TechTarget News - Week of May 16, 2021
Mon May 17, 2021
Government looks into strengthening MSP security
Consultation opens to gather views of managed service providers as DCMS focuses on tightening supply chain security
Mon May 17, 2021
Government seeks input on supply chain security
Amid concerns that too few companies are addressing vulnerabilities in their supply chain, DCMS is opening a consultation on new measures to enhance security
Mon May 17, 2021
NCSC study to probe disability and neurodiversity in cyber
National Cyber Security Centre and KPMG have launched a new diversity study aiming to capture benchmarks on disability and neurodiversity in cyber
Mon May 17, 2021
Oxford University uses Oracle Cloud to speed up analysis of Covid-19 variants
The University of Oxford is availing itself of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure in the genomic sequencing and analysis of SARS-CoV-2, in part to identify new Covid-19 variants
Mon May 17, 2021
IR35 reforms: Government gifted roadmap to umbrella regulation by ex-senior policy adviser
Rebecca Seeley Harris, a former senior policy adviser to the Office of Tax Simplification, has joined forces with Offpayroll.org founder James Poyser to pen a draft policy to help the government fast-track its umbrella market regulation plans
Mon May 17, 2021
EE boosts mobile coverage across London’s rail network
As the UK embarks on the great indoor reopening and workers start returning to the office, BT’s mobile division beefs up mobile network capability along capital’s main commuter rail routes
Mon May 17, 2021
Andy Burnham launches Manchester digital inclusion drive
Greater Manchester mayor announces plan to support under-25s, over-75s and disabled people to get online
Mon May 17, 2021
AT&T to focus on fibre, 5G after WarnerMedia merger with Discovery
Media mega-deal presents leading US operator with opportunity to unlock value and be one of the best capitalised broadband companies
Mon May 17, 2021
Conti ransomware syndicate behind attack on Irish health service
More details continue to emerge of the significant ransomware attack on Ireland’s HSE
Mon May 17, 2021
Half of UK workforce lacks essential digital skills for work
A ‘hidden middle’ of more than 17 million people do not have the abilities needed to participate and contribute to the digital world in life and at work, study says
Mon May 17, 2021
AWS sets out plans to expand re/Start cloud skills programme across more of the UK and Ireland
Hot on the heels of Amazon’s pledge to create 10,000 jobs across the UK in 2021, its cloud division is planning to expand the geographical coverage of its long-standing skills builder programme
Mon May 17, 2021
CircleCI nabs $100M, buys Vamp release orchestration
Along with recent $100 million venture funding round, CI/CD vendor CircleCI has acquired the Vamp release orchestration platform to bolster its tools offering.
Mon May 17, 2021
Cohesity BaaS offers Microsoft 365 protection
Cohesity's as-a-service version of DataProtect now supports Microsoft 365, covering what one study found to be a large SaaS application data protection gap.
Mon May 17, 2021
Hackers turn Comcast voice remotes into eavesdropping tool
Guardicore researchers at RSA Conference 2021 manipulated the Xfinity XR11 voice controller to covertly record household conversations, raising concerns about IoT devices.
Tue May 18, 2021
Sophos: 81% of attacks last year involved ransomware
The majority of incidents Sophos responded to in the last year involved ransomware. The company also found the median dwell time of attackers was 11 days.
Tue May 18, 2021
Australian budget lends support to digital economy
Australia’s A$1.2bn Digital Economy Strategy ticks most of the right boxes, but some industry experts say areas such as broadband infrastructure and artificial intelligence are still underfunded
Tue May 18, 2021
CityFibre makes £30m full-fibre investment in Preston
Rapidly growing former altnet gets to work on its aim to ‘future-proof’ digital foundations of north-west city with expanded fibre infrastructure
Tue May 18, 2021
NHS to issue 30,000 iPads to ambulance crews
Mobile devices will allow crews to send photographs to hospital specialists and access health records while at the scene of incidents, aiming to speed up and improve care
Tue May 18, 2021
Irish High Court dismisses legal bid by Facebook over EU-US data transfers
Latest twist in long-running legal battle sees Facebook lose legal bid to prevent the Irish Data Protection Commissioner suspending its transfer of data about European citizens to the US
Tue May 18, 2021
Cisco acquires Kenna Security amid security expansion
Cisco announces a new acquisition alongside service enhancements around XDR and SASE in support of its security customers
Tue May 18, 2021
Government response to National Data Strategy consultation depicts data as ‘asset, not threat’
Government responds to consultation with a promise of delivery, putting an emphasis on data as an asset, not a threat, and finding respondents keen on levelling up
Tue May 18, 2021
Santander says sorry for weekend tech outage
Bank’s customers were unable to access multiple banking channels because of technical problems
Tue May 18, 2021
DCC reports revenue growth
Exertis parent shares financial results that reveal how the channel player has navigated through the pandemic
Tue May 18, 2021
Unified communications market up significantly so far in 2021
Sales across Europe through distribution are up significantly year on year as demand keeps rising
Tue May 18, 2021
SAS analytics platform adds native support for AWS, GCP
SAS unveils cloud-native support for AWS and Google Cloud during SAS Global Forum, the vendor's virtual user conference. SAS introduced similar support for Microsoft Azure in 2020.
