Met chief Cressida Dick confirms police will investigate Downing Street parties January 25, 2022 The Metropolitan Police is to investigate allegations of lockdown rule-breaking parties at Downing Street. Scotland Yard’s commissioner Dame Cressida Dick told members of the London Assembly that police will probe claims of parties held at Number 10. It comes after the police force has previously stated it would not investigate retrospective reports of breaches. Police [...]
Naughty or nice: Big Tech is eyeing up our kids for their Christmas wishlist December 8, 2021 Christmas is coming and the Amazon parcels are gathering in drifts of tech gifts around Christmas trees all over the world. This year, again, Christmas wishes are being realised online as we wonder nervously whether we might be able to visit family for Christmas or if new travel restrictions may thwart Santa’s plans too. Like [...]
Cabinet Office slapped with £500k fine after New Year Honours list data leak December 2, 2021 The Cabinet Office has been fined £500,000 by the data protection watchdog after it leaked the addresses of prominent Brits on the 2020 New Year Honours list. Big names to have their home addresses published on the government website included Elton John, TV chef Nadiya Hussain and NHS England’s then chief executive, Simon Stevens. A [...]
Opinion-in-brief: a big day for Google’s lawyers November 11, 2021 Yesterday, Google both won, and lost. The tech giant avoided a £3.2bn claim over alleged unlawful tracking and selling of users’ data. In another breath, the EU courts rejected an appeal to overturn a €2.8bn fine. In cash terms, let’s call it even. An important door was left open in the UK case. The Court [...]
Celebrity details leaked after London jeweller hacked November 1, 2021 London-based jeweller Graff has been attacked by a ransomware gang, with cyberhackers stealing celebrity clients’ details. Russian group Conti – who are known for launching attacks on hospitals and government departments – are thought to have demanded millions of pounds in ransom. The group has already leaked around 69,000 confidential documents on the dark web, [...]
The Met advises women to hail a bus or run if they do not trust a male officer October 1, 2021 The Metropolitan Police has issued new advice for women who do not trust a male officer, which includes ‘waving a bus down’ for help or running away. In a statement released yesterday, Britain’s largest force advised women to “shout out to a passer-by, run into a house or wave a bus down”. The guidance was [...]
Today: Former police officer who raped and murdered Sarah Everard faces sentence September 29, 2021 Wayne Couzens, the man who raped and murdered Sarah Everard, will learn today if he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Couzens, 48, was a serving Pc with the Metropolitan Police when he snatched Everard as she walked home in Clapham, south London, on the evening of March 3. The sexual predator, [...]
Digital data skills’ significance on the rise for UK Plc September 13, 2021 Data loss. Hacking threats. Legal compliance. As the volume of digital data gathered by organisations grows, so do the risks and challenges. But the insights enabled by data analysis also create exciting new possibilities for the corporate world and society at large, as reflected in the UK’s ‘National Data Strategy’. The strategy, which was unveiled [...]
John Edwards: The ‘Facebook-hating’ Kiwi poised to shake up UK data laws August 26, 2021 The government today confirmed plans to appoint John Edwards, currently New Zealand’s privacy commissioner, as the next head of the UK’s data watchdog. The appointment is part of a planned overhaul of the UK’s data laws that will herald a new era of post-Brexit policy as ministers look to use online information to fuel economic [...]
UK to scrap web cookie requests in post-Brexit data revamp August 26, 2021 The UK will scrap “pointless” web cookie requests as part of a major package of reforms that will replace the EU’s data laws with a new post-Brexit regime. Culture secretary Oliver Dowden today unveiled a string of new measures designed to harness the power of data to drive growth and create jobs. The move will [...]