IT for financial services

Fortinet vulnerabilities prompt pre-holiday warnings

Analysts track exploitation of two vulnerabilities disclosed last week by Fortinet Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Passwords to prompts: Identity and AI redefined cyber in 2025

As we prepare to close out 2025, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panel looks back at the past year, and ahead to 2026. Continue Reading

By

• Daniel Gordon, PA Consulting

Cyber resilience will define winners and losers in 2026

As we prepare to close out 2025, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panel looks back at the past year, and ahead to 2026. Continue Reading

By

• Nick New, Optalysys

ClickFix attacks that bypass cyber controls on the rise

NCC’s monthly threat report details the growing prevalence of ClickFix attacks in the wild Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security platform consolidation in 2026: The AI imperative

As we prepare to close out 2025, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panel looks back at the past year, and ahead to 2026. Continue Reading

By

• John Bruce, Quorum Cyber

Court rule that fuelled Post Office’s prosecution rampage: Everything you need to know

This guide contains essential information about the legal rule that enabled the Post Office to wrongly prosecute subpostmasters Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Is AI more than hot air?

In this week’s edition of Computer Weekly, which is the final one of 2025, we hear from Amazon CTO Werner Vogels and his take on how developers need to change and adapt for the AI era. Elsewhere in the issue, we hear from experts about why the AI bubble might be able to burst, as organisations struggle to get the returns they expected from their investments in the technology. We also hear from Paul Neville, director of digital, data and technology at The Pensions Regulator, about how data automation and AI are changing the game in terms of how it works. And in the third and final of our three buyer’s guide features on self-service developer tools, we share some top tips on how to ensure enterprise self-service portals are fit for purpose. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Finance regulator wants mortgage brokers to use artificial intelligence

UK regulator is to encourage mortgage brokers to use artificial intelligence and other technology Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The three cyber trends that will define 2026

As we prepare to close out 2025, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panel looks back at the past year, and ahead to 2026. Continue Reading

By

• Vladimir Jirasek, Foresight Cyber

In cyber security, basics matter, even in 2025

As we prepare to close out 2025, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panel looks back at the past year, and ahead to 2026. Continue Reading

By

• Vladimir Jirasek, Foresight Cyber

What is driving the rise of infostealer malware?

Infostealer malware is a growing problem for cyber security teams, and these attacks have the potential to cause significant damage to businesses. What is enabling them to thrive? Continue Reading

By

• Anne Heim, Socura

National Audit Office praises Bank of England after complex mega-project

Public spending watchdog says the Bank of England’s core system replacement project offers lessons to other government departments Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security pros should prepare for tough questions on AI in 2026

As we prepare to close out 2025, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panel looks back at the past year, and ahead to 2026. Continue Reading

By

• Ellie Hurst, Advent IM

Microsoft patched over 1,100 CVEs in 2025

The final Patch Tuesday update of the year brings 56 new CVEs, bringing the year-end total to more than 1,100 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Interview: Paul Neville, director of digital, data and technology, The Pensions Regulator

Data, automation and artificial intelligence are driving the regulator to take new approaches to its work and how it supports the pensions industry, leading to improved experiences for everyone in the UK who has a pension Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

From trust to turbulence: Cyber's road ahead in 2026

As we prepare to close out 2025, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panel looks back at the past year, and ahead to 2026. Continue Reading

By

• Aditya K Sood, Aryaka

Constrained budgets left security teams short-handed in 2025

With 2024 seeing surges in security funding cuts, lay-offs and hiring freezes, 2025 brought some relief for cyber pros, but constrained budgets are leaving security teams short-staffed Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

In 2026, collaboration, honesty and humility in cyber are key

As we prepare to close out 2025, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panel looks back at the past year, and ahead to 2026. Continue Reading

By

• Rik Ferguson, Forescout

NCSC and BT block a billion dangerous clicks

A protective service jointly developed by the NCSC and BT has disrupted over a billion potential cyber incidents by stopping members of the public from clicking through to dangerous websites Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK's Cyber Bill should be just one part of a wider effort