Tue May 18, 2021
Covid lockdowns dent Vodafone fiscal year
Revenues fall for fixed and wireless operator as mobile users obey stay-at-home orders but overall yearly service takings are described as stable, returning to growth in the second half
Tue May 18, 2021
Unlicensed 6GHz spectrum puts 5G economic potential at risk, warns GSMA
As countries diverge on their strategies for critical spectrum band, mobile trade association calls on governments around to license 6GHz to power 5G development rather than permit unfettered Wi-Fi6E expansion
Tue May 18, 2021
Shift to digital remittances helps sector retain transaction value
Global remittance volumes and value was more resilient than expected over the past year, partly as a result of the take-up of fintech services
Tue May 18, 2021
Microsoft EU Data Boundary dubbed ‘smoke and mirrors’
Data protection experts claim Microsoft’s decision to create an EU Data Boundary is a tacit admission that it routinely transfers and processes the personal data of European citizens outside the bloc
Tue May 18, 2021
Post Office Horizon inquiry set to be given statutory status with wider powers
The government inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal is set to be made statutory with the power to call witnesses under oath and compel provision of evidence
Tue May 18, 2021
Logitech launches video conferencing whiteboard camera
Logitech's Scribe camera levels the playing field for video conferencing meetings, letting both remote and in-person attendees see the writing on a whiteboard.
Tue May 18, 2021
PlanetScale launches new database-as-a-service platform
The main vendor behind the open source Vitess distributed SQL cloud platform for MySQL is out with a new cloud platform that will integrate well with developer-based workflows.
Tue May 18, 2021
5 ways bad incident response plans can help threat actors
Infosec executives from Netskope and Chipotle Mexican Grill hosted an RSA Conference session about their personal experiences and lessons learned while responding to attacks.
Tue May 18, 2021
Samsung Display debuts foldable, slidable phone concepts
The concepts include two smartphones that expand from portable devices into tablets, a tablet that converts to a laptop and a PC display with a camera underneath.
Tue May 18, 2021
Google Cloud debuts Vertex AI managed ML platform with MLOps
Users can build, test and deploy machine learning models and put them in production faster with Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform, which contains new and existing Google AI tools.
Tue May 18, 2021
Neuberger calls for shift in software supply chain security
In an RSA Conference keynote, Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology, said security requires a major "mindset shift."
Tue May 18, 2021
Rubrik Forward highlights ransomware recovery features
Rubrik's virtual Forward conference featured AppFlows and several data security features aimed at identifying and rapidly recovering from ransomware attacks.
Tue May 18, 2021
McAfee CTO: Use data to make better cyber-risk decisions
According to McAfee CTO Steve Grobman, the best response to today's cyber-risks includes both human and technology-based solutions, like threat intelligence and good security hygiene.
Tue May 18, 2021
Legacy data and IT issues ‘laid bare’ during Covid-19, says NAO
The pandemic has exposed challenges with legacy data and IT systems in government, and has made the government response more challenging, says the National Audit Office
Tue May 18, 2021
Attorneys share worst practices for data breach response
Angry emails, bad jokes and sloppy reports can all lead to legal headaches following a data breach, according to a panel of experts at RSA Conference 2021.
Wed May 19, 2021
Flexxon bakes AI into SSDs to fight unknown threats
Singapore-based Flexxon has developed a solid-state drive that uses artificial intelligence to fend off malware and other unknown threats
Wed May 19, 2021
Barclays first bank to publish online scam refund details
All banks must be transparent about the proportion of victims of authorised push payment fraud they refund, says consumer rights organisation Which?
