DWP director Kevin Cunnington set to take over as new head of Government Digital Service

Kevin Cunnington, currently director general for business transformation at DWP, is taking over as the new head of the Government Digital Service

CIO interview: Gary Steen, chief technology officer, TalkTalk

TalkTalk has overhauled security since its controversial data breach in 2015, according to CTO Gary Steen, and is investing in technology to beat its rivals on customer service

Researcher uncovers UK government threat to privacy

Despite concerns about the draft Investigatory Powers Bill, a legal researcher has highlighted that existing legislation is a much bigger threat to privacy than most UK citizens realise

Square Enix’s new RPG comes to the Apple Watch

 Because if someone builds a screen, Square Enix is going to bring an RPG to it – no matter how small or seemingly difficult such a proposition might ultimately be. Cosmos Rings is the gaming company’s first crack at the prohibitive form factor – and it’s an exclusive no less. The title utilizes an accompanying iPhone app, but users need Apple’s wearable to play.… Read More

Pokémon Go’s paying user base has reached a plateau

 Pokémon Go may be the most downloaded app in its first week post-launch ever, and is said to be raking in some $1.6 million daily on iOS alone, but a new report out on Friday suggests that the popular game’s paying user base may have already shrunk. According to data from Slice Intelligence, the app’s paying users peaked mid-July when the game had 56 percent more paying players… Read More

Microsoft awards hardware startup ENTy the 2016 Imagine Cup

 The festivities have wrapped for Microsoft’s Imagine Cup, a global competition among students and young people to create new software and devices. The winner this year was ENTy, a polished and highly practical hardware solution for tracking posture, helping with diagnosis and possibly treatment of diseases that affect balance. Read More

Six essential processes for keeping data secure

Data security is increasingly vital for organisations as the countdown begins for compliance with new rules imposed by the EU’s general data protection regulation

Consumer identity management is the core of real CRM

IAM + CRM is much more than simply IAM for external users, says Ivan Niccolai

German digital bank Fidor acquired by French banking giant

Fidor CEO says merger with BPCE will allow challenger to continue its international expansion

Universities give free cloud services to UK medical researchers

The Universities of Bath, Birmingham, Cardiff, Swansea and Warwick are giving researchers free access to cloud-based compute resources to speed up scientific discovery process

A quarter of UK developers are self-taught

As the skills gap leaves firms scrambling for tech talent, self-taught developers are taking advantage of the need for skilled workers

Mobile and video pay off for Google’s parent company Alphabet

Alphabet ascribes strong second quarter financial results to long-term investments in mobile and video as demand for advertising through these channels increases

Windows Mobile shrinks as Microsoft prioritises productivity and platforms

Microsoft prepares to axe 2,850 jobs as it culls smartphone business and majors on productivity and platforms

AWS vs Google vs Microsoft: How the enterprise cloud war is hotting up

With Amazon, Google and Microsoft all reporting strong growth on the back of cloud, we take a closer look at how they have achieved it

Minecraft support for Oculus Rift is finally almost here

 After months of teasing, Microsoft is finally almost ready to give Minecraft Windows 10 Edition Beta users a taste of VR. In a blog post celebrating the first anniversary of Minecraft Windows 10 Edition Beta, Microsoft announced that support for the Oculus Rift will be coming “in the next few weeks” as a free update to existing users. People who want to get in on the action have… Read More

Oculus launch-exclusive Adr1ft nows lets you get lost in space on HTC Vive

 I’m going to put this right up front: Adr1ft isn’t for the weak of stomach. The virtual reality free-floating space survival sim left me a tad queasy, and I’m somewhere in the middle of the VR sickness sensitive spectrum. But for those looking to boldly barf where only Oculus Rift owners have barfed before, Adr1ft is launching on HTC Vive today. Even if you might feel a… Read More

Twitter will stream its first eSports competition, starting today

 It’s no Twitch, but Twitter this weekend will live stream its first eSports competition on its service, thanks to a partnership with Eleague. Twitter will provide live coverage of the organization’s semifinals and championship held today and tomorrow in Atlanta, where teams will be playing Valve’s “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Game.” The first… Read More

PlayStation VR play area requirements detailed, seated play recommended

 PlaySTation VR is set to arrive on October 13, but a new official pamphlet being distributed by the company (via Polygon) sheds some light on what players can expect in terms of space requirements and gameplay style. The document shows that the idea space is about 6′ x 10′ big, with the player seated roughly in the middle, facing the PlayStation Camera at the long end. HTC… Read More

