IT for consulting and business services
Companies in the consulting and business services industries often have specialist needs that require effective use of IT. Law firms, consultancies, accountants, recruitment firms and other advisory services use innovative technology to deliver business benefits, and you can read our news and analysis of the key trends and what they mean to you
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News
03 Jan 2024
Artificial intelligence to the front in Sweden’s National Technology Strategy
Sweden focuses in on artificial intelligence in its latest far-reaching national IT strategy Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Sep 2023
Interview: Ashish Gupta, head of EMEA, HCLTech
It’s not just enterprises that changed their operating models during and after Covid, but also the suppliers that took them on the journey, HCLTech Europe’s head explains Continue Reading
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News
05 Apr 2024
UKtech50 2024 – help us find the most influential people in UK IT
Computer Weekly’s annual search for the 50 most influential people in UK IT is on – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year's list Continue Reading
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Opinion
03 Apr 2024
Security Think Tank: Banning ransomware payments is not so straightforward
In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading
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News
03 Apr 2024
RDP abused in over 90% of cyber attacks, Sophos finds
Threat actors continue to see great success using simple, tried and tested methods, and many defenders are failing to do the basics Continue Reading
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Opinion
02 Apr 2024
Security Think Tank: How to tackle the scourge of ransomware?
In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading
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Opinion
01 Apr 2024
Security Think Tank: Ransomware lessons from the armed forces
In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading
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News
27 Mar 2024
HMRC’s online IR35 status checker tool CEST not updated in five years, FOI confirms
Despite a previous pledge that HMRC’s IR35 online status checker tool will be continually updated as employment cases and tribunals occur, a freedom of information request confirms CEST has not been updated since October 2019 Continue Reading
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News
27 Mar 2024
Cyber spies, not cyber criminals, behind most zero-day exploitation
Analysis from Google has found that zero-day vulnerabilities are much more heavily exploited for espionage purposes than for financially motivated cyber crime Continue Reading
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News
26 Mar 2024
Shareholders win when businesses do better at cyber
The more advanced a company’s cyber security performance, and the more engaged its board is with security issues, the greater the return for shareholders, a report has found Continue Reading
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News
22 Mar 2024
Fujitsu won’t sign any new business in Ireland
Fujitsu is closing down its Irish business after a review of the operation’s current performance and market outlook Continue Reading
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News
21 Mar 2024
NCSC guidance to help CEOs work through cyber incidents
The NCSC has published in-depth guidance on how business leaders should respond to a cyber attack or data breach. Learn about some of the key steps you will need to follow Continue Reading
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News
20 Mar 2024
UK’s cyber resilience stagnates as more fall victim to attacks
The government is calling on businesses to ramp up their cyber protections as study shows improvements to resilience are stagnating amid an ever-growing volume of attacks Continue Reading
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News
18 Mar 2024
The Security Interviews: Alex Yampolskiy, SecurityScorecard
Alex Yampolskiy conceived the idea for risk management specialist SecurityScorecard after getting stung by a SaaS supplier that was being cavalier with its customer data. He tells his story to Computer Weekly Continue Reading
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News
17 Mar 2024
UK’s AI ambitions pointless while cyber security is still neglected
The UK’s AI ambitions may be at considerable risk without stronger cyber defences across the private and public sectors Continue Reading
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News
13 Mar 2024
Microsoft AI-powered cyber service to go live in April
After a year being previewed by beta customers, Microsoft’s much vaunted Copilot for Security service is about to go on general release, promising time savings and improved accuracy for hard-pressed security pros Continue Reading
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News
12 Mar 2024
March Patch Tuesday throws up two critical Hyper-V flaws
Two critical vulnerabilities in Windows Hyper-V stand out on an otherwise unremarkable Patch Tuesday Continue Reading
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News
05 Mar 2024
Banning ransomware payments back on the agenda
The idea of banning ransomware payments to cyber criminals is back on the agenda, with former NCSC chief Ciaran Martin arguing that tougher measures need to be taken Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Mar 2024
Ivanti vulnerabilities explained: Everything you need to know
A series of vulnerabilities in Ivanti products have caused concern worldwide. Delve into some of the key issues arising from the Ivanti disclosures, looking at the vulnerabilities and their impact, what affected users should do, and learn about new developments Continue Reading
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News
28 Feb 2024
75% of third-party breaches target software, IT supply chains
Data drawn from SecurityScorecard’s telemetry reveals how supply chain breaches are becoming a weapon of choice for threat actors Continue Reading
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News
28 Feb 2024
Users love their cyber teams, but find them frustrating
Despite strong support for security teams, a good number of ordinary workers see them as obstructive to business goals, and would like to see them operate more transparently Continue Reading
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News
27 Feb 2024
Black Basta and Bl00dy ransomware gangs exploiting ConnectWise vulns
More ransomware gangs have been observed exploiting two dangerous vulnerabilities in ConnectWise ScreenConnect software, prompting new warnings for users to get patching Continue Reading
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News
27 Feb 2024
VulnCheck bug listing to help track new threats quicker
Exploit intelligence firm VulnCheck launches a proprietary Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue in hopes of improving end-user access to intel on emerging threats and reaching those that the likes of CISA do not Continue Reading
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News
27 Feb 2024
Majority of UK employees ‘willingly gamble’ with security
Human-centric threats originating from employees continue to damage organisations both financially and reputationally, according to a report Continue Reading
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News
23 Feb 2024
ConnectWise users see cyber attacks surge, including ransomware
ConnectWise ScreenConnect users who have yet to patch against a critical vulnerability are now being targeted by a barrage of cyber attacks, including ransomware Continue Reading
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Opinion
22 Feb 2024
How can we adapt work practices to protect CISO mental health?