New cyber legislation is necessary but a wider effort is needed to harden the UK's security and resilience. Continue Reading

By

• James Morris, CSBR

CIO interview: Innovation in reworking business processes

David Holton, chief transformation officer at Cambridge and Counties Bank, talks IT modernisation and agentic AI Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Inserting AI into cyber awareness

As industry looks to grasp the use of AI and automated features, how are security suppliers facing the challenge of adding these capabilities to their products and services? We talked to one provider to find out Continue Reading

By

• Dan Raywood

How headlines can drive change in cyber security

Big news stories can shift attitudes. There’s no doubt that insurance vendors and brokers are using major cyber attacks to promote their products, but can security teams also use it to help their businesses be better prepared? Continue Reading

By

• Robert Johnston, N-able

Interview: Mariano Albera, CTO, Checkout.com

Checkout.com’s chief technology officer has spent most of his career in the e-commerce industry, and now he is applying what he learned to the finance sector that serves it Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

US breach reinforces need to plug third-party security weaknesses

Cyber breach at US financial sector tech provider highlights the risk of third-party vulnerabilities in finance ecosystems Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Tech central to swingeing job cuts at ABN Amro

Simplification enabled by the use of the latest technologies underpins Dutch bank’s plan to cut thousands of jobs Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK digital bank Revolut sees value jump £23bn in a year

UK-headquartered fintech firm sees its valuation increase dramatically with its latest share sale Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Protecting the defenders: Addressing cyber's burnout crisis

The Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers the burdens and responsibilities that accompany the role of chief information security officer, and share guidance on how to navigate a challenging career path. Continue Reading

By

• Mandy Andress, Elastic

Government-backed coalition to end gazumping in property market

The government wants a digital platform that can address ‘inefficiencies’ causing stress for homeowners and inflicting huge costs to the economy Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cloudflare contrite after worst outage since 2019

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince apologises for the firm’s worst outage in years and shares details of how a change to database system permissions caused a cascading effect that brought down some of the web’s biggest names Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Artificial intelligence helps Klarna double revenues with half the staff

Swedish fintech has gradually replaced half of its staff with artificial intelligence and doubled its revenues Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cloudflare outage disrupts public web services

An outage at web traffic management specialist Cloudflare has caused disruption across the internet Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK investment bank IT outages cost £600k an hour

Survey respondents say there are barriers to resilience for UK investment banks, including a skills shortage and internal resistance Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NS&I’s digital overhaul £1.3bn over budget

NAO calls on the government-owned savings bank to come up with ‘realistic plan’ as digital transformation programme runs four years behind, and total costs rise to £3bn Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Two-thirds of finance firms use suppliers for AI agent development

Survey finds more banks and insurers are working with suppliers rather than going it alone when developing artificial intelligence agents Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Microsoft users warned over privilege elevation flaw

An elevation of privilege vulnerability in Windows Kernel tops the list of issues to address in the latest monthly Patch Tuesday update Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IT services companies and datacentres face regulation as cyber security bill reaches Parliament

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will require large IT services companies, including datacentres, to report security incidents within 24 hours Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

How Japanese banking giant MUFG is using AI

Japan’s largest bank aims to transform into an AI-native company by using agentic AI, changing how it handles data, and inking key partnerships with OpenAI and Sakana AI Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Oxford launches Equinox to build innovation hub in region

Oxford University and its host city have launched Equinox as a regional organisation uniting academia, business and government to establish Oxfordshire as a global innovation hub Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

DBS enhances GenAI chatbot for business clients

The bank’s virtual assistant, DBS Joy, has been enhanced with generative AI capabilities to provide business customers with faster and better answers to their queries Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Resilience for resilience: Managing burnout among cyber leaders

The Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers the burdens and responsibilities that accompany the role of chief information security officer, and share guidance on how to navigate a challenging career path. Continue Reading

