Missing M&S laptop poses ID theft risk to staff

Following the theft of a laptop containing salary details, addresses, dates of birth, and National Insurance and phone numbers of staff, Marks and Spencers has written to 26,000 employees telling them they may be at risk of identity fraud. The news comes just days after we reported a laptop stolen from a hospital in Cornwall. The retailer warned workers they were at risk if criminals accessed and used the data on the laptop, which was stolen from a printing firm on 18 April. ...more

Online exchange scam bets company cash at the bookies

The DTI has cornered a business running a dodgy website that promised cheap currency exchanges and shut it down. It says Cheaper Currencies.Com promised high street-beating rates and special rates for large amounts, targeting those buying property abroad and importing cars. ...more

3G is ready for the rest of us, says NEC

NEC is to ramp up production of 3G handsets for extra-Japan territories to more than a million a month. 'We fully expect 3G to really take off,' a spokesperson for the company told us. The move involves outsourcing volume production to a company called Solectron, which will pump out the phones from its facility in Suzhou, China. ...more

BBC becomes e-services provider

The BBC has received permission from the Government to create a new subsidiary called BBC Technology. The commercial offshoot will straddle the worlds of the Internet and broadcasting, providing Web hosting, satellite broadcasting, IT solutions and data streaming. "Skills in the BBC across both broadcast and Internet services led us to think that this could make money for the BBC. ...more

US elections already hit by miscasts of automated voting

Electronic voting machines are mis-casting votes during the presidential election. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) claims that it has received reports that the 'summary' screen, which users see to verify their vote before submission, does not match the candidate for whom they in fact voted. Such problems have been identified on machines from at least half a dozen States. ...more