News

Privacy and data protection

• July 25, 2019 25 Jul'19

  Facebook shrugs off $5bn fine, reports strong quarter

  Investors responded positively after social networking firm reported better-than-expected second-quarter results after budgeting for FTC fine, but the company faces a further antitrust investigation

• July 24, 2019 24 Jul'19

  Zuckerberg responsible for Facebook privacy compliance after $5bn FTC fine

  Facebook pays record fine after breaching users’ privacy, following settlements with Federal Trade Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission

• July 24, 2019 24 Jul'19

  Controversial ‘immigration exemption’ used in 60% of cases

  The UK government has used a controversial GDPR opt-out in response to the majority of its immigration-related data requests since the start of 2019, the High Court has heard

• July 23, 2019 23 Jul'19

  Phishing attack highlights cyber security need at universities

  UK university cyber security is once again under the spotlight after Lancaster University reveals that it has been targeted by a phishing attack used to send fake invoices

• July 23, 2019 23 Jul'19

  Almost a third of European firms still not compliant with GDPR

  Almost a third of European businesses admit they are still not compliant with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, but there are encouraging signs of increased maturity in data protection, with the new rules driving better, ...

• July 23, 2019 23 Jul'19

  Norsk Hydro cyber attack could cost up to $75m

  March 2019 ransomware attack could cost Norwegian aluminium giant up to $75m in the first half of the year, according to latest estimates

• July 23, 2019 23 Jul'19

  Data breach costs on the rise, IBM study shows

  Data breach costs have risen in the past decade, and the financial impact can be felt for years. Breaches posing a growing risk for small businesses, a study shows, underlining the importance of incident response

• July 23, 2019 23 Jul'19

  High Court to hear challenge to immigration exemption in DPA

  The High Court is to hear a challenge by two human rights groups of a controversial clause in new UK data protection legislation they say is in conflict with the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and undermines the General Data Protection Regulation

• July 23, 2019 23 Jul'19

  Government delays final decision on Huawei

  Culture secretary says he cannot yet make specific decisions about Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s telecoms and mobile networks due to a lack of clarity from the US, effectively green-lighting its use

• July 22, 2019 22 Jul'19

  US fines Equifax $700m over 2017 breach

  Global settlement with US authorities follows systems breach that saw more than 140 million customer records stolen

• July 22, 2019 22 Jul'19

  Big tech firms back UK cyber security initiative

  Big technology firms have pledged their support for UK investment in an initiative to “design out” of new tech the most damaging cyber security threats

• July 19, 2019 19 Jul'19

  Latest ICO fine highlights privacy due diligence

  A week after issuing the first serious GDPR fines, the ICO has further underlined the importance of data stewardship and due diligence regarding privacy practices

• July 19, 2019 19 Jul'19

  Second CyberThreat Summit announced by NCSC and SANS Institute

  CyberThreat 2019 aims to bring together a more diverse set of technical professionals in cyber security from the private and public sectors in the UK and abroad to encourage collaboration

• July 19, 2019 19 Jul'19

  Warzone bulletproof hosts protecting Magecart group

  Security researchers have discovered a Magecart group operating with impunity using bulletproof hosting services, including one in battle-scarred Ukraine

• July 19, 2019 19 Jul'19

  HID weighs in the glacial move towards digital ID

  There are still concerns over data integrity, security and privacy of digital identities, but the convenience of the technology outweighs the risks, says a HID expert

• July 18, 2019 18 Jul'19

  Free tool reveals the true cost of ‘free’ online services

  New data discovery portal developed by Finnish security firm F-Secure helps to uncover what Facebook, Amazon, Google and other tech giants know about consumers

• July 18, 2019 18 Jul'19

  Digital minister Margot James quits after Brexit vote

  James voted against the government in an attempt to stop the next Prime Minister from suspending Parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit

• July 18, 2019 18 Jul'19

  Parliamentary committee calls for halt to facial recognition trials

  Issues with biometrics and forensics pose a significant risk to effective functioning of the criminal justice system, according to a report by the Science and Technology Committee

• July 18, 2019 18 Jul'19

  UK poor cyber security practice undermining controls

  UK firms investing in the latest cyber security products and services risk this being undermined by poor security practices, a survey reveals

• July 17, 2019 17 Jul'19

  Most security pros still concerned about public cloud security

  Despite accelerated adoption of public cloud services by companies keen to benefit from increased efficiency, scalability and agility, most security professionals have reservations

• July 17, 2019 17 Jul'19

  Facebook accused of ‘breathtaking arrogance’ over Libra cryptocurrency plan

  US senators grill Facebook’s David Marcus over social media giant’s plans to launch cryptocurrency

• July 16, 2019 16 Jul'19

  UN resolution ignores special rapporteur’s call for halt to spyware sales

  UN’s Human Rights Council adopts resolution to explore the impact of new and emerging digital technologies on human rights, but the text ignores a damning report by the council’s own expert on freedom of expression

• July 16, 2019 16 Jul'19

  NCSC reports on second year of cyber defence at scale

  The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre releases a report on the second year of its Active Cyber Defence programme to demonstrate its effects in the public sector and wider UK cyber ecosystem

• July 15, 2019 15 Jul'19

  UK launches 5G security inquiry

  The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy is to probe the UK government’s approach to telecoms technology as a national security issue

• July 15, 2019 15 Jul'19

  Smartodds bets on Rubrik backup appliance with cloud archive

  Betting intelligence analytics firm Smartodds replaced its old tape backup infrastructure with Rubrik appliances to cut management time and database restores from hours to minutes

