change. Hodgson says there are a bunch of “really mature glossy apps” that are at least as good.</p> <p>It’s taken longer to get there because taking a decentralised approach is always more difficult than a centralised approach – at least 10 times harder, he says.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">Read more about encrypted messaging</h3> <ul class="default-list"> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366633195/Inspired-by-the-EU-Sweden-eyes-open-standard-for-encrypted-chat-services">Inspired by the EU: Sweden eyes open standard for encrypted chat services</a> - What if your messaging and collaboration app could talk to all the others? Swedish government agencies are investigating the possibility.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366631949/EU-Chat-Control-plans-pose-existential-catastrophic-risk-to-encryption-says-Signal">EU Chat Control plans pose ‘existential catastrophic risk’ to encryption, says Signal</a> - As EU member states prepare to vote on plans to mandate tech companies to introduce technology to scan messages before they are encrypted, Signal warns that Chat Control will create new security risks.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Rethinking-secure-comms-Are-encrypted-platforms-still-enough">Rethinking secure comms: Are encrypted platforms still enough?</a> - A leak of information on American military operations caused a major political incident in March 2025. The Security Think Tank considers what CISOs can learn from this potentially fatal error.</li> </ul> </div> </div> <p>Funding has also been an issue, as some governments deploying Matrix’s open networking protocol as part of critical national infrastructure have not opted to support Matrix financially.</p> <p>Hodgson had assumed that as more governments and corporations started using Matrix there would be more money available for development.</p> <p>Instead the funding often went to systems integrators hired by governments to deploy Matrix, rather than into Matrix itself.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Change of tack on fundraising"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Change of tack on fundraising</h2> <p>Element largely funded the development of Matrix up until 2023, but was forced to “aggressively change tack,” when the funds to support the protocol’s development failed to materialise.</p> <p>Today Matrix relies on funding from a membership programme and is also looking at applying for grants while it grows its membership base.</p> <p>“We are getting there now and I am hoping that in the next few months we will be out of the other side of that and really be able to start accelerating development again,” he said.</p> <p>Hodgson’s philosophy is that features developed to empower users of Matrix should be made available free of charge, but features that empower enterprises should be paid for.</p> <p>Paid services include antivirus, information classification labels, and measures to prevent the wrong people being accidently included into chats.</p> <p>People can sign up for Matrix without setting up their own server, but deploying Matrix could become even simpler in the future. The Dutch government has agreed to fund the development of a peer-to-peer version of Matrix, that obviates the need for a server altogether.</p> <p>In the meantime, work is underway with technology partners to deal with spam messages, AI slop and botnet produced propaganda, that have all grown as Matrix deployments have expanded.</p> <p>“My hope is that we will end up in a big, global peer-to-peer network without servers that cannot be compromised, undermined, surveilled or otherwise disrupted,” said Hodgson.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">How European governments are using Matrix</h3> <p><b>Tchap -&nbsp;</b>Secure messaging and collaboration tool used in French public sector, with over 300,000 users.</p> <p><b>BwMessenger -&nbsp;</b>Messaging app used by the German armed forces (Bundeswehr), which has gathered over 100,000 active users since its launch in 2020.<b> </b></p> <p><b>TI-Messenger -&nbsp;</b>Messaging app introduced for the German healthcare system, available to all citizens with public health insurance.</p> <p><b><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366616219/Swiss-encrypted-messaging-service-ePost-targets-one-million-postal-users">ePost</a> -&nbsp;</b>Multi-function app introduced by Swiss Post to allow citizens to communicate with banks, insurance companies, hospitals and clubs. Allows users to pay bills and store and access documents.</p> <p><b>European Commission -&nbsp;</b>The European Commission is developing a secure Matrix-based platform to allow European bodies and instutions to exchange secure communications.</p> <p><b>Nato -&nbsp;</b>Nato is running an experimental project, NICE2, aimed at finding an alternative to consumer apps, such as Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram, for the defence sector.</p> </div> </div> </section> European governments are rolling out decentralised secure messaging and collaboration services as they seek to reduce their reliance on Big Tech companies https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/HeroImages/security-code-encryption-gonin-adobe.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366633894/European-governments-opt-for-open-source-alternatives-to-Big-Tech-encrypted-communications Fri, 31 Oct 2025 14:00:00 GMT <p>Government departments in Sweden are considering deploying “open network” encrypted messaging services as an alternative to proprietary collaboration tools.</p> <p>Some 40 of Sweden’s government agencies are collaborating on a project that could see them rolling out a secure messaging service across government departments.</p> <p>The initiative comes as European governments are accelerating the deployment of “sovereign” technologies that allow them to be less reliant on “siloed” software from technology suppliers.</p> <p>The trend has been given new impetus by the war in Ukraine and growing political upheaval in the US.</p> <p><a href="https://www.esamverka.se/"></a>A membership organisation for government agencies interested in digital technology, <a href="https://www.esamverka.se/">eSam</a> has proposed developing a government messaging service based on Matrix, an open network offering secure decentralised messaging.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Replacing emails and phone calls"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Replacing emails and phone calls</h2> <p>Kenneth Edwall, a government employee and member of the eSam group working on the project, told Computer Weekly that one of the aims of the proposal is to make it possible for government departments to communicate more efficiently.</p> <p>“We as agencies need to collaborate with each other,” he said. “Having email is not the best tool, and having phone calls is not a good method either.”</p> <p>When eSam first began evaluating collaboration technology in 2021, government departments in Sweden had standardised on Skype for Business as a collaboration tool across government.</p> <p>The tool was easy to use, and it was possible for government employees to collaborate with colleagues by searching on their email and initiating a chat.</p> <p>They deployed Skype in a decentralised way, giving agencies the freedom to buy the service from suppliers or deploy it on their own datacentres.</p> <p>This created a robust, decentralised network, said Edwall. “If you have 100 different deployments of Skype, it’s hard to target them all in a cyber attack,” he added.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Multiple messaging services"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Multiple messaging services</h2> <p>Since then, partly as a result of Microsoft phasing out Skype in favour of its Teams software, government departments have taken up a range of incompatible messaging apps. They include <a href="https://www.rocket.chat/">Rocket.chat</a>, Teams, Zoom, open source platform <a href="https://mattermost.com/">Mattermost</a>, video platform <a href="https://jitsi.org/jitsi-meet/">Jitsi Meet</a>, and <a href="https://element.io/">Element</a>.</p> <p>“We are now seeing at least five or six messaging tools being chosen by authorities today, and if it continues, we are going to have a big mess of fragmented systems,” said Edwall. “There is no open protocol that allows them to interoperate with each other.”</p> <p>Imagine taking email and splitting it among five or six different email suppliers, each of which was incompatible with the other. “That is what we have today with messaging,” he added.</p> <p>This means government employees in Sweden are having to learn several collaboration tools so that they communicate with people in other parts of government.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="The security risks"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>The security risks&nbsp;</h2> <p>The apps pose security risks as collaboration tools fall outside security safeguards, and when people leave their jobs, they may still be connected to government-focused chat groups.</p> <p>In January this year, eSam began a review to look at how to solve these problems. One option was to do nothing and leave it to technology providers to develop interoperable messaging services, but it ruled that out.</p> <p>“We don’t believe that the entire market wants to be interoperable,” said Edwall. “We believe that some of the larger vendors have an incentive not to be interoperable with other vendors.”</p> <p>Another idea was for Swedish government departments to standardise on a propriety platform, such as Zoom or Microsoft teams. However, under Swedish law, government departments can not legally chose to buy technology from a favoured supplier. Each contract has to go out to tender.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Federated open source messaging"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Federated open source messaging</h2> <p>Eventually, eSam settled on an open-source federated messaging standard that allows government departments to build interoperable collaboration platforms, either in-house, or bought in from a provider.</p> <p>“The key is we are not taking sides in regards to public cloud, private cloud or on premise,” said Edwall. “We are not taking sides on proprietary or open source solutions, but we want them all to have the same open protocol that allows them to interact with each other.”</p> <p>The eSam members looked at a variety of options, including the Matrix protocol, Signal, <a href="org/">XMPP</a> and others, before deciding on Matrix.</p> <p>“We had meetings with other public sector authorities in the EU [European Union] and we realised that most of the authorities we talked to were looking at the Matrix protocol,” he said. “Some of them were already in it and others were evaluating it.”</p> <p>For eSam, Matrix offers a number of advantages. First, it is federated, which means the Matrix network relies on decentralised nodes. If one fails, or is hit by a cyber attack, messages can still re-route to the right destination.</p> <p>Second, different government agencies can chose to deploy the technology in different ways. “You can also decide who you want to deploy our setup,” said Edwall. “You could use public cloud services or private on-premise services.”</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="European governments are using Matrix"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>European governments are using Matrix</h2> <p>Matrix is widely used by the public sector in France, Switzerland – where it has been championed by <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366616219/Swiss-encrypted-messaging-service-ePost-targets-one-million-postal-users">Swiss Post</a> – and Germany. The European Commission and the Netherlands also have plans to roll out the technology.</p> <p>The team has prepared a report that it will present to the eSam board in November.</p> <p>Its recommendations are to build on open standards and protocols to ensure government agencies can avoid being locked into one supplier, and to give organisations the ability to choose how they want to deliver technology, either through public cloud, private cloud, on-premise systems or third-party suppliers.</p> <p>If the plan is approved, the move to Matrix-based messaging is likely to take years – or even decades.</p> <p>“We don’t want authorities to just throw out their current communication, because they might have a five or 10-year contract,” said Edwall.</p> <p>“We want the market to shift so the vendors understand what they gain from using an open standard, similar to the open standards we use in email,” he added. “We want the market to understand that they should start adapting their products.”</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">Read more about tech in Sweden</h3> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Urgent government calls for more high-powered sovereign computers to fulfil Swedish goal of building a more powerful AI industry answered by <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366625706/Sweden-gets-help-pulling-its-sovereign-AI-socks-up">foreign financiers, US tech and Europe’s AI emergency fund</a>.</li> <li>Sweden’s leading finance institutions have joined forces with state security agencies to <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366632357/Swedish-banks-and-state-join-forces-to-boost-cyber-security">develop an integrated cyber defence strategy</a>.</li> </ul> </div> </div> </section> What if your messaging and collaboration app could talk to all the others? Swedish government agencies are investigating the possibility https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/Hero%20Images/Stockholm-Fotolia.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366633195/Inspired-by-the-EU-Sweden-eyes-open-standard-for-encrypted-chat-services Wed, 22 Oct 2025 04:45:00 GMT <p>The UK government has set itself an ambitious target of becoming an artificial intelligence (AI) superpower, and this is a position it is seeking to secure by championing the developers of homegrown AI tools and technologies.</p> <p>As the government pithily stated in its January 2025<i> AI opportunities action plan</i> document: “We must be an&nbsp;AI&nbsp;maker, not just an&nbsp;AI&nbsp;taker:&nbsp;we need companies at the frontier that will be our UK national champions.”</p> <p>One company the government certainly seems to be championing to fill that role is AI infrastructure provider Nscale, which has previously described itself as the UK’s “only full stack sovereign AI infrastructure provider”.</p> <p>Since the start of 2025, the company has received passing mentions in various ministerial speeches, building up to its CEO, Josh Payne, being quoted in press releases issued by the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/engines-of-ai-primed-to-accelerate-new-breakthroughs-economic-growth-and-transform-the-uk-into-an-ai-maker">Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) about the government’s ambitious AI agenda</a>.</p> <p>On 16 September 2025, the company was name-checked as “British firm Nscale” in two government press releases – one detailing its work with ChatGPT creator OpenAI to create sovereign AI compute capacity, and another about its involvement in Microsoft’s bid to create the UK’s largest AI supercomputer in Loughton, Essex.</p> <p>For a company that was, according to Companies House, only incorporated in May 2024, the calibre of its technology collaborators and the high regard the government appears to hold it in is curious to say the least.</p> <p>Especially the latter’s trumpeting of the company as a British tech success story, given – as confirmed by Companies House – the majority of its directors are based in the US, and the bulk of its built datacentre infrastructure is in Norway.&nbsp;</p> <p>So, where did Nscale come from? And why is the government so sure its technology holds the key to it becoming an AI maker, rather than an AI taker?</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="What is the background to Nscale?"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>What is the background to Nscale?</h2> <p>Nscale was incorporated in the UK on 29 May 2024, with Companies House confirming the company has seven directors, with four of them residing in the US, two in the UK and one in Australia.</p> <p>Among the UK directors is the company’s chief executive Payne, who is also the only director listed as being a person of “significant control”.</p> <p>Nscale is understood to have been spun out of a company founded by Payne and another individual – Nathan Townsend, also a director at Nscale – called Arkon Energy, which specialises in the provision of <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arkon-energy-announces-the-planned-listing-of-us-portfolio-302099584.html">cryptocurrency mining and renewably powered datacentre infrastructure</a> from sites in Ohio, the US and Norway.</p> <p>In December 2023, Payne posted on LinkedIn that Arkon Energy had secured $110m in funding, which he declared to be the <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/josh-payne_arkon-energy-raises-110m-to-grow-us-bitcoin-activity-7143997648193126400-z3Ze/">“largest private funding round for a bitcoin mining platform” that year</a>.</p> <p>The post stated that the funding will be used to triple the company’s US-based datacentre capacity to 300MW, and pave the way for it to launch its AI Cloud Service platform from its existing datacentre in Norway.</p> <p>“It has been an amazing year for Arkon Energy, having started the year with an operating capacity of 30MW and now ending the year with a portfolio of 330MW in total that is funded, [and] expected to be fully operational by Q3 2024,” wrote Payne.</p> <p>Several months later, in February 2024, there was an abortive attempt started to get Arkon Energy listed on the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange via a reverse merger with a shell company known as BM3EAC.</p> <p>However, nine months later, in November 2024, it was confirmed that both companies had terminated discussions on the matter, and – during the intervening period – Nscale was spun out of Arkon.</p> <p>Townsend is still listed as working for Arkon Energy (and Nscale) on his LinkedIn profile, but the Arkon Energy website appears to have disappeared from the internet altogether.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="What does Nscale actually do?"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>What does Nscale actually do?</h2> <p>Nscale markets itself as an AI hyperscaler that provides the datacentres, software and applications that enterprises and governments need to deliver on their own AI ambitions.</p> <p>The company has its flagship Glomfjord datacentre in Norway, which is reportedly powered by hydroelectricity, and claims to have a “global pipeline of greenfield datacentres” under development.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Does Nscale have any UK datacentres?"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Does Nscale have any UK datacentres?</h2> <p>The company announced in January 2025 that it planned to invest $2.5bn in the UK datacentre industry over the next three years, having purchased its first UK site in Loughton.</p> <p>Nscale said the site is equipped with 50MW of AI and high-performance compute capacity, which could be scaled up to 90MW, and should be live by late 2026. The company said it also plans to start building multiple modular datacentres in the UK, during the second half of 2025.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="What about its partnerships and acquisitions?"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>What about its partnerships and acquisitions?</h2> <p>Since its inception, the company has hit the acquisition trail to build out the capabilities of its AI infrastructure proposition, having snapped up Kontena, which specialises in the provision of high-density, modular generative AI datacentres, in July 2024. &nbsp;</p> <p>It has also struck a few high-profile partnerships, including with&nbsp;OpenAI. It is collaborating with the company on its Stargate Norway initiative, which will see it help deliver 290MW of renewably powered compute capacity in the country, as announced in August 2025.</p> <p><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366631325/Government-confirms-North-East-as-location-of-second-AI-Growth-Zone">The company is also working with Open</a><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366631325/Government-confirms-North-East-as-location-of-second-AI-Growth-Zone">AI and Nvidia in the UK on Stargate UK</a>, as part of a government-backed push to build out the&nbsp;sovereign compute capacity for the sole purpose of hosting AI models.</p> <p>As previously mentioned, the company is also involved in Microsoft’s bid to create the UK’s largest AI supercomputer in Loughton.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="What has the UK government said about Nscale?"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>What has the UK government said about Nscale?