Silicon UK once again wishes our readers a very merry Christmas, in what has proven to be another eventful year amid the ongoing pandemic
Merry Christmas Silicon UK Readers
Just a quick message from the staff at Silicon UK, wishing all our readers a very merry Christmas...enjoy the festivities and mince pies
Boris Johnson Victory: What It Means For Tech Sector
What does the general election victory of Boris Johnson and the Conservatives mean for the technology sector? Silicon UK takes a quick look
Programming Shortcuts ‘Lead To Security Risks’
New research highlights vulnerability risk of using potentially insecure code snippets posted on social media outlets such as Stack Overflow
EU Antitrust Watchdog Looks To Sanction Chip Giant Broadcom
Competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager set to deploy rarely used powers against Broadcom as EU steps up action against US tech giants
Police Auction £240,000 Of TalkTalk Hacker’s Cryptocurrency
Police sell off cryptocurrency seized from TalkTalk hacker Elliott Gunton, in a case that is the first of its kind for a UK police force
Government Announces £5bn Investment Into ‘Gigabit-Capable’ Networks
Funding promise comes as government seeks full coverage of the UK by fibre, 5G and other 'gigabit-capable' networks by 2025
Researchers Crack PDF Encryption
Two variants of 'PDFex' attack could allow PDF documents to be modified so that their contents are automatically exfiltrated to an attacker
‘Less Than One-Third’ Of Companies Fully GDPR-Compliant
Capgemini finds firms struggle with legacy IT systems, complex requirements and mounting costs to bring themselves into line with strict data protection rules
Mac Malware Pretends To Be Share-Trading App
Newly discovered Mac malware includes copy of real share-trading app, but also steals data and carries out other malicious functions in the background
Targeted Cyber-Attacks Hit Transportation Firms
Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 finds previously unknown tools used in attacks on transportation and shipping firms in Kuwait
Google Changes Terms For Virtual Assistant Transcripts
Company to require users to reconfirm if they want to allow humans to listen to Assistant recordings, following privacy row
Google Claims ‘Quantum Supremacy’ Breakthrough
'Sycamore' quantum computer successfully carries out a task the fastest conventional supercomputer would take 10,000 years to complete
Salesforce Launches Platforms For Manufacturing, Consumer Goods
Offerings link to companies' existing sales and operations systems, bringing data together and giving both sides a '360-degree view' of the customer
Google Broadens Scope Of Anthos Hybrid Cloud Management Platform
New features include Services Mesh microservices management and Cloud Run for running fully managed applications in serverless environments
Microsoft Rolls Back Windows 10 Change That Caused Audio Glitches
Issue is an embarrassment for Microsoft, whose recent Windows 10 bug-fixes have been plagued with problems of their own
Apple Heads To Court Over £11bn Bill For Back Taxes
EU's General Court to hear appeal against European Commission's record 2016 fine, itself part of a broader crackdown on low tax rates paid by tech giants in Europe
US Commerce Department ‘Has Received 130 Huawei Exemption Requests’
Applications pile up, but department has yet to issue a single licence allowing US firms to get around Huawei blacklist, amidst US-China deadlock
Microsoft HoloLens 2 May Arrive This Month
Senior executive comments suggest device may go on sale in September, as Microsoft focuses augmented reality tech on business and industry
Hacker Group Looks To Gain Control Over Vulnerable WordPress Sites
Attack that began in July takes on new form as hackers begin creating rogue administrator accounts on unpatched sites
Google To Pay Up To £165m Fine For YouTube Children’s Privacy Violations
Google's settlement with the FTC to pay $150m to $200m fine was criticised as too low and as 'effectively rewarding' the company
Court Orders Jailed Hacker’s Seized Bitcoin To Be Sold To Pay Victims
Nearly £1m in Bitcoin taken from imprisoned hacker Grant West is to be sold to compensate victims, in a first-of-its-kind case for the Met
Capital One Hack Suspect Ordered To Remain In Prison
Seattle resident seen as presenting a flight risk and a threat to herself and others following breach that affected 106 million banking customers
Initial Backers Of Facebook’s Libra ‘Consider Pulling Out’
At least three of the Libra Association's initial partners said to be looking to distance themselves from the project amidst harsh regulatory response
Huawei Sets Blacklist Cost At £8bn As It Introduces Latest AI Tech
Huawei introduces Ascend 910 AI chip and MindSpore framework as national security blacklist spurs efforts to reduce reliances on US tech
Microsoft Buys jClarity To Boost Java Performance On Azure
Acquisition is part of Microsoft's growing support for open source technologies on Azure, including Linux and Java
UK Teen Sentenced For Hacking, Selling Personal Data
Norwich 19-year-old found to have made hundreds of thousands of pounds in Bitcoin from selling compromised personal data and on-demand hacking services
US Tech Giants Testify Against French Digital Tax
Tax approved in July would disproportionately target US tech firms and would create a burden for consumers and enterprises, opponents say
Adware Hidden In Play Store Apps Infects 8 Million Users
Malware found in 85 apps posing as games or photography utilities displays full-screen ads and takes 'unique' steps to avoid detection
LibreOffice 6.3 Boosts Document Performance, Fixes Security Bugs
Major update improves loading and saving times for complex documents, improves compatibility with Microsoft Office formats and adds new features