Articles about UK

A new study finds that 82 percent of UK data center operators say they have delayed site builds or expansion due to optical fiber availability. 95 percent of these operators say that access to new high-capacity fiber networks will now influence their expansion plans.

The survey, carried out by Censuswide for B2B connectivity company Neos Networks, included data center operators, enterprise IT leaders and local government stakeholders -- 100 of each. Across all three groups, there’s an overwhelming consensus that core fibre networks are the foundation of the UK’s AI infrastructure.

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Image-hosting service Imgur is currently blocking UK users  from accessing its content. The move comes after regulators threatened to impose fines on the company.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is unhappy with how Imgur – and its parent company MediaLab – handles children’s data. The ICO had conducted investigations into various technology firms as it checked their compliance with online safety laws.

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A new report finds that nearly three quarters (73 percent) of UK businesses expect geopolitical risk to intensify over the next 12 months, with 62 percent saying their supply chains can’t deal with the shifting geopolitical sands.

The study from Ivalua, based on a survey of 300 supply chain and procurement decision-makers in the UK, shows the war in Ukraine has negatively impacted confidence in their organization’s supply chain the most (77 percent). This is followed by US tariffs (75 percent), military exercises and testing disrupting major shipping straits (73 percent), tensions between China and Taiwan (62 percent), and the war in Gaza (58 percent).

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We tend to think of artificial intelligence as being at the cutting edge of technical development, but new analysis from Multiverse shows that over two-thirds of people using AI at work in the UK are in roles not traditionally associated with tech.

The analysis of over 2,500 people on Multiverse’s AI apprenticeship programs reveals that over two-thirds (67 percent) are in non-tech roles -- that is, roles whose job titles don’t include keywords related to tech, data and AI. Instead, among the 50 most common ‘invisible’ roles are frontline public service, education, healthcare and construction roles, including nurses, doctors, librarians, pharmacists, therapists, lecturers and surveyors.

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A new survey of 2,000 UK consumers shows that 64 percent agree the Online Safety Act protects children, with support higher among parents of young children and lower among ‘empty nest’ parents.

However, the data from verification and anti-fraud platform Sumsub also shows 48 percent concerned it will lead to censorship.

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This Sunday, September 7th, the UK will test its emergency alert system, sending a message that will cause 4G and 5G mobile phones and tablets to emit a loud siren sound and vibrate for about 10 seconds.

But Marc Porcar, CEO of QR Code Generator, is warning that fraudsters are likely to exploit the upcoming government test, particularly targeting elderly and vulnerable people who may be confused by the alerts.

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A new report shows that 52 percent of UK SMEs are already using or plan to adopt AI tools within the next 12 months.

The study, from fintech company SumUp, is based on a survey of 750 business owners and decision makers within small UK businesses and finds that 27 percent see AI mostly as an opportunity, highlighting its potential to drive growth or increase efficiency.

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New research reveals that insecure code is behind a shocking number of cyber breaches in the UK, with two-thirds of tech leaders admitting their organization suffered an incident in the past year.

The study from SecureFlag, of 100 UK C-suite and tech leaders, shows that despite the risks, many companies are still failing to train developers properly, leaving a gap that attackers are exploiting.

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A High Court ruling has ended Wikipedia’s attempt to overturn part of the UK’s divisive new Online Safety Act, but the legal fight over its application may not be quite over. Judges dismissed the Wikimedia Foundation’s challenge to rules that could place the encyclopaedia under the law’s strictest category of regulation.

The organization behind Wikipedia says the framework risks forcing it to verify the identities of its volunteer editors, undermining both their privacy and the way the site operates. It argues that the model, in which anyone can contribute without registering personal details, is central to the platform’s reliability and breadth of coverage.

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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.

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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.

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The UK’s new Online Safety Act came into force this week, aimed at protecting youngsters with age verification to access adult and harmful content. However, it’s seen other material being blocked and sparked concern among free speech campaigners about government censorship.

It’s not too surprising then that there’s been a lot of interest in VPNs since the act came into force. VPNMentor has seen a 6,430 percent peak surge in VPN demand since the act’s introduction.

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A new ‘innovator passport’ -- set to be introduced over next two years -- will allow new technology that has been robustly assessed by one part of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) to be more easily rolled out to others.

Healthcare innovations need to be thoroughly tested before being widely adopted, but of course this can slow down potentially life saving innovations from reaching the people who would benefit from them.

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New research reveals a surge in interest in data sovereignty among UK IT leaders since the implementation of the United States government's historic raft of tariffs in April.

The study from Civo, of over 1,000 UK-based IT leaders, shows more than 60 percent now feel that the UK government’s use of US cloud services exposes the country's digital economy to significant risks, damages its domestic industry, and threatens data security.

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Fans of the 1980s British sitcom 'Yes Minister' will know the character Sir Humphrey -- a senior civil servant whose main role seemed to be to prevent ministers from implementing their policies. You may also know that Humphrey is the name of the Downing Street cat.

With its tongue firmly in its cheek then, the UK government is introducing 'Humphrey', a bundle of AI tools designed to speed up the work of civil servants and cut back time spent on admin, and money spent on contractors.

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