News

IT legislation and regulation

• April 11, 2024 11 Apr'24

  Government dismisses Lords’ concerns over facial recognition

  UK government is claiming police forces’ use of live facial recognition is comprehensively covered by existing laws, in response to a Lords investigation that found police lacked a clear legal basis to deploy it

• April 10, 2024 10 Apr'24

  Biden considering whether to end prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

  US president Joe Biden says he is considering requests by Australia to end the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under espionage and computer fraud charges

• April 10, 2024 10 Apr'24

  Subpostmasters stealing from branches ‘didn’t make sense,’ former judge tells inquiry

  The former judge who chaired a scheme set up by the Post Office to settle claims against its Horizon system said he told bosses their prosecutions of subpostmasters "didn't make sense"

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Public worried by police and companies sharing biometric data

  More than half of the British public do not feel comfortable with police forces sharing biometric data with the private sector, including facial recognition images, to tackle crimes such as shoplifting

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Is a cyber arms control treaty out of reach?

  The world needs cyber arms control more than ever, but the challenges facing a multilateral agreement will be hard to surmount, according to researchers at Germany’s Digital Society Institute

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Greek government fined over AI surveillance in refugee camps

  Greece’s Data Protection Authority has issued a €175,000 fine against the country’s migration ministry over its deployment of artificial intelligence-powered security systems in refugee camps after the watchdog’s investigation found ‘serious ...

• April 08, 2024 08 Apr'24

  UN adopts ‘landmark’ resolution on making AI safe and trustworthy

  A UN draft resolution promoting the use of artificial intelligence in sustainable development and the protection of human rights was backed by over 120 member states

• April 05, 2024 05 Apr'24

  China ramps up use of AI misinformation

  Microsoft researchers have identified a growing pattern of AI-laced misinformation and political interference coming from Chinese threat actors

• April 04, 2024 04 Apr'24

  Changes needed for SOCs and CSIRTs, claims Dutch research institute

  Cyber security specialists need a game-changer to keep up with their adversaries, who increasingly use automation and AI for their attacks

• April 02, 2024 02 Apr'24

  Microsoft pushes Teams out of M365 and O365 bundle globally

  Microsoft claims Teams push out of bundle will simplify pricing, with enterprise IT buyers possibly better off

• April 02, 2024 02 Apr'24

  US and UK agree AI safety collaboration

  The UK and US governments have signed an agreement to forge close ties between their respective AI Safety Institutes

• March 29, 2024 29 Mar'24

  Organisations getting better at spotting identity fraud

  As the barriers to committing identity fraud continue to drop, organisations should consider more sophisticated technical measures to successfully up their game, according to a report

• March 28, 2024 28 Mar'24

  Sellafield to be prosecuted over alleged cyber compliance failure

  Sellafield Ltd, the organisation responsible for cleaning up and decommissioning the UK's largest nuclear waste site, is to be prosecuted over alleged cyber security failings dating back to 2019

• March 28, 2024 28 Mar'24

  Counter-eavesdropping agency unlawfully used surveillance powers to identify journalist’s source

  More than 750 journalists had their communications data accessed by law enforcement and government agencies between 2018 and 2022

• March 27, 2024 27 Mar'24

  Lord Holmes: UK cannot 'wait and see' to regulate AI

  Legislation is needed to seize the benefits of artificial intelligence while minimising its risks, says Lord Holmes - but the government’s ‘wait and see’ approach to regulation will fail on both fronts

• March 26, 2024 26 Mar'24

  Apple, Meta and Alphabet under EU scrutiny

  Under the new Digital Markets Act, European commissioners are looking at potential issues with the way Apple, Alphabet and Meta operate their platforms

• March 26, 2024 26 Mar'24

  US authorities charge seven over Chinese hacking

  The US Department of Justice has charged seven Chinese nationals linked to the APT31 threat actor that targeted politicians in the UK and US

• March 25, 2024 25 Mar'24

  Which? calls for government action on fake banking sites

  Amid high volumes of spoofed, fraudulent banking websites, Which? is calling for the government to implement new legal obligations for domain registrars

• March 22, 2024 22 Mar'24

  Court finds EncroChat hacked messages admissible as former footballer is jailed

  A judge in ‘lead’ EncroChat case found that messages obtained by police from the encrypted phone network can be lawfully used in evidence

• March 22, 2024 22 Mar'24

  Open Data Institute launches digital policy manifesto

  The Open Data Institute has launched a policy manifesto ahead of the UK general election that outlines policies and issues it believes must be part of the political discussion around digital and data

• March 21, 2024 21 Mar'24

  US sues Apple, alleging smartphone monopoly

  A major legal action against Apple over its dominance of the smartphone market has kicked off in the US, alleging anticompetitive practices on Apple’s part that have damaged the sector and restricted consumer choice

• March 21, 2024 21 Mar'24

  IR35 reforms: IT contractors urged to reclaim tax they may have overpaid in off-payroll settlements

  With the government set to fix the settlements offset issue from 6 April, contractor insurance firm Qdos is urging individuals who worked for non-compliant IR35 organisations to see if they can reclaim any money they have overpaid

• March 20, 2024 20 Mar'24

  Ukrainians crack network that stole 100m email, social accounts

  Three members of an organised cyber criminal group who hacked and appropriated personal email and social media accounts face up to 15 years in prison

• March 18, 2024 18 Mar'24

  Spring Budget risks funding legally questionable police tech

  Open legal questions around how UK police are using facial recognition and cloud technology could undermine the £230m investment committed in the Spring Budget to “time and money-saving technology” for police

• March 18, 2024 18 Mar'24

  G7 nations sign deal to harness AI potential

  G7 nations will produce a joint report on how to increase artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, boost growth of the quantum sector and create an AI toolkit to inform policy-making