Amazon rides high on sales growth, especially in cloud services

Amazon's share price climbed 2% on news of strong second-quarter sales growth boosted by a 58% year-on-year rise in sales of cloud services

UK’s top security judges struggle to assess privacy threats

Technological advancements make it difficult for the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to assess privacy threats, say the tribunal’s own judges

Interview: Google cloud chief Diane Greene talks enterprise strategy and taking on AWS

Computer Weekly talks to Google cloud chief Diane Greene about how it intends to win over the enterprise market and give AWS a run for its money

Using a #hashtag to take diversity awareness global

Recruiter Structur3dpeople utilises the power of social media to spread the word about women in the technology industry

Smartphone sales boost Samsung’s second quarter

Samsung has reported a 27% rise in operating profit for its mobile division in the second quarter, driven by strong demand for Galaxy smartphones, which the company expects to continue

Al Murooj Rotana increases guest satisfaction with updated Wi-Fi network

Dubai-based Rotana Hotels sees guest satisfaction rates rise on back of 802.11ac wireless roll-out at its Al Murooj Rotana property

BT sales increase 35% in 2016 Q2 with EE and broadband boosts

BT Group reported a 35% increase in revenue as it benefits from its EE acquisition and a large share of the broadband market

Most cloud applications not GDPR-ready, report reveals

Just 2% of more than 15,000 enterprise cloud application analysed are GDPR-ready, according to a cloud risk report

MI5 accused of compromising security court

Judges at the UK's most secret court were persuaded not to disclose the existence of secret intrusive data on the population after briefings and lunch with MI5's deputy director general

Almost 60% of millennials search for jobs through company websites

Research by Monster finds the younger generation react strongly to what they find on an employer’s website when looking for work

Revealed: The battle for GDS – how Whitehall mandarins are trying to carve up digital strategy

Insiders say senior civil servants want to break up the Government Digital Service and return IT to its previous departmental model

Oracle buys NetSuite, but vows to respect independence

Oracle has agreed to buy NetSuite but the acquired company will retain autonomy says Oracle

Dunkers competes with one million downloads in its first week

 Dunkers, a new game by Colin Lane (known for Wrassling and other fun sporty games), has racked up 1 million downloads since it was released last week. The success in large part is thanks to heavy featuring from Apple; it has been featured more than 150 times worldwide. Currently in iTunes, it sits at No. 1 sports app, No. 4 sports game, No. 8 free game and No. 34 free app overall. The game… Read More

UK government paves way for Amazon Prime Air trials

Amazon is working with regulator CAA to enable trials of Amazon’s Prime Air drone to take off in the UK

Business unprepared for future ransomware, says Cisco report

Next wave of ransomware expected to be more pervasive, resilient and capable of spreading quickly and effectively throughout networks by capitalising on vulnerabilities

Gov.uk Notify notifications system starts to be used for live digital services

Status updates system is latest part of the government-as-a-platform strategy from the Government Digital Service

Apple highlights services revenue and future bets as iPhone sales decline

Apple share price up on strong performance in services and investments in augmented reality and artificial intelligence, despite 27% year-on-year decline in quarterly profit

UK firms miss out on lucrative data science exploitation

The Economist Intelligence Unit finds UK companies struggling to cash in on data exploitation, in a SAS-sponsored research study

European scientific community seeks support for €5.3m hybrid cloud build

Research organisations from across Europe want to build a hybrid cloud platform to support their HPC and big data projects

Warwickshire and West Mercia police select Saab to update shared control room

Warwickshire and West Mercia combine emergency and contact centre systems using Saab Group’s Safe unified control room system

Broadband providers urge UK firms to have their say on Ofcom’s BT-Openreach proposals

Nationwide campaign seeks to enable UK businesses to make their views known as regulator considers the future of BT-Openreach

Privacy Shield good to go for at least a year, say EU regulators

Transatlantic data transfer framework approved, but will need more fine-tuning in the first joint review in a year’s time

Accenture to move HMRC tax system to private cloud

HMRC has awarded Accenture a contract that will run until 2020 to digitise the UK tax system

Real trainers don’t Pokemon Go without a little Willow in their pocket

 After a storied history making Poke balls, Saffron City tech firm Silph Company recently started trying its hand at software. Inspired by Pokemon Go’s popularity, its latest app Willow aims to hep trainers enjoying Niantic’s location-based hit to be the very best, like no one ever was. Willow is an app that wants to provide trainers with a competitive edge by making sure… Read More

Women in IT 2016: Panel session – recruiting a diverse workforce

In this video Sinead Bunting from Monster, Heather Picov from Apps for Good, Emma Chalwin of Salesforce and Melinda Roylett from PayPal discuss how to recruit diverse talent in the IT industry.

