Could the UK government really ban VPNs?
As we’ve been reporting over the past week interest in VPN use in the UK has spiked following concerns about the Online Safety Act and its age verification rules.
Inevitably the government has noticed the surge in VPN use and while it insists it has no plans to ban their use the science secretary, Peter Kyle, says it will be looking “very closely” at how they’re being employed.
Cybersecurity budget growth hits a five-year low
Average security budget growth has slowed to just four percent year-on-year, the lowest rate in five years and a sharp decline from eight percent in 2024.
The slowdown comes in the face of continued global market volatility, driven by geopolitical tensions, uncertain tariff policies, and fluctuating inflation and interest rates, says a new report from IANS Research and Artico Search.
Cloud accounts come under attack as identity threats rise
The latest Threat Detection Report update from Red Canary shows a rise of almost 500 percent in detections associated with cloud accounts during the first half of 2025.
This significant rise stems primarily from Red Canary’s expanded identity detection coverage and the implementation of AI agents designed to identify unusual login patterns and suspicious user behaviors. This includes identifying logins from unusual devices, IP addresses, and virtual private networks (VPNs), which significantly increases the detection of risky behaviors.
Microsoft to disable features in outdated Office apps
Microsoft is always keen for people to use the latest versions of its software, and things are no different with Office. The company has just announced that if users of Microsoft 365 Office apps will need to be fully updated or they will lose access to some key features.
The announcement indicates that Microsoft is upgrading backend services that power some features and that as a result of this, older versions of apps will no longer be supported. But just what does this mean and when will users be affected?
Spotify is raising its prices yet again
Spotify has announced an increase in subscription prices for users around the world. For now, the US does not get a mention, but with fees being raised in pretty much every region, it is hard to imagine that the same will not happen stateside as well.
The new pricing is due to kick in for existing subscribers in September, but sooner for new subscribers.
75 percent of cybersecurity leaders don’t trust their own data
A disconnect between cybersecurity confidence and data reality is leaving organizations exposed, according to a new report released today by Axonius.
The study, based on a survey of 500 US director-level and above cybersecurity and IT leaders, reveals that while 90 percent of cybersecurity leaders say their organization is prepared to take immediate action on a vulnerability, only 25 percent trust all the data in their own security tools.
Attackers exploit old vulnerabilities as zero-day exploits surge
New analysis from Forescout of more than 23,000 vulnerabilities and 885 threat actors across 159 countries worldwide during the first half of 2025 finds 47 percent of newly exploited vulnerabilities were originally published before 2025, and zero-day exploitation has increased 46 percent.
The report also shows ransomware attacks are averaging 20 incidents per day, zero-day exploits increased 46 percent, and attackers are increasingly targeting non-traditional equipment, such as edge devices, IP cameras and BSD servers. These footholds are often used for lateral movement across IT, OT, and IoT environments, allowing threat actors to get deeper into networks and compromise critical systems.
Hackers weaponize GenAI to boost cyberattacks
Adversaries are weaponizing GenAI to scale operations and accelerate cyberattacks -- as well as increasingly targeting the autonomous AI agents reshaping enterprise operations. This is among the findings of CrowdStrike’s 2025 Threat Hunting Report.
The report reveals how threat actors are targeting tools used to build AI agents -- gaining access, stealing credentials, and deploying malware -- a clear sign that autonomous systems and machine identities have become a key part of the enterprise attack surface.
Microsoft Recall is bad at filtering sensitive information
Whenever there are privacy concerns voiced about software, they are almost always downplayed. But fears about Microsoft Recall appear to be well justified.
Announced and previewed last year, Microsoft Recall is a feature of Windows 11 which Microsoft says enables users to retrace their steps. It does this by capturing screenshots of computing activity, which can then be analyzed and searched using AI to home in on data, return to a project, and much more. But there have been lots of vocal protests about the potential for invasions of privacy.
Why an adaptive learning model is the way forward in AIOps [Q&A]
Modern IT environments are massively distributed, cloud-native, and constantly shifting. But traditional monitoring and AIOps tools rely heavily on fixed rules or siloed models -- they can flag anomalies or correlate alerts, but they don’t understand why something is happening or what to do next.
We spoke to Casey Kindiger, founder and CEO of Grokstream, to discuss new solutions that blend predictive, causal, and generative AI to offer innovative self-healing capabilities to enterprises.
Microsoft announces end of support for Windows 11 SE
It is not just Windows 10 that Microsoft is ready to forget – the company is adding Windows 11 SE to the list as well.
In a quiet announcement, Microsoft says that in a little over a year, Windows 11 SE will no longer be supported and will no longer receive updates of any description. But what does this mean for users, and where does it leave them?
Concerns mount around UK Online Safety Act
As we reported earlier this week, the UK’s new Online Safety Act has seen a surge in interest in the use of VPNs and an online petition for its repeal has been signed by over 400,000 people.
An article published yesterday by The Critic argues that the legislation is badly drafted. Industry figures too are raising doubts about the effectiveness of the act, its likely wider impact on cybersecurity and its potential for overreach.
Neural networks and their effect on test and measurement [Q&A]
Historically test and measurement has been simply about collecting data and exporting it for later analysis. Now though neural networks make it possible to carry out the analysis in real time.
We spoke to Daniel Shaddock, CEO of Liquid Instruments, to find out more about what this means for businesses.
TikTok announces a suite of trust and safety tools
Just as with the internet in general, concerns have been voiced about the safety of social media platforms. To help address these concerns, TikTok has unveiled a series of tools and features designed to help keep users safe and informed.
There are various new options which cater to different types of user. Some are for creators, others for parents who are worried about how their offspring are using TikTok. There are also features with a broader audience, notably Well-being Missions.
NVIDIA will support Windows 10 into late 2026
NVIDIA has answered a question that many people have been mulling over. It is now very well known that Windows 10 reaches the end of its life in October this year – although there is the option of extending support for up to year. But what of the software that runs on Windows 10?
Some companies – including Microsoft – have indicated when some of their software will no longer be supported on Windows 10, and now NVIDIA has shared some important information. The company has revealed to gamers how it intends to handle support for Windows 10 Game Ready drivers.
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