Category: News

Global roaming fraud will reach $8 billion by 2028

A new study from Juniper Research has found losses from global roaming fraud are anticipated to exceed $8 billion by 2028; driven by the increase in bilateral roaming agreements for data-intensive use cases over 5G networks.

The new report: Global Roaming Fraud Market 2023-2028 predicts that fraudulent data traffic will account for 80 per cent of global operator roaming-based losses by 2024.

As 2G and 3G networks are sunsetting, operators are accelerating the transition to 5G and VoLTE roaming services to leverage the high levels of virtualisation and lower operational costs.

However, the highly virtualised nature of 5G networks is creating more opportunities for fraudsters to deploy their attacks; leaving operator networks open to emerging fraud tactics over 5G networks.

Redcentric saw pretax loss

MSP Redcentric reported a swing to fiscal 2023 pretax loss as operating expenses more than doubled and declared a flat dividend payout.

The IT managed-services provider said that pretax loss for the year ended March 31 was £12.5 million compared with a profit of £5.5 million in fiscal 2022.

The company reported an operating expenditure increase to £9.9 million from £53.0 million a year ago. Revenue, however, jumped to £141.7 million from £93.3 million.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation–which strips out exceptional and other one-off items–rose 3.3 per cent to £24.5 million.

Watchdog sniffs out the Adobe-Figma merger

The Competition and Markets Authority has found that the proposed Adobe-Figma merger could potentially negatively affect the UK digital economy.
The CMA found that this acquisition is restricting some digital apps, websites and other products in the country, ultimately harming the country’s digital economy as businesses using these tools get affected.

Adobe is well known in the global software industry and specialises in photo editing, video editing, motion designing and other such interactive content tools while the 2012-founded Figma is a leader in screen designing and whiteboarding tools.

Screen designing software is crucial for making digital products and they are extensively used for making websites and applications. In September last year, Adobe announced that they are buying Figma for $20 billion.

Metropolitan Police concerned about supplier breach

London’s Metropolitan Police said it was taking extra security measures after “unauthorised access to the IT system of one of its suppliers”, following data breaches at other forces.

It said the company in question had access to the names, ranks, photos, vetting levels and pay numbers for officers and staff but not addresses, phone numbers or financial details.

The Sun on Sunday newspaper reported that “cyber crooks penetrated the IT systems” of the firm which reportedly prints identity cards and staff passes for the Met, the UK’s biggest police force.

Trend Micro improves its MSSP partner programme

Trend Micro is extending its partner programme to help them build and grow MDR and SOC-as-as-service offerings.

The vendor hopes the new programme will further enable the global ecosystem of MSSP partners that customers rely on amidst a cybersecurity skills shortage.

Dubbed the Trend Vision One for Service Providers, the programme provides turnkey threat detection and response with extended SOAR capabilities, Trend Micro says.

Crayon draws growth of 23 per cent in second quarter

Licensing MSP, Crayon, has reported gross profit growth of 23 per cent in its second-quarter results.

The company saw £110 million in gross profit in the second quarter with its software and cloud its fastest growing business at 30 per cent growth, while its consulting, software and cloud economics businesses followed on at 29 and 28 per cent.

Europe was Crayon’s biggest growing market in the second quarter with 50 per cent gross profit growth, followed by the US at 31 per cent.

GlobalData claims Generative AI will change automotive industry

Generative artificial intelligence (genAI) will combat some of the auto industry’s critical challenges and make operations more efficient, sales more effective, products safer, and customers more satisfied, according to a GlobalData report.

GlobalData Practice Head of Disruptive Tech Kiran Raj said that the next decade will be make-or-break for automakers, requiring them to adopt transformative innovations or risk relinquishing control to major tech companies.

“With sustainability demands, electric revolutions, capacity challenges, and shifting mobility trends, the clock is ticking for automotive leaders,” he said.

Pure Storage expands Microsoft partnership

Pure Storage has announced an expanded, multi-year product and go-to-market partnership with Microsoft to deliver Pure’s storage capabilities to native Microsoft Azure services.

The new product will use  Azure’s new Premium SSD v2 and introduce customers to Azure VMware Solution (AVS) in Preview.

Pure Cloud Block Store for Azure VMware Solutions is in Preview in 16 Azure regions globally.