Yahoo confirms nearly $5bn sale deal with Verizon

Verizon Communications to boost its advertising business by acquiring Yahoo's client database in a $4.83bn deal

Australia’s security software spending sees growth spurt

Australian enterprises are increasingly investing in security software as the threats to data continue to multiply

Skills shortage and poor IT infrastructure hinder tech adoption by Asean governments

EIU report highlights governments’ desire for better use of data, including cloud access

Government tests use of social media accounts for verifying online user identity

Online public service users may be asked to allow access to their Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter accounts to help prove they are who they say they are

O2 denies data breach

Cyber criminals have accessed some O2 customer accounts to steal personal details and offer them for sale, but O2 says it was not breached and password re-use is to blame

Ofcom and BT set out separate plans to increase Openreach independence

BT Group’s plans to give Openreach greater independence share some common ground with Ofcom’s recommendations, but will this be enough to ease its rivals’ anti-competitive concerns?

Investors realize Nintendo didn’t develop Pokémon Go and shares plummet

 Nintendo’s shares plunged after the company said late Friday that the worldwide success of Pokémon Go will not significantly impact its financial results. Nothing Nintendo disclosed about the ownership of the game was new information, but markets were shocked anyway. The stock sank 18 percent to 23,220 yen at the close in Tokyo, the maximum one-day move allowed by the exchange,… Read More

Pokémon Go estimated at over 75M downloads worldwide

 Pokémon Go has already earned one official record — most downloads on the App Store in a launch week ever. But it’s going to break a lot more records still: app analytics firm Sensor Tower estimates that it hit 50 million downloads on Google Play alone over the weekend, another record, and overall the company says that PoGo has racked up more than 75 million installs across iOS… Read More

Mobile gaming company Scopely raises $55M

 Scopely is announcing that it has raised a $55 million Series B round of funding. The Los Angeles-based company has built tools for promoting and monetizing mobile games — some of those games are developed in-house, others are created by outside studios. “The vision is creating the most premium experiences on people’s phones across a network of developers,” co-founder… Read More

Nintendo NX said to be a portable console with removable controllers and a TV dock

 Nintendo’s upcoming NX console is slowly taking shape, but a new report provides a lot more specificity than we’ve seen in the past, claiming the still-secret gaming hardware is actually primarily a portable console – albeit with some modular features that could make it more versatile than most handhelds. According to new info from Eurogamer, the NX core system will be a… Read More

Vault-Tec Workshop gives Fallout 4 players their own Vault to toy with

 Fallout 4, I can’t quit you. At least, not while Bethesda continues adding content, like today’s launch of the Vault-Tec Workshop add-on. The $4.99 DLC brings players on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC the ability to create their own Values, stock it with furniture and fill it with residents to mislead and mistreat. For those unfamiliar with the series, Vaults in Fallout are… Read More

Estonia seeks UK datacentre to protect citizens' personal data from hackers - report

The Baltic state is reportedly in early stage talks with the UK and Luxembourg governments about setting up a backup site in either country to protect citizens’ data from risk of hackers

BT says it's "absolutely willing" to create independent board to run Openreach

BT Group chairman Michael Rake says the organisation is willing to let an independent board oversee Openreach’s spending and strategy decisions

Pokemon Go to get more Pokemon, trading, and customizable PokeStops

 Pokemon players will eventually be able to fill out their collections via trades, which is very good news for people eyeing region-specific Pokemon like Australia’s Kangaskhan from the other side of the world. Niantic CEO John Hanke revealed at a San Diego Comic Con panel that Niantic is indeed working on adding trading (and new training features) to their game, as well as… Read More

Women in IT 2016: Panel session – what young women want from IT careers

In this video Sophie Deen of Bright Little Labs, Annabel Sunnucks from CA Technologies, and Elissa Morris from the Isle of Man Department of Economic Development, discussed their journey into the IT industry.

