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Score Tech Treasure for Less in Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days

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Score Tech Treasure for Less in Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days


Amazon’s Prime Day sale events seem to come around faster every year, and that’s partly because they are. This is the second Prime Day event of the year, dubbed Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, and we still have Black Friday to come. But decent discounts on some of our favorite tech gadgets are hard to ignore, particularly if you’re feeling the squeeze. We’ve distilled the latest sale down to this flavorsome brew of discounted devices.

You can find more deals in our categorized Absolute Best Prime Big Deal Days picks and our live blog of bargains.

Updated Oct 8: We added the Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe, Sonos Era 100, Eufy E340 Floodlight Security Camera, and Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro.

Table of Contents

Phones and Tablets

  • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

  • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

  • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

  • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

The Google Pixel 9a is already the best cheap phone you can buy, so another $150 off is not to be sniffed at. Whether you need a new smartphone yourself and don’t want to spend too much, or want to snag it for your partner or kid, the Pixel 9a has loads to offer (flagship Tensor G4 chip, reliable dual-camera system, smart software features, wireless charging, an IP68 rating, and seven years of software support). If you want something a little more powerful, the newer Pixel 10 series is also on sale.

OnePlus 13 (left) and OnePlus 13R (right), two slim mobile phones showing the rear cameras

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

When the OnePlus 13R came out at the beginning of the year, it was $100 more than its predecessor. Fortunately, the budget-oriented phone is $100 off today, bringing it back down to $500. It gets categorized as a “budget” phone, but with its brilliant 6.78-inch AMOLED screen with its 120-Hz refresh rate really make this feel premium. More than that, it used the same flagship chip Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip in all the best Android phones to come out last year. It’s tough to compete with the incredible deal above on the Pixel 9a, but if you’re looking for something larger and longer-lasting, the OnePlus 13R is also a solid bet.

Front view of an Apple iPad Air M3 2025 propped up on a circular table with the screen showing app icons

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

Sure, you can get the base 2024 iPad for $279; that’s a great deal on an excellent tablet. But you could also opt for the newer 11-inch iPad Air from earlier this year. It’s much more powerful and future-proof, with support for Apple Intelligence. It can handle the new windowing and multitasking improvements in iPadOS 26 with ease, and it supports the top-of-the-line Apple Pencil Pro that can wirelessly charge and connect to the top of the iPad Air’s edge. Read more about them in our Best iPads guide.

  • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

  • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

  • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Want an Android tablet instead? The OnePlus Pad 3 is our absolute favorite. It’s a top-of-the-line tablet, meaning performance is stellar thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. It has excellent speakers, and you can pair it with OnePlus’ keyboard and stylus to get some work done (sold separately). I really enjoy OnePlus’ multitasking system, as it makes it easy to use three apps simultaneously. It also supports super speedy charging. Too bad there’s no fingerprint sensor.

2023 Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet

Courtesy of Best Buy

A 10-inch tablet for $70, even if it is tied to Amazon’s ecosystem, is a hell of a bargain in 2025. There are other Fire tablets on sale, but the Fire HD 10 is Amazon’s best tablet for most people. An octa-core processor is plenty fast enough for consuming Amazon Prime content, there’s a passable full HD (1080p) screen, and it can double as an Echo speaker.

  • Photograph: Nena Farrell

  • Photograph: Nena Farrell

  • Courtesy of Amazon

Amazon

Kindle Colorsoft and Colorsoft Signature Edition

A color Kindle—what everyone always wanted, especially if you’re a comic reader. That’s exactly what the Kindle Colorsoft is. It otherwise looks and feels very similar to the popular Kindle Paperwhite with its 7-inch screen, only with vibrant color added to the glare-resistant screen. This model includes 16 GB of storage, and it’s now just $200. There’s also a more premium model, the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition, which has more storage, longer battery life, and wireless charging. It even comes with 3 months of free Kindle Unlimited at no extra cost.

Mobile Accessories

Courtesy of Belkin

Belkin

2-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad

Belkin makes a ton of great wireless chargers, but this one neatly bridges new and old devices. It supports the Qi2 charging standard with a magnetic 15W Qi2 pad for your phone, alongside a smaller 5W pad for AirPods or other wireless earbuds. There’s even a spare USB-C port, but because it’s a horizontal pad, you can also charge older Qi devices on it.

  • Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

  • Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

  • Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

  • Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

The Hero 13 Black is the best GoPro, with a new interchangeable lens system that’s far more versatile than any other action camera. You can add an Ultra Wide ($100), Macro ($120), or Anamorphic ($150) lens, and all are automatically detected by the Hero 13 when you connect them. Simple, slick, and satisfying to use.

The Shargeek 170 is a long tube-shaped device with clear case that shows the internal pieces and has an external facing screen.

Photograph: Simon Hill

Sharge

Shargeek 170 Power Bank

Many of the best portable chargers work great at charging up your gadgets but look so boring. This one is a translucent prism with a handy display packed with geeky charging stats. It’s not style over substance either, because this delivers 170 watts, has a 24,000-mAh capacity, fast charges most smartphones, and boasts an IP66 rating for water resistance. It’s one of the best power bank Prime Day deals we’ve spotted.

  • Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

  • Courtesy of Amazon

Smartish

Side Hustle Wallet

This handy, vegan leather wallet magnetically attaches to your phone to ensure all your most valuable belongings stay together. Of course, there are tons of great MagSafe wallets out there that we’ve tested, but this one is really affordable and easy to use. You don’t even have to remove the wallet to access one of the three cards this wallet can hold.

Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe Charger

Courtesy of Twelve South

Twelve South

HiRise 3 Deluxe

Don’t miss out if you’re in the market for a wireless charger, this compact 3-in-1 can charge your iPhone, AirPods, and an Apple Watch, and it’s at an even 50 percent off for Prime Day. It doesn’t support the latest Qi2 wireless charging standard, but for Apple loyalists, the HiRise 3 Deluxe is a compact wireless charger that’s chic to boot.

Home and Outdoor Tech

  • Photograph: Nena Farrell

  • Courtesy of Amazon

Amazon

Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen)

The best Prime Day tech deals tend to be on Amazon’s devices, and our favorite Echo Show is a real Goldilocks device: not too small to use, but not so large you can’t fit it on the counter or shelf. The best smart display for Alexa fans, this screen is handy for everything, from asking for recipes to playing music for your kids.

  • Photograph: Parker Hall

  • Photograph: Parker Hall

  • Photograph: Parker Hall

One of the more affordable options on our list of recommendations for best TV, the TCL QM8K QLED has been a surprise hit with our reviewers, thanks to its incredible performance and brightness, making it a perfect option for brightly-lit rooms. Even better, just this weekend, TCL’s QM8K QLED TV was selling for its full price of $1,500, and now it’s only $948. This is the lowest price we’ve seen this bezel-less, 65-inch 4K TV selling for.

Sonos Era 100 speaker

Courtesy of Sonos

Discounts on Sonos smart speakers are rare, but you can snag the entry-level Era 100 for less right now. This speaker sounds fantastic, looks stylish, and responds to voice commands. It works with all your favorite streaming services, has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and can be tuned for your room.

  • Photograph: Nena Farrell

  • Courtesy of Yale

The Yale Approach Lock is currently our number one pick for best overall smart lock. It’s a deadbolt adapter that can retrofit your dumb door into something safer and more convenient. It can even magically unlock your door when it sensors you coming near. Our tester said it was ideal for those who don’t want to have to swap out their front lock and keys. The biometric model is a whopping 47% off right now, while the keypad-less model is the cheapest way in (and is also on sale).

  • Photograph: Simon Hill

  • Photograph: Simon Hill

  • Photograph: Simon Hill

The Wi-Fi 7 Netgear Orbi 770 Series is simply the best mesh Wi-Fi system for most folks right now, and it has never been cheaper. A tri-band mesh (2.4-, 5-, and 6-GHz) that’s simple to set up and use, the Orbi 770 delivers speedy internet over a wide area. Upgrade to Wi-Fi 7 for new features like MLO (Multi-Link Operation) to enable Wi-Fi 7 devices to connect on multiple bands simultaneously. Basic security is built in, but you need to subscribe if you fancy enhanced security and parental controls (not required).

Image may contain: Electronics, Camera, and Webcam

Photograph: Simon Hill

After testing many, this is my pick of the best indoor security cameras because it offers crisp video, local storage, and accurate AI to detect subjects. Video resolution goes up to 2K, there’s color night vision, and it recognizes people, pets, and vehicles pretty accurately. Throw in two-way audio support and a siren function for scaring intruders away, not to mention up to 512 GB microSD card support, and you have an irresistible deal.

