Latest News
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NHS harnesses blockchain to track coronavirus vaccines
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50% of IT directors destroy hardware to avoid erasing data
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European businesses vastly overestimate agility capabilities
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NASA rocket test shuts down early
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Ex-Obama officials named front-runners for top antitrust job
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Wiped police database down to human error
Archive News
Half of all IT directors admit to destroying hardware as opposed to having data erased because of a fear it won’t be done properly, according to a survey by DSA Connect. The research found that three in 10 IT directors admit to mothballing IT hardware for the same reason.
Posted: 19/1/2021
Two hospitals in South Warwickshire are using blockchain to track the storage and supply of COVID-19 vaccines. Distributed ledger provider Hedera Hashgraph and digital asset tracking and monitoring company Everyware are working with the NHS facilities to monitor the cold storage equipment being used to store COVID-19 vaccines.
Posted: 19/1/2021
Almost three-quarters (72 per cent) of business leaders across Europe see organisational agility as critical in driving business performance and growth, but many are overestimating their capabilities, according to research. Analyst house IDC and digital workflow firm ServiceNow surveyed 875 senior decision makers from large businesses across Europe to examine their organisations' agility amid the pandemic, applying a bespoke assessment model to determine their maturity in this area.
Posted: 19/1/2021
The wiping of records from the UK Police National Computer database - as revealed last week - was “likely” due to best practice not being followed linked to three key roles, says BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. The “coding error” that is said to have caused the loss of 150,000 records on the police database - including fingerprints, DNA and arrest history - had been blamed on human error.
Posted: 18/1/2021
NASA tested its Space Launch System (SLS)rocket on Saturday, hitting a snag when engines shut down only a minute into the trial. The trial needed the rocket’s engines to fire for just over eight minutes, the same length of time it would take to send it up into space following launch.
Posted: 18/1/2021
Amazon workers will vote for the first official unionisation at the company in the US from next month, as the company continues to resist the attempt. A branch of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Bessemer, Alabama would potentially cover up to 6,000 workers, if they vote for it.
Posted: 18/1/2021
One of two former Obama administration officials are likely to take on the top antitrust job at the US Department of Justice. Whoever is chosen for the role will be responsible for tackling Big Tech and other antitrust issues, which has been identified as a key issue for the upcoming Biden administration.
Posted: 18/1/2021
Google has announced the completion of its $2.1 billion buyout of Fitbit. The digital health business first entered an agreement with Google in November 2019.
Posted: 15/1/2021
DNS (domain name system) services are the most attacked part of telcos’ networks during the pandemic, but cloud protection is the hardest to deliver, according to the Telecoms.com Annual Industry Survey. Of 500 telecoms professionals questioned for the survey, 16 per cent said DNS services suffered the most attacks, followed by attacks on network infrastructure elements like network bandwidth and network protocols (15 per cent).
Posted: 15/1/2021
A UK-based COVID-19 digital passport, developed by tech companies Mvine and iProov, is moving into a live testing phase. The passport, backed by Innovate UK, enables a person’s test result or vaccination status to be registered and proved without disclosing their identity, and without the need for extensive new infrastructure.
Posted: 15/1/2020
Volkswagen is to use commercetools’ cloud-based software to launch a new group-wide e-commerce platform. The partnership will help the car manufacturer deliver new commerce functionality and online channels.
Posted: 15/1/2020
Concerns have been raised by several watchdogs about Amazon’s “manipulative” design techniques that make it unreasonably difficult to unsubscribe from its Prime service. A study by The Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) said that the process of cancelling an Amazon Prime subscription is “riddled with a combination of manipulative design techniques, known as ‘dark patterns.’”
Posted: 15/12/2020
Chinese drone manufacturer DJI is reportedly forming an engineering team that will focus on self-driving technologies. According to Reuters, job posts have revealed that the business is hiring engineers for auto electronics, autonomous driving, and in-car software.
Posted: 14/1/2021
Parler, the self-proclaimed alternative to Twitter, could be cut off permanently, its chief executive John Matze told Reuters on Wednesday. Parler is currently in the process of suing Amazon Web Services (AWS) over its decision to suspend the social media platform.
Posted: 14/1/2021
Sennder, which bought Uber’s freight business last year, has raised $160 million in investment. The funding puts the value of the business at over $1 billion.
Posted: 14/1/2021
Environmental researchers are set to benefit from a powerful supercomputer that will slash their data workload processing times. Plymouth Marine Laboratory is offering out its first HPC (high performance computing) service for applying artificial intelligence to earth observation data.
Posted: 13/1/2021
Worldwide spend on mobile apps jumped by 20 per cent to $143 billion last year. Top markets driving the increase include China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, according to App Annie’s latest State of Mobile report.
Posted: 13/1/2021
The majority of European businesses say COVID has accelerated their use of data in operations, but many are still struggling to win the confidence of customers when it comes to safely handling that data. Over 800 senior managers responsible for data in companies of 100-plus employees and 4,100 consumers across the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands were questioned about the effect of the pandemic on data analytics and management as part of research commissioned by data analytics company Splunk.
Posted: 13/1/2021
General Motors (GM) has announced plans to develop a flying Cadillac that will transport passengers across cities. The self-driving vehicle, which is a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone, will be able to carry a single passenger, and will travel from city rooftops at speeds of up to 55 miles per hour.
Posted: 13/1/2021
Alternative messaging platforms are experiencing a surge in users after WhatsApp announced new data sharing rules earlier this month. Platforms Signal and Telegram have reportedly seen heightened downloads as a result of the announcement about data sharing rules.
Posted: 12/1/2021
UK cloud security incidents are being blamed on a lack of trained IT staff, a lack of budget and cloud complexity. Cyber security vendor Netwrix commissioned research among around 950 IT professionals worldwide who use private and public cloud services to store their data.
Posted: 12/1/2021
Overall cyber security start-up funding since lockdown increased by 52 per cent year-on-year - in contrast to the 10 per cent decrease across all UK tech sectors. However, investment in UK cyber security start-ups is dominated by later stage firms, as companies raising capital for the first time fell by 96 per cent.
Posted: 12/1/2021
Parler is suing Amazon Web Services (AWS) over its decision to suspend the social media platform. The tech giant, which up until Sunday supported the microblogging website with its cloud computing service, suspended the account after it found posts encouraging violence.
Posted: 12/1/2021
European Union commissioner Thierry Breton has said violence by pro-Trump rioters at the US Capitol will prompt an era of tougher social media regulation. The EU commissioner for internal market compared the fallout from the storming of the government building to the global crackdown on terrorism that was triggered by the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York.
Posted: 11/12/2020
Payment processing business Stripe has banned all donations to the Trump campaign in response to violence that took place in Capitol Hill last week. Last Wednesday pro-trump rioters stormed the Capitol building in Washington, resulting in the deaths of at least five people.
Posted: 11/12/2020
Hyundai has said it is in early talks with Apple after local media reported an electric car and battery tie-up between the two businesses, said Reuters. The news pushed Hyundai shares up by around 25 per cent.
Posted: 8/1/2021
Three major Chinese telecom firms have lost $5.6 billion in their value after leading index providers dropped them from their benchmark portfolios. China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom have now shed more than 20 per cent of their value since November.
Posted: 8/1/2021
Elon Musk has overtaken Amazon's Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person, with his net worth passing the $185 billion (£136 billion) mark yesterday. This was a result of a 5 per cent jump in the share price of Musk's Tesla electric car company.
Posted: 8/1/2021
Those using WhatsApp in the UK and EU will avoid new rules that force users to share their data with Facebook. Users outside of the European region will have to agree with updates to data sharing rules by 8 February or delete their accounts.
Posted: 8/1/2021
Cyber criminals have dumped a large batch of sensitive documents stolen from Hackney Council on the dark web, following a ransomware attack on the North East London council last October. It is not known whether the council paid the ransom demanded by last year's attackers.
Posted: 07/01/2021
Donald Trump has been banned from various social media accounts after yesterday's attack on Washington's Capitol Building led to the deaths of four people. The security team defending the House Chamber, where president-elect Joe Biden's confirmation hearing was taking place, shot dead 35-year-old Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt from San Diego, California, who was part of a mob trying to enter the room.
Posted: 07/01/2021
BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, has said it is disappointed that algorithms have again been blamed in general for last year’s exams results crisis. The institute said that while the government’s decision cancel exams this summer is “understandable,” it did not agree that algorithms were solely responsible for mistakes made in determining exam results last year.
Posted: 07/01/2021
A new tech academy is to teach 100,000 UK students critical digital skills training over the next five years. According to Bright Network, the careers company responsible for launching the free tech school.
Posted: 07/01/2021
Donald Trump has signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese apps.
The ban aims to curb the “threat to Americans posed by Chinese software applications, which have large user bases and access to sensitive data,” according to a senior administration official that spoke to Reuters.
The ban aims to curb the “threat to Americans posed by Chinese software applications, which have large user bases and access to sensitive data,” according to a senior administration official that spoke to Reuters.
Posted: 06/01/2021
More than three in five IT directors (62 per cent) believe their employer’s IT budget will increase for 2021, according to research commissioned by DSA Connect, the IT asset disposal company. The findings -based on interviews with 50 UK IT directors - showed nearly half (48 per cent) cited the need to invest in more cloud technology as a key reason for greater IT spending.
Posted: 6/01/2021
Sainsbury’s is among several major UK firms to back the Made Smarter Technology Accelerator programme, with grants of up to £100,000 being made available to innovative startups. The grocery retailer is a partner of the Digital Catapult innovation centre, which is itself backing the match-funded Made Smarter initiative, aimed at fast-forwarding the adoption of new technologies directly into industry.
Posted: 6/01/2021
Google could include privacy labels across its iOS apps as early as this or next week. The new policy will require developers to reveal how data is collected from App Store users and used to track them, reported Reuters.
Posted: 06/01/2021
While professional hiring across England and Wales decreased by a third (33 per cent) in 2020, other sectors like IT “remained resilient”, according to recruitment firms. Research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) and business intelligence specialist Vacancysoft shows that in Q4 2020, IT vacancies were up year-on-year, with November’s numbers increasing 9.9 per cent on the same period in 2019.
Posted: 5/01/2021
BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, has called for data charges on education websites to be waived during lockdown. The organisation said that educational websites, like Purple Mash and Classcharts, should be exempt from mobile data charges to help the poorest families.
Posted: 05/01/2021
Over 200 Google and other Alphabet Inc employees have established a labour union to address working conditions. The creation of the “Alphabet Workers Union” is a continuation of years of protests by employees about the conglomerate’s alleged poor business practices.
Posted: 05/01/2021
Despite the hype, AI/automation and the Internet of Things (IoT) are the least important technology topics for IT leaders right now, according to research. Senior leaders at 300-plus global companies were independently polled on behalf of Meet the Boss, the virtual round-table platform and subsidiary brand of GDS Group.
Posted: 4/01/2021
The children’s commissioner for England plans to bring action on behalf of a 12-year-old girl against TikTok over misuse of personal data. Commissioner Anne Longfield intends to bring the action against six corporate defendants said to be involved in or responsible for the operation of the social media platform.
Posted: 04/01/2021
Rules about how users can operate drones in the UK and across the European Union have come into force. The amendment to existing regulations, which was implemented on Thursday, has categorised drones into three risk categories.
Posted: 04/01/2021
With the coronavirus pandemic forcing everyone online, technology was pushed to the fore in 2020. But what does this mean for digital transformation in 2021? To mark the end of a challenging 12 months, the editorial team at National Technology News have rounded up a host of industry experts to tell us their top technology predictions for the year ahead.
Posted: 22/12/2020
With the end of 2020 in sight, we crunched the numbers to bring you a round-up of National Technology News’ most popular stories of the year.
Posted: 22/12/2020
Almost a third (28 per cent) of UK businesses offer no cyber security training to managers and staff, to reduce the likelihood and severity of data breaches while working from home, according to research.Managed cloud services and security provider iomart questioned 1,167 C-level, director, manager and employee staff about their businesses’ cyber security provisions, including the level of training offered, the extent of data backup policies in place, and their awareness of how to identify a cyber attack.
Posted: 22/12/2020
Apple is aiming to launch a self-driving passenger car that could include its own battery technology by 2024, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Apple is not the only BigTech company dabbling in autonomous vehicle technology; only last week Amazon publicly unveiled its autonomous ride-hailing robotaxi ‘Zoox.’
Posted: 22/12/2020
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has reported 17 “serious” data breaches to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), affecting a total of 121,355 people, according to official figures.
The data, contained in the MoJ’s annual report (2019-2020), and analysed by the Parliament Street think tank, reveals a catalogue of major incidents of personal data loss, including a misplaced, unencrypted USB stick containing documents from a trial; the names of children in a domestic violence case; and the loss of a laptop and phone containing the personal details of MoJ staff members.
The data, contained in the MoJ’s annual report (2019-2020), and analysed by the Parliament Street think tank, reveals a catalogue of major incidents of personal data loss, including a misplaced, unencrypted USB stick containing documents from a trial; the names of children in a domestic violence case; and the loss of a laptop and phone containing the personal details of MoJ staff members.
Posted: 22/12/2020
Facebook has announced that it has made changes across Messenger, Instagram, and Facebook for European users to comply with new EU privacy laws. The social media platform said that the new rules prohibit messaging and calling services from “using data to prevent, detect and respond to child abuse material and other forms of harm.”
Posted: 22/12/2020
Despite the pandemic spurring enterprises to increase innovative IT projects, on average enterprises are now wasting $5.5 million annually on failed, delayed or scaled-back digital transformation projects - the majority for reasons not related to the pandemic - according to research.NoSQL database provider Couchbase commissioned research among 450 heads of digital transformation - such as CIOs, CDOs and CTOs - in organisations with 1,000 employees or more in the the US, the UK, France and Germany.
Posted: 22/12/2020
A committee of MPs has warned the Government that it risks failing to meet its watered-down target for the rollout gigabit-capable broadband and 5G in the face of considerable challenges to infrastructure rollout. Evidence to the Broadband and the road to 5G inquiry launched by the Commons Select Committee for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS Committee) found “little confidence” that nationwide gigabit-capable broadband by 2025 could be delivered and “no genuine belief" within the sector that it was achievable.
Posted: 22/12/2020
Over a fifth (21 per cent) of Britons have already been a victim of cyber crime, according to commissioned research from personal cyber security app Clario, with the average victim losing £1,276. In its Great Cyber Surrender report, based on the research, Clario looks at how the British police and the government have “abandoned” cyber crime victims, and predicts the problem will only get worse following Brexit.
Posted: 21/12/2020
The European Commission has approved Google’s long-awaited purchase of Fitbit for $2.1 billion, following an in-depth investigation. Fitbit first entered an agreement with the BigTech business in November last year, but the purchase was subject to approval by Fitbit’s stockholders and regulatory approvals, including an EU investigation into how the purchase would impact competition in the digital health space.
Posted: 21/12/2020
Almost two-thirds of European citizens on average do not trust public bodies - including governments, local authorities and police - with the security of their data, according to research. Digital marketing agency Reboot Online analysed data from the European Commission among around 28,000 EU citizens, and found that those in Spain (78 per cent) trust public authorities with their personal data the least.
Posted: 21/12/2020
The University of Manchester has teamed up with Spectra Analytics and Advanced to develop an AI solution for GP letter correspondence.Together they are establishing ‘Docman10X’, an AI version of existing healthcare software, which will automatically read patient letters and only show a GP correspondence when the tech thinks it needs further action.
Posted: 18/12/2020
Facebook has attacked Apple's plans to warn iOS users about the data access it has when users install the app on their Apple gadgets. The delayed Apple privacy control on a future version of iOS for Facebook and other apps has drawn a serious reaction from Facebook, which has held a press conference about it accompanied by full page ads in major US newspapers.
Posted: 18/12/2020
Mission-critical US government agencies and large companies, including Microsoft, have been hit by a huge cyber-attack using IT monitoring software from Texas-headquartered SolarWinds. They have now been ordered by US security agencies to deactivate the software to stop the long-term attacks spreading, which are believed to have started at the beginning of the pandemic in March, when thousands of updates to the software were downloaded by government agencies and companies.
