Tech
The 115 Best Black Friday Deals We’re Actually Shopping Ourselves
Wake Up! It’s time to buy. Black Friday is here, and the deals are raining down across the web. This is a chance to secure some gifts for the holiday season, snag those gadgets you’ve been eyeing for yourself, and avoid paying full price for anything.
Featured Black Friday Deal
Updated: Nov 28 2025, 02:11 PM
One of our favorite mesh systems, this Wi-Fi 6E mesh is ideal for smart homes, provides reliably speedy Wi-Fi, and is oh-so-easy to set up and use.
While there are worthy bargains in the deluge, you’ll also find people recommending devices they’ve never actually used at prices that aren’t really discounted. WIRED’s list of the absolute best Black Friday deals is different. Everything here was hands-on tested by a member of our Reviews team and recommended. And we track prices through the year, to ensure that any deal we feature actually is a discount.
Black Friday late morning update: We’ve just added deals on laptops, power banks, air purifiers, and fitness trackers.
Best of the Best Black Friday Deals
Jump to section: Computers, TV & Audio, Mobile Devices & Charging, Home & Kitchen, Beauty & Wellness
Computers
Best PC Laptop Deal: Dell 14 Plus for $500 ($100 off)
Finally, a $500 Windows laptop that isn’t just decent or mediocre, but actually good. The resolution is 2560 by 1600, with decent color accuracy and brightness. The battery life isn’t just adequate—it’s downright impressive. And the touchpad, which is an area where many budget laptops compromise, actually feels smooth and responsive. This is something no other Windows laptop can pull off. The only catch is that it’s a Doorbuster-style sale, meaning once they sell out at this price, this discount will disappear. —Luke Larsen
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Best MacBook Deal: MacBook Air (M4) for $749 ($250 off)
The M4 MacBook Air came out in early 2024, and it’s remained the best laptop you can buy. The price has slowly dropped, too. It’s now down to $749, and when you compare this directly with the quality of similarly priced laptops, you’ll see why it’s still at the top of my list. The display quality and resolution is top-notch, while the performance and battery life remain best in class. Now, you might be wondering if you should wait for the M5 MacBook Air instead of pulling the trigger on this deal. If the rumors are true, we’re still at least a few months out from the M5 MacBook Air, making this M4 still worthy of a purchase at this price. —Luke Larsen
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Best Computer Peripheral Deal: Audioengine A2+ Speakers for $223 ($56 off)
These Audioengine computer speakers rarely go on sale, so now’s a great time to pick up a pair. They’re our favorite computer speakers, with robust sound, and they won’t take up much room on a desk. —Luke Larsen
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Best Wifi Router Deal: Asus RT-BE58U for $98 ($52 off)
This is the Wi-Fi 7 router I recommend for most people in our best Wi-Fi routers guide because it’s easy to set up and will cover homes and apartments up to around 2,000 square feet with fast and reliable connectivity. It’s only dual-band, so you do miss out on the 6-GHz band, but you get all the other advantages of Wi-Fi 7. It also has a generous array of ports and comes with free security software and parental controls. Support for VPN service, separate IoT or guest networks, and Ai Mesh rounds out an excellent device. —Simon Hill
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TV & Audio
Best TV Deal: TCL QM6k for $498 ($252 off)
This is our favorite TV for most people, because it offers excellent color and great processing, and contains virtually every app you could want. Mini LED backlighting means that you’ll have excellent contrast and plenty of performance in bright rooms, and TCL’s anti-glare technology makes it nice even when sunlight hits it. Its price is the main appeal; you’ll pay hundreds of dollars more for a TV that looks any better. —Parker Hall
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Best Streaming Device Deal: Roku Streaming Stick Plus for $19 ($21 off)
The Roku Streaming Stick Plus is what I’d recommend for anyone who just wants to enable an older TV to stream modern apps. It looks fine, but I’d get a nicer stick if you have a newer TV. That said, you really cannot beat this $20 price. This is a device that can breathe new life into an older screen in your basement or garage, or which you can use to stream your shows in a hotel room without being too annoyed if you someday leave it behind. —Parker Hall
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Best Soundbar Deal: Yamaha Audio SR-C30A for $220 ($60 off)
This is our favorite soundbar system for most people, thanks to its great wireless subwoofer, solid audio processing, and compact footprint below most screens. If you have been struggling to hear the voices on screen, or you’re just looking for a more cinematic experience, I recommend the SR-C30A. —Parker Hall
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Best Bluetooth Speaker Deal: JBL Flip 7 for $110 ($40 off)
