TechFinitive.com

While deepfakes involving politicians tend to garner headlines, businesses need to be aware that they too may be at risk. And this turned into one of our big themes in our interview with Sam Peters, Chief Product Officer at ISMS.online. “Cybercriminals can create convincing audio or video clips of senior executives, tricking employees into transferring funds or disclosing sensitive information,” he told us. “These sophisticated attacks can result in significant financial losses and jeopardise the integrity of business operations.” And, he added, they could also affect your reputation and even mean you “fall foul” of regulatory compliance. So what can you do about this invidious and growing threat? We’ll leave you to read the full interview to discover, but one thing is for sure: crossing your fingers and hoping your current strategies will continue to work simply won’t cut it. 👇 https://lnkd.in/gkXMmEMs

So, you thought you’d seen the last of the insecure abomination that was the Internet Explorer web browser, huh? Think again. What if Davey Winder were to tell you that your installation of Windows 10 or 11 (including Server editions) still comes with Internet Explorer installed by default, despite it being ‘retired’ by Microsoft two years ago? And, while we’re all in shocking-revelation mode, what if I were to tell you that Morpheus never uttered that infamous line in The Matrix, despite a million memes claiming he did? Prepare for shock number three: security researchers have revealed a zero-day exploit that has been using Internet Explorer to install malware for at least a year. https://lnkd.in/gQg3acmB 💡 Our thanks to Mike Walters, Co-Founder of Action1 and Satnam Narang, Senior Staff Research Engineer at Tenable for sharing their insights for this article.

Quantinuum has signed a “Joint Statement of Endeavour” with the STFC Hartree Centre, giving scientists access to its high-performance quantum computers. Specifically, the partnership means UK industrial and scientific users can access Quantinuum’s H-Series trapped-ion quantum computers, via the cloud and on-premise. Access via the cloud is with immediate effect, but TechFinitive was told that Quantinuum hopes to “deploy on-premise in 2025”. “Quantinuum’s H-Series hardware will benefit scientists across various areas of research, including exascale computing algorithms, fusion energy development, climate resilience and more,” said Professor Kate Royse, Director of the STFC Hartree Centre. Rajeeb Hazra, CEO of Quantinuum, added: “Research and scientific discovery are central to our culture at Quantinuum, and we are proud to support the pioneers at the Hartree Centre." Full story, here: https://lnkd.in/gXPEhxxK

Speaking at a press event in London yesterday, HPE’s SVP & Managing Director for the UK, India, Middle East and Africa claimed that HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) and AI will help “cure” dementia. “The German Institute for Alzheimer’s Research have been using swarm learning, an AI learning technique developed by HP that leverages memory centric computing on HPs AI systems,” said Matt Harris. “This has enabled hospitals to keep patient data secure, while privately sharing learnings with other teams around the world,” he added. “This will genuinely accelerate early detection, prevention, and ultimately the cure for dementia.” He concluded: “This is AI at scale, working across borders and institutions to build a better future for all of us.” Tim Danton has the story, here: https://lnkd.in/g8HVBknc

If you’re reading this, then you’re probably a sporty type. But can we persuade you to sit down for a moment – possibly while sipping an isotonic drink – to read these words of true wisdom from Victor Donker, Co-Founder and CEO of Usono? We’ll give you two excellent reasons why. First, Victor has fascinating insights into how technology and science are helping athletes to recover more quickly from injuries. Second, there our interview ends with a diamond-laced list of things you should do if you’re thinking about entering the sports tech arena. And they apply just as much to anyone who wants to launch a startup too. Before we join the main action, a bit about Victor himself. As he mentions below, he was formerly Innovation Manager at football (soccer) team PSV Eindhoven. He’s also an experienced designer, entrepreneur and marketer in high-tech and medical devices. And this is backed up by academic rigour. Victor holds BSc and MSc degrees in Industrial Design and an EngD in User System Interaction from Eindhoven University of Technology. He has even published scientific papers and registered patents. In short, stop stalling and start reading! https://lnkd.in/gWVr5fzW

