Almost 12,000 schools could fall victim to cybercrime this year

  • A new survey from Cantium Business Solutions shows that 78% of UK headteachers believe their school is at an increased risk of cyberattacks due to remote learning.
  • On a national level this could mean that 12,000 schools are at risk.
  • Two-thirds had been victims of cyber-attacks over the last 18 months but only 35% agreed that they were properly equipped to protect their schools.
  • You can read the full story on the Education Technology.

Twitter is expanding its autoblocking Safety Mode beta

  • Twitter is expanding the beta of its Safety Mode feature which initially rolled out in September.
  • Safety Mode lets users autoblock accounts that send harmful and abusive tweets.
  • Twitter is also introducing proactive Safety Mode prompts to encourage users to enable the mode – although a date for a wider release has not been revealed yet.
  • You can read the full story on The Verge’s website. 

Google moves to make Android apps more private

  • Google’s Privacy Sandbox project has been expended to cover app on its Android-based smartphones.
  • The project aims to limit the amount of user data advertisers can gather.
  • Google also reports that they are working on further solutions to limit user data sharing.
  • You can read the full story on the BBC’s website.

Psychiatrists push for multi-year budget to increase workforce

  • A multi-year budget is needed to help fill a “significant number” of vacant consultant psychiatrist posts in Northern Ireland.
  • A draft budget report has proposed a 10% increase in funding, but this won’t be agreed ahead of Northern Ireland Assembly due to the absence of the executive.
  • This follows reports that children in NI are 25% more likely to experience emotional difficulties and the 24% increase in referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
  • You can read the full story on the BBC’s website.