</h2> <p>Quite a bit, as it goes. The company has been name-checked in ministerial speeches and DSIT press releases a fair amount since the government published its<i> AI opportunities action plan</i> document on 13 January 2025. &nbsp;</p> <p>On that day, Nscale was described in a government press release as “one of the UK’s leading AI companies”, which is a bold claim for a company that – at that point – had only been in operation around eight months.</p> <p>Exactly what information this descriptor was based on is unclear, given the company was – as confirmed by Companies House – still eight months shy of having to submit its first set of accounts at that point, which would give a clearer idea of its performance.</p> <p>In another DSIT press release, released two days after the <i>AI opportunities action plan</i><i>&nbsp;</i>report materialised in January 2025, Nscale is described by the government as <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-ai-sector-attracts-200-million-a-day-in-private-investment-since-july">“one of our leading home-grown success stories”</a>.</p> <p>Again, the “home-grown” descriptor is one that warrants closer examination, given that the majority of its directors are located overseas, the bulk of its infrastructure appears to be located in Norway, and the company it span out from was founded in Australia.</p> <p>While Nscale was incorporated in the UK in May 2024, a profile on the company published around this time on overseas tech site <i>IT Brief Australia</i>&nbsp;also <a href="https://itbrief.com.au/story/norwegian-firm-nscale-pioneers-sustainable-gpu-cloud-with-renewable-energy">describes the company as being Norwegian</a>.</p> <p>The company does have a headquarters in the UK, and <a href="https://www.nscale.com/blog/nscale-london-a-strategic-hub-for-our-european-growth">confirmed on 2 September 2025 that it is opening an office in Mayfair, London</a>.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="How is Nscale being funded?"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>How is Nscale being funded?</h2> <p>In December 2024, Nscale announced it had raised $155m on the back of an “oversubscribed” series A funding round, which it claimed would allow it to accelerate the company’s expansion across Europe and North America.</p> <p>Some 12 months before this, in December 2023, the company is understood to have also raised $30m in seed funding.</p> <p>“Since launching from stealth in May 2024, Nscale has experienced insatiable demand for AI infrastructure, quickly growing its pipeline of greenfield datacentres across Europe and North America from 300MW to 1.3GW, with 120MW planned for 2025 development,” said the company, in the accompanying press release.</p> <p>“The hyperscaler [Nscale] is now uniquely positioned to capitalise on the market for large-scale AI infrastructure, and can deliver bespoke GPU [graphics processing unit] clusters at any scale for governments, AI scaleups and global enterprises.”</p> <p><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366631959/AI-infrastucture-provider-Nscale-secures-11bn-in-series-B-funding">On 25 September 2025</a>, Nscale announced that it had secured $1.1bn in series B funding, with the round led by Norwegian industrial investment company Aker ASA, and supported by the firm's existing shareholders, and tech firms Nokia and NVIDIA.</p> <p>In a statement announcing the funding, the company said it plans to use the investment to accelerate the deployment of Nscale’s large-scale AI infrastructure across Europe, North America and the Middle East, and to grow the size of its engineering and operations teams.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">Nscale article timeline:</h3> <ul class="default-list"> <li>10 October 2024: <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/What-the-datacentre-industry-would-like-to-see-from-the-governments-planning-reforms">What the datacentre industry would like to see from the government's planning reforms</a>.</li> <li>16 December 2024: <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366617277/Nscale-unveils-IP-network-offering-to-support-AI-workloads">Nscale unveils IP network offering to support AI workloads</a>.</li> <li>13 January 2025: <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366617831/UK-government-unveils-AI-fuelled-industrial-strategy">UK government unveils AI-fuelled industrial strategy</a>.</li> <li>14 January 2025: <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366617926/Developing-AI-datacentres-Has-the-UK-government-got-what-it-takes">Developing AI datacentres: Has the UK government got what it takes?</a></li> <li>09 June 2025: <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366625615/Starmer-opens-London-Tech-Week-with-1bn-AI-boost">Starmer opens London Tech Week with £1bn AI boost</a>.</li> <li>16 September 2025: <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366631337/UK-government-signs-US-partnership-to-deliver-Europes-largest-AI-factory">UK government signs US partnership to deliver Europe’s largest AI factory</a>.</li> <li>17 September 2025: <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366631325/Government-confirms-North-East-as-location-of-second-AI-Growth-Zone">Government confirms North East as location of second AI growth zone</a>.</li> <li>17 September 2025: <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366631259/Microsoft-to-invest-30bn-in-expanding-its-operations-and-AI-infrastructure-footprint-in-UK">Microsoft to invest $30bn in expanding its operations and AI infrastructure footprint in UK</a>.</li> <li>25 September 2025:<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366631959/AI-infrastucture-provider-Nscale-secures-11bn-in-series-B-funding">AI infrastucture provider Nscale secures $1.1bn in series B funding</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </section> AI infrastructure provider Nscale has risen to prominence in UK tech circles over the course of the past year, having aligned itself with the government’s AI strategy. But what is Nscale, and who is behind it? https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/German/article/green-datacentre-sustainable-cloud-adobe.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Nscale-explained-Everything-you-need-to-know Fri, 26 Sep 2025 10:30:00 GMT <p>Nokia has revealed that leading Pakistan fibre broadband provider Cybernet has chosen its optical transport solution for a long-haul optical fibre cable (OFC) network, while it has also signed a contract with Maersk to equip 450 of the global integrated logistics giant’s vessels with private wireless network solutions.</p> <p><a href="https://cyber.net.pk/">Cybernet</a> provides connectivity solutions across Pakistan, serving enterprise, corporate and residential customers, in addition to offering carrier and transit services to international telecoms operators. To support its growing data demands and build a terabit-scale infrastructure, Cybernet is deploying Nokia’s 1830 GX platform, integrated with 1.2T ICE7 coherent optics.</p> <p>Designed to deliver 1.2Tbps (terabits per second) per wavelength, the Cybernet infrastructure has been built to power a national backbone connecting over 25 cities in its initial phase and deliver more than 50Tbps of long-haul capacity.</p> <p>In addition to connecting cities and communities through Cybernet’s digital highways, the backbone will also support cross-border transit services for carriers and internet service providers in Central Asia. By delivering scalable, high-capacity services at globally competitive rates, Cybernet and Nokia believe the initiative will accelerate Pakistan’s digital transformation and foster regional connectivity.</p> <p>The network will expand capacity along resilient, diverse routes and enable a high-speed, low-latency terrestrial backbone that spans the entire country. Furthermore, the deployment will support datacentre interconnect, enterprise and carrier networks, as well as Cybernet’s flagship StormFiber broadband service.</p> <p>“By enhancing our network with cutting-edge technology, we’re able to keep pace with our customers’ rapidly evolving connectivity needs and deliver a superior end-user experience,” said Cybernet chief operating officer Maroof Ali Shahani. “Nokia is a trusted technology leader with the expertise and innovation to support our modernisation goals. The 1830 GX-based solution will form the foundation for high-capacity services connecting Pakistan – and the region – to the global digital economy.”</p> <p>On the high seas of the global economy, <a href="https://www.maersk.com/">Maersk</a> will use Nokia private wireless solutions for real-time cargo tracking in its fleet. Explaining the significance of the deployment, Nokia noted that the evolving environment of logistics and maritime operations is uniquely complex and highly mobile, requiring resilient and flexible technology for real-time asset tracking and positioning.</p> <p>By transitioning to private wireless technology, Nokia said Maersk will overcome the challenges of its current infrastructure onboard its own and chartered vessels, and gain access to increased scalability and future-proof connectivity.&nbsp;</p> <p>The deployment also forms part of Maersk’s internet of things (IoT) connectivity platform, OneWireless, which offers numerous benefits to its customers, including real-time cargo tracking, enhanced supply chain visibility and improved operational efficiency.</p> <p>The unified mobile network is designed to support numerous IoT devices and secure interoperability between private and public networks, ensuring Maersk customers’ cargo is reliably monitored at sea, port or on land. This is said to be especially important for tracking parameters such as temperature and humidity for fruit and other perishables.</p> <p>The solution uses Nokia’s small cells portfolio, including <a href="https://www.nokia.com/mobile-networks/ran/small-cells/shikra-rrh/">Nokia Shikra remote radio heads (RRH)</a> and baseband, along with custom-designed antennas. Each vessel has a small core connected to the radio, utilising satellite communication for backhaul. Additionally, Nokia’s intelligent network management system, <a href="https://www.nokia.com/mobile-networks/ran-operations/network-management/">MantaRay NM</a>, located in Maersk’s operations centre, will provide a consolidated network view for monitoring and management. The deployment is underway and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.</p> <p>“With our next-generation connectivity platform, we will be able to offer our customers notable benefits, including real-time cargo tracking, enhanced supply chain visibility and improved operational efficiency,” remarked Kjeld Dittmann, head of vessel and cargo connectivity at Maersk. “This platform is designed to support thousands of IoT devices, ensuring optimal performance for reefer tracking and fleet IoT.”</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">Read more about optical networks and IoT</h3> <ttsidebarcomponent> <ul class="default-list"> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366623094/Omdia-all-photonics-infrastructure-key-to-safer-smarter-more-sustainable-world">Omdia – all-photonics infrastructure key to safer, smarter, more sustainable world</a>: Research revealed at Innovative Optical and Wireless Network global forum outlines future of digital economy, powered by all-photonics networks.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366605994/NTT-advances-all-photonic-infrastructure-with-optical-network-digital-twins">NTT advances all-photonic infrastructure with optical network digital twins</a>: Comms and IT giant claims major step towards the realisation of full optical network digital twins, with successful end-to-end measurement of signal power across optical fibre transmission lines.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366623553/Myriota-scales-up-satellite-IoT-constellation-with-16-more-craft">Myriota scales up satellite&nbsp;IoT constellation with 16 more craft</a>: Space comms firm extends partnership with direct-to-orbit satellite internet of things connectivity provider to design, build and operate 16 satellites with enhanced second-generation payloads.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366622061/Pelion-plans-for-enhanced-global-IoT-proposition">Pelion plans for enhanced global IoT proposition</a>: Mobile virtual network operator&nbsp;unveils managed IoT product and service proposition to help businesses scale IoT investment in line with deployment and</li> </ul> </ttsidebarcomponent> </div> </div> Comms tech provider lands large-scale contracts for optical fixed network in Pakistan and IoT connectivity platform with mobile network to enhance operational efficiency at shipping firm https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/Hero%20Images/Nokia-optic-hero.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366623752/Nokia-supplies-12TBps-backbone-in-Pakistan-and-private-wireless-to-Maersk-fleet Wed, 07 May 2025 09:42:00 GMT <p>Misinformation and disinformation pose the greatest risk to countries, businesses and individuals over the next two years.</p> <p>The rise of fake news, the decline of fact checking on social media and the growth of deep fakes generated by artificial intelligence (AI) threaten to erode trust and deepen divisions between countries, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said today.</p> <p>The vulnerability of governments, businesses and society to AI-generated fake narratives will be one of the key risks under discussion when business leaders, politicians, academics and non-government organisations assemble at the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/">World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos</a> from 20 to 24 January.<a href="https://www.weforum.org/"></a></p> <p>The <a href="https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2025/">World Economic Forum’s <em>Global risks report 2025</em></a>, which draws on the views of 900 business, academic, government and civil society leaders, and over 11,000 businesses, paints a gloomy picture of countries becoming more isolated, growing risks of armed conflict, and worsening environmental problems over the next two years.<a href="https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2025/"></a></p> <p>“Rising geopolitical tensions, a fracturing of global trust and the climate crisis are straining the global system like never before,” said Mirek Dušek, managing director of the World Economic Forum.</p> <p>“In a world marked by deepening divides and cascading risks, global leaders have a choice: to foster collaboration and resilience, or face compounding instability. The stakes have never been higher,” he added.</p> <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.computerweekly.com/rms/computerweekly/WEF-GRR25-Shareable-Risks-by-severity-2-Years-1200px.jpg"> <img data-src="https://www.computerweekly.com/rms/computerweekly/WEF-GRR25-Shareable-Risks-by-severity-2-Years-1200px_mobile.jpg" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.computerweekly.com/rms/computerweekly/WEF-GRR25-Shareable-Risks-by-severity-2-Years-1200px_mobile.jpg 960w,https://www.computerweekly.com/rms/computerweekly/WEF-GRR25-Shareable-Risks-by-severity-2-Years-1200px.jpg 1280w" data-credit="World Economic Forum" height="560" width="560"> <figcaption> <i class="icon pictures" data-icon="z"></i>Most severe risks over the next two years </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> <p>With wars underway in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan, further armed conflict is the most pressing immediate risk in 2025.</p> <p>Extreme weather events, geo-economic confrontation in the form of trade wars and tariffs, and the spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media dominate the short-term risks.</p> <p>The WEF is less optimistic about the longer-term outlook, with most experts predicting more severe turbulence by 2035, driven by environmental, technology and social challenges.</p> <p>More extreme weather events, shortages of natural resources, and the collapse of ecosystems and the health and ecological impacts of pollution feature in the top 10 longer-term risks, alongside the risks of AI and the growth of misinformation and disinformation.</p> <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.computerweekly.com/rms/computerweekly/WEF-GRR25-Shareable-Risks-by-severity-10-Years-1200px.jpg"> <img data-src="https://www.computerweekly.com/rms/computerweekly/WEF-GRR25-Shareable-Risks-by-severity-10-Years-1200px_mobile.jpg" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.computerweekly.com/rms/computerweekly/WEF-GRR25-Shareable-Risks-by-severity-10-Years-1200px_mobile.jpg 960w,https://www.computerweekly.com/rms/computerweekly/WEF-GRR25-Shareable-Risks-by-severity-10-Years-1200px.jpg 1280w" data-credit="World Economic Forum" height="560" width="560"> <figcaption> <i class="icon pictures" data-icon="z"></i>The most severe risks over the next 10 years </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Generative AI will drive misinformation"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Generative AI will drive misinformation</h2> <p>Generative AI has made it easier for criminal, state agencies, activists and individuals to automate disinformation campaigns, and to give them a significant reach and impact, according to the WEF.</p> <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> Rising geopolitical tensions, a fracturing of global trust and the climate crisis are straining the global system like never before </figure> <figcaption> <strong>Mirek Dušek, World Economic Forum</strong> </figcaption> <i class="icon" data-icon="z"></i> </div> </blockquote> <p>It is becoming increasingly difficult for people, governments and companies to identify trustworthy information as more people rely on social media and the internet for information, the forum said in a 100-page report.</p> <p>The use of algorithms with hidden or undetectable biases will also exacerbate the impact of misinformation and disinformation, it said.</p> <p>Training AI to review job applicants using a model trained on a pool of candidates who might not have the same gender, race or nationality, or using AI in predictive policing, could be particularly problematic.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">Read more from the World Economic Forum</h3> <ul class="default-list"> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366565893/Davos-2024-AI-generated-disinformation-poses-threat-to-elections-says-World-Economic-Forum">Davos 2024</a>: AI-generated disinformation and misinformation poses risks to upcoming elections in the US, the UK, Asia and South America over the next two years. Attempts to undermine the democratic process by spreading false narratives could erode confidence in governments and lead to civil unrest.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252529062/Davos-2023-Pervasive-cyber-crime-and-cyber-security-gaps-pose-severe-risk-to-organisations">Davos 2023</a>: <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252529062/Davos-2023-Pervasive-cyber-crime-and-cyber-security-gaps-pose-severe-risk-to-organisations">Pervasive cyber crime and cyber security gaps pose severe risk to organisations</a>.&nbsp; Governments and organisations face tough trade-offs as they balance immediate problems caused by economic recession, energy shortages and rising interest rates with longer-term risks, including the impact of global warming.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252511811/Cyber-security-failure-one-of-biggest-risks-facing-countries-and-businesses-warns-WEF">Davos 2022</a>: <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252511811/Cyber-security-failure-one-of-biggest-risks-facing-countries-and-businesses-warns-WEF">Cyber risks are among the top five risks facing organisations and governments</a> over the next two to five years. Digital inequality and the overcrowding of space with communication satellites present further challenges.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252477684/Davos-The-clock-is-ticking-on-climate-change-but-cyber-crime-and-emerging-technologies-add-to-risks">Davos 2020</a>: Climate change, natural disasters, extreme weather and loss of biodiversity are the greatest risks we face. With <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252477684/Davos-The-clock-is-ticking-on-climate-change-but-cyber-crime-and-emerging-technologies-add-to-risks">cyber conflicts, state-sponsored hacking and internet fragmentation</a>, doing nothing is not an option.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252434030/Davos-Cyber-risks-grow-as-countries-turn-towards-protectionism">Davos 2018</a>: The cost of natural disasters is now at record levels, but <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252434030/Davos-Cyber-risks-grow-as-countries-turn-towards-protectionism">the cost of cyber crime is far higher</a>. The WEF hopes to persuade governments to work together on the problem, but with isolationist politics back in fashion, can it succeed?