News
IT legislation and regulation
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September 11, 2020
11
Sep'20
Facebook takes legal action against Irish privacy watchdog
Facebook’s legal action against the Data Protection Commission will attempt to preserve the company’s ability to transfer European citizens’ data to the US despite its lower privacy protections
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September 11, 2020
11
Sep'20
Government 'making progress' on Smart Freight System prep ahead of Brexit transition deadline
The government appears to be heeding warnings about the readiness of the Smart Freight border IT system, as the January 2021 Brexit transition deadline looms large
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September 10, 2020
10
Sep'20
Irish privacy watchdog orders Facebook to stop sending user data to the US
Irish privacy watchdog orders Facebook to suspend transfers of European citizens’ data to the US after Schrems II ruling that Europeans have no effective way to challenge American government surveillance
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September 09, 2020
09
Sep'20
US conspiracy charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange ‘politically motivated’
US journalism historian and investigative journalist Mark Feldstein tells a UK court that use of the Espionage Act against Assange will have wide implications for the press
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September 08, 2020
08
Sep'20
Julian Assange warned against interrupting witnesses in extradition hearing
On the second day of his extradition hearing at the Old Bailey, judge informs the WikiLeaks founder he could be removed and potentially banned from court for interrupting witnesses
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September 08, 2020
08
Sep'20
Scottish health bodies accelerate mobile Covid-19 detection technology
Scottish regional and national government take the high and fast road to developing contact-tracing technology to assist in preventing further spread of Covid-19
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September 07, 2020
07
Sep'20
Government DPOs challenged by volume of GDPR work
Data protection officers working across the UK government are finding it tough to keep up with the increased workload generated by GDPR, according to a report
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September 07, 2020
07
Sep'20
AI Summit 2020: Regulating AI for the common good
Speakers and panellists at the virtual AI Summit 2020 spoke about the tensions between cooperation and competition in the development of artificial intelligence
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September 03, 2020
03
Sep'20
Phishing scam targets Lloyds Bank customers
Bank customers warned of emails and SMS messages that direct them to a fraudulent site and then request account log-in details
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September 02, 2020
02
Sep'20
Ethical and professional data science needed to avoid further algorithm controversies
BCS is calling for higher ethical and professional standards in algorithmic development to ensure public trust in future government information systems
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August 28, 2020
28
Aug'20
University of Staffordshire recruits robots to get more out of its people
University staff were bogged down with administrative work, but will now have time to be creative
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August 28, 2020
28
Aug'20
Benefit fraud: Underground trade in stolen identities revealed
A roaring underground trade in stolen identities is undermining the Universal Credit system and could potentially defraud it out of millions of pounds
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August 27, 2020
27
Aug'20
NHS whistleblowers’ anonymity at mercy of inadequate trust IT policies and processes
They were clapped in the streets for their bravery at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, but some NHS staff who raise workplace concerns are suffering abuse as a result
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August 27, 2020
27
Aug'20
Financial services business leaders and CIOs disagree on IT infrastructure
IT leaders and senior business executives need to align their technology infrastructure priorities as businesses attempt to emerge from the Covid-19 crisis
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August 27, 2020
27
Aug'20
TikTok CEO clocks off
TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer has resigned from the firm after just three months
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August 26, 2020
26
Aug'20
Ministers urge local councils to lead on broadband and mobile
Digital minister Matt Warman and local government minister Simon Clarke want local councils to do their bit to help ensure better access to connectivity during the Covid-19 recovery
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August 26, 2020
26
Aug'20
Unwired Planet wins patent licensing case against Huawei
Landmark ruling goes in favour of Unwired Planet and Conversant Wireless and may define the future of telecoms patent licensing
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August 25, 2020
25
Aug'20
TikTok takes Trump to court
Under-fire video app TikTok files a formal complaint in the federal courts challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to ban it in the US
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August 21, 2020
21
Aug'20
Loan charge: Tax compliance charity demands criminal fraud investigation into scheme promoters
Tax compliance think tank TaxWatch is calling for a criminal fraud investigation to be launched into the promoters of disguised remuneration schemes to curb the continued proliferation of new tax avoidance arrangements
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August 21, 2020
21
Aug'20
TikTok’s GDPR compliance probed amid accusations of data misuse
Dutch privacy organisation SOMI claims TikTok falls short in protecting young users, and that it is likely violating GDPR
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August 21, 2020
21
Aug'20
MPs accuse ICO of failing to do its job on contact-tracing data
Cross-party group of MPs say the ICO has failed to enforce data protection standards or hold the government to account over the unlawful Test and Trace programme
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August 20, 2020
20
Aug'20
UKAS rejects ISO certification concerns
UK’s certification body says refreshed guidance is in place to cover the possibility of lapsed ISO certifications
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August 20, 2020
20
Aug'20
Social media data leak highlights murky world of data scraping
A data brokerage left its database of 235 million Instagram, TikTok and YouTube profiles exposed to anybody who cared to access it
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August 19, 2020
19
Aug'20
Coronavirus: Thousands of ISO certifications set to lapse
Delays and postponements in the auditing process are putting hard-earned security and data protection certifications at risk of lapsing
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August 19, 2020
19
Aug'20
Loan charge MPs urge chancellor to get HMRC to soften contractor settlements