Wed May 19, 2021
Zzoomm brings full-fibre broadband service to Cannock
Work starts to provide broadband speeds claimed to be up to 33 times faster than major broadband providers to more than 37,000 homes and businesses in Staffordshire town
Wed May 19, 2021
Reports of stolen Irish health service data being leaked online
Leaking of deeply confidential and personal information on patient healthcare marks a new low for the criminal Conti gang
Wed May 19, 2021
UK tech sector grows tenfold in 10 years
Massive expansion of the UK tech sector since 2010 has seen venture capital investment and the number of unicorn businesses increase by factor of 10
Wed May 19, 2021
Google to shift cloud compute tasks between datacentres based on green power availability
Internet giant Google debuts capability that makes it possible to shift compute workloads between datacentres based on the regional availability of renewable, carbon-free power sources
Wed May 19, 2021
AutoML, cloud-native tools highlight Alteryx platform update
An automated machine learning tool and a cloud-native version of Alteryx Designer are among the new capabilities Alteryx unveiled during its virtual user conference.
Wed May 19, 2021
India’s HCL to hire 1,000 tech professionals in the UK
Indian IT suppliers set to create thousands of IT jobs in the UK, which supports their intention to have more staff based closer to customers
Wed May 19, 2021
Xerox highlights rising SME optimism
Firm shares insights from customers that seem to be keen to spend on automation and security and get support from the channel
Wed May 19, 2021
‘Nothing off the table’ in statutory Post Office scandal inquiry
The government confirmed that the inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal will be given statutory status and wider scope
Wed May 19, 2021
Edging closer to composable business
Covid-19 forced organisations to try radical new things. Building apps from pre-built functions is one that Mulesoft believes has longevity
Wed May 19, 2021
Google overhauls Android appearance, privacy settings
Android 12 will feature larger and rounder widgets, themes based on backgrounds and settings that let users opt out of letting apps access their locations, microphones and cameras.
Wed May 19, 2021
Cisco shares lessons learned in zero-trust deployment
The networking giant explained at RSA Conference 2021 how it was able to deploy a company-wide zero trust model in less than six months, and what it learned along the way.
Wed May 19, 2021
Syncari raises $17.3M for automated cloud data sync
Data synchronization vendor is looking to solve the challenge of keeping data updated and automated across multiple cloud systems in a unified data model.
Wed May 19, 2021
Zoom to launch virtual events platform
Zoom will launch an events platform in the coming months. Zoom Events will let businesses create hubs, sell tickets and track attendance at conferences and summits.
Wed May 19, 2021
SolarWinds CEO: Supply chain attack began in January 2019
SolarWinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna clarified earlier remarks from the company and said the massive supply chain attack was not the result of an intern's mistake.
Wed May 19, 2021
Spurred by pandemic, BizDevOps becomes a reality
In diverse industries from healthcare to banking and manufacturing, nontechnical teams are adopting Agile approaches to work alongside digital tools once used primarily by engineers.
Wed May 19, 2021
SentinelOne: More supply chain attacks are coming
At RSA Conference 2021, SentinelOne threat researcher Marco Figueroa discussed the implications of the SolarWinds attacks, which he called one of the biggest hacks ever.
