Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Privacy and security has always been a hot topic, but never more so than in recent months. The Apple/FBI case has really brought things to a head, enlivening the debate between privacy and security advocates, and those who side with the government. As Apple fights to prevent the FBI from accessing the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, Facebook, Google and others are looking to increase encryption and lockdown user data even further.

The Guardian has learned that a number of Silicon Valley companies are working on ultra-secure encrypted messaging systems. With President Obama having made a sideways reference to supporting the inclusion of backdoors for government, Facebook is planning to not only bring encryption to Whatsapp's voice messages, but also to bolster the security of Facebook Messenger.

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Microsoft's love affair with Bitcoin has proved to be short-lived. The company has updated its support pages to indicate that it no longer supports the cryptocurrency for purchases made in the Microsoft Store.

No explanation has been given for the decision, but it's likely that Bitcoin's failure to hit the mainstream -- yet, at least -- is to blame. From now on, Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile purchases will have to be made using other payment methods, although Microsoft says current balances paid for with Bitcoin can still be used.

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The feature that has been missing from Microsoft Edge for so long is just around the corner. We've known for a little while that extensions are due to make an appearance in an upcoming build of Windows 10, and ahead of this the first extension has made an appearance in the Windows Store.

Page Analyzer is an extension aimed at developers, so it's arrival in the Windows Store is a little odd. It's likely that extension support will be added in the next Windows 10 Redstone build, although there's no official timeline for this release at the moment.

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Six-wheeled robots could be delivering groceries to shoppers in the UK within the next six months. Starship Technologies, a company set up by two of the co-founders of Skype, is building up fleets of robots that can deliver goods within 30 minutes.

A pilot of the robotic delivery scheme is due to start in the UK, and a testing program will start in the US in April. The aim of the self-driving robots is not just to speed up deliveries, but also to keep costs to a minimum. The zero-emissions units also boast environmentally-friendly credentials.

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Microsoft's incredibly aggressive pushing of Windows 10 has been going on for some time now. In many regards it is something that home users have become accustomed to. While you might bemoan Microsoft constantly adverting Windows 10 to you if you've not yet upgraded, you must appreciate that it at last makes some sort of sense to the company -- it wants you to push that button and install the latest version of Windows.

But while this sort of nagging is nothing new, it seems that some of Microsoft's marketing efforts are wildly wide of the mark, particularly when it comes to enterprise users. Many have already been upset by the appearance of Windows 10 ads in an Internet Explorer patch but there's another level to this insipid pestering. Described by some as 'malware' the IE update tries to foist Windows 10 onto enterprise users, encouraging them to nag sysadmins to upgrade to the latest version of Windows.

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The on-going battle between Apple and the FBI has brought encryption and security to the fore once again. After remaining silent on the subject for some time, President Obama -- speaking at SXSW -- said that he was opposed the idea of encryption mechanism that are so strong it prevents governmental access.

"If technologically it is possible to make an impenetrable device or system where the encryption is so strong that there is no key, there's no door at all, then how do we apprehend the child pornographer, how do we solve or disrupt a terrorist plot?" he wondered aloud, his almost rhetorical question playing neatly on two of America's biggest fears. He suggested that security keys should be made available to third parties, saying "you cannot take an absolutist view" when it comes to balancing security and privacy. But Obama has a solution: backdoors.

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Online advertising is incredibly divisive, and for World Day Against Cyber Censorship, AdBlock is opting to replace banner ads that would normally be blocked with links to Amnesty International. The human rights group is fronting an anti-cyber-censorship campaign, joined by Edward Snowden, Pussy Riot (famous for rubbing up Russia's President Putin the wrong way) and Ai Weiwei.

The aim of the campaign is to promote freedom of speech online but highlighting examples of free speech being censored -- not just in obvious places like China and North Korea, but also the United States and the United Kingdom. Government control of the internet is something that many think is restricted to limiting what journalists are able to publish online, but as the campaign highlights it's a problem that can affect anyone.

