Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

The UK government has made no secret of its desire to exert greater control over the internet, and home secretary Amber Rudd has gone as far as suggesting that encryption should be weakened -- and backdoors should be included in software -- to make it easier to carry out surveillance on terrorists.

Lord Jonathan Evans, the former chief of MI5 in the UK, acknowledged that encryption had got in the way of monitoring communication between extremists, but said this should not be used as an excuse to weaken security.

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A few months ago, Google brought phishing protection to Gmail on Android. Now the company is doing the same for the iOS version of the app.

The feature is rolling out over the next few weeks, and it offers a couple of safety nets to protect users from visiting potentially dangerous links in emails.

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The latest addition to WikiLeaks' Vault 7 cache of CIA documents and tools is a user guide for CouchPotato. This project is designed to capture RTSP/H.264 video streams, typically from networked cameras.

This is rather different to the approach taken with the Dumbo project which required physical access to a computer. The CouchPotato documentation is relatively recent, only dating back to February 14, 2014.

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Microsoft has today announced Coco Framework, a means of simplifying the adoption of blockchain protocol technology. The aim is to speed up the adoption of blockchain-based systems in the enterprise, whilst simultaneously increasing privacy.

Coco -- short for Confidential Consortium -- will be available in 2018, and Microsoft will be making the technology open source to help increase uptake. Intel is working with Microsoft as a hardware and software partner, and Coco Framework features Intel Software Guard Extensions (Intel SGX) to improve transaction speed at scale.

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Influential reviewer Consumer Reports says that it no longer recommends Microsoft Surface tablets and laptops. The consumer group says that poor predicted reliability for the Surface range means that it is pulling its "recommended" tag.

More than this, Consumer Reports goes on to say that it "cannot recommend any other Microsoft laptops or tablets." Recent studies suggest that a quarter of laptops and tablets from Microsoft will present problems for users within two years of ownership.

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Facebook is not the only tech company looking to tackle the problem of fake news online. Mozilla, the company behind Firefox, has created the Mozilla Information Trust Initiative (MITI) in a bid to increase the credibility of the internet.

This is not a solo venture. Mozilla is seeking partners it can work with to conduct further research into fake news, and then develop products to battle what it terms "information pollution" online. The company recognizes that the fake news phenomenon is not properly understood, and that the techniques used to disseminate twisted versions of stories are advanced.

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UK payment processor Worldpay is the subject of a £9.3 billion ($12.1 billion) takeover by US rival Vantiv. The merged company will be known simply as Worldpay and will be headquartered in Cincinnati, but run from New York and London.

In the deal, Vantiv is paying £8 billion ($10.4 billion) for Worldpay, plus an additional £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) to cover debts. It is one of the biggest takeovers of a UK company since the Brexit vote of 2016.

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Facebook has launched its new Watch platform which will be used to show original video content. The social networking giant says that the time has come for a dedicated home for episodes of shows, and Watch will feature both live and recorded video.

Facebook will be working with a number of partners to come up with content for Watch, and advertising revenue will be shared 55:45, with Facebook keeping the smaller share. Of course, the video output has a social element to it, with Facebook encouraging viewers to make use of Reactions, and also highlighting shows that are being watched by people you are connected to on the social network.

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Disney -- who just announced plans to launch its own streaming service and drop Netflix -- is collecting personal information about children and non-consensually sharing it with advertisers, alleges a lawsuit against the company.

The lawsuit, says that Disney and three other companies it worked with (Upsight, Unity, and Kochava) created apps that spy on users -- primarily children -- gathering information which is then shared with advertisers. If this is found to be the case, it is in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, and Disney could be hit with hefty fines.

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Facebook has introduced a ban on address cloaking, a technique used to bypass review procedures and display content that violates the social network's policies.

Cloaking is used to disguise the true nature of posts and ads from reviewers, so they will see different contents to real-world users when they click through. Facebook says that it will be working with other companies to find ways to fight cloaking and implement punishments. AI will be called upon to do some of the legwork.

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All of the messaging services worth their salt feature a live video option, and Instagram is no different. But the company is keen to get more people using it and is worried that going live alone is too intimidating for some people.

To overcome this problem, Instagram is testing a new split-screen option that gives users the chance to go live with a friend. While this is billed as a way to make live video more accessible, there's far greater potential for this form of shared live video than Instagram is currently hinting at.

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During its Q3 earnings report, Disney announced plans to launch its own streaming service in 2019. As part of this shift in business, the company will end its distribution agreement with Netflix.

The company also announced that it has agreed to acquire an additional 42 percent stake in BAMTech. The $1.58 billion makes Disney a majority stakeholder and will give it greater control over the ESPN-branded multi-sport video streaming service due to launch in early 2018.

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Julian Assange has reached out to James Damore, the software engineer fired by Google for publishing an "anti-diversity manifesto." The WikiLeaks founder used his Twitter account (currently sporting a fake "verified" badge) to offer him a job.

Linking to an article entitled "Google Is Not What It Seems" about his book When Google Met Wikileaks, Assange said: "Censorship is for losers. @WikiLeaks is offering a job to fired Google engineer James Damore."

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New data protection rules are due to come into effect in Europe next year, and Google is highlighting the rights and obligations that are being introduced. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force in May and Google, like other businesses, will need to comply.

While Google needs to ensure that its own products and services fulfill legal requirements, the company also points out that "customers and partners have significant obligations under these new laws." A new website serves to explain everything that you need to know, including detailing how to control how your data is used and shared.

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The impact of the recent HBO hack continues to be felt. We've already seen scripts and spoilers leak online and now there's a new cache of leaks along with a ransom demand from those responsible.

The data dump includes details of the script for episode five of the current season, and a video directed at HBO CEO Richard Plepler in which the unknown hackers -- who sign off as "Mr. Smith" -- give the company three days to pay up a ransom in Bitcoin.

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