News
IT legislation and regulation
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September 19, 2023
19
Sep'23
Braverman puts pressure on Meta to pause end-to-end encryption plans
The home secretary is calling on Meta to halt its plans to introduce encrypted messaging services on Facebook and Instagram until the company puts measures in place to detect abuse
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September 18, 2023
18
Sep'23
Unregulated DeFi services abused in latest pig butchering twist
Pig butchering scammers are taking advantage of the unregulated nature of DeFi crypto trading apps to siphon off even more money from their victims, according to the latest findings of an ongoing investigation
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September 18, 2023
18
Sep'23
Government seeks industry views on cyber threat to UK CNI
The Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee is seeking evidence from the cyber sector as it launches an inquiry into the resilience of the UK's critical national infrastructure
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September 15, 2023
15
Sep'23
TikTok fined €345m under GDPR for failing to protect children’s privacy
Data protection regulators warn social media companies to take all necessary measures to protect children’s privacy
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September 15, 2023
15
Sep'23
Manchester police data breach a classic supply chain incident
The developing data breach at Greater Manchester Police follows a cyber attack on the systems of a key supplier of ID services to the force
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September 14, 2023
14
Sep'23
Google, Microsoft and Mozilla push browser updates to foil zero-day
A zero-day in Google’s Chrome browser was first reported by surveillance researchers at The Citizen Lab and Apple, but also affects other browsers
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September 14, 2023
14
Sep'23
As vehicle safety regulations loom, carmakers fret over cyber risks
Global, UN-backed car safety and security regulations come into force next year, and automotive bosses say they are not only unprepared, but “swamped” by a tide of compliance and security risks
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September 13, 2023
13
Sep'23
GCHQ breached privacy rights of IT professional and security researcher, human rights court rules
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg finds UK intelligence services breached the privacy rights of two overseas nationals – an IT professional and a security researcher
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September 13, 2023
13
Sep'23
Altnet trade body slams regulator for spiking UK broadband prices
Association of UK independent broadband providers criticises national comms regulator’s “failure” to recognise cost to consumers of lack of market competition and contribution of altnets in market
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September 13, 2023
13
Sep'23
NCSC and ICO sign MoU to forge deeper collaborative links
The scope of the MoU signed by the NCSC and the ICO includes collaboration on new cyber regulations and guidance, and how to support cyber attack victims appropriately and minimise regulatory penalties
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September 12, 2023
12
Sep'23
European fintech investment plummets, but more sustainable future lies ahead
Investment in European fintechs has seen a dramatic drop, but a more sustainable sector will result from investment discipline
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September 11, 2023
11
Sep'23
Brits happy to break cyber law if the price is right
A study conducted ahead of an upcoming security trade fair reveals a slim majority of Brits would come out in favour of offensive government security ops and even engage in cyber criminality themselves in the right circumstances
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September 08, 2023
08
Sep'23
Virgin Media O2 to begin switching off 3G network in 2025
As its network evolves and looking to enhance customer experience and improve services, VMO2 announces plans to pull plug on legacy mobile network to focus on upgrading faster, more reliable and energy-efficient infrastructure
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September 08, 2023
08
Sep'23
Sensitive NatWest customer files set to be returned after High Court agreement
Sensitive NatWest customer files set to be secured by bank after years in the home of a data breach whistleblower
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September 07, 2023
07
Sep'23
UK minister fails to reassure tech companies over encryption risk
Technology companies say reassurances by government ministers that they have no intention of weakening end-to-end encrypted communication services do not go far enough
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September 07, 2023
07
Sep'23
Government AI taskforce appoints new advisory board members
An initial progress report published by the Taskforce provides detail on new appointments to its external advisory board as well as rebrand to focus on “frontier” artificial intelligence
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September 05, 2023
05
Sep'23
Law firm Fieldfisher launches data breach management tool
UK and European data breach law specialist Fieldfisher has enlisted legal tech specialist Lawcadia to supply a 24-hour data breach notification assessment platform