</li> </ul> </div> </div> <p>“When algorithms are applied to sensitive decisions, biases in training data or assumptions made during model design can perpetuate or exacerbate inequities, further disenfranchising marginalized groups,” the WEF warned.</p> <p>Without clear accountability, the use of automated algorithms makes it difficult to apportion responsibility when harmful or erroneous decisions are made.</p> <p>This lack of transparency and accountability can foster mistrust and scepticism about the decisions taken by governments and businesses, it said.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Surveillance"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Surveillance</h2> <p>The WEF warned that as the computing power available to governments and technology companies continues to rise there was a risk of greater surveillance on citizens by governments and businesses, posing risks to privacy.</p> <p>When managed responsibly, the collection of data about citizens can provide better public services, but without effective legal safeguards in place, there is a risk data will be misused.</p> <p>However, citizens are often unaware how their data is collected, used and stored, limiting their ability to make informed decisions, it said.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Supply chains are vulnerable"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Supply chains are vulnerable</h2> <p>With geopolitical volatility likely to continue over the next two years, organisations will need to check how vulnerable their supply chains are and assess the reputational risks of buying from suppliers from countries in conflict.</p> <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.computerweekly.com/rms/computerweekly/WEF-GRR25-Shareable-Risks-network-1200px.jpg"> <img data-src="https://www.computerweekly.com/rms/computerweekly/WEF-GRR25-Shareable-Risks-network-1200px_mobile.jpg" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.computerweekly.com/rms/computerweekly/WEF-GRR25-Shareable-Risks-network-1200px_mobile.jpg 960w,https://www.computerweekly.com/rms/computerweekly/WEF-GRR25-Shareable-Risks-network-1200px.jpg 1280w" data-credit="World Economic Forum" height="744" width="560"> <figcaption> <i class="icon pictures" data-icon="z"></i>How global risks are interconnected </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> <p>Carolina Klint, chief commercial officer for Europe at Marsh McLennan and a contributor to the report, said that increasing protectionism by countries will pose profound threats to “already fragile and stretched” global supply chains.</p> <p>That is likely to be exacerbated by measures to restrict the export of data between countries and a rise in malicious cyber attacks, she said.</p> <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> We must focus on environmental risks. Immediate action is critical to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, and to build resilience </figure> <figcaption> <strong>Peter Giger, Zurich Insurance Group</strong> </figcaption> <i class="icon" data-icon="z"></i> </div> </blockquote> <p>“By taking proactive steps to enhance supply chain resilience and invest in robust cyber security, businesses will be better placed to navigate these challenges and position themselves for success in an increasingly complex and fractured global risk landscape,” she added.</p> <p>Peter Giger, group chief risk officer of Zurich Insurance Group, said that with global warming exceeding 1.5°C for the first time in 2024, the stakes were “sky high”.</p> <p>“We must focus on environmental risks – from extreme weather to biodiversity loss. Immediate action is critical to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, and to build resilience. The costs of inaction and the lack of global cooperation are having an adverse impact,” he said.</p> <p>“The biggest risk would be to sit back now and say there’s nothing we can do. It’s not too late,” he added.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">The WEF’s call to action to tackle bias in AI</h3> <p>Organisations should use AI models that minimise bias and take steps to remove bias from data before, during and after training AI models, the World Economic Forum said today.</p> <p>There is a “pressing need” to “upskill” developers, data scientists and policy makers, to ensure they keep up with latest the developments in de-biasing, the WEF said in its <a href="https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2025/"><em>Global risks report 2025</em></a>.</p> <p>Governments, civil society and academics should collaborate to create comprehensive training programmes for AI practitioners and policy makers, its experts advised.</p> <p>The WEF said there is an urgent need for public awareness campaigns to educate citizens about the risks posed by disinformation, misinformation, privacy, AI and cyber threats.</p> <p>It also calls for governments and organisations to set up supervisory boards for AI and introduce human oversight into AI decision-making.</p> <p>AI-generated content should be labelled through digital watermarking, and information on data practices, safety policies and the potential risks of AI models should be made publicly available.</p> </div> </div> </section> World leaders, business chiefs and civil society organisations will discuss the risks posed by misinformation, disinformation and artificial intelligence at the World Economic Forum https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/Hero%20Images/Davos-Switzerland-Fotolia.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366618096/Davos-2025-Misinformation-and-disinformation-are-most-pressing-risk-says-World-Economic-Forum Wed, 15 Jan 2025 05:00:00 GMT <p>Covid-19 changed the global landscape of healthcare, with institutions around the world realising the need for more advanced digital intervention that would enable remote care. &nbsp;</p> <p>For many, this represented a dramatic transformation almost overnight, forcing often-rushed investments and structural shifts. Meanwhile, in the Nordics, a host of startups had already been planning for such a shift years before, with or without this black swan event.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>From&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252497803/Nordic-healthcare-digitisation-drives-medtech-growth" rel="noopener">the region’s perspective</a>, solutions around artificial intelligence (AI), data, virtual wards, remote monitoring, digital feedback and personalised wellbeing management were already seen as the next generation of healthcare. As such, Nordic innovators were largely tasked with transforming the world’s health sector during the pandemic storm, and with maintaining that momentum ever since.&nbsp;</p> <p>“The digital health market is estimated to be growing at an annual growth rate of around&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1092869/global-digital-health-market-size-forecast/" rel="noopener">25% from 2019 to 2025</a>,” said&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://integratedcare.hsj.co.uk/martin-ratz" rel="noopener">Martin Ratz</a>, co-founder of Swedish-born&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.doccla.com/" rel="noopener">Doccla</a>, a virtual ward provider in Europe and to the UK’s NHS.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Health systems across the Western world face a critical challenge. With an ageing population leading to more chronic illnesses and hospital admissions, coupled with the massive post-pandemic backlog, substantial resources are needed to maintain adequate and safe service levels.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>“There has been an acknowledgement that we must rethink our approach to healthcare and embrace a system-wide philosophical change, focusing on preventative, continuous care enabled by technology across the acuity spectrum.”&nbsp;</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/espen-janson-18b747215/?originalSubdomain=se" rel="noopener">Espen Janson, CEO and co-founder</a>&nbsp;of Stockholm-based,&nbsp;Napper&nbsp;offers an initial reason as to why the Nordics are the region to enable this movement: “The Nordics emphasise collaboration, trust in technology, and have a strong social safety net, which are conducive to the adoption of digital health solutions.</p> <p>“Governments in Nordic countries prioritise public health and wellbeing, investing in healthcare infrastructure and supporting initiatives that enhance patient outcomes. Moreover, the region’s emphasis on transparency, data privacy and patient empowerment serves as a model for global standards in healthcare innovation. It really is a holistic approach to healthcare innovation that ensures accessibility to all.”&nbsp;</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Covid chaos"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Covid chaos&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2> <p>Doccla was formed in 2019, demonstrating foresight of healthcare’s need for a digital transformation with or without the Covid 19 impact.&nbsp;</p> <p>“It was thought up after I suffered a heart attack and was sent home prematurely, without adequate aftercare,” Ratz said. “It made me realise the need for remote technology that could enable patients like me to recover at home with hospital-level care.”&nbsp;</p> <p>The virtual ward model was born as a result, beginning with a solution that could remotely monitor heart patients. The roll-out coincided with the start of the pandemic, however.&nbsp;</p> <p>Ratz added: “We were ready to recruit our first patient in February 2020 when the pandemic hit, putting all non-essential research, like ours, on pause. In a matter of days, we partnered with the hospital hosting our study to launch a virtual ward and began monitoring Covid-19 patients instead.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Patients were able to receive hospital level care in their home comforts, uninterrupted, while clinicians found a much better work-life balance even among the 2020 chaos. As a silver lining, that period shone light on a need for innovation that already existed in healthcare.&nbsp;</p> <p>“The pandemic has undoubtedly sped up the adoption of digital technologies,” Ratz said. “Many digital technologies had been around for years, but there had been little pressure to adopt them. What might have taken years to implement was fast-tracked to a matter of months. The digital solutions that were implemented were a strategic response to an unprecedented time.”&nbsp;</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Accessible, personalised care"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Accessible, personalised care&nbsp;</h2> <p>Napper was another Swedish startup initiated in 2019, just before the crisis. The company experienced a similar propulsion into mainstream healthcare because of the pandemic, albeit slightly more indirectly.&nbsp;</p> <p>In Napper’s case, Janson and his team benefitted from people’s sudden exposure to healthcare-based apps, devices and solutions. A new culture was forming where general wellbeing and health could be channelled through solutions such as Napper.&nbsp;</p> <p>Janson said: “Napper combines cutting-edge technology with empathy and behavioural psychology to solve age-old parental challenges. This includes reducing stresses and exhaustion experienced by new parents to contribute to healthier and happier families.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>“Our first product, the Napper App, was an AI-driven sleep coach to support parents in creating effective and sustainable sleep routines for newborns, infants and toddlers. It helps around 200,000 monthly users to combat ‘parental insomnia’ and claw back some of the estimated 133 lost nights of sleep experienced during a baby’s first year.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Telehealth and remote monitoring devices are now commonplace in the fitness, wellbeing and mental health space, but it took the pandemic, people’s changing attitudes towards healthtech, and companies ready and waiting to fill that gap to confirm the shift.&nbsp;</p> <p>“The need for accessible, personalised care that can effectively address the diverse needs of individuals is probably the biggest challenge for healthcare,” Janson added. “Digital innovation, particularly through AI-driven solutions, can help to solve this by providing tailored recommendations and insights based on individual data. This can improve patient outcomes, streamline healthcare delivery, and reduce the burden on healthcare professionals.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Dynamic feedback"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Dynamic feedback&nbsp;</h2> <p>Janson’s nod towards data and the impact on healthcare professionals shouldn’t be forgotten in the medtech conversation. The default emphasis is understandably placed on improving patient outcomes, but sparking a more satisfied, less underworked, and more informed workforce is a huge part of that.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Today, tools such as healthcare bots, virtual chats and remote consultations are integral to the healthcare experience. The change has been remarkable,” said Miika Mäkitalo, CEO of Finnish company&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.happy-or-not.com/en/" rel="noopener">HappyOrNot</a>, whose ‘smile’-based customer feedback devices have become familiar in 135 countries across numerous consumer settings.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>“The pandemic really tested us, but we helped hospitals stay connected with their patients. We adapted swiftly and released the Smiley Link, a tool to provide patients with a touchless option where users could leave feedback by quickly scanning a QR code or entering a URL.”&nbsp;</p> <p>The predictive customer experience tool has since been critical for institutions to analyse feedback data, while also channelling that feedback towards facility improvements.&nbsp;</p> <p>Mäkitalo added: “By integrating digital tools such as feedback systems, hospitals can actively collect patient data in real-time and swiftly analyse these insights. This creates an ongoing and dynamic feedback loop between patient and provider, allowing managers easy, efficient access to patient analytics. Adopting this approach to real-time data profoundly impacts the entire patient experience in the hospital facility.”&nbsp;</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Progressive and collaborative"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Progressive and collaborative&nbsp;</h2> <p>As much as $10.6m was invested in the Scandinavian healthtech sector in 2022 alone, according to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://dealroom.co/" rel="noopener">Dealroom</a>. In Sweden,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/sweden-ehealth" rel="noopener">99% of all prescriptions</a>&nbsp;are now issued electronically.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>The region’s determination to transform the healthcare sector and remedy its many administrative and patient-based bottlenecks started long before the pandemic and is still gaining speed.</p> <p>“The culture is characterised by a collaborative and patient-centric approach, where different sectors work together to foster innovation,” said Ratz. “This includes substantial investments into research and developmet and supportive regulatory environments that allow for the testing and implementation of new technologies.&nbsp;</p> <p>“The Nordic healthcare model is all about a social safety net, ensuring everyone is taken care of and is able to receive access to high-quality healthcare. Industry reforms in general are less politically divisive in Scandinavia, allowing for more experimentation and improvement.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Mäkitalo agrees with this cultural and structural differentiation: “In the Nordics, healthcare technology is generally perceived in a positive manner, and is valued by both healthcare professionals and patients.</p> <p>“The region has embraced digitisation, and is now poised not only to lead in the development of these innovations, but also to set a benchmark for how healthcare systems and personnel can effectively integrate and benefit from technological advancements.”&nbsp;</p> <p>High levels of digital literacy and a conducive infrastructure to introduce new ways of working further contribute to the Nordics’ ongoing push for innovative technologies in the global healthcare ecosystem.&nbsp;</p> <p>As such, the region is an exemplar for what can be achieved when public and private entities collaborate, and when the hunger for better outcomes outpaces the resistance to change.&nbsp;</p> <p>Janson concluded: “In Nordic healthcare, the culture towards technology is characterised by its progressive and collaborative nature. We prioritise patient-centric care and efficiency, driving healthcare providers to explore and implement solutions like telemedicine, electronic health records and AI-driven applications.</p> <p>“This culture fosters a collaborative ecosystem where stakeholders, including startups like Napper, can innovate with confidence, knowing there is a supportive environment for digital health initiatives to thrive and positively impact both healthcare delivery and patient experiences.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">Read more about Nordic health care tech</h3> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Nordic tech startups are applying their skills to solving <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252465846/Data-driven-decentralisation-in-Nordic-healthcare">some of the challenges for the region’s healthcare sector</a>.</li> <li>Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252494467/Nordic-digital-innovation-offers-a-proactive-approach-to-mental-health">the need to support people suffering mental health issues</a> – and digital technology can help.</li> <li>The Nordic region’s tech startup industry is geared towards <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252468670/Digital-developments-for-the-elderly-on-the-rise-in-Norway">creating tech in the healthcare sector with apps aimed at the elderly a growing segment</a>.</li> </ul> </div> </div> </section> Post-pandemic healthcare is benefitting from Nordic tech foresight, with the country bringing digital change to the world’s health sector to allow for more remote care https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/Hero%20Images/healthcare-doctor-medical-case-adobe.jpeg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366615715/Virtual-wards-to-digital-feedback-the-Nordic-approach-to-post-pandemic-healthcare Thu, 14 Nov 2024 08:34:00 GMT <p>Denmark’s Chamber of Commerce, Dansk Erhverv, is fronting a national consortium of state and private organisations to launch a Danish-language version of <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/ChatGPT">ChatGPT</a>.</p> <p>The “responsible artificial intelligence” (AI) model advanced by the newly established Danish Language Model Consortium (DLMC) will be freely available to so-called “principled” organisations and individuals in Denmark.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>The project, which is led by Dansk Erhverv and core partners IBM Denmark and the Alexandria Institute, will initially focus on developing a Danish language model that can be customised to the individual needs of different enterprises and private users.</p> <p>The Danish language chatbot being developed in parallel to the main project is intended as a problem-solving tool to address the everyday complex problems and tasks encountered by enterprises and private individuals, including the processing and filing of tax returns.</p> <p>Partners in the DLMC have signed up to an agreement to ensure transparency and copyright protection for Danish data. As a result, the “small language model” developed is protected by a guardrail to enable the technology to be used safely and ethically, said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kovsted-b877761/?originalSubdomain=dk">Thomas Kovsted, managing director of IBM Denmark</a>.</p> <p>“There has been exceptionally broad support for the forming of an alliance that can boost the development of a responsible Danish language model. The door is open for more like-minded partners to participate. The initiative will add new momentum to digitisation in <st1:place> <st1:country-region> Denmark </st1:country-region> </st1:place> as confidence in the Danish language model we are building grows,” said Kovsted.</p> <p>The DLMC project is currently working to overcome certain hurdles to certify that the data used and the language model created fully comply with Danish law and pivotal European Union (EU) rules under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that governs the protection of sensitive personal data.</p> <p>DLMC expects to develop and present the first of potentially several language models during the fourth quarter of 2024.