IT for consulting and business services
Companies in the consulting and business services industries often have specialist needs that require effective use of IT. Law firms, consultancies, accountants, recruitment firms and other advisory services use innovative technology to deliver business benefits, and you can read our news and analysis of the key trends and what they mean to you
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News
03 Jan 2024
Artificial intelligence to the front in Sweden’s National Technology Strategy
Sweden focuses in on artificial intelligence in its latest far-reaching national IT strategy Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Sep 2023
Interview: Ashish Gupta, head of EMEA, HCLTech
It’s not just enterprises that changed their operating models during and after Covid, but also the suppliers that took them on the journey, HCLTech Europe’s head explains Continue Reading
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News
21 Oct 2022
Ukrainian and UK IT sectors to deepen collaboration, partnerships
BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, and the IT Ukraine Association have signed an MoU to deepen collaboration between the UK and Ukrainian IT sectors, and champion new partnerships and growth opportunities Continue Reading
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News
20 Oct 2022
Cyber professional shortfall hits 3.4 million
Shortage of cyber security professionals continues to grow and shows no signs of abating, says report Continue Reading
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News
19 Oct 2022
Treat cyber crime as a ‘strategic threat’, UK businesses told
The government’s new National Cyber Advisory Board aims to help elevate cyber discussion and spur action in the business community Continue Reading
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News
17 Oct 2022
IR35 reforms repeal scrapped: Government labelled ‘spineless’ over u-turn
The contracting community has not taken kindly to the news that the government is rowing back its plans to repeal the IR35 reforms in the private and public sectors Continue Reading
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News
14 Oct 2022
Office 365 email encryption flaw could pose risk to user privacy
A vulnerability in Microsoft Office 365 Message Encryption could leave the contents of emails dangerously exposed, but with no fix coming it’s up to users to decide how at risk they are Continue Reading
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News
12 Oct 2022
NCSC urges organisations to secure supply chains
NCSC’s latest guidance package centres supply chain security, helping medium to large organisations assess and mitigate cyber risks from suppliers Continue Reading
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News
23 Sep 2022
Mini-Budget 2022: HMRC tells firms to update payroll software ahead of November NI tax cut
HMRC is urging employers to ensure their payroll software systems are updated now, before the reversal of the previous government’s National Insurance tax hike kicks in Continue Reading
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News
21 Sep 2022
Contractors call for IR35 review and tax cuts in Chancellor’s mini-Budget
The contractor community is patiently awaiting the outcome of this Friday’s mini-Budget, with hopes for some concrete details on the Prime Minister’s proposed IR35 review and news of a corporation tax cut Continue Reading
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News
15 Sep 2022
Organisations failing to account for digital trust
The vast majority of businesses are well aware of the importance of digital trust, yet very few have a dedicated staff role responsible for it, report finds Continue Reading
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News
14 Sep 2022
Ex-CISA head Krebs: Disrupt ransomware support networks to win the war
Speaking at an event hosted by data protection specialist Rubrik, former CISA director Chris Krebs calls for the security community to work collectively to kick out the supports from under ransomware gangs Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2022
Contractors lack confidence in prime minister to follow through with promised IR35 review
Contractor poll suggests lack of faith among freelancers about new prime minister Liz Truss honouring her pledge to review the IR35 rules Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2022
CISOs should spend on critical apps, cloud, zero-trust, in 2023
Faced with a global recession next year, security buyers should try to direct investment towards technology that protects customer-facing and revenue-generating workloads, say analysts Continue Reading
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News
05 Sep 2022
UK payments upgrade to add more than £3bn to GDP, but much more on offer
UK GDP will increase when its ageing payments infrastructure is replaced with the latest technology to enable real-time payments Continue Reading
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Opinion
01 Sep 2022
Security Think Tank: Effective DevSecOps requires collaboration
Application security and effective DevSecOps can only be achieved through collaboration with the business – the ultimate goal is to make it safer to do business, which requires considering integrated risk management and identity and access management alongside cyber security and application security Continue Reading
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News
30 Aug 2022
IAM house Okta confirms 0ktapus/Scatter Swine attack
Following last week’s disclosureby Group-IB researchers of a major phishing campaign, Okta has warned its customers to be on their guard Continue Reading
