News

IT legislation and regulation

• April 13, 2021 13 Apr'21

  EncroChat lawyers raise questions over use of PII secrecy orders on UK decryption capabilities

  Lawyers claim that public interest immunity certificates may have been used to withhold information on UK intelligence agencies’ ability to decrypt encrypted communications

• April 09, 2021 09 Apr'21

  Egypt, Italy and US most affected in Facebook leak

  Researchers at VPN firm Surfshark have been analysing data on 533 million people leaked from Facebook

• April 09, 2021 09 Apr'21

  Loan Charge Group MPs demand IR35 shake-up to stop contractors becoming ‘zero-rights employees’

  Inquiry by Loan Charge All-Party Parliamentary Group calls on government to tweak IR35 legislation during passage of next Finance Bill

• April 08, 2021 08 Apr'21

  Nation-state cyber attacks double in three years

  Cyber attacks backed by nation states are becoming more frequent and varied, moving the world closer to a point of ‘advanced cyber-conflict’, according to a University of Surrey research project

• April 07, 2021 07 Apr'21

  Facebook ducks calls to apologise over huge data leak

  Facebook gives its side of the story as data on millions of its users leaks, but is yet to apologise for security lapses that put half a billion people at risk of compromise

• April 07, 2021 07 Apr'21

  Digital Markets Unit starts work on codes of conduct for tech giants

  Digital markets regulator officially launched to ensure tech giants such as Facebook and Google cannot exploit their market dominance to crowd out competition and stifle innovation online

• April 07, 2021 07 Apr'21

  Irish employees’ ‘right to disconnect’ enshrined in code of practice

  A code of practice giving employees the ‘right to disconnect’ from work and not engage in electronic communications outside of their normal hours has come into effect in Ireland

• April 06, 2021 06 Apr'21

  Facebook data leak could be outside scope of GDPR

  Regulators may be unable to do much about leaked data on 533 million Facebook users, as it seems to have been stolen before GDPR came into force

• April 06, 2021 06 Apr'21

  US court issues Google API with Java ruling

  US Supreme Court rules that specifying an API function call to enable third-party developers to access functionality should not be copyrighted

• April 06, 2021 06 Apr'21

  IR35 reforms: Private sector start date prompts mixed picture of predictions for contracting market

  The IR35 tax avoidance reforms take hold in the private sector, prompting a mixed picture of predictions from stakeholders about what the future holds for contractors in the UK

• April 01, 2021 01 Apr'21

  Clearer service information could add 1.6 million full-fibre homes by 2025

  Report finds that the speed at which Britain could benefit from the economic and social impact of billions of pounds of full-fibre infrastructure investment could be improved by clear labelling and information on broadband services

• April 01, 2021 01 Apr'21

  EncroChat hearings delayed as lawyers seek disclosure on police hacking

  Court hearings precipitated by police cracking the EncroChat secure mobile phone network have been delayed after defence lawyers request further disclosures on police decryption capabilities

• April 01, 2021 01 Apr'21

  IR35 reforms: Loan charge and employers’ NI issues prompt calls for legislative revamp

  As the government prepares to extend the IR35 reforms to the private sector, contracting stakeholders say it is high time the ‘flawed’ legislation was scrapped entirely

• March 31, 2021 31 Mar'21

  IR35 reforms: HMRC denies ‘squandering’ datasets that could rid umbrella sector of rogue players

  Concerns grow about the number of IT contractors at risk of joining non-compliant umbrella firms ahead of the IR35 reforms taking hold in the private sector

• March 31, 2021 31 Mar'21

  Nordics run information sharing on digital vaccination passports

  Nordic countries advance plans for digital Covid-19 vaccination passports in a bid to kick-start their economies

• March 30, 2021 30 Mar'21

  IR35 reforms: Slow government progress on umbrella regulation exposes IT contractors to tax risks

  With thousands of IT contractors set to start working through unregulated umbrella companies for the first time when the IR35 reforms take hold in the private sector, concerns are growing about the danger this could pose to their income and tax ...

• March 29, 2021 29 Mar'21

  How far has open banking come in Europe?

  Open banking is a relatively new concept, having come into effect in Europe only in the last couple of years. So what is the state of play?