Thu May 20, 2021
UK government publishes framework on automated decision-making
The framework focuses on making the use of algorithms and automated decision-making systems within the public sector more ethical, transparent and accountable
Thu May 20, 2021
Cloud Distribution, Tech Data and Distology adding to vendor portfolios
Distributors add vendors to their rosters as demand for security tools continues to surge across the channel
Thu May 20, 2021
5G-enabled sales to surpass €400bn and offer huge green gains by 2030
Commissioned by global telco, study in five European geographies finds hugely positive socio-economic impact from 5G roll-out in terms of enabled sales, employment and reduced greenhouse gas emissions
Thu May 20, 2021
HP taps micro virtual machines in endpoint security
HP’s Wolf Security technology stack uses an endpoint security controller to run computing tasks in micro virtual machines so that any potential malware can be isolated and contained
Thu May 20, 2021
Record colocation take-up across Europe prompts renewed power supply concerns
The latest quarterly tracker data from real estate consultancy CBRE confirms colocation operators in Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Paris saw another record period of growth during Q1 2021
Thu May 20, 2021
Amdocs beefs up BT business continuity for mobile customers
Expansion to existing multiyear managed services agreement sees Amdocs and Lightico joint solution deployed to enable telco’s mobile customers to complete sales journeys remotely and securely, without the need for physical paperwork or store visits
Thu May 20, 2021
O2, Microsoft reveal plans to develop mobile edge capability for private 5G
Operator and IT giant O2 partners with Microsoft to trial the benefits of on-premise mobile edge computing in a private 5G network, paving the way for secure data management and enabling confidential information to stay on-premise at all times
Thu May 20, 2021
Work begins on CityFibre gigabit network for Middlesbrough
In second deployment in two days to a mid-sized conurbation, former altnet switches attention from north-west to north-east to “future-proof” digital foundations of Teesside hub
Thu May 20, 2021
Credit Suisse to recruit more than 1,000 tech staff in India
Credit Suisse is hiring more IT professionals in India to supports its plan to develop a global tech hub
Thu May 20, 2021
Malicious scans for at-risk systems start minutes after disclosure
Statistics collated by Palo Alto Networks reveal malicious actors begin scanning the internet for systems at risk of new CVEs within minutes
Thu May 20, 2021
Subpostmaster campaign group to meet Post Office scandal inquiry chair
The subpostmaster campaign group JFSA refused to cooperate with initial inquiry because it ‘lacked teeth’, but is now willing to talk after it was put on a statutory footing
Thu May 20, 2021
GDPR-readiness of EU Cloud Code of Conduct wins backing of European data protection authorities
The EU Cloud Code of Conduct, which aims to help IT buyers source GDPR-compliant cloud services, has found favour with the European Data Protection Board
Thu May 20, 2021
Government sets out implementation plan for genomics strategy
The 2021-22 implementation plan for government’s 10-year Genome UK strategy includes improving diversity of genomics data, rolling out whole genome sequencing to rare diseases patients, and delivering a proof of concept for a next-generation approach to cancer treatment
Thu May 20, 2021
Westcon extends master agent relationship with Avaya
Distributor given the opportunity to add more of the comms vendor’s portfolio to the offering it can take out across Europe
Thu May 20, 2021
Pandemic tech use heightens consumer privacy fears
Report on consumer attitudes to privacy finds evidence of a “heightened sense of fear” as digital footprints expand inexorably
Thu May 20, 2021
Fujitsu putting €3m into its channel programme
Vendor will use funds to support enhancements and increase rewards for partners that line up behind its strategic areas of focus
Thu May 20, 2021
County's ransomware remediation includes backup, security
A northern California county recovered from ransomware thanks to backups and quick action following the attack. The county's CIO details how it happened and tips for recovery.
Thu May 20, 2021
Demand for Cisco products rises during pandemic recovery
Cisco reported higher product demand and sales as massive COVID-19 vaccination efforts in the U.S. led companies to prepare for an economic recovery.
Thu May 20, 2021
Virgin Media, O2 merger gains final UK regulatory approval
Competition watchdog CMA removes last stumbling block and gives green light for what is being described as a watershed moment for the UK comms market
Thu May 20, 2021
LucidLink eyes Filespaces upgrade, biz expansion with new funding
LucidLink CEO Peter Thompson discusses his company's plans into 2021 and new storage market expansion possibilities after a $12 million Series A funding round.
Thu May 20, 2021
UK regulators commit to closer cooperation on digital economy
Two UK regulators have issued a joint statement and signed a memorandum of understanding on the need for closer collaboration on digital markets
Thu May 20, 2021
Three UK boosts 4G and 5G network capability
Leading UK operator further progresses its £2bn network investment programme, claiming to have significantly transformed next-generation and existing network capability, as well as boosting indoor connectivity
Thu May 20, 2021
CockroachDB version 21.1 simplifies distributed SQL database
Cockroach Labs updated its database platform with enhanced capabilities giving database administrators more control over where and how data is distributed around the world.
Thu May 20, 2021
Cloud migration helps Choice Hotels weather COVID-19
Choice Hotels' cloud-based global reservation system and adoption of collaboration and communication applications helped it stay in business during the pandemic.
Thu May 20, 2021
Contingent workforce grows, as does battle over its future
Increasing reliance on the contingent workforce is prompting changes in HR software. It is also fueling a political debate about the future of this independent labor.
