Five tech stories you might have missed last week

Panasonic bids adieu to the UK over Brexit fears, Microsoft plots Xbox-as-a-service and the ICO receives over 6,000 GDPR complaints

CRN's weekly round-up of the tech and business stories that may have passed you by last week.

1. Government pledges £1m to increase diversity in tech
The government's Digital Skills Innovation Fund will be awarded over the next few months to help women, disabled people, and those from minority and lower socioeconomic backgrounds to succeed in digital roles, reported PublicTechnology.net. Funding will be handed out via grants ranging from £200,000 to £500,000.

2. Data reach complaints surge since onset of GDPR
The Independent reported that the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) saw a surge in complaints after GDPR came into effect. The ICO received 6,281 complaints regarding data breaches from 25 May to 3 July. This represents a 160 per cent rise compared with the same period in 2017.

3. Brexit pushes Panasonic out of UK
The Japanese electronics company is planning to move its European HQ from London to Amsterdam, according to The Irish Times. The move is believed to be led by fears that Brexit could lead to the UK becoming a tax haven in order to attract businesses, resulting in Panasonic facing higher taxes in Japan.

4. Microsoft plans subscription service for its games consoles
The tech giant is making plans to offer its Xbox One games consoles on a subscription basis, reported Windows Central. The monthly fee being touted is $22 (£17) and would include access to an Xbox One S, access to the multiplayer platform Xbox Live and the Game Pass, which allows users to download and play games from Microsoft's library. The service is expected to be piloted in the US first.

5. Air Canada is this week's data breach victim
The Canadian airline can now add its name to the ever-growing list of organisations that have suffered data breaches. The airline's app was hacked, resulting in the loss of up to 20,000 of its passengers' passport details, the BBC reported. It is not yet known how the leak occurred, but one cybersecurity specialist told the BBC that Air Canada's password protection requirements are not stringent enough.