US envoy to EU alleges there is “classified evidence” of security breaches by Chinese networking giant
TECHNOLOGY POWERING BUSINESS
January 2019
Microsoft Disappoints As Azure Growth Slows
Stocks take a hit as Azure cloud growth slows, but Redmond still grows and remains profitable
Facebook Grows Profit, Despite Multiple Scandals
No sign that multiple scandals have dented advertisers desire for the social networking platform
Cryptocurrency Crime Losses Surge By 400 Percent
Scams and fraud involving cryptocurrencies rose to £1.3bn last year – in spite of an 80 percent drop in crypto-asset values
Huawei Criminal Charges Cast Pall Over US-China Trade Talks
The US allegations arrive as negotiations begin in Washington to ease the escalating trade war
Apple Rushes To Block iPhone Eavesdropping Bug
The flaw allows FaceTime callers to listen in on recipients' devices, whether the call is accepted or not
Russian Government Scheme Exposes Corporate Data
More than 2,000 MongoDB databases operated by major domestic and foreign companies were left accessible under the government programme
Google Accused Of Using Sensitive Data To Target Online Ads
The technical standards behind real-time bidding routinely disclose sensitive information about users' health, ethnicity, finances and other areas, says a GDPR complaint
Nvidia Issues Revenue Alert As Trade War Continues
Nvidia has joined Apple and Intel on the list of US companies hit by a slowdown in China amidst bitter trade conflict with the US
Gartner: Cloud Fuels Enterprise Software Spending Surge
Brexit and US-China trade tensions pose less of a threat than skills shortages, as businesses buy into the cloud and the Internet of Things
Chinese Chip Giant Fujian Jinhua To Cease Operations After US Ban
The start-up, founded with massive state investment in 2016, has all but run out of imported materials following the US' industrial espionage indictment last year
Cyber-Crime Losses Soar To £34.6m In Second Half Of 2018
More than 13,000 people reported falling victim to cyber-crime in the latter part of the year, as hackers target email and social media accounts
Poland Set To Ban Huawei From 5G Network
In a sudden turnaround, Poland now says it will replace Huawei with European or US suppliers in wake of spy arrest
US Health Insurers To Work With IBM On Blockchain Trials
The planned blockchain-based network could be used to slash costs around claims processing, payments and maintaining provider directories
Huawei Targets Top Smartphone Spot Amidst Row With US
As political battle rages, Huawei highlights stellar smartphone growth, introduces groundbreaking 5G gear – and promises to show its folding smartphone next month
Xiaomi Shows Off Smartphone With Double Fold
The folding smartphone market is heating up with Xiaomi's tease of a double-fold device and plans in the works from several major manufacturers
UK Outsourcing Contracts Plunge By 27 Percent As Brexit Looms
Conventional outsourcing plummets as businesses exercise caution, while as-a-service outsourcing contracts rocket by 48 percent across EMEA
Ministry Of Justice Network Chaos ‘Not Caused By Cyber-Attack’
Justice minister blames unknown partner data centre issues for network disruption affecting courts and other MoJ services over the past week
EU To Agree Digital Tax By March, Says French Minister
European-wide tax on tech firms to be agreed by March, predicts French finance minister
Huawei CFO Has ‘Good Case’ Against Extradition To US
Claim comes as US Justice department confirms intension to seek formal extradition from Canada
Facebook Scam Lawsuit Dropped By Martin Lewis
Legal action halted after Facebook agrees to introduce scam ads reporting button, and makes financial donation
Name And Shame Firms With Poor Cybersecurity
Academic report argues businesses with poor cyber security should be publicly named and shamed
US To Seek Extradition Of Huawei CFO – Report
The United States will reportedly seek the formal extradition of daughter of Huawei's founder from Canada
Google Slapped With 50m Euro GDPR Penalty
Ouch! GDPR begins to bite as French regulator issues £44m GDPR fine to Google for data transparency breach
IRX 2019
The UK’s #1 digital retail show: join 5,000 retailers, brands and industry experts at IRX 2019
EU Copyright Reform Delayed After Meeting Cancellation
Reprieve for memes? EU efforts to reform copyright rules hit a delay after key meeting is called off
WhatsApp Restricts Message Forwarding, To Halt ‘Misinformation’
Facebook limits WhatsApp message forwarding to just five people, down from the previous 20
Microsoft Finally Signals End Of Windows Phone
Windows 10 Mobile diehards have just over 360 days to switch to Android or iOS, before Redmond pulls support
IT Life: Justin Day, 6point6 Cloud Gateway
6point6 Cloud Gateway chief executive Justin Day talks about the shift from hardware to software, flying cars and the historic significance of the Commodore 64
Google Raises Price For G Suite
Monthly prices for competitor to Office 365 to be raised for first time ever
China Warns Canada Of ‘Repercussions’ For Huawei 5G Ban
Relationship turns increasingly frosty as Canada mulls whether to ban Huawei's 5G equipment
Vodafone, IBM Partner To Offer Businesses New Cloud Solutions
Cloud meets connectivity as Vodafone and IBM partner to offer 5G-based cloud solutions for businesses
US Police Cannot Force Suspects To Unlock Devices
Suspects cannot be forced to biometric unlock their devices as it breaks self-incrimination laws, US judge rules
Collection 1 Data Breach Exposes 773 Million Email Addresses
One of the largest ever data breaches includes hundreds of millions emails and 21 million passwords
Apple To Scale Back Hiring After iPhone Slowdown – Report
Hiring spree at Apple to slow for certain divisions, warns Tim Cook, but there will be no hiring freeze
UK’s 2018 Tech Sector Venture Investment Shows Sharp Drop