Posted: 18/12/2020
The Information Commissioner’s Office has published a new Data Sharing Code of Practice. The code gives practical advice for businesses on how to responsibly share data.
Posted: 18/12/2020
It will be 30 years before there is gender parity in computer science degrees, according to the Chartered Institute for IT. The data reveals that gender equality in IT is making slow progress, with women accounting for 16.2 per cent of all computer science students in 2020, up 1 per cent on last year, according to analysis of UCAS data.
Posted: 17/12/2020
Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of business decision makers are anticipating Covid-themed phishing attacks targeting their company to increase in 2021. A study of 200 business decision makers from Centrify, a privileged access management solution provider, found that more than half (52 per cent) of business decision makers have anticipated an increase in cyber attacks facing their organisations, as triggered by the most recent national lockdown in the UK, which ended on the 2 December.
Posted: 17/12/2020
New EU privacy laws could see BigTech companies banned from using automatic detection tools used to find child abuse images and grooming. Many believe these detection methods breach the privacy of people using messaging apps.
Posted: 17/12/2020
Strava has seen a 33 per cent increase in activities compared to last year. The social platform for athletes, which has 73 million worldwide users, said that the coronavirus pandemic has driven a “boom in global exercise” this year.
Posted: 16/12/2020
The UK will establish its first commercial corridor in Reading next year. BT, along with Altitude Angel, and several UK tech start-ups has been chosen by UK Research and Innovation to deliver ‘Project XCelerate,’ a key Future Flight Challenge project.
Posted: 16/12/2020
Global consulting firm Accenture has made a strategic investment in CleanTech Reactive Technologies, which provides power and grid technology to help utilities accelerate their transition to low-carbon energy. Reactive Technologies is already backed by alternative investment firm Ingenious and offers measurement and analytics services for grid operators, an energy optimisation platform for corporates and an enhanced power purchase agreement for renewable generators.
Posted: 16/12/2020
The EU has revealed plans for new rules that could see BigTech companies face fines of up to 10 per cent of turnover if not complied with. Companies that recurringly break the rules will be obliged to take structural measures, potentially leading to divestiture of certain businesses where no alternative measure is available to ensure compliance.
Posted: 16/12/2020
Twitter has chosen Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide global cloud infrastructure for delivery of its timelines. As part of a multi-year deal, the social media platform will use Amazon’s cloud service to support the delivery of millions of daily tweets.
Posted: 16/12/2020
UK Internet of Things and smart city operator Connexin is rolling out a nationwide IoT network, providing carrier-grade long range wide area network (LoRaWAN) connectivity and infrastructure to firms. The national “low cost” network will better enable every type of organisation to adopt IoT solutions, said Connexin.
Posted: 15/12/2020
More than 60 per cent of jobs furloughed in the first half of 2020 were in sectors at high risk of automation, a new study has found. The final report of the two-year Commission on Workers and Technology revealed that the COVID-19 crisis is accelerating the take-up of job-replacing technologies, especially among low-skilled workers.
Posted: 15/12/2020
The World Economic Forum’s Mining and Metals Blockchain Initiative has released a proof of concept to trace emissions across the supply chain using distributed ledger technology.The initiative is a collaboration between seven global companies and the World Economic Forum (WEF) that aims to accelerate an industry solution for operational visibility and ESG requirements.
Posted: 15/12/2020
The UK government will today launch its highly anticipated online harms legislation to protect internet users. It’s been reported that social media companies could be fined up to £18 million for failing to protect users as part of the new rules.
Posted: 15/12/2020
Amazon’s Zoox has publicly unveiled its autonomous ride-hailing robotaxi. In June, Amazon signed an agreement to acquire Zoox, with chief executive Aicha Evans and chief technology officer Jesse Levinson staying on to lead the company as a standalone business.
Posted: 14/12/2020
Charity Privacy International has expressed concerns about the launch of facial recognition across 18 Co-operative stores. Southern Co-operative, which has more than 200 Co-operative stores in the south of England, said that the technology had been deployed in response to an 80 per cent increase in assaults and violence towards staff this year.
Posted: 14/12/2020
US treasury emails have been hacked by cyber criminals believed to be working for the Russian state, Reuters has reported. According to Reuters, sources familiar with the matter said the cyber-attack was so serious that it led to a National Security Council meeting at the weekend.
Posted: 14/12/2020
Electronic Arts (EA) has announced it will buy British game developer Codemasters for $1.2 billion. The US video game company expects the deal to complete in the first quarter of next year.
Posted: 14/12/2020
Industrial automation and digitalisation firm Siemens Digital Industries is using a new cloud-based integration platform to connect its data management systems, and provide over 80 regional sales teams with product master data in real-time. Master data is crucially important to Siemens and its sales teams, but as the volume of data grew the IT team decided to review how to manage the growing demand for existing applications more efficiently.
Posted: 11/12/2020
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has agreed to fast-track its investigation into the proposed Virgin and O2 merger. The decision came after a request by Virgin and O2 for the CMA to move quickly to the in-depth Phase 2 stage of the investigation.
Posted: 11/12/2020
The American Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued Facebook, alleging that the company is illegally maintaining a social networking monopoly through a “years-long course of anticompetitive conduct.” The action follows a lengthy investigation by the FTC in cooperation with a coalition of attorneys and alleges that Facebook has engaged in a systematic strategy, including its 2012 acquisition of Instagram, its 2014 acquisition of WhatsApp, and the imposition of anticompetitive conditions on software developers to eliminate threats to its monopoly.
Posted: 11/12/2020
Both Visa and Mastercard have announced they have banned the use of their cards on Pornhub. The decision came after an investigation found the existence of unlawful content on the porn website.
Posted: 11/12/2020
Unused software licenses cost European public service organisations an average of £2.4 million a year, research by Insight has revealed. According to the global tech business, the inability for businesses to optimise IT costs has meant they have had to find savings elsewhere.
Posted: 10/12/2020
The government is considering establishing tougher VAT regulations for businesses in the sharing economy, including Uber and Airbnb. In a recently published ‘call for evidence’ document the government said that although the sector creates huge opportunities for the UK economy, it is aware that the sharing economy could “potentially create certain challenges to the VAT tax base.”
Posted: 10/12/2020
The World Economic Forum has today launched 37 initiatives across six continents as part of a multi-year effort to shape the development of the Internet of Things, to improve security, governance and aid the safe distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.The pandemic has “accelerated” remote working, telehealth, distance learning and automation, according to a new report from the WEF's Global Internet of Things Council and PwC.
Posted: 10/12/2020
Google has been fined €100 million by a French regulatory body for putting advertising cookies on users’ computers without consent. The sanctions came as the Commission Nationale de l'informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) fined Amazon €35 million for the same reason.
Posted: 10/12/2020
The National Technology Awards 2021 are open for entries, with a deadline of 12 March 2021 to get your company’s name in the running. The fifth annual awards, which celebrate the pioneers of innovative technology and excellence in the industry, will take place on 27 May 2021.
Posted: 9/12/2020
UK information commissioner Elizabeth Denham CBE has been announced the winner of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT’s prestigious Society Medal 2020. The new annual award recognises Denham’s outstanding contribution to making digital technology good for society.
Posted: 9/12/2020
Plans by tech giants for more encrypted messaging risks greater child exploitation and abuse, the children’s commissioner for England has warned. A report by commissioner Anne Longfield warns that the privacy of direct messaging platforms can conceal some of the most serious crimes against children, including grooming, exploitation, and the sharing of child sexual abuse material.
Posted: 9/12/2020
Four of the top six types of cyber security incidents affecting companies are now related to insider actions, according to research from data security firm Netwrix. The company's Cyber Threats Report is based on feedback from 940 IT professionals worldwide about the cyber threats they have recently faced.
Posted: 9/12/2020
Following an intervention by international authorities, Apple will now indicate on its App Store what personal data each app uses. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), alongside the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets and the Norwegian Consumer Authority, took a lead role in the international effort to improve information available on the use of personal data by applications on Apple’s App Store.
Posted: 9/12/2020
Onfido, the global identity verification and authentication provider, says the risk of identity fraud has “increased significantly” with attacks occurring more frequently since the start of the pandemic. Over the past 12 months, according to Onfido's Identity Fraud Report 2020, the identity document (ID) fraud rate increased by 41 per cent over the previous year, as first-time fraudsters “appear to be more prevalent”.
Posted: 9/12/2020
BMW Group has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop cloud-enabled solutions to increase efficiency, performance, and sustainability across the automotive life cycle.
BMW will migrate data from across its business units and operations in over 100 countries to AWS.
BMW will migrate data from across its business units and operations in over 100 countries to AWS.
Posted: 8/12/2020
New research shows worldwide losses from cyber-crime now total more than $1 trillion. According to a new report by McAfee and Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), losses from cyber-crime have seen a 50 per cent increase from 2018.
Posted: 8/12/2020
Griffin Law has accused HMRC of “breath-taking incompetence” over 11 ‘serious’ personal data breaches that affected more than 20,000 people. Last month HMRC published its annual report which outlines several data breach incidences.
Posted: 8/12/2020
Mark Zuckerberg threatened to pull Facebook’s investment from the UK in a private meeting with Matt Hancock, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has revealed. Minutes from a meeting in May 2018 show that Zuckerberg spoke of an “anti-tech UK government” and joked about making the UK one of two countries he would not visit.
Posted: 8/12/2020
The UK is in ‘urgent’ need of increasing its digital capabilities to tackle COVID-19 challenges and to deliver a levelled-up economy, a new report by TechUK has found. The UK-wide report says that policies must extend beyond the most obvious levers of broadband and digital skills to encompass issues such as digital adoption, data ecosystems, innovation funding, and investment and trade support.
Posted: 7/12/2020
A UK-led space biomining experiment could help the first space settlers gather minerals needed to survive on other planets. The experiment, which was launched on a SpaceX rocket at the weekend, will take up match-box sized containers carrying asteroid rock, which will then be used to grow bacteria and fungi in an incubator for three weeks to investigate how gravity affects interaction between the microbes and rock in reduced gravity.
Posted: 7/12/2020
The government has awarded funding to 21 UK organisations that have “radical ideas” on how to tackle climate change through earth observation. The £7 million funding, provided by the UK Space Agency’s National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP), will also be distributed across businesses and universities addressing satellite communications challenges.
Posted: 7/12/2020
Cisco has announced that it is buying IMImobile, a UK-based cloud communications services company, for $730 million. Cisco will use IMImobile’s cloud communications software and services to deliver a comprehensive customer experience as a service.
Posted: 7/12/2020
The widespread use of masks must mark a “step change” in how identity is managed and the way facial recognition biometrics are developed and applied, says the Biometrics Institute. The Biometrics Institute is an independent international organisation for biometric users, and includes banks, airlines, government agencies, biometric experts, privacy experts, suppliers and academics among it membership.
Posted: 4/12/2020
The government has announced the launch of a new framework for data quality management. The framework, which has been developed in collaboration with the Government Digital Service, contains principles and approaches that can support better management of data quality in organisations.
Posted: 4/12/2020
The European Investment Bank Group (EIB) is investing up to €150 million in artificial intelligence businesses to address a European funding gap. The money, which will be invested alongside funding backed by the European Investment Fund (EIF), will be spent on European companies that are active in the AI sector and in technologies that directly compliment AI, such as blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics.
Posted: 4/12/2020
The National Cyber Centre (NCSC) has launched a Cyber Aware campaign aimed at helping people shop securely online this Christmas.The government campaign, led by the cyber security arm of GCHQ, is aiming to raise awareness of the risks after research found that victims of online shopping fraud in England and Wales lost an average of £775 during last year’s festive period.
Posted: 4/12/2020
Many were prepared for a cyber onslaught, while ill-equipped businesses fell victim when the COVID-19 hit. Alexandra Leonards explores how the pandemic drove cyber-crime and looks at the UK response to the rise in online attacks. The disruption of an atmosphere of crisis and an influx of workers into home offices has created an online haven for cyber criminals.
Posted: 3/12/2020
IBM has exposed a global phishing campaign targeting organisations associated with a COVID-19 Vaccine cold chain. The multinational tech and consulting business found that the cyber operation started in September 2020 and spanned across six countries.
Posted: 3/12/2020
British software teams may be more “risk-averse” than their counterparts in the US and across Europe when it comes to coding, according to data from code building systems provider CircleCI - but they are more accurate.
Posted: 3/12/2020
UK employees waste over 40 working days a year each on routine tasks that could be automated by robots, according to research. Over half of office workers (53 per cent) said processes made their job “more challenging”, 39 per cent said they “wasted their time”, and a third (32 per cent) were “let down” by them.
Posted: 3/12/2020
Facebook’s independent Oversight Board has chosen its first six cases to review. The Oversight Board, which began accepting cases last month, is an independent body that users can appeal to if they disagree with decisions Facebook has made about their content on either Facebook or Instagram.
Posted: 2/12/2020
Almost half (47 per cent) of IT teams in large and medium-sized firms are using temporary staff to cope with the “sizeable workload” caused by COVID-19 and remote working, shows research. Business software provider Zoho commissioned research among 200 decision-makers at companies, which revealed that over two-thirds (70 per cent) of businesses are also planning to outsource key IT functions in 2021, in an effort to “cut costs” during the pandemic.
Posted: 2/12/2020
Salesforce has bought communication platform Slack for $27.7 billion as part of its strategy to develop an extensive open ecosystem of apps and workflows for business. Salesforce will combine Slack with its customer relationship management (CRM) platform ‘Salesforce Customer 360’ to create a new operating system for workforces.
Posted: 2/12/2020
Infogrid has raised $15.5m Series A funding to accelerate growth and address the climate crisis. The AI company, which automates facilities management and develops smart buildings, will use the funding to help businesses reduce the environmental and social cost of their buildings.
Posted: 2/12/2020
Facebook’s Libra Association has announced that it will be changing its name to The Diem Association to represent “a new day for the project.” The association, which is responsible for overseeing the rollout of Facebook Libra digital currency and payments and Novi digital wallet systems, also said that it has recruited key executives to help achieve regulatory approval and progress toward launch of the project, which is reportedly due early next year, albeit in scaled back form.
Posted: 1/12/2020
Facebook will pay some publishers for content on its UK news platform which launches next year. Facebook News, a dedicated space for national and local news, will pay news outlets for content that is not already on the platform.
Posted: 1/12/2020
Amazon Web Services is partnering with BlackBerry to develop and market BlackBerry’s intelligent vehicle data platform, IVY. IVY is a cloud-connected software platform designed to help automakers read vehicle sensor data and create actionable insights so they can personalise and enhance in-vehicle services for drivers and passengers.
Posted: 1/12/2020
Consumer virtual reality content will bring in over $7 billion of global revenue in 2025, an increase of over 160 per cent on the $3 billion it is expected to generate in 2020, according to Juniper Research. The primary driver for consumer content in this space will be console gamers, which will account for 41 per cent of revenue generated in 2025, the research firm found.
Posted: 1/12/2020
PayPoint and Bulb have switched on a new partnership that will allow Bulb’s customers to pay for their energy top-ups at 27,500 convenience stores across the UK. Bulb currently supplies 100 per cent renewable electricity and gas to 1.7 million people. The deal means Bulb customers can top up their pre-payment meters - whether they have a traditional or smart meter - at PayPoint’s extensive retailer network.
Posted: 1/12/2020
UK SMEs are in a better position than large corporates in facing the new year when it comes to technology and skills, according to research from recruitment firm Harvey Nash and consulting firm KPMG. SMEs are “better prepared” for remote working, “less distracted” by cyber attacks and “less held back” by skills shortages than larger firms, according to the 2020 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey.
Posted: 30/11/2020
UK SMEs are in a better position than large corporates in facing the new year when it comes to technology and skills, according to research from recruitment firm Harvey Nash and consulting firm KPMG. SMEs are “better prepared” for remote working, “less distracted” by cyber attacks and “less held back” by skills shortages than larger firms, according to the 2020 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey.