By

• John Skipper and Farrukh Ahmad, PA Consulting

We need to build psychological readiness into cyber security

The Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers the burdens and responsibilities that accompany the role of chief information security officer, and share guidance on how to navigate a challenging career path. Continue Reading

By

• Haris Pylarinos, Hack The Box

CISO burnout: A crisis of expectation and isolation

The Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers the burdens and responsibilities that accompany the role of chief information security officer, and share guidance on how to navigate a challenging career path. Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie and Ellie Hurst, Advent IM

Government to broaden ‘narrow’ computing curriculum

Planned changes to the computer science curriculum announced following independent review recommendations Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Ryt Bank taps agentic AI for conversational banking

Malaysia’s Ryt Bank is using its own LLM and agentic AI framework to allow customers to perform banking transactions in natural language, replacing traditional menus and buttons Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

The Security Interviews: Colin Mahony, CEO, Recorded Future

Recorded Future’s CEO talks threat intelligence, AI in cyber security and the ever-changing cyber threat landscape Continue Reading

By

• Danny Palmer

We can alleviate the expanding burden on the CISO

The Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers the burdens and responsibilities that accompany the role of chief information security officer, and share guidance on how to navigate a challenging career path. Continue Reading

By

• Sam Thornton, Bridewell

Computer says neigh

In this week’s edition of Computer Weekly, we take a deep dive into the data sovereignty discourse generated by the recent 14-hour Amazon Web Services outage. Also, Wayne Barlow, who heads up the development of Bloomberg’s customer-facing terminal software, opens up about the impact AI is having on the organisation; Gartner’s Timon Watson provides some timely advice to IT leaders looking to migrate from Windows 10 to Windows 11; and we take a look at what European companies can do to bolster their cyber security resilience. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Interview: Wayne Barlow, head of terminal products, Bloomberg

Karl Flinders speaks to techie turned business leader Wayne Barlow, who heads up the development of Bloomberg’s customer-touching terminal software Continue Reading

CISOs in court: Balancing cyber resilience and legal accountability

The Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers the burdens and responsibilities that accompany the role of chief information security officer, and share guidance on how to navigate a challenging career path. Continue Reading

By

• Aditya K Sood, Aryaka

Just weeks left until Companies House ID changes: how to prepare

Just over two weeks remain before Companies House starts enforcing new digital identity verification procedures for company directors, but there's still time to get ready. Continue Reading

By

• Tim Barnett, Credas Technologies

Cyber agencies co-sign Exchange Server security guide

US and allied cyber agencies team up to try to nudge users to pay more attention to securing Microsoft Exchange Server Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ransomware resilience: It’s time to be ‘more Bruce Lee’

The growing threat of ransomware attacks requires cyber to evolve from a defensive posture to being increasingly proactive. Building threat intel can enable this, helping better predict, prioritise and prevent ransomware attacks. Continue Reading

By

• Jason Steer, CISO, Recorded Future

Scope of US state-level privacy laws expands rapidly in 2025

Nine state-level data protection laws have come into force in the US this year, and three more are slated for January 2026. Navigating this complex landscape is becoming a challenge Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Pulling the plug: A way to halt a cyber attacker in your network?

Rumours of an organisation taking its systems offline during a cyber attack spurred conversation on the consequences of simply pulling the power, or internet access, to stop intruders. We consider the ethics and practicality Continue Reading

By

• Dan Raywood

LockBit 5.0 expands targeting amid ransomware escalation

The LockBit RaaS operation is back in action, with technical features and expanded targeting, and is contributing to a steadily growing number of ransomware attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK ramps up ransomware fightback with supply chain security guide

Multinational guidance, developed by the UK and Singapore, is designed to help organisations reinforce their supply chain against ransomware attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Banks’ AI cost-cutting benefits won’t last, will ‘erode’ profits

Banks are making significant cost savings through initial artificial intelligence implementations, but the technology will eventually hit their profits Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The US government shutdown is a wake-up call for cyber self-reliance