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News
25 Aug 2022
Adaptive RedAlert, Monster ransomwares go cross-platform
Kaspersky researchers have shared new intelligence on two emergent cyber criminal groups that have adapted their ransomwares to target different operating systems at the same time Continue Reading
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News
25 Aug 2022
Security pros fret about stress and promotion over cyber attacks
CIISec’s annual report on the state of the security profession reveals some home truths for security leaders Continue Reading
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News
25 Aug 2022
LockBit 3.0 cements dominance of ransomware ecosystem
Ransomware attacks were up 47% in July compared with the previous month, according to the latest threat data from NCC Group, with the LockBit family largely to blame Continue Reading
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News
24 Aug 2022
Most CISOs think they’ve been attacked by a nation state
Most organisations have made changes to their cyber strategies and policies following Russia’s invasion, and almost two-thirds suspect they have been directly targeted or impacted by a nation-state cyber attack Continue Reading
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News
22 Aug 2022
Kaspersky threat data added to Microsoft Sentinel service
Microsoft and Kaspersky have agreed a collaboration to integrate Kaspersky’s threat data feeds into Microsoft’s cloud-native SIEM/SOAR service Continue Reading
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News
22 Aug 2022
Lloyd’s to end insurance coverage for state cyber attacks
Lloyd’s of London has instructed its members to exclude nation state cyber attacks from insurance policies beginning in 2023, saying they pose unacceptable levels of risk Continue Reading
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News
19 Aug 2022
Cozy Bear targets MS 365 environments with new tactics
Cozy Bear, or APT29, is trying out new tricks as it seeks access to its targets’ Microsoft 365 environments Continue Reading
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News
18 Aug 2022
Growing MFA use spurs ‘pass-the-cookie’ attacks
The exploitation of stolen session cookies by cyber criminals is once again back on the agenda, thanks to the growing popularity of multifactor authentication tools Continue Reading
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News
18 Aug 2022
It takes a breach to force boards to take notice of cyber, says UK government
Too often, it takes a major incident for business leadership to pay attention to cyber issues, according to a government-commissioned study of victims Continue Reading
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News
16 Aug 2022
Why organisations need to harmonise their CIO and CISO roles
Unless properly managed, conflicting responsibilities between the chief information officer and the chief information security officer can cause project delays and budget overruns, says Netskope’s Mike Anderson Continue Reading
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News
10 Aug 2022
Microsoft fixes two-year-old MSDT vulnerability in August update
August’s Patch Tuesday drop fixes more than 120 CVEs, including another MSDT RCE zero-day that is being actively exploited. Continue Reading
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News
10 Aug 2022
‘Coopetition’ a growing trend among ransomware gangs
Sophos shares data from its new X-Ops unit at Black Hat in Las Vegas, revealing a growing number of ransomware victims being attacked by multiple gangs at the same time Continue Reading
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News
09 Aug 2022
HS2 sets aside £9.5m to cover cost of IR35 non-compliance
HS2 has become the latest public sector entity to have fallen foul of the IR35 rules, with its accounts confirming that it is anticipating a tax bill of £9.5m for failing to assess the status of contractors provided to it by a third party Continue Reading
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News
04 Aug 2022
Spyware activity particularly impactful in July
After a quiet June, vulnerability exploitation ramped up in July, with intrusions linked to spyware seeing unusually high volumes of activity, according to a report Continue Reading
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News
28 Jul 2022
Cyber criminals pivot away from macros as Microsoft changes bite
As Microsoft resumes blocking macros by default in its Office application suite, reversing a temporary reversal, analysis from Proofpoint suggests the action has had a remarkable effect Continue Reading
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News
28 Jul 2022
Teams in Grenoble work on 6G breakthrough technology
Even as 5G networks are being rolled out, new requirements are driving scientists, and engineers in Europe are back to the lab to start developing 6G Continue Reading
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News
27 Jul 2022
Consumers left out of pocket as security costs soar
As the average cost of a security incident reaches an all-time high of nearly $4.5m, an IBM Security study reveals how these costs are being passed on to ordinary people Continue Reading
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News
27 Jul 2022
Cyber security training ‘boring’ and largely ignored
Two-thirds of employees don’t bother to pay attention to cyber security training – and the fault does not lie with them Continue Reading
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Opinion
27 Jul 2022
Security Think Tank: Don’t rely on insurance alone
Cyber insurance is a useful addition to the cyber protection toolbox. However, it cannot be regarded as a replacement for the controls that should be in operation, says Turnkey Consulting’s Tom Venables Continue Reading
