Bupa fined £175,000 after employee puts customers’ data up for sale on dark web September 28, 2018 Health firm Bupa has been fined £175,000 after an employee was able to access thousands of patients' files to sell on the dark web. Data watchdog the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said Bupa did not have effective security in place to stop the employee, who extracted personal information from 547,000 customers. The employee was able to [...]
London-based automation startup Softomotive scores $25m series A September 28, 2018 Business automation startup Softomotive will today reveal a $25m (£19m) series A investment, led by London investor Grafton Capital. Softomotive, which specialises in robotic process automation (RPA) plans to move its headquarters from Athens to London’s Spitalfields area with the new funds. Chief executive Marios Stavropoulos said that while the business is expanding across [...]
Tesla chief Elon Musk faces ban from running a public firm in SEC fraud charges September 27, 2018 Tesla chief Elon Musk faces being barred from running a public company after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed legal action, accusing him of alleged securities fraud over his public statements about taking the firm private. Tesla shares dropped more than 13 per cent in after-hours trade as news of the suit broke, [...]
RBS’ new digital bank to be called Bo September 27, 2018 Royal Bank of Scotland is understood to be exploring the launch of a digital-only standalone consumer bank, which will go live under the name Bo. Charging forward with RBS’ former operations chief Mark Bailie at the helm, roughly 100 staff are thought to have been briefed on the project’s name, sources told Sky News. [...]
War of the words: Facebook elite hit back at Whatsapp co-founder September 27, 2018 Whatsapp co-founder Brian Acton has found himself at the centre of a public dispute with former and current Facebook executives, after his criticisms against Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership style caused discomfort among the social app’s top brass. Facebook deputy David Marcus labelled Acton’s comments, in which the Whatsapp founder claimed Facebook and Zuckerberg pushed [...]
Samsung Electronics boss indicted on charges of union sabotage September 27, 2018 Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Sang-hoon has been indicted by South Korean authorities as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged workers' union sabotage. Lee, who entered the role in March, will appear in court alongside 27 other senior executives from Samsung and its affiliates later this year. The news comes after Samsung's vice chairman, Lee Jae-yong, was [...]
Artificial intelligence and automation can make your workplace more human September 27, 2018 Every day, it seems we see new headlines about the consequences of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA), predicting everything from the end of work to the creation of hyper-productive cyborg workforces. The subject fuels debate and controversy, stoked along the way by potent fears for the future of humans and their jobs. [...]
Brompton Electric review: The iconic folding bike gains a motor, but loses some portability along the way September 27, 2018 The Brompton is a magical object. The most popular bike in Britain, it appears to defy several laws of physics when it folds in on itself, collapsing like a neutron star into the size of something approaching a sugar cube. The compact format of a Brompton means it can go places other bicycles aren’t allowed, [...]
Automation and AI are leading the UK into a new industrial age September 27, 2018 Last year, the government’s Made Smarter Review set out how digital technologies can transform UK manufacturing by 2030. Receiving contributions from more than 200 organisations, the review spelled out how technologies like automation, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality, and additive manufacturing could help Britain lead the fourth industrial revolution, raising productivity, creating new, better-paid jobs, [...]
Darktrace lands $50m in series E funding, boosting its valuation to $1.65bn September 27, 2018 Homegrown cyber security success story Darktrace will today announce the close of its series E funding round to the tune of $50m (£38m), raising its valuation to $1.65bn. The round was led by Vitruvian Partners, with participation from existing investors KKR and 1011 Ventures. The funding will be used to fuel international expansion and [...]