Industry Round-Up for the W/E 16th March 2012

Tablets and data protection hog the Tech headlines. Here is our weekly round-up of the industry news for the week ending March 16th:

• Google’s new GetMo scheme aims to get more UK businesses mobile
• Cyber-attack on BBC leads to suspicion of Iran’s involvement
• Data proposals criticised
• New Chinese internet regulations come into force
• Dell sees room to challenge Apple in tablets
• The Devil’s in Your Details
• £50 iPad’ advertised by Tesco will not be honoured

Google’s New GetMo Scheme Aims to Get More UK Businesses Mobile

Offering tools to see how existing sites look on phones, and tips on building a better mobile presence reports The Guardian.

The GetMo website offers a tool for companies to see how their current website looks on a mobile phone, while providing tips on how to build a more effective mobile site, and information on mobile consumer trends.

Cyber-attack on BBC Leads to Suspicion of Iran’s Involvement

BBC News report that a “sophisticated cyber-attack” on the BBC has been linked to Iran’s efforts to disrupt the BBC Persian Service.

The revelations follow Reporters Without Borders “Enemies of the Internet” report which was released at the start of the week. The free-speech lobby group reported that Iran and some of the other countries on its register:

“censor internet access so effectively that they restrict their populations to local intranets that bear no resemblance to the world wide web.”

Data Proposals Criticised

Reforms to data protection rules proposed by the European Union have come under fire from both the authorities and from businesses, report BCS The Chartered Institute for IT.

One [rule] in particular compelling companies to report serious data breaches to the national supervisory authority within 24 hours have been branded as unrealistic.

Kathryn Wynn, senior associate at technology law firm Pinsent Masons, told Computerworld:

“24 hours is just not enough time for many businesses. In some cases it takes many days to work out what data has been put at risk and by whom,”

“British companies are extremely concerned about this.”

New Chinese Internet Regulations Come into Force

Pinsent Masons Out-Law.com reported on 15th March 2012 that new regulations governing the activity of internet information service providers (IISPs) in China have come into force today.

Chinese law expert William Soileau of Pinsent Masons said that the rules would benefit Chinese industry and consumers:

“The rest of the world typically views China’s internet policy as the monolithic realm of pervasive censors and great firewalls.  But the reality on the ground is one of fiercely freewheeling competition and creativity, mostly untouched by official policy,” he said. “The new regulations will establish China as a leader in the protection of online consumer rights.”

Dell Sees Room to Challenge Apple in Tablets

Reuters report that Dell’s chief commercial officer Steve Felice said the tablet market was still wide open. Dell is planning a fresh assault with the advent of Microsoft’s new Windows 8 operating platform.

“On the commercial side there are a lot of concerns about security, interoperability, systems and device management, and I think Dell is in the best position to meet those,” Felice said.

Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard and possibly Nokia are also planning Windows 8 tablets.

The Devil’s in Your Details

Action Fraud: Your personal information is valuable, so, protect it, is the main theme of the campaign launched 14th March 2012 by the National Fraud Authority, Telecommunications UK Fraud Forum (TUFF) and Financial Fraud Action UK – the name under which the financial services industry coordinates its fraud prevention activity.

Read the complete article here.

£50 iPad Advertised by Tesco will Not be Honoured

On Wednesday the BBC reported that a computer glitch saw the new Apple iPad go up for sale for £49.99 on Tesco’s website.

The device was not due for launch until 16 March, and will in fact be priced at £659 for the 4G 64GB model.