Insurtech start-up Honcho has funding plans derailed by Brexit
UK insurtech start-up Honcho will carry out its fundraising via crowdfunding platform CrowdCube after funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB), due to assist its launch, were put on an indefinite hold as a result of Brexit. The £650,000 drop in funding will now be made up with investment paid for company shares, with Honcho already raising £300,000 on its CrowdCube page. Honcho provides a free mobile app for comparing car insurance prices, with insurance providers bidding for customers for a £1 fee. The business was due to be launched in Q1 2018, but as the funds from the EIB are on hold until Brexit is finalised, the company moved to crowdsourcing to meet its deadlines.

Netherlands enables contactless payments on entire public transport network All modes of public transport now accept payments using contactless technology after the completion of major project in the Netherlands

Government and industry figures meet to discuss AI regulation Tech industry figures are broadly supportive of the need for artificial intelligence (AI) to be regulated, but despite growing consensus there is still disagreement over what effective AI regulation looks like

Bishop Fox’s Vinnie Liu talks offensive security skills There is growing demand for offensive security testing, but it needs a multi-layered skillset that can be hard to quantify. Bishop Fox’s CEO and co-founder explains why and some potential mitigation strategies

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

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

NatWest and University of Edinburgh form partnership to research data use in banking sector Scottish university and banking group set up research centre that will aim to improve the use of banking data

Welsh ambulance service upgrades life-saving communications Welsh ambulances going through major communications upgrade as part of wider NHS programme

Researchers in Belgium move towards industrial production of qubits Using existing equipment and know-how, researchers at the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (Imec) in Belgium are finding ways of mass-producing qubits

Open banking regulator sets out next steps Plans for ongoing evolution of the UK open banking sector have been set out by regulator in bid to grow the open banking sector in a ‘safe, scalable and economically sustainable way’

Clop cyber gang claims MOVEit attack and starts harassing victims The Clop cyber extortion and ransomware operation is demanding organisations pay a ransom to avoid data stolen via an exploited vulnerability in a file transfer product being leaked

Payments regulator makes APP fraud reimbursement mandatory UK payments regulator confirms changes to rules around repaying customers who lose money to authorised push payment fraudsters

Government to test rural broadband options with £7m fund Government to fund tests of technologies that could be issued to improve internet connectivity for rural communities

Google launches hacker-backed SME security training scheme Citing research that shows almost half of SMEs are struggling to recruit cyber security specialists, Google is launching a programme designed to upskill more people to fill thousands of vacant roles

Indian IT services giant takes UK teachers’ pensions contract from Capita Tata Consultancy Services bolsters its growing UK public sector customer base with key contract win

Apple's $3,500 headset offers VR at a premium Apple devices have always commanded a premium, but will consumers and business splash out $3,499 on its new Vision Pro headset?

Mercedes Pay turns vehicles into payment devices German car manufacturer add contactless payment feature to enable drivers to find and book parking spaces and pay automatically when they arrive

Victims of MOVEit SQL injection zero-day mount up The BBC, Boots, and British Airways are among the victims of cyber incidents arising from a recently disclosed vulnerability in the MOVEit file transfer, exploitation of which is spreading fast

Netherlands makes case for harmonisation of cloud security standards Harmonisation of cyber security standards is necessary to reduce the regulatory burden on Dutch SMEs – and regulators need to cooperate better

ESA uses NetApp as-a-service for space data ‘hot’ archive The European Space Agency collects data from millions of miles away. It must get storage right when there’s no chance of a u-turn to take more photos or re-record data

TechUK publishes ‘UK tech plan’ for next government Technology businesses are calling on UK politicians to devise a ‘comprehensive, forward-thinking strategy’ to realise the benefits of technology ahead of the next general election

Cyber spotlight falls on boardroom ‘privilege’ as incidents soar Three quarters of data breaches now involve a significant human element, and the higher up they get in an organisation, the more risks people seem to take, according to Verizon’s annual Data Breach Investigations Report

Workers ‘deeply uncomfortable’ with digital surveillance at work Employees express discomfort towards employers’ use of various digital surveillance and monitoring techniques, which are often powered by artificial intelligence

Bank of International Settlement sets up channel secure from quantum breach The Bank of International Settlement has worked with two of Europe's central banks to explore preventing the security risks posed by quantum computers

UK has time limit on ensuring cryptocurrency regulatory leadership, says Parliamentary report Parliamentary report makes 53 recommendations to the government's plans to regulate cryptocurrency

Medical regulator drops probe into NHS whistleblower Peter Duffy amid dispute over email evidence The General Medical Council has dropped an investigation into an NHS whistleblower who exposed widespread clinical harm at Morecambe Bay Trust amid questions over disputed email evidence

Sweden is developing its own big language model Artificial Intelligence Sweden is leading an initiative to build a large language model not only for Swedish, but for all the major languages in the Nordic region: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese

NBN unveils uncapped data plan for remote Australia Following a successful trial to examine delivery of an improved satellite service, including the capability to achieve faster burst speeds of up to 100Mbps, an uncapped usage plan has been launched to address data needs of rural Australia

Qualcomm beefs up Snapdragon Space XR Developer Platform for immersive future Mobile platform technology giant launches immersive technology designed to create a cross-device, extended and augmented reality ecosystem that will enable head-worn experiences from existing smartphone applications

AI interview: Dan McQuillan, critical computing expert Critical computing expert Dan McQuillan speaks to Computer Weekly about the top-down imposition of artificial intelligence on society, and how AI is a fundamentally political technology shaped by humanity’s most reactionary tendencies

Met Police director of intelligence defends facial recognition The Met Police’s director of intelligence has appeared before MPs to make the case for its continuing use of facial-recognition technology, following announcements from the force and the Home Office that they intend to press on with its adoption

CIO interview: Adam Warne, CIO, River Island The privately owned fashion retailer places a premium on its high street presence, but sees digital innovation as key to improving customer service in stores

HSBC explores quantum computing for finance sector UK banking giant works with quantum computing specialist to explore the technology’s potential in the finance sector

How India’s DICV is tapping smart manufacturing Daimler India Commercial Vehicles has deployed augmented and virtual reality, advanced sensors, data analytics and other technologies to improve manufacturing processes and customer fleet management

DE-CIX switches on Internet Exchange in Finland Comms tech provider celebrates 10 years of partnership with Internet Exchange operator and home to leading carrier and datacentre neutral interconnection ecosystem

Europe’s cellular networks viable alternatives to broadband, LEO satellites Research finds that 5G download speeds of nearly 1Gbps were found in four out of the top five cities tested, and were equal to that of satellite and fixed networks

Tech salaries on the rise, says Aspire Tech salaries are still on the rise for many roles as firms continue to battle for talent

Generative AI boosts HPE Q2 earnings The hype around generative AI appears to be working – at least for HPE, according to the company’s second-quarter earnings

BT claims UK first with 5G-enabled, immersive, interactive simulation experience Leading UK telco launches connected spaces that offer fully immersive experiences by combining interactive 360-degree video content with extended reality technology

Lloyds Bank calls on tech companies to control social media ‘wild west’ Lloyds Banking Group is calling on tech giants to step forward in the fight against online fraud, which emanates in the social media ‘wild west’