The multi-year program aims to scale generative AI use cases, providing cost reductions and operational efficiencies.

Hein Schumacher, CEO of Unilever said: “We have already introduced 500 AI applications across Unilever, helping us to reach new levels of efficiency. But as AI matures and becomes increasingly intelligent and intuitive, we see so much more potential.”

“With the help of Accenture’s world-class tools and capabilities, we will be able to analyse where and how AI can have the highest transformational impact and deliver the greatest returns.”

Unilever will make use of Accenture’s ‘GenWizard’ platform.

Julie Sweet, chair and CEO, Accenture, said: “This next exciting chapter in our decades-long collaboration with Unilever will raise the bar on how enterprises can scale GenAI to power productivity and value at speed.”

“Accenture’s GenWizard platform will enable Unilever to create a full spectrum of targeted GenAI solutions across its business that can realise efficiencies and cost savings, uncover new ways of working and ultimately help drive competitive advantage.”

Last month, TI spoke to Unilever’s VP for consumer experience technology about how the big name is using artificial intelligence in its beauty experiences.

The firm has launched two consumer-facing apps that use AI to recommend beauty products based on a customer’s selfie.

TI also spoke to the firm’s R&D head of digital about how it is using AI to make its products more sustainable. Read the case study here.

The post Unilever and Accenture expand GenAI partnership appeared first on TechInformed.

So far, the government-funded organisation has awarded around £500,000 spread across the two initiatives.

The supply chain project Seamless Trade Across Borders aims to enhance cross-border trade and is supported by defence firms Leonardo and BAE Systems, the International Chamber of Commerce, and UK telco BT Group.

In a statement, Digital Catapult said that it hoped the incubator would support the UK Government’s Electronic Trade Documents Act, which aims to modernise international trade by making electronic documents easier to use.

The government claims that the act could unlock £25 billion in economic growth. Over 60% of international trade transactions are expected to be digitalised within the next five years.

As part of this incubation, Digital Catapult matches industry partners with technology innovators to address international supply chain challenges, including achieving seamless cross-border trade.

Technology providers involved in the project include inventory tracker Kavida AI, eTEU, an industry tech body for the shipping industry, AI tool builder Linear Works, and Exabler, which produces an AI tool that helps facilitate cross-border trade. Each provider will receive up to £85,000 to develop their solutions.

Kavida AI has previously partnered with Digital Catapult and UK manufacturing SMEs to achieve national-scale visibility. Founder and CTO Sumit Sinha added that the new initiative aligned with its vision of developing AI agents that empower businesses to conduct seamless cross-border trade at scale.

The innovation agency’s second initiative, the Product Carbon Footprint Measurement project, hopes to drive advances in how carbon footprint data is measured and exchanged internationally. It is backed by FMCG giant Unilever, GS1 UK and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

IBM announces new clean energy cohort for sustainability accelerator

Two startups, Altruistiq and Siccar, will also join the programme. Both will receive up to £125,000 to develop solutions to improve the carbon management process using artificial intelligence (AI), distributed ledger technology, and advanced identification systems to improve reporting on Scope 3 emissions.

Both initiatives build on the success of the Digital Catapult’s Digital Supply Chain Hub, which is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and has helped over 40 startups and SMEs to secure more than £3 million in funding

To learn more about the programme and how to collaborate with supply chain leaders, please visit https://hub.digitalsupplychainhub.uk.

The post Digital Catapult launches supply chain & sustainability accelerators appeared first on TechInformed.

Though specific details remain sparse, Shashi Verma, TfL’s chief technology officer, has assured the public that there is currently no evidence of customer data compromise.

“We have introduced a number of measures to our internal systems to deal with an ongoing cyber security incident. The security of our systems and customer data is very important to us, and we will continue to assess the situation throughout and after the incident.

“There is currently no impact to TfL services, and we are working closely with the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre to respond to the incident,” he said.

The organisation’s corporate headquarters at Palestra House, Southwark, is thought to be the main site affected. Due to office mitigations, employees have been advised to work from home.

The organisation has been transparent in its communication, aiming to prevent misinformation and reassure the public, particularly given the ongoing nature of the attack.

Javvad Malik, lead security awareness advocate at KnowBe4, emphasised the need for ongoing vigilance, particularly for organisations managing public infrastructure.

“We also need to bear in mind that the main root causes which allow criminals to penetrate organisations are social engineering, unpatched software, or poor credentials. While it’s not certain how the breach at TFL occurred, it is quite likely one of these avenues would be the culprit,” he said.