Cyber leaders are finding it harder to keep up with security requirements than just two years ago, risking a domino effect of dissatisfaction, burnout and eventually, resignation Continue Reading
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News
21 Feb 2024
CVE volumes set to increase 25% this year
The number of reported Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures is likely to grow significantly in 2024, hitting a new high of almost 35,000, according to Coalition, a cyber insurance specialist Continue Reading
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News
14 Feb 2024
Microsoft patches two zero-days for Valentine’s Day
Two security feature bypasses impacting Microsoft SmartScreen are on the February Patch Tuesday docket, among more than 70 issues Continue Reading
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News
13 Feb 2024
Hunter-killer malware volumes seen surging
Latest Picus Security report on malware tactics, techniques and procedures reveals an increasing focus on disabling security defences Continue Reading
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Opinion
07 Feb 2024
Security Think Tank: The phishing forecast for 2024
Egress' Jack Chapman and James Dyer explore how phishing attacks are set to grow in their scope and sophistication this year, with generative AI playing a big role Continue Reading
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News
06 Feb 2024
UK’s McPartland Cyber Review to probe trust in technology
The UK government has launched a cyber security review that will investigate how best to give businesses the confidence they need to use new technologies Continue Reading
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News
25 Jan 2024
Bugcrowd sees surge in vulnerability submissions, led by public sector
Crowdsourced vulnerability disclosure and bug bounty platform Bugcrowd says it saw a 151% uptick in submissions related to government and public sector organisations in 2023 Continue Reading
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News
24 Jan 2024
WebKit vulnerability sparks Apple’s first major security update of 2024
A zero-day in the open source WebKit browser engine that powers Safari has sparked Apple’s first major patch roll-out of the new year Continue Reading
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News
24 Jan 2024
IR35: Contractors call for off-payroll rules to be scrapped in Spring Budget 2024
A survey of 900 contractors by insurance provider Qdos found that two-thirds want the government to consider scrapping the IR35 rules in the next Budget, which is due to take place in March 2024 Continue Reading
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News
24 Jan 2024
AI will heighten global ransomware threat, says NCSC
The benefits of artificial intelligence to cyber criminals being well-known, the NCSC now assesses it’s likely AI will soon be widely used to enhance ransomware attacks Continue Reading
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News
23 Jan 2024
Treat cyber risk like financial or legal issue, says UK government
UK government and NCSC launch proposed code of practice on cyber security governance to help directors and business leaders toughen their defences Continue Reading
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News
23 Jan 2024
Leak of 26 billion records may prove to be ‘mother of all breaches’
The discovery of a dataset comprising 26 billion stolen records may prove to be record-breaking in both its size and the danger it poses to ordinary people Continue Reading
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Feature
22 Jan 2024
The Loan Charge scandal explained: Everything you need to know
Tens of thousands of IT contractors have been saddled with life-changing tax bills as a result of a controversial, retroactive government policy – and the fall-out from its introduction has been likened to the Post Office IT scandal Continue Reading
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News
19 Jan 2024
MPs flag similarities between HMRC's treatment of Loan Charge contractors and Post Office scandal
The fallout from HMRC's controversial disguised remuneration clampdown, the Loan Charge policy, has been likened to the Post Office Horizon scandal during a House of Commons debate Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Jan 2024
Biometric revolution in IAM: The future of authentication
The IAM landscape is experiencing profound change thanks to the advent of biometrics. Learn about the latest advantages and key benefits of biometrics in identity Continue Reading
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News
17 Jan 2024
Victims of 2023 Capita data breaches head to High Court
More than 5,000 people impacted by data breaches arising from two cyber incidents affecting outsourcer Capita have joined a group action lawsuit Continue Reading
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Opinion
16 Jan 2024
The human toll of ransomware: how IT pros suffer during incidents
Any ransomware attack causes significant challenges for a business or organisation going through such incident. But ransomware attacks also have tremendous impact on the staff – especially IT teams – working on mitigating the attack’s effect Continue Reading
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News
11 Jan 2024
Cisco fixes high-impact flaw in unified comms platform