  • Photograph: Simon Hill

  • Photograph: Simon Hill

If you’re okay with a subscription, the Arlo Pro 5 (or 5S, they are identical) is the outdoor security camera to buy. Great quality footage, color night vision, a spotlight and siren, and a slick app that’s quick to load the live feed are all tempting reasons to buy, but it’s the accurate AI detection and rich notifications that make this the best of the best.

Image may contain: Person, and Security

Photograph: Simon Hill

Security cameras with floodlights are great for your garage or backyard, since motion triggers light and color video. The E340 is a dual-lens camera with a 3K wide angle lens and a 2K telephoto lens for up to 8x zoom to capture details up to 50 feet away. Adjustable light panels provide up to 2,000 lumens. It also pans 360 degrees and tilts 120 degrees, and records locally to a microSD card or to a HomeBase 3 (both sold separately).

Fitbit Charge 6

Courtesy of Fitbit

We’ve liked the Fitbit Charge 6 ever since its launch back in 2023, and it’s still the best fitness tracker you can buy. Our reviewer calls this model the “sweet spot” between attractiveness, affordability, accessibility, and ease of use.” Unless you’re an ultra-marathoner, this is likely as much tech as you need to hit your lofty fitness goals.

Grey square device sitting in the grass with large handles on each side and outlets, screens, and button the front

Photograph: Simon Hill

You can go off-grid or work through a power cut with one of the best portable power stations, and Anker’s Solix C1000 is my pick for happy campers. Molded handles for easy carrying, a handy LED bar on the front with three brightness levels, and a chunky 1,056-watt-hour capacity make this worth packing for your next trip. It can also double as an uninterruptible power supply with a 20-millisecond delay.

Govee Outdoor Lights

Photograph: Govee

Govee

Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro

Light up your home for Halloween or just whenever with these fun lights from Govee. You can snag 100 feet, sporting 60 RGBIC LEDs, or double that, both at a hefty discount. Like all of our favorite Govee smart lights, you can choose colors, brightness, animated scenes, and automations in the jam-packed app. These IP67-rated lights are designed to be permanently attached to the outside of your home for all your holiday celebrations or just classy lighting year-round.

Laptops

Front view of an open Apple MacBook Air 13-inch 2025  laptop sitting on a couch with the screen showing the desktop

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

Apple

MacBook Air (M4, 2025)

Need a new laptop? Your best bet is Apple’s MacBook Air. It was released earlier this year and is powered by the latest M4 chip. It’s plenty powerful, and the 13-inch screen is nice and bright. Apple updated the webcam, so you’ll look sharper, and there’s now double the RAM. You’ll have to get used to the limited two USB-C ports, but this is otherwise an incredible value at $799. Read our Best MacBooks guide for other options.

Front view of a laptop sitting on a wooden desk with the image of an island on the screen

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

Microsoft

Surface Laptop (7th Edition, 2024)

Our resident laptop expert says the Windows-powered Surface Laptop 7th Edition is a fantastic MacBook alternative with a Snapdragon X Elite chip, and a 120-Hz, 13.8-inch touchscreen with a unique 3:2 aspect ratio, giving you more vertical height than the average laptop. Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon X2 chips aren’t due for a while, so this is worth biting on. Just make sure you get the right model (not the newer, cheaper Surface Laptop 13).

Front view of the Lenovo Chromebook Duet, showing the tablet attached to the keyboard with landscape scenery on the screen

Photograph: Daniel Thorp-Lancaster

Lenovo

Chromebook Duet Gen 9 (11 Inch, MediaTek)

If you need a laptop more as a travel companion or study buddy, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9 has a unique mix of affordability and portability. It’s only an 11-inch screen, so the detachable keyboard is a little cramped, but outside of an iPad, you won’t find anything quite so charming and fun to use. It has a surprisingly good display for a cheap Chromebook too.

PC Accessories

  • Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • Photograph: Luke Larsen

Dell

32 Plus 4K QD-OLED Monitor (S3225QC)

The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED is one of the few OLED monitors not aimed at gamers, making it tempting for home workers, video editors, and content creators. It boasts over 1,000 nits of peak brightness in HDR, strong audio, and beautifully crisp 4K image quality. It’s one of the best monitors on the market right now, and it’s actually pretty good for gaming, too.