• March 29, 2021 29 Mar'21

  Backup survey: UK councils’ downtimes five times longer than average

  Backup product supplier Veeam’s freedom of information request finds councils’ average downtime is seven hours and that backup and disaster recovery testing is not done frequently

• March 29, 2021 29 Mar'21

  UK courts face evidence ‘black hole’ over police EncroChat mass hacking

  French investigators have refused to disclose how they downloaded millions of messages from a supposedly secure cryptophone network used by organised criminals – leaving UK courts to grapple with a forensic ‘black hole’ of evidence

• March 26, 2021 26 Mar'21

  Openreach defies Covid to hit full-fibre target

  BT-owned broadband provision division includes more than 170 city locations in multi-billion-pound gigabit broadband build including cities of Birmingham, Belfast, London and Manchester

• March 25, 2021 25 Mar'21

  Cyber security complacency puts UK at risk, says NCSC head

  National Cyber Security Centre CEO Lindy Cameron, in her maiden speech in the role, warns of challenges ahead for the UK and sets out the future agenda for cyber

• March 23, 2021 23 Mar'21

  IR35 reforms: Confusion over who pays employers’ NI leaves IT contractors out of pocket

  Litigators are circling as thousands of contractors realise that the 2017 roll-out of IR35 reforms to the public sector may have resulted in unlawful tax deductions – and the private sector could be next

• March 22, 2021 22 Mar'21

  Altnet association warns of threat to UK full-fibre roll-out

  Independent Networks Co-operative Association warns that recent momentum in gigabit broadband implementation could be delayed if independent providers and their investors believe UK comms regulator is not willing to listen to their concerns

• March 22, 2021 22 Mar'21

  CIO interview: Juliette Atkinson, IT director, Bradford University

  Bradford University’s IT director took a different route than most to get into IT leadership

• March 19, 2021 19 Mar'21

  UK government aims to get national broadband project back on track with Project Gigabit

  First areas revealed in £5bn government scheme to deliver gigabit broadband connections to help recovery from the pandemic, achieve growth and levelling up

• March 18, 2021 18 Mar'21

  Ofcom revamps wholesale broadband rules to ramp up full-fibre roll-out

  UK comms regulator announces new guidelines for the UK wholesale telecoms market, with the principal aim to drive investment in fibre gigabit services and support the closure of the UK’s copper network

• March 18, 2021 18 Mar'21

  Vaccine passports cannot put basic rights at risk, warns BCS

  BCS warns of challenges to come as the government presses on with its plans for Covid-19 vaccine passports

• March 17, 2021 17 Mar'21

  Ofcom raises £1.356bn in principal stage of new 5G spectrum auction

  After announcing their plans to extend and improve basic 4G connectivity around the country, the UK’s mobile operators are celebrating their principal gains in the 5G arena with low-band and mid-band spectrum

• March 17, 2021 17 Mar'21

  Cyber sector welcomes PM’s defence review

  Security commentators approve of measures to improve the UK’s cyber resilience, strengthen its R&D and skills base, lead on the development of new technology and promote a free, open, peaceful and secure global internet

• March 16, 2021 16 Mar'21

  Banks still lack tech skills at the top

  Banks have made progress in adding IT knowledge in their boardrooms, but they need more as digital transformation accelerates

• March 16, 2021 16 Mar'21

  Government calls for input into Covid-19 vaccine passports

  Evidence gathering exercise will inform the development of the UK’s proposed Covid-19 vaccine passport scheme

• March 15, 2021 15 Mar'21

  UK plans ‘full spectrum’ approach to national cyber security

  PM Boris Johnson expands on proposed National Cyber Force and plans to set up a north of England Cyber Corridor

• March 15, 2021 15 Mar'21

  IR35 private sector reforms: IPSE warns of UK contracting talent exodus unless start date delayed

  Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed research into what contractors plan to do once the IR35 reforms come into play highlights growing risk of talent shortages

• March 12, 2021 12 Mar'21

  IR35 private sector reforms: IT contractors ‘growing reluctant’ to work for ‘blanket banning’ firms

  IT-focused staffing company Ellis Recruitment Group shares its take on how the contracting market is responding to the private sector firms enforcing blanket bans

• March 11, 2021 11 Mar'21

  UK digital regulators set out plans to strengthen cooperation

  Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum outlines plans for the coming year, marking a shift towards a more collaborative regulatory approach

• March 11, 2021 11 Mar'21

  Attack on surveillance cameras a warning over security, ethics

  The attack on a video surveillance startup by a hacktivist group raises questions not just over cyber security, but the use and extent of surveillance technology

• March 10, 2021 10 Mar'21

  Met Police chooses Capgemini as strategic IT infrastructure services provider

  Capgemini has a history of providing the force with day-to-day technology services, and will now deliver its infrastructure services under the Pegasus programme

• March 10, 2021 10 Mar'21

  Government’s refusal of freedom of information request about Post Office scandal ‘deeply concerning’

  MP condemns department’s ‘bizarre’ rejection of freedom of information request linked to Post Office IT scandal

• March 10, 2021 10 Mar'21

  Police crack world’s largest cryptophone network as criminals swap EncroChat for Sky ECC

  Belgian and Dutch police have breached the encryption of users of Sky ECC, the world’s largest cryptophone network. There are significant parallels with the international police operation against the EncroChat cryptophone network which led to ...