Financial companies need to embrace technology – it’s a sector where competitive edge is everything – so it should be no surprise that fintech is where some of the most exciting developments happen. Nick Allen, CTO at Aro Finance Limited, sits at the cutting edge of that cutting edge, and has overseen the transformation of Aro (formerly Freedom Finance) from a loan broker into what he describes as a “fintech powerhouse”. In this interview, we get some excellent insights into how he has helped achieve this – and it wasn’t always easy. “It can be hard to experiment in traditional companies, and the pace of change and the learning that comes from this is not fast or frequent enough to trigger genuinely innovative ideas,” he told us. “My early days in Aro were very much like this… It can take time to yield successful results, but the investment in building the right teams and culture is worth it.” As our headline indicates, the next stage will very much involve AI, which Nick sees driving change within fintech and beyond. “At the forefront of this transformation is AI’s ability to harness vast amounts of data to tailor services to individual customer needs – and we’re already beginning to see this start to happen.” Our thanks to Nick for taking the time to share his experience. Anyone who is in charge of digital transformation at their company should definitely take the time to read his words of wisdom! 👇 https://lnkd.in/dpwKJcxW

The UK's largest trial of a four-day working week has been deemed a success — despite being almost shut down by the recently departed Conservative government. In 2023, South Cambridgeshire District Council began a 15-month experiment, testing four-day weeks with no reduction in wages for 450 office-based staff alongside bin collectors. The project's extension last year prompted a demand from then Local Government Minister Lee Rowley to council leaders to immediately end the "experiment" over concerns it was a waste of taxpayers' money. Despite this pressure, the Liberal Democrat-managed local authority kept the experiment running and was pleased with the results. And no wonder, as the project saw productivity improvements in 11 of 24 areas, with little or no change in another 11. "These results prove once and for all that a four-day week with no loss of pay absolutely can succeed in a local government setting," said Joe Ryle, the Director of the 4 Day Week Campaign. Full story by Nicole Kobie here: https://lnkd.in/dWR3Ui9f

This is the best of times, this is the worst of times. So Charles Dickens might have started a novel about cybersecurity in 2024, where those in charge of cybersecurity must fend off all the traditional threats plus emerging ones based on generative AI. And now quantum computing is here to make matters worse – or, just maybe, better, if you listen to Duncan Jones, Head of Quantum Cybersecurity at Quantinuum. “Over the next five years, almost every cybersecurity system will be migrated to become resilient to the quantum threat,” Duncan told us. “This is a wonderful opportunity to ensure that our systems are agile enough to cope with inevitable future changes.” We like that positivity, but if you’re reading this from a position of responsibility – particularly if you work for a large company – then heed Duncan’s other words of advice. “There is a finite pool of people who understand cryptography, encryption and quantum technologies well enough to develop meaningful policies and strategies for large organisations,” he said. “Smart leaders will be prioritising hiring that talent or growing it through in-house training.” The good news for those talented people is that their skills will be increasingly needed, so keep reading to the end for Duncan’s advice to anyone looking for a job in this “recession-proof” sector. https://lnkd.in/ghRxs3AV

Economic crime is more complex and pervasive than ever before – with advancements in AI and machine learning, the methods with which criminals can commit fraud and fincrime have exploded. And so all businesses, but particularly financial institutions, are under constant threat from fraudsters, money launderers and other criminals seeking to use new means to exploit vulnerabilities in the system. In fact, an estimated $3.1 trillion in illicit funds flowed through the global financial system in 2023 alone, with fraud schemes and bank fraud alone resulting in projected losses of $485.6 billion, according to Nasdaq’s Global Financial Crime Report. So it’s no surprise that financial institutions and other regulated firms are rightly under increasing pressure to do more to protect themselves, and their customers, from this ever-present threat. Historically, they have employed large numbers of staff to combat money laundering, but regulators are now expecting to see digital solutions in place to counter the risk of financial fraud, and with good reason. Technology can be the deciding factor in the war on financial crime argues Andrew Doyle, and here’s why 👇 https://lnkd.in/gaDqAjSD

Amazon has signed up to become a member of the European Union Internet Forum (EUIF), a European Commission funded body set up to tackle some of the worst online ills. Story by Dr Jo Best, here: https://lnkd.in/gKjQM2ua