JBL’s Bluetooth speakers are some of our favorites on the market, and the Flip 7 is no different. We like how durable it is, as well as how loud the tube-shaped speaker can get when placed on a table or in a corner. —Parker Hall
Best Headphone Deal: Sony WH-1000XM6 for $398 ($62 off)
These are the best noise-canceling headphones from Sony, and among the best wireless headphones you can buy. They have insane processing power that can easily silence even the loudest sounds around you, and the included microphones are also awesome for Zoom calls. Sound quality is excellent, with custom-made drivers delivering Sony’s sleek and flat sound. —Parker Hall
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Mobile Devices & Charging
Best Smartphone Deal: Google Pixel 10 for $599 ($200 off)
Google’s brand-new Pixel 10 is one of the best Android phones on the market right now—it’s rare to find a phone at this price, especially on sale, with a triple-camera system that includes a 5X optical zoom sensor. 5X! That means you won’t have trouble capturing sharp photos of birds up in the tree, your kid earning their diploma, or your favorite artist onstage. Not to mention this is one of the first flagship Android phones with Qi2 magnets, meaning, like Apple’s iPhones, you can magnetically attach the phone to wireless chargers and docks for speedy charging (and attach various fun magnetic accessories). Best of all is Google’s smart software; yes, there’s a lot of generative AI creep that isn’t super useful, but tools like Call Screen can filter out spam calls, and Now Playing automatically tells you what song is playing at the coffee shop without you having to lift a finger. Read our Best Pixel Phones guide for more details. —Julian Chokkattu
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Best Mobile Accessory Deal: Nomad 65W Slim Power Adapter for $41 ($8 off)
This is my favorite charger, and I’ve been using it for all my gadgets for several years. Nomad’s 65-watt charger is incredibly slim, and it can fit in the tiniest pouches of a bag or purse. It comes with two USB-C ports. When both are in use, you get 45 watts out of the left port and 20 out of the right. If one device is plugged in, the 65 watts of power is more than enough for tablets and phones, and should be sufficient for a MacBook Air or Windows laptop (unless it’s a high-powered machine). —Julian Chokkattu
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Best Tablet Deal: Apple iPad A16 (2025) for $274 ($75 off)
The current model of iPad (A16) has dropped below the $300 price we typically see on sales. This is a basic tablet that functions as a second screen for everything from watching movies on a flight to checking the news in bed without your reading glasses.
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Best Power Bank Deal: Nimble Champ for $20 ($5 off)
The Nimble Champ has topped our best power banks guide for a few years, largely because we appreciate the 90 percent certified recycled plastic construction and fully biodegradable packaging. It’s smaller than a pack of cards, with an eye-catching speckled design and a handy carry loop. This 5,200 mAh capacity portable charger has USB-A and USB-C ports and can charge at up to 15 watts. If you need more power, there are deeper discounts on the larger capacity models. You get a 3.3-foot USB-C to USB-C cable in the box. —Simon Hill
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Best Kindle Deal: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (12th generation) for $125 ($35 Off)
Amazon’s family of Kindle e-readers is popular for a reason, and our all-around favorite is the Kindle Paperwhite (12th generation). The latest generation came out last fall, and it’s got just about everything we want in an e-reader: an auto-adjusting warm light, a three-month battery life, snappy performance, integration with Overdrive so you can get your library books, and the ability to “speak” several languages. It doesn’t have a color screen, but it does have a proper dark mode, which Kindle’s color e-reader doesn’t have. The Signature version is also on sale. —Nena Farrell
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Best Digital Notebook Deal: reMarkable 2 Bundle for $408 ($70 Off)
One of the best digital notebooks you can get is the reMarkable 2. It’s my favorite budget option, which might seem weird since it’s not necessarily the cheapest option (it’s the same price as the Kindle Scribe) it’s the best for the features and the available accessories like a keyboard folio at the price point, and it is a lower price point than you’ll find for the rest of reMarkable’s lineup or competitors like Supernote. You can get bundles (you’ll need to choose both a marker and folio) of the reMarkable 2 for $70 right now, letting you add on your favorite folio or upgrade the marker without paying as much as you usually would. The digital notebooks from reMarkable are rarely on sale, so don’t miss this one. —Nena Farrell
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Home & Kitchen
Best Home Office Deal: Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro for $424 ($75 off)
