Two Romanians charged with hacking Washington DC police computers as part of ransomware campaign
TECHNOLOGY POWERING BUSINESS
December 2017
Google Axes Pixel C Android Tablet
Search engine giant quietly retires its Android-based tablet Pixel C, in favour of Chromebooks
Apple Says Sorry For iPhone Slowdown
Mea culpa. Apple apologises for slowing down older iPhones, but denies attempt to force customers to upgrade
John McAfee Defiant After Twitter Account Hack
Colourful former security tycoon says his Twitter account was hacked to promote lesser-known crypto-currencies
Certain Sonos, Bose Speakers Vulnerable To Hack
Did Santa deliver you a Sonos or Bose smart speaker? Better check hackers have not compromised it
Workplace Robots To Hit Low Paid The Hardest
Bad robot? Increasing automation must not drive workplace wage inequality, think tank warns
Microsoft Foldable Phone Patent Shows Two Screens
Surface Phone clue as patent shows dual-display and 360-degree rotation support, but will anyone care?
Nissan Canada Admits Huge Data Breach
Over one million customers’ data has been exposed in Canada including addresses and financial information
WhatsApp Halts Windows Phone 8, BlackBerry OS Support
WhatsApp announces it is pulling the plug on Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry OS
ICO Serves Notice On Ministry of Justice Over Information Delays
The ICO's has taken formal action against the MoJ after finding a backlog of hundreds of information requests, some dating back to 2012
Exchanges Suspend Trading Amidst Bitcoin Sell-Off
Coinbase was one of three exchanges that suspended Bitcoin trading on Friday as the cryptocurrency lost about one-third of its value
Malware Spreads Cryptocurrency Miner Via Facebook Messenger
The Digimine malware spreads through infected attachments in messages that may appear to come from someone the target knows
Government Looks For Tech To Support Prison Anti-Drone Squad
The specialist squad formed earlier this year aims to tackle the problem of drones being used to smuggle contraband into prisons
Edward Snowden Develops App For Monitoring Physical Security
The Android-based app monitors the physical environment around it and sends end-to-end encrypted updates via Signal mobile software
Apple Hit By Class-Action Lawsuits Over iPhone Slowdown
Three lawsuits filed in Illinois and California allege Apple 'interfered' with users' handsets, leading to a loss of value and 'overpayments' to Apple
Tales In Tech History: AOL Instant Messenger (AIM)
Long before Skype or WhatsApp achieved their domination, AIM was the pioneer of instant communications (IM)
Foreign Secretary Warns Russia Over Cyber Attacks
Angry Russian reaction after Boris Johnson warns Moscow to cease cyber-attacks or face retaliation
Eric Schmidt Steps Down As Alphabet Chairman
After helping turning Google into a technology titan, Eric Schmidt steps down from his central role
Last Minute Technology Christmas 2017 Gift Guide
Left it late this year? Here is our guide to the best Christmas tech gifts
Trade Union Worried About AI-Driven School Inspections
National Association of Head Teachers cautions against machine learning scheme for school inspections
Apple Confirms It Slows Down Older iPhones
Apple admits it does slow down older iPhones due to 'ageing batteries', but do other smartphone makers?
UK’s Offensive Cyber Warfare Ability ‘More Than Doubles’
GCHQ has "over-achieved" in building up its offensive cyber-capabilities, official report finds
Microsoft Windows 10 Gets Delayed Timeline Feature
Software giant reveals what features get added to Windows 10 and what is still has to fix and improve
Vodafone & Ericsson Trial 5G In Central London
Successful 5G test independent of 4G networks carried out in central London with Vodafone and others
Ofcom Fends Off EE & Three 5G Spectrum Legal Challenges
Legal challenges by EE and Three to spectrum auction plans defeated by Ofcom in High Court, but Three will appeal
Catelites Malware Targets Bank Customer Logins
Sophisticated fake mobile banking app interface for Android will steal your bank login credentials
Government Confirms Legal Right To High Speed Broadband
Pledge that everyone in UK will have legal right to broadband speeds of at least 10 Mbps by 2020
US Blames North Korea For WannaCry Attack
United States now joins the UK in officially blaming North Korea for WannaCry ransomware attack
Terrafix To Provide NHS With In-Ambulance Mobile Data Systems
An £8.1m deal is to see the British mobile computing firm supply technology for communications between ambulances and control rooms
