News

IT legislation and regulation

June 04, 2020 04 Jun'20
Malaysian minister backtracks on spectrum allocation decision

Amid reports of a surreptitious decision to allocate spectrum to five Malaysian operators, the communications minister rescinds his own order, calling for a more transparent review of the allocation process
June 03, 2020 03 Jun'20
US senator implores UK legislators to ban Huawei from telecoms networks

US senator tells committee of MPs that deployment of Huawei in UK 5G phone networks would have been the equivalent of allowing Russia to build submarines during the Cold War
June 02, 2020 02 Jun'20
NIS security regulations proving effective, but more work to do

The UK’s NIS cyber security and risk regulations are proving somewhat effective, according to a government report
June 01, 2020 01 Jun'20
Coronavirus: Government under renewed pressure to ramp up support for limited company directors

Chancellor of the Exchequer's announced extensions of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme prompt renewed calls for more tailored financial support for limited companies

May 29, 2020 29 May'20
Trump signs executive order targeting social media firms

US president moves to weaken legal protections for social media companies after Twitter takes action on his posts
May 29, 2020 29 May'20
Test and Trace has not passed data protection impact assessment

Public Health England failed to complete the required impact assessment before launching the Covid-19 Test and Trace programme
May 28, 2020 28 May'20
IT contractors hit by delays in Covid-19 furlough scheme payments from umbrella companies

A lack of clarity over how Covid-19-related furlough pay calculations should be totalled up for IT contractors working for umbrella companies has left many facing financial hardship, it is claimed
May 28, 2020 28 May'20
European General Court annuls ban on proposed Three UK/O2 merger

Court reverses European Commission judgment blocking 2016 purchase of leading UK mobile providers
May 28, 2020 28 May'20
Public Health England to keep contact-tracing data for 20 years

PHE will retain the data it collects via the NHS Test and Trace programme for 20 years
May 28, 2020 28 May'20
UK government unveils NHS Test and Trace service to combat Covid-19

UK government unveils framework to stop the spread of coronavirus, but contact-tracing launch date not revealed

May 27, 2020 27 May'20
Fears contact-tracing app will open the floodgates for cyber criminals

Study of UK consumers reveals worries over an uptick in cyber crime and a lack of trust in government
May 26, 2020 26 May'20
Max Schrems accuses Ireland of ‘Kafkaesque’ delay in Facebook GDPR investigation

Privacy campaigner Max Schrems has urged the European Commission to intervene after the Irish Data Protection Commission allegedly used ‘Kafkaesque’ tactics to delay investigations into Facebook’s compliance with GDPR
May 26, 2020 26 May'20
The Security Interviews: Temper tantrums ahead as GDPR enters its terrible twos?

On the General Data Protection Regulation’s second birthday, Tim Hickman, a data protection lawyer and partner at White & Case LLP, discusses the regulation’s teething troubles and assesses how best to maintain optimum compliance
May 26, 2020 26 May'20
Thailand gears up for 5G

Thai government forms 26-member committee to develop a roadmap for 5G adoption and address roadblocks related to the recall of unused spectrum from state agencies
May 22, 2020 22 May'20
EasyJet to be sued over customer data breach

If successful, airline’s potential liability for the loss of millions of customer records could be as high as £18bn
May 22, 2020 22 May'20
Hancock to Harman: No contact-tracing privacy law

Health secretary claims existing data protection law is good enough to guarantee the security of contact-tracing data
May 21, 2020 21 May'20
UK contact-tracing app set to miss official launch date as Google, Apple release API

Government ministers aim to shore up contact-tracing strategy after junior minister concedes much-publicised app set miss-stated start date and Silicon Valley giants officially launch API for apps that follow different route than NHS
May 21, 2020 21 May'20
Facial-recognition suppliers race to identify hidden faces

The number of companies claiming to have developed facial-recognition tools that can identify masked faces has skyrocketed since the start of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic
May 19, 2020 19 May'20
GDPR wholly inappropriate to govern contact-tracing data

Human Rights Committee Chair Harriet Harman says current data protection law is not up to the job of governing the data collected by the Covid-19 contact-tracing app
May 19, 2020 19 May'20
Nine million EasyJet customer details lost in data breach

Cyber attack on EasyJet’s systems originated from a highly sophisticated source, says the airline
May 18, 2020 18 May'20
Privacy advocates demand clarity over Covid-19 datastore

Government and NHS face questions about the involvement of private technology companies with coronavirus datastore
May 14, 2020 14 May'20
Harman seeks to bring private member’s bill over contact tracing

Chair of Human Rights Committee aims to put the proposed Contact Tracing (Data Protection) Bill 2020 before parliament as a private member’s bill if necessary
May 14, 2020 14 May'20
Deutsche Bank’s planned tech spend unaffected by global crisis

Deutsche bank is driving on with its ambitious IT investment plans, with the Covid-19 pandemic, if anything, adding fuel to it
May 13, 2020 13 May'20
Report reveals inadequate cyber security at Schiphol Airport

A report has revealed problems with critical security systems in Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport
May 13, 2020 13 May'20
COO interview: Suresh Viswanathan, TSB

TSB’s chief operating officer is overseeing the bank’s operations as it strives to build the right kind of IT reputation
May 13, 2020 13 May'20
Nation state APT groups prefer old, unpatched vulnerabilities

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI have published details of the most commonly exploited vulnerabilities of recent years, and there are some “classics” on the list
May 13, 2020 13 May'20
Can Lady Gaga and Madonna get people to take security seriously?