• March 15, 2024 15 Mar'24

  UK government calls on comms firms to limit installation of telegraph poles

  After public demonstrations, minister urges communications industry to ‘do whatever it takes’ to share existing infrastructure to avoid ‘inappropriately or unnecessarily throwing up’ new telegraph poles

• March 15, 2024 15 Mar'24

  London Mayor’s Office reprimanded over data breach

  The London Mayor’s Office has been reprimanded by the ICO after an internal error exposed the data of people who had made complaints against the Metropolitan Police

• March 13, 2024 13 Mar'24

  US authorities move a step closer to banning TikTok

  Lawmakers in Washington DC have moved a step closer to enacting a broad national ban on controversial video app TikTok in the US, with global ramifications

• March 11, 2024 11 Mar'24

  Government not facing up to CNI cyber risks, committee warns

  The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy has accused the government of burying its head in the sand over the cyber threat to UK critical infrastructure

• March 11, 2024 11 Mar'24

  Vinnova launches National Digital Advancement project

  Swedish state innovation initiative invests in a network of regional research and development centres

• March 11, 2024 11 Mar'24

  TechUK calls for next government to introduce ‘industrial strategy’ for AI

  Trade group TechUK publishes blueprint calling for winner of next election to boost tech startups, digitise government services and accelerate technology R&D

• March 07, 2024 07 Mar'24

  CCS U-turns on G-Cloud 14 insurance requirements after supplier backlash

  The government procurement agency has reversed previous plans for a £20m increase in insurance cover that threatened to deter smaller suppliers from bidding for cloud computing contracts

• March 07, 2024 07 Mar'24

  UK altnets call for action after attacks on fibre infrastructure

  UK altnets raise concerns after a series of attacks on telecoms networks, demanding DSIT and Ofcom take responsibility to review current rules, from sentencing to policing to industry compliance

• March 07, 2024 07 Mar'24

  Indian government issues advisory to mitigate AI risks

  Tech firms will require permission from the government to use and provide under-tested or unreliable AI models and software to Indian users

• March 07, 2024 07 Mar'24

  MPs call for Post Office exclusion from compensation schemes, as trust hits rock bottom

  Former subpostmasters and MPs do not trust the Post Office to do the right thing for victims of the Horizon IT scandal

• March 06, 2024 06 Mar'24

  Nation states buying hacking tools from underground Russian cyber forums

  State-sponsored hacking groups, posing as hacktivists, are using Russian cyber crime forums to stock up on cyber weapons, says Check Point Software’s threat analyst, Sergey Shykevich

• March 06, 2024 06 Mar'24

  Post Office prosecutions during Horizon go-live phase are ‘frightening’

  The Post Office used subpostmasters as guinea pigs to test its software and take the rap for its errors

• March 05, 2024 05 Mar'24

  ALPHV/BlackCat gang vanishes amid ransomware ‘turmoil’

  Mystery surrounds the apparent disappearance of the ALPHV/BlackCat cyber crime gang amid reports that a prominent US victim paid a $22m ransom

• March 05, 2024 05 Mar'24

  Open Rights Group accuses LiveRamp of ‘unlawful’ data processing

  Privacy campaigners at Open Rights Group have submitted formal complaints to UK and French data regulators about allegedly unlawful data processing by online advertising firm LiveRamp

• March 05, 2024 05 Mar'24

  Dutch organisations start building a federated European cloud

  The ‘European cloud services in an open federated ecosystem’ (ECOFED) project is co-funded by the Dutch government and will run from 2024 to 2027

• March 05, 2024 05 Mar'24

  Keepit brings backup and restore to unprotected SaaS applications

  SaaS backup specialist keeps data in its own cloud datacentres, protects cloud data across numerous platforms and aims to give customers the ability to rapidly add data sources

• March 05, 2024 05 Mar'24

  American Express customers exposed through third-party breach

  US card giant warns customers that their personal details may have been exposed after a third party experienced a systems breach

• March 05, 2024 05 Mar'24

  Banning ransomware payments back on the agenda

  The idea of banning ransomware payments to cyber criminals is back on the agenda, with former NCSC chief Ciaran Martin arguing that tougher measures need to be taken

• February 29, 2024 29 Feb'24

  Home Office GPS tagging of asylum seekers breaches data protection law

  The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued an enforcement notice against the Home Office after finding its programme to tag asylum seekers with GPS monitors breaches data protection law

• February 28, 2024 28 Feb'24

  IR35 reforms: PAC concerned HMRC’s ‘tough’ enforcement is harming contractors

  The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has raised red flags over how HMRC is policing the IR35 rules out of concern its actions might be putting public and private sector organisations off hiring contractors

• February 28, 2024 28 Feb'24

  Government urged to take a pro-innovation approach to quantum regulation

  Responsible innovation, learning from AI and the use of foresight techniques should inform policymaking

• February 28, 2024 28 Feb'24

  CCS accused of pricing G-Cloud SMEs out of framework with £20m insurance cover hike

  The Crown Commercial Service’s commitment to helping SMEs win more government cloud deals is being called into question again, following news that it is planning to up the insurance cover required by G-Cloud 14 suppliers by £20m

• February 26, 2024 26 Feb'24

  LockBit bids to save face after NCA takedown

  The LockBit gang’s ringleader resurfaces with new infrastructure and new victims, claiming to have shrugged off a multinational police sting

• February 26, 2024 26 Feb'24

  Secret court hears claims of police surveillance against journalists

  Journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey argue that the use of covert powers by the police to identify their confidential sources represents an attack on press freedom

• February 23, 2024 23 Feb'24

  NCA trolls under fire LockBit gang leaders

  The NCA has teased details of the identity of LockBit's main admin via the gang’s compromised dark web site, and hinted that he has been engaging with law enforcement