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What Is The ICO?

In this tech-insight, we look at the role of the Information Commissioner’s Office, and how it can be a source of valuable compliance information and help to businesses. What Is It? The Information Commissioner’s Office is the UK’s…
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Proposed Ban For Mass Facial Recognition & ‘Predictive’ Policing

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling for a ban on the use of AI-based predictive policing systems and the processing of biometric data that leads to mass surveillance. Areas The resolution seeks to ban the use of facial…
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Apple To Scan Phones For Inappropriate Content

Apple has announced that all iPhone photos will be scanned for any evidence of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) to protect children and to help stop the spread of CSAM online. How? Apple’s new versions of iOS and iPadOS, due…
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Conservative Party Gets £10,000 Data Protection Fine

The ICO has fined the Conservative Party £10,000 for sending unlawful marketing emails to people who did not want to receive them. Breach The ICO has decided that after an investigation into emails sent from the Conservative Party, in…
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Data About You Held By UK Government

In this article, we look at not just the story of how a staggering 400,000 police records were accidentally deleted but also at the wider picture of what information is held about us UK citizens by the authorities, and what powers we have over…
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Huge Demand for Employee Monitoring Software

The move to home working has prompted more businesses to invest in more digital, online staff-monitoring tools to help with transparency and productivity. Home Working Working at home because of the pandemic has led to companies wanting…
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Facial Recognition, Photo Identity and Privacy Protection

With phone cameras, surveillance cameras with facial recognition seemingly everywhere and the world entering a new phase of social change, many people are looking at how they can take simple steps to retain and protect their privacy rights. Faces Enshrined…
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Apple and Google Ban Location Tracking in Contact Tracing App

Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc (Google) have both announced that they will not use GPS location tracking as part of the COVID-19 contact tracing app that they are jointly developing. Contact Tracing Apps With contact-tracing and testing believed…
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Businesses Get Extra Time To Meet New Secure Payment Processing Rules

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has given UK businesses an extra 6 months to reach compliance with the new Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) rules for secure payment processing. What Are the SCA Secure Payment Processing Rules? The…
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How Much Does Google Know About You?

To have access to Google’s many features and services, as with other platforms, we need to give some personal information and then sign-in, but have you ever wondered just how much information Google keeps about you and your activities? Google This…
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Facebook Sued Down-Under For £266bn Over Cambridge Analytica Data Sharing Scandal

Six years after the personal data of 87 million users was harvested and later shared without user consent with Cambridge Analytica, Australia’s privacy watchdog is suing Facebook for an incredible £266bn over the harvested data of its citizens. What…
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Dentist’s Legal Challenges To Anonymity of Negative Google Reviewer

ABC News in Australia has reported how a Melbourne dentist has convinced a Federal Court Judge to order tech giant Google to produce identifying information about a person who posted a damaging negative review about the dentist on Google’s…
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EU Considers Ban on Facial Recognition

It has been reported that the European Commission is considering a ban on the use of facial recognition in public spaces for up to five years while new regulations for its use are put in place. Document The reports of a possible…
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Exploring Encryption

Encryption comes from the age-old science of cryptography.  In the digital world of today, encryption refers to using electronic devices to generate unique encryption algorithms which essentially scramble messages and data, making them…
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New Brave Browser : Blocks Ads, Pays Rewards

The new 1.0 browser from Brave removes ads and ad trackers and pays users through a reward system for viewing the ads that Brave presents. Brave? Brave is a San Francisco based start-up company, founded in 2015 and led by CEO Brendan…
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Research Says Memes Can Tell Between Humans and Bots

Researchers from the University of Delaware have concluded that when it comes to authentication for logins, Memes may be one of the strongest techniques to distinguish between a human and a bot. The Bot Challenge One of the great challenges…
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Scale of Police Computer Misuse Uncovered

