Government under fire as data breach review finally goes public August 29, 2025 The government has released a long-delayed review of its own data handling practices, following pressure from MPs, which raises questions about the ability of Whitehall to safeguard sensitive information. This review comes at a time when digital transformation is intended to reshape public services. The Information Security Review, carried out in 2023 but withheld from [...]
HMRC must disclose AI involvement in tax decisions August 8, 2025 A court has ruled that HMRC must disclose if it uses artificial intelligence (AI) in key decisions relating to granting research and development tax credits. Tom Elsbury, a tax expert who founded the specialist tax relief software platform Novel, lodged a Freedom of Information (FOI) request back in December 2023. But according to Judge Alexandra [...]
23andMe handed huge fine days after rescue June 17, 2025 Testing firm 23andMe has been fined more than £2m for failing to protect the sensitive personal and genetic data of more than 155,000 UK customers, in what regulators described as a “profoundly damaging” breach. The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Officer (ICO) has fined the company £2.31m following a joint investigation with its Canadian counterpart, the Office [...]
Gone phishing: the rise of retail cyber crime in three charts June 2, 2025 In the past month alone, cyber attacks have gone from occasional headlines to near-daily national news fixtures. Marks and Spencer’s, Co-op, Harrods – along with international names like Dior and Coinbase – have all recently fallen victim to cyber incidents. Retailers in particular have found themselves in the cross hairs, and while not every incident [...]
NHS software firm fined over highly sensitive data breach March 27, 2025 A major NHS software provider has been fined £3m after a cyber attack exposed the personal data of nearly 80,000 people – including home entry details and medical records for vulnerable patients. The information comissioner’s office (ICO) ruled that Advanced Computer Software Group had “seriously inadequate” security measures, allowing hackers to infiltrate its systems in [...]
UK watchdog probes Tiktok over child data practices March 3, 2025 The UK’s data watchdog has launched a major investigation into Tiktok, Reddit and Imgur, raising new concerns over how social media platforms handle children’s personal information. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is scrutinising the video platform’s use of teenage user data to recommend content, amid growing fears that its algorithm could expose young people to [...]
‘Consent or pay’ cookie models allowed across UK websites January 23, 2025 The use of “consent or pay” cookie models is now acceptable for UK websites, as long as data protection laws are met, says information watchdog. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has announced that the UK’s top 1,000 websites will be brought into compliance over cookie policies. Under this, it has produced guidance on using ‘consent [...]
Virgin Media 02 reignites calls to crack down on fraud as Brits lose £600m November 5, 2024 Virgin Media 02 has called on the new Labour government to appoint a dedicated minister for fraud and set up a centralised, specialised national body to handle investigations. The telecom giant has argued that current law enforcement resources regarding fraud “remain inadequate” despite fraudulent activity representing 40 per cent of all crime in the UK. [...]
London council slammed for ‘severe’ data breach in ‘avoidable’ cyber attack July 17, 2024 Hackney Council has said it maintains that the Council has not breached its security obligations.
Watchdog to warn tech leaders over data protection in AI May 15, 2024 The UK's data watchdog chief is set to warn tech businesses that they must "bake in" data protection at every stage of developing artificial intelligence technologies in order to properly protect people's personal information.