&nbsp;</p> <p>The development journey for a Danish version of ChatGPT is a road laden with problems requiring innovative solutions, said <a href="https://www.zscaler.com/press/zscaler-appoints-diplomat-and-tech-executive-casper-klynge-new-vice-president-and-head-emea">Casper Klynge, the former deputy director of Dansk Erhverv</a>. Klynge left the Chamber of Commerce in August 2024 to join Zscaler, a digital transformation corporation headquartered in <st1:place> <st1:city> San Jose </st1:city>, <st1:state> California </st1:state> </st1:place>.</p> <p>“We realise that it will be very difficult to compete with the big language models out there. That said, there are certain areas, like niche products or small and tailored language models, that solve specific problems, where progress can be made,” said Klynges.</p> <p>A career diplomat, the ex-IBM executive joined the Chamber of Commerce in 2022. In 2017, Klynges was appointed <st1:country-region> Denmark </st1:country-region>’s first technology ambassador to <st1:place> Silicon Valley </st1:place>. In his new role, Klynges will head up Zscaler’s government partnerships for Europe, the <st1:place> Middle East </st1:place>&nbsp;and Africa (EMEA).</p> <p>The DLMC project gained real traction and momentum in 2023 when the Danish government signalled it would financially support joint initiatives between state and private sector actors to develop a Danish-language chatbox. The Chamber of Commerce, with lead partners IBM Denmark and the Alexandra Institute, immediately began assembling a public-private consortium to finance and run an AI-driven Danish-language model project, which was launched in May 2024.</p> <p>Central to the project, the DLMC will provide data for use in the training of Danish common language models. These will be based on the Munin model developed by Danish Foundation Models (DFM), a state-assisted organisation focused on empowering the Danish language in the digital age.</p> <p>Munin’s construct is influenced by French company Mistral AI’s open source model of the same name. Established in April 2023 by former employees of Meta Platforms and Google DeepMind, disrupter Mistral produces open source large language models that are freely available to use and customise. The company’s free open source software has positioned it as an alternative to proprietary models.</p> <p>DFM’s core mission is focused on pioneering innovation in the field of machine learning and natural language processing (NLP). These initiatives are specifically dedicated to the Danish language and maintaining open access state-of-the-art language models for the language linked to applications within both text and speech.</p> <p>Common, free and responsible AI-based language models in Danish should be viewed as a national asset in bolstering continued digital development in Denmark, said <a href="https://theorg.com/org/alexandra-instituttet/org-chart/jens-kaas-benner">Jens Kaas Benner, head of AI Labs at the Alexandra Institute</a>.</p> <p>“The consortium’s role is to supply Danish data. The development of the basic models is planned to take place under the patronage of Danish Foundation Models. This is a very important project for <st1:place> <st1:country-region> Denmark </st1:country-region> </st1:place>,” said Benner.</p> <p>The DFM functions as a collaboration between Alexandria Institute and three third-level institutions:&nbsp; <st1:placename> Aarhus </st1:placename> <st1:placetype> University </st1:placetype>, the <st1:placetype> University </st1:placetype> of <st1:placename> Copenhagen </st1:placename> and the <st1:place> <st1:placetype> University </st1:placetype> of <st1:placename> Southern Denmark </st1:placename> </st1:place>.</p> <p>Alexandria is one of seven Danish government-approved research and technology organisations (RTOs) tasked with developing and delivering expertise to state and private enterprises across seven primary next-generation technology areas AI, computer vision, cyber security, digital sustainability, digital health, internet of things (IoT) and smart products.</p> <p>The Danish government views the DLMC project as having the potential to strengthen Denmark’s business competitiveness and drive economic growth while supporting open research and education in the Danish language, according to <a href="https://www.english.digmin.dk/the-minister">Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for digital government and gender equality</a>.</p> <p>“This project has brought innovative forces in business, industry and the public sector together to invest in developing a Danish-based language model. The willingness to invest is a critical component of <st1:place> <st1:country-region> Denmark </st1:country-region> </st1:place>’s ambition to reap the benefits of technology and protect our language and culture,” said Bjerre.</p> <p>On the branding side, the DLMC is exploring possible names for the Danish language model, including MyGPT? and DanGPT.</p> <p>The roll call of the 20-plus partners in DLMC includes Aarhus Municipality; the Danish pension insurance group ATP; the Bagger Sørensen Group; Cbrain; rescue and emergency group Falck; JN Data; Denmark’s National Association of Municipalities; energy company Norlys; Topdanmark; software developer Visma; and SDC, a supplier of core digital platforms to banks across the Nordic region.</p> <p>Although open source and generally available to private and public users, the DLMC has implemented measures to prevent piracy and copyright infringement of the specific methods and data configurations used in creating the language model.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Foremost, the datasets on which the language model is demonstrated and tutored will not be made publicly available. These datasets will remain confidential and protected by restricted access criteria. The DLMC will, however, permit partners to improve on the basic language model made available for training purposes, enabling partners to add further value and customise it to their specific needs.</p> <p>As a founding partner in DLMC, Topdanmark plans to introduce the Danish language model-based chatbots across its entire financial services business. Topdanmark was among the first Nordic finance houses to apply AI technologies when it launched its chatbot Globus in 2019. Globus currently handles over 80% of the group’s enquiries from customers relating to travel insurance.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">Read more about language models</h3> <ul class="default-list"> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366558412/Netherlands-starts-building-its-own-AI-language-model">Dutch government allocates €13.5m to develop an open artificial intelligence language model according to national values and guidelines</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366538232/Sweden-is-developing-its-own-big-language-model">AI Sweden is leading an initiative to build a large language model not only for Swedish, but for all the major languages in the Nordic region</a>.&nbsp;</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366567153/Arabic-LLM-Jais-gets-a-new-version-thats-twice-as-large">Techniques that were used to double the power of what was already the largest LLM for Arabic can now be applied to other languages</a>.</li> </ul> </div> </div> Danish language version of ChatGPT to be developed in a project led by the country’s Chamber of Commerce https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/HeroImages/generative-AI-Chat-GPT-Rokas-adobe.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366609032/Government-backs-Danish-version-of-ChatGPT Tue, 27 Aug 2024 08:27:00 GMT <div> <p paraeid="{3a8b014f-44c1-4f5f-b159-970bcd7c37db}{191}" paraid="1256077274"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">The City of Helsinki is collaborating with Finland’s National Cyber Security Centre and the National Bureau of Investigation to identify the “bad actors” that hacked a remote server managed by the municipality. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{3a8b014f-44c1-4f5f-b159-970bcd7c37db}{225}" paraid="1242662503"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">The scale of the attack, which triggered a massive breach of a City of Helsinki (CoH) database, has resulted in the Finnish government ordering municipalities to stress and risk test primary IT networks for vulnerabilities against threats from the cyber domain. </span></p> <p paraeid="{3a8b014f-44c1-4f5f-b159-970bcd7c37db}{225}" paraid="1242662503"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">This year has so far seen a significant increase in cyber attacks against both public and private IT networks across the Nordic countries. The elevated level of threat is happening against the backdrop of deepening talks between Nordic governments to develop joint solutions to counter bad actor events and help private and public organisations strengthen data security connected to their IT networks.</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{45b135d8-0d84-4719-9e8b-d8fd259f91a6}{38}" paraid="875100009"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">In July, Nordic national cyber security centres raised the threat level for destructive cyber attacks from low to medium, a development aimed at raising greater awareness among those public and private organisations most susceptible to hybrid attacks. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{45b135d8-0d84-4719-9e8b-d8fd259f91a6}{78}" paraid="773895332"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">The cyber attack against the CoH, which originated in April 2024 but was made public in June, specifically targeted the municipality’s Education Resource Division (ERD). The key findings of the preliminary investigation led by the CoH’s IT Security unit and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) revealed that the hack and data breach was enabled by an outdated remote access server. The problem server was promptly shuttered and removed from the main IT network.</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{45b135d8-0d84-4719-9e8b-d8fd259f91a6}{130}" paraid="752654825"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">The preliminary investigation has established that no part of the data captured in the hack, estimated by the CoH to comprise “tens of millions of documents”, has so far been “misused” or fraudulently exploited for commercial gain on the “dark web”.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{45b135d8-0d84-4719-9e8b-d8fd259f91a6}{196}" paraid="1264545254"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">The captured data included personal contact information, excluding telephone numbers and email addresses, relating to children born in the greater Helsinki area between the years 2005 and 2018. The information hacked included “client identification” codes for children, parents and guardians. The data theft included passport numbers linked to families on the ERD’s database with “foreign backgrounds”.</span></p> <h2 paraeid="{45b135d8-0d84-4719-9e8b-d8fd259f91a6}{196}" paraid="1264545254"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">Change in maintenance schedules</span></h2> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{7d0ee5c8-983a-41bf-b86f-a3aab183aa23}{13}" paraid="1942965337"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">The obsolete server had been earmarked for decommissioning ahead of the breach, but the server’s removal was delayed by a change in maintenance schedules that caused it to remain in use, said </span><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/hannuaheikkinen_as-a-chief-digital-officer-im-supposed-activity-7098170902281920513-y_Ey/?trk=public_profile_post_view"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">Hannu Heikkinen</span></span></a><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">, the CoH’s chief d</span><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">igital</span><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink"> officer</span></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{7d0ee5c8-983a-41bf-b86f-a3aab183aa23}{71}" paraid="84243758"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">“The network drive and its content are being analysed,” he said.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}"> “</span>Due to the huge amount of data, it will take some time to complete our investigation.”</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{7d0ee5c8-983a-41bf-b86f-a3aab183aa23}{99}" paraid="534314029"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">The preliminary investigation established that the cyber criminals used security vulnerabilities in the outdated server to capture sensitive personal data using a remote server. A software patch was available to prevent a data breach on the vulnerable server, but the fix was not implemented in advance of the hack, said Heikkinen. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{7d0ee5c8-983a-41bf-b86f-a3aab183aa23}{153}" paraid="267380055"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">The cyber attack against the CoH is the most serious breach, in terms of data capture, experienced by any municipality in Finland to date. The CoH estimates that the hack against the ERD resulted in the theft of case files relating to 150,000 compulsory age school children, their parents and guardians. In addition, the hack captured data on all of the 38,000 staff on the city’s payroll. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{7d0ee5c8-983a-41bf-b86f-a3aab183aa23}{205}" paraid="1053030972"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">The CoH’s post-hack IT database security rebuild is running parallel with compliance actions undertaken by the city to meet its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) obligations. The CoH had contacted all “client groups”, whose data was captured or compromised in the hack, by the end of July.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">Read more about cyber security in Finland</h3> <div> <ul class="default-list"> <li paraeid="{bd04d770-d0d7-4857-808a-eda15c2bf033}{237}" paraid="169287650"><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none">The Finnish government is attempting to </span><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252441613/Finland-government-examines-centralised-cyber-defence"><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">centralise its fight against increasing cyber threats</span></span></a><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none"> to its infrastructure.</span></li> <li paraeid="{bd04d770-d0d7-4857-808a-eda15c2bf033}{237}" paraid="169287650">Finnish research and development, as well as critical infrastructure, are <a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252439991/Finnish-RD-and-utilities-in-line-of-cyber-espionage-fire-say-security-police"><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">being targeted by state-backed cyber espionage</span></span></a><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none"> attacks, says report.</span></li> <li paraeid="{bd04d770-d0d7-4857-808a-eda15c2bf033}{237}" paraid="169287650">Security concerns have re-emerged to further frustrate the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252435985/Security-fears-delay-roll-out-of-national-e-voting-system-in-Finland"><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">Finnish government’s plans to launch a national e-voting system</span></span></a><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none">.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:150,&quot;335559739&quot;:300,&quot;335559991&quot;:0}">&nbsp;</span></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{36af5d41-0283-41a8-9e4d-987a4d6a49d9}{18}" paraid="736297267"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto">The cyber strike against the ERD is the latest in a wave of serious cyber strike events in 2024 that started in January with a malicious ransomware </span><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://therecord.media/tietoevry-ransomware-attack-sweden-cloud-services-datacenter"><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">attack on </span><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">technology group </span><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">Tietoevry</span><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">’s</span><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink"> data</span><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">centres</span></span></a><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"> in Sweden. The company detected the sustained attack on the night of 19 January. Tietoevry’s IT-Network Security Team was able to halt the attack in the early hours of 20 January, limiting its impact.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{36af5d41-0283-41a8-9e4d-987a4d6a49d9}{48}" paraid="1173672178"><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto">Tietoevry restored activities under a rebuilt platform within 24 hours of the attack, and was able to reinstate in excess of 90% of the affected servers from backups within four days of the attack, which did not affect other parts of the company’s infrastructure. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{36af5d41-0283-41a8-9e4d-987a4d6a49d9}{86}" paraid="524987259"><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto">The Helsinki-headquartered Tietoevry invested €100m into the development of datacentres, cyber security and attack-resilient IT infrastructure during the period between 2022 and 2023, said </span><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.tietoevry.com/en/investor-relations/governance/group-management/kimmo-alkio/"><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">Kimmo </span><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">Alkio</span></span></a><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">, </span><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">Tietoevry’s</span><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink"> CEO</span></span><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto">.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{36af5d41-0283-41a8-9e4d-987a4d6a49d9}{124}" paraid="1548765165"><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto">“Cyber security has become a fundamental enabler of the digital society,” he said. “As a prominent Nordic player, we take seriously the responsibility we have to be at the forefront of digital security and continuous improvement.”</span></p> <h2 paraeid="{36af5d41-0283-41a8-9e4d-987a4d6a49d9}{124}" paraid="1548765165"><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto">New legislation</span></h2> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{36af5d41-0283-41a8-9e4d-987a4d6a49d9}{154}" paraid="1675279270"><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto">The cyber strike against the CoH and the ERD has accelerated the Finnish government’s pre-existing plan to introduce new legislation to penalise those municipalities who fail to protect the personal data of their “clients”. Under current laws, which exempt municipalities, fines of up to €20m can be imposed on private organisations that fail to secure client data. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{36af5d41-0283-41a8-9e4d-987a4d6a49d9}{182}" paraid="2068900234"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">Based on its present legislative reform programme, the Finnish government is on course to extend failure to protect data legislation and penalties to municipalities by year-end 2024 or during the first half of 2025.&nbsp;</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{36af5d41-0283-41a8-9e4d-987a4d6a49d9}{200}" paraid="1497954284"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">Although the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman (ODPO) is currently investigating the shortcomings in the CoH’s IT network that enabled the hack against the ERD to take place, the city is unlikely to face retroactive fines should the ODPO’s probe determine it failed to implement sufficient data security measures and safeguards to adequately defend against threats from bad actors in the cyber sphere.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{36af5d41-0283-41a8-9e4d-987a4d6a49d9}{246}" paraid="1738197599"><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">In June, the ODPO confirmed it had received 6,900 individual data breach reports in 2023 from private and public organisations in Finland. This represented an increase of 1,400 reports compared with 2022. The largest number of data breaches notified to the ODPO were mainly from public organisations operating in Finland’s social welfare and healthcare sectors, followed by enterprises in the financial and telecommunications areas.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{5e0fd382-bbbb-44f3-886a-8519f154967a}{65}" paraid="1368696627"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">“The sharp rise can be explained by increasing awareness among Finland’s public and private companies coupled with a greater understanding of their duties to report suspected data breaches,” said </span><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://tietosuoja.fi/en/-/helja-tuulia-pihamaa-appointed-deputy-data-protection-ombudsman"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">Heljä-Tuulia </span><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">Pihamaa</span></span></a><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">, the ODPO’s deputy director</span></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">. “</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">Currently, human error is the most common cause of data breaches.”