UK launches new watchdog to promote online competition
Online platforms make it easier for people and businesses to stay in touch, but a small number of companies dominate the market which can lead to less choice and higher prices.
In the UK today sees the launch of the Digital Markets Unit (DMU) intended to create a new pro-competition regime to cover platforms with considerable market power.
Digital first census raises security concerns
This year for the first time the UK's ten yearly census -- used to collect information to determine future government policy and spending -- is 'digital first' with people encouraged to fill in their returns online rather than use a paper form.
But research conducted by YouGov for security analytics and automation company Exabeam finds that many people are worried about how the data will be stored and used.
UK government faces software skills crisis
Governments don't have a good record when delivering IT projects, but a new study from digital experience company Acquia that the UK government is facing a major software skills crisis.
Results show that 28 percent of vacancies remain unfilled. Across the 12 departments which responded to freedom of information requests, some 317 developer positions are open, while just 808 developers are currently employed.
Employees' home networks could lead to SMEs failing security assessments
With the pandemic forcing more people to work from home, businesses in the UK -- particularly smaller ones -- may not have considered the fact that their employees' home networks now fall under the scope of regulatory and certification requirements.
According to a report from support solutions company A&O IT Group, if an individual works from home more than half of their time, their network must be compliant with current regulations.
UK security pros worry about breaking the law when defending against attacks
A new report released today by the CyberUp Campaign and techUK has found that 80 percent of UK security professionals worry about breaking the law in the process of defending against cyberattacks.
The Computer Misuse Act (1990) is the law that governs the activities of cyber security professionals in the UK and the survey finds a near-unanimous (93 percent) belief that the Act -- written before the advent of modern cyber security -- does not represent a piece of legislation fit for this century.
One in three Brits uses someone else's streaming login
According to a new study from F-Secure, 36 percent of Brits are willing to use someone else’s details to access streaming services if given the chance.
Also 42 percent of Brits share their login details to their favourite streaming services with between one and three other people and 70 percent feel no guilt when using someone else’s login for Netflix or Amazon.
UK online retailers not ready for Christmas surge
Online shopping has been enjoying something of a boom thanks to the pandemic, but a new report indicates that not all retailer sites are as good as they could be.
In a test of the websites of over 250 UK online retailers, Edge Testing Solutions looked at factors including, load time, navigation tools, image quality and broken links.
UK broadband among the slowest in Europe
Analysis of over 557 million broadband speed tests worldwide has revealed that the UK now sits in 47th place, with an average speed of 37.82Mbps.
The research from Cable.co.uk puts the UK ahead of 174 countries, but behind 46 others, coming in behind 21 Western European countries. This puts the UK among the slowest in the region when it comes to average broadband speed, losing 13 places since the measurements were taken last year.
Why is the UK government prone to IT disasters?
Back in March, at the height of the nationally imposed lockdown, Health Secretary Matt Hancock promised a solution in the form of a coronavirus tracing app that would see us all out of lockdown safely. Although the much-touted NHSX app was said to be at the heart of the strategy to contain the spread of Covid-19, months later, it was ditched due to security concerns, forcing the Government to change tack to work with tech giants Apple and Google on a new app, shifting its strategy to work with human tracers instead.
With measures easing and life now the most 'normal' it has been for quite some time, the newest iteration of the app is still yet to be released. It is clear that even in the midst of an international health crisis, the public sector has defaulted to looking only to big vendors to provide technical solutions -- and to its own detriment.
A quarter of UK office workers use unauthorized devices to work from home
A new study from cybersecurity and data analytics firm, CybSafe shows that one in fours UK office workers are relying on unauthorized personal devices to work from home.
The study of 600 workers also shows that one in 10 share their work devices with others in their household, and that 65 percent of workers have not received any remote working security training in the last 6 months.
UK consumers look for higher broadband speeds
We reported yesterday on how lockdown has impacted broadband speeds around the world, although the UK has been less affected than some, new research from NTT DATA UK shows that connectivity is still an issue for many people.
The survey of 2,000 UK consumers shows that 49 percent have struggled with the speed of their broadband during lockdown and 31 percent have struggled to find reliable mobile phone signals.
Lockdown highlights UK broadband problems
While many people are happily working from home during the pandemic, for others a switch to remote working has thrown the deficiencies of their home internet connections into perspective.
UK comparison site Uswitch has found that people have been performing 44,000 searches per month in the hope of fixing their broadband issues. The top 10 searches are all related to technical issues and two thirds (62 percent) of all searches are related to speed.
Security professionals warn UK government over outdated cybercrime legislation
The UK's Computer Misuse Act came into effect 30 years ago, but security professionals are warning that it is no longer fit for purpose and may even be hindering their efforts.
A coalition of businesses, trade bodies, lawyers and think tanks from across the cybersecurity industry have today taken the unprecedented step of uniting to write a letter to the prime minister urging him to reform the law.
Is Twitter losing the right?
If you've been using Twitter over the past week or so -- especially if you're in the UK -- you may have noticed the hashtag #Twexit trending.
This is being used to signal users' intention to abandon Twitter and decamp to upstart rival Parler. So what’s going on here and why?
UK government invests in security by design
The UK government is announcing that it will provide £10 million ($12.5 million) over four years to develop groundbreaking cyber security technologies.
Nine grant winners have been revealed as the recipients in the government's Digital Security by Design program, which aims to help the tech infrastructure of UK organizations and digital devices be more resilient to cyber attacks.
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