Ransomware attack puts the squeeze on KP's nuts
A cyberattack on UK-based food manufacturer KP Snacks could lead to shortages of some of the company's popular products including KP Nuts, Tyrrells Crisps and Hula Hoops.
There are as yet unconfirmed reports that the company's factory at Billingham on Teesside has stopped production and most of its 900 staff have been temporarily stood down.
Surge in demand for digital council services as pandemic drives people online
Local councils in the UK report a 27 percent increase in the use of digital services over the 12 months from summer 2020, compared to the previous year.
Digital experience company Acquia used freedom of information requests to compile the report, which also suggests the UK government’s drive to encourage usage of digital services is bearing fruit with local councils making considerable strides to improve accessibility.
What the UK's revised security guidelines mean for business [Q&A]
Changes to the UK government's Cyber Essentials security certification scheme come into force today. They include things like guidelines on remote working and hybrid approaches, rules for cloud service accounts -- such as deploying multi-factor authentication -- and speeding up critical patch deployments for critical and high severity vulnerabilities
We talked to Karl Alderton, technical account manager at security and compliance specialist Qualys to find out more about how these changes will affect businesses and what they need to do in response.
UK government launches tech help scheme for small businesses
The UK government is today launching a new scheme providing small businesses with discounts of up to £5,000 on approved software as well as free advice and support through a new online platform.
Help to Grow: Digital is designed to support smaller businesses and help them to grow. It offers discounts on digital accounting and CRM software from leading suppliers.
Amazon backs down on not accepting UK Visa credit cards
Back in November last year we reported on Amazon's decision to stop accepting UK issued Visa credit cards due to high processing charges.
The change was due to take place this Wednesday (January 19) but it seems that an 11th hour deal may have been reached to allow customers to continue using their Visa cards.
Only 20 percent of UK smaller businesses are 'tech-savvy'
Just one in five small businesses in the UK is open to digital transformation, despite it making them two and a half times more likely to experience a 20 percent or more increase in revenue.
The finding comes from NatWest bank's latest Springboard to Recovery report which is based on research from a survey of 1,000 small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs), and analysis of more than 100 reports, as well as the results of 50 support programs.
45 percent of Brits don't trust tech companies to safeguard their data
A survey of 2,000 UK adults, reveals that 45 percent don't trust big tech companies to safeguard their personal data.
The study from NexGen Cloud finds 66 percent concerned about how tech giants are able to collect and use their personal information. In addition only 24 percent of individuals believe big tech firms have their best interests at heart.
Two-thirds of UK business leaders expect more cybersecurity threats
Around two thirds (66 percent) of UK business leaders expect the threat from cyber criminals to increase over the next 12 months, according to the latest PwC cybersecurity survey of business and technology executives.
In the past year ransomware has had a significant impact on organizations already dealing with the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic, and 61 percent of executives expect to see an increase in reportable ransomware incidents in 2022.
UK businesses are attacked every 47 seconds
UK businesses faced a new cyberattack every 47 seconds over the summer as the volume of attempts to breach their systems online increased following an earlier slowdown.
Analysis of commercial internet traffic from business ISP Beaming shows that the attack rate increased by four percent between July and September, having fallen in the second quarter.
Europe leads the broadband speed table
Western Europe dominates the global internet speed table, containing eight of the top 10 fastest countries in the world for broadband.
Analysis of over a billions speed tests by comparison site Cable.co.uk shows if you want really fast speeds you need to move to the Channel Island of Jersey which tops the chart with an average speed of 274.27Mbps.
5G -- coming soon to a bus shelter near you
The roll out of 5G with its download speeds up to 100 times faster than 4G looks set to revolutionize mobile communication. However, it does require considerable infrastructure investment from the operators.
A new initiative launched today by the UK's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will see a £4 million ($5.5 million) competition to make it simpler and quicker for mobile companies to use publicly-owned buildings and curbside infrastructure -- such as CCTV poles, traffic signals, lampposts and bus shelters -- to host 5G radio equipment.
UK unveils post-Brexit data plans to boost digital trade and end annoying cookie confirmation pop-ups
In the first signs of UK data policy starting to diverge from the EU, the government has today announced a package of measures to help it seize the opportunities of data to boost growth, trade and improve public services.
Plans include 'data adequacy' partnerships with 10 countries including the US, Australia and Republic of Korea, and the appointment of a new Information Commissioner to oversee the changes.
98 percent of UK organizations plan to use zero trust architecture
Almost all UK business leaders and IT decision makers either plan to or have already started implementing zero trust strategies at their organizations according to new research from Illumio.
The research also looks at the barriers that prevent organizations from adopting zero trust. The main technological barriers include legacy systems that can't be upgraded (29 percent) and cost constraints (22 percent).
Ransomware attacks are now the second most commonly reported security incident
Analysis by CybSafe of incidents reported to the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) shows that ransomware attacks made up 22 percent of all reported cyber security incidents in the first half of 2021. This is up from 11 percent in the first half of 2020
Phishing still leads, accounting for 40 percent of all cybersecurity cases reported to the ICO, slightly down from 44 percent the year before, but ransomware has now edged into second place.
Six months on from Brexit, how has it affected the IT industry?
It's now been five years since the United Kingdom voted in a referendum to leave the European Union, and six months since it actually left.
With the promise of freedom to 'take back control' of the UK's borders, potential new opportunities for Britons and a plan to make the UK a global leader in innovation, there's still a lot up in the air. What has been apparent, however, is that almost all aspects of businesses have been impacted by Brexit in some way or other, from supply chain complications, to staff shortages, to confusion around GDPR and data protection rules.
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