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News
26 Jul 2022
No More Ransom initiative helps 1.5 million people in six years
One and a half million people have now taken advantage of free ransomware decryption tools offered by a joint European project Continue Reading
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News
26 Jul 2022
Ducktail infostealer targets Facebook Business users
Newly uncovered Ducktail operation targets individuals with access to Facebook Business service and tries to steal their accounts Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2022
Umbrella IT contractors could get back-dated holiday pay windfall following Supreme Court ruling
Umbrella industry stakeholders weigh-up the financial implications of a Supreme Court ruling, which could pave the way for IT contractors to submit back-dated claims for holiday pay Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2022
Latest Atlassian Confluence vulnerability raises concerns
CVE-2022-26138 is the second major vulnerability disclosure made for Atlassian’s Confluence collaboration platform in recent months Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2022
The Security Interviews: Why you need to protect abandoned digital assets
The war in Ukraine and subsequent boycott of Russia resulted in a swathe of digital infrastructure being abandoned, becoming a potential vulnerability for many organisations, says Cyberpion’s Ran Nahmias Continue Reading
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News
22 Jul 2022
Russia could become the world’s largest market for illegal IT
Russia could become the biggest market for illegal IT equipment as companies try to get round sanctions imposed on the country Continue Reading
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News
21 Jul 2022
Buy ‘plug-n-play’ malware for the price of a pint of beer
Three-quarters of malwares and almost 90% of exploits retail on the dark web for about £8.40 or less, according to a report Continue Reading
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News
20 Jul 2022
(ISC)² expands entry-level cyber programme after UK success
Flush with success from a UK certification programme, reaching 100k in the UK, (ISC)² now wants to provide free security certification to a million people worldwide Continue Reading
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News
20 Jul 2022
Cato aims to bust cyber myths as it extends network protections
Cato Networks is beefing up its platform’s security features with ransomware and data loss protections, and the firm’s security strategy lead Etay Maor is using the occasion – and his unique access to billions of data points from the firm’s network – to explode some cyber myths Continue Reading
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News
19 Jul 2022
European IT services see bumper quarter, but signs of slowing emerge
Spending on IT and BPO services in Europe saw significant growth in the past quarter, but there are signs of a slowdown Continue Reading
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News
18 Jul 2022
US cyber agency CISA to open London office
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has chosen London to host its first office outside America Continue Reading
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News
15 Jul 2022
Log4Shell on its way to becoming ‘endemic’
US government report concludes that, like Covid, Log4Shell will be with us for a long time to come Continue Reading
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News
14 Jul 2022
Global IT services market shows signs of slowing
Spending on IT and business process services could be set to reduce over the coming months as the latest ISG figures show early signs of decline Continue Reading
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News
14 Jul 2022
ICO wants to ‘empower people through information’
Information Commissioner’s Office sets out commitment to safeguard the information rights of the most vulnerable people in UK society Continue Reading
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News
13 Jul 2022
Slippery phish wriggles around MFA protections, says Microsoft
Microsoft’s threat researchers share details of a phishing campaign that hit 10,000 organisations, against which standard multifactor authentication provides little defence Continue Reading
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News
13 Jul 2022
July Patch Tuesday brings more than 80 fixes, one zero-day
While some admins can put their feet up and let Windows Autopatch do the hard work of updating their Microsoft estates, for the rest of us, the Patch Tuesday bandwagon keeps on keeping on Continue Reading
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News
12 Jul 2022
MaliBot Android malware spreading fast, says Check Point
The MaliBot malware is becoming a persistent and widespread problem, and Android users should be on their guard, says Check Point Continue Reading
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News
12 Jul 2022
Microsoft Windows Autopatch now generally available
Microsoft customers with Windows Enterprise E3 and E5 licences can now take full advantage of its new automated patching service Continue Reading
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News
11 Jul 2022
Microsoft VBA macro block will return
Microsoft provides more details about its sudden decision to rollback a landmark security policy, and reassures users it is a temporary measure Continue Reading
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Opinion
11 Jul 2022
Cyber insurance: An effective use of your scant security budget?