</span></span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{5e0fd382-bbbb-44f3-886a-8519f154967a}{133}" paraid="1658152505"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto">The National Bureau of Investigation has identified Russia and China as the two main sources of cyber threats against Finnish and Nordic targets. The state security agency suspects state funded bad actors in Russia of being behind cyber attacks and database breaches against Nordic organisations, including logistics companies in neighbouring Estonia, since 2022. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> <div> <p paraeid="{5e0fd382-bbbb-44f3-886a-8519f154967a}{177}" paraid="1636332743"><span xml:lang="EN-IE" data-contrast="auto"></span><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.withsecure.com/en/expertise/people/mikko-hypponen"><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">Mikko </span><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">Hyppönen</span></span></a><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink">, the chief research officer</span></span><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto"> at Finnish cyber security specialist WithSecure, said Russia has been using malware in cyber attacks on targets in Eastern European countries since before mid-2022. “</span><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="auto">We are seeing an escalation in activity at present that is more than just data collection, surveillance and intelligence gathering,” he said.</span></p> </div> The City of Helsinki is increasing its collaboration with cyber security and crime investigators following a major attack on its systems https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/HeroImages/Helsinki-Finland-pano-Alexey-Fedorenko-adobe.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366605792/Helsinki-braced-for-elevated-cyber-attacks Tue, 20 Aug 2024 07:30:00 GMT <p>Nordic banks are turning more eagerly to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/tip/The-history-of-artificial-intelligence-Complete-AI-timeline">artificial intelligence (AI)</a> and innovation-led tech partnerships that can help them compete more cost-efficiently with niche digital banking rivals that are increasingly populating the financial services space in the region.</p> <p>Leading Nordic financial groups such as <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252493737/Danske-Bank-fights-money-laundering-with-AI">Danske Bank</a>, <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252473223/Nordea-brings-fintech-for-women-by-women">Nordea</a> and <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252466643/Swedens-SEB-bank-uses-mob-programming-across-business">SEB</a> have identified <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252488741/Nordic-banks-invest-and-innovate-to-keep-digital-rivals-at-bay">strategic partnerships with fintechs</a> as the fastest and most effective means of building digital capacities. Banks are driving forward with capital-intensive investment projects to integrate and utilise advanced AI technologies that they hope will give them a competitive edge over the current wave of digital bank disrupters.&nbsp;</p> <p>For their part, Nordic digital banks are looking to gain added leverage from the cost advantages of lower overheads to lure customers away from traditional high street lenders. The significance of having a lower cost base has enabled digital banks to offer competitive rates of interest and low to zero monthly account and transaction service fees at levels below the rates and fees available from traditional finance houses.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="AI delivers productivity boost"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>AI delivers productivity boost</h2> <p>The wider utilisation of AI in Bankdata’s work methods and processes, according to the company’s <a href="https://theorg.com/org/bankdata/org-chart/esben-kolind-laustrup">CEO, Esben Kolind Laustrup</a>, significantly boosted its productivity in 2023. Bankdata is one of the largest IT providers in <st1:country-region> <st1:place> Denmark </st1:place> </st1:country-region>’s financial sector.</p> <p>“The AI solutions we introduced reduced costs for the company by up to 25% in 2023. Our owners are benefiting from these savings. The degree of potential savings from AI use means more organisations in the financial services sector are putting AI very high on their agendas in 2024,” said Laustrup.</p> <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> The degree of potential savings from AI use means more organisations in the financial services sector are putting AI very high on their agendas in 2024 </figure> <figcaption> <strong>Esben Kolind Laustrup, Bankdata</strong> </figcaption> <i class="icon" data-icon="z"></i> </div> </blockquote> <p>Bankdata provides core banking systems, card platforms, and digital and AI banking solutions to its eight owner banks in <st1:place> <st1:country-region> Denmark </st1:country-region> </st1:place>. These comprise Jyske Bank, Djursland Bank, Kreditbanken, Nordfyns Bank, Ringkjøbing Landbobank, Skjern Bank, Sparekassen Sjælland-Fyn and Sydbank. Together, the eight banks serve one in every four Danish bank customers.</p> <p>Nordic banks are increasingly shifting their primary focus from digital-theme partnerships to strategic collaborations that offer advanced AI expertise and solutions to reduce costs and improve efficiencies within the domain of administrative operations and customer services provision.</p> <p>Despite the more rapid transition to AI, digital-based partnerships like Danske Bank’s multiyear deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) in March 2024, can be expected to remain a key area for Nordic banks engaged in group-wide digitisation projects.</p> <p>Danske’s collaboration with AWS forms an integral part of the Danish bank’s “better banking” Forward 28 (F-28) strategy that aims to offer new digital solutions and a more expansive menu of self-service options to its customers. The F-28 strategy is backed by a capital investment plan front-ended by additional spending on digitisation and cloud technology.</p> <p>Under the agreement with AWS, Danske Bank will migrate selected infrastructure, applications and data, which includes systems for personal, business and institutional customers to AWS.</p> <p>Moreover, Danske Bank will leverage AWS’s full range of cloud technologies, along with its AI, machine learning and generative AI (GenAI) services to reinforce internal developer productivity, said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/frans-woelders-78128353/?originalSubdomain=dk">Frans Woelders, Danske Bank’s chief operating officer</a>.</p> <p>“Our goal is to grow our position as a leading Nordic bank in a digital and AI age where our customers are becoming increasingly digital. By investing more in digitisation and AI technology, we are able to deliver a better banking experience and drive operational efficiency,” said Woelders.</p> <p>Danske Bank has identified <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/definition/generative-AI">GenAI</a> as a prime area for investment. An increasing number of the bank’s employees are starting to use new AI tools, including DanskeGPT, to conduct internal tasks. The bank is also exploring <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterprisedesktop/opinion/Reviewing-the-features-of-Copilot-for-Microsoft-365">Microsoft 365 Copilot</a> as a proof of concept, while <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/tip/GitHub-Copilot-vs-ChatGPT-How-do-they-compare">GitHub Copilot</a> is also running as a proof of concept. Testing is ongoing on DanskeGPT, which is intended to serve as the bank’s exclusive internal smart assistant.</p> <p>“Our vision is to provide different generative AI solutions that can be utilised across different business units securely and with compliance,” said Woelders.</p> <p>Motivated by a greater need to achieve cost efficiencies, Nordic banks have deepened their engagement with AI to explore the benefits of expanding the use of GenAI, especially at the customer service end of their operations. Banks are showing a particular interest in exploiting the potential cost-efficiency advantages in <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/12-of-the-best-large-language-models">large language models</a>, an area of AI that has rapidly developed since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Taking out costs with AI"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Taking out costs with AI</h2> <p>The pursuit of cost efficiencies by Nordic banks is evidenced in Swedbank’s AI tech partnership with Akur8. The Stockholm-headquartered finance house penned a partnership deal with the French company in March. Swedbank aims to use the collaboration to bolster its insurance pricing process. The deal will enable Swedbank to use Akur8’s advanced solutions powered by Transparent AI.</p> <p>The partnership will not alone revolutionise Swedbank’s insurance pricing processes, but it will also leverage Akur8’s advanced AI technology to improve accuracy, transparency and efficiency while expanding the overall customer experience, said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/juris-kipluks-71276911/?originalSubdomain=lv">Juris Kipluks, head of underwriting at Swedbank</a>.</p> <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> There will be individuals and corporates who adopt the new technology and others who will not. The ones who adopt AI will most likely stay relevant and replace the ones that don’t </figure> <figcaption> <strong>Philip Widegren, Nordea Bank</strong> </figcaption> <i class="icon" data-icon="z"></i> </div> </blockquote> <p>“We recognised the substantial potential in the range of functionalities in the Akur8 suite during the onboarding stage. The platform is a perfect fit with our own development plan. It will help Swedbank bolster efficiency in our modelling process,” said Kipluks.</p> <p>Nordic pension fund groups are also starting to embrace AI to drive cost efficiency. ATP, one of <st1:country-region> <st1:place> Denmark </st1:place> </st1:country-region>’s three largest pension fund managers, has rolled out a project that uses AI tools to streamline manual processes.</p> <p>ATP estimates that it has already booked savings of €85m since 2014 through a continuous process of partnering with external IT companies to run operational efficiency projects to reduce administrative costs. ATP manages Denmark’s mammoth €87bn Statutory Pension Scheme. “Adopting AI in a deeper way is a calculated risk, but we are ready to make the journey as we can see huge potential in the technology,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/haktan/?originalSubdomain=dk">Haktan Bulet, ATP’s CIO</a>.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Adapting to AI in the workplace"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Adapting to AI in the workplace</h2> <p>The broader adoption of AI by Nordic financial services organisations is taking place against the backdrop of a lively dialogue between labour unions, employers and finance sector employees. The main general concern about AI – that the technology could result in the mass replacement of employees in certain fields of business and industrial activity – is somewhat overstated, according to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipwidegren/?originalSubdomain=se">Philip Widegren, the data science lead</a> at Nordea Bank’s AI Hub.</p> <p>“New technologies have always impacted our way of working. In the case of AI, the first batch of changes will be similar to what we have faced before – there will be individuals and corporates who adopt the new technology and others who will not. The ones who adopt AI will most likely stay relevant and replace the ones that don’t,” said Widegren.</p> <p>Some jobs, as AI advances and assumes a more dynamic presence in workplaces, will become redundant and lead to the emergence of new work roles, said Widegren. “The latest AI technology is here to help individuals and employees. I don’t see AI technology as replacing human beings in any short view, but people with AI might replace people without it,” he added.</p> </section> Traditional Nordic banks are raising their investments in artificial intelligence to help them retain market share in increasingly populated sector https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/German/article/artificial-intelligence-adobe-1601367435174.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366592058/Nordic-banks-pursue-AI-in-battle-with-digital-competitors Tue, 02 Jul 2024 06:15:00 GMT <p>Finland’s cyber defence and technology sectors are primed to benefit from a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) membership dividend following a decision by the alliance to locate accelerator research and development (R&amp;D) facilities and test centres in the country.</p> <p>Amid tensions with Russia, Finland formally joined Nato in April 2023, ahead of Nordic neighbour Sweden, which became a member of the alliance in March 2024.</p> <p>The project to build R&amp;D labs and test centres in Finland is being run as a joint venture between the state-backed Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus (VTT) technical research centre and <a href="https://www.diana.nato.int/">Nato’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (Diana)</a> programme.</p> <p>Launched in 2021, the Nato-Diana initiative was established to identify future challenges in the defence and security sectors through strategic engagements with private sector companies to find technological solutions that advantage the <st1:place> <st1:city> alliance </st1:city> </st1:place>’s long-term operational effectiveness.</p> <p>The initiative, which will mainly involve private Finnish technology companies, will focus on developing security-focused devices, technologies and innovations for civilian and defence sectors. Moreover, the Diana accelerator will be used to train private Finnish companies, including firms in technology fields other than security, to operate in the defence and security sectors.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Finnish tasks and missions"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Finnish tasks and missions</h2> <p>Under the terms of their joint venture, VTT and Nato-Diana will build an accelerator in <st1:city> Helsinki </st1:city> and test centres in <st1:place> <st1:city> Oulu </st1:city> </st1:place>. The technology tasks and missions of the accelerator and test centres will drive innovations that help deliver next-generation solutions in core areas such as defence communication systems, 6G technology, cyber security, space innovations and forward-looking quantum computing technologies.</p> <p>“This is an ideal project for VTT. It will not only connect Finnish R&amp;D to the Diana network’s accelerator and test centre activities, but it will spotlight Finland’s ground-breaking expertise in key target areas. The project will also help pioneering companies to develop the deep technologies that will safeguard Nato and the billions of people the alliance protects,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sauli-eloranta-b959607/?originalSubdomain=fi">Sauli Eloranta, vice-president of VTT</a>’s security and defence technologies division.</p> <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> The project will help pioneering companies to develop the deep technologies that will safeguard Nato and the billions of people the alliance protects </figure> <figcaption> <strong>Sauli Eloranta, VTT</strong> </figcaption> <i class="icon" data-icon="z"></i> </div> </blockquote> <p>VTT, supported by <st1:country-region> Finland </st1:country-region>’s Ministry of Defence (MoD), started to conduct preparatory work on potential joint venture projects with Nato in 2023, following the country’s accession to the <st1:place> <st1:city> alliance </st1:city> </st1:place>. The agreed framework for the collaboration plan will result in the location of a Diana accelerator facility in the Otaniemi district of <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/365531257/Payment-tech-provider-opens-Finnish-tech-hub">Espoo</a>, a satellite town within the <st1:place> <st1:city> Helsinki </st1:city> </st1:place> metropolitan area.</p> <p>VTT’s designated test centre sites at Otaniemi and the <st1:place> <st1:placetype> University </st1:placetype> of <st1:placename> Oulu </st1:placename> </st1:place> will focus on R&amp;D and tasking within the specialised areas of secure connectivity, space and quantum technologies. The test centre at the <st1:place> <st1:placetype> University </st1:placetype> of <st1:placename> Oulu </st1:placename> </st1:place> will also offer companies the opportunity to test 6G network technologies and explore how innovations can be best exploited to enhance defence and security capabilities.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Otaniemi-based venture represents a broad collaboration between VTT, Nato-Diana and the technology departments of <st1:placename> Aalto </st1:placename> <st1:placetype> University </st1:placetype> and the <st1:place> <st1:placetype> University </st1:placetype> of <st1:placename> Helsinki </st1:placename> </st1:place>.</p> <p>The accelerator’s services offered by VTT and Nato-Diana will be specifically targeted at startups and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with limited experience in the defence and security sector, said Eloranta.</p> <p>“The project is a significant event for <st1:place> <st1:country-region> Finland </st1:country-region> </st1:place>. It’s the first time that Finnish operators are able to harness their cutting-edge expertise for Nato’s Diana innovation activities on such a large scale. Although <st1:place> <st1:country-region> Finland </st1:country-region> </st1:place> has a large number of technologically advanced and innovative startups and SMEs, as a country we have found it difficult to invest in export-led technologies relevant to the defence sector,” said Eloranta.</p> <p>At its core, the VTT and Nato-Diana project will enable Finnish companies to train in the use of accelerators and gain an in-depth knowledge about the <st1:city> <st1:place> alliance </st1:place> </st1:city>’s technical and procurement requirements. The project will develop and launch company-specific business training programmes that will provide a high-speed lane for enterprises interested in securing a foothold in fast-growing segments of the global defence and security sphere.</p> <p>Finnish companies selected to participate in the VTT and Nato-Diana accelerators project will be first filtered through the so-called Diana Challenge Programme’s applications process. The first applications round, which is set to be rolled out in the second half of 2024, will be open to tech startups developing dual-use solutions.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Sweden next"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Sweden next</h2> <p>After Finland, Nato is also expected to reach out and invite Sweden to join the Diana programme, although concrete talks on a potential joint venture have yet to begin. &nbsp;</p> <p>Sweden came a step closer to Diana in April 2024 when the country gained official Limited Partner status in the Nato Innovation Fund (NIF). Backed by 23 Nato members and capitalised at €1bn, the NIF functions as a deeptech-driven investment vehicle for advanced technology and science projects that are geared to bolstering the defence, security and resilience of alliance states.</p> <p><a href="https://www.government.se/government-of-sweden/ministry-of-defence/pal-jonson/">Pål Jonson, Sweden’s defence minister</a>, described participation in the NIF as the “perfect opportunity” for the country’s technology sectors to showcase their various research and innovation talents.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Being part of the NIF means we will be able to not only leverage our strategic geographic position and military resources, but also that part of our robust defence and security sector that drives technological innovation and development,” said Jonson.</p> <p>Significantly, the linked historic decisions by Sweden and Finland to join Nato has set in motion landmark talks among Nordic governments regarding the possible establishment of a common innovation fund to support advanced R&amp;D projects run by companies in the region’s defence and security domain.</p> <p>Initial inter-state dialogue between the Nordic states, all of whom are Nato members, is leaning towards using the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) as a conduit to provide low-interest loans to fund technology-driven R&amp;D projects by defence and security companies.