Posted: 30/11/2020
UK SMEs are in a better position than large corporates in facing the new year when it comes to technology and skills, according to research from recruitment firm Harvey Nash and consulting firm KPMG. SMEs are “better prepared” for remote working, “less distracted” by cyber attacks and “less held back” by skills shortages than larger firms, according to the 2020 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey.
Posted: 30/11/2020
UK SMEs are in a better position than large corporates in facing the new year when it comes to technology and skills, according to research from recruitment firm Harvey Nash and consulting firm KPMG. SMEs are “better prepared” for remote working, “less distracted” by cyber attacks and “less held back” by skills shortages than larger firms, according to the 2020 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey.
Posted: 30/11/2020
UK SMEs are in a better position than large corporates in facing the new year when it comes to technology and skills, according to research from recruitment firm Harvey Nash and consulting firm KPMG. SMEs are “better prepared” for remote working, “less distracted” by cyber attacks and “less held back” by skills shortages than larger firms, according to the 2020 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey.
Posted: 30/11/2020
UK SMEs are in a better position than large corporates in facing the new year when it comes to technology and skills, according to research from recruitment firm Harvey Nash and consulting firm KPMG. SMEs are “better prepared” for remote working, “less distracted” by cyber attacks and “less held back” by skills shortages than larger firms, according to the 2020 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey.
Posted: 30/11/2020
The government has today announced that operators will be banned from installing Huawei 5G equipment from September 2021. Earlier this year, in response to US sanctions, the government announced that operators should stop procuring new Huawei equipment from the end of 2020 and remove all Huawei equipment by the end of 2027.
Posted: 30/11/2020
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is helping Manchester United recover from a cyber-attack. A NCSC spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident affecting Manchester United Football Club and have been working with law enforcement partners in response.”
Posted: 30/11/2020
The COVID-19 crisis is “accentuating” the need to bridge digital divides, says the OECD, and has called on governments to quickly open up more wireless spectrum and broadband connectivity to mitigate global difficulties. In a report, the OECD says improved internet connectivity and skills have helped “many countries” to cope with the health and economic crisis from COVID-19. Yet, it says, the pandemic has “raised the bar” for digital transition and “underscores” the need to close digital divides that “risk” leaving some people and firms worse off than others in a post-COVID world.
Posted: 27/11/2020
Facebook’s Libra stablecoin cryptocurrency is set to launch as early as January, according to the Financial Times, who cited three unidentified people involved in the launch. Since the project’s announcement in 2019, it has sparked regulatory and political backlash from governments and central banks, and as a result the official launch of the stablecoin will represent an even more scaled back version of the project’s wider ambitions for payments, which were already watered down earlier this year.
Posted: 27/11/2020
The government is launching a new regime for BigTech which will give consumers more choice and control over their data, help SMEs thrive and make sure news outlets are not forced out by their bigger rivals. The Digital Markets Unit, set up within the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), will also work with Ofcom and the Information Comissioner’s Officer to enforce a new code that will oversee the behaviour of platforms currently dominating the market, including Google and Facebook.
Posted: 27/11/2020
The British Army has selected military simulation provider Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim) to lead the advanced phase of its Virtual Reality In-Land Training (VRLT) pilot programme, which will examine the value of VR in defence training.
Posted: 27/11/2020
Altana AI, a startup working to “de-risk” global supply chains, has secured seed investment of $7 million. The funding round was led by Amadeus Capital Partners, the London-based venture capital firm with a track record of backing artificial intelligence, risk management and national security technology companies.
Posted: 26/11/2020
A UK-built space rover is a step closer to reaching Mars after tests of the parachutes set to land the vehicle were successful. The European Space Agency (ESA) ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover, built by Airbus to detect life on Mars, is due for launch in September 2022.
Posted: 26/11/2020
MPs have demanded Amazon explain why its Alexa service gives access to antisemitic messages and conspiracy theories.In a letter to Amazon UK’s VP country manager John Boumphrey, The All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism (APPG) asked him to explain how these messages were made accessible on the service.
Posted: 26/11/2020
Calls for IT support at UK SMEs have ballooned during the pandemic, according to research conducted by YouGov on behalf of Cantium Business Solutions. The survey of 939 IT decision-makers at SMEs logged the increase in IT support tickets and requests since lockdown restrictions first came into place in mid-March this year.
Posted: 25/11/2020
Medical students at Imperial College London are using mixed reality technology from Microsoft to experience real patients in hospitals despite COVID-19 restrictions. Imperial’s faculty of medicine is using Microsoft HoloLens technology to overcome the challenges of face-to-face training in hospitals as healthcare providers sought to combat the spread of Coronavirus.
Posted: 25/11/2020
Legacy technology is holding UK business back during lockdown and could leave them vulnerable to future disruption, according to commissioned research from ServiceNow. Prior to the announcement of the second and current national lockdown, both C-level leaders and employees had “low confidence” that they would be able to adapt to another major business disruption, the survey found.
Posted: 24/11/2020
Vodafone UK is to launch a range of Internet of Things (IoT) services, expected to remove barriers for UK adoption of the digital technology. Vodafone is partnering with IoT.nxt, which is already part of the Vodafone Group, to deliver every part of an IoT solution with a single data management platform and the capability to integrate old and new devices in one system.
Posted: 24/11/2020
Manchester United Football Club announced on Friday that it experienced a cyber-attack on its systems. The Club said it took swift action to contain the attack and worked with expert advisors to investigate the incident and minimise ongoing IT disruption.
Posted: 23/11/2020
MPs have experienced nearly 23 million email cyber-attacks in eight months, averaging 2.7 million attacks per month, a 60 per cent increase compared to last years figures. In 2019, there were just 1.7 million monthly average attacks per month.
Posted: 23/11/2020
A new Microsoft UK report has found that Britain’s digital skills gap could pose a risk to economic recovery. While the report revealed 78 per cent of UK leaders think having a large pool of digital talent will be essential to driving UK competitiveness, it also found that 69 per are currently facing a digital skills gap.
Posted: 23/11/2020
Facebook and Google are among series of tech giants to join a new collaborative effort led by Full Fact to tackle misinformation online. The fact-checking organisation is assembling experts from a range of companies and institutions, including the UK Government, Twitter, Google and Reuters to help address the issue.
Posted: 20/11/2020
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will investigate a proposed merger between Virgin Media and O2 because of its potential impact on competition in UK telecommunications. After the announcement of the deal was made earlier this year, the CMA said it would make a formal request to the European Commission (EC) to review the merger.
Posted: 20/11/2020
The government will fund a National Cyber Force (NCF), an Artificial Intelligence (AI) agency and a new Space Command as part of its largest military investment in 30 years. Earlier this week Number 10 announced an increase of £16.5 billion for the UK defence budget.
Posted: 20/11/2020
The Tech Nation Global Talent Visa for the UK has a significant rise in applications in the last two years, and the numbers are expected to rise further as the UK leaves the European Union at the end of this year. The Tech Nation Global Talent Visa – a government visa administered by industry body Tech Nation - enables IT pros to move to the UK to work for IT firms or set up their own businesses.
Posted: 19/11/2020
Uber has entered a partnership with Marqeta to streamline payment experiences for its apps. The global modern card issuing platform will assist Uber in providing one central payment experience across multiple modes of transit and help the ridesharing and delivery service create new efficiencies in its Eats product.
Posted: 19/11/2020
The prime minister has set out a £12 billion ten point plan for a “green industrial revolution”, that also aims to create and support up to 250,000 British jobs. Covering clean energy, transport, nature and innovative technologies, the blueprint supports the government's aim of the UK achieving net zero by 2050, when it comes to helping tackle global climate change.
Posted: 19/11/2020
Nearly half of all worldwide cybersecurity related patents filed over the past four years have been focussed on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), according to Wipro’s latest cybersecurity report. The global IT company said its research, based on a survey of 194 organisations and 21 academic, institutional and technology partners, found a paradigm shift towards cyber resilience amid the rise in global remote work.
Posted: 18/11/2020
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has partnered with NXP Semiconductors to deliver an edge-to-cloud compute solution for next generation vehicles. The solution includes expanded access to real-time, vehicle-wide data, secure connectivity to the cloud and streamlined machine learning.
Posted: 17/11/2020
The future of the cyber security industry and the security of everyone’s personal data will hinge on managing four technologies and trends, according to a report from the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF conducted a 14-month study with the University of Oxford to examine how shifts in technology will impact the cyber-security industry, based on the input of over 100 leaders in the cyber security community spanning businesses, governments, academia and civil society.
Posted: 16/11/2020
Machine identity-related cyber attacks grew by more than 400 per cent over the two-year period of 2018 and 2019, according to research, with the problem potentially set to get worse as the Internet of Things (IoT) adoption grows. Venafi, a provider of machine identity management, examined malware, vulnerabilities and attacks using machine identities over the last five years. Its study found that the machine identity attack surface is “exploding”, with a rapid increase in all types of machine identity-related security events in 2018 and 2019.
Posted: 16/11/2020
The IT industry should be regulated to ensure ethical standards in areas like artificial intelligence (AI), according to the public. Research among 2,100 UK adults - commissioned by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT - found the majority (59 per cent) believed the IT profession should be “kept focussed” on “solving society’s problems” by an independent regulatory body.
Posted: 11/11/2020
The Open University has been bombarded by 1,191,312 malicious email and spam attacks over the past nine months, but says it has managed to defend itself against the lot. The scale of the attacks is reported through official data obtained by the Parliament Street think tank via a Freedom of Information request. The data covers the period from January to September 2020, and shows that all the malicious messages - which included spam, malware and phishing attacks - were blocked by the University’s servers.
Posted: 9/11/2020
Businesses overwhelmingly agree that their biggest technology challenge of the pandemic has been the switch to remote working, and that cyber security is their priority for the coming year. The 2020 Business Tech Priorities Report from IT infrastructure provider Softcat questioned almost 1,600 businesses in the private and public sectors in the UK and Ireland, and also found that “enhancing the digital workspace” to “boost productivity, engagement and happiness” has been a major challenge during 2020 and one that will continue into 2021.
Posted: 9/11/2020
Healthcare, finance and insurance were the top targets for cyber criminals as attacks spiked 260 per cent during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research. An analysis of more than 6.6 billion encrypted threat reports by cloud security firm Zscaler found that cybercriminals stepped up their attacks on critical infrastructure from January through to September 2020, using encrypted channels to exploit vulnerabilities.
Posted: 9/11/2020
The British Interplanetary Society (BIS) has launched a competition awarding prizes of up to £5000 for ideas focussed on energy-usage in space exploration technologies. The BIS, a think tank exploring space development, is looking for participants to come up with the best ideas relating to the storage and handling of antihydrogen.
Posted: 09/11/2020
The number of IT small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in “significant” financial distress now stands at 36,000 - up eight per cent since the end of the first quarter and four per cent increase since the second quarter - potentially endangering 82,000 jobs. The figures are from the latest Business Distress Index from business recovery firm Begbies Traynor's RealBusinessRescue unit, which analysed data from Red Flag Alert's proprietary credit risk scoring system and lists of County Court Judgements for unpaid bills.
Posted: 06/11/20
Bentley has laid out plans to switch its entire model range to plug-in hybrid or battery electric vehicles by 2026, and full electric vehicles only by 2030. The British luxury car manufacturer detailed its Beyond100 strategy today, which also includes the aim of being an end-to-end carbon neutral organisation as it embarks on its second century.
Posted: 06/11/20
Two innovations to help companies tackle financial crime are the latest results to come out of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) regulatory sandbox. Onfido has worked in the ICO sandbox to identify and mitigate bias present in the biometric identity verification technology it designed to enable its clients to prove their customers are who they claim to be.
Posted: 06/11/20
A group of 10 Spanish companies are working together to develop a self-managed digital identity model for customers using blockchain technology. The Dalion project includes Banco Santander, Bankia, BME, CaixaBank, Inetum, Liberbank, Línea Directa Aseguradora, Mapfre, Naturgy and Repsol, along with the Alastria blockchain consortium.
Posted: 05/11/20
Business spend management vendor Coupa Software has acquired supply chain design and planning player LLamasoft for $1.5 billion. Both companies are headquartered in the US and LLamasoft’s technology is used by global brands such as Boeing, Danone, Home Depot and Nestle. “The acquisition will strengthen our supply chain capabilities, enabling businesses to drive greater value through business spend management (BSM),” said Coupa.
Posted: 05/11/20
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and Microsoft are looking for cyber security companies to “help protect the UK”. The tech giant's partnership with the NCSC Cyber Accelerator programme is aiming to find and develop startups that can make the UK the “safest place to live and work online”.
Posted: 05/11/20
A Freedom of Information request to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has revealed that 68 per cent of the fines it has levied since January 2019 have not been paid. A year ago The SMS Works, an SMS Application Programming Interface firm, reported initial findings around problems the data regulator was having collecting penalties.
Posted: 05/11/20
Insurance broker Policywise has selected InsurTech ThingCo to support a mass market telematics solution. Policywise will be offering customers ThingCo’s solar powered, artificial intelligence, voice-enabled Theo device.
Posted: 05/11/20
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has opened the second round of applications for funding under its AI in Health and Care initiative. Tech firms, researchers and developers can now bid for support in developing and testing artificial intelligence and machine learning products and systems for use in the NHS.
Posted: 05/11/20
Intervention from the Chinese government has blocked what was shaping up to be the largest Initial Public Offering (IPO) in history. Ant Group was due to launch the £34.4 billion IPO on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges tomorrow, but Chinese authorities summoned key executives to a meeting in which they were told the group's online lending business would face much more scrutiny.
Posted: 04/11/20
The UK's tech skills gap is set to narrow as half of British workers are considering a career change to IT, helped by their experience of the ongoing pandemic. CWJobs commissioned research among 2,150 professionals, comprising of 1,120 tech workers and 1,026 non-tech workers.
Posted: 04/11/20
Sugar has closed a round of pre-seed financing to further develop its platform. The company provides automated, data-driven finance to help game and app studios scale up, without them having to raise equity finance.
Posted: 04/11/20
Robots that patrol UK roads to detect and repair cracks and potholes, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce beer waste, and converting seaweed into compostable packaging, are just some of over 1,000 projects that will receive £134 million of government investment. Businesses from Glasgow to Devon are set to benefit from the investment, enabling 1,069 clean growth projects to develop new technologies, secure and create new jobs, drive productivity and tackle climate change.
Posted: 04/11/20
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) - a part of government intelligence agency GCHQ - says it defended the UK from 723 cyber incidents in the last year, among other attacks listed in its fourth annual review. The NCSC said it protected the country from an average of 60 attacks per month during a year which saw its resources “proactively focused on the coronavirus response”.
Posted: 03/11/2020
An academic consortium dedicated to researching trust in autonomous systems has been announced as part of a £3 million project. Led by Heriot-Watt University, home to the National Robotarium, the project brings together academic expertise in robotics, cognitive science and psychology from Imperial College London and the University of Manchester.
Posted: 03/11/20
British Patient Capital (BPC), the UK government investment arm, has stated that its total investments now total over £1 billion. BPC is a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank, the UK government’s economic development bank.
Posted: 02/11/20
The global number of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) connections will increase from 17.7 billion in 2020 to 36.8 billion in 2025 - representing an overall growth rate of 107 per cent. Juniper Research identified smart manufacturing as a key growth sector of the IIoT market over the next five years, accounting for 22 billion connections by 2025.
Posted: 02/11/20
The tech sector bounced back in the third quarter, according to KPMG’s quarterly survey compiled by IHS Markit, as business activity started to recover from a record drop caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown in the second quarter. The UK Tech Monitor Index showed that the sector was back into expansion mode during the third quarter, at 53.3, which is above the neutral 50 level and up sharply from 31.8 in the second quarter
Posted: 02/11/20
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined US-headquartered Marriott International £18.4 million for failing to keep millions of customers’ personal data secure. Marriott estimated that 339 million guest records worldwide were affected following a cyber attack in 2014 on Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide.