As the US government shutdown heads towards a second month, could the disruption to cyber security programmes be the impetus end-users need to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps? Continue Reading

By

• John Paul Cunningham, Silverfort Inc

The Netherlands faces €12bn R&D investment gap as productivity stagnates

Dutch government unveils nine-point plan to meet European 3% GDP target after its competitiveness ranking plummeted Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

AI talent war sees UBS recruit leadership from JPMorgan

Research from Evident reveals US banks lead the way in AI adoption in the finance sector, with a talent war simmering Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

HMRC rolls out Microsoft Copilot AI

HM Revenue and Customs has begun to roll out Microsoft 365 Copilot to its staff, with the aim of making productivity savings Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Pet insurers fuel AI take up in veterinary sector

Through tech startups, insurers are offering artificial intelligence-based veterinary services as part of pet insurance contracts Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK banks must be more like Big Tech to catch the US on AI, which comes with a high price

Evident research into artificial intelligence adoption in banking reveals US banks dominate when it comes to making AI work for the business Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

AI World: Oracle brings agents to bear on world of finance

Oracle AI World has seen a host of new introductions, among them agentic capabilities for customer finance teams Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

India’s biggest IT firm to create 5,000 UK jobs

Indian IT giant will increase its UK-based workforce by thousands over the next three years Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

AI will create a better world, says Oracle’s Ellison

Oracle ramped up its plans to lead in all things AI on the opening day of its renamed customer event, AI World, with founder Larry Ellison emphasising AI’s transformative potential Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Finnish tech partnership reaches ambitious heights

Partnership will explore how combining quantum computing and artificial intelligence can create dynamic benefits in areas such as materials science and complex simulations Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Swedish banks and state join forces to boost cyber security

Sweden’s leading finance institutions have joined forces with state security agencies to develop an integrated cyber defence strategy Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Beyond the refresh: Your cyber strategy must include AI PCs

Viewing a PC refresh as part of security strategy helps build a more resilient and productive enterprise and is an opportunity to move beyond tactical upgrades to adopt a security-first hardware strategy for the AI era. Continue Reading

By

• Louise Quennell, Dell Technologies

Warlock ransomware may be linked to Chinese state

The operators of Warlock ransomware who exploited a set of SharePoint Server vulnerabilities earlier this year likely have some kind of link to the Chinese government, researchers claim Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why it takes 11 hours to resolve one ID-related cyber incident

A recent ESG study revealed it takes an average of 11 hours for enterprises to resolve a single identity-related security incident. How did we get here, and what do we need to do differently? Continue Reading

By

• Ev Kontsevoy, Teleport

Alert over Medusa ransomware attacks targeting Fortra MFT

Microsoft warns it is seeing potential mass exploitation of a Fortra GoAnywhere vulnerability by a threat actor linked to the Medusa ransomware-as-a-service operation. Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The Security Interviews: David Bradbury, CSO, Okta

Okta’s chief security officer talks security by default and explains why he thinks time is running out for the shared responsibility model Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Building resilience in the cloud: Bridging SLA gaps and mitigating risk

The Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how security leaders can help assure access to the new and innovative cloud tech while minimising risk and ensuring they do not fall foul of regulators. Continue Reading

By

• Vaibhav Dutta, Tata Communications

US government shutdown stalls cyber intel sharing

A key US law covering cyber security intelligence sharing has expired without an extension or replacement amid a total shutdown of the federal government, putting global security collaboration at risk. Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Interview: Wayne Barlow, head of terminal products, Bloomberg

Techie turned business leader Wayne Barlow heads up the development of Bloomberg’s customer-touching terminal software Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Over half of UK adults use mobile wallets

Cash accounted for less than 10% of payments in the UK in 2024, according to UK Finance figures Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Apple’s first iOS 26 security update fixes memory corruption flaw

Apple issues an update for its brand new iOS 26 mobile operating system, fixing a potentially dangerous vulnerability affecting iPhones, iPads and other Mac devices Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Bank of America builds GenAI assistant for instant answers for customers