</p> <p>“The NIB hasn’t in the past financed defence companies in the military industry complex. However, the world has changed. Such a development can have immense symbolic value. It’s a change in our business that is currently under consideration by our owner governments,” said André Küüsvek, CEO of the NIB.</p> <p>Founded by the five Nordic states in 1975, the NIB was originally tasked to operate as a financial institution supporting the regional and international growth of non-defence industries. The Nato-aligned Baltic states <st1:country-region> Estonia </st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region> Latvia </st1:country-region> and <st1:place> <st1:country-region> Lithuania </st1:country-region> </st1:place> joined the NIB as full members in 2005.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>The NIB completed $1.1bn in new lending during the first three months of 2024. In 2023, the bank paid out $3.7bn in loans to Nordic companies. An increasing proportion of the bank’s lending is provided for R&amp;D projects.</p> <p>The final decision as to whether the NIB will be authorised to provide financing to the Nordic defence sector is “in the hands of the bank’s government owners”, said Küüsvek.</p> <p>Sweden is the largest owner in the NIB, holding about 34% of the bank’s shares, followed by Norway with 21.5%, Denmark with 21%, Finland with 18%, Iceland with 1%, Lithuania with 2%, Latvia with 1.3% and Estonia with 1%. &nbsp;</p> </section> Finnish tech sector to receive a boost following the country’s decision to join Nato https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/Hero%20Images/Helsinki-Finland-panoramic-aerial-adobe.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366592275/Diana-project-provides-Nato-tech-dividend-to-Finland Mon, 01 Jul 2024 10:25:00 GMT <p><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366585116/Cyber-Safety-Force-wants-to-change-conversation-around-risk">Cyber-espionage groups are making it harder to spot</a> where their attacks are coming from by upping their usage of proxy networks – known as operational relay box networks or ORBs – that can throw defenders off the scent.</p> <p><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366581293/Mandiant-formally-pins-Sandworm-cyber-attacks-on-APT44-group">Cyber security company Mandiant</a> has warned that it has seen a growing trend for China-backed espionage operations, in particular, to use ORBs to cover their tracks.</p> <p>These ORB networks are somewhat like botnets and can be made up of virtual private servers (VPS), as well as compromised internet of things (IoT) devices and insecure routers. This combination makes it harder for defenders to track attacks because these groups can disguise traffic between their command-and-control infrastructure and their final targets.</p> <p>ORB networks are one of the major innovations in Chinese cyber espionage that are challenging defenders, said Michael Raggi, <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252524828/Mandiant-floats-off-into-Google-Cloud">Mandiant principal analyst at Google Cloud</a>.</p> <p>“They’re like a maze that is continually reconfiguring with the entrance and the exit disappearing from the maze every 60 to 90 days,” he said. “To target someone, these actors may be coming from a home router right down the street. It’s not unusual for an entirely unwitting person’s home router to be involved in an act of espionage.”&nbsp;</p> <p>These networks are often built by renting VPS and using malware designed to target routers to grow the number of devices capable of relaying traffic. Because the makeup of these networks changes rapidly, using an ORB network makes it harder to spot attacks and pin them on a particular group in terms of attribution.</p> <p>That makes classic indicators of compromise (IOC) – the tech details and clues commonly shared about attacks – less useful because these groups will regularly cycle through network infrastructure.</p> <p>The scale of these networks, Mandiant said, means attackers can piggyback on devices that have a handy geographic proximity to targeted enterprises. That allows their malicious traffic to blend in when being reviewed by analysts.</p> <p>“One such example would be traffic from a residential ISP that is in the same geographic location as the target that is regularly used by employees and would be less likely to get picked up for manual review,” said Mandiant’s report.</p> <p>As a result, the security company said, enterprise security teams should shift their thinking. That means that rather than treating ORB networks as just part of the infrastructure used by attackers, they should track ORBs “like evolving entities akin to APT [advanced persistent threat] groups”.</p> <p>ORB networks are not a new invention and have regularly been used as part of espionage campaigns to obscure who the attacker is and where they are.&nbsp;But Mandiant said the use of these networks by China-backed espionage actors has become more common over recent years.</p> <p>These ORBs are infrastructure networks run by contractors or others within China. They are not controlled by a single APT espionage or hacking group, but are shared between them, which Mandiant said means multiple APT actors will use the ORB networks to carry out their own distinct espionage and reconnaissance.</p> <p>This infrastructure often shifts – the lifespan of an IPv4 address associated with an ORB node can be as short as 31 days. Mandiant said a competitive differentiator among ORB network contractors in China appears to be their ability to cycle significant percentages of their compromised or leased infrastructure on a monthly basis.</p> <p>That means just blocking the infrastructure linked to an ORB network at a particular time is not going to be as effective as was previously the case. “As a result, IOC extinction is accelerating and the shelf life of network indicators is decreasing,” Mandiant said.</p> <p>“Infrastructure or the compromised router device communicating with a victim environment may now be identifiable to a particular ORB network, while the actor using that ORB network to carry out the attack may be unclear and require investigation of the complex tools and tactics observed as part of an intrusion,” the report said.</p> <p>John Hultquist, Mandiant chief analyst, Google Cloud, added: “Chinese cyber espionage was once noisy and easily trackable. This is a new type of adversary.”</p> <p>The nodes in an ORB network are usually distributed globally. Mandiant gives the example of one it tracks as ORB3 or Spacehop, which it described as a very active network used by multiple China-backed groups.</p> <p>It uses a relay server hosted in either Hong Kong or China by cloud providers, while the relay nodes are often cloned Linux-based images, which are used to proxy malicious network traffic through the network to an exit node that communicates with targeted victim environments.</p> <p>Mandiant said it was notable that this network has a “robust volume” of nodes in Europe, the Middle East, and the US – all of which are regions targeted by China-backed APT15 and ATP5.</p> <p>In contrast, another network that Mandiant tracks (known as ORB2 or Florahox) also features compromised network routers and IOT devices. The network appears to contain several subnetworks composed of compromised devices recruited by the router implant known as Flowerwater.</p> <p>Mandiant said that all of this creates a problem for defenders, because rather than simply blocking infrastructure associated with attackers they now have to consider what infrastructure is part of the ORB network right now, for how long, and who is using the ORB network.</p> <p>Mandiant added that the best way to deal with the challenge posed by ORB networks is to stop tracking espionage command and control infrastructure as an inert indicator of compromise and start tracking it as an entity in itself.</p> <p>“Instead, infrastructure is a living artifact of an ORB network that is a distinct and evolving entity where the characteristics of IP infrastructure itself, including ports, services, and registration/hosting data, can be tracked as evolving behaviour by the adversary administrator responsible for that ORB network,” Mandiant said.</p> <p>It warned that the rise of the ORB industry in China points to long-term investments in equipping China-backed cyber operations with more sophisticated tactics and tools.</p> <p>“Whether defenders will rise to this challenge depends on enterprises applying the same deep tactical focus to tracking ORB networks as has been done for APTs over the past 15 years,” Mandiant said.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">Read more about cyber security</h3> <ul class="default-list"> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366575672/Cyber-spies-not-cyber-criminals-behind-most-zero-day-exploitation">Analysis from Google has found that zero-day vulnerabilities</a> are much more heavily exploited for espionage purposes than for financially motivated cyber crime.</li> <li>T<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366571816/Fancy-Bear-sniffs-out-Ubiquiti-router-users">he authorities have warned users of Ubiquiti EdgeRouter products</a> to take remedial action after a number of devices were hijacked into a malicious botnet by a Russian cyber espionage unit.</li> </ul> </div> </div> Beware the ORB: why attacks on your network could come from a home router down the street https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/Hero%20Images/cyber-security-attack-virus-malware-Skorzewiak-adobe.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366585945/ORBs-Hacking-groups-new-favourite-way-of-keeping-their-attacks-hidden Wed, 22 May 2024 10:00:00 GMT <p>Vinnova, the Swedish <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/How-Sweden-goes-about-innovating">state agency for innovation</a>, launched the latest-phase of a multi-branch national digital advancement (NDA) project in January, the core segment of which involves the establishment of a network of eleven new research and development competence (RDC) centres at strategic geographical locations across the country. &nbsp;</p> <p>The NDA is linked to other digital technology capital investment programmes being run by Vinnova in collaboration with leading Swedish industrials, including Saab and Ericsson.</p> <p>Vinnova has earmarked €90m towards investment in phase-one of the five-year project. Overall, the NDA will pursue a number of key targets that embrace the development of a centres’ of excellence concept to strengthen innovative capacities and bolster the global competitiveness of Swedish companies.</p> <p>The RDCs will serve as multi-function innovation spaces where technology companies can form partnerships with universities to accelerate societal transformation projects in the digital stream.</p> <p>In the main, the RDCs will run advanced research and development (R&amp;D) projects to drive sustainable industry and digital societal transformation in Sweden, said <a href="https://www.vinnova.se/en/about-us/our-mission/our-organisation-structure/">Cecilia Sjöberg, the head of division for industrial development at Vinnova</a>.</p> <p>“The approved competence centres have enormous potential to become knowledge nodes for ground-breaking innovations that can strengthen access to the kind of competence that can meet the new challenges and changes faced by society,” Sjöberg said.</p> <p>The ambitious reach of the NDA project creates a fusion between the envisioned “centres of competence excellence”, but a significant resource to enable universities’ research departments to partner with private companies to jointly conduct R&amp;D specific pilot-studies and analysis to advance the needs of enterprises searching for sustainable industry solutions.</p> <p>A principal goal of the NDA project is the quest for new knowledge and ground-breaking technology to be developed, disseminated and used to speed up the transition to a more digitalised society, said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pontus-de-laval-a966503/?originalSubdomain=se">Pontus de Laval</a>, chairman of Vinnova’s advanced digitalisation (Avancerad Digitalisering) board.</p> <p>The NDA project presents <st1:place> <st1:country-region> Sweden </st1:country-region> </st1:place> with a huge opportunity to conduct long-term research in cutting-edge areas where researchers collaborate with innovative companies, de Laval said.</p> <p>“This type of project and investment strengthens Swedish innovative capacity and competitiveness. We expect the project will help attract top drawer expertise for world-leading research and development to <st1:place> <st1:country-region> Sweden </st1:country-region> </st1:place>,” said de Laval, who also Chairs the board of the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Programme (WASP).</p> <p>WASP was established in 2015 as a strategically motivated basic research national technology initiative to elevate <st1:place> <st1:country-region> Sweden </st1:country-region> </st1:place>’s status as a leading international actor in focal areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous systems and software.</p> <p>Out of the projected €90m capital investment in the NDA mission, Vinnova will oversee a budget of €70m to build and equip the eleven RDCs. Half of the capital funding requirement is being provided by private sector partner companies and universities.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>The RDCs will be structured to focus both on defined areas of research as well as conducting joint R&amp;D programmes that are based on knowledge-sharing.</p> <p>Core R&amp;D areas in the RDCs include data-dedicated advanced communication systems; networks to software solutions; transforming the software-intensive systems sector into a digitised industry; producing energy efficient semiconductor components to reduce the environmental impact of wireless systems; the development of integrated sensors and adaptive technology for sustainable products and manufacturing.</p> <p>In addition, the RDCs will also run R&amp;D studies to produce digital-led innovative energy reduction solutions for smart and sustainable buildings.</p> <p>The funding models being used for projects such as the NDA are expected to undergo a series of future refinements in 2024. The Swedish government is currently examining new models to improve the value and efficiency in funds’ distribution to research and innovation projects. Among the models being considered is a proposal to concentrate capital support payouts for research and innovation schemes in to a smaller number of state funding agencies.&nbsp;</p> <p>The proposed solution favoured by the Swedish government would create a new authority to govern all of the state’s research and innovation funding. Under this model, the government would route all funding for research and innovation projects through three organisations: the Science Agency, the Agency for Strategic Research and the Innovation Agency.</p> <p>An alternative solution, which is supported by agencies including Vinnova, proposes the creation of just two funding organisations for state research and innovation – namely, the Swedish Science Agency and the Agency for Strategic Research and Innovation.</p> <p>In a submission to government, Vinnova argued that the two funding agency capital funding distribution model would deliver a more cost-effective solution and provide more optimum conditions to coordinate state-financed R&amp;D initiatives being run as stand-alone or shared projects.</p> <p>The existing apparatus governing R&amp;D funding in <st1:country-region> <st1:place> Sweden </st1:place> </st1:country-region> was put in place more than 20 years ago. A modernised structure should aspire to provide greater opportunities to promote ground-breaking research, technology development and innovation, said <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/panelists/ms-darja-isaksson-30124">Darja Isaksson, Vinnova’s director general</a>.</p> <p> <st1:country-region> <st1:place> “Sweden </st1:place> </st1:country-region> needs to improve its capacity to promote ground-breaking research if we are to increase our ability to solve the significant societal challenges that lay ahead. It’s important that any new structure be better than the one we have today so that we can improve Sweden’s position as a leading research and innovation country for the 2030s,” Isaksson said.</p> <p>Mindful of the need to grow R&amp;D spending, Vinnova has petitioned the government to increase the state’s funding for research and innovation year on year. Vinnova’s solicitation for higher funding comes with the recommendation that Sweden should strive to reach a point where the country is spending a minimum of 1.2% of its gross domestic product on technology research and innovation by 2030.</p> <p>Vinnova saw a visible increase in the funds it distributed to R&amp;D-based technology research projects in 2023. In November of the same year, Vinnova allocated €21m for 62 separate projects under its Advanced Digitalisation (AD) capital funding scheme. The programme aims to develop future digital solutions for industry. Projects grant-aided within the framework of the AD programme cover cyber security, gender equality and AI.</p> <p>The €21m in capital financing forms part of the Swedish government’s broader mission to elevate R&amp;D spending for three key areas: digital, AI and robotics. Vinnova has already earmarked capital investments of more than €210m to these three areas in the period 2024 to 2027. Industrial partners in the AD programme will match Vinnova’s capital input and contribute an additional €210m.</p> <p>The level of ambition in the AD programme is evidenced by the close partnerships between the state, universities and major indigenous industrial groups ABB, Ericsson and Saab. Teknikföretagen, an employer’s organisation that represents 3,500 enterprises within <st1:place> <st1:country-region> Sweden </st1:country-region> </st1:place>’s engineering industry, is also a partner in the Vinnova-run AD programme.</p> <p>The final call for proposals from enterprises applying for inclusion in the AD programme closed on 14 February 2024. The proposals received cover eight primary areas, including advanced innovative digitisation, cyber security, AI, acceleration of deeptech companies, product digital passports, data-driven labs, new tools and methods for gender equality in digital technology development, and green-digital transformation for sustainable freight transport and logistics.</p> <p>“The proposals received for grant-aid cover a large number of difference making projects at the absolute forefront of digitisation. The projects reflect the breadth of technology and competence needed for Swedish industry to stay competitive generally, and become global forerunners in the green transition,” said Sjöberg.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">Read more about digital projects in Sweden</h3> <ul class="default-list"> <li>A country of only 10 million people, <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/How-Sweden-goes-about-innovating">Sweden is holding its own in the international community</a> when it comes to innovation – and it’s no accident.</li> <li>Sweden <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366565074/Artificial-intelligence-to-the-front-in-Swedens-National-Technology-Strategy">focuses in on artificial intelligence</a> in its latest far-reaching national IT strategy.</li> <li>AI Sweden is building a <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366538232/Sweden-is-developing-its-own-big-language-model">large language model for Swedish</a> and all the major languages in the Nordic region.</li> </ul> </div> </div> Swedish state innovation initiative invests in a network of regional research and development centres https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/Hero%20Images/Stockholm-Fotolia.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366572933/Vinnova-launches-National-Digital-Advancement-project Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT <p>Following its rival mobile operators in the UK, Virgin Media O2 has announced that, as part of its ongoing network transformation, it will start to switch off 3G services in 2025, enabling it to expand and upgrade its 4G and 5G connectivity.</p> <p>In December 2021, the UK government and the leading UK mobile network operators (MNOs) – Vodafone, EE, Virgin Media O2 and Three –&nbsp;<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252510659/UK-2G-3G-mobile-nets-to-be-switched-off-by-2033-Open-RAN-to-carry-35-of-traffic-by-2030">agreed on 2033 as the year by which all public 2G and 3G networks in the UK will be switched off</a>.</p> <p>The switch-off plan was made to free up the required amount of spectrum to allow for the mass roll-out of 5G and other future networks such as 6G, which the UK government sees as providing the bedrock for use cases such as autonomous vehicles and drones, immersive virtual and augmented reality experiences, as well as innovations in tech to achieve net-zero targets and to improve healthcare.