Co-chairs of Loan Charge All Party Parliamentary Group write to Rishi Sunak to seek a fairer deal for contractors caught by HMRC’s disguised remuneration policy
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August 18, 2020
18
Aug'20
UK government needs a joined-up internet policy
Global internet firms want government to ensure its new digital strategy has coherent policy and regulatory goals
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August 17, 2020
17
Aug'20
The Security Interviews: How Crest is remaking the future of consultancy
Crest president Ian Glover taught himself cyber security while working on government computing systems in the 1970s and 1980s. Now he is on a decade-spanning mission to change security consultancy models
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August 14, 2020
14
Aug'20
ICO acknowledges GDPR concerns over A-level results scandal
Information Commissioner’s Office says it has engaged with exams regulator Ofqual after its use of an algorithm to calculate A-level grades backfired
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August 14, 2020
14
Aug'20
US decision to file new charges against Julian Assange ‘astonishing and potentially abusive’
Lawyer for WikiLeaks founder slams US decision to serve a second indictment at the 11th hour alleging that Assange conspired with hackers, as a potential abuse of process
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August 14, 2020
14
Aug'20
Oracle and Salesforce sued over online ad tracking
Class action lawsuits filed in Amsterdam and London will accuse Oracle and Salesforce of breaching GDPR in their processing and sharing of personal data to sell online advertising
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August 13, 2020
13
Aug'20
Loan charge: HMRC tells contractors not to ‘hold out hope’ of revised down settlements emerging
With the 30 September 2020 loan charge policy settlement date fast approaching, HM Revenue & Customs tells those in its scope to abandon hope of revised down settlements being offered at this stage
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August 12, 2020
12
Aug'20
EU and US start discussions on ‘enhanced’ Privacy Shield data-sharing agreement
Talks begin on a successor to the Privacy Shield EU-US data-sharing agreement declared unlawful in July 2020 – a decision by the European Court of Justice that left thousands of businesses facing legal uncertainty
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August 12, 2020
12
Aug'20
Police use of facial recognition found ‘unlawful’ in court
In a landmark decision, the Court of Appeal has ruled that South Wales Police’s facial recognition deployments breached human rights and data protection laws
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August 11, 2020
11
Aug'20
French data protection authorities to probe TikTok as suitors circle
France’s CNIL has confirmed a new investigation into TikTok’s data protection practices
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August 11, 2020
11
Aug'20
Hospitality sector is failing on contact-tracing obligations
Cyber security experts urge the government to do more to help small hospitality businesses improve their contact-tracing data-handling practices
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August 07, 2020
07
Aug'20
Isle of Wight trial shows positive effect of contact-tracing app, but data privacy body slams UK
Rare piece of good news for long-awaited but much-criticised mobile app as technical conference highlights the positive outcomes for first large public test of coronavirus contact-tracing service
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August 07, 2020
07
Aug'20
Data Standards Authority publishes guidance on government data sharing
The Data Standards Authority (DSA) wants government departments to use new open data standards when sharing data, with the aim of improving public services
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August 07, 2020
07
Aug'20
TikTok to be banned in US in 45 days
Trump says his Executive Orders against Chinese mobile apps are in the interests of dealing with a national emergency
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August 07, 2020
07
Aug'20
India’s software industry calls for cuts to red tape
Software industry lobby group iSpirt has called on the Indian government to ease the administrative burden of complying with rules related to taxes and trade
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August 06, 2020
06
Aug'20
If you hire foreign IT staff, ‘you’re fired’, Trump tells bosses in government-owned entities
Donald Trump has fired a pre-election warning to government organisations that give IT jobs to workers from overseas
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August 06, 2020
06
Aug'20
Canon said to be latest Maze ransomware victim
Canon may have had up to 10TB of its data exfiltrated by the Maze ransomware gang
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August 06, 2020
06
Aug'20
Coronavirus: IT contractors cite lack of government support during Covid-19 as source of stress
ContractorCalculator research highlights the mental health toll the pandemic is taking on IT contractors
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August 06, 2020
06
Aug'20
Footballers to take legal action over use of performance and tracking data
Planned lawsuit will argue that the use of players’ statistics by third-party companies is incompatible with footballers’ data rights
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August 05, 2020
05
Aug'20
Home Office drops ‘racist’ visa algorithm
The Home Secretary has pledged to stop using an algorithmic decision-making system to assess visa applications after migrant welfare and technology justice groups challenged the tool for helping to create a hostile environment for migrants
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August 04, 2020
04
Aug'20
Police require radical reform to deal with 21st century challenges
Early findings from a major review of policing reveal forces are struggling to keep pace with the changing nature of crime
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August 04, 2020
04
Aug'20
Google links with eight US banks for current accounts
Tech giant works with banks to layer digital services on top of secure and regulated banking infrastructures
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August 03, 2020
03
Aug'20
Microsoft offers way out of TikTok impasse
Microsoft offers to buy TikTok from its Chinese parent to ease security fears in the US
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July 31, 2020
31
Jul'20
Labour Party is latest victim of Blackbaud ransomware attack
Widening Blackbaud data breach ensnares the Labour Party as the cloud software firm continues to duck questions about its behaviour
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July 31, 2020
31
Jul'20
US lawmakers grill big tech chiefs over market power
Sixth antitrust hearing sees CEOs of major technology companies face combative questioning from members of Congress over their market power and dominance
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July 31, 2020
31
Jul'20
UK contact-tracing app to be launched ‘shortly’ as Northern Ireland deploys service
Launch imminent for long-awaited and controversial mobile application described as ‘cherry on the cake’ of UK’s Covid-19 test and trace strategy