• March 09, 2021 09 Mar'21

  Belgian police raid 200 premises in drug operation linked to breach of encrypted phone network

  More than 1,600 police and law enforcement officials conduct drug raids after the compromise of an encrypted mobile phone network that has parallels with EncroChat

• March 09, 2021 09 Mar'21

  EBA restores services after Microsoft Exchange attack

  European Banking Authority was breached through vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server, but is now back online

• March 08, 2021 08 Mar'21

  US teases retaliation over state-backed cyber attacks

  Consequences for alleged perpetrators of the SolarWinds attack are expected within the next few weeks

• March 05, 2021 05 Mar'21

  Affordable legal advice for all – from a robot

  Artificial intelligence project strives to make legal advice affordable to the whole of society

• March 05, 2021 05 Mar'21

  Innovation underpinned by trustworthy governance, says CDEI

  Public support for greater use of digital technologies such as AI depends on how much trust people have in its governance, says report

• March 04, 2021 04 Mar'21

  IR35 private sector reforms: HMRC under fire over ‘omission’ of employers’ NI from webinar guidance

  HM Revenue & Customs confirms it has corrected a calculation error in a recent educational IR35 webinar that saw it fail to factor in employers’ NI in examples of how payments should be made between end-clients, agencies and PSCs post-April 2021

• March 04, 2021 04 Mar'21

  UK contactless payment limit more than doubled

  UK increases the amount that can be spent in one go using a contactless payments card to £100

• March 03, 2021 03 Mar'21

  IR35 private sector reforms: Hays calls on Treasury to delay April 2021 start date by a year

  UK and Ireland managing director of recruitment giant Hays writes to HM Treasury to demand a delay and review of the government’s plans to roll out the IR35 reforms to the private sector from April 2021

• March 02, 2021 02 Mar'21

  EU seeking pan-European Covid-19 passport solution

  The European Union’s proposal could see the creation of a Covid-19 vaccine passport to enable travel across the EU

• March 02, 2021 02 Mar'21

  Goldman Sachs CEO comments highlight need for home working balance

  The remote working revolution has been prominent in the banking sector and organisations have a balancing act to perform once the pandemic passes

• March 01, 2021 01 Mar'21

  Digital secretary Dowden outlines UK post-Brexit data approach

  The UK government is searching for a new information commissioner with an updated remit to use data to support growth and innovation, and plans on reaching new international data partnerships

• March 01, 2021 01 Mar'21

  Covid accelerates Bradford University remote working project

  Pandemic injected fuel into university’s existing project to introduce remote working

• March 01, 2021 01 Mar'21

  What it means to be born digital

  We speak to Robert Wigley about his new book, Born Digital, which looks at the societal impact of Generation Z

• March 01, 2021 01 Mar'21

  IR35 private sector reforms: Royal Mail contractors ‘frustrated’ by tax status test regime

  Royal Mail contractors are ‘frustrated’ by the lack of transparency over their changing tax status, as the company confirms it is moving those ‘likely to be’ inside IR35 onto PAYE working arrangements

• February 26, 2021 26 Feb'21

  IR35 private sector reforms: Argos to offshore work of digital team in Milton Keynes to Mumbai

  Retailer Argos confirms it has ‘identified opportunities’ to offshore tasks performed by its digital team, while its IR35 compliance strategy has seen the majority of contractors declared in-scope of the new rules, sources claim

• February 25, 2021 25 Feb'21

  IR35 private sector reforms: Contractors call for further delays to April 2021 start date

  Research by the online tax consultancy arm of Ernst & Young reveals lack of preparedness among contractors for the onset of the IR35 tax avoidance reforms in the private sector

• February 25, 2021 25 Feb'21

  GCHQ sets out rules of the road for AI in cyber

  A paper produced by GCHQ shows how the intelligence agency can use artificial intelligence responsibly as a tool to protect the UK’s national security

• February 25, 2021 25 Feb'21

  Npower shuts off app after credential stuffing attack

  Npower customers will have to log in to their accounts on its website after its app was withdrawn following a security breach

• February 25, 2021 25 Feb'21

  Tech-enabled hybrid working enables HSBC to cut 40% of its global office space

  Bank is making huge reductions in the amount of office space it uses through a global hybrid-working policy

