Archive Features

National Technology News Editor Alexandra Leonards spoke to Henk Van Hulle, chief executive of Open Banking Limited (OBL) about how the industry reached the 10 million milestone last month and explored what's next for Open Banking.
 14/8/2024
In 2024, many leading financial institutions have adopted AI-powered deep learning solutions for their cybersecurity and anti-fraud systems. With generative AI rapidly gaining traction across all sectors, a new era is emerging in customer and data services. Ahead of FStech’s inaugural The Future of AI In Financial Services conference, Silvia Iacovcich investigates trends, risks and expectations in an ever-changing landscape.
 9/8/2024
National Technology News (NTN) News Editor Alexandra Leonards explores how scam techniques are evolving with the advent of generative AI and whether the UK’s upcoming mandatory reimbursement scheme will push fraudsters even closer to the technology.
 13/12/2023
What technology-assisted advancements are evolving the healthcare sector? Ross Henry Law, senior reporter at National Technology News, investigates.
 31/10/2023
As champions of the much-anticipated legislation celebrate it becoming law, critics hold their breath in anticipation of potential threats to privacy, security and innovation. Alexandra Leonards reports
 27/10/2023
Retailers are now looking at how they can take advantage of the latest developments in generative AI following the launch of ChatGPT. Alexandra Leonards, News Editor, investigates how they are already harnessing the technology and explores the ways the industry will use it in the future.
 5/6/2023
An independent review recently concluded that biometrics technology trialled by two UK police forces doesn’t discriminate based on race, but human rights advocates warn that people of colour will still be disproportionately targeted by law enforcement.
 17/5/2023
Over the past few years, several hundred crypto ATMs have been stealthily operating in newsagents, coffee shops, and even fast-food establishments across the UK. Just as the pandemic was kicking off in Spring 2020, it looked as if these illegal machines were beginning to gain traction – with government figures showing that the number of Cryptoasset ATMs (CATMs) in the UK jumped from just 35 in 2016 to 271 in April of that year.
 04/04/2023
Two years after legislating for the UK to become Europe’s space pioneer, January 2023 saw the first ever orbital rocket launch from British soil. Is this the dawning of a new era of space exploration for the UK? Ross Henry Law, senior reporter at National Technology News, reports.
 20/02/2023
High-profile cryptocurrency exchange FTX recently reached an ignominious end, becoming the latest crypto lender to file for bankruptcy in the past few months. Senior reporter Ross Henry Law spoke to Marcus Schmalbach, chief executive of Ryskex, to explore whether the spectacular collapse of FTX marks the end of crypto and to identify some of the alternative use cases for blockchain technology.
 23/01/2023
This year was one in which many organisations have adopted new technologies to streamline efficiencies and meet customer expectations. A range of software applications have continued to rise at pace to make data analysis an easier endeavour which can help organisations in gleaning insights which improve their operations.
 23/01/2023
To mark International Women’s Day, Alexandra Leonards spoke to a group of women leading the way in the technology industry about the hurdles they have faced, their career highlights, and how tech companies can help to facilitate a fairer and more diverse sector.
 8/3/2022
There’s a risk that - without proper controls - the digital phenomenon of the Metaverse will facilitate deep-rooted problems far worse than those created by social media. Alexandra Leonards looks at the potential threats and gains of an augmented world.
 4/2/2022
Will McCurdy explores the potential of a cyberattack to severely disrupt the functioning of the UK’s national infrastructure
 21/01/2022
2021 may have been a new year, but the onus which Covid-19 placed on businesses to be agile in the face of adversity remained. Tech innovation continued to define almost every industry’s approach to change.
 23/12/2021
The technology promises so much, but its progression beyond runway couture is slow. Alexandra Leonards finds out what’s holding it back.
