1 Zero hour contracts reach record (Kamal Ahmed on
BBC) The number of people on controversial zero hours contracts in the UK has
reached a record high of 910,000. New figures based on an analysis of Office
for National Statistics data reveal that 105,000 more people were on contracts
that do not guarantee work in 2016 compared with the same period in 2015.
That's an increase of nearly 14%, and 30% higher
than 2014. In 2005, there were just 100,000 people on zero hours contracts
(ZHCs). But although the new figures are a record, they also reveal a sharp
slowing in the rate of increase in the last six months of 2016.
That decline in the rate of increase for such
contracts - which have been criticised for being forced on lower paid workers -
could be down to three reasons. First, as the levels of employment reach record
highs, people looking for work can be more demanding about the type on
contracts they sign.
Second, as the UK approaches full employment, the
number of new jobs being created - whether full time or zero hours - is
slowing. The third reason appears to be business reputation. After
controversies over zero hours contracts at companies such as Sports Direct, a
number of businesses have either stopped using them or reduced their use.
Although zero hours contracts have been
controversial, many say they provide flexibility to people such as students,
parents and those with other caring responsibilities. The employee - who still
receives employment rights such as annual leave - does not have to accept work
offered.
2 The rise of ransomware (Ed Clowes in Gulf News) Japanese
anti-virus developer Trend Micro’s annual cybersecurity report reveals a 752
per cent increase in ransomware, the software used by hackers to block data and
then demand money to return it.
The company’s 2016 Security Roundup also noted that
cyber threats reached an all-time high in 2016, with ransomware scams gaining
increased popularity among cybercriminals looking to extort enterprises.
In a recent interview, Microsoft’s Cyril Voisin,
Executive Security Advisor for the company’s Enterprise Cybersecurity Group in
the Middle East and Africa, spoke about the growing threat from ransomware, and
what could be done to combat it.
Whilst ransomware isn’t the most popular malware in
the region yet, “it is still a source of concern, because the idea that someone
can infect your machine, encrypt all your data so you can’t read it, and then
ask you for money to unlock it — that is scary,” Voisin said.
There was an attack against the Hollywood
Presbyterian Medical Centre’s systems in February 2016. The hospital eventually
paid 40 bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that was worth about $17,000 at the time,
to recover its patients’ records.
3 North Korea fires missiles towards Sea of Japan
(Straits Times) North Korea fired four ballistic missiles early on Monday
(March 6), three of which landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, the latest in a series of provocative tests by
the reclusive state.
“Multiple ballistic missiles” were launched from the
Tongchang-ri region near the North’s border with China and flew about 1,000 km,
South Korean military officials said, without providing the number of missiles.
Acting president Hwang Kyo Ahn convened a national security meeting on Monday,
South Korea’s presidential office said.
Japanese officials described the launches as a grave
threat and said they lodged “strong protests” with nuclear-armed North Korea. No
reports of damage to shipping or aircraft had been received since the launches,
Japanese officials said.
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