• July 15, 2019 15 Jul'19

  Billion-dollar privacy penalties put CEOs on notice

  Facebook’s potential $5bn settlement with the FTC follows notifications of planned GDPR fines for British Airways and Marriott International, underlining the importance of data stewardship

• July 15, 2019 15 Jul'19

  No technical grounds to ban Huawei, DCMS told

  Science and Technology Committee tells Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport that there are no technical grounds for it to exclude Huawei

• July 15, 2019 15 Jul'19

  Organisations turn to AI in race against cyber attackers

  Businesses are racing to automate their defences as hackers and nation states launch increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks

• July 15, 2019 15 Jul'19

  UK public sector needs to prioritise mobile device security

  Only 10% of public service stolen and lost mobile are recovered, underlining the need for mobile-centric, zero-trust model to reduce the risk, says MobileIron

• July 12, 2019 12 Jul'19

  New FinSpy versions extend surveillance capabilities

  New versions of the FinSpy malware for iOS and Android smartphones have extended targeted surveillance capabilities, warn security researchers

• July 12, 2019 12 Jul'19

  Windows 10 to enable passwordless sign-in

  Windows 10 users will soon be able to sign in to devices without using a password to encourage the use of two-factor authentication methods to improve security

• July 11, 2019 11 Jul'19

  Attacks against AI systems are a growing concern

  European research group says attacks against AI systems are already occurring, difficult to identify, and could be far more common than currently understood

• July 11, 2019 11 Jul'19

  RiskIQ uncovers new Magecart campaign

  A fresh Magecart campaign is breaching websites on a massive scale using indiscriminate attacks exploiting misconfigured Amazon S3 buckets, say researchers

• July 11, 2019 11 Jul'19

  Dutch privacy watchdog tells banks not to use customer payment data for marketing

  Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens tells banks to respect client privacy and not to market products based on spending data

• July 10, 2019 10 Jul'19

  Max Schrems not calling for SCCs to be invalidated

  The privacy activist at the centre of legal battle against Facebook is not calling for all standard contractual clauses to be invalidated, according to his non-profit privacy organisation

• July 10, 2019 10 Jul'19

  Agent Smith mobile malware hits millions of devices

  New mobile malware that exploits Android vulnerabilities has infected millions of devices, security researchers have discovered

• July 10, 2019 10 Jul'19

  Demand for ICO help escalates in GDPR's first year

  The past year has seen increased demand across all support services offered by the UK’s privacy watchdog as new data protection laws went into force

• July 09, 2019 09 Jul'19

  Marriott International facing £99m GDPR fine

  Hotel group Marriott International is the second major company to be fined by the UK privacy watchdog for infringements of the GDPR

• July 09, 2019 09 Jul'19

  ICO issues warning about using facial recognition technology

  The UK privacy watchdog has ruled that any police force or private organisation using live facial recognition technology is processing personal data and needs to pay attention to data protection laws

• July 09, 2019 09 Jul'19

  European Court hears case on EU-US data transfers

  Facebook could be forced to rethink its legal position regarding transfers of data of EU citizens to the US, as the CJEU considers the validity of standard contractual clauses that many businesses rely on

• July 08, 2019 08 Jul'19

  TfL launches wireless device tracking to gather Tube data

  Transport for London aims to use passenger movement data to make using the London Underground a more pleasant experience

• July 08, 2019 08 Jul'19

  British Airways facing £183m GDPR fine

  British Airways is to appeal against a record fine for infringement of data protection rules for a breach of customer data in 2018

• July 08, 2019 08 Jul'19

  IISP gains Royal Charter status

  The UK finally has its first national professional body for cyber security that will be responsible for setting the standards for skills and knowledge in the industry to reduce the skills gap and increase diversity

• July 05, 2019 05 Jul'19

  St John Ambulance praised for response to ransomware attack

  Charity’s response to ransomware attack demonstrates that it is possible to ensure minimal disruption if properly prepared

• July 04, 2019 04 Jul'19

  Security and privacy key to smart buildings and cities

  Security and privacy capabilities are essential for stakeholders if they are to realise the benefits of smart buildings and cities, says expert whitepaper

• July 04, 2019 04 Jul'19

  Implementing IoT – overcoming barriers to commercial adoption

  Tim Wright from the Institute of Telecoms Professionals reports from a recent seminar exploring questions around the barriers to commercial, at-scale adoption of the internet of things, and how to overcome them

• July 04, 2019 04 Jul'19

  FireEye ties Microsoft Outlook exploit to Iranian hackers

  US Cyber Command has issued a warning that a patched Microsoft Outlook vulnerability is being exploited by unnamed threat actors, and recommended immediate patching

• July 04, 2019 04 Jul'19

  Email still top security vulnerability, survey shows

  Email is still the top security vulnerability, a survey shows, but security researchers caution that switching to instant messaging is not necessarily a solution in the longer term

• July 04, 2019 04 Jul'19

  APAC experts weigh in on cyber security trends

  The onslaught of cyber attacks being reported each day has been a wake-up call, but experts say businesses need to be mindful of the limitations of certain security measures

• July 03, 2019 03 Jul'19

  Sodin ransomware exploiting Windows zero-day, Kaspersky warns

  Security researchers are warning that a recently discovered type of ransomware is now exploiting a zero-day Windows vulnerability, and does not require user interaction to trigger an infection