 26/7/2021
Alongside ethical concerns, unclear governance has driven a backlash against the use of second-generation biometrics by police. Alexandra Leonards finds out where the tech fits into current legislation and looks at one of the technology’s biggest flaws: racial bias
 29/4/2021
Alexandra Leonards explores the environmental technologies dominating the UK budget in 2021. More than a third of UK consumers say they’d prefer future technology to prioritise climate concerns over non-essential needs. With the government recently announcing plans for a £12 billion ‘green industrial revolution,’ the British public may be in luck.
 26/2/2021
Paying too much attention to fake videos could undermine the notion of truth when it comes to online content. Alexandra Leonards explores the dangers of perception, the rise of ‘shallowfakes,’ and discovers how to tackle deepfakes while they’re still in their infancy.
 27/1/2021
Many were prepared for a cyber onslaught, while ill-equipped businesses fell victim when the COVID-19 hit. Alexandra Leonards explores how the pandemic drove cyber-crime and looks at the UK response to the rise in online attacks. The disruption of an atmosphere of crisis and an influx of workers into home offices has created an online haven for cyber criminals.
 10/12/2020
With many more people using apps and websites on a daily basis since the pandemic took hold, it has never been more crucial to make sure consumers are safe when logging in to use products and services. With that in mind, National Technology News editor Peter Walker had a chat to Andrew Shikiar, the executive director and chief marketing officer of FIDO Alliance about the work that’s being done to unite companies and industries around one common standard for cyber security.
 14/09/20
A new ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) could have major implications for how data is transferred around the world. On 16 July, the Data Protection Commissioner vs Facebook Ireland case was ruled upon, following up on the ECJ’s 2015 ruling in Maximillian Schrems vs Data Protection Commissioner, in which it invalidated the adequacy decision underlying the EU-US Safe Harbour arrangement.
 24/07/20
The recent wave of protest sparked by the killing by police of George Floyd in Minneapolis has raised the issue of racism for corporations across sectors and geographies – and none more so than the tech industry. As young and cool as many big technology companies portray themselves, the majority are still overwhelmingly white, particularly in leadership and technical positions.
 18/06/20
The term artificial intelligence (AI) has become one of the most ubiquitous in the tech sector, with companies from financial services to retail, healthcare to agriculture all claiming to be harnessing the power of algorithmic automation. But in the rush for competitive advantage, many may be spending money and time on irrelevant technology and further confusing consumers on what actually constitutes AI.
 31/01/19
When the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger famously conducted his cat in a box experiment and concluded the cat could be simultaneously dead and alive until the observer opened the box, it highlighted, despite such a seeming absurdity, the much wider issue of how quantum systems can operate in multiple states until observed or measured.Fast forward to the 21st century and its relevance is becoming increasingly clear, with quantum computing eventually set to supersede the classical (binary) computing we have now. But what is it? And how far off is it?
 27/09/19
Whether it be from David Attenborough’s documentaries, Greta Thunberg’s teenage activism or the Extinction Rebellion protests, it’s hard to miss the message about the earth’s impending climate catastrophe. But as governments miss environmental action targets, corporations greenwash their way to shareholder satisfaction and individuals struggle to make any impact, perhaps salvation comes from the variety of tech startups trying to make a difference.
 22/11/19
Devised by the mysterious presumed pseudonym Satoshi Nakamato in 2008, blockchain’s immediate application was to serve as a transaction ledger for the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Yet, despite more than a decade of talk about how blockchain was set to disrupt and revolutionise numerous industries, the technology has yet to really make its mark on any big business – with scalability, security and regulatory concerns holding it back.
 15/04/20
National Technology News catches up with David Levine, founder and CEO of DigitalBridge, to find out more about this augmented reality-based tech startup.
 31/07/2017
Bringing Teams to the table – Adding value by integrating Microsoft Teams with business applications
A decade ago, the idea of digital collaboration started and ended with sending documents over email. Some organisations would have portals for sharing content or simplistic IM apps, but the ways that we communicated online were still largely primitive.

Automating CX: How are businesses using AI to meet customer expectations?
Virtual agents are set to supplant the traditional chatbot and their use cases are evolving at pace, with many organisations deploying new AI technologies to meet rising customer demand for self-service and real-time interactions.