Cisco unified comms customers are urged to patch a critical vulnerability in Unity Connection, a messaging and voicemail product Continue Reading
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News
10 Jan 2024
Windows Kerberos, Hyper-V vulns among January Patch Tuesday bugs
Microsoft starts 2024 right with another slimline Patch Tuesday drop, but there are some critical vulns to be alert to, including a number of man-in-the-middle attack vectors Continue Reading
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News
09 Jan 2024
Babuk Tortilla ransomware decryptor made available
A joint effort between Cisco Talos, Avast and the Dutch police will bring relief to many victims of a variant of the Babuk ransomware known as Tortilla Continue Reading
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News
03 Jan 2024
Artificial intelligence to the front in Sweden’s National Technology Strategy
Sweden focuses in on artificial intelligence in its latest far-reaching national IT strategy Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Dec 2023
Decoding zero trust in endpoint security: A practical guide for CISOs
The exponential increase in endpoints has vastly expanded the average organisation’s attack surface – address this by applying zero-trust best practice to endpoints Continue Reading
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News
21 Dec 2023
Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2023
Ransomware gangs dominated the cyber criminal underworld in 2023, a year that will prove notable for significant evolutionary trends in their tactics Continue Reading
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Opinion
20 Dec 2023
Beyond the office walls: Safeguarding remote workers from attack
Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading
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Opinion
20 Dec 2023
Zero-trust principles: Your gateway to securing remote workers
Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading
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Opinion
20 Dec 2023
Evolving best practice: What next for securing remote work?
Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading
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News
20 Dec 2023
ALPHV/BlackCat operation down, but maybe not out
Multinational law enforcement has targeted the operations of the notorious ALPHV/BlackCat cyber extortion gang, but the group’s members appear to remain defiant Continue Reading
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Opinion
19 Dec 2023
Security Think Tank: Testing to improve remote worker security
Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading
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Opinion
19 Dec 2023
Security Think Tank: Anytime, anywhere access is achievable
Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading
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News
13 Dec 2023
Microsoft’s Christmas present for cyber teams: no zero-days
Barely 30 vulnerabilities, and no zero-days, have been fixed in the final Patch Tuesday drop of 2023 Continue Reading
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News
01 Dec 2023
The Security Interviews: Mark McClain, SailPoint Technologies
SailPoint founder and CEO Mark McClain reflects on how the concept of identity has evolved over the past 20 years, and points to rapid evolution still to come Continue Reading
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News
27 Nov 2023
India's Hexaware creates hundreds of jobs in UK
Hexaware opens IT services operation in Birmingham, with a plan to recruit 250 people in the region by 2025 Continue Reading
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News
14 Nov 2023
Engineers slash RPO/RTO as they swap tape for Rubrik backup
Frankham Group ditches archaic tape backup and deploys Rubrik backup appliances and remote disaster recovery facility. Meanwhile, the engineering group assesses a move to the cloud Continue Reading
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News
07 Nov 2023
Post Office disclosure failures delay Horizon scandal inquiry again
Many of the 300,000 emails unearthed could be relevant to evidence from future and past witnesses in the Post Office scandal inquiry Continue Reading
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News
06 Nov 2023
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. Continue Reading
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News
01 Nov 2023
Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson on her AI Safety Summit goals
As the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park takes place, Computer Weekly caught up with Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson to find out what one of the UK’s most prominent AI advocates wants from proceedings Continue Reading
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Opinion
19 Oct 2023
DORA: Moving into a new era of digital resilience
The EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act will come into force in just over a year, the majority of risk management professionals are only at the beginning of their planning journey. Kate Needham-Bennett of Fusion Risk Management explains how to get things moving Continue Reading
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Opinion
04 Oct 2023
AI vs software outsourcing: An opportunity or a threat?
