A BT report has found that 42% of small businesses in the UK suffered a cyberattack in the past year. The study also revealed that 67% of medium-sized firms were targeted, while many lacked basic security measures or staff training.
Phishing was named the most common threat, hitting 85% of businesses in the UK, and ransomware incidents have more than doubled. BT’s new training programme aims to help SMEs take practical steps to reduce risks, covering topics like AI threats, account takeovers and QR code scams.
Tris Morgan from BT highlighted that SMEs face serious risks from cyber attacks, which could threaten their survival. He stressed that security is a necessary foundation and can be achieved without vast resources.
The report follows wider warnings on AI-enabled cyber threats, with other studies showing that few firms feel prepared for these risks. BT’s training is part of its mission to help businesses grow confidently despite digital dangers.
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The European Commission is reportedly preparing new guidance to ease restrictions on foreign-issued stablecoins such as USDC and USDT. Under the plan, these tokens would match EU-registered versions, removing a key barrier to broader use in Europe’s financial system.
The shift comes despite strong objections from the European Central Bank, which has repeatedly warned that unrestrained access to foreign stablecoins could destabilise the eurozone.
ECB President Christine Lagarde has voiced concerns over capital outflows and a potential erosion of monetary control, urging tighter oversight of stablecoin issuers.
The EU’s MiCA regulation requires issuers to maintain reserves in European banks and uphold euro-based redemption rights. The changes would exempt some dollar-backed tokens under the EU oversight, bringing rules closer to those in the US and Asia.
The Financial Times reports that the move aims to prevent the EU from becoming a ‘flyover zone’ in global crypto adoption. Officials are considering compromises, including giving national regulators more discretion in assessing risks tied to foreign stablecoins.
If adopted, the plan could increase the dollar’s influence in Europe’s digital economy while positioning the EU as a more attractive crypto hub.
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The top eight South Korean banks are forming a joint venture to issue a won-pegged stablecoin to cut reliance on foreign digital currencies. Backed by the Financial Supervisory Service and blockchain groups, the move marks the country’s first joint entry into the digital asset market.
The launch is expected by late 2025 or early 2026, pending regulatory approval.
The group is weighing two issuance models: a trust-based system where customer funds are segregated and a deposit token model that links digital tokens to bank liabilities on a 1:1 basis. The stablecoin will comply with South Korea’s proposed Digital Asset Act.
Although separate from the central bank’s CBDC project, the token could connect to national systems later. Planned use includes domestic payments, cross-border transfers, and Web3 services. Legal clarity and public trust are essential for the project’s success.
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The digital sector is urging the EU leaders to delay the AI act, citing missing guidance and legal uncertainty. Industry group CCIA Europe warns that pressing ahead could damage AI innovation and stall the bloc’s economic ambitions.
The AI Act’s rules for general-purpose AI models are set to apply in August, but key frameworks are incomplete. Concerns have grown as the European Commission risks missing deadlines while the region seeks a €3.4 trillion AI-driven economic boost by 2030.
CCIA Europe calls for the EU heads of state to instruct a pause on implementation to ensure companies have time to comply. Such a delay would allow final standards to be established, offering developers clarity and supporting AI competitiveness.
Failure to adjust the timeline could leave Europe struggling to lead in AI, according to CCIA Europe’s leadership. A rushed approach, they argue, risks harming the very innovation the AI Act aims to promote.
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Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani has warned of mounting global uncertainty driven by tariff wars, AI and the ongoing energy transition.
At the company’s 44th annual general meeting, he urged businesses to de-risk sourcing and diversify supply chains as geopolitical trade tensions reshape global commerce.
He described a ‘perfect storm’ of converging challenges pushing the world away from a single global market and towards fragmented trade blocs. As firms navigate the shift, they must choose between regions and adopt more strategic, resilient supply networks.
Addressing AI, Nilekani acknowledged the disruption it may bring to the workforce but framed it as an opportunity for digital transformation. He said Infosys is investing in both ‘AI foundries’ for innovation and ‘AI factories’ for scale, with over 275,000 employees already trained in AI technologies.
Energy transition was also flagged as a significant uncertainty, as the future depends on breakthroughs in renewable sources like solar, wind and hydrogen. Nilekani stressed that all businesses now face rapid technological and operational change before they can progress confidently into an unpredictable future.
