Apple’s new iOS will be good for consumers but a headache for advertisers August 28, 2020 In weeks to come, Apple will update all its platforms to iOS 14, impacting its apps, home screen and the IDFA (identifier for advertisers). The changes to the IDFA, in particular, has caused uproar among marketers, with commentators claiming that Apple has crippled an $80bn industry. But what are these changes, and what does it [...]
It’s time for a fresh UK-China relationship August 14, 2020 The UK needs a fresh template for its relationship with China. Central to this should be a differentiation between strategic and non-strategic areas. This would allow UK businesses to know where the government has set its red lines. In 2015, the UK and China’s relationship was red hot—a “golden era”—with President Xi making a state [...]
Covid-19 threatens to set UK data protection back a generation August 14, 2020 There’s another crisis brewing. Millions of businesses across the UK have quickly adapted to the Covid-19 environment. While some companies have adopted technology to handle customer data collection, many have turned to more tried-and-tested track and trace systems — namely, good old-fashioned pen and paper. The hospitality industry, and especially pubs and bars, have had [...]
DEBATE: Should companies use tracking software to monitor their staff? March 9, 2020 Following the Barclays scandal, should firms use tracking software to monitor their staff? YES, says Jasmit Sagoo, senior director and head of technology UK and Ireland at Veritas Technologies Monitoring is not the same as “spying”. In most cases, it is businesses being obliged to track activities for compliance — and it’s almost always better [...]
My data prophecy? More regulation is on the way January 29, 2020 In 2018, a new elephant entered the room. A giant EU elephant called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). GDPR and data privacy became, slightly bizarrely, a subject that was talked about in offices and in pubs. Even my proverbial aunty knew what it was. In corporate land, there was a frenzy of preparation ahead [...]
You could be sitting on a data goldmine, so keep your data safe January 27, 2020 How much data do you think you produce each day? Take a moment to think about it. The figure you came up with is likely wildly underestimated. The reality is that we collectively produce quintillions of gigabytes of data every day. Cut yourself some slack — coming up with an accurate number is no easy [...]
What lessons have we learned from a decade in cyber security? January 22, 2020 A colleague recently asked me what I thought had changed in cyber security over the last 10 years. We agreed that it had certainly been a time of momentous change. In 2012, there was the Shamoon attacks in the Gulf region. In one stroke, 35,000 computers were wiped and disabled within a matter of hours. [...]
Gambling companies used schools data on 28m children January 19, 2020 UK betting companies have gained access to a database containing information on roughly 28m children in a huge breach of sensitive government data. The firms have used the trove of data, which contains names, ages and addresses of children aged 14 and above in schools and colleges across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to boost [...]
The scary movie cliches your business might be committing November 20, 2019 The choices that characters make in scary movies can often seem baffling. Why do they never turn the lights on when entering the house at night alone? How come they always run upstairs and never outside when being chased? These may be fictional scenarios we’ve seen on the screen many times, but real-world businesses are [...]
Dirty data deals on the dark web are a risk to business November 7, 2019 Five years ago, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who had even heard of the dark web. Now this realm of mystery is the topic of books and films – not to mention daily headlines alongside news on the latest cyber breach. It’s got a reputation as the “go to” place for buying anything illegal, [...]