News

Privacy and data protection

• April 15, 2024 15 Apr'24

  EU’s AI Act fails to protect the rule of law and civic space

  Analysis reveals that the AI Act is ‘riddled with far-reaching exceptions’ and its measures to protect fundamental rights are insufficient

• April 12, 2024 12 Apr'24

  Apple iPhone security alert renews spyware concerns

  An Apple security alert received by users in 92 countries raises fresh fears over ongoing campaigns by users of mercenary spyware products

• April 12, 2024 12 Apr'24

  Executive interview: Balancing AI with human creativity

  We speak to the chief product officer at Getty Images and iStock about the role generative AI can play in the image-making process.

• April 11, 2024 11 Apr'24

  Facial recognition to play key role in UK shoplifting crackdown

  UK government will fund roll-out of police facial recognition across the country as part of its crackdown on shoplifting and violence against retail staff, but civil society groups say the government is attempting to police its way out of the ...

• April 11, 2024 11 Apr'24

  Government dismisses Lords’ concerns over facial recognition

  UK government is claiming police forces’ use of live facial recognition is comprehensively covered by existing laws, in response to a Lords investigation that found police lacked a clear legal basis to deploy it

• April 10, 2024 10 Apr'24

  Breakthrough may herald secure home quantum computing

  An emerging approach to quantum security dubbed blind quantum computing may one day help spur mass adoption of quantum computing safely and securely, using technology that is already available today

• April 10, 2024 10 Apr'24

  Biden considering whether to end prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

  US president Joe Biden says he is considering requests by Australia to end the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under espionage and computer fraud charges

• April 10, 2024 10 Apr'24

  Salesforce helps customers establish bug bounty programmes

  Salesforce has added new learning content to its Trailhead platform designed to help customers develop their own bug bounty programmes

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Public worried by police and companies sharing biometric data

  More than half of the British public do not feel comfortable with police forces sharing biometric data with the private sector, including facial recognition images, to tackle crimes such as shoplifting

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Is a cyber arms control treaty out of reach?

  The world needs cyber arms control more than ever, but the challenges facing a multilateral agreement will be hard to surmount, according to researchers at Germany’s Digital Society Institute

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Police forces check intelligence and criminal databases after errors discovered in O2 phone data

  Criminal Bar Association calls for information about reliability of communications data used in criminal trials to be disclosed

• April 09, 2024 09 Apr'24

  Greek government fined over AI surveillance in refugee camps

  Greece’s Data Protection Authority has issued a €175,000 fine against the country’s migration ministry over its deployment of artificial intelligence-powered security systems in refugee camps after the watchdog’s investigation found ‘serious ...

• April 08, 2024 08 Apr'24

  UK vet network CVS hit by cyber attack

  Operations at UK-based veterinary network CVS have been disrupted by a cyber incident of an as-yet undisclosed nature

• April 05, 2024 05 Apr'24

  China ramps up use of AI misinformation

  Microsoft researchers have identified a growing pattern of AI-laced misinformation and political interference coming from Chinese threat actors

• April 04, 2024 04 Apr'24

  Changes needed for SOCs and CSIRTs, claims Dutch research institute

  Cyber security specialists need a game-changer to keep up with their adversaries, who increasingly use automation and AI for their attacks

• April 04, 2024 04 Apr'24

  Obituary: Professor Ross Anderson, pioneer in security engineering and campaigner

  Ross Anderson, a titan in the field of security engineering and campaigner for privacy and security, has passed away

• March 29, 2024 29 Mar'24

  Organisations getting better at spotting identity fraud

  As the barriers to committing identity fraud continue to drop, organisations should consider more sophisticated technical measures to successfully up their game, according to a report

• March 28, 2024 28 Mar'24

  UK plc going backwards on cyber maturity, Cisco report claims

  Fewer UK organisations believe their cyber security postures have reached a mature level than did so 12 months ago, as they struggle to keep up with new challenges and a fast-evolving threat landscape

• March 28, 2024 28 Mar'24

  Sellafield to be prosecuted over alleged cyber compliance failure

  Sellafield Ltd, the organisation responsible for cleaning up and decommissioning the UK's largest nuclear waste site, is to be prosecuted over alleged cyber security failings dating back to 2019

• March 27, 2024 27 Mar'24

  Ransomware gang leaks data stolen from Scottish NHS board

  Data stolen from an earlier attack on NHS Dumfries and Galloway has been leaked by a ransomware gang that claims to be in possession of much more content

• March 26, 2024 26 Mar'24

  Qilin ransomware gang claims cyber attack on the Big Issue

  A ransomware attack on the systems of publisher and social enterprise Big Issue Group has been claimed by the Qilin gang

• March 26, 2024 26 Mar'24

  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange given temporary reprieve over extradition

  Court seeks assurances from the US that Assange will be given First Amendment Rights, will not prejudiced at trial because of his nationality, and will not be subject to the death penalty

• March 26, 2024 26 Mar'24

  NCSC reaffirms guidance for those at risk of Chinese state hacking

  As the UK and US governments announce sanctions and indictments of a Chinese state threat actor, the NCSC has reiterated its security advice for individuals at risk of being targeted for espionage purposes

• March 26, 2024 26 Mar'24

  US authorities charge seven over Chinese hacking

  The US Department of Justice has charged seven Chinese nationals linked to the APT31 threat actor that targeted politicians in the UK and US

• March 25, 2024 25 Mar'24

  Which? calls for government action on fake banking sites

  Amid high volumes of spoofed, fraudulent banking websites, Which? is calling for the government to implement new legal obligations for domain registrars

• March 25, 2024 25 Mar'24

  Chinese hackers responsible for two ‘malicious’ cyber campaigns against UK

  Government sanctions two Chinese nationals and a Chinese company identified as responsible for cyber campaigns against government officials and members of parliament

