Pegasus spyware investigation reveals scale of surveillance July 19, 2021 Human rights activists, journalists and lawyers have been targeted by spyware sold to authoritarian governments by the Israeli technology firm NSO Group, according to media reports. An investigation into a data leak by human rights group Amnesty International and NGO Forbidden Stories revealed a list of more than 50,000 phone numbers that may have been [...]
Revolut becomes UK’s most valuable fintech after bumper funding round July 15, 2021 Challenger bank Revolut has become the UK’s most valuable fintech company after seeing its valuation surge to $33bn (£24bn) following a fresh funding round. The British fintech favourite has secured $800m in new funding in a round led by Softbank’s Vision Fund and Tiger Global Management. It makes Revolut one of the most valuable fintechs [...]
Shares in Avast jump as cyber firm confirms NortonLifeLock merger talks July 15, 2021 Shares in Avast jumped this morning after the London-listed cybersecurity firm confirmed it is in advanced discussions over a possible merger with US rival NortonLifeLock. In a statement last night Avast said Norton could make a cash and share offer for the entire issued capital of the firm. However, it warned there was no certainty [...]
Darktrace upgrades 2022 expectations after strong sales July 15, 2021 Darktrace, a cybersecurity AI firm that listed in April, today said it expects revenue for the last financial year to have grown 40 per cent to $278m (£201m), upgrading its guidance for 2022. It now expects year over year revenue growth of between 29 per cent and 32 per cent (previously 27 per cent to [...]
Websites run by notorious Russia-linked ransomware gang go offline July 14, 2021 Websites run by REvil, a notorious Russia-linked ransomware gang, have disappeared from the internet, according to multiple media reports. On Tuesday, monitors said a payment website and a blog run by the group became unreachable. REvil has in the past been blamed for numerous attacks on hundreds of businesses worldwide. The reason for the sites [...]
Prince Charles warns small family farms must survive for an environmentally friendly future July 14, 2021 The Prince of Wales has called for small family-run firms to be at the heart of attempts to go green. In an essay for BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, the heir to the throne warned letting family-run farms go to the wall would break “the backbone of Britain’s rural communities,” and said the “heart will [...]
How Fintech can harness the power of big data to redefine market forecasting July 13, 2021 | Sponsored Advances in predictive analytics using machine learning (ML) algorithms and blockchain technology demonstrate how innovations in financial services are challenging traditional systems to inform decisions, improve forecasting accuracy and bring better value to customers. As businesses seek to tap hidden intelligence within huge volumes of raw structured, semi-structured and unstructured data to support financial decision-making, [...]
Cyber attacks spurred by staff working from home, says global financial watchdog July 13, 2021 The surge of cyber attacks on the financial services sector, prompted by staff working from home, are likely to continue, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) says. The FSB, which coordinates financial guidelines for the G20 group of nations, said the pandemic-induced trend of working from home opened up new opportunities for cyber attacks. In their [...]
France hits Google with €500m fine in news copyright row July 13, 2021 The French competition watchdog has hit Google with a €500m (£427m) fine for failing to comply fully with temporary orders handed down in a copyright row with news publishers. News outlets including Agence France-Presse (AFP) accused the tech giant of failing to open talks “in good faith” to reach an agreement on remuneration for online [...]
British anti-fraud startup Quantexa nears unicorn status after $153m funding round July 13, 2021 Quantexa, a British tech startup specialising in anti-fraud software, is closing in on unicorn status after raising $153m (£110m) in fresh funding. The Series D funding round, led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, values Quantexa at more than $900m. Existing investors including Dawn Capital, Albion VC, HSBC, and ABN AMRO Ventures also contributed to [...]