The ISF’s Paul Watts asks if cyber insurance is a must-have item, an expensive luxury, or the emperor’s new clothes Continue Reading
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News
08 Jul 2022
Stop telling clients to pay ransomware gangs, solicitors told
The NCSC and the ICO are calling on solicitors to help tackle the rising number of ransomware payments being made, and to stop giving erroneous advice to victims Continue Reading
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News
08 Jul 2022
Microsoft appears to reverse VBA macro-blocking
Microsoft quietly reverses VBA macro-blocking across its Office portfolio in a move that has left security experts puzzled Continue Reading
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Opinion
08 Jul 2022
Lots to consider when buying cyber insurance, so do your homework
When considering implementing a cyber insurance policy, due diligence should be your watchword, says Paddy Francis of Airbus CyberSecurity Continue Reading
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News
07 Jul 2022
MI5, FBI chiefs warn of Chinese cyber espionage threat
In a joint appearance in London, MI5 director general Ken McCallum and FBI director Chris Wray warn of the growing threat posed by the Chinese government to UK and US interests Continue Reading
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Opinion
07 Jul 2022
Security Think Tank: Cyber insurance – A nice safety blanket, but don’t count on it
In the second instalment of this month’s Security Think Tank, Mike Gillespie argues that cyber insurance should be thought of like car insurance – you don’t start driving recklessly because you’re covered Continue Reading
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News
05 Jul 2022
Prepare for long-term cyber threat from Ukraine war, says NCSC
The NCSC has published refreshed guidance on cyber preparedness as the war on Ukraine continues, urging organisations to pay attention to the state of their security teams Continue Reading
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News
05 Jul 2022
NCSC CEO: Why we should run towards crises to elevate cyber security
National Cyber Security Centre CEO Lindy Cameron, the 2022 Computer Weekly UKtech50 Most Influential Person in UK IT, reflects on a career immersed in crisis management, and how she is using this to elevate cyber security standards across the country Continue Reading
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Opinion
01 Jul 2022
Security Think Tank: Now is the time to think about cyber insurance
Many IT leaders shy away from cyber insurance, but new, innovative developments in the market can help organisations take an approach that suits their needs Continue Reading
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News
29 Jun 2022
New cyber extortion op appears to have hit AMD
Semiconductor specialist AMD has confirmed it is investigating reports that a ‘bad actor’ has stolen hundreds of gigabytes of its data Continue Reading
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News
27 Jun 2022
Brexit a net negative for UK cyber, say CISOs
Six years on from the UK’s Brexit vote, the majority of security professionals say leaving the EU has raised concerns over their ability to keep their organisations safe Continue Reading
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News
27 Jun 2022
LockBit ransomware gang launches bug bounty programme
A bug bounty programme is among a number of features LockBit’s developers have added to ‘version 3.0’ of the ransomware Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Jun 2022
The cyber security impact of Operation Russia by Anonymous
The campaign against the Russian government by Anonymous surprised many with the depth and scale of the cyber attacks. What can we learn from this online war? Continue Reading
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News
24 Jun 2022
Black Basta ransomware crew aiming for ‘big leagues’
Emergent Black Basta ransomware gang has hit more than 50 countries since bursting onto the scene earlier this year, says Cybereason Continue Reading
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News
24 Jun 2022
US cyber agency in fresh warning over Log4Shell risk to VMware
Many VMware Horizon and UAG servers remain defenceless against Log4Shell, and organisations continue to fall victim to the vulnerability Continue Reading
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Opinion
24 Jun 2022
Assessment and knowledge: Your key tools to secure suppliers
There is no silver bullet that will resolve all the issues arising from today’s interconnected businesses and complex supply chains, but there are some key tools at your disposal Continue Reading
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Opinion
23 Jun 2022
What will the Data Reform Bill mean for UK businesses operating in the EU?
