Digital battlegrounds: The war between big tech and regulators September 17, 2019 We now live in the age of the internet of things, where voice-sniffing devices abound, and consumers have the convenience of tailored search suggestions. Perhaps it is Amazon’s Alexa – revealed earlier this year to be forever listening to its users’ conversations – that provides the emblem of the age. However, while such devices can [...]
Seeing, but not believing: The threat from Deepfake videos September 12, 2019 Both traditional and social media lit up earlier this year following the launch of a ground-breaking campaign for charity Malaria No More which was fronted by David Beckham. In this 55-second video ad, the football star makes a passionate appeal for support. He makes it, however, in nine different languages. No, David Beckham has not [...]
Service unavailable: Don’t let an outage break trust in your business September 11, 2019 Across the tech industry, there is a crisis of trust that is centred around how companies handle data – from network provider Cloudfare’s outage in July that saw a vast number of websites around the globe go down, to the big four tech firms facing antitrust hearings in the US. Recent research by Veeam highlights that [...]
British Airways to fight data breach fine as parent company profits stay flat August 2, 2019 British Airways will “vigorously defend itself” against its £183m fine by authorities for a data breach in which more than 400,000 customers’ information was stolen. The airline this morning said it would use all means at its disposal to avoid the record-breaking penalty. Read more: British Airways owner set for record £183m fine after 2018 [...]
Equifax fined up to $700m for massive data breach July 22, 2019 Equifax has agreed to pay as much as $700m (£562m) as part of a settlement with the US regulator following a 2017 data breach that exposed the personal data of almost 150m people. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused the credit rating agency of failing to secure personal information stored on its system. Read more: [...]
Data breach reports soar since GDPR, as firms fear mammoth watchdog fines July 15, 2019 The number of whistleblower reports to the information commissioner over data breaches have jumped 175 per cent since GDPR came in, according to research. People have become more vigilant about the handling of personal data, and more likely to report potential breaches, since the regulations were introduced in May 2018 according to law firm RPC. [...]
Google workers listen in on private conversations via smart speakers July 12, 2019 Google has admitted its contractors listen in on conversations people have with its smart speaker system, Assistant. The tech giant yesterday said its contractors can access recordings made by the system. It made the admission after the leak of several Dutch language recordings. Google Assistant starts to record audio when it hears a so-called wake [...]
Marriott International to be fined £99m for data breach July 9, 2019 Hotel chain Marriott is set to be fined more than £99m for a data breach that compromised the personal details of roughly 393m guests. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) today announced its intention to hand down the fine following an “extensive” investigation into the breach. Read more: British Airways set for £189m fine for 2018 [...]
Words, psychology, and marketing – why Verbalisation founder Sven Hughes wants to know how you talk June 3, 2019 I’ve never been psychoanalysed before. But upon entering the conference room with Sven Hughes, founder of strategic communications consultancy Verbalisation, he presents me with a handful of my recent articles, points out how all the introductions share similar traits, and explains what this supposedly says about me. For instance, early in each intro, I use [...]
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 [...]