</p> <p>Virgin Media O2’s 4G network currently covers 99% of the UK population, and by the end of 2023, 5G services will be available to more than half. While 2G will ultimately be switched off by 2033 – in line with government targets – it will remain in place to carry calls and texts while 3G is switched off.</p> <p>As it made its announcement, <a href="https://www.virginmediao2.co.uk/">Virgin Media O2</a> said the 3G switch-off would have two prime benefits: reducing energy consumption, therby contributing to Virgin Media O2’s wider plans to reach net zero by 2040; and delivering enhanced speeds and reliability for customers.</p> <p>4G and 5G are significantly more energy-efficient than older 3G equipment. The operator revealed that 3G accounts for less than 4% of mobile data traffic on its network, but represents 11% of its energy consumption. By contrast, its <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366546673/Virgin-Media-O2-claims-UK-5G-SA-private-network-first">4G and 5G networks </a>together account for 96% of mobile network data traffic and 29% of energy consumption. This means 3G uses 2.97 units of energy per unit of mobile traffic, while 4G and 5G together use 0.3 units of energy per unit of mobile traffic.</p> <p>The move to simplify the network will mean mobile spectrum can be reallocated to the more efficient 4G and 5G services, which will improve customers’ experience through faster data speeds, more reliable streaming and higher-quality voice call services. Virgin Media O2’s programme will see 3G services switched off in phases across the country, with 3G connectivity expected to be fully switched off by the end of 2025.</p> <p><a href="https://www.o2.co.uk/help/network-coverage-and-international/3g-switch-off">As it planned for the switch-off</a>, Virgin Media O2 assured that the vast majority of existing customers would not need to take any action during the switch-off period and said it was committed to helping those who may need additional support, such as anyone still using older devices. The company said it would be contacting customers well in advance to ensure they are aware of these changes and will clearly outline the steps they need to take and their options, with support pages and trained agents on hand to help customers navigate the changes.</p> <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> “Switching off 3G and focusing our attention and investment on the faster, more reliable and more efficient 4G and 5G services is the right thing to do for our customers, our business and the environment” </figure> <figcaption> <strong>Jeanie York, Virgin Media O2</strong> </figcaption> <i class="icon" data-icon="z"></i> </div> </blockquote> <p>“3G was once an exciting new development for telecoms providers that brought new opportunities for customers. But as we continue to evolve our network to provide the best mobile connectivity, it is clear that switching off 3G and focusing our attention and investment on the faster, more reliable and more efficient 4G and 5G services is the right thing to do for our customers, our business and the environment,” said Virgin Media O2 chief technology officer Jeanie York.</p> <p>“We will begin to switch off 3G in 2025, but between now and then, we will be communicating directly with our customers to explain what this means for them and outline any steps they should take in the next 18 months. While most customers will need to take no action at all, we are committed to supporting everyone with this necessary transition.</p> <p>“As this switchover takes place, we will continue to invest heavily in maintaining, upgrading and expanding our 4G and 5G networks to ensure we’re providing the fast and reliable mobile connectivity that our customers depend on.”</p> <p>In its move, Virgin Media O2 said it would also work closely with consumer groups and charities, including <a href="https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org/">Good Things Foundation</a>, to draw on their expertise and experience to help manage this transition in the best way possible.</p> <p>“Good Things Foundation has been working with Virgin Media O2 since 2021, when together we set up the National Databank to provide mobile data to low-income customers at risk of <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252512037/Full-fibre-investment-helps-tackle-digital-exclusion-in-Greater-Manchester">digital exclusion</a>,” said Good Things Foundation chief executive Helen Milner.</p> <p>“I am delighted that we have now been invited to work with the company on its 3G switch-off programme. Our expertise and insights can help deliver Virgin Media O2’s ambition to ensure all its customers, particularly those from vulnerable groups, are fully supported through the transition away from 3G, so their connectivity is safeguarded and maintained,” she added.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h4>Read more about UK mobile</h4> <ul class="default-list"> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366543393/5G-takes-its-intended-place-in-UK-mobile">5G takes its intended place in UK mobile:</a> Study from specialist network analyst finds mobile games and video users’ experience over 5G is more consistent and drops less at busy hours of the day than when using 4G infrastructures.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366550476/Vodafone-begins-volume-deployment-of-OpenRAN-across-England-and-Wales">Vodafone begins volume deployment of OpenRAN across England and Wales:</a> In the largest deployment of the technology in the country, leading UK operator announces that it is replacing legacy technology with virtualised OpenRAN on 2,500 sites across Wales and South-West England.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/365532576/London-not-calling-in-UK-4G-to-5G-mobile-uplifts">London not calling in UK 4G to 5G mobile uplifts</a>: Study shows mobile users in London see the smallest uplift from 5G in terms of download speeds compared with more rural regions, but also that there is little difference in the uplift in average download speeds.</li> </ul> </div> </div> <p></p> As its network evolves and looking to enhance customer experience and improve services, VMO2 announces plans to pull plug on legacy mobile network to focus on upgrading faster, more reliable and energy-efficient infrastructure https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/Hero%20Images/3G-4G-5G-mobile-network-adobe.jpeg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366551555/Virgin-Media-O2-to-begin-switching-off-3G-network-in-2025 Fri, 08 Sep 2023 11:49:00 GMT <p><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/365535653/Swedish-university-demos-quantum-chemistry-simulation">The University of York</a> is set to migrate its high-performance computing (HPC) workloads to EcoDataCenter’s renewably powered colocation facility in Falun, Sweden, in support of the higher education institution’s net-zero goals.</p> <p>With the university predicting a 300% increase in its data volumes over the coming years, it embarked on a search for a green-powered colocation facility with capacity to house its HPC workloads, and set its sights on providers based in the Nordics.</p> <p>During its search for a suitable provider, it came across EcoDataCenter in Sweden and concluded that shifting the university’s HPC workloads to the renewably powered facility would reduce the carbon emissions related to its data use by 98%.</p> <p>“Given the university’s strong commitment to net-zero and the fact that our high-performance computing facility will be used for climate research, we were happy to find a partner with a clear focus on environmental sustainability and the capability and maturity to deliver,” said Richard Fuller, assistant director at the University of York.</p> <p>“Sustainable research IT is a key principle of the University of York,” said Emma Barnes, head of research IT at the University of York. “In addition to optimising the performance of both hardware and software, we need to look at the environmental impact of our work.</p> <p>“We have to ask ourselves how we can contribute to positive change by making our supercomputing part of the ‘Green HPC’ movement.”</p> <p>As well as hosting the university’s HPC workloads, both parties have jointly committed to raising awareness about how it’s possible to run energy-intensive HPC workloads in a sustainable way.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h4>Read more about Nordic datacentres</h4> <ul class="default-list"> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/The-second-coming-The-Nordic-datacentre-market-comes-of-age">As concerns mount about space and power constraints within several of Europe’s largest datacentre hubs</a>, enterprises are being urged to consider shifting more of their energy-intensive workloads to the Nordic countries.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252507218/Private-equity-cash-fuels-Nordic-datacentre-growth">Private equity companies are betting on the Nordic datacentre</a> sector as demand for services in the region accelerates.</li> </ul> </div> </div> <p>In the University of York’s case, it’s opting to do this by shifting its workloads to Sweden to take advantage of the abundance of green energy available in-country and its relatively cool climate – which makes it easier to regulate the temperature of datacentres.</p> <p>“When the University of York visited our facility in Falun to learn more about how we construct datacentres, and how we view the role of datacentres in society and the circular economy, we found a common agenda in accelerating the green transition in digitisation,” said EcoDataCenter CEO Dan Andersson.</p> <p>“The collaboration has already started, and we are seeing even more universities interested in what we can offer.”</p> <p>For the best part of the past decade, Nordic colocation firms have been talking up their facilities as a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly location for enterprises to host their applications and workloads.</p> <p>And, with concerns about space constraints, energy supply challenges and land costs in some of the more populated datacentre hubs in Europe emerging in recent years, <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/The-second-coming-The-Nordic-datacentre-market-comes-of-age">this has led to more enterprises opting to shift their colocation requirements to firms in Norway, Sweden and Iceland, too</a>.</p> <p>On this point, Computer Weekly has previously reported on other customer wins for EcoDataCenter, which have included <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252486425/BMW-Group-signs-six-year-HPC-contract-with-eco-friendly-Swedish-colocation-firm">motoring giant BMW Group</a> and <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252490397/HM-Group-signs-multi-year-colocation-deal-with-Swedish-eco-friendly-operator-in-sustainability-push">high street fashion retailer H&amp;M Group</a>.</p> With the University of York using its HPC capabilities for climate research, it decided it was time to shift its IT infrastructure to a greener colo site in support of its net-zero goals https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/LeMagIT/hero_article/Planet-nature-green-AdobeStock_252972789-hero.jpeg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366542354/University-of-York-shifts-HPC-workloads-to-EcoDataCenter-colocation-site-in-Sweden-in-green-IT-push Tue, 20 Jun 2023 09:45:00 GMT <p>Researchers at <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252501845/Swedish-university-is-behind-quantum-computing-breakthrough">Chalmers University in Sweden</a> have used a quantum computer to simulate a chemical reaction.</p> <p>Quantum chemistry is often <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/opinion/Whats-the-current-state-of-quantum-computing">modelled using supercomputers</a>, which apply the laws of quantum mechanics to simulate electrons and atoms. Since the laws of quantum mechanics describe the behaviour of nature on a subatomic level, many researchers believe that a quantum computer should be better equipped at running molecular calculations than a conventional supercomputer that relies on binary logic.</p> <p>Martin Rahm, associate professor in theoretical chemistry at Chalmers’ department of chemistry and chemical engineering, who has led the study, said: “Quantum computers could in theory be used to handle cases where electrons and atomic nuclei move in more complicated ways. If we can learn to utilise their full potential, we should be able to advance the boundaries of what is possible to calculate and understand.”</p> <p>This field of research is still young and the small model calculations that are run are complicated by <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252512990/Breaking-the-noise-barrier-the-startups-developing-quantum-computers">noise from the quantum computer’s surroundings</a>. The researchers at Chalmers University developed a new method, called Reference-State Error Mitigation (REM), that handles the noise inherent in the circuits that make up a quantum computers. This combines calculations from both a quantum computer and a conventional computer to take into account errors that occur due to noise.</p> <p>REM starts with a simpler simulation of the chemical reaction, which acts as reference state that can be run both on a conventional and a quantum computer. This reference state represents a simpler description of a molecule than the original problem intended to be solved by the quantum computer. A conventional computer can solve this simpler version of the problem quickly.</p> <p>By comparing the results from both computers, the researchers said they can obtain an estimate for the amount of error caused by noise on the quantum computer. The difference between the two computers’ results for the reference problem is then used to correct the original, more complex, problem when it is run on the quantum processor.</p> <p>When run on Chalmers’ Särimner quantum computer, the researchers succeeded in calculating the intrinsic energy of small example molecules such as hydrogen and lithium hydride. While these calculations can be carried out more quickly on a conventional computer, they said that the new method represents an important development. It is also the first demonstration of a quantum chemical calculation on a quantum computer in Sweden.</p> <p>“The study is a proof-of-concept that our method can improve the quality of quantum-chemical calculations. It is a useful tool that we will use to improve our calculations on quantum computers moving forward,” Rahm added.</p> <p>“It is only by using real quantum algorithms that we can understand how our hardware really works and how we can improve it. Chemical calculations are one of the first areas where we believe that quantum computers will be useful, so our collaboration with Martin Rahm’s group is especially valuable,” said Jonas Bylander, associate professor in quantum technology at the department of microtechnology and nanoscience, Chalmers University.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h4>Read more about quantum simulations</h4> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Organisations stand to benefit from the compute power of <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/tip/Explore-future-potential-quantum-computing-uses">quantum computing</a> as it develops. The tech has potential uses in supply chains, financial modelling and other areas.</li> <li>For the Finnish government, now is the time to start preparing for the day when <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Finland-moves-to-industrialise-quantum-computing">quantum computers</a> will have practical value.</li> </ul> </div> </div> A quantum computer, named after a slaughtered pig, is being used to test a new approach to modelling quantum chemistry https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/searchITChannel/security_channel/itchannel_article_013.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/365535653/Swedish-university-demos-quantum-chemistry-simulation Fri, 21 Apr 2023 07:30:00 GMT <p>BNP Paribas is moving its IT operations to a second datacentre in the Nordic region as it shifts high-performance computing (HPC) workloads to a campus in Stockholm.</p> <p>The move to the <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252514452/Nordic-colocation-firm-atNorth-claims-to-have-opened-Swedens-first-large-scale-HPC-hub">atNorth datacentre in Sweden</a> builds on the bank’s existing datacentre presence in the Nordic region, having moved processing to an atNorth centre in Iceland in 2018.</p> <p>Alexis Carrion, global head of datacentres at BNP Paribas, said the Nordic region was supporting its aim to reduce its carbon footprint.</p> <p>“AtNorth’s [Iceland datacentre] has been instrumental in helping BNP Paribas ensure our IT operations are as sustainable and carbon neutral as possible, which is an initiative close to the core of our business at the moment,” said Carrion.</p> <p>“We have seen great results from migrating IT workloads to atNorth’s datacentre site in Iceland five years ago,” Carrion added.</p> <p>That move to Iceland is said to have increased total capacity by nearly 30%, reduced energy consumption by more than 50% and decreased CO₂ output by 85%.</p> <p>Data-intensive workloads being moved to Sweden include applications used to calculate the positions and associated risks in the financial markets. The bank said it was increasing its <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/definition/grid-computing?_gl=1*1va0k83*_ga*MTk0NzIwMDY4Ny4xNjcyODM0MjYy*_ga_TQKE4GS5P9*MTY4MDAwODcyOC4yNjAuMS4xNjgwMDA5NTM2LjAuMC4w*_ga_RZDF13FDNT*MTY4MDAwODcyNy43NS4xLjE2ODAwMDk1MzYuMC4wLjA.*_ga_NLDTRJGG3Y*MTY4MDAwODcyNy43MC4xLjE2ODAwMDk1MzYuMC4wLjA.*_ga_H4TNQB84WS*MTY4MDAwODcyNy43MC4xLjE2ODAwMDk1MzYuMC4wLjA.*_ga_7FK328ZGNW*MTY4MDAwODcyNy42Ni4xLjE2ODAwMDk1MzYuMC4wLjA.&amp;_ga=2.141630394.907894509.1679904630-1947200687.1672834262">grid computing</a> capacity with the atNorth site, adding 20%, both to meet demand and its “guiding principles for sustainability and efficiency”.</p> <p>Iceland-headquartered atNorth specialises in environmentally responsible datacentres. The datacentre in Sweden is built for heat recovery and is designed to operate with the lowest carbon footprint possible. It can capture the heat from up to 85% of the electricity used within the unit, which is passed on to the central district heating system to provide heat and hot water for the surrounding community.</p> <p>“Sweden’s climate and renewable energy resources, combined with atNorth’s innovative cooling and large-scale reuse of heat, are attracting European companies that want to reduce their CO₂ footprint,” said atNorth’s chief sales officer, Gisli Kr.</p> <p>Along with other Nordic countries, Sweden has emerged as a popular location for operators to build datacentres in recent years, due to its abundance of readily available, lower-cost, renewable power.</p> <p>There has also been <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/The-second-coming-The-Nordic-datacentre-market-comes-of-age">a push for enterprises to consider relocating their energy-intensive HPC workloads to the region</a>&nbsp;for this reason.</p> <p>A number of tech giants have a well-established datacentre presence in the Nordic countries. Facebook opened its first of three datacentres in Sweden in 2013. Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have also since established a datacentre presence in the country.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h4>Read more about European datacentre trends</h4> <ul class="default-list"> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/The-second-coming-The-Nordic-datacentre-market-comes-of-age">As concerns mount about space and power constraints in several of Europe’s largest datacentre hubs</a>, enterprises are being urged to consider shifting more of their energy-intensive workloads to the Nordic countries.</li> <li>As concerns mount about space and power constraints within several of Europe’s largest datacentre hubs<a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/The-second-coming-The-Nordic-datacentre-market-comes-of-age">, enterprises are being urged to consider shifting</a> more of their energy-intensive workloads to the Nordic countries.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252496917/Amsterdam-to-open-environmental-talks-with-datacentres">Amsterdam is preparing to negotiate environmental targets with datacentre operators</a>&nbsp;after city representatives passed a regulatory statement that raised the environmental concerns of its left-leaning council chamber without imposing “strict” rules that it had threatened for the data-tech sector.</li> </ul> </div> </div> <p></p> BNP Paribas is moving data-intensive workloads to a Swedish datacentre to increase capacity while reducing its carbon footprint https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/Hero%20Images/Datacentre-management-fotolia.