• February 25, 2021 25 Feb'21

  MHRA and other agencies to offer new resources for scam victims

  New landing page resources will replace .uk domains suspended for criminal activity to help members of the public access appropriate guidance

• February 25, 2021 25 Feb'21

  IR35 private sector reforms: What IT contractors need to know

  Computer Weekly asks contracting experts to answer questions about PSC bans, compliant umbrella companies and challenging status determinations, with the latest IR35 reforms coming into place

• February 24, 2021 24 Feb'21

  Internet companies should provide real-time data on disinformation, Lords told

  Fact-checking experts tell House of Lords inquiry that upcoming Online Safety Bill should force internet companies to provide real-time information on suspected disinformation, and warn against over-reliance on AI-powered algorithms to moderate ...

• February 24, 2021 24 Feb'21

  Businesses forced to ask IT service providers for help during pandemic

  IT service providers have been approached by long-time enterprise customers asking for price cuts due to the impact of the pandemic

• February 23, 2021 23 Feb'21

  Tech worker-centric umbrella company launches to target IT contractors 'displaced' by IR35

  As the number of private sector firms enforcing blanket bans on contractors grows, Techcentre Umbrella is offering IT workers ‘displaced’ by the reforms a safe haven, claims its founder

• February 23, 2021 23 Feb'21

  AI powers reputational damage insurance policy

  Reputational damage has an immediate impact on a company’s share price, and brand loyalty built over many years can be lost in an instant

• February 22, 2021 22 Feb'21

  Malaysia government intervenes to drive 5G forward

  The government of Malaysia pledges to spend 15bn ringgit to set up an entity that would be granted spectrum and operational scope to manage 5G roll-outs

• February 22, 2021 22 Feb'21

  Pandemic has exposed fractures in cyber fraud strategy

  RUSI report urges a bolder and more coordinated response to cyber-enabled fraud as the pandemic lays bear the scale of the problem

• February 19, 2021 19 Feb'21

  European Commission proposes UK data adequacy agreement

  The publication of two draft data adequacy decisions brings the UK closer to a final positive decision, which will enable the continued free flow of data between the EU and the UK if green-lit by member states

• February 19, 2021 19 Feb'21

  NCSC cyber defence scheme blocked thousands of scams in 2019

  The NCSC has reported another productive year for its Active Cyber Defence programme

• February 19, 2021 19 Feb'21

  Uber drivers should be classified as ‘workers’, UK Supreme Court confirms

  Supreme Court ruling brings Uber’s four-year legal battle to have its drivers classified as self-employed to an end, and could see its drivers in line to receive thousands of pounds in compensation

• February 19, 2021 19 Feb'21

  Biden will act on cyber security to fix SolarWinds mess

  US will take action to modernise its defences in the wake of the SolarWinds attack, says US government cyber lead Anne Neuberger

• February 18, 2021 18 Feb'21

  Swedish police fined for unlawful use of facial-recognition app

  Sweden’s data watchdog has found that Swedish police failed to conduct the data protection checks required by law before using controversial facial-recognition tool

• February 18, 2021 18 Feb'21

  HMRC accused of 'utter hypocrisy' over use of IT contractors enrolled in tax avoidance schemes

  Campaign group calls for HMRC to face an investigation, while accusing the department of ‘utter hypocrisy’ for using IT contractors enrolled in disguised remuneration schemes

• February 18, 2021 18 Feb'21

  Assessing UK law enforcement data adequacy

  Data protection experts discuss the consequences of achieving data adequacy between the UK and EU for the UK’s intelligence services and criminal justice sector

• February 17, 2021 17 Feb'21

  North Korean Lazarus Group hackers indicted in US

  Charges filed relate to Lazarus Group’s long-running cyber crime spree, including financial theft and extortion, WannaCry malware and the cyber attack on Sony Pictures

• February 17, 2021 17 Feb'21

  Egregor ransomware arrests confirmed

  Authorities confirm that they have arrested an undisclosed number of cyber criminals associated with the Egregor ransomware

• February 17, 2021 17 Feb'21

  HMRC denies misleading House of Lords over IT contractors’ use of tax avoidance schemes

  MPs from Loan Charge All-Party Parliamentary Group write to HMRC CEO Jim Harra to demand the department be investigated for breaching the civil service code

• February 17, 2021 17 Feb'21

  Swedish central bank extends digital currency project

  Sweden's central bank has extended its pilot of a digital currency for at least another year

• February 17, 2021 17 Feb'21

  Law firm and cyber criminals clash over source of stolen data

  Cyber attack victim Jones Day says its data was stolen in a supply chain attack, but the gang holding it to ransom disagrees