A Freedom of Information (FoI) request made by think tank Parliament Street has revealed that 237 serving officers and members of staff have been disciplined for computer misuse in the last two financial years. Sackings and Resignations The…
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BBC Puts News On ‘Dark Web Browser’ To Avoid Censorship

The BBC has announced that it is making its International news website available via the ‘Tor’ browser (usually associated with the ‘dark web’), in order to get around censorship in other countries. Blocking by Some Countries The…
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ICO Warns Police on Facial Recognition

In a recent blog post, Elizabeth Denham, the UK’s Information Commissioner, has said that the police need to slow down and justify their use of live facial recognition technology (LFR) in order to maintain the right balance in reducing our…
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“Stalkerware” Partner-Spying Software Use Rises By 35% In One Year

Kaspersky researchers have reported a 35 per cent rise in the number of people who have encountered the use of so-called ‘stalkerware’ or ‘spouseware’ software in the first 8 months of this year. What is Stalkerware? Stalkerware…
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Google Leadership Accused Of Developing Internal Surveillance Tool

Some Google employees have accused the company’s leadership of developing a browser-based file extension for all of Google’s in-house computers that could flag-up signs of workers trying to organise meetings and protests. Google Employees The…
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Over A Million Fingerprints Exposed In Data Breach

It has been reported that more than one million fingerprints have been exposed online by biometric security firm Suprema which appears to have installed its standard Biostar 2 product on an open network. Suprema and Biostar 2 Suprema…
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Facial Recognition at King’s Cross Prompts ICO Investigation

The UK’s data protection watchdog (the Information Commissioner’s Office  i.e. the ICO) has said that it will be investigating the use of facial recognition cameras at King’s Cross by Property Development Company Argent. What…
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Opting Out of People Reviewing Your Alexa Recordings

Amazon has now added an opt-out option for manual review of voice recordings and their associated transcripts taken through Amazon’s Alexa but it has not stopped the practice of taking voice recordings to help develop new Alexa features. Opt-Out…
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Google Offers Auto-Delete of History After Three Months

Google is joining tech giants Facebook and Microsoft by offering users greater privacy of their data which for Google will give its users the option to automatically delete their search and location history after three or eighteen months. What’s…
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GDPR Says HMRC Must Delete Five Million Voice Records

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has concluded that HMRC has breached GDPR in the way that it collected the biometric voice records of users and now must delete five million biometric voice files. What Voice Files? Back in…
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Millions of Taxpayers’ Voiceprints Added to Controversial HMRC Biometric Database

The fact that the voiceprints of more than 2 million people have been added to HMRC’s Voice ID scheme since June 2018, to add to the 5 million plus other voiceprints already collected, has led to complaints and challenges to the lawfulness…
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Microsoft Launches ‘AccountGuard’ Email Service For Election Candidates

A new kind of pilot secure email service called ‘AccountGuard’ has been launched by Microsoft, specifically for use by election candidates, and as one answer to the kind of interference that took place during the last US presidential election…
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New Australian Law Gets The Thumbs-Down From Tech Firms

In Australia, a new draft bill proposing ways for tech firms, software developers and others to assist security agencies and police has been given the thumbs-down by a major industry group over its ambiguity, and the potential security risks…
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12 Russian Intelligence Officers Charged With Election Hacking

Even though, in an interview this week, President Trump appeared to absolve Russia of election interference (since retracted), the US Department of Justice has now charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with hacking Democratic officials in…
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Calls to Stop Storing of Personal Communications Data and Voiceprints

Privacy groups have led calls to halt the blanket collection and storing of communications data in the EU area, and the creation and storing of the “audio signatures” of 5.1 million people by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Collection of…
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Google Chrome’s ‘Incognito’ Mode Not So Incognito

Research by Internet Privacy Company DuckDuckGo is reported to have produced evidence that could show that even in Incognito mode, users of Google Chrome can still be tracked, and searches are still personalised accordingly. Incognito Mode Going…