Zone’s Rianna Mitchell handpicks and shares the five best new stories on digital trends, experiences and technologies…
1. MPs urge UK ban on Chinese CCTV firms
A group of UK politicians has urged the government to outlaw China’s Hikvision and Dahua surveillance equipment in the UK. Alarms have been raised by 67 MPs and Lords — including Lib Dem leader, Sir Ed Davey — amid linking the vendors to human rights violations in China. Reports revealed the two firms participating in the oppression of Uyghurs held in internment camps in Xinjiang, where their camera technology is in operation.
Research conducted by campaign group Big Brother Watch highlighted that more than 50% of councils, secondary schools, and NHS trusts in the UK — as well as universities, police forces, and government departments — use CCTV cameras produced by these Chinese companies. Despite the government’s awareness of the reports, so far, it has not authorised a ban on the companies in the UK.
2. British Army’s social media accounts hacked by crypto scammers
The British Army has launched an official investigation after hackers hijacked their social media accounts to promote cryptocurrency scams. The cyber-criminals replaced the organisation’s account name, logo, profile image, and bio description across their YouTube and Twitter accounts. Its YouTube channel featured videos on cryptocurrency and photos of Elon Musk, whilst its Twitter displayed retweeted posts relating to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with a profile picture of an animated monkey in shutter sunglasses.
An army spokesperson said: “We take information security extremely seriously and are resolving the issue. Until the investigation is complete, it would be inappropriate to comment further.” Though the hackers remain unknown, the British Army has regained control of its Twitter and YouTube accounts.
3. Nike hits digital revenue goal via phone apps
Global sports brand Nike accredited its digital revenue growth to its family of mobile apps. Their online platforms were a key driver in helping the company achieve its long-term goal of generating 40% of total revenue through e-commerce channels. Nike’s CEO, John Donahoe, says: “increased digital engagement is translating into more repeat buyers, a higher buying frequency and increased average order value, ultimately driving higher lifetime value through membership.”
After launching apps across the Asia Pacific and Latin America, these regions have been a linchpin for Nike’s digital sales, spurring new releases of commerce and activity apps in China in the coming months. The retail giant also joins forces with software company Adobe to produce more personalised app experiences for customers to increase revenue.
4. NHS trials world’s first chemo drone delivery
The NHS announced it is testing drone delivering for chemotherapy drugs. The air machine will collect the life-saving medication and provide same-day delivery to cancer patients, as the latest trial seeks to fly the treatment from Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust to St Mary’s Hospital. NHS Chief Executive, Amanda Pritchard, says “it is clear that the pace of change and improvement across the health service is only accelerating.”
The scheme will cut delivery times from four hours to thirty minutes with a single flight replacing two car journeys and one hovercraft or ferry journey per delivery. It will save fuel, money, carbon emissions, help improve air quality, and support the NHS in becoming the world’s first health system to become carbon neutral.
5. Six ways HR can become an anti-racist ally
At the CIPD Festival of Work 2022, Zone attended a conference chaired by Lutfur Ali — Senior Policy Adviser at CIPD — who met with guest speaker Jenny Garrett OBE to speak about HR’s immense power in helping businesses eradicate racism and discrimination in the workplace.
Our Marketing Executive, Rianna Mitchell, recaps the discussion as she shares her learnings on what constitutes racism in the modern workplace and how professionals can ensure DEI (Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion) is central to organisational culture with leadership and managerial behaviour.