Razer BlackWidow V4 keyboard

Photograph: Razer

This mechanical keyboard is our favorite for gamers. The BlackWidow V4 75% has a smaller, more compact layout, which is great for tiny desks. The factory-lubed Razer Orange switches have a nice tactile bump, and it’s satisfying to type on. The RGB lighting is customizable, and the 8,000-Hz polling rate is more than enough for fast-paced games. It’s not wireless, but that means you won’t have to keep it charged.

Logitech MX Master 3S, a black computer mouse, on top of a leather mousepad

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Logitech

MX Master 3S For Mac

Supremely comfortable, this do-it-all office mouse might just be the best ergonomic mouse you can buy. With well-placed thumb buttons, a horizontal scroll wheel, and gesture buttons that can all be configured to your preferences, there isn’t much to complain about. This version is optimized for use with a Mac. (Keep in mind that Logitech just released the MX Master 4, which is just $20 more.)

Courtesy of Elgato

You can snag yourself a desktop productivity boost with this diminutive gadget that offers tailored shortcuts at your fingertips (it can do a bunch of stuff). Speed up your creative process, use it as media controls, or configure complex Excel functions: the choice is yours. You can get far bigger, more complicated, and more expensive Stream Decks, but this is a good option for most folks.

WD Elements

Photograph: Western Digital

Western Digital

Elements Desktop Hard Drive (14 TB)

It’s not sexy ,and the transfer speeds are nothing to write home about (120 megabytes per second for sequential writes on Windows), but this drive is a great way to back up your digital life. Set up overnight incremental backups, and you’ll squeeze value from this reliable digital filing cabinet. It supports USB-C and USB 3 and works with Windows, macOS, and Linux.


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Meta’s Layoffs Leave Supernatural Fitness Users in Mourning

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Meta’s Layoffs Leave Supernatural Fitness Users in Mourning


Tencia Benavidez, a Supernatural user who lives in New Mexico, started her VR workouts during the Covid pandemic. She has been a regular user in the five years since, calling the ability to workout in VR ideal, given that she lives in a rural area where it’s hard to get to a gym or workout outside during a brutal winter. She stuck with Supernatural because of the community and the eagerness of Supernatural’s coaches.

“They seem like really authentic individuals that were not talking down to you,” Benavidez says. “There’s just something really special about those coaches.”

Meta bought Supernatural in 2022, folding it into its then-heavily invested in metaverse efforts. The purchase was not a smooth process, as it triggered a lengthy legal battle in which the US Federal Trade Commission tried to block Meta from purchasing the service due to antitrust concerns about Meta “trying to buy its way to the top” of the VR market. Meta ultimately prevailed. At the time, some Supernatural users were cautiously optimistic, hoping that big bag of Zuckerbucks could keep its workout juggernaut afloat.

“Meta fought the government to buy this thing,” Benavidez says. “All that just for them to shut it down? What was the point?”

I reached out to Meta and Supernatural, and neither responded to my requests for comment.

Waking Up to Ash and Dust

On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Meta has laid off more than 1,000 people across its VR and metaverse efforts. The move comes after years of the company hemorrhaging billions of dollars on its metaverse products. In addition to laying off most of the staff at Supernatural, Meta has shut down three internal VR studios that made games like Resident Evil 4 and Deadpool VR.

“If it was a bottom line thing, I think they could have charged more money,” Goff Johnson says about Supernatural. “I think people would have paid for it. This just seems unnecessarily heartless.”

There is a split in the community about who will stay and continue to pay the subscription fee, and who will leave. Supernatural still has more than 3,000 lessons available in the service, so while new content won’t be added, some feel there is plenty of content left in the library. Other users worry about how Supernatural will continue to license music from big-name bands.

“Supernatural is amazing, but I am canceling it because of this,” Chip told me. “The library is large, so there’s enough to keep you busy, but not for the same price.”

There are other VR workout experiences like FitXR or even the VR staple Beat Saber, which Supernatural cribs a lot of design concepts from. Still, they don’t hit the same bar for many of the Supernatural faithful.

“I’m going to stick it out until they turn the lights out on us,” says Stefanie Wong, a Bay Area accountant who has used Supernatural since shortly after the pandemic and has organized and attended meetup events. “It’s not the app. It’s the community and it’s the coaches that we really, really care about.”

Welcome to the New Age

I tried out Supernatural’s Together feature on Wednesday, the day after the layoffs. It’s where I met Chip and Alisa. When we could stop to catch our breath, we talked about the changes coming to the service. They had played through previous sessions hosted by Jane Fonda or playlists with a mix of music that would change regularly. It seems the final collaboration in Supernatural’s multiplayer mode will be what we played now, an artist series featuring entirely Imagine Dragons songs.