Government Seeks Views On Future Of 5G, Fibre Broadband
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport consultations are to help determine how to shape a future of 5G and full-fibre networks
German Competition Watchdog Calls Facebook Data Collection ‘Abusive’
The preliminary ruling, ahead of a final decision next year, could mean limits on how Facebook collects and processes European user data
Ofcom: Mobile Users Will Be Able To Switch With A Single SMS
A major regulatory reform will allow users to switch to a new provider via text message, eliminating the need to contact the old provider
Newly Discovered Android Malware Physically Wrecks Phones
The Loapi malware, which poses as adult or security apps, runs processor-intensive scams that can cause a phone to overheat and deform its case
AWS Opens Fourth EU Cloud Region In France
AWS EU (Paris) will serve French organsiations as Amazon expands cloud presence
Kaspersky Lab Challenges US Government Security Ban
The DHS' September order prohibited Kaspersky Lab's products, including its popular antivirus, on civilian government networks
French Watchdog Finds WhatsApp-Facebook Data Sharing Illegal
The CNIL has given WhatsApp and Facebook one month to bring themselves into compliance with French data protection law or face a fine
Starbucks Wi-Fi Forces Users To Mine Cryptocurrency
Starbucks' internet provider in Buenos Aires is the latest to hijack users' processing power to carry out lucrative crypto-mining activities
France Demands €10m Amazon Fine Over Vendor Contracts
Amazon abused its e-commerce dominance to tie vendors using its platform into 'abusive' contracts, claims the regulator's lawsuit
Equinix Buys Australia’s Metronode for AU$1bn
The deal gives Equinix a total of more than 200 data centres worldwide and will see it providing services to some of Australia's largest organisations
Thales Bids €4.76bn For Gemalto In Year’s Biggest Euro Tech Deal
Gemalto said it would back the offer from Thales, a week after the cybersecurity firm gave a lukewarm response to a lower bid from Atos
TRITON Attack Targeted Critical Infrastructure, Security Firm Says
FireEye warns that a nation-state appears to be infiltrating critical-infrastructure sites and developing ways to cause physical damage
Infrastructure Commission Calls For Action On ‘Deplorable’ Mobile Coverage
Lord Adonis said 'urgent and radical action' was needed from Ofcom to eliminate 'digital deserts' and poor home broadband
Tales In Tech History: Novell
Not many tech firms come from the US state of Utah, but for many years Novell was the bedrock of local area networks
More Than 1m UK Premises Get Less Than 10Mbps Broadband
The digital divide is narrowing but rural areas still significantly more likely to have slow broadband than urban
Schools Are ‘Vulnerable’ To Heating Hacks
Building management system controllers connected to the Internet are a new source of vulnerability
US Overturns Net Neutrality Rules
Long-anticipated reversal of Net Neutrality legislation will be hugely unpopular
Google Machine Learning Technology Helps NASA Discover New Exoplanet
Machine Learning technology powering many of Google's apps and services finds a new use helping astrophysicists find new planets orbiting distant stars
Microsoft Azure Bot Service Opens To Developers
Its good to talk. Redmond to deliver conversational AI to more developers as its Azure Bot Service is opened up
Trump Wants US Government To Adopt Cloud Services
Action plan published for US Government departments to improve cyber security and adopt cloud platforms
Tech Quiz: Christmas Technology
Just like Cliff Richard said, "Christmas Time, mistletoe and... Wi-Fi"
Microsoft Brings AI To Bing For Smarter Answers
Software giant reveals AI updates to its product portfolio, as it signs deal to bring Reddit content to Bing
Google Assistant Arrives On Android L Smartphones
Google Assistant is now available on half of Android devices as it arrives on Android Lollipop smartphones, Android M & N tablets
1998 Vintage Cryptography Vulnerability Known As ROBOT Re-Emerges
The Cryptography vulnerability first detailed in 1998, still has the potential to impact modern websites
IBM Signs Up Members For Quantum Computing Push
Twelve companies and universities now have cloud access to IBM's quantum computer
Global Cloud Data Center, the Aruba data center that creates the atmosphere
With the inauguration of data centers in Bergamo, Italy and Warsaw, Poland, Aruba is focusing on new areas for high-performance offers and solutions within Europe.
