Ministers urge cyber crackdown as Anthropic AI fears grow April 20, 2026 Ministers have ramped up pressure on UK businesses to strengthen their cyber defences amid concerns that the next generation of AI could supercharge hacking threats. In a new push led by cyber minister Baroness Lloyd of Effra, nearly 200 business leaders were told to sign a new “cyber resilience pledge”, as fears mount that powerful [...]
FCA tightens cyber reporting rules as UK firms face rising risk March 18, 2026 The City watchdog has moved to tighten cyber and operational resilience rules for financial firms, as attacks grow more frequent and increasingly spread through third-party providers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed new requirements to standardise how firms report incidents and manage third-party risks, in a bid to improve visibility over disruptions ranging from cyber [...]
Cyberattacks jump as AI targets weak security, says IBM February 25, 2026 Cybercriminals are leaning harder on the simplest ways into company networks, and using AI tools to do it quicker, IBM has warned. In its 2026 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index published on Wednesday, IBM said it saw a 44 per cent rise in attacks that started by breaking into internet-facing systems, like public websites and online [...]
Shoplifting cost retailers £400m last year February 24, 2026 British retailers lost out on nearly £400m last year due to shoplifting, despite falling numbers of violent theft and abuse. Violence and abuse against shopkeepers occurred 1,600 times per day on average, down 20 per cent from 2,000 last year, according to a crime report published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The Crime and [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Supermarket shares fall in trolley wars; M&S rises amid cyber recovery January 8, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. The FTSE 100’s rally came crashing down yesterday as steep losses across commodities dragged the index into the red. Whilst one shouldn’t fret too much with the index still holding firm above its latest milestone, Wednesday’s 0.7 per cent drop still wiped over 70 points [...]
Fifa World Cup faces threats from cyber attacks and hacktivists January 6, 2026 The 2026 Fifa World Cup faces the “very real risk” of cyber attacks from anti-Western “hacktivists”, according to experts. This summer’s tournament – being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada – is set to be targeted by rogue states determined to disrupt the global spectacle. An attempt to harm Fifa World Cup infrastructure [...]
Jaguar Land Rover sales tumble after cyber attack disruption January 6, 2026 Sales at Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover tumbled in the last quarter of the year after a massive cyber attack wreaked havoc with the carmaker’s production plans. Wholesale volumes were down by more than 40 per cent to 59,200 in the three months to the end of December, while retail sales slumped 25 per cent to [...]
Labour pencils £210m cyber plan to curb escalating attacks January 6, 2026 The UK government has unveiled a £210m cyber action plan aimed at shoring up the public services, as ministers face mounting pressure to respond to a sharp rise in attacks on major British businesses. The plan, published on Tuesday, comes amid a backdrop of high-profile cyber incidents that hit retailers including M&S, Co-op and Jaguar [...]
Activity in UK’s embattled manufacturing sector hits 15-month high January 2, 2026 The UK’s embattled manufacturing sector took another small step towards recovery at the end of 2025 thanks to an influx of new orders. The latest UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from S&P Global UK hit a 15-month high as the industry continued to grow for the second consecutive month. The PMI reading hit 50.6, up [...]
The great high street outage of 2025 December 24, 2025 On paper, British high streets have seen worse. Footfall has survived recessions, pandemics and price shocks before, and tills were just about still ringing. But this year it flickered, stalled and, in some cases, went dark – brought to its knees by a wave of cyber attacks that exposed the fragility of retail in the [...]
