Looking back over our recent articles and what we're reporting here, it seems to me that recent IT stories have shifted away from just big-news breaches and instead focus on data security and privacy. From concerns about sensitive data leaking into AI models to Apple’s dispute with the UK government and the ICO’s new data protection rules, awareness is growing. For us, IT security has really always been about protecting data, so we're all in favour of this focus.
Keeping You In Step
Some current news articles that caught our eye, from the world of IT and technology.
Need to pay a data protection fee?
Under the Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018, organisations (including sole traders) that use personal information need to pay a data protection fee, unless they are exempt.
To check what you need to pay you can complete the Self Assessment questionnaire; it only takes 10minutes to plough trough the 17 or so questions
Under data protection law, you are considered to be trading if you're using personal information for commercial reasons
This includes information about customers, clients, suppliers, employees or others you deal with. Personal information is any information about a living person that can be used on its own, or with other information, to identify or tell you something about them. Names, date of birth, contact details, location, financial details, or employment status are all examples of personal information.
Processing is a term to describe anything you can do with the personal information you have. Electronic processing’ is any processing of information that uses computers, including cloud computing.
So what does it cost: for a small company with a maximum turnover of £632,000 p.a. or no more than 10 staff its £52. For small to medium companies its £78 and large organisations are charged £3763 with all fees are payable annually.
Apple encrypted data row hearing begins in secret.
Apple says it is important for privacy - but the UK government says it needs to be able to access data if there is a national security risk.
The Home Office has demanded the right to access data from Apple users that have turned on Advanced Data Protection (ADP), a tool that prevents anyone other than the user - including the tech giant - from reading their files.
Subsea fibre cables can 'listen out' for sabotage
Multiple reports of damaged telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea have raised alarm in recent months.
So important are these cables, which carry huge volumes of internet data between countries, that Nato has launched a mission called "Baltic Sentry", to patrol the Baltic Sea with aircraft, warships and drones.
The EU is also stepping up measures, external to monitor and protect cables.
With this technology, it is even possible to work out the approximate size of a vessel passing above a subsea cable, as well as its location and, in some circumstances, its direction of travel. That could be correlated with satellite imagery, or even automatic identification system (AIS) records, which most ships broadcast at all times.
LEO technology brings ultrafast broadband to Bucks
The leader of Buckinghamshire Council, Martin Tett, said digital connectivity is central to the prosperity of the county. The agriculture and tourism industries will be the main commercial beneficiaries of the service,
The low Earth orbit (LEO) technology, which is a lower-cost alternative to rolling out fibre in hard-to-reach places, will also make a free public wireless service available for citizens in village halls. More info is here.
Skype is retiring in May 2025
To call a landline without Skype, consider using other VoIP services like, Rebtel, Viber Out or Vonage.
You could also use Zoom (enabling telephone audio) or Google Meet, each with varying features and pricing models but these services are primarily for joining or adding participants to a meeting using a phone, not for making general phone calls.
Tech Tips
Some tech tips to keep you on your toes, so you can get even more from your IT.
TIP 1
Email on mobile device - use the provider's app, not the mobile's preinstalled app, to ensure full functionality and compatibility. Embedded mobile apps don't always play nice with cloud services.
TIP 2
Windows offers the Phone Link app to give you access to many of your phone's capabilities from your computer - texts, calls, photos and access some mobile apps. Check it out here.
TIP 3
Windows and Macs both offer the option of multiple desktops, which can be handy to segregate activities in different contexts - work and home for example. On Windows, set up from the Task View icon on the taskbar; on Mac, from Mission Control
In the Spotlight
Improving Infrastructure
One of our clients has been considering how to leverage their data and telecommunications capabilities, both within their premises and externally. Bandwidth and resilience are vital to their operation, but their existing infrastructure is old, poorly located, and hard to maintain.
We have been working through options with building and cabling experts to work out the options open to modernise the infrastructure, including costs, timescales and benefits, to properly deliver up-to-date performance.
Take care when buying!
Do you buy your MS Office productivity plan as part of a web/domain/software bundle from a webhost? We've had a couple of instances recently where we've been involved in unpicking these kinds of services.
One client needed more file storage but the resolution implemented by the provider's support team meant our client lost their Teams license - and they don't offer a plan than can cover both storage and licensing requirements.
Another needed to dissociate their master account from their web domain but the provider were unable to deal with that - so we migrated them onto a new platform and will let the old account lapse.
What's your experience of these kinds of bundled services?
If there’s a hot topic that you’d like us to cover, we’re open to suggestions, please give us a call: 0333 101 7300