While artificial intelligence offers unprecedented opportunities for growth, efficiency and automation, it also raises pertinent questions about the future of software outsourcing Continue Reading
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News
13 Sep 2023
Patch Tuesday: Microsoft fixes zero-days in Word and Streaming Service
September 2023 brings a light Patch Tuesday, with two zero-days and five critical vulnerabilities listed in the latest release Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2023
European enterprises to spend more on generative IT to close gap on US
European organisations are upping their spending on generative AI innovation, but face challenges recruiting the right people to support this Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Sep 2023
7 ways to prevent tech buyer's remorse
Tech buyer's remorse is on the rise due to factors such as lack of research, poor vendor communication and impulse buying. Explore seven tips to avoid tech buyer's remorse. Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Sep 2023
Interview: Ashish Gupta, head of EMEA, HCLTech
It’s not just enterprises that changed their operating models during and after Covid, but also the suppliers that took them on the journey, HCLTech Europe’s head explains Continue Reading
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News
29 Aug 2023
Top-performing CISOs reserve time for professional development
Survey of chief information security officers conducted by Gartner sheds light on habits shared by the top-performing members of the profession Continue Reading
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News
23 Aug 2023
Cyber attacks in 2023 develop quicker as average dwell times plummet
The median attacker dwell time shrunk from 10 to eight days in the first seven months of 2023, and in the case of ransomware attacks it is down to just five days Continue Reading
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21 Jul 2023
Artificial intelligence creates 40,000 new roles at Accenture
Accenture plans to hire thousands of AI experts as part of a $3bn investment. Continue Reading
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News
20 Jul 2023
BBC outsources IT to India’s Tata Consultancy Services
TCS continues to build its UK public sector business, with the BBC its latest customer Continue Reading
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News
28 Jun 2023
GDPR tax reclaim scheme preys on fears of SMEs
IT suppliers are a target of companies offering a tax reclaim scheme that preys on small businesses’ fears around General Data Protection Regulation compliance Continue Reading
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News
27 Jun 2023
Infosys to acquire Danske Bank Indian IT centre as part of $454m outsourcing deal
Agreement will accelerate Danske Bank’s digital transformation and widen Infosys’ growing customer base in the Nordic region. Continue Reading
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News
22 Jun 2023
UK pension scheme expands relationship with IT services giant TCS
Tata Consultancy Services retains contract with UK pension scheme for another decade after extending a contract that was first signed in 2011 Continue Reading
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News
22 Jun 2023
Lloyds Bank to open tech centre in India
UK bank taps into Hyderabad tech ecosystem by opening a tech centre focused on improving digital experiences for customers Continue Reading
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News
19 Jun 2023
Dutch government puts up €123m to address shortage of ICT workers
Financial injection aimed at improving cooperation between vocational education and business in the Netherlands, and making the tech professions more attractive Continue Reading
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News
13 Jun 2023
Artificial intelligence creates 40,000 new roles at Accenture
Accenture is planning to add thousands of AI experts to its workforce as part of a $3bn investment in its data and artificial intelligence practice Continue Reading
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News
07 Jun 2023
UKtech50 2023: The most influential people in UK technology
Computer Weekly has announced the 13th annual UKtech50 – our definitive list of the movers and shakers in the UK tech sector Continue Reading
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News
07 Jun 2023
UKtech50 2023 winner: Michelle Donelan/Chloe Smith, secretary of state, DSIT
Computer Weekly looks at the achievements and successes of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, as its secretary of state is recognised as the most influential person in UK technology for 2023 Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2023
UKtech50 2023: Vote for the most influential person in UK technology
Our judges have selected the top 50 leaders from a shortlist of more than 300 people – now it’s your chance to tell us who you think is the most influential person in UK technology Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2023
Black Basta ransomware attack to cost Capita over £15m
Exceptional costs arising from the March 2023 Black Basta ransomware attack on the systems of outsourcer Capita will be somewhere between £15m and £20m, the organisation says Continue Reading
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News
09 May 2023
UKtech50 2023: The longlist of the UK’s influential tech leaders
Each year, Computer Weekly launches a search for the most influential people in UK IT, asking the tech community who it thinks should be in the top 50 – here is the longlist of everyone nominated for 2023 Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2023
Lloyds Bank joins industry IT standards group
