This month in technology: Bitcoin’s three-year high and Ticketmaster UK’s data breach

Bitcoin hits new heights

Bitcoin hit a three-year high value this month, jumping above $17,000 (£12,696) after climbing more than 7%.

The world’s best-known cryptocurrency has had many peaks and troughs following its launch in 2009, with its previous highest peak coming in December 2017.

However, the drive towards crypto has once again been sounded with a call of caution from financial analysts.

Speaking to the BBC, Edward Moya from the trading firm Oanda said that the uncertainty of the market in 2020 is driving people towards crypto.

Moya said: “Covid-19 has disrupted the traditional safe-haven trade and gold’s inability to outperform. Periods of extreme risk aversion have forced many traders to diversify into bitcoin.”

Shane Oliver of AMP Capital warned: “Its huge volatility hardly makes it a safe haven as a store of value. I have far more confidence in the $50 note in my wallet retaining its value over time than bitcoin, which seems to bounce around like a yo-yo.”

Amazon’s UK backtrack

Amazon has been forced to apologise to UK customers after announcing the launch of a service in an email that is only available in the US.

The Amazon Sidewalk uses customers’ broadband accounts to create a hyper-local network for devices.

Users with Amazon-branded devices up to a 0.3-mile radius can access the network if their home WiFi isn’t working.

However, the product is only available to those in the US, with the retail and technology giant having to backtrack after accidently informing UK-based users of the launch of Sidewalk.

An Amazon spokesperson said: “We recently began emailing customers with Echo devices registered in the US to give them more information about Amazon Sidewalk.

“This service will only be available in the US when it launches. We apologise for any confusion,” the online retailer added.

Ticketmaster UK slapped with seven-figure fine

Ticketmaster UK has been handed a £1.25m fine from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after a data breach which impacted more than nine million users across Europe.

The data breach led to the names, payment card numbers, expiry dates and CVC numbers of 9.4 million customers being leaked.

The leak stemmed from a third-party chatbot on the Ticketmaster online payment page and allowed the attackers to access customers’ personal details.

The ICO found that 60,000 cards belonging to Barclays customers were compromised while 6,000 cards were cancelled and replaced by mobile bank Monzo over suspected fraudulent use.

James Dipple-Johnstone, ICO deputy commissioner, said: “When customers handed over their personal details, they expected Ticketmaster to look after them.

“Ticketmaster should have done more to reduce the risk of a cyber-attack. Its failure to do so meant that millions of people in the UK and Europe were exposed to potential fraud,” he added.

Huawei lands Cambridge 5G testing agreement

Huawei has secured a three-year agreement with Cambridge Wireless, a group of companies involved in the development of wireless technologies, to deploy Cambridge’s first 5G testbed.

The Chinese firm will work in partnership with Cambridge Wireless to develop a private 5G network, which will go live in January 2021, within Cambridge University’s Science Park.

The testbed will allow businesses to undertake research into fields such as self-driving vehicles and clean energy.

The partnership will also see the pair develop digital training and business support initiatives, as well as hosting events at the Park.

Victor Zhang, Huawei VP, said: “The Cambridge ecosystem is recognised as a global leader in technology and we are excited to work with the talent and vision in this ecosystem. We hope to enable Cambridge Wireless members to reach new heights by allowing them access to our state-of-the-art equipment and markets including China and beyond.”

Simon Mead, Cambridge Wireless CEO, added: “We hope to bring something unique to the Science Park to accelerate use cases and development of this technology. We invite ambitious businesses to get involved and through this exciting three-year partnership with Huawei, we will support their 5G innovation journey.”

https://twitter.com/cambwireless/status/1326487507089887232

Apple to cut in-app purchase commission

Tech giant Apple will reduce the cut it takes from every in-app purchase to 15% for developers that make up to $1m per year.

The move comes following an Australian lawsuit from Epic Games, the creators of the popular Fortnite videogame, which challenged Apple over the policy as it attempted to bypass the system.

Apple confirmed that all developers who currently make up to $1m from their apps in 2020 would receive the new cut rate, which currently sits at 30%.

Those that made more than $1m the previous year, but then went below $1m the subsequent year, would qualify for the reduced cut.

Apple noted that of the 1.8 million apps in the App Store, the majority would qualify for the new discount.

However, Epic Games, which is forecast to make $5bn in 2020 from all revenue streams, will not qualify.

Tim Sweeney, Epic Games CEO, said: “This is much bigger than Epic versus Apple – it goes to the heart of whether consumers and creators can do business together directly on mobile platforms or are forced to use monopoly channels against wishes and interests.”

An Apple spokesperson labelled Epic Games as “deceptive and clandestine” after attempts to bypass Apple’s regulations.