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Ahead of the hearing due to be held on 22 March, the Justice Department has lashed out at Apple in its latest response to the company's refusal to unlock the San Bernardino iPhone. Playing an emotional game, the DoJ says "Apple deliberately raised technological barriers that now stand between a lawful warrant and an iPhone containing evidence related to the terrorist mass murder of 14 Americans."

It says that only Apple is able to remove the barriers that are currently in the way, "and it can do so without undue burden". Apple has already made it abundantly clear that it will not help the FBI in creating what it describes as a backdoor into the iPhone at the center of the case.

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The chairman of the Federal Communication Commission has put forward a set of proposals to protect internet user's privacy. Tom Wheeler wants to place limits on how ISPs are able to use customer data in much the same way that phone companies are regulated.

The amount of unencrypted data ISPs have access to which can be used for advertising and marketing worries Wheeler. The FCC already governs how phone companies can use and resell customer data, and he believes the same rules should be applied to ISPs. More than this, he wants to empower customers so they can choose precisely how their data is used.

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The battle between the FBI and Apple over access to the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone is turning into little more than a battle of wills. Both sides are using the case to make a point; Apple posits that unlocking the phone would set a dangerous precedent, the FBI says not unlocking the phone amounts to aiding terrorists.

There have been heavy words thrown from both sides, and the latest round of blows sees Apple claiming that the FBI could follow up its phone unlocking demand with a demand to switch on iPhone cameras and microphone for the purposes of spying on users. "Where will this stop?" asks Eddy Cue. "Some day, someone will be able to turn on a phone's microphone. That should not happen in this country".

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Speaking at the Common Cause Blueprint for a Great Democracy conference in Moscow via video link, Edward Snowden gave tech writers around the world an excuse to swear in headlines. Dismissing the FBI's claims as 'bullshit', the former NSA contractor says that Apple's involvement is not needed for the law enforcement agency to unlock the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone.

Snowden is not alone in decrying the demands being made by the FBI that Apple should create custom firmware to allow it to bypass the lock screen of the iPhone at the center of the terrorism case. He's one of a growing band of people convinced that the FBI is using the San Bernardino as a PR exercise. Apple has been criticized for being unhelpful, but more than this, the FBI is painting a picture that shows Apple as a terrorist sympathizer.

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Nearly a third of gamers say they have been harassed while playing online, figures from a survey by Broadband Genie show. 31 percent of players found themselves on the receiving end of abuse, and 13 percent of respondents said they don’t always feel safe in online games. While it's possible to dismiss some of the harassment as banter (bantz, if you will) this is not true in every instance.

Two thirds of gamers thought abusive comments could be classed as little more than banter, but the prevalence of racist, sexist and homophobic -- as illustrated by the ongoing Gamergate controversy -- serves as a warning not only for gamers, but for the parents of children let loose online. Some harassment is limited to within games, but in five percent of cases, victims said the abuse continued on social media and forums.

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A secret court accepted changes to the rules governing the FBI's access to NSA data about US citizen's international emails and phone activity. The Guardian received confirmation from US officials that the classified changes were made to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa).

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Group (PCLOB) has previously revealed that the FBI was able to search through NSA's collection of trawled data about international communication. The classified nature of the latest changes mean it is impossible to know exactly what they entail, but they are described as being a step towards "enhancing privacy".

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The head of GCHQ, Robert Hannigan, has called for greater co-operation between tech companies and governments. Speaking at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hannigan referred to the "highly charged atmosphere" surrounding the encryption debate in a barely-concealed reference to the on-going battle between Apple and the FBI.

He said that in the coming months Prime Minister David Cameron will set out plans to improve the relationship between tech companies and intelligence agencies. He was at pains to stress that the controversial snooper's charter (or Investigatory Powers Bill) would not be used as an excuse to allow governmental spying or to introduce a ban on end-to-end encryption.

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It seems that just about everyone has something to say about the on-going battle over encryption that is raging between Apple and the FBI. While tech firms have rallied behind Apple's decision not to help the FBI bypass the lockscreen of the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, Donald Trump has taken the opposing view and called for a boycott of Apple products.

Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is taking a more pragmatic approach. Describing the situation as "the worst dilemma ever", the former First Lady refused to side with either Apple or the FBI, saying "I am not expert in any way to tell you how to do it".

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