• February 16, 2021 16 Feb'21

  Qatar regulator launches platform to monitor human understanding of financial crime

  Qatari financial services regulator works with global body to provide digital platform to assess whether financial services workers understand how to prevent financial crime

• February 16, 2021 16 Feb'21

  Egregor ransomware associates arrested amid disruption

  Undisclosed number of arrests made in Ukraine after investigators tracked bitcoin ransom payments

• February 16, 2021 16 Feb'21

  IR35 private sector reforms: HMRC reminds firms to use ‘reasonable care’ when applying new tax rules

  As the countdown to the IR35 reforms being rolled out to the private sector continues apace, HM Revenue and Customs issues compliance guidance for firms in-scope of the new rules

• February 12, 2021 12 Feb'21

  University benefited from early virtual desktop investments when pandemic struck

  Edinburgh Napier University was able to react quickly to some of the main challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic

• February 12, 2021 12 Feb'21

  UK border surveillance regime highly privatised, says Privacy International

  Research from Privacy International raises concerns about the deep involvement of technology companies in the development and deployment of various technologies throughout the UK’s border regime, along with the lack of scrutiny they receive

• February 11, 2021 11 Feb'21

  Hacked Finnish therapy business collapses

  Vastaamo, the Finnish psychotherapy centre whose patients were blackmailed by a cyber criminal gang, has filed for bankruptcy

• February 11, 2021 11 Feb'21

  Goldman Sachs reopens UK digital savings account

  US banking giant resumes online account for UK savers after temporarily withdrawing it in response to high demand

• February 10, 2021 10 Feb'21

  Sim-swapping crooks targeted celebrities, influencers

  Eight arrests have been made in England and Scotland in connection with a series of Sim-swapping attacks targeting high-profile victims

• February 10, 2021 10 Feb'21

  Tech sector calls for renewed cooperation in global digital tax talks

  Industry groups want renewed multilateral negotiations between countries about taxation of the digital economy in the wake of Joe Biden’s election as US president

• February 09, 2021 09 Feb'21

  Oracle claims major win in Australian public sector

  Australian Data Centres will deploy Oracle’s Dedicated Region [email protected] to host cloud services for the federal government

• February 09, 2021 09 Feb'21

  Facebook sued for data-sharing practices with third parties

  Data protection claim filed in London against social media giant for its alleged failure to give at least one million users in England and Wales meaningful control over their personal data

• February 09, 2021 09 Feb'21

  IR35 private sector reforms: Deloitte confirms post-April 2021 ban on PSCs

  Consultancy giant confirms that contractors will only be able to engage with it via a third-party umbrella or employment agency after April 2021, as part of its IR35 compliance strategy

• February 08, 2021 08 Feb'21

  Get ready for fake work epidemic

  Remote working has become a fact of life for many office-based workers during the pandemic, and there has also been a rise in remote staff monitoring

• February 08, 2021 08 Feb'21

  Data of thousands of Dutch citizens leaked from government Covid-19 systems

  Weak access controls and outdated systems blamed for leaking of the personal details of thousands of Dutch citizens tested for Covid-19

• February 08, 2021 08 Feb'21

  Sweden to establish national cyber security centre

  Sweden becomes latest Nordic state to establish a national cyber security centre as the threat landscape grows

• February 05, 2021 05 Feb'21

  Security firm Stormshield loses source code in cyber attack

  Source code from two products developed by French cyber security firm was compromised in a December 2020 incident

• February 05, 2021 05 Feb'21

  Denmark and Sweden to issue digital vaccine certificates

  Sweden and Denmark announce plans to develop digital certificates that prove people have been vaccinated against Covid-19

• February 04, 2021 04 Feb'21

  Woodland Trust hit by cyber attack in December

  Conservation charity is investigating what it describes as a ‘sophisticated’ cyber attack but has waited nearly two months to inform its members

• February 04, 2021 04 Feb'21

  Fraud and cyber crime still vastly under-reported

  The scale of digitally enabled crime in the UK is dramatically under-reported, new statistics indicate

• February 03, 2021 03 Feb'21

  Has Covid-19 made bank branch closures easier to sell?

  Big banks continue to close branches and invest more in technology as the Covid-19 pandemic makes a case for digital banking

• February 02, 2021 02 Feb'21

  Nordic region provides autonomous vehicle test bed

  Nordic region has the suppliers, environment and appetite for pioneering the development of autonomous vehicles

• February 01, 2021 01 Feb'21

  UKRI suspends services after ransomware attack

  UK Research and Innovation was hit by an undisclosed strain of ransomware at the end of January