Posted: 30/10/20
More than 1,000 schools, colleges and universities internationally have been targeted by over 3.5 million 'spear-phishing' attacks from June through to September, attempting to catch out staff with damaging hacks as they struggle to continue running their establishments during the pandemic. Spear-phishing is a personalised phishing attack that targets a specific organisation or individual.
Posted: 30/10/20
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is creating a website following intensive user research with businesses and researchers. The site will ultimately integrate all the UKRI corporate websites, including Innovate UK, to deliver an informative, inspiring user experience – providing a unified voice for UKRI and its nine councils.
Posted: 30/10/20
Two thirds of Europe’s enterprises now have the majority of their business applications running in the cloud, but secure connectivity to those applications may not be certain for some. A survey commissioned research among 606 executives across the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands by cloud connectivity company Zscaler found that nearly half (48 per cent) of European enterprises expect the number of people working remotely to grow between 25 and 50 per cent in the next year, but only a third were confident they had a secure remote access infrastructure in place.
Posted: 30/10/20
London is Britain's hacking danger zone, according to retailer GAME. The capital saw 4,348 reported hacking cases in the year up to September, that cost victims a total of £4,031.
Posted: 29/10/20
The Finance Forward Europe 2020 accelerator - backed by PayPal, MetLife Foundation and Village Capital - has unveiled the five winners of $150,000 funding. The 10 participating tech ventures from across Europe are aiming to tackle challenges that face financially excluded groups, with these becoming more difficult during the ongoing pandemic.
Posted: 29/10/20
SpaceX has released a public beta test of its Starlink broadband internet service, which is beamed to users via small satellites. Various local government departments across the US are already using it, but it is now being rolled out to a select group of individual consumers.
Posted: 29/10/20
Barclays is launching a 12-week virtual accelerator programme designed to help early-stage tech businesses, founded by one or more Black entrepreneurs, in order to boost diversity in entrepreneurship. The accelerator, in partnership with social enterprise organisation Foundervine, includes a series of masterclasses focused on a number of core business skills, including product development, sales strategy, operations and leadership.
Posted: 29/10/20
Employers are being called on to forge closer links to schools to stem the IT skills gap, as data shows there has been a 40 per cent slump in the total number of GCSE and A-level students studying computing qualifications between 2015 and 2020. In 2015, 144,635 students studied some form of IT/computing qualification at GCSE or A-Level, but in 2020 that figure dropped to 87,335, according to the latest Ofqual figures.
Posted: 28/10/20
Ericsson has been selected by BT as its main 5G partner for London and other major UK cities. BT and other operators had been ordered by the government not to use core 5G equipment from Chinese firm Huawei.
Posted: 28/10/20
Daimler Trucks and Waymo have signed a global strategic partnership to deploy autonomous driving technology. Initially they will combine Waymo's tech with a unique version of Daimler's Freightliner Cascadia, to enable autonomous driving.
Posted: 28/10/20
Investment in the UK’s sustainable startups increased by nearly tenfold in the five years from 2014 to 2019. Research from Tech Nation and Dealroom showed that investments in ‘impact startups’ - those addressing one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals - increased by 9.5 times over the five-year period.
Posted: 27/10/2020
While almost all IT security professionals have transitioned to remote work because of COVID-19, only a third described that transition as “smooth”. This is according to a new survey, carried out by Dimensional Research on behalf of One Identity, among 1,216 IT security stakeholders between at the end of August.
Posted: 27/10/20
Ant Group is set to raise up to $34.4 billion in what will be the largest stock market debut to date. The dual listing in both Shanghai and Hong Kong, would value Ant at around $312 billion, with options for a 15 per cent overallotment of shares.
Posted: 27/10/20
Eagle Genomics has closed a $9 million scale-up funding round, promising to use the investment to further develop the capabilities of its artificial intelligence-augmented knowledge discovery platform and drive further commercial expansion across Europe and the US. Environmental Technologies Fund and a consortium of investors from across science, AI and analytics fields have provided this latest round of investment.
Posted: 26/10/20
ActionAid International has published new research on the scale of potential tax revenue that could be raised from BigTech companies operating in the global south. ActionAid’s new research analysed Facebook, Alphabet and Microsoft and the potential tax revenue that their market activity could generate, if the tax regime and resulting corporation tax bills better reflected these companies’ economic presence.
Posted: 26/10/20
The number of digital identity apps in use will exceed 6.2 billion in 2025, from just over one billion in 2020. Juniper Research stated that civic identity apps, where government-issued identities are held in an app, will account for almost 90 per cent of digital identity apps installed globally in 2025 – driven by the increasing use of civic identity in emerging markets and the lasting impact of the pandemic.
Posted: 26/10/20
Ofcom has issued a statement of objections to Motorola Solutions UK and Sepura, stating that they infringed on the Competition Act by exchanging competitively sensitive information relating to future pricing intentions in connection with a procurement exercise run by the Police ICT company in 2018. Specifically, the provisional decision alleges that Motorola and Sepura participated in a concerted practice that had the object of preventing, restricting or distorting competition in the supply of devices, accessories and related services for use on the Airwave network in Great Britain and may have affected trade within the UK and between EU Member States.
Posted: 26/10/20
British Patient Capital has made a $35 million commitment to the Evolution Technology Fund II, which is expected to achieve a targeted $250 million final close in the coming months and is already investing in growing cyber security and enterprise software companies. Evolution Equity Partners has been investing in cyber security companies over the past 20 years, targeting those making use of big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence and software-as-a-service.
Posted: 23/10/20
McAfee has returned to the public markets with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) that raised $620 million. The cyber security company had priced its IPO at $20 a share, aiming to raise $740 million from the sale of 37 million shares, but its stock opened at $18.60 per share yesterday – down seven per cent.
Posted: 23/10/20
Taylor Construction has completed trials and is now using a 5G for its business networking in partnership with Cradlepoint. The Australian-based firm is already experiencing wide area network (WAN) speeds of up to 20 times the performance of its 4G connection, to support a range of bandwidth and latency-sensitive connected devices and applications on its construction sites.
Posted: 22/10/20
Hundreds of space jobs will be created in Scotland following the government’s approval of plans for Lockheed Martin to transfer its satellite launch operations to Shetland Space Centre. The spaceport anticipates that by 2024, its site could support a total of 605 jobs in Scotland, including 140 locally and 210 across the wider Shetland region.
Posted: 22/10/20
Ant Group, the parent company of Chinese digital payments giant Alipay, is launching a digital copyright services platform powered by blockchain and artificial intelligence technology. The platform will use AntChain, the company’s proprietary blockchain technology, to simplify the process of verifying and protecting copyright on original creations
and solutions.
and solutions.
Posted: 22/10/2020
Wayve has signed a deal with Microsoft to use Azure to scale its artificial intelligence-based autonomous driving technology. The London-based company that’s developing software for self-driving cars will use Microsoft’s cloud platform in its research and development of a data-driven solution capable of navigating urban environments.
Posted: 22/10/20
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is consulting on whether monitoring technology could be used to track fishing boats in English waters. A call for evidence has been published on the use of integrated onboard systems of cameras, sensors, video storage and GPS to prevent overfishing.
Posted: 21/10/20
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is looking to develop a cyber health framework for local authorities in England. A statement explained that it will carry out research and build a prototype over the six months from late November.
Posted: 21/10/20
Quinyx has acquired Widget Brain to enhance its proposition by allowing organisations using its software to automate their labour optimisation process through Widget Brain’s artificial intelligence-driven technology. Widget Brain’s service allows companies to balance different business objectives by fully automating the labour scheduling process, resulting in significant time and cost savings.
Posted: 21/10/20
Innovate UK has put out a call for investors to join a programme supporting businesses carrying out innovative projects that aim to reduce resources and energy use in key industries. Foundation industries - such as the cement, glass, ceramics, paper, metals, and bulk chemical sectors - are vital for UK manufacturing and worth around £52 billion to the economy.
Posted: 20/10/20
Nokia has been chosen by NASA to build the first cellular network on the moon. The Finnish technology firm has been chosen by the US space agency as a key technology partner for technologies which will advance plans to establish a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface.
Posted: 19/10/2020
Nine out of 10 UK workers will need reskilling for the digital economy by 2030, at a cost of
£13 billion a year, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned.A report on the need for more adult education, based on analysis by McKinsey & Company, highlighted
the rising threat of automation to millions of UK jobs, arguing that re-skilling has become more urgent as a result of the Coronavirus.
£13 billion a year, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned.A report on the need for more adult education, based on analysis by McKinsey & Company, highlighted
the rising threat of automation to millions of UK jobs, arguing that re-skilling has become more urgent as a result of the Coronavirus.
Posted: 19/10/20
Pimloc has raised £1.4 million in seed funding, in a round led by Amadeus Capital Partners with participation from Speedinvest and existing shareholders. Founded in 2016, the startup specialises in deep learning systems for security video and diverse image collections.
Posted: 19/10/20
Leaders of the G7 group of nations have opposed the launch of Facebook’s Libra stablecoin until it is properly regulated. A statement prepared for a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers of the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and the UK, said that digital payment services had to be appropriately supervised and regulated so that they would not undermine financial stability, consumer protection, privacy, taxation or cyber security.
Posted: 16/10/20
IT leaders are increasingly concerned that accelerated digital transformation, combined with the complexity of modern multi-cloud environments, is putting already stretched digital teams under too much pressure. This is according to a global survey of 700 chief information officers (CIOs) in large enterprises with over 1,000 employees, conducted by Vanson Bourne and commissioned by Dynatrace.
Posted: 16/10/20
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined British Airways (BA) £20 million for failing to protect the personal and financial details of more than 400,000 of its customers. An ICO investigation found the airline was processing a significant amount of personal data without adequate security measures in place.
Posted: 16/10/20
Finastra has opened registration for its annual hackathon, with Hack to the Future 2020 being entirely virtual due to the COVID crisis. Prizes up for grabs include cash, platform certification fees waived, internship and coaching opportunities and the possibility to onboard projects into Finastra’s FusionStore app marketplace.
Posted: 15/10/20
With the digitalisation of industrial infrastructure underway, 55 per cent of organisations are confident that the Internet of Things (IoT) will change the state of security in industrial control systems (ICS). A report from Kaspersky revealed that 20 per cent of organisations have already prioritised IoT-related incidents, although effective solutions against IoT threats are not yet widespread.
Posted: 15/10/20
Data platform company RegulAItion has appointed the Open Data Institute (ODI) as partner in the development of its AIR Platform. The partnership will see the ODI implementing an extensive research, testing and data ethics programme as the platform deepens its privacy-by-design approach.
Posted: 14/10/20
The first of the 2021 prediction reports has forecast that next year every company will double down on technology-fuelled experiences, operations, products, and ecosystems. According to Forrester’s outlook, the success of European organisations will depend on how quickly and well they harness technology to enable their workforce and build platforms that differentiate them.
Posted: 15/10/20
Amazon will not have to pay the UK’s new digital services tax on products it sells directly to consumers, while small businesses which sell products on its site will face increased charges. The tax - which aims to get tech Silicon Valley firms to pay their way in the UK - is forecast to eventually bring in about £500 million a year.
Posted: 14/10/20
Industry leaders have released the Global Standards Mapping Initiative (GSMI), the first and most comprehensive effort to assess the current state of blockchain. Based on input from over 30 technical standard-setting entities, 185 jurisdictions and nearly 400 industry groups, the reports are intended to serve as a resource for the blockchain community to develop frameworks and standards.
Posted: 14/10/20
More than 1,000 UK tech startups have filed for administration, liquidation or dissolution since lockdown began, according to new research released today by Plexal and Beauhurst. Following artificially low filings between April and August, September saw a record number of filings - the highest monthly figure in 10 years - as the true impact of COVID-19 started to show.
Posted: 14/10/20
Tech Nation has announced the 32 companies that have been selected to join its Applied AI Growth programme. The programme has been designed to support the UK’s most exceptional deep tech scaleups through peer-to-peer learning and mentoring sessions, addressing the particular scaling challenges for companies in the artificial intelligence sector.
Posted: 14/10/20
The Council of Europe has identified “a number of shortcomings” in the protection of privacy and personal data in the legal and technical measures adopted by governments to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its report specifically looked at the 55 African, Latin-American and European countries which joined the data protection Convention 108.
Posted: 13/10/20
Though external economic headwinds due to the Coronavirus persisted in the third quarter, venture capital (VC) exit activity saw a major uptick, achieving the second highest exit values on record. The latest PitchBook and National Venture Capital Association quarterly report suggested that positive momentum from the stock market in recent months has encouraged companies to move forward with Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) if they were prepared and considering that exit route.
Posted: 13/10/20
New analysis by PwC has suggested that blockchain technology could boost the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) by £57 billion over the next decade. The professional services firm’s economists assessed how the technology is currently being used and gauged its potential to create value across every industry, from healthcare, government and public services to manufacturing, finance, logistics and retail.
Posted: 13/10/20
The UK economy could get a £48 billion boost if companies made simple changes to how bosses work with staff and use technology. The study by Goldsmiths, University of London, in partnership with Microsoft, found that a failure to fully embrace technology is harming businesses.
Posted: 13/10/20
The nations of the Five Eyes security alliance have called on technology companies to design their products so they offer 'back door' access to encrypted messages and content. It argued that "encryption is an existential anchor of trust in the digital world and we do not support counter-productive and dangerous approaches that would materially weaken or limit security systems".
Posted: 12/10/20
September was the highest month for Tech Nation visa applications since records began in 2014, following August being the third highest month for visa applications. Tech Nation also stated that applications in the third quarter were up 42 per cent on the previous quarter, and up eight per cent on the same period last year.
Posted: 12/10/20
Insect farming startup Ÿnsect has extended its Series C funding to $372 million – the largest amount ever raised by a non-American AgriTech business. According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, consumption of animal proteins will grow by 52 per cent between 2007 and 2030, posing a serious risk for the world's fragile ecosystems.
Posted: 12/10/20
TalkTalk has received a takeover offer from one of its shareholders, Toscafund Asset Management (TAM). The investment manager already owns 30.5 percent of the internet service provider (ISPs), but has now offered 97 pence per share, making the value of the takeover offer approximately £1.1 billion.
Posted: 12/10/20
Messaging app Telegram has integrated with ECOMMPAY to let users to make in-app purchases via Telegram Bots. With the global chatbot marketing growing rapidly, ECOMMPAY-powered payments will provide businesses with access to a new sales channel, enabling them to unlock more revenue, improve audience engagement and build stronger brand loyalty.
Posted: 12/10/20
Reckitt Benckiser (RB) is moving to Azure and placing Microsoft’s cloud platform ‘at the heart’ of its new factory transformation plan. The health, hygiene and nutrition company - which makes products like Dettol, Durex, Gaviscon and Finish - will also roll out Microsoft 365 to support these initiatives and ensure its 40,000 staff can collaborate from anywhere in the world.
Posted: 09/10/20
IBM has announced that it will split its business, accelerating its hybrid cloud growth strategy, while separating the managed infrastructure services unit of its Global Technology Services division into a new public company. The separation is expected to be achieved as a tax-free spin-off to IBM shareholders, and completed by the end of 2021.
Posted: 09/10/20
Legal & General (L&G) has partnered with NTT DATA to help build its data science capabilities. L&G stated that it will leverage its data to improve the delivery of products and services encompassing investment management, pensions, annuities and life assurance it offers to its 13 million customers every day.
Posted: 09/10/20
Amazon has formally announced the design of its first custom-made electric delivery vehicle. The delivery van, built in partnership with e-vehicle manufacturer Rivian, is one of three models that Amazon has commissioned as part of its Climate Pledge commitment to become carbon zero by 2024.
Posted: 08/10/2020
The development of 5G networks will increase the UK’s dependency on mobile connectivity, opening the country up to security risks such as espionage, sabotage or system failure, according to a report from the Commons defence select committee.
Posted: 08/10/2020
Salesforce has announced the launch of a second $100 million impact fund. The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software giant said the Impact Fund, from its Salesforce Ventures global strategic arm, would support the growth of companies driving impact across education and workforce development, sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion.
