News

IT legislation and regulation

• 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 ...

• November 03, 2021 03 Nov'21

  UK’s Labour Party hit by third-party data breach

  Data on Labour Party members was recently compromised in an apparent cyber attack on a third-party data processor

• November 02, 2021 02 Nov'21

  Electronic waste excluded from COP26 agenda

  Data sanitation industry group calls on UK government to add electronic waste to the climate summit’s agenda

• November 02, 2021 02 Nov'21

  Convicted Silk Road admin stripped of £500k in crypto earnings

  Jailed Silk Road administrator Thomas White, aka Cthulhu, has been ordered to hand over more than £490,000 of illicit earnings

• November 01, 2021 01 Nov'21

  MPs and Lords grill Facebook over online safety efforts

  Facebook answers British lawmakers’ questions about the social media giant’s efforts to ensure the safety of its users, as part of legislative security of the government's proposed online safety bill

• November 01, 2021 01 Nov'21

  Payments through open banking could end card dominance

  Payments made through open banking will eat into those made using cards as the next five years sees an acceleration in adoption

• October 29, 2021 29 Oct'21

  UK government to drive gigabit broadband to half a million more rural UK homes

  Project Gigabit quarterly update Autumn 2021 reveals the estimated sequencing, scope and dates for the English Phase 3 rural projects which will see 570,000 more rural premises in line for full-fibre broadband.

• October 29, 2021 29 Oct'21

  Fibre to the fore for fixed broadband in Q2

  Though varied across different markets, overall quarterly global fixed broadband growth returns to normal at the end of the second quarter of 2021

• October 28, 2021 28 Oct'21

  CIA sought revenge against Julian Assange over hacking tool leaks, court hears

  The CIA discussed kidnapping Julian Assange after WikiLeaks published thousands of documents revealing its arsenal of hacking tools, defence lawyers tell a London court

• October 28, 2021 28 Oct'21

  Illegal state surveillance in Africa ‘carried out with impunity’

  Analysis of surveillance laws and practices in six African countries finds that existing privacy laws are failing to protect citizens from illegal digital surveillance, which is being facilitated and enabled by global tech companies

• October 27, 2021 27 Oct'21

  ‘No-one extradited from UK to US has committed suicide,’ US tells court in Assange appeal

  US government claims that a district judge has given WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a ‘trump card’ to avoid extradition  

• October 27, 2021 27 Oct'21

  Government commits millions to security investment

  Spending Review adds more than £750m of funding to improve cyber security resilience across government

• October 27, 2021 27 Oct'21

  Russian IT market growing steadily after pandemic

  Russia’s enterprise IT sector is recovering steadily after a slowdown caused by Covid-19

• October 26, 2021 26 Oct'21

  DarkMarket takedown results in 150 arrests

  A coordinated operation by law enforcement has seen 150 taken into custody amid allegations of buying or selling illicit goods on the dark web

• October 26, 2021 26 Oct'21

  Thought Machine: Google-inspired banking fintech to unicorn and beyond

  UK fintech unicorn Thought Machine is transforming the IT of large traditional banks, while working with fledgling digital-only challengers

• October 22, 2021 22 Oct'21

  MEPs vote to expand Europol data mandate

  The European Parliament has voted in favour of expanding Europol’s mandate to process data and develop AI tools, but critics claim it contradicts a previous vote which opposed using new technologies to predict crime

• October 21, 2021 21 Oct'21

  German regulator imposes limit on number of new customers digital bank can sign each month

  BaFin limits the number of new customers that digital bank N26 can enrol until it is reassured on issues it has raised about the company

• October 20, 2021 20 Oct'21

  Lloyds Bank closes more branches as customers migrate to digital channels

  Banking group has announced more closures as part of the ongoing reduction of its branch network

• October 20, 2021 20 Oct'21

  American Express announces global hybrid working model

  US credit card giant is latest corporate to formalise hybrid working following the success of informal policies introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic

• October 20, 2021 20 Oct'21

  Police IT buyers should compel suppliers to prove AI claims

  House of Lords told that UK law enforcement bodies should use their position as buyers to compel private sector suppliers to divulge more information about how their AI-powered technologies work

• October 18, 2021 18 Oct'21

  How Samlesbury, Lancashire became the home of the National Cyber Force

  The National Cyber Force, a new branch of the military, is gearing up to fight battles in cyber space from the fields of Lancashire. Its presence is expected to bring a high-tech renaissance to the region

• October 14, 2021 14 Oct'21

  UK government to provide full-fibre broadband to 1,000 schools

  New programme aims to give access to gigabit broadband speeds to UK schools while connectivity to nearly 7,000 hospitals, libraries, police stations and other public buildings will be upgraded by the end of March 2022

• October 14, 2021 14 Oct'21

  FCSA clarifies anti-tax avoidance stance of offshore Charter change for umbrella firms

  The Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA) has published a revised version of its membership Charter to reinforce its commitment to ensuring its members do not operate offshore tax avoidance schemes

• October 12, 2021 12 Oct'21

  BCS calls on government to retain protections against AI

  BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, wants the government to retain protections that allow people to have decisions about them made by an AI reviewed by humans if needed

• October 11, 2021 11 Oct'21

  Covid-19 will loom over cyber strategy for years to come

  In remarks delivered to a Chatham House conference, NCSC head Lindy Cameron reflects on the security challenges facing the UK, and sets out some plans for the future

• October 11, 2021 11 Oct'21

  IR35: FCSA defends Charter change that lets umbrella firms operate offshore setups

  Umbrella company accreditation body has moved to clarify the rationale behind a recent tweak to its membership charter amid accusations it could harm the sector’s reputation and encourage offshore tax avoidance

• October 11, 2021 11 Oct'21

  Sensitive documents to stay with whistleblower after deadline for agreement for their return passes

  A deadllne to agree the safe return of the sensitive banking details of former and current NatWest Group customers has passed without agreement

• October 11, 2021 11 Oct'21

  Singapore refreshes cyber security strategy

  The city-state updates its national cyber security strategy to shore up the security of critical infrastructure and enterprises while growing its cyber security industry, among other goals

• October 08, 2021 08 Oct'21

  Craft beer specialist Brewdog fixes serious app vulnerability

  Vulnerability in brewer’s mobile app could have resulted in serious consequences for its shareholders and customers

• October 08, 2021 08 Oct'21

  NatWest admits to weaknesses in anti-money laundering systems

  Bank pleads guilty to failures concerning the laundering of hundreds of millions of pounds, but says it has since improved its anti-money laundering systems

• October 07, 2021 07 Oct'21

  ICO expresses concerns over its future independence

  In its response to the government’s data protection consultation, the Information Commissioner’s Office has raised worries over its future ability to function independently of government interference

• October 07, 2021 07 Oct'21

  Twitch data breach investigations continue

  Investigations are ongoing into a 125GB data breach that hit livestreaming platform Twitch, apparently the work of hacktivists

• October 06, 2021 06 Oct'21

  MEPs approve report opposing certain uses of AI by police

  European policymakers have approved a report on the use of AI in criminal matters, rejecting several amendments in the process that would have made it easier for police to potentially conduct predictive analytics and biometric surveillance

• October 06, 2021 06 Oct'21

  US lawmakers propose ransomware reporting rules

  Former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren lends her support to a bill that would require corporate ransomware victims to disclose more information about their attacks to the authorities

• October 06, 2021 06 Oct'21

  Gaming service Twitch hacked, data leaked

  Users of livestreaming platform Twitch may be at risk after a 125GB torrent of data was leaked

• October 05, 2021 05 Oct'21

  CIO interview: Lisa Heneghan, chief digital officer, KPMG

  KPMG UK’s digital leader says that in her 25-year career she has never known a more exciting time to work in IT