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September 01, 2023
01
Sep'23
Police Scotland five-year digital strategy approved
Police Scotland’s new strategy outlines how the force will approach and invest in its digital transformation over the next five years, but notes its ability to achieve its ambitions is subject to the availability of funding
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August 30, 2023
30
Aug'23
Cyber world hails downfall of Qakbot trojan
A multinational law enforcement hacking operation disrupted the botnet infrastructure used to distribute the Qakbot trojan at the weekend, in a major setback for the cyber criminal underworld
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August 30, 2023
30
Aug'23
Met police data platform deployed with data protection issues
Met Police deploys integrated record management system despite data protection ‘compliance issues' that would inhibit its ability to retrieve data, meet its statutory logging requirements, and respond to subject access requests
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August 28, 2023
28
Aug'23
India gets ready for new data protection regime
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act will shape the way businesses collect, secure and use personal data as India looks to protect data privacy while driving innovation and economic growth
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August 24, 2023
24
Aug'23
Teenage Lapsus$ ringleader was responsible for crime spree, UK court rules
A court has ruled that Arion Kurtaj, allegedly a key player in the Lapsus$ cyber extortion syndicate, was responsible for the group’s year-long campaign of cyber attacks
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August 18, 2023
18
Aug'23
NatWest customer calls bank’s handling of breach of his data ‘disgusting’
A second NatWest customer has contacted Computer Weekly after finding out from a whistleblower that his sensitive personal data has been in her home for 14 years
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August 15, 2023
15
Aug'23
Biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner resigns
Dual biometrics and surveillance camera watchdog will step down at the end of October 2023, noting that while he agreed to stay on until the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill received royal assent, continuing delays to its passage means ...
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August 14, 2023
14
Aug'23
NatWest offers compensation to customer affected by data breach exposed by whistleblower
NatWest bank has offered compensation to a former customer affected by a data breach alongside around 1,600 other former and current customers
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August 14, 2023
14
Aug'23
US Cyber Board to probe cloud security after latest Exchange hack
CSRB review of cloud security comes in the wake of a major Chinese cyber attack on US government bodies orchestrated through Microsoft’s cloud services
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August 10, 2023
10
Aug'23
PSNI investigating second breach after laptop stolen
Just hours after accidentally disclosing the personal details of 10,000 personnel, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has notified a second data breach after a police issue laptop and documents were stolen from a parked car
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August 09, 2023
09
Aug'23
Northern Irish police expose staff data in botched FoI response
Human error is being blamed for the leak of personally identifiable information on all serving officers and civilian staff at the Police Service of Northern Ireland
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August 08, 2023
08
Aug'23
UK voter data hacked in cyber attack on election watchdog
An unknown threat actor who attacked the UK’s Electoral Commission had access to data on millions of UK voters for over a year, the watchdog has revealed
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August 08, 2023
08
Aug'23
Workplace monitoring needs worker consent, says select committee
Employers looking to monitor their employees through connected devices should only to so with the consent of those affected due to negative impacts such surveillance can have on work intensification and mental health
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August 07, 2023
07
Aug'23
NHS trust suspends two governors as whistleblower email dispute continues
Governors at an NHS trust have been suspended after asking questions about emails used to bring a General Medical Council investigation against a whistleblower
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August 07, 2023
07
Aug'23
Rise in fraudsters spoofing the websites of leading UK banks
Despite safeguards to protect customers from scams, UK retail banks are still seeing high volumes of fake phishing websites exploiting their brands, and the problem seems to be increasing in scope and scale
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August 04, 2023
04
Aug'23
Biden’s SBOM mandate a ‘shot heard around the world’, report says
Two years and three months after Joe Biden mandated new standards in supply chain security, over 40% of UK respondents to a survey say they have implemented new SBOM policies in direct response