Queries that would take an employee an hour to answer are completed almost instantaneously with the Bank of America’s generative AI assistant Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK and US urge Cisco users to ditch end-of-life security appliances

An ongoing campaign of cyber attacks is targeting users of end-of-life Cisco security appliance kit Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why SLA gaps should not hinder cloud innovation

The Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how security leaders can help assure access to the new and innovative cloud tech while minimising risk and ensuring they do not fall foul of regulators. Continue Reading

By

• Ashley Barker and Irfan Ahmed, PA Consulting

Global payments network Swift builds blockchain capability

Not-for-profit global payments network to initially use blockchain-based shared ledger for cross-border payments, with further use cases to follow Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Over half of India-based companies suffer security breaches

Business supply chains, which include Indian companies, are at risk of attack as more than half of suppliers were breached last year Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government to introduce mandatory digital ID

Prime minister Keir Starmer says the scheme, which will be compulsory by the end of this parliament, will help crack down on illegal workers, as well as provide benefits to citizens Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Okta CEO: AI security and identity security are one and the same

At Oktane 2025 in Las Vegas, Okta CEO Todd McKinnon describes AI security and identity security as inseparable as he tees up a series of agentic security innovations Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Netherlands establishes cyber resilience network to strengthen public-private digital defence

Network will connect organisations in a cyber crime defence initiative that goes way beyond information sharing Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Oktane 2025: Okta takes aim at agentic AI governance gap

Identity specialist Okta is laying the groundwork for a number of incoming announcements designed to help its customers get to grips with the challenge of securing non-human, agentic identities. Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Rethinking identity in the age of AI impersonation

Trust in business has long hinged on human instincts but with the advent of deepfakes, it is becoming dangerous to assume too much. Continue Reading

By

• Akif Khan, Gartner

EU to shut door on Big Tech in financial data sharing

US tech giants to be excluded from EU’s Financial Data Access initiative, which enables the sharing of certain customer financial data Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK cyber action plan lays out path to resilience

A report produced for the government by academics at Imperial College London and the University of Bristol sets out nine recommendations to strengthen the UK’s cyber sector Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Are AI agents a blessing or a curse for cyber security?

Agentic AI is touted as a helpful tool for managing tasks, and cyber criminals are already taking advantage. Should information security teams look to AI agents to keep up? Continue Reading

By

• Danny Palmer

UK banks still run software code written more than 60 years ago

More than half of UK banks still rely on computer code written in or before the 1970s, and which is understood by only a few of their staff Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Microsoft scores win against Office 365 credential thieves

Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit disrupts a major phishing-as-a-service operation that targeted and stole Office 365 usernames and credentials Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCC: How RaaS team-ups help Scattered Spider enhance its attacks

Scattered Spider’s alliances with ransomware-as-a-service gangs act as a force multiplier for the scope, and number, of its cyber attacks, according to NCC Group analysts Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google Cloud unveils open protocol for agentic payments

Google’s Agent Payments Protocol is an open standard developed with more than 60 global partners to create a secure standard for AI-driven transactions Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Cyber leaders must make better use of risk experts

The Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how security leaders can help assure access to the new and innovative cloud tech while minimising risk and ensuring they do not fall foul of regulators. Continue Reading

By

• Ellie Hurst, Advent IM
• Mike Gillespie

Interview: Using AI agents as judges in GenAI workflows

We speak to Ranil Boteju, chief data and analytics officer at Lloyds Banking Group, about how the bank sees agentic AI in customer-facing chatbots Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Turkish state tightens grip on comms

Turkish subscriptions to fixed broadband were the lowest in Europe in 2024 and half as common as those in more developed countries Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

CIO interview: Sebastiaan Kalshoven, ASN Bank

Sebastiaan Kalshoven combines boldness of vision with back-up plans in transformation of Dutch retail bank  Continue Reading

By

• Martin Veitch