Tech firms tackle IoT security with management protocol

A group of tech firms have joined forces to develop a management protocol for IoT devices that could pave the way to an open, interoperable standard to address security and privacy risks

Pokémon Go is doing a lot of good, here are 3 surprising ways

 “What are they doing?” That was the question an older woman, probably around 70 or so, asked me yesterday. She was pointing to a group of 18-ish boys and girls near a YMCA, the biggest (and, so far, only) Pokestop in the city where I live. Without exception, the teens were all staring at their smartphones. “They’re playing Pokémon Go,” I replied. The lady… Read More

Dots & Co. tweaks the Dots games by adding a friendly companion

 Dots & Co., the follow-up to the popular puzzle games Dots and Two Dots, launched on iOS and Android earlier this week. If reading about the new game isn’t enough for you, you can watch me try it out in the video above. In many ways, Dots & Co. should feel pretty familiar to fans of the previous games. Your goal is to clear as many dots as you can by connecting dots of the… Read More

Insurance firm frees itself from legacy shackles

Insurance intermediary is moving its IT infrastructure into the cloud in a 12-month project that also sees it update its end-user computing technologies

Benelux CIO interview: Paul Elich, CIO at KLM

Paul Elich, CIO at Dutch airline KLM, tells Computer Weekly about building innovation into IT departments and the ongoing de-duplication of internal systems since its merger with Air France

SAP Q2 2016: cloud revenue edges forward, 3,700 S/4 Hana customers

Second-quarter results show 3% growth in cloud revenue to reach 14% of the €5.2bn revenue total, as operating profit jumps 10%

What CIOs should know about the Brexit

CIOs should start talking with other executives and their teams and beginning planning now for potential changes

How Salesforce is encouraging people into coding

Trailhead initiative is targeting people of diverse ages and backgrounds to take up coding

Carbon Black bets on next-generation antivirus

Carbon Black is betting on next-generation antivirus technology by acquiring Confer to extend the capability and appeal of its endpoint protection offerings

Banking via websites in decline as mobile apps take over

The use of mobile apps to bank is growing fast and fewer people use the internet to handle their financial affairs

Facebook completes first flight of UK internet drone

Facebook has completed the first test flight in a year-long programme for its UK-developed Aquila drone designed to enable internet connections in remote areas, using high-speed laser communications

UK government needs 2,800 extra digital staff to deliver current plans

Head of the National Audit Office highlights risks from a 'digital capability' gap across Whitehall

Privacy Shield gets green light – for now

Privacy Shield faces inevitable legal challenges, so organisations should prepare by considering legal and practical alternatives

VMworld Europe User Awards 2016 open for entries

The VMworld Europe User Awards 2016 are now open for entries until 5 September. Read the criteria and find out how to submit your nomination here

Jihadists’ digital tools revealed

A report by dark web intelligence firm Flashpoint reveals how jihadist groups use common security and other tools to hide their digital communications from national security forces

Shiny and chrome! Rendering sparkly surfaces in CG just got massively better

 As the graphics in games and movies edge closer and closer to photorealism, even the subtlest tricks of the light must be simulated. For years an especially tough one has been recreating the sparkling, uneven surfaces of water, metals and other materials — but these glints can now be rendered 100 times faster than before thanks to a new technique from computer scientists at UC San Diego. Read More

Apple says Pokémon Go is the most downloaded app in its first week ever

 Apple has told TechCrunch that Pokémon Go has broken an impressive App Store record. While the game was only available in a few countries at the time, the app has attracted more downloads in the App Store during its first week than any other app in App Store history. Read More

UK falls behind most European countries in safe data storage rankings

A report based on independent data ranks the UK behind most major European countries as a safe location for storing data

Aster Group to implement ServiceNow

Housing developer to use cloud-based service across multiple business functions following succesful implementation for IT service desk

Reinventing Bahrain’s Kanoo Group through digital technology

Kanoo Group IT director explains the company's IT transformation, including why implementing Office 365 across the business was his biggest career challenge

Intel’s cloud and IoT-focused businesses deliver disappointing growth

Intel says its transformation to focus on cloud and IoT is on track, but these key business areas fail to deliver as much growth as expected

BT broadband users hit by second UK-wide outage in two days

Power supply issues at Docklands datacentre could be behind loss of internet access for more than 5,500 BT broadband users

Brexit offers chance for UK to become a ‘data haven’

Could the UK become a a safe place for both cloud and big data after it leaves the EU?