Posted: 08/10/2020
More than one in five (21 per cent) UK workers feel more vulnerable to cyber crime since the outbreak of COVID-19, according to a new survey from PwC. Of those people, 35 per cent cited stress or fatigue and 17 per cent cited working in isolation as a reason that they feel more vulnerable.
Posted: 08/10/20
Despite the shift to cloud-based systems, 90 per cent of companies expect that mainframes will remain a platform for growth and long-term applications. A survey of 1,000 IT professionals by software company BMC also found that contrary to predictions of a phasing out of mainframe systems, 68 per cent expect MIPS, the mainframe’s measure of computing performance, to grow in the coming years.
Posted: 07/10/2020
The US House of Representatives antitrust report on BigTech monopolisation contains a “thinly veiled call to break up” the companies, according to Republican congressman Ken Buck. A draft response seen by Reuters, and confirmed by his representatives, stated that he shared Democratic concerns about the power of Silicon Valley firms and their ability to make “killer acquisitions” eliminating rivals and guiding customers to their products.
Posted: 07/10/20
The leaders of two of the largest companies in the world have stressed the importance of tech transformation to survive the COVID-19 crisis. Speaking virtually during the second day of this year’s Sibos conference, BNY Mellon chief executive Todd Gibbons said the most fundamental change he’s implemented in the last six months has been improving disaster recovery plans.
Posted: 06/10/20
Crowdcube and Seedrs today have agreed terms for a merger, in a move that will combine two of the UK’s largest crowdfunding platforms. The deal will accelerate the companies’ plans to create the world’s largest private equity marketplace and aims to further democratise investment in startup and scaleup companies across the UK.
Posted: 05/10/20
The majority of IT experts believe the government should step in over the sale of UK technology giant ARM. A survey carried out by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, following the announcement that ARM Holdings is to be sold to American chip maker Nvidia in a deal worth £40 billion, found that 70 per cent of members believe the government should intervene in the deal - a measure it is actively considering under the Enterprise Act.
Posted: 06/10/20
The overall UK gaming population has increased by 63 per cent during lockdown, according to Opinium’s latest report into the sector. The online survey of 2,000 UK adults in June showed that the amount spent on gaming has increased by a third during the Coronavirus crisis, with women - who traditionally tend to spend less on games - largely responsible for the rise, increasing their spending by 55 per cent during the last six months.
Posted: 05/10/20
FinTech Legal Labs, a business accelerator programme provided by law firm Ashurst, is collaborating with Hitachi Vantara for data-driven analysis of sustainable business initiatives as part of efforts to drive a “greener future”.The 2020 FinTech Legal Labs and its new sustainability stream will offer FinTech and GreenTech startups insights into sustainable technology initiatives, as well as practical advice and guidance from financial institutions, legal practitioners and technology specialists to help them better understand and achieve their sustainable digital transformation goals.
Posted: 05/10/2020
Your.MD has closed a $30 million Series A funding round, led by Reckitt Benckiser (RB). The investment follows an initial round of funding led by RB and existing shareholders in 2019.
Posted: 05/10/20
Octopus Energy has announced plans for 1,000 new jobs and a technology, data science and artificial intelligence centre in Manchester. The UK-based business announced its ambition to make the UK the "Silicon Valley of energy" with plans to double its existing workforce by the end of 2021.
Posted: 05/10/20
IonQ has unveiled its next generation quantum computer system, which it claims to be the most powerful currently available. The new system consists of perfect atomic clock qubits and random access all-to-all gate operations for efficient software compilation of applications, giving 32 qubits with low gate errors and an expected quantum volume greater than four million.
Posted: 05/10/20
More than half (65 per cent) of Brits know admit to knowing nothing about what companies do with their personal data. A survey of 5,007 consumers in the UK, Germany, France and Australia conducted by IPSOS and Publicis Sapient found that of those Brits who know a lot about what companies do with their data, 40 per cent were able to see the benefits of companies collecting more information about them.
Posted: 02/09/2020
AI platform Adarga has joined the UK government’s G-Cloud 12 framework for cloud computing services. The digital marketplace is aimed at helping customers in the UK public sector to find and buy cloud computing services.
Posted: 02/09/2020
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has launched a public consultation on its draft statutory guidance, which details how it will regulate and enforce data protection legislation in the UK. Up for consultation are the ICO’s powers, when it will use them and how it calculates fines.
Posted: 02/10/20
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is creating a new digital function, bringing together DWP Digital and its digital tech provider Benefits Pension Digital and Technology Services (BPDTS). This follows the conclusion of a review into the BPDTS, which commended its performance and improvements to DWP's tech resilience since it was set up in 2016.
Posted: 02/10/20
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to change their working practices in a matter of weeks, with a new report showing that Internet of Things (IoT) adoption is no different, as 67 per cent in the UK have increased the pace of IoT projects. The research from Vodafone Business features responses from more than 100 businesses in the UK - 1,639 businesses globally - showing that adopters believe IoT was vital to keep them going through the crisis - 78 per cent said the technology was key to maintaining business continuity.
Posted: 02/10/20
International law firm Hogan Lovells, supported by global industry leaders including BNP Paribas, The Crown Estate and Elevate, has launched a new transaction automation infrastructure. It aims to reduce administrative costs, enhance data security and accelerate transactions throughout the global real estate industry.
Posted: 01/10/20
LawtechUK, a government-backed initiative within Tech Nation, has chosen five new members to join its advisory board. The LawtechUK panel was established to help transform the country's legal sector through technology. Established in 2018 by the secretary of state for justice, the group of leaders and experts from the public and private sectors acts as the advisory board to LawtechUK.
Posted: 01/10/2020
BT has announced a seven-year contract with financial market infrastructure provider TP ICAP. The contract will provide its 700-strong broker team in London with a secure platform and set of applications featuring remote working capabilities, strengthening its execution services across voice trading venues.
Posted: 01/10/20
COVID-19 data will now be accessible to people with visual impairments thanks to a team of technology volunteers from the Scottish Tech Army. The project, which is the first of its kind in the world, forms part of the new Scottish COVID-19 dashboard launched this month, using data sonification to convert visual timeline data into notes of various pitches.
Posted: 01/10/20
ID-Pal has raised €1 million in a funding round led by Act Venture Capital and several private investors. The Dublin-based identity verification startup said the money will help its expansion within Ireland and internationally.
Posted: 30/09/20
A majority of British consumers would be prepared to sell their personal data for under £100 if given the option. A survey of 2,100 consumers by Juniper Research and Okta found that Brits would be willing to part with various aspects of their personal data and online identity in return for compensation.
Posted: 30/09/2020
Divided opinion on the perceived risk of cryptocurrency - including the links between cryptocurrency and illicit activity - were among the key findings of a new global survey. The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) and the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) commissioned YouGov to survey 566 professionals across the financial and cryptocurrency industries, including cryptocurrency exchanges, financial regulators and financial intelligence units.
Posted: 30/09/20
Ofgem has issued a statement of objections to PayPoint alleging that it has breached competition law. It argued that the company held a dominant position in the market for over-the-counter payment services for prepayment energy customers for at least the period running from April 2009 to October 2018 – meaning it had a special responsibility not to act in a way that would impair its rivals’ ability to compete.
Posted: 30/09/20
The Geospatial Commission is to invest up to £2 million in around 30 projects that investigate ways to improve transport integration, capacity, safety and infrastructure. The commission is an expert committee set up by the Cabinet Office to promote the best use of geospatial data.
Posted: 30/09/20
Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser (RB) is partnering with Google Cloud to drive customer engagement and unify data for marketing campaigns. The parent company of brands such as Dettol, Nurofen and Vanish has launched the strategic alliance with Google Cloud as part of its multi-year digital transformation.
Posted: 29/09/2020
More than eight in 10 IT leaders (82 per cent) think their company is at a greater risk of phishing attacks when employees are working from home. A OnePoll survey of 250 IT leaders and 2,000 IT professionals in the UK and US for security company Tessian, found that 78 per cent believe the risk of insider attack has been increased by the shift to remote work during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Posted: 29/09/2020
TikTok has avoided being banned in the US, after a judge issued an injunction blocking the order that would have barred Apple and Google’s app stores from listing the social media app. The administration’s order was set to take effect at midnight on Sunday, but judge Carl Nichols of the US District Court for the District of Columbia issued a preliminary injunction before the deadline.
Posted: 29/09/20
Crowdcube is partnering with Episode 1 to assist in the allocation of the £100m fund focussed on digital infrastructure and deep tech startups. The equity crowdfunding platform has launched the partnership to join up the pitch and crowdfund process. As part of the agreement, Episode 1, which has previously backed Zoopla, Shazam and carwow, will review selected business’ pitch for funding for their digital startups ahead of a funding round on Crowdcube.
Posted: 28/09/2020
The UK’s defence science and technology laboratory (Dstl) is set to launch the first tasking of a commercial satellite by a UK Government-owned and operated ground station for nearly 20 years. The Dstl, which conducts research and development to fuel the UK’s defence and security operations, will demonstrate its satellite operation capability using a relocatable ground station to task and receive data from multiple commercial satellites.
Posted: 28/09/2020
Cybersecurity is the main driving force for digital transformation projects, according to new research. A survey of more than 600 IT leaders for the upcoming DTX:NOW event found that cybersecurity has shot to the top of the list of priorities as businesses seek to adapt to a surge in remote working as a result of COVID-19.
Posted: 28/09/2020
A planned development to the NHS contact tracing app which will score users’ lifestyles for COVID-19 risk is alarming and needs clarity, software testers have warned. Before the launch of the app in England and Wales this week, Wolfgang Emmerich, chief executive of app developer Zuhlke Engineering, said a “personalised risk score” was being worked on, based on how many Bluetooth hits a person receives from others.
Posted: 25/09/20
Amazon has launched a range of wireless smart home security cameras called Blink. The security cameras, which run on two AA lithium batteries for up to two years, offer customers HD video, flexible storage operations and the option to install smart home surveillance both indoors and outdoors.
Posted: 25/09/2020
Nokia is collaborating with data infrastructure provider Equinix to power its worldwide Internet of Things (IoT) Network Grid (WING). The collaboration will see Equinix join Nokia’s WING managed service as a strategic supplier, in a collaboration which aims to bring next-generation edge architectures and services to market.
Posted: 25/09/2020
Former Cambridge Analytica chief executive Alexander James Ashburner Nix has been banned from running limited companies for seven years, after permitting companies to offer potentially unethical services to prospective clients. He did not dispute that he caused or permitted SCL Elections or associated companies to market themselves as offering potentially unethical services to prospective clients; demonstrating a lack of commercial probity.
Posted: 25/09/20
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has begun criminal proceedings against three former employees of Redcentric: former chief executive Fraser Fisher, former chief financial officer Timothy Coleman and former finance director Estelle Croft. They have each been charged with two counts of making a false or misleading statement, contrary to Section 89 of the Financial Services Act 2012.
Posted: 24/09/20
Awell Health has raised £1.9 million in funding to bring its collaboration and productivity tools to the healthcare industry. Early stage venture capital investor LocalGlobe led the round, with involvement from Moonfire.
Posted: 24/09/20
More than half of UK organisations suffered a phishing attack during the COVID-19 pandemic, while over a third (36 per cent) have been hit by ransomware attacks. A global survey of 937 IT professionals, including 120 from the UK, by cyber security firm Netwrix, found that the crisis has emboldened cyber criminals and created a fast-moving threat landscape.
Posted: 24/09/2020
Mitek and Digidentity have securely scaled operations to enable faster onboarding of those registering with GOV.UK Verify. Working together, the digital identify verification firms ensured processing speeds of up to 400 applicants per minute to accommodate the growing need for UK nationals and residents to apply for government services during the pandemic.
Posted: 24/09/20
More than half (51 per cent) of UK business leaders think their shift to a cloud-based business model saved their company from collapse during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is according to access management solutions provider Centrify, which surveyed 200 senior business decision-makers in large and medium-sized companies in the UK earlier this month, finding that 60 per cent are now planning to substantially increase their use of cloud-based IT throughout and following the pandemic.
Posted: 24/09/20
People across England and Wales are being urged to download the NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app to help control the spread of Coronavirus. The app launches today, after positive trials on the Isle of Wight, which participated in the original test in May, in the London Borough of Newham and among NHS volunteers.
Posted: 24/09/20
Tesco has joined calls for the UK government to fast-track the shift to zero-emission cars and vans to 2030. The big four supermarket has joined a coalition of 27 large businesses - including Dixons Carphone, E.ON, Heathrow, Lime and SSE - in calling for faster action to tackle emissions and climate change as the government reviews its plans for zero emission car and van sales.
Posted: 23/09/2020
UK consumers have spent £2.1 billion on products and services due to misinformation from businesses in the last year, according to research. A Censuswide study of 6,000 consumers across the UK, Germany and France - including 2,000 in the UK - found that as adoption of e-commerce rises, 87 per cent of people believe that misinformation is already a problem, with a majority (57 per cent) believing the problem is set to grow in the future.
Posted: 23/09/2020
Facebook has warned that it may be forced to pull out of Europe if the Irish data protection commissioner enforces a ban on sharing data with the US. This follows the landmark ruling in July by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the case brought by Max Schrems, which found there were insufficient safeguards for personal data interference by US intelligence agencies.
Posted: 23/09/20
More women than ever are working in IT roles across the UK - 326,000 in total - and now make up a record 20 per cent share of the specialist IT workforce, according to BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. The proportion of women in specialist computing roles increased to its highest ever level this summer, rising to 20 per cent from 17 per cent at the same point in 2019, the professional body for IT found.
Posted: 23/09/20
Unilever is partnering with Google Cloud as part of a programme to use technology to expand the use of data for eco-friendly decision making. The partnership will focus first on the commercial application of Google Cloud and Google Earth for sustainable commodity sourcing.
Posted: 22/09/2020
Microsoft has announced plans to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of game developer Bethesda Softworks, for $7.5 billion in cash. Bethesda brings a portfolio of games - including bestsellers The Elder Scrolls, Doom and Fallout - technology and talent to Microsoft's Xbox.
Posted: 22/09/20
CloudMargin has closed its largest funding round to date, making $15 million in a Series B capital raise. The primary investors were Deutsche Börse and current clients Deutsche Bank and Citi.
Posted: 22/09/20
British biometrics firm iProov has agreed a partnership with the government of Singapore to provide face verification services for a national identity programme. The partnership will use iProov’s technology to enable four million Singapore citizens to prove they are genuinely present when accessing online services from more than 60 government departments, meaning they can complete activities such as tax returns and checking state pensions via a facial biometric scan at a computer or kiosk.
Posted: 22/09/2020
Companies spent the equivalent of around $15 billion extra a week on technology to enable secure home working during COVID-19, with global IT leaders spending more than their annual budget rise in just three months. That is the lead finding of this year’s Harvey Nash and KPMG CIO research, the largest technology leadership survey in the world, with 4,200 respondents from organisations with a combined technology spend of over $250 billion.
Posted: 22/09/20
TikTok has set up a new company which it intends to list in the US to convince the Trump administration of its adherence to regulations and commitment to national security. Its Chinese parent company ByteDance stated today that TikTok Global will file for an Initial Public Offering, while confirming its partnership with Oracle - which has now been approved by the president - to become the data partner for the video-sharing platform, while Walmart becomes a commercial partner.
Posted: 21/09/20
Anglian Water is partnering with Bottomline to automate business payments and cash management processes as part of its global digital transformation programme. The addition of Bottomline’s financial technology and payments solutions will help to simplify the payments journey, including Direct Debits, for more than six million customers of Anglian Water’s water and water recycling services.
Posted: 21/09/2020
The Home Office recorded a 120 per cent rise in data loss incidents between 2018 and 2020. According to analysis of the Home Office’s annual report and accounts compiled by the Parliament Street think tank, 1,895 individual data loss incidents occurred in the financial year 2018 to 2019, rising to 4,204 incidents in the most recent financial year, 2019 to 2020.
Posted: 21/09/2020
The value of in-vehicle payments will reach $86 billion in 2025, up from just $543 million in 2020. The latest market analysis from Juniper Research stated that this growth will be driven by increased partnerships which are improving the availability of services, particularly in the fuel and smart parking segments.
