Refresh for Macbook and iPad Pro sees higher prices, better processors and screens, and facial recognition
TECHNOLOGY POWERING BUSINESS
October 2018
Facebook Growth Slows Amid Saturation In Developed Countries
User growth continues to slow as Zuckerberg admits saturation in developed countries
US Bans Exports To Chinese Chip Firm Fujian Jinhua
Trade wars or national security? US government places Chinese chip firm on export ban list amid allegations of IP theft
Budget 2018: Tech Industry Reactions
Reaction to chancellor's proposed digital tax, extra funding for industrial strategy, full fibre connectivity, and cyber defence
Budget 2018: Tech Giants Face Hammond’s Digital Tax
Tech giants to be forced to pay fair share of tax, under plans unveiled by chancellor Philip Hammond
Qualcomm Says Apple Owes It $7bn In Royalties
Legal battle continues as Qualcomm now says Apple owes it $7bn in overdue royalty payments
California To Suspend State Net Neutrality Law Until Court Ruling
Showdown between US states and federal government averted until court rules on Trump's net neutrality “roll-back”
IBM Spends $34bn To Secure Open Source Giant Red Hat
Big Blue's biggest acquisition sees it acquire open source cloud giant to expand subscription-based software
Intel Pleases With Profit, Revenue Growth
Positive third quarter results for chip giant thanks to data centre growth and PC demand
British Airways Confirms Theft Of Additional Data
Another 185,000 payment card data stolen, after BA uncovers second hack whilst investigating the first
Google Sacks Dozens For Sexual Harassment
Sundar Pichai admits 48 staff have been sacked for sexual harassment over past two years
Cathay Pacific Admits Hack Of 9.4 Million Customer Records
Another data breach in the aviation industry, as airline admits compromise of personal data for 9.4 million passengers
BT Names Worldpay co-CEO As New Boss
Philip Jansen named as new chief executive in charge at BT, despite lack of telecoms experience
ICO Confirms Facebook Maximum Fine Of £500,000
Information Commissioner confirms maximum possible fine for Facebook over Cambridge Analytica
Apple’s Tim Cook Takes Aim At Rivals Over Data Privacy
Are you listening Mark? Tim Cook calls for federal privacy law and vows to protect users’ data and privacy
Facebook Simplifies Messenger App
Redesigned to make mobile app more streamlined with a simplified user interface
Linus Torvalds Back In Charge Of Linux Kernel Development
Hug a coder. Month long sabbatical for Linux creator ends, amid updated 'code of conduct' for entire community
Oculus VR Co-founder Becomes Latest To Leave Facebook
Facebook management exodus continues with departure of Oculus VR co-founder Brendan Iribe
Morrisons Faces Hefty Compensation Claim After Losing Appeal
Court of Appeal rules that supermarket is liable for rogue employee who posted salary details online
Super Micro To Test For Chinese Spy Chips
World's largest motherboard maker is to review its hardware to check reports on Chinese spy chips
Telefonica Deutschland Calls For Vodafone’s Liberty Purchase Block
Opposition grows to Vodafone's European purchases as Telefonica Deutschland demands acquisition block
Apple’s Tim Cook Demands Chinese Hack Story Retraction
Apple boss says Bloomberg's Businessweek should article about Chinese infiltration via spy chips
Facebook Hires Former Deputy PM Nick Clegg
Former Liberal leader to move family to California after appointment as Facebook's global affairs and comms
Home Office Admits Emergency Network Overruns To ‘Delay’ Cost Savings
The Public Accounts Committee has estimated that unexpected charges may eliminate five years' worth of the new network's supposed price benefits
France’s Le Maire: European Tax On Tech Giants Is Question Of ‘Sovereignty’
French finance minister Bruno Le Maire argues the only thing holding the tax on Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook and the like is a 'lack of political will'
Facebook May Use Data From Portal Video Device To Target Adverts
Facebook says Portal was designed with privacy in mind — but that's not necessarily so for the Facebook Messenger infrastructure it's built on
GitHub Introduces ‘Revolutionary’ Automation Features
Developers will now be able to automate workflow processes by running actions directly on the site — as well as sharing actions with more than 31 million other users
Tesla Buys Land In Shanghai For First Gigafactory Outside The US
The Shanghai factory is expected to double Tesla's manufacturing capacity, while cutting prices in the world's biggest market for electric vehicles
Apple Rolls Out Online Privacy Tool For US Users
The company has revamped its privacy site for users in the US and some other countries as it prepares to extend GDPR controls worldwide
Twitter Provides Evidence Of Russia Meddling
Publishes data sets of millions of tweets, images and videos from accounts linked to Russia and Iran
Google To Charge Android Licence Fee For European Device Makers
Antitrust response. Android apps such as Chrome, Gmail etc will require device makers in Europe to pay licence fee
IBM Quarterly Results Reveal Growth Challenge
Bad day at the office for Ginni Rometty as IBM financials shrink yet again, as software sales stutter
National Cyber Security Centre Reveals Scale Of Cyber Attacks
Two year since its launch, NCSC helped the UK against almost 1,200 cyber attacks, most carried out by hostile nation states
Facebook To Clamp Down On Voting Misinformation
US election clampdown, but meantime in the UK it pledges to make political adverts “transparent”
Tech Pays Tribute To Microsoft’s Paul Allen
Another tech titan passes away, after co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen, dies aged just 65
MoD Secrets Exposed In Multiple Data Breaches – Report
Sensitive British defence data has been exposed in multiple breaches in 2017, heavily redacted incident reports show
Google ‘Thoughtfully Considering’ How To Offer China Services
Alphabet boss tells US senators that firm is considering China re-entry, but declines to address censorship concerns
Facebook Data Breach Affects 29 Million Users
Social network revises down the number of accounts affected, but still doesn't offer fraud protection
Samsung Foldable Tablet/Phone Will Fit In Pocket – Report
Mobile boss touts foldable device that can be used as a tablet before being folded into portable phone
Facebook Culls Hundreds Of US-based Spam, Fake News Accounts
Facebook is deleting hundreds of American accounts and pages for “inauthentic activity”
What Now For Google Plus Users?
