News

IT legislation and regulation

July 13, 2020 13 Jul'20
INCA calls for added investment in apprenticeships and skills to hit government broadband target

The Independent Networks Cooperative Association welcomes UK government plans to increase investment in workplace training and apprenticeships to address the growing skills shortage in the sector
July 09, 2020 09 Jul'20
Dutch banking’s transaction monitoring utility gets green light

Plans for a shared utility to monitor financial transactions in the Netherlands have been given the go-ahead after six months of proving the concept
July 09, 2020 09 Jul'20
Clearview AI faces ICO investigation over facial recognition

Controversial company that scraped data from the public internet to build its facial recognition algorithm faces a joint UK-Australian investigation into its practices
July 09, 2020 09 Jul'20
Most finance firms are multicloud, but many are unprepared for public cloud cyber attacks

Financial services firms are moving to the cloud at pace, but many are uncertain whether they could cope with an attack on an application based in the public cloud

July 09, 2020 09 Jul'20
Matt Hancock encourages private sector involvement in post-pandemic NHS technology

Health secretary Matt Hancock has outlined how the NHS will continue to leverage digital technologies with the help of the private sector after the Covid-19 pandemic ends
July 07, 2020 07 Jul'20
UK contact-tracing app development leaders fail to reveal launch date

Described as not being a silver bullet on its own, the UK’s contact-tracing app is also a silver bullet that won’t be fired any time soon, as leaders of development project struggle to convince Lords committee of progress to date
July 03, 2020 03 Jul'20
Chinese law may require companies to disclose cyber-security preparations outside China

Companies with Chinese operations may have to disclose information about the security of their networks in other countries under China’s draft data security law
July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20
Loan charge MPs denied House of Commons vote on Finance Bill policy amendments

Despite securing the support of 50 named MPs, an amendment to the forthcoming Finance Bill that could have seen thousands of people fall out of scope of the Loan Charge policy has been denied
July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20
Cops take out encrypted comms to disrupt organised crime

The UK’s National Crime Agency, alongside other law enforcement agencies in France and the Netherlands, have busted illicit arms and drugs rings after disabling an encrypted comms platform
July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20
IR35 private sector reforms: Finance Bill vote denies further delays to April 2021 start date

Another push by MPs to get the start date for the IR35 private sector reforms delayed until a thorough impact assessment into the changes can be performed has failed to win the support of the House of Commons

July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20
Police secrecy over ‘IMSI-catcher’ mass surveillance of mobile phones

Following a tribunal ruling, constabularies in England and Wales can refuse to confirm or deny whether they use mass surveillance devices, known as IMSI-catchers to monitor people’s location, phone calls and text messages
July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20
CMA calls on government to revamp regulations for tech giants

Competition regulator says current laws are not fit for purpose and wants a new, ‘pro-competition regulatory regime’ that the likes of Google and Facebook must abide by
July 01, 2020 01 Jul'20
FCA estimates about 2.6 million Brits have bought cryptocurrency

UK financial services regulator says there has been a significant increase in ownership of cryptocurrencies in the UK
June 30, 2020 30 Jun'20
HMRC and Treasury accused of ‘direct interference’ in independent loan charge review

Loan Charge All-Party Parliamentary Group report pours scorn on claims that December 2019 review of government’s disguised renumeration policy was conducted independently
June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20
MPs urged to back Finance Bill amendments to loan charge policy

Loan Charge Action Group urges its members to ask their MPs to support an amendment to the controversial loan charge policy that could see more people fall outside its scope
June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20
Lords urge government to take immediate action on online harms

Select committee calls for tech giants to be held responsible for the harm done to individuals, wider society and democratic processes through online misinformation
June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20
Out of date security laws leave UK plc at risk during pandemic

The CyberUp coalition has written to Boris Johnson to urge him to reform the UK’s 30 year-old cyber crime laws
June 29, 2020 29 Jun'20
Airports deploy thermal cameras to control Covid-19, science suggests it’s merely ‘safety theatre’

UK airports are rolling out thermal surveillance cameras to identify people who may have coronavirus, but science says the technology is ineffective at detecting and preventing the spread of the disease
June 26, 2020 26 Jun'20
Enterprises in rural Wales to gain added fibre as voucher scheme doubles in value

Vouchers subsidise the cost for rural homes and businesses to install next-generation, gigabit-capable broadband
June 25, 2020 25 Jun'20
Pub ‘check-in’ apps provoke fresh privacy concerns

With pubs and restaurants required to collect customer data for contact tracing when they reopen, data privacy risks will be heightened
June 24, 2020 24 Jun'20
EU judges GDPR an overall success, but changes still needed

Two years after its implementation, an EU report says that the GDPR is achieving what it set out to do, with a few reservations
June 23, 2020 23 Jun'20
UK counts the cost as Ireland presses ahead with contact-tracing app