Posted: 21/09/20
Kindred Capital has closed its second seed fund at £81 million. Through its Equitable Venture strategy, the firm gives seed-stage entrepreneurs co-ownership in the fund that invested in their businesses.
Posted: 21/09/20
The US Department of Commerce (DoC) has confirmed that transactions on WeChat and TikTok will be banned from this weekend. The move, in response to president Donald Trump’s executive orders signed on 6 August, comes in order to safeguard national security, according to a statement.
Posted: 18/09/20
The government has admitted that many of its attempts to modernise are being held back by legacy IT systems, as it set outs a vision for the digital transformation of public services. In a speech delivered virtually to TechUK’s Building the Smarter State conference, the Cabinet Office’s new parliamentary secretary Julia Lopez - with responsibility for the Government Digital Service - said that many of the current attempts to make smarter use of data and improve online access would require wholesale change to current structures and systems.
Posted: 18/09/2020
Google Cloud has appointed four new regional leads to head up the growth of its enterprise cloud business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Pip White is set to lead Google Cloud’s sales strategy in the UK and Ireland as managing director, after nearly two decades at Salesforce, while Daniel Holz joins the company as vice president across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Nordics, following a 12-year stint at SAP Germany.
Posted: 18/09/2020
OneSpan has appointed Ajay Keni as its chief technology officer. He is the former head of product, engineering, quality and DevOps for Oracle's identity and access management products, and was one of the driving forces behind Oracle Cloud's Identity strategy.
Posted: 18/09/20
The Libra Association, which manages Facebook’s digital currency project, has appointed a former chief executive at HSBC to lead Libra Networks. The independent member organisation, which was set up to oversee the rollout of Libra stablecoin, said James Emmett would take up the role on 1 October.
Posted: 17/09/2020
TSB has upgraded its property risk assessments and sped-up the application process by using intelligent location-based data provided by Landmark Valuation Services. Using its Valuation Risk Model (VRM), new applications are automatically assessed to determine whether risk factors such as flooding, subsidence or nearby energy infrastructure such as pylons, may have an impact on the property’s valuation.
Posted: 17/09/20
RegTech provider Shield has joined the IBM cloud for financial services ecosystem. Shield, which supports financial firms with automated regulatory solutions, intends to onboard its communication compliance and surveillance offerings to IBM’s platform.
Posted: 17/09/2020
A record 794 mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving e-commerce software, platforms and marketplaces were closed in the first half of 2020. Data gathered by technology M&A advisors Hampleton Partners showed that after reaching peak transaction volumes in 2016, the sector saw renewed impetus in the first half of 2020 as the COVID-19 drove rapid adoption of online shopping.
Posted: 17/09/2020
Pure Storage has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Portworx for approximately $370 million in cash. The deal represents Pure’s largest acquisition to date and its expansion into the growing market for multi-cloud data services to support Kubernetes and containers.
Posted: 17/09/20
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a cyber security alert for academic institutions after a surge in online ransomware attacks against UK schools, colleges and universities. The cyber security division of GCHQ issued the warning along with a range of new resources and support to help establishments pike in ransomware attacks.
Posted: 17/09/2020
Snowflake's Initial Public Offering (IPO) today has become the largest software listing in the New York Stock Exchange's history, raising $3.4 billion at a valuation of more than $33 billion. The cloud data platform placed 28 million shares at $120 per share, after a surge in investor demand.
Posted: 16/09/20
The London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement (LORCA) has announced a co-marketing collaboration with data-to-everything platform Splunk. Splunk will provide LORCA’s membership of cyber security scaleups with product and growth expertise. It joins co-marketing program alongside Lloyds Banking Group, Dell Technologies, Kudelski Security, Global Cyber Alliance and Kx.
Posted: 16/09/2020
A new report has revealed the extent and importance of ‘stealth’ funding rounds within the UK tech industry – claiming that around 69 per cent of all equity deals are kept quiet. Financial data platform Beauhurst uses proprietary technology to monitor the forms submitted to Companies House when issuing new shares, with its teams then verifying whether new investments have in fact been made.
Posted: 16/09/20
Microsoft and bp have launched a strategic collaboration focussed on digital transformation in energy systems and advance the net zero carbon goals of both companies. The tie-up includes a co-innovation effort for digital solutions and the continued use of Microsoft Azure as a cloud-based solution for bp infrastructure and bp supplying renewable energy to help Microsoft meet its 2025 renewable energy goals.
Posted: 16/09/2020
Medefer has raised a £10 million in a funding round led by Nickleby Capital. The UK HealthTech startup stated that the new capital will help it scale in order to tackle the potential 10 million patient backlog that has grown due to COVID-19.
Posted: 15/09/20
More than half (56 per cent) of UK businesses are planning to increase their digital skills training budgets for staff in 2021, as part of their response to the COVID-19 outbreak. A Censuswide survey of 200 senior decision-makers in large and medium sized companies for IT services provider Transputec, found that a majority (53 per cent) of businesses are planning to increase their IT infrastructure budget next year.
Posted: 15/09/2020
Cyber security has become the largest threat to FinTech adoption, according to a new report. A survey of more than 700 senior financial services decision makers in the UK, US and Europe by law firm Goodwin found that nearly half (47 per cent) ranked cyber security as the greatest challenge to the uptake of FinTech solutions.
Posted: 15/09/2020
US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has confirmed that the White House will review Oracle's bid to buy TikTok in the US. “We'll be reviewing it with their technical teams and our technical teams to see if they can make the representations," he stated in a CNBC interview, referring to promised to keep data on US user mobiles safe.
Posted: 15/09/20
Nesta is launching the £2.8 million Rapid Recovery Challenge to find and support tools and solutions that improve access to jobs and money for people across the UK. In partnership with the Money and Pensions Service and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, the 12-month challenge will focus on supporting workers hit hardest by the economic shock of COVID-19.
Posted: 14/09/20
Funding Xchange has completed a $10 million Series A funding round with the closure of a second tranche of financing. The funding technology platform has seen a surge in demand from the drive towards digital transformation accelerated by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Posted: 14/09/20
Microsoft has confirmed that it is out of the running for the acquisition of TikTok’s US operations. A statement from the tech giant yesterday explained that the video sharing app’s Chinese parent company ByteDance had declined its offer.
Posted: 14/09/20
NVIDIA and SoftBank Group have agreed to on the acquisition of Arm in a transaction valued at $40 billion. The deal brings together NVIDIA’s artificial intelligence (AI) computing platform with Arm’s microchip making ecosystem, "accelerating innovation while expanding into large, high-growth markets".
Posted: 14/09/20
Zoom has added two-factor authentication (2FA) for all user accounts to help prevent security breaches on the video chat platform. The roll-out identifies users by requiring them to present two or more pieces of evidence, or credentials, that authenticate their ownership of the account, such as something the user knows (a password or pin), something the user owns (a smart card or mobile device), or something the user has (fingerprints, voice).
Posted: 11/09/20
Oracle saw revenues hit $9.4 billion in the first quarter, as the company reaped the benefits of the shift to home working. The cloud and software provider said total revenues were up two per cent compared to the first quarter of last year, while cloud services and license support revenues were up two per cent to $6.9 billion.
Posted: 11/09/2020
Microsoft has warned that in recent weeks it has detected cyber attacks targeting people and organisations involved in the upcoming US presidential election, including unsuccessful attacks on people associated with both the Trump and Biden campaigns. A blog post from Tom Burt, the tech giant’s corporate vice president for customer security and trust, explained that the activity makes clear that foreign activity groups have stepped up their efforts targeting the 2020 election, as had been anticipated.
Posted: 11/09/20
Hundreds of the country’s healthcare firms are being given government funding to boost their cyber security. The move comes after the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) identified a heightened cyber threat to the UK health sector in relation to the pandemic, with cyber crime groups attempting to steal sensitive intelligence, intellectual property and personal information from pharmaceutical companies and medical research organisations.
Posted: 10/09/20
Businesses are abandoning digital transformation strategies because they are struggling to find common ground with vendors on cultural alignment and are receiving poor advice. A Censuswide survey of 3,032 business decision makers in the UK, US, Australia, France, Germany and the Nordics for enterprise applications company IFS, found that when selecting technology vendors 29 per cent look at the company’s ethics, while 27 per cent look for innovation, as their most desired traits.
Posted: 10/09/2020
The London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement (LORCA) has announced that companies on its cyber security accelerator programme have broken the £150 million milestone for investment.The government-backed innovation programme, delivered by the innovation centre Plexal, announced the funding milestone to mark two years since its launch, with the £153 million total coming in at 280 per cent of the original target of £40 million - and 12 months ahead of schedule.
Posted: 10/09/2020
Smart city operator Connexin has raised an initial commitment of up to £80 million in funding to support its expansion and meet the expected growth in demand for smart networks in UK cities and their connecting infrastructures. The injection of capital has been provided by independent infrastructure manager Whitehelm Capital.
Posted: 10/09/20
Pcysys has completed a $25 million Series B funding round led by Insight Partners, along with existing investors Awz Ventures and Blackstone Group. The cyber security validation company, with its automated penetration testing platform PenTera, has raised $40 million to date.
Posted: 10/09/20
The Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) has launched its first-ever certification program focused on transaction monitoring roles for early career professionals and their supervisors. The Certified Transaction Monitoring Associate (CTMA) program establishes a new global standard for compliance staff tasked with reviewing, investigating and escalating the transactional alerts that could potentially lead to the filing of suspicious activity reports (SARs).
Posted: 10/09/20
Microsoft UK has promoted chief operating officer Clare Barclay to become the new chief executive from the start of October. She succeeds Cindy Rose, who was appointed in 2016 and will become president for Microsoft’s business across Western Europe.
Posted: 09/09/20
Debilitating diseases such as cancer and osteoarthritis could be identified and treated faster and more effectively, thanks to some of the six projects benefiting from £32 million in new government funding. This week, science minister Amanda Solloway announced the projects aimed at developing revolutionary new technological approaches to transform care and treatments in the NHS by 2050.
Posted: 08/09/20
The government has launched a National Data Strategy and set out the action it will take to support the use of data in the UK. The new strategy aims to put data at the heart of the country’s recovery from the pandemic, so companies and organisations can use it to drive digital transformation, innovate and boost growth across the economy.
Posted: 09/09/20
Square and Mastercard are partnering with the Falkland Islands Government to help small businesses in the territory implement card and digital payments. The project will help retailers and small business move from a cash-only system to more streamlined digital transactions.
Posted: 09/09/2020
Banning and removing Huawei from the UK’s 5G networks by 2027 risks severely delaying operators’ 5G roll-out plans, potentially affecting the UK economy by £18.2 billion. The Chinese technology giant commissioned regulatory analysis firm Assembly to conduct a report into the UK government's decision to remove it from the list of approved suppliers for the network roll-out.
Posted: 09/09/20
A project at the University of Glasgow using quantum-powered sensors for HealthTech monitoring has received £5.5 million in funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). It is one of the six university projects invested in by the EPSRC’s Transformative Healthcare Technologies for 2050 fund, focusing on developing new technologies to transform care and treatment in the NHS over the next three decades.
Posted: 08/09/20
The majority of people do not trust computers to make decisions about any aspect of their lives, according to a new survey. Over half (53 per cent) of UK adults have no faith in any organisation using algorithms when making judgements about them, in issues ranging from education to welfare decisions, according to the poll for BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT.
Posted: 08/09/20
Despite the pandemic’s impact on volumes and valuations, deal making in the IT and business services sector is still strong, as IT departments and suppliers remain crucial in the shift of entire companies online. The latest report from mergers and acquisitions adviser Hampleton Partners revealed that in the first half of 2020, transaction volume dipped to 378 deals, compared to the 416 deals recorded during the second half of 2019.
Posted: 09/08/20
Microsoft UK has appointed Gavin Jackson, former chief executive of EMEA for UiPath, to succeed Damian Stirrett as the managing director of its enterprise commercial business. Stirrett, who has led the UK enterprise business for six years, is moving to a new role within Microsoft.
Posted: 07/09/20
Lenovo is partnering with SAGA Space Architects to support a practice ‘space mission’ in which a high-tech lunar home will be trialled to simulate habitation on the moon. The research project, which will see two Danish space architects Karl-Johan Sørensen and Sebastian Aristotelis live in the home they have designed themselves, is aimed at getting research results that will one day make human settlements on the moon possible.
Posted: 07/08/2020
European authorities have called for member states to strengthen the protection of personal data in the context of digital surveillance carried by intelligence services. In a joint statement issued today, the chair of the Council of Europe’s data protection committee, Alessandra Pierucci, and its data protection commissioner, Jean-Philippe Walter, sought to promote a new international legal instrument providing more effective safeguards.
Posted: 07/09/20
BIMA has secured a $30 million investment to provide digital health and InsurTech services in emerging markets. The money comes from new investor Chinese FinTech investor CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund (CEFIF), along with existing shareholders LeapFrog Investments and Allianz.
Posted: 07/09/20
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has called on the government to commit to significant long-term incentives for electric vehicle (EV) purchase and binding targets on charging infrastructure. The move follows a new survey which suggested that almost half of UK motorists don’t feel ready to make the switch to electric by 2035.
Posted: 04/09/20
New research has revealed that UK government and public sector workers struggle when working on multi-agency initiatives, finding themselves overwhelmed by the complexity of apps available and confused by IT security policies. The study, commissioned by Huddle, interviewed more than 600 public sector employees, finding 19 per cent said their IT security policy makes it too difficult to share and collaborate on files with people outside of their organisation.
Posted: 04/09/20
Clin-e-cal is looking to raise at least £50,000 through a crowdfunding campaign to help to further develop its asthma control technology. The British digital health startup has already raised £45,000 on Crowdcube, and has now opened up the round to the public.
Posted: 03/09/20
The Good Things Foundation has received £500,000 in National Lottery Funding to upskill 4,000 people and help support communities through COVID-19. The charity, which focuses on social and digital inclusion projects, will use the cash to equip and upskill vulnerable and disadvantaged people in England whose quality of life has been made harder during the pandemic through digital exclusion.
Posted: 03/09/2020
Over half of IT administrators (59 per cent) believe they are under equipped to tackle the security and privacy demands of remote working, according to new research by ManageEngine. The enterprise IT management division of Zoho Corporation surveyed more than 500 global IT professionals, finding that nearly half (48 per cent) said the use or installation of systems, devices, software, applications and services without explicit IT department approval was on the rise - with only 22 per cent of organisations having strict policies in place to manage this threat.
Posted: 03/09/20
The UK ranks as the fifth greatest digital tech services exporter in the world, at £23.3 billion in 2019, sitting behind India, the USA, China and Germany in the global rankings. This is according to Tech Nation's latest report, which explained that the UK's position is driven by a relatively high number (7,497) of high growth exporting tech companies in the UK, many of which are yet to realise their full exporting potential.
Posted: 03/09/20
The UK’s first quantum computer will be made commercially available to businesses, the government has announced. The machine, which will be accessed by businesses via the cloud, will be based in Abingdon, as the UK vies to become the world’s first quantum-ready economy.
Posted: 02/08/20
A statutory code requiring organisations to provide better online privacy protections for children comes into force today, triggering the start of a 12-month transition period. The Age Appropriate Design Code, or Children’s Code, applies to organisations providing online services and products likely to be accessed by children up to age 18, and gives organisations a year to make the necessary changes to put children’s privacy at the heart of their design.
Posted: 02/09/20
The government has issued its response to last year’s call for evidence around digital identity, stating that it will now develop proposals for a legal framework to remove regulatory barriers and establish safeguards for citizens. The consultation outcome explained that responses called upon the government to take a lead role in developing the UK’s digital identity economy.
Posted: 01/09/20
The number of vehicles with embedded connectivity will reach 200 million globally by 2025; rising from 110 million in 2020. This is according to Juniper Research, which stated that one of the main beneficiaries of this growth will be mobile operators.