UK banking giant Lloyds Banking Group has joined an industry group which promotes global IT standards Continue Reading
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News
19 Apr 2023
IT Priorities 2023: Budget optimism among EMEA IT leaders
IT leaders across the EMEA region are optimistic that their budgets will increase over the coming year Continue Reading
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News
18 Apr 2023
Reduced spending on cloud services weighs European IT services market down
Reduced spending on cloud services in the EMEA region meant a year-on-year drop in total IT and BPO services spend Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Apr 2023
Why IAM systems are crucial for securing multicloud architecture
As business tools evolve into cloud-based services, organisations are finding themselves becoming ever more reliant on the cloud, but how can data be secured across so many different platforms? Continue Reading
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News
13 Apr 2023
Thousands at risk from critical RCE bug in legacy MS service
Thousands of organisations worldwide are at risk from three vulnerabilities – one critical – in a legacy Microsoft service that they may not be aware they are running Continue Reading
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News
12 Apr 2023
April Patch Tuesday fixes zero-day used to deliver ransomware
A zero-day in the Microsoft Common Log File System that has been abused by the operator of the Nokoyawa ransomware is among 97 vulnerabilities fixed in April’s Patch Tuesday update Continue Reading
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News
12 Apr 2023
Gartner: Rebalance cyber investment towards human-centric elements
Security decision-makers need to reprioritise their investment outlooks towards people, rather than technology, according to the latest market forecast from Gartner Continue Reading
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News
11 Apr 2023
UKtech50 2023: Help us find the most influential people in UK IT
Computer Weekly’s annual search for the 50 most influential people in UK IT is back – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year’s list Continue Reading
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Opinion
11 Apr 2023
Security Think Tank: Adopt a coherent framework for ID first security
With IAM central to enabling appropriate access to cloud-based services, identity first security is becoming a key trend for IAM in the cloud. Continue Reading
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News
05 Apr 2023
Quick-acting Rorschach ransomware appears out of nowhere
Emergent Rorschach ransomware strain is highly advanced and quite unusual in its capabilities, warn researchers, who say they have been unable to link it to any other known strains Continue Reading
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News
05 Apr 2023
CGI signs up to prison leaver employment initiative
IT supplier is working with training company specialised in helping prison leavers to find recruitment in the tech sector Continue Reading
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News
04 Apr 2023
Threat researchers dissect anatomy of a Royal ransomware attack
Trellix researchers share the inside track on a Royal ransomware attack that hit one of its customers in late 2022 Continue Reading
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News
04 Apr 2023
Over 90% of organisations find threat hunting a challenge
Understaffed security teams and high levels of background noise are making basic security operations tasks a chore for defenders, according to a report Continue Reading
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News
31 Mar 2023
Generative AI central to Accenture’s tech vision
Generative AI will play a central role over the next 10 years as the digital and physical world become more and more integrated Continue Reading
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News
30 Mar 2023
OSC&R supply chain security framework goes live on Github
The OSC&R framework for understanding and evaluating threats to supply chain security has made its debut on Github to allow anybody to contribute to the framework Continue Reading
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News
30 Mar 2023
NCSC issues revised security Board Toolkit for business leaders
National Cyber Security Centre calls on CEOs and senior business leaders to take a more hands-on approach to cyber resilience with the launch of revised board-level tools Continue Reading
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News
30 Mar 2023
Climate change vs technology: Study suggests tech investments could mitigate environmental risks
Bloomberg Media report, sponsored by investment firm Mubadala, highlights human impacts of various industry megatrends, including climate change and technology adoption Continue Reading
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News
28 Mar 2023
Alan Turing Institute unveils strategy to support UK AI
The strategy is built around helping the UK government realise its artificial intelligence ambitions, and focuses on areas where the UK can play a transformative role in shaping AI development Continue Reading
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News
28 Mar 2023
Apple security updates fix 33 iPhone vulnerabilities
A larger-than-usual update to Apple’s mobile operating system fixes more than 30 distinct vulnerabilities, including two serious issues that may potentially affect device kernels Continue Reading
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News
28 Mar 2023
Ransomware attacks up 45% in February, LockBit responsible
NCC Group says it observed a surge in ransomware attacks in February, with LockBit, BlackCat and BianLian all highly active Continue Reading