This is our top office chair recommendation for most people. Branch’s Ergonomic Chair Pro offers a ton of adjustments, from seat pan to lumbar support, all while looking pretty. It’s hard to find affordable, good office chairs, especially under $500, but Branch is one of the few companies delivering in this price bracket. We’ve rounded up more deals on Branch products here. —Julian Chokkattu
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Best Vacuum Deal: Dyson V15s Detect Submarine for $699 ($351 Off)
This is the lowest price we’ve seen all year for this fantastic Dyson vacuum. It’s our favorite vacuum cleaner for both wet and dry cleaning, since it takes the technology we love from the V15 and adds a wet mop head attachment. You sadly can’t buy the attachment and use it with an existing V15, but if you’re already in the market for a new stick vac and want one that can do both, WIRED reviewer Adrienne So says this vacuum is one of the best things that has ever happened to her. —Nena Farrell
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Best Air Purifier Deal: Dyson HushJet Purifier Compact for $300 ($50 off)
The debut of Dyson’s first tabletop-sized air purifier was just announced in September; it’s finally here, and we’ve tried it. Its claim to fame is that it uses electrostatic filtration, which incorporates electrically charged plates to attract dust, pollen, dander, and other allergens. In our guide to the Best Air Purifiers, WIRED contributor Lisa Wood Shapiro notes this means the filter can last up to five years, as opposed to six to 12 months like a typical HEPA. She thought it was a little loud, measuring twice the advertised decibels on its highest setting, but is otherwise a great option for smaller areas like bedrooms. —Kat Merck
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Best Security Camera deal: Arlo Pro 5S Security Camera for $85 ($95 off)
The Arlo Pro 5S tops our best outdoor security cameras guide by offering crisp 2K video, color night vision, a wide 160-degree field of view, and clear two-way audio. It also boasts reliable AI recognition for people and pets, a direct Wi-Fi connection, and a siren to scare intruders away. The Arlo app is swift to load, boasts the best notifications, and supports two-factor authentication, so you can log in with your fingerprint or face, phone permitting. The catch is a pricey subscription (Arlo Secure costs $8 per month for one camera or $13 per month for unlimited cameras) that’s required for subject recognition, smart alerts, and cloud storage. —Simon Hill
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Best Smart Bird Feeder Deal: Netvue by Birdfy Smart Bird Feeder (No Solar/AI) for $100 ($100 off)
This is the best price you’ll find all year for our all-around favorite smart bird feeder. It may not be the fanciest model, but it’s user-friendly and reliable. You can enjoy it without a subscription (though for the AI identification and image/video storage, you’ll want to spring for the extra $5 a month), and the app makes it easy to save and share great captures of birds. Note that Birdfy only works with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, and the base model comes without a solar panel. I don’t mind this, as Birdfy’s panel has to be mounted separately, and it’s hard to do this when the feeder is installed on a pole, which is what I recommend. —Kat Merck
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Best Indoor Garden Deal: Gardyn Studio 2 for $412 ($137 off)
I test indoor hydroponic garden systems all year round, and Gardyn has been my consistent favorite. I have two of them—the Home 4, with 30 plants, and the brand-new Studio 2, with 16 plants—and they both look like living works of art, overflowing with everything from peas and peppers to nasturtiums and even canna lilies. The systems do take a fair amount of maintenance, but as a busy, full-time working parent, it’s nothing I haven’t been able to handle. If you’ve been curious about these, all Gardyn systems are now 20 percent off for Black Friday, netting you $180 off a Home or $111 off a Studio. If you don’t mind the older, original studio, that’s on an even deeper discount for just $337. They also come with a free 30-day trial of Kelby, the AI growing assistant that plans your watering and maintenance schedules for you. —Kat Merck
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Best Water Filter Deal: Canopy Handheld Shower Wand for $105 ($45 Off)
Canopy is the best filtered shower wand I’ve tested, a tri-layer filter my tests showed to reduce the total chlorine levels in my water to undetectable levels out of the box, and maintain most of this effectiveness for a couple months before a refill. Filter replacement is easy, meaning you’re likely to actually do it, and Canopy’s filter replacements don’t cost as much as some competitors. The upfront price is usually more of a barrier, but $45 off is a very good discount. —Matthew Korfhage
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Best Kitchen Deal: Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro for $300 ($100 Off)
This is Breville’s top-line piece of kitchen hardware, an air fryer and oven that has better precision than any other oven I’ve tested. It toasts evenly across the oven and can air fry chicken wings to admirable crispness, dehydrate fruit, and also roast a 14-pound turkey. The Breville Joule—the same oven, but with a handy autopilot feature— is on almost the same sale, and it’s $400. Both are the cheapest they’ve been this year. But this $300 price, for an oven I know to serve well for years, is hard to pass up. —Matthew Korfhage