Google 'hangouts' its social network experiment, leaving consumers with less than a year before switch off
IT Life: André Stewart, Netskope
André Stewart, head of EMEA for Californian cloud security firm Netskope, talks about using artificial intelligence to fight cybercrime, the history of French cycling — and his passion for battery tech
Apple Coughs Up $600m To Acquire Parts Of Dialog’s Business
Apple pays hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire engineers, patents and offices from one of its British suppliers
Broadcom Hits Out At ‘Fake’ Pentagon Memo Of CA Acquisition
Mischief making. Pentagon 'request' for national security review of Broadcom's CA acquisition is 'fake'
WhatsApp Fixes Video Call Flaw That Allowed Account Hijack
Facebook service fixes video call flaw that could allow hackers to hijack user accounts
Microsoft Set To Win Secret Clearance Ahead Of Pentagon Cloud Bid
Microsoft is battling Amazon's AWS for the multi-billion-pound deal, after Google pulled out due to ethical concerns
Google Data Leak Raises EU Data Protection Concerns
The search giant also withdraws from bidding on a Pentagon contract after a report reveals it decided not to disclose a data leak earlier this year
Google Pushes AI With Third-Generation Pixel Smartphones
Google shows off Pixel 3 smartphones with AI-guided cameras, along with the Google Slate tablet and Home Hub screen-enabled smart speaker
Heathrow Fined £120,000 Over Lost USB Stick
The unencrypted stick, containing personal data on staff, was found by a member of the public before being handed in to a national newspaper
US, UK Security Services Deny Knowledge Of China Server Hack Probe
NCSC and the US' Department of Homeland Security both say they support denials by Apple, Amazon and Super Micro as mystery grows around China's alleged hack of manufacturing supply chain
EU Set To Approve Microsoft’s $7.5bn GitHub Buy Without Conditions
Microsoft is reportedly set to get a no-strings-attached green light for the surprise deal, which sees Redmond acquiring the internet's top code hosting site
High Court Blocks Mass Lawsuit Over Google iPhone Tracking
Judge calls Google's actions 'wrongful', but finds the Google You Owe Us group failed to prove users suffered damage
Microsoft Hits Pause On Windows 10 Update After Files Vanish
Some users reported that all the files went missing from their Documents folder after they installed the update, which became available last week
Facebook Shows Smart Video Device On Heels Of Privacy Scandal
Facebook is emphasising the built-in privacy features of the Alexa-powered Portal, which arrives immediately after a major data breach at the company
Xilinx Aims Ultra-Programmable Accelerators At AI, 5G Workloads
Xilinx is looking to take large-scale, cutting-edge workloads to the next level with its upcoming family of programmable hardware accelerators
Russia Accused Of Cyber-Attack On Chemical Weapons Watchdog
The Netherlands, the UK and the US pile pressure on Russia over 'reckless' worldwide hacks allegedly carried out by its GRU intelligence arm
Apple, Amazon Deny Reported Chinese Server Hack
China is accused of implanting hardware in sensitive servers during the manufacturing process — a feat security experts consider to be next to impossible
Government Sets £9m Competition For UK Digital Health Projects
New competition looks for tech to solve health issues — including privacy questions around the exploitation of sensitive patient data
North Korea Targeted £850m In Four Year Hacking Spree
North Korea's financial hacking operations are using increasingly sophisticated techniques as the country grows more desperate for cash, finds a new study
Facebook: Attackers Did Not Breach Third-Party Sites
Sites such as Airbnb and Spotify that use Facebook logins are unaffected by last week's massive hack, the company now believes
Microsoft Releases Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptops and Headphones
Shiny new kit from Redmond includes wireless noise-cancelling headphones that boasts support for Cortana
Dell Touts Possible IPO If VMware Stock Bid Fails
Dell confirms meeting with investment banks to explore initial public offering options
Instagram Back Online After Worldwide Outage
Normal service resumed after brief worldwide outage for the photo-sharing service
FBI Forces Suspect To Unlock iPhone X With Facial Recognition
Feds use the face of a suspect to unlock his Apple iPhone, and thus expose his criminal actions
WhatsApp To Carry Adverts From 2019 – Report
Thanks Mark. WhatsApp reportedly to begin carrying adverts from 2019 in an effort to monetise the service
Facebook Hack May Result In GDPR Penalty
Irish regulator says 10 percent of the hacked 50 million Facebook accounts are based in Europe
US Government Sues California After Net Neutrality Adoption
Collision course set for most populous US state and FCC, after governor officially adopts 'net neutrality' laws
Tesco Bank Fined £16.4m By Regulator Over 2016 Cyber-Attack
That's gonna sting. Tesco's banking division has been slapped with a £16.4m fine for customer account breach
Elon Musk Agrees To Step Down As Tesla Chairman
Elon Musk settles with SEC with $20m payout and steps down as Tesla chairman, but more importantly avoids management ban