GDPR is one year old, but has the EU’s data protection regulations helped business or eroded trust? May 24, 2019 Saturday marks the first anniversary of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) finally coming into force. GDPR was heavily hyped up, with many hoping – or fearing – that it would fundamentally change not only how companies handle people’s data, but also how consumers view their online interactions with businesses. Anyone with an [...]
Irish data privacy watchdog launches probe into Google Ad Exchange May 22, 2019 The Irish data privacy watchdog has launched an inquiry into Google over the way it collects data for online advertising. Read more: Huawei accuses US of bullying as it fights back against Google ban The Data Protection Commission (DPC) said it has set up the probe to establish whether Google’s use of personal data is [...]
Facebook ditches blue design as CEO Mark Zuckerberg throws focus on privacy May 1, 2019 Facebook has ditched its trademark blue banner as it re-centres its tools around privacy following a year dogged by data scandals. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg last night revealed plans to up his social network's focus on private messaging and groups, with a raft of redesigned features to pivot the platform towards a more private experience. [...]
The Porn Laws are misguided, repressive, and totally ineffective at protecting children April 24, 2019 Last week, the government announced a new law – one which would expose children to more harmful online material, compromise privacy, and hit the most vulnerable adults in society. As of 15 July, to access online pornography you will have to either purchase a porn pass online or venture to off-licence to acquire an age-verification [...]
Two-thirds of hotel websites leave guests’ personal data exposed to hackers April 10, 2019 Two-thirds of hotel websites inadvertently leak guests’ personal data to third-party companies and leave customers vulnerable to hackers, a new report has revealed. Research by cyber security firm Symantec has found the majority of hotels use booking systems that could allow scammers to access information such as mobile phone numbers and passport details. Read more: [...]
Facebook and the tech giants are welcoming government regulation – that’s a panic signal for all of us April 9, 2019 Last year, I met someone who had previously worked for a big tech firm in its “free speech” unit. What had happened to make him come and slum it among us mortals in the (badly paid) policy world? Answer: the unit had been shut down. It’s in this context that you should see the milquetoast [...]
Government urges businesses to ramp up cyber security as attack costs increase April 3, 2019 The government has called on businesses and charities to beef up their cyber security defences after new figures revealed the financial cost of breaches has shot up. A survey published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) revealed the percentage of businesses suffering attacks has dropped to 32 per cent, down from [...]
Facebook admits millons of unencrypted passwords were accessible by employees March 21, 2019 Millions of unencrypted Facebook passwords were accessible by more than 20,000 employees, the social media giant has admitted. A data protection failure going back as far as 2012 saw up to 600m passwords stored in plain text, according to security researcher Brian Krebs. Read more: Facebook blames server problem for worst outage ever The company [...]
Finland to probe Nokia phones over reports they sent data to China March 21, 2019 Data protection authorities in Finland are set to launch an inquiry into Nokia-branded phones following reports the handsets sent data to China. Norwegian media today reported the Nokia 7 Plus model, which is built by Finnish firm HMD, had suffered a data breach that had resulted in data being sent to China. Read more: Nokia [...]
Data regulator pushes for a wider remit in tech giant audits February 14, 2019 Future regulation on the world’s biggest tech companies must include the UK’s data watchdog, information commissioner Elizabeth Denham said today. Speaking at the Institute for Government, Denham described MPs’ calls for regulation of tech giants as a “knee-jerk reaction” that, if excessive, could impinge on freedom of expression. Her comments came as platforms such as [...]