• March 25, 2024 25 Mar'24

  Britain’s democracy under threat from Chinese cyber attackers, government warns

  The deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, is due to tell Parliament that Beijing is behind a hacking attack that obtained details of 40 million UK voters and has targeted parliamentarians who have criticised the regime

• March 22, 2024 22 Mar'24

  Open Data Institute launches digital policy manifesto

  The Open Data Institute has launched a policy manifesto ahead of the UK general election that outlines policies and issues it believes must be part of the political discussion around digital and data

• March 21, 2024 21 Mar'24

  NCSC guidance to help CEOs work through cyber incidents

  The NCSC has published in-depth guidance on how business leaders should respond to a cyber attack or data breach. Learn about some of the key steps you will need to follow

• March 20, 2024 20 Mar'24

  Ukrainians crack network that stole 100m email, social accounts

  Three members of an organised cyber criminal group who hacked and appropriated personal email and social media accounts face up to 15 years in prison

• March 20, 2024 20 Mar'24

  UK’s cyber resilience stagnates as more fall victim to attacks

  The government is calling on businesses to ramp up their cyber protections as study shows improvements to resilience are stagnating amid an ever-growing volume of attacks

• March 19, 2024 19 Mar'24

  EMEA security spend will have another boom year in 2024

  Cyber security services and technology will once again be the focus of major investment across EMEA during 2024, according to the latest Technology Spending Intentions study from TechTarget and ESG

• March 19, 2024 19 Mar'24

  Australia’s cyber security spending to grow 11.5% this year

  Highly publicised cyber attacks and growing regulatory obligations are keeping security and risk top of mind for Australian organisations this year, says Gartner

• March 18, 2024 18 Mar'24

  Spring Budget risks funding legally questionable police tech

  Open legal questions around how UK police are using facial recognition and cloud technology could undermine the £230m investment committed in the Spring Budget to “time and money-saving technology” for police

• March 17, 2024 17 Mar'24

  UK’s AI ambitions pointless while cyber security is still neglected

  The UK’s AI ambitions may be at considerable risk without stronger cyber defences across the private and public sectors

• March 15, 2024 15 Mar'24

  London Mayor’s Office reprimanded over data breach

  The London Mayor’s Office has been reprimanded by the ICO after an internal error exposed the data of people who had made complaints against the Metropolitan Police

• March 14, 2024 14 Mar'24

  Questions raised over NHS deletion of thousands of emails during whistleblower tribunal

  NHS doctor Chris Day has won the right to challenge a tribunal ruling that found no procedural unfairness when an NHS trust deleted thousands of emails. The case that raises wider questions about the use of electronic evidence

• March 13, 2024 13 Mar'24

  US authorities move a step closer to banning TikTok

  Lawmakers in Washington DC have moved a step closer to enacting a broad national ban on controversial video app TikTok in the US, with global ramifications

• March 11, 2024 11 Mar'24

  Dutch organisations vulnerable to deepfake fraud

  With the information many employees share on social media, Dutch companies are especially vulnerable to a new form of fraud

• March 07, 2024 07 Mar'24

  PSNI chief denies ‘industrial’ use of surveillance powers against journalists

  PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher has agreed to provide a report on police surveillance of journalists and lawyers to Northern Ireland’s policing watchdog

• March 07, 2024 07 Mar'24

  NI Policing Board pressed to open inquiry into PSNI spying on journalists’ phones

  Amnesty International and the Committee on the Administration of Justice have asked Northern Ireland’s policing watchdog to open an inquiry into the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s use of surveillance powers against journalists

• March 06, 2024 06 Mar'24

  Apple patches zero-days amid ‘foundational’ post-quantum update

  Apple’s iOS 17.4 update not only fixes zero-day flaws that are being actively exploited, but includes important new security protocols to safeguard users against future attacks

• March 05, 2024 05 Mar'24

  ALPHV/BlackCat gang vanishes amid ransomware ‘turmoil’

  Mystery surrounds the apparent disappearance of the ALPHV/BlackCat cyber crime gang amid reports that a prominent US victim paid a $22m ransom

• March 05, 2024 05 Mar'24

  Open Rights Group accuses LiveRamp of ‘unlawful’ data processing

  Privacy campaigners at Open Rights Group have submitted formal complaints to UK and French data regulators about allegedly unlawful data processing by online advertising firm LiveRamp

• March 05, 2024 05 Mar'24

  American Express customers exposed through third-party breach

  US card giant warns customers that their personal details may have been exposed after a third party experienced a systems breach

• March 01, 2024 01 Mar'24

  Fancy Bear sniffs out Ubiquiti router users

  The authorities have warned users of Ubiquiti EdgeRouter products to take remedial action after a number of devices were hijacked into a malicious botnet by a Russian cyber espionage unit

• March 01, 2024 01 Mar'24

  APAC firms bullish on IT spending

  More than half of organisations plan to spend more on key areas such as cyber security, generative AI and cloud in a sign of growing optimism across the region

• February 29, 2024 29 Feb'24

  Home Office GPS tagging of asylum seekers breaches data protection law

  The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued an enforcement notice against the Home Office after finding its programme to tag asylum seekers with GPS monitors breaches data protection law

• February 29, 2024 29 Feb'24

  Okta doubles down on cyber in wake of high-profile breaches

  Okta launches Secure Identity Commitment to shore up its technology in the wake of a damaging breach and elevate best practice around identity

• February 29, 2024 29 Feb'24

  Police arrested journalists as part of surveillance operation to identify confidential sources

  Three police forces took part in surveillance operations between 2011 and 2018 to identify sources that leaked information to journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal hears