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Articles for Category Tag - Internet Privacy

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Government Extends UK Online Safety Bill to Tackle Scam Adverts

8th March, 2022 (15 Comments)

The UK Government has today announced that their controversial new Online Safety Bill (OSB) will be extended to add a new duty, which aims to bring fraudulent paid-for adverts on social media and internet search engines into scope, whether they are controlled by the platform itself or an advertising intermediary.

Internet and UK Telecoms Security Picture

Gov Consults on New UK Telecoms and Internet Security Code UPDATE

1st March, 2022 (2 Comments)

The UK Government has today begun to consult on draft regulations for their new Telecommunications (Security) Act which, aside from banning Huawei inside 5G mobile networks (and restricting their involvement with FTTP broadband), will also impose a cacophony of tedious new security rules on telecoms operators.

Ofcom Crackdown on Number Spoofing to Tackle UK SPAM Calls

23rd February, 2022 (11 Comments)

Last year the national telecoms regulator, Ofcom, estimated that 44.6 million UK people may have received scam calls and text messages during just the three months of summer (here), with 2% of recipients being duped by them. In response, the regulator has today proposed changes to tackle the use of fake phone numbers.

Gov Consult on Legal Measures to Ban Huawei from UK FTTP and 5G Mobile

18th February, 2022 (28 Comments)

The Government has today launched a new consultation, which sets out their proposed legal instruments to control the use of Huawei’s telecoms equipment in UK networks. The move reflects both their BAN on the company’s kit for ultrafast 5G mobile platforms and related restrictions in gigabit broadband ISP networks etc.

Cybersecurity and Human Rights Groups Warn UK Against Encryption Ban

9th February, 2022 (3 Comments)

Some 50 leading security, human rights and technology experts have put their names to a new letter that accuses the UK Government of “misleading the public” with a “scaremongering” campaign against the use of end-to-end encryption on the internet, which helps to keep everything from financial transactions to messaging secure.

EE Staff Deny UK Mobile Network Blocks Apple’s Private Relay

13th January, 2022 (12 Comments)

Support agents working for mobile operator EE (BT) have denied claims by some UK customers (here and here), and online news reports (here, here and here), that their mobile broadband (4G and 5G) network is intentionally blocking Apple’s iCloud linked ‘Private Relay‘ feature (such a block may clash with Net Neutrality rules).

ICO Fines UK ISP Virgin Media GBP50,000 for Email SPAMMING UPDATE

8th December, 2021 (11 Comments)

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today hit broadband ISP and TV operator Virgin Media (VMO2) with a fine of £50,000 after they were found to have sent 451,217 direct marketing emails to people “who had previously opted out of marketing communications” from the same operator.

Fiber Optic cables connected to an optic ports and Network cables connected to ethernet ports

Headaches for UK ISPs as Telecoms Security Bill to Become Law

9th November, 2021 (15 Comments)

The UK Government’s new Telecommunications (Security) Bill (TSB) is set to become law after passing through both houses of parliament this month, but it goes much further than just banning Huawei from the UK’s 5G mobile networks. Broadband ISPs, both big and small alike, also face a cacophony of tedious new rules.

Ofcom Tell UK Phone Operators to Block Foreign VoIP Scam Calls UPDATE

25th October, 2021 (23 Comments)

The UK telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, has reportedly taken radical action to curb the plague of scam calls, which it is attempting to achieve by “ordering” major phone operators to automatically block any “suspicious” Voice-over-Internet (VoIP) calls that come from abroad if they pretend to come from numbers in the UK.

EE PhoneSmart Licence Tries to Educate Kids About Online Behaviour

21st October, 2021 (1 Comment)

Mobile operator EE today claims to have launched the UK’s first “phone licence” (PhoneSmart Licence), which is really just a free educational website that aims to teach young people about “how to stay safe and be kind online“, and it will also help parents and guardians with related knowledge.

Scam Calls and Texts Hit 45 Million UK People Over Summer UPDATE

20th October, 2021 (16 Comments)

The telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has estimated that 44.6 million UK people may have received scam calls and text messages during the past three months (summer period). But worryingly, around 2% of those who received such a message or call (roughly a million people) reported following the scammers’ instructions.

Apple’s Private Relay Service Creates Challenges for UK ISPs

5th October, 2021 (24 Comments)

Technology giant Apple recently released their iOS 15 software for iPad (15.5) and iPhones, which introduced a new feature called ‘iCloud Private Relay’ that “hides your IP address and browsing activity [when using Safari] so that no one – including Apple – can see [it].” Naturally, the UK Government and broadband ISPs have concerns.

NETGEAR Broadband Routers Exposed to New Security Bug

22nd September, 2021 (0 Comments)

A large number of NETGEARs broadband and WiFi routers have been left vulnerable to a new Remote Code Execution (RCE) exploit, which works by allowing a hacker to manipulate the update process for each device’s Circle Smart Parental Control Service in order to gain control of the router.

smartphone with incoming call from unknown person

Gov Proposes Tougher UK Penalties for Nuisance Calls and Texts

9th September, 2021 (14 Comments)

The UK Government has today announced that their planned data reform, which covers a multitude of areas (many of which are outside our focus), will also set out plans to impose tougher penalties and fines for nuisance calls and text (SMS) messages. But it’s unclear how much impact this will actually have.

Security Issues for Owners of BT’s Cloud Voice Handsets and Other IP Phones

14th August, 2021 (33 Comments)

Businesses that decide to sell their unwanted BT Cloud Voice handsets on eBay need to take extra care because some models, such as the Yealink W60P phones, may retain the prior customer’s account credentials. As a result, those who purchase them could find that they’re able to make calls on another person’s account.

DNS Providers May Be Forced to Block Internet Piracy Websites

21st June, 2021 (29 Comments)

In a possible sign of things to come, Sony has won a key court case in Germany that could force Domain Name Service (DNS) providers, such as Quad9 and eventually others too (Google Public DNS, OpenDNS, Cloudflare etc.), to block access to a website due to internet copyright infringement (piracy).

Supporters Named for New DNS Resolver Policy to Improve Privacy

13th May, 2021 (0 Comments)

The recently proposed ‘European DNS Resolver Policy‘, which aims to foster better standards for privacy and transparency across resolver services for the internet’s Domain Name System (e.g. those run by UK ISPs and third-party providers), has today secured support from several leading organisations.