Mobile payments get Isaca’s security approval

Mobile contactless payments enable three key security controls that make them more secure than physical and e-commerce payments, according to a report by Isaca

Almost half of UK's largest councils lack cloud strategy, Eduserv FOI study reveals

Eduserv study into cloud take-up inside local authorities suggests council CIOs are still over-invested in on-premise technology

Meet Dots & Co, the latest game in the Dots series

 Dots, the gaming studio that brought you ultra-successful time sinks Dots and Two Dots, is today releasing Dots & Co. Dots & Co is very familiar for folks who have played Dots and Two Dots, yet it puts a greater focus on characters you meet along the way, each of which has a different ability that will help you solve puzzles. There are over 15 different game mechanics within Dots &… Read More

Nintendo NX could bring “lots more casual players back” according to Ubisoft CEO

 The Nintendo NX is one of the most long-teased console releases I can ever remember, especially as an officially acknowledged thing. Speaking on his company’s quarterly earnings conference call yesterday (via IGN), Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot shared some tantalizing impressions about the NX: It’s “really great,” and it should “help the industry continue to… Read More

Pokémon is getting a live-action movie based on Detective Pikachu

 Pokémon Go fever has definitely caught Hollywood’s attention: The franchise is getting a live-action movie, the rights to which were just won by Legendary Pictures. The movie won’t be focused on Pokémon Go, however. Instead, it’ll put the spotlight on Detective Pikachu, a sleuthing version of one of Pokémon’s most recognizable characters introduced in a franchise… Read More

Australian prime minister appoints new tech leads

Malcolm Turnbull has made key tech appointments following his narrow victory in the Australian election

Women in IT 2016: Dr Pirita Paajanen, Erlham Institute

In this video, Pirita Paajanen from the Erlham Institute discusses diversity in the bioinformatics space.

Women in IT 2016: Lisa Neale, BT Openreach

In this video Lisa Neale from BT Openreach discusses role of industry leaders in encouraging people into tech.

Women in IT 2016: Diana Kennedy, BP

In this video Diana Kennedy from BP, talks about BP’s collaboration with Everywoman to promote science, technology, engineering and maths careers for girls.

Women in IT 2016: Toby Mildon, BBC

In this video, Toby Mildon from the BBC, talks about the difference between diversity awareness and inclusion practices.

Home Office merges IT units

The Home Office is merging its IT units to create Home Office Digital, Data and Technology and has appointed CTO Sarah Wilkinson to lead it

Mobile data freebies spark controversy in Sweden

Telia’s offer of data freebies to customers has brought criticism from some that believe it breaches net neutrality rules

Tech is trendy now but hasn’t always been, says Techmums founder

Sue Black thinks the technology industry is gradually becoming more accessible, but the journey is still slow

Microsoft reports strong quarter driven by cloud

Microsoft reports quarterly profits of $3.12bn, largely driven by the success of its focus on cloud services

Williams F1 teams up with Thales cyber security

Williams Group seals technical partnership to protect its confidential high-value data in the competitive world of F1 racing

BT broadband users hit by UK-wide outage

Telecommunications giant incurs the wrath of BT broadband users after thousands struggle to get online, following power outage at third-party datacentre provider

Pokémon Go launch in Japan postponed after email leak

 Game-maker Niantic has postponed today’s scheduled launch of Pokémon Go in Japan after internal emails leaked out on to the internet. Read More

Pokemon Go is a hit at Hot Topic, but hardly happening at Home Depot

 As Pokemon Go moves into the real-world partner marketing business with McDonald’s, one might wonder what businesses potentially stand to gain the most from association with Niantic’s world dominating location-based collect’em game. Well, Red Robin should plan a Squirtleburger™, if data gathered by location analytics firm Placed is any indication. The company used info… Read More

Get lost in 10,000 square miles of multiplayer VR with MetaWorld later this year

 Virtual reality as it exists is generally an isolating experience. Plenty of VR worlds are sparsely populated, inhabited by robots, or empty. There are social platforms for VR already, but MetaWorld, an upcoming collaboration between UK-based Improbable and Berkeley-based HelloVR, will expand the horizons of social VR – expand them nearly 10,000 square miles, to be exact. MetaWorld… Read More

Learn-to-code startup CK targets the Minecraft modding craze

 The learn to code space is packed with ideas. But when it comes to what children want to do online, towering over everything else is the build-it-yourself Microsoft-owned Minecraft platform. All lesser virtual, creative playgrounds are overshadowed by this pixellated silhouette. Read More