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Best Coffee Deal: Moccamaster KBGV for $248 ($112 Off)
The Moccamaster KBGV drip coffee machine is a rare combination of qualities. It is an absolute tank, a forever resident of WIRED’s highly selective buy-it-for-life list with a five-year warranty, replaceable parts, and lifetime repairability. But it is also a creature of remarkable precision, hand assembled in the Netherlands to produce some of the cleanest cups of drip coffee I’ve tasted. As someone in the coffee industry what’s on their counter. There’s a good chance they say Moccamaster. It’s more than $100 off right now (different colors have different discounts). —Matthew Korfhage
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Best Espresso Deal: Ninja Luxe Cafe Pro for $600 ($150 Off)
The Ninja Luxe Cafe Pro is the upgrade version of Ninja’s first-gen semi-automatic Luxe Cafe Premier espresso machine, which rocketed to become one of the most popular espresso machines on the planet last year. The Pro is a genuine upgrade: a better tamper, a hot water spout, a great milk automatic steamer, and the best cold frother in the business. This is the lowest price I’ve seen it, and while supplies last you can also get a free travel mug, knock box, or pitcher. Best for lovers of medium or dark roast beans. —Matthew Korfhage
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Beauty & Wellness
Best Smartwatch/Fitness Tracker Deal: Apple Watch Series 10 for $310 ($120 off)
If you already own an Apple Watch, I generally do not advocate upgrading to the latest model, given they’re all pretty iterative. I do think that this year’s Series 11 is worth getting because, for the first time ever, it really does have a full 24 hours of battery life. But last year’s Series 10 (Apple’s 10th anniversary watch) has the same S10 chip as the latest watches. It also has the same slim case, large screen, and is compatible with watchOS 26 (with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone), so you can still enjoy the Liquid Glass design, Workout Buddy, and flick away Smart Stack with your wrist. —Adrienne So
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Best Fitness Deal: Hyperice Hypervolt 2 for $179 ($50 Off)
The Hypervolt 2 is our first choice for a percussive massage gun. While the Theragun Pro Plus is a top-tier option for serious athletes—and on sale for $550 (originally $650)—the Hypervolt 2 offers a more affordable alternative. At just 1.8 pounds, it packs a powerful brushless 60-watt motor, three speed settings, and five different massage heads designed for most muscle groups. Plus, it can connect to the Hyperice app via Bluetooth for guided routines, provides up to three hours of battery life, and is TSA-approved for carry-on travel. —Boutayna Chokrane
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Best Beauty Deal: GHD Curve Soft Curl Iron for $167 ($72 off)
One of our favorite curling irons because it heats up fast—in just 25 seconds, to be exact—and features an ergonomic design that’s intuitive for beginners who need help keeping their hair in place. It’s 30 percent off, priced at $167, which could cover the cost of one to three salon visits, depending on the shop. —Boutayna Chokrane
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Best Sleep Deal: Hatch Restore 3 for $134 ($36 off)
Time to stop doomscrolling and start falling asleep, but it’s hard for your brain to switch gears. The Hatch Restore 3 is a sound machine that helps you establish both a nighttime and a morning routine, complete with a sunrise alarm clock feature to kickstart your day gently. You’ll need a Hatch+ membership to access the vast library of sounds, podcasts, and stories, but with the Restore 3 at the lowest price we’ve seen this year, you can reallocate your funds toward it. And based on our testing, both are worth it. —Julia Forbes
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How Does WIRED Find the Best Deals?
We spend our entire working lives testing products and, in part, tracking how much they cost. That way, we can spot a good deal from one that’s just a markdown of an artificially inflated price (a practice far too common, sadly). We also use price-checking tools like Camelcamelcamel, but since we only cover items we’ve actually tested, it’s not that hard for us to keep track of prices and know what’s a good deal and what’s not.
What Is the Best Time to Shop?
In a word: now. The best Black Friday deals are happening right now, and we’ve rounded up our favorites in this guide. In the olden days, Black Friday was just one day long. Shoppers would camp outside of stores, paper circulars in hand, eagerly awaiting the chance to bust down some doors and save a ton of cash. Fast-forward to the internet, and now Black Friday lasts more or less the entire month of November.
Tech
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?”
Tech
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.
Tech
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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