What does it take to get people to pay attention to cyber security? A celebrity law firm hack may hold some answers
May 13, 2020 13 May'20
British public largely distrustful of technology companies, says report

High levels of distrust in the motivations of technology companies and a lack of meaningful influence over their behaviour has left the British public feeling digitally disempowered, says Doteveryone report
May 12, 2020 12 May'20
Coronavirus: Nationwide’s human expertise used to quickly build smart agent amid pandemic

Nationwide Building Society is the latest financial services company to quickly automate customer services related to Covid-19
May 12, 2020 12 May'20
Police failing to consult public on new technologies

A freedom of information campaign has revealed that UK police are largely failing to consult the public on their use of new technologies, with the potential to undermine the principle of policing by consent
May 12, 2020 12 May'20
Banks failing to protect customers from coronavirus fraud

Just 13 of the 64 banks accredited for the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme have implemented Dmarc protection
May 11, 2020 11 May'20
Coronavirus: SMEs in the UAE forced to digitally transform

The UAE, like the rest of the world, continues to be heavily impacted by the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, and technology is helping to lead the fight
May 07, 2020 07 May'20
Contact-tracing app fails to protect privacy and human rights

Reassurances over the security and human rights implications of NHSX’s approach to developing its Covid-19 contact-tracing app are insufficient, says the cross-bench Human Rights Committee
May 07, 2020 07 May'20
Facebook announces oversight board members

New board will rule on freedom of expression issues and make policy recommendations to social media giant.
May 04, 2020 04 May'20
NHSX contact-tracing app needs legislative oversight

Legal experts have told Parliament’s Human Rights Committee that legislation is desirable to ensure public trust in the data security of the Covid-19 coronavirus contact-tracing app
May 04, 2020 04 May'20
Assange extradition hearing to take place in September following coronavirus lockdown

An extradition hearing against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been delayed by four months, after defence and prosecution lawyers said the Covid-19 lockdown would make it impractical to hold a fair hearing in May
May 04, 2020 04 May'20
IT Priorities 2020: Compliance and risk are top security concerns

When it comes to security, buyers are prioritising solutions and services that address compliance issues, risk management and data protection, according to the Computer Weekly/TechTarget IT Priorities 2020 study
May 04, 2020 04 May'20
Research institutes warn of necessity for UK contact-tracing app to link to testing

BCS and Cass Business School call for proposed UK contact-tracing app not to be launched without alignment to testing and warns that without this link, NHS will not be able to “big data” its way out of “no data” situation
May 01, 2020 01 May'20
HMCTS deploys video platform for remote hearings during Covid-19

Magistrates’ and crown courts will use platform to conduct remote criminal hearings during the coronavirus pandemic
April 30, 2020 30 Apr'20
Coronavirus: Government under pressure to give limited company IT workers more financial support

IT contractors who provide services through their own limited companies and pay themselves in dividends are largely uncatered for by the goverment's various coronavirus-focused business support packages, and are facing financial difficulties
April 29, 2020 29 Apr'20
Coronavirus: Call for extension to European payment security standard deadline

Payment processors across Europe want more time to meet the SCA payment security standard
April 29, 2020 29 Apr'20
Nordic CIO interview: Stefan Olowsson, Swedish Social Insurance Agency

Stefan Olowsson, CIO at Sweden’s Försäkringskassan, helps to ensure social security payments run smoothly, which is a balancing act of innovation, data security and reliable delivery
April 27, 2020 27 Apr'20
Julian Assange extradition hearing postponed amid coronavirus lockdown

Julian Assange’s lawyers say they have been unable to communicate or share legal documents with the WikiLeaks founder to enable them to prepare a defence in time for a planned extradition hearing in May
April 27, 2020 27 Apr'20
UK tech companies launch online safety body

Online Safety Tech Industry Association unites 14 technology companies to drive conversation and policy around online safeguarding
April 27, 2020 27 Apr'20
IR35 off-payroll rules have ‘never worked satisfactorily’, rules Finance Bill Sub-Committee

An inquiry into the government’s plans to extend the IR35 reforms to the private sector concludes that the roll-out should be delayed because the entire off-payroll legislation is flawed and in need of a revamp
April 24, 2020 24 Apr'20
Coronavirus: Dutch Covid-19 tracking app stirs national debate

Privacy concerns raised over mobile app to help track and control the spread of coronavirus in the Netherlands
April 22, 2020 22 Apr'20
IR35 private sector reforms: Treasury ignores sub-committee’s plea to delay April 2021 start date

Despite the Finance Bill Sub-Committee claiming it would argue for the IR35 reforms to be delayed even if there were no pandemic, HM Treasury remains committed to revised April 2021 roll-out date
April 20, 2020 20 Apr'20
Ada Lovelace Institute questions effectiveness of UK contact-tracing strategy

Independent study institute for user-focused data and AI solutions argues that NHS Covid-19 tracking plans will not be effective unless action is taken to address technical limitations
April 20, 2020 20 Apr'20
CaixaBank uses hybrid of conventional and quantum computers to classify risk

Spain's CaixaBank is using quantum computers as part of a project to assess risk using machine learning algorithms
April 17, 2020 17 Apr'20
Coronavirus: How Nominet fights back against malicious domains

Domain name registry has thwarted hundreds of attempts to register malicious .uk domain names during the coronavirus pandemic