Following the government’s response to the Data Reform Bill consultation, Peter Galdies of DQM GRC looks at what might lie ahead for UK organisations working in the European Union Continue Reading
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Opinion
23 Jun 2022
Security Think Tank: Supply chain security demands systematic approach
Supply chain security measures need to be systematic and assessed so as to minimise the complexity and cost to the business Continue Reading
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Opinion
22 Jun 2022
Security Think Tank: Balanced approach can detangle supply chain complexity
Achieving an appropriate balance between people, processes and technology can help to detangle the complexities of the supply chain and create better security practices Continue Reading
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News
21 Jun 2022
Government won’t regulate on professional cyber standards
The government has elected not to proceed with regulatory intervention to embed standards and pathways across the cyber profession Continue Reading
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News
21 Jun 2022
New coalition lifts Finland’s 6G status
Finland is laying the foundations for future European leadership in 6G research and development Continue Reading
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Opinion
21 Jun 2022
Supply chain security goes deep – forget this at your peril
It may have hit the headlines as an IT issue, but supply chain security goes far deeper into an organisation than just technology Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2022
Tribunal rules in favour of HMRC as it pursues umbrella company for £11m in unpaid tax
Umbrella firm Exchequer Solutions said it plans to appeal against the outcome of a First-Tier Tribunal, which claims it owes in excess of £11m in unpaid tax relating to its handling of contractor expenses Continue Reading
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News
17 Jun 2022
British businesses to recognise Google skills certificates
Google training programmes are being made available to more people in the UK as part of an initiative from the supplier and major UK businesses Continue Reading
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News
17 Jun 2022
Government responds to Data Reform Bill consultation
Westminster claims its new data laws will boost British benefits, protect consumers, and seize the ‘benefits’ of Brexit Continue Reading
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Opinion
17 Jun 2022
Consider governance, coordination and risk to secure supply chain
A recent ISACA study found myriad factors that give good reason to be concerned about supply chain security. Cyber adviser Brian Fletcher recommends three areas to zero in on Continue Reading
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News
16 Jun 2022
Loan charge MPs want contractor adviser community to participate in latest call for evidence
Loan Charge and Taxpayer Fairness All-Party Parliamentary Group seeks input from accountants, lawyers and tax advisers who work with contractors in-scope of the loan charge policy Continue Reading
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News
16 Jun 2022
Office 365 loophole may give ransomware an easy shot at your files
Researchers at Proofpoint have discovered potentially dangerous Microsoft Office 365 functionality that they believe may give ransomware a clear shot at files stored on SharePoint and OneDrive Continue Reading
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Opinion
16 Jun 2022
Security Think Tank: Best practices for boosting supply chain security
In a highly connected world, managing the supply chain landscape requires an adaptation of the ‘traditional’ approach to managing cyber risk Continue Reading
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News
15 Jun 2022
Patch Tuesday dogged by concerns over Microsoft vulnerability response
The last Patch Tuesday in its current form is overshadowed by persistent concerns about how Microsoft deals with vulnerability disclosure Continue Reading
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Opinion
15 Jun 2022
Security Think Tank: Basic steps to secure your supply chain
When it comes to supply chain security, there are some core things you should be doing – but remember, the devil is in the detail Continue Reading
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News
14 Jun 2022
MS Azure Synapse vulnerability fixed after six-month slog
Microsoft patched a critical Azure Synapse vulnerability twice, but each time the researcher who discovered it was able to bypass it with ease, leading to a lengthy saga Continue Reading