Thu May 20, 2021
Infosec experts: Threat landscape is worst in 60 years
Between an increasing sophistication seen in nation-state groups and a rise in ransomware that's affecting everyone, the threat landscape may be reaching a historic peak.
Thu May 20, 2021
CrowdStrike breaks down 'Golden SAML' attack
The nightmare scenario, demonstrated at RSA Conference 2021, was used by threat actors in the SolarWinds breach and gave them control over both cloud and on-premises systems.
Thu May 20, 2021
Otter.ai launches assistant that joins Zoom meetings
Otter.ai released an assistant that attends and transcribes the Zoom meetings on an employee's calendar. The feature keeps everyone up to speed, even when they miss a session.
Thu May 20, 2021
U.S. officials discuss 2020 election security, misinformation
During an RSA Conference 2021 panel, the CISO for Maricopa County, Ariz., said misinformation posed a bigger challenge for election officials than actual cyberattacks.
Fri May 21, 2021
Alibaba taps machine learning to digitise Chinese classics
Alibaba’s research arm Damo Academy has developed a machine learning model to convert scanned pages of ancient Chinese classics into text
Fri May 21, 2021
Huge spike in uptake of UK NHS mobile app
Mobile app tracking specialist records mass downloads of UK health service mobile app after it was chosen to certify Covid jabs record for Brits travelling abroad
Fri May 21, 2021
Zoom launches Events platform for virtual experiences
Breakout conferencing platform makes next evolutionary step with platform for producing and monetising interactive virtual events and conferences
Fri May 21, 2021
Government Digital Service sets out three-year strategy
The new GDS strategy up to 2024 includes a focus on making Gov.uk a single, trusted source of information, joining up services, and creating a pan-government digital identity solution
Fri May 21, 2021
NHS Education for Scotland defends 'decade-long' public cloud deal with AWS
The training arm of NHS Scotland has come under fire from members of the public sector IT supplier community over its decision to award a 10-year cloud contract to AWS
Fri May 21, 2021
Digital risk rising up the channel agenda
Focus on data protection has increased over the course of the pandemic with Skurio and its partners able to tap into growing demand
Fri May 21, 2021
Liverpool 5G Create becomes independent digital public service provider
The quality of Mersey is not strained in mobile healthcare as ground-breaking next-gen network-based public health project takes advantage of digital disruption with mobile network operator’s provision capability to make revolutionary step
Fri May 21, 2021
Channel backs government plans to tighten supply chain security
DCMS consultation around MSP security is a chance for the industry to prove its worth and demonstrate that it can be a secure source of data services
Fri May 21, 2021
The hybrid workplace may be settling on 3 days in office
As post-pandemic restrictions are lifted, workers are returning to the office under new hybrid workplace schedules. Some companies say 'hybrid' means three days in the office.
Fri May 21, 2021
Lack of developer attention to cloud security prompts alerts
The personal data of over 100 million Android users may have been put at risk through a variety of cloud service misconfigurations
Fri May 21, 2021
Google racing to catch up in growing enterprise AI market
At Google I/O this week, the tech giant launched a new enterprise machine learning platform and language recognition model, and advanced other AI products under development.
Fri May 21, 2021
Qualcomm scales out 5G for industrial IoT
Comms tech giant makes major push to advance next-generation network product range to act as catalyst for digital transformation within industrial internet of things environment
Fri May 21, 2021
Google unveils smart canvas for Workspace apps
Workspace users will be able to tag files and meetings within Docs and preview files without switching windows. Google also made Docs files look more like web pages.
Fri May 21, 2021
Superconductive raises $21M for open source data quality
The open source Great Expectations project is becoming increasingly popular, as the commercial vendor seeks to build out a cloud service to expand the project's reach.
Fri May 21, 2021
Stale sessions, ML poisoning among 2021's top security threats
An all-star security panel at RSA Conference discusses the biggest issues facing companies today and what it thinks will emerge as the top threats in the coming months.
Fri May 21, 2021
Digital transformation service providers expect growth
In light of rosy IT spending forecasts, forward-thinking IT services firms are making moves to capture a spike in business; other IT channel news.
Fri May 21, 2021
Tim Cook takes stand in Apple, Epic lawsuit
Apple CEO Tim Cook faced questions from both Epic Games and Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers over Apple's App Store practices.