News

IT legislation and regulation

• December 10, 2021 10 Dec'21

  Loan charge: Tax experts call on chancellor for simpler, more affordable policy settlement terms

  A group of tax barristers and accounting experts are calling on Rishi Sunak to force HMRC to revise its loan charge settlement terms

• December 08, 2021 08 Dec'21

  Russia may be collaborating with US to bring cyber criminals to heel

  Trustwave’s SpiderLabs says its analysis of chatter on underground dark web forums suggests cyber criminals are starting to panic that formerly ‘friendly’ governments are on their case

• December 08, 2021 08 Dec'21

  CIO interview: Nicola Wadham, Financial Ombudsman Service

  CIO Nicola Wadham brings Computer Weekly up to speed on the Financial Ombudsman Service’s IT challenges and successes

• December 08, 2021 08 Dec'21

  UK privacy chief denies conflict of interest in new role

  UK information commissioner will join a private law firm that represents technology companies she used to regulate, raising questions about conflicts of interest and drawing ‘revolving door’ criticisms

• December 08, 2021 08 Dec'21

  Number of .uk domain suspensions at record low

  Statistics from Nominet show how effective law enforcement action against cyber crime in the UK is paying off

• December 07, 2021 07 Dec'21

  Loan charge: MPs call on financial secretary for new independent review into HMRC policy

  In a seven-page letter to newly appointed Treasury minister Lucy Frazer, MPs highlight the legal flaws in HMRC's controversial loan charge policy and demand a new independent review

• December 06, 2021 06 Dec'21

  Streaming surges see BT chief call for new net neutrality regulations

  Marc Allera demands action on fairness in internet carriage as Amazon-hosted Premier League football drives new peak in traffic, 12% above previous high

• December 03, 2021 03 Dec'21

  IR35: Government consultation on umbrella companies fuels regulation hopes

  The government has embarked on a consultation to understand better how the umbrella market works, which is a move that has been cautiously welcomed by contracting market stakeholders

• December 03, 2021 03 Dec'21

  Bank of Ireland fined €24.5m for business continuity failures

  Bank of Ireland hit with multi-million euro fine by central bank following an investigation

• December 03, 2021 03 Dec'21

  Serious violence duty in PCSC Bill would gut UK data rights

  Proposed data gathering powers for UK police could override existing data protection rules, damage citizens’ trust in essential public services and further entrench discriminatory policing practices

• December 02, 2021 02 Dec'21

  IR35 reforms: Contractors report widespread blanket bans and project disruption in impacts survey

  A poll of more than 3,000 contractors about how the roll-out of the IR35 reforms affected them brings to light widespread use of blanket bans

• December 01, 2021 01 Dec'21

  Unesco member states adopt AI ethics recommendation

  The non-binding recommendation seeks to define a common set of values and principles to guide the development of ethical AI globally

• December 01, 2021 01 Dec'21

  Cloud-based Redwood becomes latest challenger bank to make a profit

  Cloud-based business bank becomes the latest of the new wave of challengers to achieve profit

• November 30, 2021 30 Nov'21

  HMRC denies outside-IR35 hiring ban as accounts reveal agency’s reliance on umbrella workers

  HM Revenue & Customs accounts reveal marked rise in total number of temporary workers it engages, with most of them providing services through umbrella firms

• November 30, 2021 30 Nov'21

  Financial Ombudsman Service takes step towards digital transformation with Workday

  Ombudsman uses human resource and financial management software in the cloud

• November 30, 2021 30 Nov'21

  Over 100 civil society groups call for changes to EU AI Act

  Civil, human and digital rights organisations sign open letter calling on European policymakers to put fundamental rights at the heart of the proposed Artificial Intelligence Act

• November 26, 2021 26 Nov'21

  UK’s surveillance culture may be normalising use of tech for abuse

  Intense surveillance of public spaces by UK authorities may be playing a part in the normalisation of cyber stalking in intimate relationships

