The Co-op fights attempted hack as M&S cyber attack rages on April 30, 2025 The Co-op has been forced to shut off parts of its IT systems after it was confronted with an attempted hack. The Manchester-headquartered group has confirmed some of its back office and call centre services have been impacted. However, it added that all its stores, including grocery and funeral homes are trading as usual. A [...]
Ladbrokes owner Entain appoints new top boss April 29, 2025 Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain has named Stella David as its permanent chief executive, effective immediately. David, who had twice served as interim CEO, steps into the role on a full-time basis as the company seeks to ‘stabilise leadership and accelerate strategic growth’. Pierre Bouchut, interim chair of the global sports betting and gaming group, [...]
Dolls, brands and biases: How businesses are using AI image generation April 26, 2025 In recent weeks, a viral trend has emerged, where people use AI to create their own personalised barbie-like dolls, using platforms like ChatGPT. What started as a fun, self-expression experiment soon gained popularity, giving rise to a phenomenon now dubbed “barbification”. The trend allowed users to transform themselves into digital dolls, creating hyper-realised versions of [...]
Don’t let Black Mirror spook you. The future of tech is cause for optimism April 25, 2025 Black Mirror may feel close to reality, but the reality of the AI revolution should give us more optimism, writes Naji El-Afiri.
Labour to fine tech firms £70k over knife crime content April 25, 2025 Tech firms that fail to swiftly remove knife-crime related content from their platforms could be hit with fines of up to £70,000 under new powers unveiled by the UK government this week. As part of Labour’s upcoming crime and policing bill, platforms and search engines will be legally obliged to take down illegal content- including [...]
London faces connectivity crunch as 3G retires and 5G stalls April 25, 2025 As Virgin Media O2 prepares to begin its nationwide 3G shutdown this summer, serious questions are emerging about the state of the UK’s mobile infrastructure. While the move is part of a broader strategy to transition users to faster 4G and 5G networks, industry experts warn that the country’s digital resilience is far from guaranteed. [...]
Building bridges: the UK’s global tech opportunity April 25, 2025 Britain has the chance to become the world’s most globally connected tech ecosystem, says Russ Shaw As global economic turbulence intensifies – marked by escalating tariff wars, supply chain disruptions, and uncertain investment climates – the UK stands at a pivotal moment. The US – long the dominant force in international innovation – is becoming [...]
As retail crime soars, is better tech the answer? April 24, 2025 Retail crime has soared by a fifth year-on-year, with retailers now questioning how to deal with extremely high shrinkage amid already-thin margins. Shoplifting offences rose by 20 per cent to 516,971 offences in December, up from 429,873 offences last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. The effect is a whole lot of shrink. [...]
Rules to keep children safe online finalised by Ofcom April 24, 2025 Ofcom has issued the final safety codes requiring online platforms to implement over 40 protective measures for users under the age of 18 by July. These include tools to verify user age, block underage access to adult content, and remove harmful material linked to self harm, suicide, and eating disorders. Platforms that fail to comply [...]
RELX: FTSE 100 group’s AI tools lead strong start to 2025 April 24, 2025 RELX has kicked off 2025 with strong momentum, reaffirming its full year guidance for growth in revenue, profit, and earnings per share. The FTSE 100 group cited the rapid adoption of its generative AI-driven legal platforms, which are accelerating performance in one of the firm’s core divisions. The global analytics and decision tools provider reported [...]