China Mobile Launches CMLink UK MVNO For Chinese Community
China Mobile wants to become a global telecom leader and says CMLink UK network is evidence of its ambition
Google Opens AI Centre In China Despite Search Ban
Google to open AI research centre in China, despite country's ban on its products
Apple Mac Adware OSX.Pirrit Returns With Vengeance
OSX.Pirrit adware exploits AppleScript to spy on Apple Mac users, yet adtech creators deny it is malware
Tales In Tech History: Commodore 64
ZX Spectrum rival and best selling computer of all time, the Commodore 64 was a hugely popular home computer
US Law Bans Kaspersky Security Products From Government Systems
US government passes law that bans government agencies from using Kaspersky Lab security tools
Patch Tuesday: Microsoft’s Last Security Update Of 2017 Targets Browsers
Web browser vulnerabilities receive the most attention from Microsoft in its pre Christmas update
IT LIFE: Wendy Paine, Logicalis UK
Wendy Paine from Logicalis takes use through her career in IT and talks about skiing, cycling, and, er, Citrix
Next Gen BT Phone Boxes Bring 1Gbps Wi-Fi & Free Calls To Leeds
BT Links will deliver a range of free services and power future smart city services
Leading Internet Figures Demand Cancellation Of ‘Net Neutrality’ Vote
Vint Cerf, Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Steve Wozniak are amongst those calling for this week's vote to be called off amidst a 'lack of transparency'
MoneyTaker Criminals Make Off With £10m Using Stealth Malware
The 'MoneyTaker' group has made off with around $10m so far from banks in the UK, US and Russia, all the while carefully covering its tracks
AWS To Launch Second China Region
AWS China (Ningxia) is cloud firm's second Chinese region
Microsoft Previews Quantum Computing Language Q#
The company's quantum computing development kit includes the Q# language as well as local and cloud simulators, libraries and sample code
How Facebook Users Can Thwart Imposters Who Spoof Their Identities
ANALYSIS: Scammers are spoofing the Facebook user's account names to engage in phony Messenger conversations to phish for information. Here's how to stop it
Apple Buys UK Music App Shazam For £300m
UPDATED: Apple 'confirms' acquisition of music identification app Shazam in move that could boost Apple Music
HERE East Offers Own Fibre Network For Tenants
Olympic park tech hub Here East wants to protect tenants from London's 'infrastructure' challenges
Keylogger Found Pre-Installed In Hundreds Of HP Laptops
The keylogger was originally installed with touchpad drivers to help debug errors, but could lead to a 'loss of confidentiality'
Fake Cryptocurrency Wallet Tops Apple App Store Charts
Surge in public interest around Bitcoin and other digital currencies has helped propel a dubious wallet app to the top of the App Store's Finance section
Government IT Systems ‘Would Not Cope’ With Hard Brexit
Under its current planning the government would not be able to implement the new IT systems needed to cope with changed border behaviours, the PAC warns
Why HBO Chose Kubernetes To Help Stream Game Of Thrones
Kubecon CloudNativeCon: HBO engineers explain the challenges and the process they went through to decide and use Kubernetes, to help stream Game of Thrones
Nvidia Unveils Titan V, The World’s Most Powerful GPU
Nvidia returns to its roots with the Ttian V, the world's most powerful GPU for the PC costs a cool $3,000, and delivers 110 teraflops
IT LIFE: Dan Martland, Edge Testing Solutions
Dan Martland from Edge Testing Solutions talks about how his hobby became a career and the importance of software testing
UK’s Slowest Broadband Street Has Speeds Of Just 0.68Mbps
Slowest broadband street is 53 times slower than the UK average and 260 times slower than the fastest road in the country.
Former NSA Employee Pleads Guilty To Taking Top Secret Data Home
ANALYSIS: Yet another former NSA employee has taken secret information home, allegedly enabling Russian hackers to gain access to data.
Apple To Patch Zero-Day Vulnerability With HomeKit And iOS
Apple security credentials once again in spotlight after zero-day iOS HomeKit vulnerability is revealed
Uber Used Bug Bounty Cash To Pay Hacker To Keep Quiet – Report
Taxi service could be back on the naughty step amid allegations it used bug bounty cash as hush money
Tech Quiz: Amazon Web Services (AWS)
What do you know about AWS, the public cloud leader?