Irish eyes smiling as Republic’s heath executive said to be on verge of giving greenlight to Covid-19 tracker app, while UK reveals £11.8m cost of development to date for no return as yet
June 23, 2020 23 Jun'20
Nokia claims US live C-band network demo first

Ahead of the expected US spectrum auction in December 2020, Nokia completes first successful US-based 5G trial in C-band
June 22, 2020 22 Jun'20
Care Quality Commission to discuss concerns over Paula Vennells’ NHS role

Healthcare regulator will be discussing concerns about former NHS boss chairing an NHS trust at an upcoming meeting
June 19, 2020 19 Jun'20
Eurostar to roll out facial recognition for ‘passport-free’ travel to Europe

Facial recognition will make passports on the Eurotunnel an option rather than a necessity, but privacy campaigners have questioned whether gathering biometric data on passengers is necessary
June 19, 2020 19 Jun'20
Technology firms come under scrutiny for ties to law enforcement

Three major technology companies have committed to not selling facial-recognition tech to law enforcement, but remain silent on how other technologies can be used to fuel racial injustice and discriminatory policing
June 19, 2020 19 Jun'20
AI bias and privacy issues require more than clever tech

The new AI Barometer report from the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation has assessed the threats and opportunities of artificial intelligence in the UK
June 18, 2020 18 Jun'20
iPhone issues see UK government dump centralised model for Covid-19 contact-tracing app

Department for Health makes U-turn on contact-tracing app after trial finds distances are not measured well enough, with particular detection problems for app users with Apple iPhones
June 17, 2020 17 Jun'20
Malaysia’s telco industry on edge amid new developments, appointments

Spotlight trained on newly appointed key regulatory personnel that could see a change in Malaysia’s telco policy, including a deferment of 5G roll-out
June 16, 2020 16 Jun'20
UK-US data deal puts Brexit data adequacy pact at risk

European Data Protection Board writes to MEPs saying the UK is at risk of failing to strike a post-Brexit data adequacy accord if its data protection agreements with the US don’t strike the right note
June 15, 2020 15 Jun'20
NatWest develops behavioural biometrics as additional authentication

Bank is working with Visa to develop behavioural biometrics technology as an extra layer of invisible authentication
June 12, 2020 12 Jun'20
Salisbury becomes UK’s first city to go fully full-fibre

Politicians and broadband provision unit urge homes and businesses to switch to a new ultra-fast and ultra-reliable broadband network
June 12, 2020 12 Jun'20
Minister downgrades status of UK contact-tracing app from vital to ‘cherry on cake’

Scientists warn of fundamental flaws of Bluetooth technology in proximity measurement function of much-delayed app
June 12, 2020 12 Jun'20
Subpostmasters will not cooperate with government review into IT scandal

A group of subpostmasters who suffered at the hands of the Post Office’s error-prone IT system refuse to participate in a government review into the scandal, describing it as a sham
June 11, 2020 11 Jun'20
Tech firms respond to Nordic government calls

Nordic firms are working with tech suppliers to help them get back up and running after Covid-19
June 11, 2020 11 Jun'20
Amazon bans police use of its facial-recognition technology for a year

Tech giant claims it has been an advocate for stronger government regulation on the ethical use of facial recognition
June 10, 2020 10 Jun'20
IBM divests from facial-recognition market

IBM’s CEO writes to US congress about decision to stop using and selling facial-recognition technology, and says we should re-evaluate whether it should be sold to law enforcement agencies
June 10, 2020 10 Jun'20
CogX 2020: Rethinking technological innovation

Innovation processes and relationships must be fundamentally restructured to bring in more stakeholders, and spread the benefits of technological change as far as possible
June 10, 2020 10 Jun'20
Nasty surprises lurking in furloughed employees’ inboxes

Research conducted by KnowBe4 points to a looming email security problem as furloughed employees head back to work
June 04, 2020 04 Jun'20
Dutch organisations invest heavily in compliance – but in vain

Despite the fact that companies in the Netherlands have invested heavily to comply with GDPR legislation introduced two years ago, 90% of them are still discovering fundamental weaknesses in their IT environment
June 04, 2020 04 Jun'20
Government evades being pinned to a date for online harms legislation

MPs challenge government on online harms bill timetable, but have to settle for “clear assurances” that it will brought to parliament before the end of the session
June 04, 2020 04 Jun'20
Data privacy groups pile in on UK contact-tracing app

UK-based digital privacy and free speech campaigning organisation files complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office about contact-tracing app
June 04, 2020 04 Jun'20
The Security Interviews: How the BSI protects the IoT from itself

David Mudd of the BSI reveals how a pragmatic and realistic approach to security vulnerabilities underpins its internet of things kitemark, helping give users the confidence to buy smart devices safely
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