• November 25, 2021 25 Nov'21

  Government must prove its plans to police encryption work, says ex-cyber security chief

  Ciaran Martin, the former UK cyber security chief, says the government must explain how it can access encrypted communications without damaging cyber security and weakening privacy

• November 24, 2021 24 Nov'21

  Regulation of AI needed to avoid the mistakes of social media

  Government is urged to work with industry on a flexible regulatory framework to ensure the explainability, reliability and robustness of artificial intelligence

• November 24, 2021 24 Nov'21

  Consumer cyber bill to protect mobiles, smart devices

  Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill will reinforce protections for consumer devices and mandate improvements to default security settings

• November 24, 2021 24 Nov'21

  Apple sues under-fire malware firm NSO

  Lawsuit alleges spyware firm NSO Group targeted Apple’s users, adding to the pressure on the under-fire company

• November 24, 2021 24 Nov'21

  Police tech introduced with little scrutiny or training

  A Lords inquiry into the adoption of advanced algorithmic technologies by police in England and Wales has been told that new tools are being introduced without proper training and with little scrutiny of their impacts

• November 23, 2021 23 Nov'21

  FTTH Council Europe calls on policymakers for measures to reap full-fibre rewards

  Industry organisation with a mission to advance ubiquitous full-fibre connectivity across Europe welcomes publication of the European Commission’s latest ‘Digital economy and society index’ and calls for demand-side measures to boost take-up of ...

• November 19, 2021 19 Nov'21

  UK government announces safety tech challenge fund winners

  The Safety Tech Challenge Fund winners will now develop technologies to limit the spread of child abuse material in encrypted environments, which the government has claimed will not be repurposed for other uses

• November 19, 2021 19 Nov'21

  GCHQ, NSA chiefs recommit to counter cyber threats

  UK and US intelligence services reaffirm a joint commitment to disrupt and deter new and emerging cyber threats

• November 18, 2021 18 Nov'21

  UK government enshrines law to strip out ‘high-risk’ suppliers’ tech from networks

  UK Telecommunications (Security) Act receives Royal Assent, mandating stronger legal duties on telecoms firms to protect the UK’s networks and giving the government new powers to control use of high-risk suppliers

• November 18, 2021 18 Nov'21

  Sky ECC provided free cryptophones to a Canadian police force

  Internal emails disclosed in a US court show how Sky Global supplied sample encrypted phones to a Canadian police force before its phone users became subject to an international police investigation

• November 18, 2021 18 Nov'21

  Cryptophone supplier Sky Global takes legal action over US government website seizures

  Canadian tech company Sky Global has filed a legal motion claiming that the US government unlawfully seized the company’s internet sites following police investigations into the use of its cryptophones by organised crime

• November 16, 2021 16 Nov'21

  One-fifth of NCSC-supported cyber incidents linked to Covid-19

  National Cyber Security Centre has helped to thwart multiple cyber incidents that could have seriously disrupted the UK’s response to the pandemic

• November 15, 2021 15 Nov'21

  UK government proposes new rules for digital supply chain security

  Proposals could see IT service providers legally required to adhere to the NCSC’s Cyber Assessment Framework, among other things

• November 15, 2021 15 Nov'21

  Openreach in consultation over next stage in transition to fibre

  BT-owned UK broadband provision firm accelerates plan to stop selling copper-based broadband and traditional voice services, aiming to use five pilot areas to develop and test approaches for mass-migrating end-users to new digital offers

• November 15, 2021 15 Nov'21

  Government bodies refuse FOI requests on basis of misleading database search times, says academic

  The Information Commissioner’s Office tells tribunal it would need to bring in external experts to search data using an Excel spreadsheet

• November 15, 2021 15 Nov'21

  CaixaBank system normal after migration of millions of customer accounts

  Spain’s CaixaBank has successfully completed the migration of millions of Bankia customers to its systems