Senate Bill Proposes Prison Time For Failure To Report Data Breaches
ANALYSIS: The Senate Commerce Committee takes major role in investigating and creating data breach legislation and after Uber breach is taking action
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Promises Better Battery, AI & Speed For 2018 Smartphones
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 will power the majority of next year's high end smartphones
NiceHash Admits It Was Hacked Amid Fears It Lost $70m In Bitcoin
Bitcoin mining marketplace NiceHash admits devastating hack, which some estimates say could have cost it nearly $70m
Blockchain Clearing System Adopted By Australian Stock Exchange
Blockchain down under, as Australia becomes first global market to adopt it for stock exchange
Samsung Starts Mass Production Of 512GB Flash Chip
That is a lot of photos. Samsung begins mass production of 512GB storage chip for mobile devices
Satori Botnet Wakes Up And Enlists 263,000 Bots
Variant of the more infamous Mirai malware starting to propagate very quickly, researchers warn
Google Begins Rollout Of Android 8.1 Oreo
Rollout of next iteration of Android underway as 8.1 looks towards accelerate on-device machine intelligence
IBM Security Expands Multifactor Authentication Integrations
In a bid to stem the tide of data breaches, IBM offers clients multifactor authentication tech from its partners
IBM Touts AI Credentials Of New POWER9 Server
Developers can build AI applications quicker thanks to new and more powerful big iron from IBM
Virtual Keyboard App Reveals Data Of 31m Android Users
Colossal new data breach as Android keyboard app Ai.type exposes personal data of 31 million users
‘Always Connected’ Windows 10 PCs Promise Gigabit LTE & All-Day Battery
Microsoft and Qualcomm show off the first Windows 10 'Always Connected' PCs, claiming they will change world of IT just as cloud did
Apple Using Face ID Data For Far More Than Unlocking Your iPhone
ANALYSIS: Digital model of your face will let Face ID to unlock apps or to perform other functions ranging from live emojis to fitting glasses.
OpenStack Launches Kata Containers Project To Improve Security
New effort brings Intel Clear Containers and the Hyper runV technologies together to provide a secure base for running containers in the cloud
Gamarue Botnet Disrupted In Global Operation
Law enforcement agencies around the world close down long-running botnets powered by Gamarue malware
PayPal’s TIO Networks Says Data Breach Impacts 1.6m Customers
PayPal only bought bill payment processor TIO Networks For £177m in July but has suspended operations
Google Tackles KRACK With December’s Android Bulletin
Patch update for Android, but good news is that there are no reports of any flaws being exploited in the wild
Apple Update Undoes MacOS Root Password Fix
Apple security update means root password flaw can return for some users
BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal Uses Cloud Call Centre Tech To Raise Funds
Annual BBC Radio 4 Appeal hopes cloud call centre technology can handle more calls and raise more money to help tackle homelessness
How HP Has Fared In Six-Plus Years Under CEO Meg Whitman
ANALYSIS: If one goes strictly by the numbers, Whitman has had a successful reign. The stock of both HP Enterprise and HP Inc. have improved on her watch
Google To Release AI Vision Kit For Raspberry Pi Zero W
The kit includes all the elements needed to make artificially intelligent vision gadgets, with AI tasks carried out on an included Intel chip
Government To Place Limits On ‘Snooper’s Charter’
Police will now require independent authorisation to access data, but critics say the changes don't limit 'indiscriminate surveillance' of personal data
Government Advises Departments To Drop Kaspersky Antivirus Software
Departments handling sensitive data should avoid Russian security products as they face an 'increased risk' of hacking, while Barclays drops Kaspersky offer
MPs’ Cybersecurity Admissions Highlight Need For Culture Change At Westminster
ANALYSIS: MPs admit to sharing passwords and leaving computers unlocked because of convenience, but the people deserve better
AWS CTO Defines Well-Architected Cloud Security Best Practices
At the AWS re:Invent conference, CTO Werner Vogels emphasizes the critical importance of security in all cloud development
Facebook’s New London Office Will Hire 800 New Staff
Facebook brings engineers, tech and sales under one roof in London
Tales In Tech History: The SMS Text Message At 25
The text (or SMS) message was once more widely used than mobile phone calls, but its use in recent years has declined in favour of instant messaging
Microsoft Edge Now Generally Available For iOS And Android
Microsoft Edge web browser leaves preview for iPhone and Android smartphones
Tales In Tech History: BT And the Creation Of BT Openreach
The debate on Openreach's future has been raging for the past few years, so we thought it was time to look back at its origins
AWS Bolsters Kubernetes Container Credentials
Amazon EKS delivers Kubernetes as a managed service, while AWS Fargate allows containers to be run without management
Morrisons ‘Ultimately Responsible’ For Rogue Employee Leaking Payroll Data
Supermarket Morrisons could be forced to pay compensation after rogue employee posted salary details online
IT LIFE: Simon Williams, NTT Data
NTT DATA UK CEO Simon Williams talks us through his career, including the integration of Orange and T-Mobile, and why wine would be an alternative career
DOJ Shares Criminal Probe Evidence With Judge In Waymo vs. Uber Suit
ANALYSIS: In a surprise development, lawyers reveal evidence from ongoing criminal investigation of Uber to the judge in Waymo’s civil lawsuit against Uber
Amazon Opens Up Alexa For Business Community
Successful Alexa voice assistant to expand out of consumer market and into the business world