Blog
Changes to the ICAS Code of Ethics – what do the changes mean for ICAS firms?
Zoe Beels
28 June 2018
FCA Dear CEO letter on cryptoassets – a warning to firms
On 11 June, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a “Dear CEO” letter on how banks should deal with the financial crime risks associated with “cryptoassets”. The FCA defines cryptoassets as publicly available mediums of exchange that feature a distributed ledger and decentralised system for exchanging value, such as Bitcoin and Ether. These assets are more commonly known as cryptocurrencies.
15 June 2018
Serious and organised crime threats to the UK: 2018 and beyond
Last month the National Crime Agency (‘NCA’) published its annual strategic assessment of Serious and Organised Crime (‘SOC’) in the UK. The data has come from a variety of law enforcement agencies and other sources including the National Cyber Security Centre (‘NCSC’).
5 February 2018
Cryptocurrencies - tread carefully before trading
Bitcoin, Ehtereum, Litecoin... cryptocurrencies are all over the press. Most of us are now broadly aware that cryptocurrencies are digital currencies which use blockchain technology. But how many people actually understand how the underlying technology works, what it means to ‘invest’ in a cryptocurrency, and appreciate the risks behind them? For anyone thinking about investing in cryptocurrencies, set out below is a summary of the main concerns, which should hopefully encourage you to stop and think before jumping on the crypto band wagon.
11 January 2018
Social Media Giants vs Children – the truth behind social media contracts
Increasingly, facts and figures about the negative effects of social media are being reported in the press. Recent statistics have shown that three-quarters of children aged 10-12 already have social media accounts, and that the amount of time children aged 12-15 spend online has more than doubled in a decade. Just last week, the Children’s Commissioner announced that schools should be playing a bigger role in preparing children for social media’s “emotional demands”. Such reports are understandably very concerning, and raise questions about the morality of social media giants benefiting at the expense of the emotional wellbeing of children. However, thought should also be given to the legal aspect of these relationships, and in particular, the terms and conditions that children are signing up to when creating social media accounts.
24 May 2017
Cyber-security, ransomware and the GDPR
One in five NHS Trusts were hit by a cyber-attack known as “Wannacry” on 12 May 2017 leading to PCs and data being locked up and held for ransom. The malicious ransomware known as WanaCrypt0r has hit companies and other organisations, from Russia to Australia, and Europol estimated there had been 200,000 victims in at least 150 countries. It was alleged that NHS networks were left vulnerable because they were using outdated Windows XP software, which is no longer supported by Microsoft, and therefore security upgrades had not been installed. The National Cyber Security Centre warned that more cases of the ransomware were expected to come to light beyond the NHS and “possibly at a significant scale”.