• November 12, 2021 12 Nov'21

  New law needed to rein in AI-powered workplace surveillance

  MPs and peers call for new legislation to regulate the growing use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, which is being used to surveil workers’ performance and behaviour

• November 12, 2021 12 Nov'21

  Ofcom introduces rules to ease rural broadband development

  UK comms regulator aims to address key issue preventing proliferation of gigabit broadband to hard-to-reach places

• November 12, 2021 12 Nov'21

  Oversight of biometrics and surveillance should not go to ICO

  Biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner Fraser Sampson has panned the UK government’s proposed plan to absorb the functions of those roles under the remit of the information commissioner

• November 11, 2021 11 Nov'21

  Finance ombudsman overturns more than three-quarters of bank decisions on APP fraud

  The financial services ombudsman is siding with customers in over 75% of complaints against banks that refuse to repay losses to authorised push payment fraud

• November 10, 2021 10 Nov'21

  EU artificial intelligence regulation risks undermining social safety net

  Europe’s proposed artificial intelligence regulation will not adequately protect people from European governments' increasing use of the technology in social security decisions and resource allocation, says Human Rights Watch

• November 09, 2021 09 Nov'21

  Yoti develops age estimation algorithm for under-13s

  Age estimation technology developed by Yoti is being pitched as a way of helping social media platforms and other online businesses protect younger internet users from harm

• November 09, 2021 09 Nov'21

  More than 90% of Virgin Media O2’s network now gigabit-ready

  After switching on gigabit-capable services for 1.6 million more homes, UK cable provider claims to be within touching distance of enabling its entire network to access broadband download speeds of up to 1.13Gbps

• November 09, 2021 09 Nov'21

  Blockchain technology will help banks will cut cross-border payment costs by $10bn in 2030

  The use of blockchain technology in cross-border payments will save global banks $10bn in 2030, according to research

• November 09, 2021 09 Nov'21

  US seeks to extradite REvil affiliate who attacked Kaseya

  US Department of Justice unseals charges against a Ukrainian national accused of being behind the summer 2021 REvil ransomware attack on Kaseya

• November 09, 2021 09 Nov'21

  Government and Post Office should stop discussing Horizon victim compensation and pay it

  The first hearing in the Post Office Horizon scandal public inquiry hears why victims should be paid compensation immediately

• November 08, 2021 08 Nov'21

  Gig economy workforce nearly trebles over five years

  Over four million people in England and Wales now work for gig economy platforms at least once a week, marking a nearly threefold increase since 2016

• November 05, 2021 05 Nov'21

  Digital secretary calls for permanent online safety committee

  Digital secretary commits to establishing ongoing oversight of the Online Safety Bill and its implementation, and suggests the grace period on criminal liability for tech company execs should be shortened from two years to a maximum of six months ...

• November 05, 2021 05 Nov'21

  US offers $10m reward for intel on DarkSide ransomware gang

  US government puts up a $10m reward for information on the DarkSide ransomware gang, the group that attacked Colonial Pipeline six months ago

• November 05, 2021 05 Nov'21

  Police interview former Fujitsu staff for second time in potential perjury investigation

  Former Fujitsu staff who gave evidence in subpostmaster trials have been questioned by police for a second time

• November 04, 2021 04 Nov'21

  The Netherlands works on resilience with large-scale national cyber exercise

  For the Netherlands, the biggest challenge in a large-scale cyber crisis is to maintain speed while exercising due care

• November 03, 2021 03 Nov'21

  Spyware firm NSO and others added to US banned Entity List

  US government bans target Israeli spyware makers and cyber firms in Russia and Singapore

• November 03, 2021 03 Nov'21

  Facebook self-imposes facial recognition moratorium

  Facebook and Meta have committed to halting their use of facial recognition technology and deleting the biometric data of more than a billion people by the end of 2021, but will retain the underlying algorithms and software for potential use in ...