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Government loses 300 devices since 2018


By Hannah McGrath

More than 300 electronic devices have been lost from government departments since 2018, sparking fears that confidential data could be at risk. A total of 316 devices have gone missing or been reported lost since 2018 by government departments including the Prime Minister’s Office, the Privy Council, the Equalities headquarters and the offices of the leaders of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, according to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request submitted by the Parliament Street think tank.


Gen Z see voice-activated sites as future of online experience

Nearly a third (31 per cent) of Generation Z expects the internet to be able to predict what they need and alert them before they need it, while developments in AI and biometrics are set to make keyboards obsolete, according to new research. A survey of 1,528 consumers aged 14-59 in the UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Ireland by The Center for Generational Kinetics and WP Engine, found that Generation Z, born between 1996-2015 have grown up as an internet-dependent generation with 60 per cent unable to go for more than four hours without access to the internet without feeling uncomfortable.

ETF Partners closes £167m EnviroTech fund

ETF Partners has closed its third Environmental Technologies Fund at £167 million, aiming to grow the most innovative companies in the UK and Europe. Since its launch 14 years ago, the London-based firm has backed high-impact, high-potential companies in digitally-led sustainability.

NHS Scotland pilots medical drone deliveries

Drone delivery service provider Skyports has collaborated with Vodafone and Deloitte to transport medical supplies and samples for the NHS in Scotland using drones. The live flights will take place later this year and will use mobile connectivity and space-based technology.

ICO opens joint investigation into Clearview AI

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) have opened a joint investigation into the personal information handling practices of Clearview AI - focusing on the company’s use of ‘scraped’ data and biometrics of individuals. However, in line with the the ICO’s Communicating our Regulatory and Enforcement Activity Policy and OAIC’s Privacy Regulatory Action Policy, no further comment will be made while the investigation is ongoing.

70% of businesses report public cloud cyber security incidents

Nearly three quarters (70 per cent) of organisations experienced a public cloud security incident in the last year – including ransomware and other malware (50 per cent), exposed data (29 per cent), compromised accounts (25 per cent) and crypto-jacking (17 per cent). The latest State of Cloud Security annual survey from Sophos revealed that running multi-cloud environments are twice as likely to suffer a cloud security incident than those running a single cloud.

NAEA Propertymark partners REACH PropTech scale-up programme

NAEA Propertymark has partnered with scale-up programme REACH UK to help its members navigate through the world of technology by selecting the best startups and launching them into the marketplace. REACH's PropTech programme was created by Second Century Ventures, an active venture capital fund in the global real estate technology space.

NHS Trust use of data analytics rises during COVID-19

The development of new data analytics use cases has spiked in response to COVID-19, according to new research from Qlik, which showed 84 per cent of NHS Trusts are using data analytics to support patient care and operations during the crisis. The business intelligence platform submitted a series of Freedom of Information requests to NHS Trusts during the last few months, finding that 55 per cent applied analytics to track positive infections of patients during the pandemic, while 22 per cent used analytics to identify potential staff exposure to the virus and to inform testing.
Summer Statement ‘a missed opportunity’ for tech sector

The chancellor’s Summer Statement has been called a “missed opportunity” to support the UK’s tech sector through the Coronavirus recession. Rishi Sunak signalled the country’s move to phase two of the economic recovery, with a specific focus on protecting employment and boosting job creation, while phase three will concentrate on rebuilding the economy more comprehensively and is likely to come during the full autumn budget statement.

US considers Chinese app ban

The United States is considering banning Chinese social media apps including TikTok, according to secretary of state Mike Pompeo. Speaking to Fox News yesterday, he said that US authorities were "taking this very seriously" when asked about the potential for taking measures against apps like TikTok.

Cyber startups raise £521m funding

UK cyber security startups are on track to break the funding record set in 2019, with £521 million invested in the sector amid the COVID-19 downturn. Research compiled by the London Office For Rapid Cyber Security Advancement (LORCA) found that the £496 million of investment pouring into the UK’s cyber security startups is set to top the 2019 record in just six months.

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BigTech faces up to a big racial diversity problem

The recent wave of protest sparked by the killing by police of George Floyd in Minneapolis has raised the issue of racism for corporations across sectors and geographies – and none more so than the tech industry. As young and cool as many big technology companies portray themselves, the majority are still overwhelmingly white, particularly in leadership and technical positions.

Looking into the quantum future

When the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger famously conducted his cat in a box experiment and concluded the cat could be simultaneously dead and alive until the observer opened the box, it highlighted, despite such a seeming absurdity, the much wider issue of how quantum systems can operate in multiple states until observed or measured.Fast forward to the 21st century and its relevance is becoming increasingly clear, with quantum computing eventually set to supersede the classical (binary) computing we have now. But what is it? And how far off is it?

Whatever happened to the blockchain revolution?

Devised by the mysterious presumed pseudonym Satoshi Nakamato in 2008, blockchain’s immediate application was to serve as a transaction ledger for the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Yet, despite more than a decade of talk about how blockchain was set to disrupt and revolutionise numerous industries, the technology has yet to really make its mark on any big business – with scalability, security and regulatory concerns holding it back.

Can tech save the world?

Whether it be from David Attenborough’s documentaries, Greta Thunberg’s teenage activism or the Extinction Rebellion protests, it’s hard to miss the message about the earth’s impending climate catastrophe. But as governments miss environmental action targets, corporations greenwash their way to shareholder satisfaction and individuals struggle to make any impact, perhaps salvation comes from the variety of tech startups trying to make a difference.

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