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August 03, 2023
03
Aug'23
Scottish NHS trust ducks fine after staff shared patient data via WhatsApp
NHS Lanarkshire has been issued a formal reprimand by the ICO after staff members used WhatsApp to share patients’ personal data with one another
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August 02, 2023
02
Aug'23
Improved rural connectivity could add £65bn to UK economy
Study from leading operator and economic consultancy points to potential massive economic boost to UK rural communities through increased digital connectivity and if long-standing obstacles are removed
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August 01, 2023
01
Aug'23
UK government announces 5G Innovation Regions fund
Applications now open for £40m financing designed to unlock 5G benefits across the UK with aim of sparking local ‘digital revolutions’ and pioneer digital connectivity for residents and businesses
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July 28, 2023
28
Jul'23
Risks of opening up AI
Meta has annouced that its Llama 2 large language model will be freely available under a community licence with certain restrictions
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July 27, 2023
27
Jul'23
HMRC hits back at contractor hiring ban claims after accounts reveal no outside IR35 workers
The government tax collection agency has once again been forced to deny it has banned the use of outside IR35 contractors following the publication of its latest set of accounts
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July 27, 2023
27
Jul'23
US cyber breach reporting rules to have global impact
Organisations that operate as Foreign Private Issuers in the US will have to get to grips with strict new cyber breach reporting regulations handed down by the SEC in Washington
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July 25, 2023
25
Jul'23
Tetra radio users’ comms may have been exposed for years
A number of flaws in the encryption algorithms used in the secure Tetra radio communications standard have potentially left users exposed to snooping
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July 24, 2023
24
Jul'23
Tribunal investigates complaint that journalists’ phones were unlawfully monitored
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal has agreed to investigate complaints by Northern Ireland investigative journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey that they were unlawfully placed under surveillance
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July 24, 2023
24
Jul'23
Bank of England’s project to replace ‘beating heart’ is foundation for continuous development
The Bank of England has reached a major milestone in its core system replacement programme, with next landmark in sight
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July 20, 2023
20
Jul'23
Electronic Trade Documents Act receives royal assent
Digital trade documents are to be accorded the same status in law as paper ones under a law implemented to help reduce paper waste and speed up the UK’s foreign trade
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July 20, 2023
20
Jul'23
Online Safety Bill screening measures amount to ‘prior restraint’
The Open Rights Group is calling on Parliament to reform the Online Safety Bill, on the basis that its content-screening measures would amount to “prior restraint” on freedom of expression
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July 20, 2023
20
Jul'23
How the DSMA balances security and privacy with press freedom
In a world of information sharing and 24-hour news cycles, the Defence and Security Media Advisory committee have to balance national security and data privacy with freedom of the press
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July 19, 2023
19
Jul'23
‘Significant gaps’ in UK AI regulation, says Ada Lovelace Institute
UK government’s plans to diffuse regulatory responsibility for AI among existing regulators will mean the tech is “only partially regulated”, while its data reforms will undercut already-limited existing protections, says Ada Lovelace Institute
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July 18, 2023
18
Jul'23
NATO membership to drive Nordic cyber security sector growth
The Nordic cyber security sector will see increasing demand as Finland and Sweden joint NATO
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July 17, 2023
17
Jul'23
Home Office failures on £2bn ESN project see “significant” costs to emergency services
Public Accounts Committee slams government for appearance of complacency in its confidence over much delayed, over-budget emergency services network and calls for revised delivery plan
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July 17, 2023
17
Jul'23
Police Scotland use cloud for biometric data despite clear risks
Police Scotland confirms it has stored significant volumes of biometric data on a cloud-based digital evidence sharing system despite major ongoing data protection concerns, bringing into question the effectiveness of the current regulatory approach...
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July 14, 2023
14
Jul'23
Fast-moving BT driving UK fibre deployment
Analysis by leading financial ratings firm shows how UK fibre landscape has changed, emphasising how BT is driving pace of deployment while altnets are still deploying despite higher interest rates and inflation