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Opinion
10 Jun 2022
Security Think Tank: Don’t trust the weakest link? Don’t trust any link
Your security model shouldn’t fall apart just because a part of your business, or a partner, has weak security. This is why information-centric security is a must Continue Reading
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News
10 Jun 2022
Snake Keylogger climbing malware charts, says Check Point
Cyber criminals behind Snake Keylogger campaigns have been switching up their tactics in the past few weeks, say researchers Continue Reading
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News
08 Jun 2022
ProxyLogon, ProxyShell may have driven increase in dwell times
The median network intruder dwell time was up 36% to 15 days last year, thanks to massive exploitation of the ProxyLogon and ProxyShell vulnerabilities by IABs, according to new Sophos data Continue Reading
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News
30 May 2022
UAE residents think 3D printing will have the most positive impact on society
People in the UAE believe next-generation technologies such as 3D printing and artificial intelligence will become widespread in the country Continue Reading
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Opinion
30 May 2022
Strong internal foundations are key to withstanding external threats
The modern-day abundance of platforms, apps and IT tools presents malicious actors with a web of interconnection that is easily exploited to move rapidly through the network to compromise critical assets. Security teams need to understand these attack pathways better in order to fight back Continue Reading
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News
26 May 2022
Two-thirds of UK organisations defrauded since start of pandemic
Nearly two out of three UK companies say they have experienced some form of fraud or economic crime in the past two years, according to a report Continue Reading
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News
26 May 2022
Dutch companies struggle to fill tech jobs
There are plenty of IT job vacancies in the Netherlands, but a shortage of IT professionals Continue Reading
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News
25 May 2022
IR35 reforms: PAC report blames HMRC for ‘widespread non-compliance’ in public sector
The Public Accounts Committee has shared the findings of its report into the after-effects of the IR35 reforms coming into force in the public sector back in April 2017 Continue Reading
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News
24 May 2022
Ransomware volumes grew faster than ever in 2021
Verizon’s annual DBIR assessment of the security landscape highlights an unprecedented boom in ransomware volumes, to the surprise of nobody Continue Reading
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Opinion
18 May 2022
Security Think Tank: To follow a path, you need a good map
The modern-day abundance of platforms, apps and IT tools presents malicious actors with a web of interconnection that is easily exploited to move rapidly through the network to compromise critical assets. Security teams need to understand these attack pathways better in order to fight back Continue Reading
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News
17 May 2022
(ISC)² to train 100,000 cyber pros in UK
Security association (ISC)² unveils ambitious UK training programme Continue Reading
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News
11 May 2022
CyberUK 22: Five Eyes focuses on MSP security
The western intelligence community has set out practical steps IT service providers and their customers can take to protect themselves Continue Reading
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News
11 May 2022
Cyber accreditation body Crest forges new training partnerships
Crest says partnerships with Hack The Box and Immersive Labs will enhance its members’ defensive and offensive security skills Continue Reading
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News
11 May 2022
Microsoft fixes three zero-days on May Patch Tuesday
It’s the second-to-last Patch Tuesday as we know it, and Microsoft has fixed a total of 75 bugs, including three zero-days Continue Reading
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News
11 May 2022
Queen’s Speech: Employment Bill omission suggests further delays to umbrella market regulation
Contracting market stakeholders were hoping for some clarification on the delivery timeline for umbrella market regulation in the Queen’s Speech, but none was forthcoming Continue Reading