The company claims that with the joint solution, customers can access enhanced features and functions. Topping the list is Optimising AVS costs. Pure Storage compression and deduplication technology means organisations can achieve a high data reduction ratio on VM workloads in Azure, the company claims.

 

Xalient swallows Integral

Canalys Forum EuropeServices provider Xalient has snapped up digital identity consulting and advisory firm Integral.

Founded in 2013 and focused exclusively on identity and access management, the addition of Integral grows Xalient’s presence in North America.

The deal also adds Integral’s consulting and advisory competencies around digital identity to complement London-HQ Xalient’s existing capabilities in managed services.

This will enable customers of both companies to benefit from a holistic and integrated suite of services, accelerating their zero-trust journeys to the cloud.

Zyxel gives partners bundled offering for SMEs

Zyxel has launched a bundled offering designed to help partners get their managed services business moving with smaller business customers.

The Zyxel Nebula Starter Kit is designed to appeal to SMBs that want a simple WiFi network set-up. It includes two NWA90AX wireless access points and a single, 8-port GS1915-8EP PoE switch for a price that is 15 per cent lower than the combined cost of buying all three separately.

Toughest EU rules hit Big Tech on Friday

On Friday, Big tech vendors will face the toughest regulation of online content since the arrival of GDPR.

The Digital Services Act (DSA) forces companies to more aggressively police digital content and protect online users from disinformation and hate speech or face heavy fines.

Technology law professor Suzanne Vergnolle said the DSA is part of a bigger strategy to give more power to individuals, to the regulators, to civil society.

“It is another step towards more accountability,” she told AFP.

Insight snaps up Amdaris

Insight has written a cheque for the UK-based Amdaris to give it a business that operates through of delivery centres in Eastern Europe and has a track record in software development, application support, and managed and consultancy services.

Amdaris employs 800 staff, has an established customer base and has held Microsoft Gold Certified Partner status for more than a decade.

Microsoft is the world’s most copied brand

Canalys Forum EuropeA new report by security outfit Cloudflare claims that the software king of the world, Microsoft is the world’s most impersonated brand.

Aside from impersonating Microsoft on several occasions, attackers use the company’s tools to commit fraud, the report said.

Cybercriminals posed as about 1,000 different organisations in almost a billion impersonation attempts against those using Cloudflare products. Notably, 51.7 per cent of the time, email attackers impersonated one of 20 well-known global brands, with Microsoft topping the charts.

IoT and AI are transforming the hospitality industry.

According to a new report, the convergence of the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence are helping hospitality recover from the aftermath of Covid.

New Epsilo research found 80 per cent of customers were more likely to purchase if the brand provided a more personalised experience. IoT and AI technologies have paved the way for such experiences. Smart room systems can now adjust lighting, temperature and even music preferences based on individual guest profiles and past behaviour.

The report said voice-controlled assistants powered by AI, like those found in smart speakers, allow guests to control various aspects of their room with simple voice commands, creating a seamless and convenient environment.

AI-driven chatbots are changing the way guests interact with hotels. These chatbots are available 24/7 to answer queries, provide recommendations and even facilitate check-in and check-out processes creating a personalised guest experience, the report said.

IoT-enabled devices are transforming security measures within the hospitality industry. With increased security and streamlined processes, businesses can reduce operating costs while increasing client satisfaction, the report added.

Smart locks, for instance, allow guests to access their rooms using smartphones, eliminating the need for traditional keys and cards. These locks enhance convenience and provide hotel managers with real-time insights into room access and security status.

AI-powered video surveillance systems with facial recognition capabilities are another game-changer for hotel security. These systems can identify suspicious activities and alert security personnel in real-time, bolstering overall safety for guests and staff.

Cisco sees revenue increasing

Cisco anticipates achieving revenue between $14.5 billion and $14.7 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2024.

For the fiscal year 2024, Cisco aims for revenue from $57.0 billion to $58.2 billion. These projections follow the company’s revenue of $15.2 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 and $56.998 billion throughout fiscal 2023.

In its recent fourth-quarter financial report, Cisco reported revenue of $15.2 billion– a 16 percent increase. The company’s net income for the same quarter stood at $4 billion.