In the session, as we punched blocks while being serenaded by this shirtless dude crooning, recorded narrations from Supernatural coach Dwana Olsen chimed in to hype us up.

“Take advantage of these moments,” Olsen said as we punched away. “Use these movements to remind you of how much awesome life you have yet to live.”

Frankly, it was downright invigorating. And bittersweet. We ended another round, sweaty, huffing and puffing. Chip, Alisa, and I high-fived like crazy and readied for another round.

“Beautiful,” Alisa said. “It’s just beautiful, isn’t it?”



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PSNI resorted to pen and paper after issues with ControlWorks command and control software | Computer Weekly

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PSNI resorted to pen and paper after issues with ControlWorks command and control software | Computer Weekly


Unexpected problems in the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI’s) ControlWorks software led to police having to resort to manual forms to record calls from the public soon after the software’s introduction in 2019, Computer Weekly has learned.

The force has not reported the incidents to the Northern Ireland Policing Board, which oversees the PSNI, and has not mentioned any incidents with ControlWorks in its annual reports.

While there is no legal duty to report failures with ControlWorks to the Northern Ireland Policing Board, the Policing Board has told Computer Weekly it would expect any serious incidents with ControlWorks to be reported to it.

The PSNI uses ControlWorks as part of its command and control system, for managing, logging and categorising calls received by the emergency services from the public and for dispatching police officers to incidents.

Computer Weekly has learned that the PNSI’s ControlWorks system had technical issues after it first went live in May 2019.

These included slow-downs of the system that required computer systems to be restarted or software to be patched.

On some occasions, police were forced to return to using paper forms to record incidents reported by the public after ControlWorks became unavailable. Information on the forms had to be typed back into the system when the service resumed.

ControlWorks aimed to improve response times

The PSNI announced it was using Capita Communications and Control Solutions’ ControlWorks software in 2018, replacing its 20-year-old Capita Atlas Command and Control System, which had reached the end of its life.

From February 2018, ControlWorks was installed across the PSNI’s three regional contact management centres, before going live in May 2019, but is understood to have had a series of issues during its first few months of operation.

Critical incidents, which affect force-wide availability of ControlWorks, are categorised as P1 or P2. Less serious incidents that do not require urgent remediation are categorised as P3 and P4, Computer Weekly has previously reported.

Computer Weekly understands that the PSNI runs a 24-hour help desk to deal with IT issues, and that it has the ability to escalate incidents with ControlWorks to its IT supplier.

Missing persons search

Computer Weekly understands that a “major issue” with ControlWorks may have delayed information being passed to police officers searching for missing teenager Noah Donohoe, who disappeared from his home in Belfast on 21 June 2020.

Donohoe’s disappearance sparked a massive search operation, as police reviewed hours of CCTV, and hundreds of volunteers joined the search for the vulnerable 14-year-old.

Computer Weekly has learned that on the evening of 23 June 2020, police recorded a “major issue” with ControlWorks that could have led to delays in information being passed to investigators.

Computer Weekly further understands that on the evening of 24 June, a member of the public called police to say they had seen an individual attempting to sell Donohoe’s missing laptop.

This potentially critical information was delayed in being brought to the attention of police officers investigating Donohoe’s disappearance  because of a problem with ControlWorks, Computer Weekly has been told.

It is unclear exactly how long the information was delayed by and what its impact on the search for the missing teenager was. But it is understood that detectives on the case reported and noted the delay during the investigation.

The issue with ControlWorks was understood to have been reported during the live investigation at a critical time when Donohoe was missing – two days after he had gone missing, and four days before he was found dead in a Belfast storm drain.

Manchester had serious IT issues

Greater Manchester Police experienced problems when it went live with its Integrated Operational Policing System (iOPS), which included ControlWorks, in July 2019. iOps attempted to integrate Capita’s ControlWorks software with Capita’s PoliceWorks record management software used by police officers for managing day-to-day investigations and intelligence records.

An independent review found serious issues with the project. At one point, police were forced to revert to pen and paper for 72 hours while records were migrated to the new system.

“This consumed considerable time and capacity, causing a duplication of work,” the report found. “In addition, some legacy demand, which included ongoing investigations, did not successfully transfer from the old systems, so could no longer be worked on.”