Posted: 01/09/20
Algorithms that change people’s lives - for example when estimating students’ grades - should now meet strict standards of ethics and competence, according to a new report from BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT. The trade association's new report demands that the government's use of data science must achieve public service standards of openness, accountability and objectivity to avoid another ‘computer says no’ moment in education and other disciplines.
Posted: 01/09/20
Apple and Google are readying the roll-out of the second phase two of their Coronavirus contact tracing system, allowing users to receive notifications about their exposure to the virus without needing to install a specific app. However, the system will not fully work here until the UK government releases its own contact tracing app nationally.
Posted: 28/08/20
Amazon is adding more than 1,800 electric vehicles from Mercedes-Benz Vans to its delivery fleet in Europe this year. The German car manufacturer has also joined The Climate Pledge, which calls on signatories to be net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040; a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement goal of 2050.
Posted: 28/08/20
Walmart has partnered with Microsoft to bid for the US operations of TikTok, potentially worth between $20 billion and $30 billion. The US retail giant is looking to keep up with Amazon’s e-commerce might, and sees a deal for the video-sharing social media app as one way to target a younger demographic.
Posted: 28/08/20
Edge cloud platform provider Fastly is set to acquire Signal Sciences for approximately $775 million in cash and stock. A statement explained that Signal Sciences' web application and API protection solutions will improve Fastly's existing security offerings to bring customers a unified edge security solution.
Posted: 27/08/20
The levels of trust in companies storing personal data have fallen significantly this year, according to the latest research from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The UK’s data regulator undertook 2,150 online interviews at the end of June, along with 80 phone interviews at the start of July, with a range of UK adults across the country.
Posted: 27/08/20
Local government bodies are the most likely target for ransomware cyber attacks, according to new threat spotlight research from Barracuda Networks. The research, which identified and analysed 71 global ransomware incidents in the last 12 months, found that 44 per cent of all observed ransomware attacks in 2020 have been aimed at councils.
Posted: 27/08/20
The Trump Administration is investing more than $1 billion into artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information science (QIS), 5G communications and other emerging technologies. The White House, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DoE) announced awards for the establishment of 12 new AI and QIS research and development (R&D) institutes.
Posted: 27/08/20
The Supreme Court has ruled against Huawei and ZTE in a case that could have significant implications worldwide for licensing of intellectual property in telecoms. Two cases, Unwired Planet v Huawei and Conversant Wireless v Huawei & ZTE, will help define the licensing of patented technology considered essential to the international standards for previous and future generations of wireless telecommunications technology.
Posted: 26/08/20
More than 73,000 scientists have collaborated on a new online platform set up by the European Open Science Cloud Initiative, where scientists share COVID-19 data to help develop treatments and vaccines quicker. A new website, which allows researchers to share difficult-to-find SARS-CoV-2 data from clinical trials, research centres, hospitals and national healthcare systems, has seen thousands of users collaborating to help beat the Coronavirus.
Posted: 26/08/20
The government must put digital identities at the heart of its post-COVID strategies to enable the recovery from the recession, according to techUK. A new whitepaper from the trade association sets out the essential part that safe and secure digital identities will play in the UK’s economic recovery from the crisis, giving examples of where it is needed and citing the clear economic benefits.
Posted: 26/08/20
Ant has revealed plans for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) potentially worth a record $30 billion. The Chinese financial technology group, which includes Alibaba and Alipay in its ecosystem, will place the shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Posted: 26/08/20
Two thirds of UK businesses have had their Brexit preparations disrupted by COVID-19, with less than a quarter (23 per cent) having high confidence in their ability to cope with the extra administrative burden of leaving the EU. This is according to research from logistics specialist Descartes Systems, which commissioned SAPIO Research to interview supply chain managers in July.
Posted: 26/08/20
More than half of financial services firms are moving resources towards cyber security technology in the wake of COVID-19, according to new research. A survey of 1,077 IT business and security decision-makers from the UK and eight other countries, for IT automation and security company Infoblox, found that attempted cyber attacks had risen by 41 per cent as cyber criminals sought to exploit Coronavirus-related disruption.
Posted: 25/08/2020
Biofidelity has raised a £9.2 million in a Series A round led by BlueYard Capital and backed by investors including Longwall Ventures and Agilent Technologies. The Cambridge-based HealthTech firm aims to simplify genetic testing using next generation sequencing (NGS).
Posted: 25/08/20
The Coronavirus has accelerated the rate of digital transformation taking place within UK businesses, according to research from Studio Graphene. The London-based tech developer commissioned an independent survey among over 500 decision-makers within UK businesses, finding that half said their company has been incentivised by the pandemic to improve digital infrastructure.
Posted: 25/08/20
Movewise has announced a funding round of £600,000 - taking the total amount raised to £1.1 million. The UK PropTech firm, which launched in 2018, manages the entire sales process for vendors, leveraging data to identify the best local estate agents for a property.
Posted: 24/08/20
Over a third of consumers want future technological innovations to prioritise solving climate issues over non-essential needs such as space exploration, voice assistants or augmented home entertainment. A survey of 2,000 UK adults by technology and engineering consultancy Expleo Group suggested that people prefer “powerful, but boring” tech that solves real-world problems over flashy gadgets or novelties.
Posted: 24/08/2020
HealthTech app Humanity has launched from stealth mode, backed by a £1.9 million seed funding round. The round was led by One Way Ventures, alongside 46 others, including HealthTech angel investors Wired co-founder Jane Metcalfe and Calm app co-founders Michael Acton-Smith and Alex Tew.
Posted: 21/08/20
Wipro has announced the successful implementation of a blockchain-based small-scale liquefied natural gas (ssLNG) trading platform for Uniper Global Commodities and its subsidiary Liqvis. The platform utilises a consortium model for all ssLNG market participants, resulting in market efficiencies and significant cost savings for traders.
Posted: 21/08/20
Offr has raised €3 million in seed funding led by Barclays, with existing investors Delta Partners on behalf of Bank of Ireland, AIB, Enterprise Ireland, the European Investment Fund and Frontline Ventures also participating. The Dublin-based PropTech platform participated in the Barclays London Accelerator, powered by Techstars, earlier this year and was selected for follow-on investment by the bank.
Posted: 20/08/20
Innovate UK has published its innovation design strategy for the next four years, seeking to encourage business to realise more value by embedding design within their processes and culture. A statement from the government agency noted that there are barriers to progress, and "it is not good enough for an idea to be technically feasible, it must also be desirable and fit-for-purpose".
Posted: 20/08/20
Tesco Mobile has started a two-year partnership with Crisis aimed at helping thousands of people experiencing homelessness across Britain to reconnect with society. The partnership aims to combat growing issues around digital exclusion, as new data highlights the increasing barriers to accessing information, support and opportunity felt by people who are homeless. It includes an initial donation of £700,000 worth of phones, devices and connectivity in the net 12 months.
Posted: 19/08/20
SpaceX has raised $1.9 billion in new funding, according to a regulatory filing. The largest single fundraising round to date for Elon Musk's rocket company gives it an equity value of $46 billion after the transaction, according to Bloomberg reporting.
Posted: 19/08/20
HM Revenue and Customs is investigating more than 10,000 reports of phishing scams since March, as criminals seek to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic. Official data obtained by Lanop Accountancy Group via a Freedom of Information request revealed that HMRC is probing 10,428 email, SMS, social media and phone scams.
Posted: 18/08/20
HCL Technologies has collaborated with R3 to launch BUILDINGBLOCK, a blockchain platform created to streamline business property insurance for multinational companies. The platform enables insurance companies to craft a master policy document by enabling real-time data flow in a cryptographically secure and immutable manner.
Posted: 18/08/20
UK small businesses are at risk of 65,000 cyber security attacks daily - with around 4,500 of these being successful - according to a new report by recruiter Robert Walters and data provider Vacancysoft, which claimed that the cost of data breaches is around £2.48 million per instance.
Posted: 18/08/20
O2 has launched a range of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions designed to help businesses return to work in a COVID-secure way. The telecom provider's business division is rolling out a suite of digital services to enable fast, secure and safe access into and around the workplace, such as thermal scanning and contactless visitor management.
Posted: 17/08/2020
NHS Digital is looking to create a platform to help business intelligence and risk teams better understand cyber security operations. The plan is to move towards making decisions more based on consistently presented data rather than intuition.
Posted: 17/08/20
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched a new version of the NHS contact tracing app. Like the first iteration, it will be trialled on the Isle of Wight, as well as with some NHS volunteer responders across England. There are also plans for a pilot in the London Borough of Newham as part of the NHS Test and Trace service.
Posted: 14/08/20
Civica Group has acquired digital health software provider InfoFlex. The UK arm of the group bought Chameleon Information Management Services and its subsidiary InfoFlex, which is based near Watford.
Posted: 13/08/20
L3COS, the world's first quantum-safe blockchain-based operating system for governmental and regulatory oversight, has appointed Mark Lyall Grant as a member of its advisory board. He will provide strategic advisory services and counsel to senior management as it engages with sovereign institutions and regulatory authorities around the world.
Posted: 13/08/20
Barclaycard has launched a new service which uses data analytics to provide procurement departments with the most comprehensive picture of their supply chain. Barclaycard Payment Intelligence (BPI) combines hundreds of accounts payable data points with internal and third-party data, helping to speed up the process and cut costs as a result.
Posted: 13/08/20
Facebook has launched a new payments unit run by its cryptocurrency head David Marcus. Facebook Financial will run all the social media company's payments projects, including the roll-out of Facebook Pay across its various apps in the coming months.
Posted: 12/08/20
The Court of Appeals has ruled against South Wales Police on its use of automated facial recognition (AFR) technology. This overturned a High Court verdict from last September, in a case brought by civil liberties campaigner Ed Bridges and civil rights group Liberty, claiming that rights had been breached by the police force’s pilot programme in Cardiff.
Posted: 12/08/20
Scammers have targeted NHS workers with more than 40,000 scam emails during the COVID-19 outbreak, according to new government figures. Data from NHS Digital, obtained by the Parliament Street think tank under a Freedom of Information request, has revealed that revealed that doctors, nurses and support staff received a total of 43,108 scam emails since the start of the crisis in March.
Posted: 12/08/2020
While most financial organisations worldwide (89 per cent) are moving to the cloud, a significant amount (68 per cent) already reckon that cloud migration has greatly or moderately changed their business for the better. Unisys surveyed 155 senior IT and business leaders within financial services in 13 countries around the world - including the UK, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands - finding uncertainty across the financial services industry in relation to the pace of technological innovation.
Posted: 12/08/20
The Government Digital Service (GDS) has started a pilot programme for its new Document Checking Service (DCS) for non-public sector organisations that want to find out if British passports are valid. These checks may be required as part of giving users access to an online service in order to prevent crime.
Posted: 11/08/20
The UK is facing an artificial intelligence (AI) skills gap that could leave companies struggling to compete with rivals from across the world, according to a new Microsoft report. The research revealed that businesses in this country use less AI than firms overseas, and when they do it tends to be less advanced.
Posted: 11/08/20
The UK’s trade in digitally deliverable services is projected to climb to $104 billion by 2025, with finance, information and communication technologies (ICT) and business to business (B2B) sectors set to contribute 78 per cent of total growth. A report compiled by Western Union and Oxford Economics forecast that the value of international, cross-border trade in services will rise from $6.1 trillion in 2019 to $8 trillion by 2025 – a 31 per cent increase in overall value.
Posted: 11/08/2020
Nearly a third (30 per cent) of workers say it is taking longer for their employers to upgrade their technology hardware in the past five years, with one in five saying they have to wait 'a lot longer' for upgrades. A Consumer Intelligence survey of 1,000 people commissioned by DSA Connect, found that six per cent of people have not had their work desktop computer upgraded for at least five years.
Posted: 10/08/2020
Mashroom has raised £4 million in a new funding round, bringing its total funding to £7 million. Investment came from existing unnamed private investors and matched funding from the government's Future Fund.
Posted: 10/08/20
Councils across the UK have been using digital platforms to help people who are self-isolating in their homes to receive care services. North Lanarkshire Council, Norfolk County Council and others have been using Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.
Posted: 10/08/2020
The Data Standards Authority (DSA) has recommended the use of new open data standards to improve data sharing across government. At the Spring Budget, the government made a commitment to improve how it uses data to drive better public services, so today the DSA has published summaries on metadata standards and guidance about how to implement them.
Posted: 10/08/20
Donald Trump has issued executive orders banning any US transactions with the Chinese companies that own TikTok and WeChat, stating that the US must take “aggressive action” in to protect its national security. The president's orders prohibit “any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States”, beginning in 45 days.
Posted: 07/08/20
Capital One has agreed to a $80 million fine from US regulators over last year's hack which exposed the personal information of more than 100 million customers and applicants. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) calculated the fine based on a "failure to establish effective risk assessment processes prior to migrating significant information technology operations to the public cloud environment and the bank's failure to correct the deficiencies in a timely manner".
Posted: 07/08/20
Uber is set to acquire UK based rival Autocab as part of its British expansion plans. The financial details were not disclosed, but the ride hailing giant did state that Autocab will remain independent.
Posted: 07/08/20
More than 80 per cent of organisations are not fully satisfied with their data management and warehousing initiatives, according to new research. A Vanson Bourne survey of 500 IT decision-makers in the UK and US for SnapLogic found that disconnected apps and data, outdated legacy technology and manual data movement were holding businesses back from achieving their objectives.
Posted: 06/08/2020
Biotech firm Moderna has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its preferred cloud provider, as well as its standard for analytics and machine learning workloads. The firm is pioneering a new class of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) medicines, and will now upgrade its platform and manufacturing facility with the AWS-powered research engine.
Posted: 06/08/20
Google’s £1.6 billion acquisition of FitBit could be derailed after the European Commission (EC) opened a competition probe into the merger. The EC announced that it has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the deal and said it should have completed the process by 9 December.
Posted: 05/07/20
Three quarters of UK enterprises are actively leveraging or testing artificial intelligence (AI), as the momentum behind data-driven technologies grows. A survey of 500 IT decision-makers based in the UK by Interxion, a cloud and data centre services provider, found that enterprise roadmaps for AI deployment over the next two years are already underway.
Posted: 05/08/2020
The majority of IT professionals (53 per cent) do not believe Huawei’s claim that the UK’s decision to ban the tech giant from its 5G network infrastructure will 'move Britain into the digital slow lane, push up bills and deepen the digital divide'. The British Computer Society and Chartered Institute for IT surveyed its 2,962 members at the end of July, finding that over a quarter (28 per cent) did still agree with the Chinese telecoms firms’ warning that the UK’s tech development will stall without it - with 19 per cent remaining neutral.
Posted: 05/08/20
UK-registered businesses can apply for a share of £8 million in grant funding for projects supporting the recovery and growth of foundation industries. These include cement, glass, ceramics, paper, metals and bulk chemicals – all of which are vital for the UK’s manufacturing and construction sectors. Combined, they are worth about £52 billion to the UK economy, but they face common challenges.
Posted: 05/08/20
The number of malware attacks utilising machine identities have grown eightfold in the last decade, according to new research. Analysis of threat data gathered by Venafi, a machine identity management provider, showed a significant rise in the number of attacks using this method, with notable examples during 2018 to 2019, including high profile malware campaigns like TrickBot, Skidmap, Kerberods and CryptoSink.
Posted: 04/08/2020
Asda has struck a deal to become the first UK supermarket to use hydrogen fuel cell technology to power its fleet of warehouse lift trucks. US company Plug Power will provide the Asda with zero emission hydrogen fuel cell solutions, beginning with its fulfilment facility in Skelmersdale.
Posted: 04/08/2020
Cyber security chiefs have committed to lead a drive towards improving diversity and inclusion in the workforce after the publication of a major survey on the topics. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and KPMG UK have jointly published the first annual Decrypting Diversity: Diversity and Inclusion in Cyber Security report, which sets a benchmark for improving the experiences and opportunities for existing and future staff working in the industry.
Posted: 04/08/20
The Coronavirus pandemic has seen investment in tech businesses targeted at improving healthcare and education surge by more than 100 per cent, according to new figures.