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Google has introduced Gemini CLI, a free, open-source AI tool that connects developers directly to its Gemini AI models. The new agentic utility allows developers to request debugging, generate code, and run commands using natural language within their terminal environment.
Built as a lightweight interface, Gemini CLI provides a streamlined way to interact with Gemini. While its coding features stand out, Google says the tool handles content creation, deep research, and complex task management across various workflows.
Gemini CLI uses Gemini 2.5 Pro for coding and reasoning tasks by default. Still, it can also connect to other AI models, such as Imagen and Veo, for image and video generation. It supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and integrates with Gemini Code Assist.
Moreover, the tool is available on Windows, MacOS, and Linux, offering developers a free usage tier. Access through Vertex AI or AI Studio is available on a pay-as-you-go basis for advanced setups involving multiple agents or custom models.
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Meta has won a copyright lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accused the company of using their books without permission to train its Llama generative AI.
A US federal judge in San Francisco ruled the AI training was ‘transformative’ enough to qualify as fair use under copyright law.
Judge Vince Chhabria noted, however, that future claims could be more successful. He warned that using copyrighted books to build tools capable of flooding the market with competing works may not always be protected by fair use, especially when such tools generate vast profits.
The case involved pirated copies of books, including Sarah Silverman’s memoir ‘The Bedwetter’ and Junot Diaz’s award-winning novel ‘The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao’. Meta defended its approach, stating that open-source AI drives innovation and relies on fair use as a key legal principle.
Chhabria clarified that the ruling does not confirm the legality of Meta’s actions, only that the plaintiffs made weak arguments. He suggested that more substantial evidence and legal framing might lead to a different outcome in future cases.
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WhatsApp has introduced a new feature using Meta AI to help users manage unread messages more easily. Named ‘Message Summaries’, the tool provides quick overviews of missed messages in individual and group chats, assisting users to catch up without scrolling through long threads.
The summaries are generated using Meta’s Private Processing technology, which operates inside a Trusted Execution Environment. The secure cloud-based system ensures that neither Meta nor WhatsApp — nor anyone else in the conversation — can access your messages or the AI-generated summaries.
According to WhatsApp, Message Summaries are entirely private. No one else in the chat can see the summary created for you. If someone attempts to interfere with the secure system, operations will stop immediately, or the change will be exposed using a built-in transparency check.
Meta has designed the system around three principles: secure data handling during processing and transmission, strict enforcement of protections against tampering, and provable transparency to track any breach attempt.
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Nvidia shares hit an all-time high on 25 June, rising 4.3 percent to US$154.31. The stock has surged 63 percent since April, adding another US$1.5 trillion to its market value.
With a total market capitalisation of about US$3.77 trillion, Nvidia has overtaken Microsoft to become the world’s most valuable listed company.
Strong earnings and growing AI infrastructure spending by major clients — including Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet and Amazon — have reinforced investor confidence.
Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, told shareholders that demand remains strong and that the computer industry is still in the early stages of a major AI upgrade cycle.
Despite gaining 15 percent in 2025, following a 170 percent rise in 2024 and a 240 percent surge in 2023, Nvidia still appears reasonably valued. It trades at 31.5 times forward earnings, below its 10-year average and close to the Nasdaq 100 multiple, even though its projected growth rate is higher.
Analyst sentiment remains firmly bullish. Nearly 90 percent of analysts tracked by Bloomberg recommend buying the stock, which trades below their average price target.
Yet, Nvidia is less widely held among institutional investors than peers like Microsoft and Apple, indicating further room for buying as AI momentum continues into 2026.
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According to new figures from Indeed, AI adoption across industries has contributed to a steep drop in graduate job listings. The jobs platform reported a one-third fall in advertised roles for recent graduates, the lowest level seen in almost a decade.
Major professional services firms have significantly scaled back their graduate intakes in response to shifting labour demands. KPMG, Deloitte, EY and PwC all reported reductions, with KPMG cutting its graduate cohort by a third.
The UK government has pledged to improve the nation’s AI skills through partnerships to upskill 7.5 million workers. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the plan during London Tech Week as part of efforts to prepare for an AI-driven economy.
Concerns over AI replacing human roles were highlighted in a controversial ad campaign by Californian firm Artisan, which sparked complaints to the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority. The campaign’s slogan urged companies to stop hiring humans.
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