Greater Manchester Police subsequently announced plans to replace PoliceWorks after concluding it could not be adapted or fixed, but it has continued to use ControlWorks.

The PSNI uses a different record management system to Manchester’s troubled PoliceWorks system. The PSNI signed a £9m contract with the Canadian company NicheRMS to deploy its Records Management System, which records information about people, locations, vehicles, incidents and evidence, in 2006.

NicheRMS keeps duplicate records of reports from the public that are recorded on ControlWorks when they are escalated as an “incident”. This means that should data be lost because of problems with ControlWorks, the PSNI would still have access to duplicate records reported by the public on NicheRMS if they have been escalated as an “incident”.

Policing Board seeks clarification from PSNI

The Northern Ireland Policing Board has confirmed that if a major system disruption or significant information or data loss occurred, the board would expect to be informed.

A spokesperson told Computer Weekly that the board’s Resources Committee, which has oversight responsibility for matters including the PSNI’s technology systems, has asked the PSNI for clarification about the issues raised by Computer Weekly.

A coroner’s inquest into the circumstances of Noah Donohoe’s death is due to begin on 19 January.

The PSNI said it would “not comment on investigative matters while legal proceedings are ongoing”.

“With regards to questions relating to ControlWorks, police can confirm that, to date, there has been no instance of major disruption which has led to data loss,” a spokesperson said.

Capita declined to comment.



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Cyber body ISC2 signs on as UK software security ambassador | Computer Weekly

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Cyber body ISC2 signs on as UK software security ambassador | Computer Weekly


ISC2, the non-profit cyber professional membership association, has joined the UK government’s recently launched Software Security Ambassador Scheme as an expert adviser.

Set up at the beginning of the year by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the scheme forms part of a wider £210m commitment by Westminster to remodel approaches to public sector cyber resilience from the ground up, acknowledging that previous approaches to the issue have basically gone nowhere and that previously set targets for resilience are unachievable.

It is designed to incentivise organisations to pay more attention to the security of software products, and supports the wider adoption of the Software Security Code of Practice, a set of voluntary principles defining what secure software looks like.

ISC2 joins a number of tech suppliers, including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks and Sage; consultancies and service providers including Accenture and NCC Group; and financial services firms including Lloyds Banking Group and Santander. Fellow cyber association ISACA is also involved.

“Promoting secure software practices that strengthen the resilience of systems underpinning the economy, public services and national infrastructure is central to ISC2’s mission,” said ISC2’s executive vice-president for advocacy and strategic engagement, Tara Wisniewski.

“The code moves software security beyond narrow compliance and elevates it to a board-level resilience priority. As supply chain attacks continue to grow in scale and impact, a shared baseline is essential and through our global community and expertise, ISC2 is committed to helping professionals build the skills needed to put secure-by-design principles into practice,” she said.

Software vulns a huge barrier to resilience

A study of wider supply chain risks conducted last year by ISC2 found that a little over half of organisations worldwide reported that vulnerabilities in their software suppliers’ products represented the most disruptive cyber security threat to their overall supply chain.

And the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Global Cybersecurity Outlook report, published on 12 January, revealed that third-party and supply chain vulnerabilities were seen as a huge barrier to building cyber resilience by C-suite executives.

A total of 65% of respondents to the WEF’s annual poll flagged such flaws as the greatest challenge their organisation faced on its pathway to resilience, compared to 54% at the beginning of 2025. This outpaced factors such as the evolving threat landscape and emerging AI technology, use of legacy IT systems, regulatory compliance and governance, and cyber skills shortages.

Pressed on the top supply chain cyber risks, respondents were most concerned about their ability to assure the integrity of software and other IT services, ahead of a lack of visibility into their supplier’s supply chains and overdependence on critical third-party suppliers.

The UK’s Code of Practice seeks to answer this challenge by establishing expectations and best practices for tech providers and any other organisations that either develop, sell or buy software products. It covers aspects such as secure design and development, the security of build environments, deployment and ongoing upkeep, and transparent communication with customers and users.

As part of its role as an ambassador, ISC2 will assist in developing and improving the Code of Practice, while championing it by embedding its guiding principles into its own cyber education and professional development services – the organisation boasts 10,000 UK members and associates. 

It will also help to drive adoption of the Code of Practice through various awareness campaigns, incorporating it into its certifications, training and guidance, engaging with industry stakeholders and members to encourage implementation, and incorporating its provisions into its work with its own commercial suppliers. 



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