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/365534046/BNP-Paribas-moves-to-Swedish-datacentre-in-high-performance-computing-strategy Tue, 28 Mar 2023 10:21:00 GMT <p>The <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252529179/Government-given-until-autumn-2023-to-create-technology-roadmap-to-support-net-zero-strategy">government is unequivocal in its belief that the private sector has a critical role</a> to play in the UK’s transition to a net-zero economy by 2050, but more must be done to make it easier for enterprises to adopt and develop their own green technologies in support of this goal.</p> <p>This is based on the contents of a <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1128689/mission-zero-independent-review.pdf">government-commissioned review</a>, published in January 2023, of how efforts to ensure the UK hits its net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions goal by 2050 are progressing – and what additional steps need to be taken so this target is not missed.</p> <p>One of the recommendations featured in the report calls on the government to create a research and development (R&amp;D) roadmap by autumn 2023 to ensure UK businesses have the technology needed to minimise their greenhouse gas emissions.</p> <p>The 340-page document also calls on key Whitehall departments to join forces with HM Treasury to review how best to financially incentivise businesses for conducting R&amp;D activities to create their own net-zero initiatives.</p> <p>These recommendations are based on the feedback of more than 1,800 entities that participated in the net-zero review, which included “hundreds of innovative companies eager to bring new technology to market” that claim their ability to do so is being hampered by “slow, ponderous bureaucracy”.</p> <p>“The review has heard from many respondents frustrated by a lack of long-term thinking, siloed behaviour from government departments and uncertainty over the length of funding commitments,” the review document states. “Evidence suggests this is holding back deployment of green technologies, hampering investment across all sectors and inhibiting the ability to create British jobs.”</p> <p>This is something that needs to be urgently addressed, the review states, because private sector enterprises are “critical to the net-zero transition” as it is “their investment and innovation” that will bring low-carbon technologies to the mass market.</p> <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> “The review has heard from many respondents frustrated by a lack of long-term thinking, siloed behaviour from government departments and uncertainty over the length of funding commitments. Evidence suggests this is holding back deployment of green technologies, hampering investment across all sectors and inhibiting the ability to create British jobs” </figure> <figcaption> <strong>UK government’s net-zero review</strong> </figcaption> <i class="icon" data-icon="z"></i> </div> </blockquote> <p>“They [enterprises] <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252504258/Government-shares-vision-for-digitised-energy-system-as-it-pursues-net-zero-emissions-target">will drive many of the benefits we will all experience from net zero</a> – not least economic growth,” it continues.</p> <p>As an example, the review points to the potential for <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/tip/Tidal-energy-for-data-centers-A-sustainable-power-option">tidal stream marine energy</a> to be added to the list of renewable power sources UK homes and businesses can make use of in future, but – presently – the technology is not cost-competitive nor is it fully commercialised.</p> <p>To rectify this, it is likely the government will need to step in with some initial funding to create a proof of concept, and once that is successful, it is “inevitable” that private investment will follow. However, due to the financial risks associated with rolling out “novel technologies” like this, enterprises are unlikely to dive in head-first without public sector backing, it states.</p> <p>And this is why the government is adamant that the pursuit of its net-zero GHG emissions goals will bring huge benefits to the economy as a whole.</p> <p>“Net zero is a driver of economic growth: it has already delivered growth for the UK and will continue to do so,” the report states. “There are already around 430,000 jobs in low-carbon businesses and their supply chains across the country, with a turnover estimated at £41.2bn in 2020. Government analysis [also] suggests that nearly 68,000 green jobs have been created or supported since November 2020.”</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="The other side of the enterprise equation"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>The other side of the enterprise equation</h2> <p>On the other side of the equation are the enterprises that may not be directly involved with the development and deployment of green technologies, but which have their own in-house net-zero targets to hit, and are looking at ways to minimise the environmental impact of their own activities.</p> <p>For enterprises in that camp, the IT estate is one of the first places they should start looking to make changes, Craig Melson, associate director for climate, environment and sustainability at <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/IT-Sustainability-Think-Tank-The-role-of-ICT-in-delivering-net-zero-and-energy-efficiency">UK tech trade body TechUK, tells Computer Weekly in his recent IT Sustainability Think Tank article</a>.</p> <p>But first they need to make sure they have a firm grasp on the amount of greenhouse gases their organisation is emitting overall and how much of that can be attributed their IT estate’s activities.</p> <p>“There are dozens of companies that can help calculate an enterprise’s emissions, using averages or more bespoke information,” he says, and there also exists cloud-based software that can help them get an accurate read on their emissions too.</p> <p>Melson also advises enterprises to shift more of their IT workloads and applications to the cloud to “minimise their use of inefficient on-premise environments” and to consider aligning their IT procurement processes with the principles of operating in a circular economy.</p> <p>“For personal staff devices, there is no need to buy new,” he says. “An estimated 80% of the carbon associated with devices comes from the manufacturing stage. Therefore, buying refurbished tech or keeping devices in use for longer dramatically brings down emissions and saves money.”</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="What goes around comes around"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>What goes around comes around</h2> <p>The government’s previously mentioned <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1128689/mission-zero-independent-review.pdf"><em>Mission zero</em></a> report also features a recommendation that steps be taken to transition the UK over to a circular economy, including the creation of a task force that will work with industry to create “sector-specific circular economy business models”.</p> <p>As detailed in the report, this task force will also be expected to work jointly with industry to identify “barriers and enablers” to UK businesses embracing circular economy-related ways of working.</p> <p>“Money is being wasted on throwing things away or failing to reuse or refurbish them. More efficient use of resources can also bring immediate direct benefits to businesses.”</p> <p>The report continues: “The <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/IT-Sustainability-Think-Tank-Understanding-the-circular-economy">circular economy</a> is already providing economic opportunities: almost 90,000 new jobs were created in the circular economy across the UK between 2014 and 2019, taking the sector to almost 560,000 employees.</p> <p>“An ambitious circular economy is likely to offer geographically dispersed employment across a range of occupations – in particular, reuse and open loop recycling activities are likely to be the least concentrated, requiring activity at local and regional levels.”</p> <p>Shane Herath, chair of the Eco-Friendly Web Alliance, which was set up to help website operators find ways to cut the amount of carbon their sites emit, also advised enterprises on how they can go about incorporating circular economy principles into the way they work <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/IT-Sustainability-Think-Tank-Cutting-enterprise-carbon-emissions-amid-the-energy-crisis">in his recent IT Sustainability Think Tank piece</a>.</p> <p>“Embracing the circular economy can pay significant dividends in achieving better sustainability in the IT estate,” he says. “A circular economy approach should be applied to enterprises’ supply chains and guide the selection and management of their suppliers.”</p> <p>He adds: “IT leaders should always look at the entire lifecycle of the organisation’s products, services and processes, and the role technology can play in improving sustainability.”</p> <p>As alluded to by TechUK’s Melson, enterprises could make some considerable headway with minimising their carbon emissions by optimising their datacentre estate, which is a view Jay Dietrich, Uptime Institute’s research director of sustainability, <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/IT-Sustainability-Think-Tank-Solving-the-IT-energy-efficiency-and-usage-crisis?_ga=2.138921914.826298035.1675673223-1773626879.1660123158&amp;_gl=1*140xww9*_ga*MTc3MzYyNjg3OS4xNjYwMTIzMTU4*_ga_TQKE4GS5P9*MTY3NTc3MzA3Ny4zNjguMS4xNjc1Nzc2MzE3LjAuMC4w">backed in his recent submission to the IT Sustainability Think Tank</a>.</p> <p>“With energy cost and supply concerns, and increased use of coal, projected to continue through 2023 and into 2024, investments in power management deployments, server and storage equipment consolidation, IT equipment refreshes, and automated IT space temperature and humidity control offer near-term paybacks and long-term benefits to the reliability, competitiveness and environmental performance of digital infrastructure operations,” he says.</p> <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> “We must move quickly. Moving quickly must include spending money. We know that investing in net zero today will be cheaper than delaying, as well as increasing the economic and climate benefits” </figure> <figcaption> <strong>UK government’s net-zero review</strong> </figcaption> <i class="icon" data-icon="z"></i> </div> </blockquote> <p>The government’s net-zero review states the UK’s progress towards eradicating its greenhouse gas emissions has “exceeded expectations” since 2019, but there is so much more to do on the technology side of the equation, if the government is to hit its 2050 goal.</p> <p>“We must move quickly… Moving quickly must include spending money. We know that investing in net zero today will be cheaper than delaying, as well as increasing the economic and climate benefits,” the report states.</p> <p>“Oxford research has shown that a fast transition to net zero based on scaling up key green technologies will continue to drive their costs down, and transitioning to a decarbonised energy system based on green technologies by 2050 can save the world at least $12tn, compared to continuing our current levels of fossil fuel use.”</p> <p>So the path to net zero is not just one we need to follow to help save the planet, but also to help support the economy.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3>Read more about the UK government’s net-zero strategy</h3> <ul class="default-list"> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252508339/Government-flags-opportunity-for-re-use-of-waste-datacentre-heat-in-net-zero-strategy">UK government's long-awaited net-zero strategy document makes</a> the case for the creation of heat networks that could see waste heat from datacentres used to warm homes and businesses.</li> <li><a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252504258/Government-shares-vision-for-digitised-energy-system-as-it-pursues-net-zero-emissions-target">The government wants to digitally revamp the UK’s energy</a> system to make it smarter and more responsive in pursuit of its goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.</li> </ul> </div> </div> <p></p> </section> The UK government is targeting net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but it will need the private sector’s help and its appetite for investing in green technologies to meet its goal https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/Hero%20Images/Net-zero-hero-AdobeStock_488379276.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Green-tech-and-the-private-sector-How-the-UK-government-will-hit-its-2050-net-zero-emissions-goal Mon, 27 Feb 2023 03:00:00 GMT <p>The <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/FS_22_2100">European Union (EU) – United States (US) Data Privacy Framework</a> has taken a step closer to reality after the European Commission (EC) issued a <a href="https://commission.europa.eu/document/e5a39b3c-6e7c-4c89-9dc7-016d719e3d12_en">draft data adequacy decision</a> – ruling that the US ensures an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the EU to US companies – and began the process towards the adoption of the framework,</p> <p>The EU hopes the framework will improve the safety of transatlantic data flows and address concerns arising from the EU Court of Justice’s Schrems II decision of July 2020, which <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252486234/Schrems-v-Facebook-European-court-strikes-down-EU-US-Privacy-Shield-agreement">struck down the previous Privacy Shield arrangement</a>.</p> <p>Its decision follows the 7 October 2022 Executive Order signed by US president Joe Biden and the regulations issued by US attorney general Merrick Garland, which <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/news/252526904/New-EU-US-privacy-framework-sets-clear-data-transfer-rules">implemented in US law</a> the agreement in principle <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252515146/US-offers-concessions-on-surveillance-and-privacy-as-EU-and-US-agree-successor-to-Privacy-Shield">agreed by Biden and EU president Ursula von der Leyen earlier this year</a>. The agreement saw the EU extract significant concessions from the Americans, including a commitment to expand oversight of the US’s signals intelligence operations, strengthen civil rights safeguards, and create a binding legal mechanism to give EU citizens rights of redress should their data be abused.</p> <p>The draft decision reflects the EC’s assessment of the US legal framework and it will now be sent to the European Data Protection Board for its opinion. Following that, the EC will seek approval from a committee composed of EU member state representatives and offer the European Parliament the right to scrutinise adequacy decisions. It will then be able to proceed to adopting the final decision.</p> <p>“Our talks with the US have resulted in proposing a framework that will further improve the safety of personal data of Europeans transferred to the US. It builds on our good cooperation and progress we have made over the years,” said EU vice-president for values and transparency Věra Jourová.</p> <p>“The future framework is also good for businesses and it will strengthen transatlantic cooperation. As democracies, we need to stand up for fundamental rights, including data protection. This is a necessity, not a luxury, in the increasingly digitalised and data-driven economy.”</p> <p>Didier Reynders, EU commissioner for justice, added: “Today’s draft decision is the outcome of more than one year of intense negotiations with the US that I led together with my US counterpart secretary of commerce [Gina] Raimondo.</p> <p>“Over the past months, we assessed the US legal framework provided by the Executive Order as regards the protection of personal data. We are now confident to move to the next step of the adoption procedure. Our analysis has showed that strong safeguards are now in place in the US to allow the safe transfer of personal data between the two sides of the Atlantic.</p> <p>“The future framework will help protect citizens’ privacy, while providing legal certainty for businesses. We now await feedback from the European Data Protection Board, member states’ experts and the European Parliament.”</p> <p>US companies will join the framework by committing to comply with the obligations it sets out, such as the requirement to delete personal data when it is no longer needed and ensure continuity of protection should it be shared further. EU citizens will be able to access dispute resolution mechanisms and an arbitration panel at no cost to themselves, should a US organisation violate the framework.</p> <p>At the same time, the US legal framework will offer limitations and safeguards regarding why, how and when US public authorities can access it if needed for law enforcement or national security purposes. This includes the rules introduced by Biden’s Executive Order and addresses the court’s concerns in the Schrems II judgment – access to EU data by intelligence agencies in the US will be limited to “necessary and proportionate” use, and EU citizens will again have the possibility to obtain redress regarding the collection and use of their data by US intelligence under an independent mechanism, including a newly created Data Protection Review Court, which will have the ability to issue binding remedial measures.</p> <p>The Commission said EU companies would be able to rely on these safeguards when conducting transatlantic data transfers, but also when using other transfer mechanisms like standard contractual clauses (SCCs) and binding corporate rules.</p> <p>The smooth running of the framework will be subject to periodic reviews by the EC, along with member state data protection bodies and the relevant US authorities. The first such review is mandated to take place after the final decision comes into force to verify whether all relevant elements of the US legal framework have been fully implemented and are functioning effectively in practice.</p> <p>Patrick Van Eecke, head of the European cyber, data and privacy practice at law firm <a href="https://www.cooley.com/">Cooley’s</a>, welcomed the EC decision as a step in the right direction. He said it was good news for transatlantic businesses in particular after a period of uncertainty.</p> <p>“It will re-allow much smoother transatlantic personal data flows and dispense with the current hassle of transfer impact assessments and filling out long forms,” said Van Eecke.</p> <p>“The new framework has multiple advantages for companies. Adhering to the rules of the adequacy decision will allow a US company to receive personal data from any company based in the EU, without the need to enter into +50 pages long data transfer agreements based on standard contract clauses, with <em>each</em> contract partner. And data transfer impact assessments are probably no longer required,” he told Computer Weekly in emailed comments.</p> <p>“But the risk remains that within the next few years the adequacy ruling is invalidated again by the European Court of Justice. This creates legal uncertainty for companies,” he added. “It is like putting Concorde in the air again to New York: it is fast, smooth and easy for transporting people back and forth from Europe to the US. But you never know if it will be flying next year. So, use it when it is available, but make sure you have an alternative option which is air ready if and when Concorde stops flying again.”</p> <p>Van Eecke said he would advise clients to make use of the opportunity presented by the ruling when it is finally adopted, but also to make sure they have a “parachute” in the form of a fallback clause which would automatically apply SCCs should the framework be invalidated.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h4>Read more about data protection in Europe</h4> <ul class="default-list"> <li>While some may welcome the government’s ambition to shake up the UK’s data protection regime, Westminster should be wary of drifting too far <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/The-risk-of-losing-our-EU-data-adequacy-agreement-is-real">from the path charted by our US and European partners</a>.</li> <li>German schools cannot legally use Microsoft Office 365 over lack of clarity about how data is collected, shared and used, as well as the potential for <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252527842/Microsoft-365-banned-in-German-schools-over-privacy-concerns">unlawful transfer of European citizens’ personal data to the US</a>.</li> </ul> </div> </div> <p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> The European Commission has concluded that the United States does ensure an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the European Union and will now launch the process towards the adoption of an adequacy decision https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/ComputerWeekly/Hero%20Images/EU-data-protection-GDPR-adobe.jpg https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252528313/EU-issues-draft-data-adequacy-decision-in-favour-of-US Tue, 13 Dec 2022 11:14:00 GMT 60 editor@computerweekly.com