Data from Wealth Platform, which helps startups and scale-up companies access the Enterprise Investment Scheme, showed the crisis has prompted a spike in investments in medical testing, healthcare and children’s education businesses in the last three months.
Data from Wealth Platform, which helps startups and scale-up companies access the Enterprise Investment Scheme, showed the crisis has prompted a spike in investments in medical testing, healthcare and children’s education businesses in the last three months.
Posted: 03/07/2020
As many as 72 per cent of organisations have put IT projects on hold, while two thirds have delayed hires due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis. A survey of 100 senior-level IT decision makers across industries - including financial services, professional services and healthcare - conducted by technology business services firm Apptio and the Technology Business Management Council, found that as the pandemic has prompted significant disruption for technology leaders.
Posted: 03/07/2020
The resilience of data centres across Europe is at risk, as the industry looks towards a permanent renewable energy infrastructure, according to a new report from Aggreko. The temporary power and temperature solutions company surveyed 700 data centre consultants across the Netherlands, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the UK and Ireland, finding that 55 per cent expressed at least some concern about the capabilities of the local grid and energy infrastructure’s ability to meet current demand - with respondents in the UK among the least confident.
Posted: 03/08/20
Following a conversation between Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella and president Donald Trump, the tech giant is exploring the purchase of TikTok in the United States. The move follows a weekend of speculation around the future of the popular Chinese social media app, with concerns raised by both the president and secretary of state Mike Pompeo around user data being fed back to the Chinese state.
Posted: 03/08/20
London's tech industry workspace TechHub has gone into administration. A message from founder and chief executive Elizabeth Varley explained that due to a significant reduction in revenue due to the Coronavirus on member companies - and without an agreement from its major landlord to proposals for a way forward - it is unable to continue.
Posted: 03/08/20
Global technology industry deals hit $131 billion in the second quarter of 2020, despite fears that the Coronavirus pandemic could slow growth in the sector. According to GlobalData’s database, the total value of deals were up 30.6 per cent over the previous quarter and only down 0.8 per cent when compared with the last four-quarter average of $132.1 billion.
Posted: 31/07/2020
Capita is supporting the UK’s first trial of StaySafe Diary, a privacy-first contact tracing app based on a design which has proved successful in New Zealand. StaySafe Diary lets customers, suppliers and staff check in and out of businesses - such as shops, pubs and restaurants - by scanning a QR code whenever they visit the premises, but without ever having to share their personal details.
Posted: 31/07/20
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched new guidance on the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) technology and data protection. An accompanying blog written by Simon McDougall, deputy commissioner for regulatory innovation and technology at the ICO, explained that the pandemic has driven innovation in the use of technology and data – but some of the challenges for organisations using AI are constant.
Posted: 31/07/20
Imperial College is partnering with Citi to create a new research centre focussed on responsible business leadership and technological change. The Centre for Responsible Leadership will help businesses and organisations identify practices that improve their approach to business leadership and boost performance through study of disruptive technologies, data privacy rights and ethical decision making.
Posted: 30/07/2020
The bosses of the world’s largest tech firms were given a dressing down by US lawmakers yesterday in a hearing about their sector dominance and interference with online discourse. Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sundar Pichai of Google appeared before members of the House judiciary’s antitrust subcommittee, which has collected 1.3 million documents and conducted hundreds of hours of interviews as part of its investigation.
Posted: 30/07/20
Spanish bank BBVA is collaborating with Fujitsu on a proof of concept of its quantum-inspired optimisation solution. The collaboration comes after BBVA launched a number of studies to determine how quantum technologies could represent an advantage over traditional tools in different financial use cases.
Posted: 29/07/2020
The leaders of the world’s largest tech firms are set to make their case to Congress later today, attempting to avoid further regulation and scrutiny. Written testimony submitted and published yesterday gives a glimpse of their arguments, with Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg arguing that “companies aren’t bad just because they are big”, rather painting the social media giant’s success as coming about “the American way, by starting out with nothing and providing products that people find valuable”.
Posted: 29/07/20
InsurTech firm Zego has partnered with e-scooter company Ginger to provider insurance cover for the UK’s first e-scooter trial. The trial in the Tees Valley, comes after the government announced it would legalise rental e-scooters on UK roads during 12-month period to test their suitability as a mode of transport.
Posted: 29/07/2020
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has begun a project with Vodafone and Forest Research to use Internet of Things (IoT) devices for forestry research. Sensors are attached to trees and connected through Vodafone’s narrowband IoT network to collect data on tree growth, temperature, humidity and soil moisture. Forest Research will analyse the data to assess the impacts of environmental change on the forests.
Posted: 29/07/20
Mastercard and Microsoft have announced a collaboration to shape the future of digital commerce, drive startup innovation and enable financial inclusion. The partnership will accelerate Mastercard Labs’ cloud native research and development activities, enabled by Azure cloud and artificial intelligence systems to advance Mastercard’s mission to de-risk and commercialise emerging technologies and platforms for digital commerce.
Posted: 28/07/20
A new digital platform has been launched to help empower utilities field teams and managers to make data-driven decisions in real-time, leading to greater safety, productivity and quality assurance. FYLD was built "by field workers for field workers" in collaboration with anchor customer and shareholder SGN, the UK-based natural and green gas distributor.
Posted: 28/07/20
More than half (55 per cent) of UK consumers would be willing to carry on using a company that has leaked their data by accident, despite rising concerns about how personal data is used. A global study of 5,000 consumers by cloud customer experience firm Genesys found that 92 per cent were concerned about how companies are using their data, however it also revealed that convenience is a key factor influencing appetite for using services; even if their data has been put at risk.
Posted: 28/07/2020
Nearly half (43 per cent) of senior IT decision-makers say a lack of integration between their organisation’s technology systems has negatively affected their team’s performance during lockdown. A survey of more than 500 UK decision-makers by software and services solutions provider Advanced found that just 30 per cent of respondents have been using team collaboration software at a time when people have had to work remotely.
Posted: 28/07/2020
Midatech Pharma has raised £5 million via a placing to investors in the UK of eight new ordinary shares. The HealthTech firm, which as headquarters and a research facility is in Cardiff, is focused on enhancing and extending the lives of patients with rare and serious cancers. It develops chemo and immuno therapeutics using its Q-Sphera proprietary platform drug delivery technologies.
Posted: 28/07/20
Land Registry has begun accepting witnessed electronic signatures for legal property documents. The new process involves a conveyancer uploading the deed to an online platform which sends a link to the signatories. Once authentication checks are completed they ‘sign’ the document electronically in the physical presence of a witness who then also signs.
Posted: 28/07/20
A new cross-sector consortium of businesses and universities is set to provide the key to the challenge of data access for regulated industries, through an artificial intelligence-powered platform. The AIR Platform is a privacy preserving, data access and data collaboration tool that will deliver a "generational breakthrough" for how the private and public sectors operate and interact with each other locally and globally, according to Philip Treleaven, director UK Centre for Financial Computing at University College London (UCL).
Posted: 28/07/20
A team of scientists from the University of California has launched a project to unlock the inner workings of lead batteries with the help of nanoscale technology. Working with the Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI), the new industry-academia partnership based in Los Angeles will explore the fundamental processes occurring inside lead batteries as part of the consortium’s plans to deliver performance improvements in the technology for the automotive and utility grid storage sectors.
Posted: 27/07/2020
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has teamed up with Innovate UK to call on companies to come up with new ideas and innovative approaches to the challenge. Robotics, sensors, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems are just some of the potential technologies which could be used for the Sort and Segregate Nuclear Waste competition, according to an official statement.
Posted: 27/07/20
Plans have been revealed for building a network of overhead cables along 7,500 km of the UK’s major road network, which could electrify approximately 65 per cent heavy goods vehicle (HGV) travel, at an estimated cost of £19.3 billion. A report from the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight (CSRF) said this could be achieved by the late 2030s, and when combined with battery electrification of urban delivery vehicles, the ‘electric road’ network would almost completely decarbonise UK road freight.
Posted: 27/07/20
A new email phishing scam, falsely purporting to be from the Government Digital Service team, has been uncovered by the Parliament Street think tank’s cyber research team. The attack targets low-income earners and claims that the addressee will be receiving a council tax reduction of almost £400.
Posted: 27/07/20
Crown Courts and Magistrates’ Courts are to test a digital case management platform as part of the government’s digital transformation of the justice system. From September 2020, the Common Platform will provide criminal courts with access to relevant case information for all parties involved in cases, including the judiciary, solicitors and barristers, the Crown Prosecution Service and court staff.
Posted: 24/07/2020
Businesses should focus on attracting more neurodiverse people into the workplace to help fill the skills gap in cyber security, according to a new report.The study from CREST, a not-for-profit accreditation and certification body for the technical security industry, recommended ways in which careers advice and recruitment processes can be more creative, inclusive and tailored for people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism, Dyslexia and Dyspraxia.
Posted: 24/07/2020
Quantexa has closed a Series C funding round, raising a further £51.2 million. The round was led by Evolution Equity Partners, with participation from pre-existing backers Dawn Capital, AlbionVC and HSBC.
Posted: 24/07/20
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has awarded its payment facilitation and collection contract to allpay. The Herefordshire-based payment solutions provider will drive the MoJ’s channel shift towards direct debits, which it expects to realise significant cost savings.
Posted: 24/07/20
The UK’s capability to manufacture vaccines has received a substantial boost, as the government announced an additional £100 million to ensure that any successful COVID-19 vaccine can be produced at scale. The investment will fund a state-of-the-art Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Innovation Centre.
Posted: 23/07/20
DPD has passed its 2020 target for sustainable delivery vehicles five months ahead of schedule, with 10 per cent of its van fleet now zero emission electric vehicles. The parcel delivery firm now has the largest sustainable delivery fleet in the UK. At the start of 2020, DPD had just over 130 EVs on the road, with that number rising rapidly to 700 as delivery rates spiked as consumers turned to online shopping during the Coronavirus lockdown.
Posted: 23/07/2020
More than a third of hijacked email accounts have resulted in attackers dwelling in compromised accounts for more than a week, according to new research. A report by security solutions provider Barracuda Networks in association with UC Berkeley examined 159 compromised accounts spanning 111 organisations, finding that a specialised economy is emerging around email account takeover, using a combination of brand impersonation, social engineering and spear phishing to hijack email accounts and monetise them.
Posted: 23/07/2020
FuelActive has confirmed new investment from the Development Bank of Wales, grant funding from Innovate UK and private equity backing from Adjuvo. The Welsh startup’s fuel pick-up unit is disrupting the diesel engine and equipment industry, where operators are experiencing incremental costs due to increased maintenance, reduced operating efficiency and breakdowns, caused by contaminated fuel.
Posted: 23/07/20
Industry-wide professional standards are to be established for data science to ensure that the public can have confidence in how their data is being used. The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) will be leading on the work along with the British Computer Society (BCS) The Chartered Institute for IT, the Operational Research Society (ORS), the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the Royal Society and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), to collaboratively shape and develop the data science profession.
Posted: 23/07/20
Nearly half (43 per cent) of employees have made mistakes resulting in cyber security repercussions for themselves or their company, according to new research. A OnePoll survey of 1,000 workers in the UK during April for email security firm Tessian found that one in five companies have lost customers as a result of mistakenly sending an email to the wrong person – an error that the majority of employees (58 per cent) admitted to making.
Posted: 22/07/20
The government is considering strengthening security laws after a report from parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) accused the government of underestimating the “immediate and urgent threat” of Russian cyber interference to the UK’s national security. In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, transport secretary Grant Shapps said ministers were considering a new law requiring foreign agents to register in the UK as part of their response to the report.
Posted: 22/07/2020
Neurovalens has raised £5.1 million in a funding round led by IQ Capital. Wharton Asset Management Company, The Angel CoFund, Techstart Ventures, Clarendon Fund Managers, and the government’s Future Fund also contributed to the round.
Posted: 21/07/20
The government has been forced to admit that it deployed the COVID-19 Test and Trace programme unlawfully without a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), following a legal challenge from privacy campaigning organisation Open Rights Group (ORG). The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) made its admission after ORG threatened to take it to court unless it agreed to immediately conduct a DPIA.
Posted: 21/07/20
Slaughter and May has launched the fourth round of its accelerator programme for emerging tech businesses. The law firm firm has opened applications for its Fast Forward programme, which offers £30,000 of value-add business services, including legal advice to support early and growth-stage emerging technology businesses.
Posted: 20/07/2020
Virgin Money has launched a trial of a new app designed to help first time buyers navigate the home purchase process. The challenger bank is launching the four-week Beta trial of the Home Buying Coach app in collaboration with data insights platform Life Moments.
Posted: 20/07/20
EY and IBM have announced a global, multi-year alliance designed to help organisations accelerate digital transformation, including leveraging the hybrid cloud capabilities of Red Hat OpenShift, as well as IBM Watson, blockchain, 5G and edge technologies.
Posted: 20/07/20
British Patient Capital has committed $65 million to back the latest SV Health Investors’ fund to support scientific breakthroughs into BioTech companies developing treatments for poorly treated diseases. The $2.5 billion government-backed programme, which is part of the British Business Bank, has made the commitment to SV’s Impact Medicine Fund (IMF) to increase its exposure to life sciences and health technology, building on a commitment to the Dementia Discovery Fund in 2018.
Posted: 20/07/2020
Digital Reasoning and Google Cloud have signed a strategic partnership aimed at bringing financial services solutions to the cloud.The AI solutions firm has partnered Google’s cloud service to help banks and financial institutions leverage the scale, reliability and performance of the cloud.
Posted: 17/07/2020
Twitter has revealed that 130 accounts were targeted in a cyber attack this week in which the profiles of prominent users including Barack Obama, Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian were hijacked with demands for Bitcoin payments. The attack, which took place on Wednesday, is being investigated by the FBI as a cryptocurrency fraud after accounts including Kanye West, Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft and investor Warren Buffet were compromised. Corporate accounts for Uber and Apple were also targeted.
Posted: 17/07/2020
Digital twinning firm Microshare has partnered Rackspace Technology for multicloud Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. Microshare, which specialises in digital twinning tools for processes such as contact tracing, predictive cleaning, occupant wellness and sustainability, has entered into the global strategic alliance with Rackspace Technology to globally leverage solutions including Clean = Safe IoT abilities.
Posted: 16/07/2020
IBM and Verizon are partnering for 5G and edge computing solutions as part of efforts to develop innovation for ‘industry 4.0’. The computing giant has partnered with the US telecoms firm to help industrial enterprises to use edge computing to accelerate access to near real-time, improve productivity and reduce costs.
Posted: 16/07/2020
The government has published proposals for a new law aimed at protecting millions of IoT and smart devices from cyber criminals. The proposals, drawn up by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and supported by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), detail the government’s plans to raise the security standard for all consumer smart products sold in the UK.
Posted: 16/07/2020
Apple will not have to pay $15 billion dollars in back taxes in Ireland after the EU’s second highest court rejected an EU commission order aimed at cracking down on alleged sweetheart tax deals. The ruling by the EU general court annuls an order made four years ago by the EU commission which said Apple had benefited from illegal state aid following two tax rulings in the Irish courts which, the Commission claimed, had artificially reduced its tax bill.
Posted: 15/07/2020
The UK government has banned UK telecommunications companies from buying new Huawei 5G equipment and has said Huawei equipment must be removed from networks by 2027. In a landmark decision, Oliver Dowden, the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport said the move would delay the rollout of high speed 5G networks by one year.
Posted: 14/07/2020
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.
Posted: 13/07/2020
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.
Posted: 13/07/2020
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.
Posted: 10/07/20
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.
Posted: 10/07/20
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.
Posted: 09/07/20
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.
Posted: 09/07/20
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.
Posted: 09/07/20
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.
Posted: 09/07/20
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.
Posted: 09/07/20
IT teams require better visibility into their networks due to the Coronavirus disruption and rise of remote working, with 73 per cent of security professionals demanding it in order to enhance cyber security efforts and speed remediation. This is one of the findings from VIAVI Solutions' 13th annual State of the Network global study of enterprise networking and security challenges.
Posted: 08/07/20
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.
Posted: 08/07/2020
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