The year in digital: The best (and worst) of marketing in 2015

2015 was another big year for digital marketing, with the Apple Watch launch, the rise of ad blockers and mobile growth skyrocketing. This was the year that content went native, retargeted ads got smarter and global time on digital screens overtook TV. In this special...

Strict new EU data sharing rules threaten huge fines

Technology companies could face fines of up to 4% of their global annual turnover under new European rules on data protection. The move marks the biggest shake-up to privacy regulation for 20 years, according to experts. A “strong compromise” on how to ensure a high...

Airbnb hit by ‘racial discrimination’ report

Users with African-American names have more issues booking Airbnb rentals, according to a new paper out from three Harvard Business School researchers. While the platform does not require a personal photo to rent a property, it does require that users provide their...

24% of consumers have been duped by online counterfeiters

Almost one quarter of consumers have bought a product online that turned out to be counterfeit, including fashion or footwear, electronics and digital content, according to new research. The study, from brand protection firm MarkMonitor, analysed the online shopping...

Children’s electronic toy maker Vtech hacked

Chinese electronic toymaker V-Tech has seen its app stroe hacked, exposing email addresses and passwords of 5 million parents and 200,000 children, but no credit card information has been stolen. In a statement on Friday, the company said that an “unauthorised...

The worst data disasters of 2015

From someone who ran over their device with a lawnmower to someone who previously lost data, only to never back up their system and lose it all over again, this new compilation from Kroll Ontrack charts the worst data disaster of 2015. For the last 13 years, Kroll...

UK Govt. offers top firms free cyber ‘health check’

A Cyber Governance Health Check has been launched by Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey this week, aimed at helping the UK’s biggest companies defend themselves against cyber attacks. The UK’s 350 largest businesses – FTSE 350 firms – are being urged to...

TalkTalk hack to cost up to £35m

TalkTalk is offering all its customers a free upgrade to compensate for the recent cyber attack, in which thousands of people’s personal data was leaked online. Hackers attacked the TalkTalk website on October 21 and accessed the personal details of almost...

Swiss email firm pays $6000 ransom to hackers

A secure-email firm, based in Switzerland, has paid a ransom of $6000 (£3,600) after web attacks crippled its website. The hi-tech criminals behind the web attacks said the payment would stop the deluge of data hitting the site. But despite paying up, the web attacks...