Category: Tech
GCHQ appoints first female director in its history
Security and intelligence agency GCHQ has appointed a female director for the first time in its 104-year history. Anne Keast-Butler, who is currently serving as deputy director general at MI5, will take up the post running the UK's intelligence service next month. She will succeed Sir Jeremy Fleming who announced in January he would be…
ShinyShiny snippets: Amazon’s Book Depository to close down
UK-based online store Book Depository is being closed down by its parent company, the US technology giant Amazon. Book Depository has told customers it will cease operations later this month after almost two decades in business. It comes after Amazon announced plans to cut thousands of jobs as it shakes up its businesses globally. The…
US Masters 2023: The Ultimate Golfing Challenge Awaits
The US Masters is one of the most prestigious and eagerly awaited events in the world of golf. Held annually at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, the tournament attracts top players from around the world, all vying for the coveted green jacket and the chance to make golfing history. We will take a…
ShinyShiny snippets: TikTok fined £12.7m by UK’s data watchdog
TikTok has been fined £12.7m for failing to protect the privacy of children, the UK's data watchdog has said. An investigation conducted by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found the video-sharing app breached data protection law. It says the breaches happened between May 2018 and July 2020. TikTok says it disagrees with the ICO's decision.…
Six tips on protecting the personal information stored on your mobile phone
For millions of people, smartphones act as a lifeline, helping us manage our day-to-day activities, keeping us connected to friends, family and colleagues no matter where we are in the world. However, thanks to modern technology smartphones allow us to store everything on our phones from online banking details and medical information to pictures and…
Searches for ‘Tik Tok banned’ up 488%, according to Google Trends
TikTok has come under serious scrutiny in recent weeks, being banned from UK and US government devices, among others. Domains and hosting provider Fasthosts used Google Trends to investigate how current events have affected search trends in the past month. From researching why these bans have taken place, to deleting the app themselves, the way the public…
ShinyShiny snippets: Elon Musk among those calling for halt in AI training
Key figures in artificial intelligence want training of powerful AI systems to be suspended amid fears of a threat to humanity. They have signed an open letter warning of potential risks, and say the race to develop AI systems is out of control. Twitter chief Elon Musk is among those who want training of AIs…
ShinyShiny snippets: Pope Francis in puffer jacket was (not surprisingly) a deep fake
On March 25, 2023, a photo that appeared to show 86-year-old Pope Francis out and about in a fashionable white puffer jacket went viral on social media. As many who saw it suspected, it was actually a deepfake image created via artificial intelligence (AI). It originally appeared on Reddit in the r/midjourney subreddit. Midjourney is an app that generates images from natural-language…
ShinyShiny: TikTok boss faces grilling at US congressional hearing
Bruising, damaging, relentless. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced four-and-a-half hours of questioning at a US congressional hearing on Thursday. As one congressman pointed out, some people run marathons quicker than that. Mr Chew will certainly be feeling it, after a torrid time giving evidence. Many tech execs have stood before Congress, and they often…
ShinyShiny snippets: TikTok facing complete US ban
TikTok is facing a complete ban in the US over fears that China is using the app as a covert tool for spying and spreading propaganda. CEO Shou Chew will testify before Congress on Thursday, with members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee set to raise their concerns about how much access the Chinese…