Venture capital investment in London tech companies was down 29 percent on the previous year, but was still nearly double that of Berlin, its nearest rival
Multi-Purpose Malware Surge Strikes Enterprises
Attacks that use multiple methods to distribute numerous threats are on the rise, finds Check Point
Decades-Old Flaws Leave SCP Clients Vulnerable To Attack
The bugs in Secure Copy Protocol could allow a malicious server to manipulate data on a user's system – and so far only one client has been patched
Enterprise Cloud Spending Boom Crowds Out Non-Cloud Tech Budgets
Research finds cloud spending surpassed £190bn last year, fuelled by cloud providers' heavy infrastructure investments
Kheiron Begins NHS Trials For Breast Cancer Diagnosis AI
The tests, involving historic patient records in Leeds and the East Midlands, are the latest to probe the use of AI in the healthcare sector
Reclusive Huawei Founder Says Firm Does Not Spy For China
Ren Zhengfei's comments follow the arrest of a Huawei staff in Poland on spying charges, the latest incident to put pressure on Huawei's 5G ambitions
Amazon Web Services’ DocumentDB Takes Aims At MongoDB Workloads
Amazon's new managed non-relational database service raises questions about the future of open source in the cloud era
US Government Shutdown Disrupts Security On .Gov Sites
Researchers find dozens of expired security certificates affecting sensitive sites used by the likes of NASA and the Department of Justice, blocking some services and exposing others to attack
Germany May Order Facebook To Halt Some Data Collection
Germany's Federal Cartel Office is reportedly taking aim at Facebook's collection of user data from third-party sources
China Tightens Grip On Blockchain-Based Services
Users of blockchain-based information services will have to register their real names and identity numbers in latest crackdown – even as Hong Kong moves to attract virtual asset traders
IT Life: Jamie Hutton, Quantexa
Quantexa chief technology officer Jamie Hutton talks about artificial intelligence, international money laundering, and his favourite DJ app
Microsoft Says Windows 7 Activation Bug Was Caused By Server Update
The issue, affecting some volume-licensed Windows 7 systems, occurred at the same time as the release of Microsoft's January patches, but the two are unrelated
iPhone Prices Slashed In China Following Sales Meltdown
Chinese retailers have steeply cut iPhone XR prices, while Apple considers shifting to an all-OLED lineup after its first profit warning in more than a decade
European Court Opinion Sides With Google ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ Limits
In a preliminary opinion, the court finds that delisted search results only need to be made inaccessible for users within Europe
Cambridge Analytica Parent Fined £15,000 Over Data Refusal
SCL Elections had argued that a US citizen had no more right to request data held on him 'than a member of the Taliban'
CES 2019: Google Advances Assistant Against Amazon’s Alexa
Google has tripled its presence at CES as it builds its Assistant into more devices, while other tech on display includes AI toilets and smart televisions
Huawei CFO Case Deepens Amid Documents Discovery
Sanction busting? Documents reportedly show suspected ties to two front companies used to sell kit to Iran
Apple Cuts iPhone Production – Report
Ten percent cut in production run for current iPhone handsets over next three months, due to weak demand
CES 2019: Intel Teams Up With Facebook For AI Chip
As Intel's car division opens up about its progress so far with self-driving cars
German Suspect Confesses To Mass Data Leak
20 year old student admits he was behind massive data leak of German politicians, celebrities and public figures
CES 2019: AI, Home Tech, Cars and Robots To Feature
Tech show gets underway in Las Vegas with number of announcements centred around AI, the home, and robots
Samsung Issues Shock Profit Warning, Amid Slowing Chip Demand
Another sign of tech slowdown? Samsung warns weak chip demand will keep profits subdued
Huawei Launches Server Chipset To Lessen US Reliance
Chinese firm pledges to continue Intel partnership and insists chipset is complimentary, not competitive
Landline Usage Continues To Plummet
Use of landlines fallen by 50 percent in past five years as people increasingly use their smartphones
Merkel Included In Hack Of German Politicians
Personal data belonging to Chancellor Angela Merkel included in hack of hundreds of German politicians
Qualcomm Raises Bond To Halt iPhone Sales In Germany
Apple ordered to remove iPhone 7 and 8 models from sale in Germany after Qualcomm court ruling
Android Weather App Collects Personal Data, Warns Upstream
Pre-installed weather app has been harvesting email addresses and mobile identity numbers
No Evidence Screen Time Is Bad For Kids
No good evidence screen time is "toxic" to kids health, expert say, but it should be limited before bedtime
Robots Not Stealing Our Jobs, World Bank Says
Automation has little effect on global labour market, despite worries that robots will remove many jobs
Tesla Cuts Price On US Electric Cars
Demand for electric vehicles not so great? Leading manufacturer cuts price on all models
Apple Lowers Sales Forecast, Blames China Slowdown
Investor confidence shaken as Apple sees slower iPhone sales both in China and in other countries
Islamic State Lawsuit Against Facebook, Twitter Dismissed
Legal attempt by victims of 2015 San Bernardino shooting to hold tech firms liable, thrown out of court
Google Gains US Approval For Radar-Based Gesture Control System
Gesture-based interface moves one step closer after Google is granted approval for radar-based system
France Starts Digital Tax On Amazon, Facebook, Google
Tech giants to pay digital taxation from 1 January in France, after EU countries fail to reach agreement