Mayur Upadhyaya, CEO and co-founder of APIContext noted that the attack on TfL underscores the importance of securing all parts of an organisation’s IT infrastructure, not just those directly exposed to the public.

He added: “TfL’s response, including the work-from-home directive and enhanced security measures, underscores the need for preparedness and contingency planning to minimise the impact of cyber incidents. Such proactive steps are crucial for maintaining operational resilience and mitigating potential damage.

“In today’s interconnected world, APIs are the lifeblood of digital operations. Securing these gateways is paramount to preventing unauthorised access and data breaches. Regular security assessments, vulnerability management, and incident response planning are essential components of a robust cybersecurity strategy.”

The cyber-attack comes after a string of attacks on public services in recent months, including a June cyber-extortion attempt on the NHS by the Russian ransomware gang Qilin.

William Wright, chief executive of cybersecurity company Closed Door Security, added: “The big question people will also want to know is who carried out the attack and if it can be attributed to another country, like Russia. TfL was also attacked by Russia last year, so it definitely isn’t out of the realm of possibility.”

Last year, personal information was stolen in an attack by a Russian ransomware group.

Wright said: “Given Russia’s recent uptick in attacks on the West, it wouldn’t be surprising, but it is far too early to speculate.”

The post Transport for London hit by major cyber-attack; no customer data breached appeared first on TechInformed.

Clearview AI uses data scraping technology to harvest people’s public photographs from websites and social media platforms to create an online database of 20 billion images of faces and data.

According to the watchdog, Clearview has not objected to the DPA’s decision and would therefore be unable to appeal against the fine.

“Facial recognition is a highly intrusive technology, that you cannot simply unleash on anyone in the world,” DPA chairman Aleid Wolfsen said in a statement.

“If there is a photo of you on the Internet – then you can end up in the database of Clearview and be tracked. This is not a doom scenario from a scary film. Nor is it something that could only be done in China,” he added.

It also banned Dutch companies from using Clearview’s services.

The DPA ordered an imposing penalty of up to €5 million if Clearview doesn’t halt the breaches of the regulation.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Clearview’s chief legal officer, Jack Mulcaire said that the decision is “unlawful, devoid of due process and is unenforceable.”

“Clearview AI does not have a place of business in the Netherlands or the EU, it does not have any customers in the Netherlands or the EU and does not undertake any activities that would otherwise mean it is subject to the GDPR,” Mulcaire added.

Two years ago, the UK watchdog (ICO) also fined Clearview AI £7.5m for the same reason.

At the time, the ICO said that even though the firm does not offer its services to UK organisations, Clearview still had customers in other regions and found it “likely” that it could still use the personal data of UK residents given the nation’s high number of social media users.

The post Clearview AI fined over $33m for “illegal” facial recognition database appeared first on TechInformed.

The agreement will see Provenance-validated claims appear on labels across Holland & Barrett’s online channels in the UK and Ireland. The company aims to give its customers trustworthy information to help them make informed purchasing decisions.

The sustainable product labelling with include the sustainability credentials of Holland & Barrett’s own products and those of partners from brands including Weleda, Westlab, Pukka Herbs, Grass & Co, and Faith in Nature.

The Provenance data will include background information on things such as whether the packaging has been recycled and whether the product is vegan-friendly, supported by verification and evidence.

Guy Farmer, commercial trading director at Holland & Barrett, said, “We’re delighted to partner with Provenance to further meet the growing consumer demand for transparent sustainability claims.

“Our customers have always looked to us for natural, ethical, and sustainable products. This initiative reinforces our commitment to sustainability whilst also providing our suppliers with powerful tools to build trust and loyalty with our customers around the claims they are making.”

The labels will begin appearing on the Holland & Barrett website initially, with some in-store sustainable product labelling to appear from 2025.

Green claims

Leveraging Provenance’s data platform will also allow the retailer and its partners to meet the criteria for sustainability regulations set out in the UK’s Green Claims Code.

In a Google Cloud study last year, over 70% of executives said they believe that if investigated thoroughly, most organisations in their industry would be guilty of greenwashing, and almost 60% admitted to exaggerating their own sustainability activities.

Provenance aims to support businesses that want to be more transparent about their impact to reduce greenwashing. It supports more than 300 businesses, including Unilever, Estee Lauder, and Princes.

“Holland & Barrett’s commitment to transparency and sustainability is truly inspiring. Being one of the first high street retailers to integrate our platform, they set a powerful example for the retail industry. We are excited to help their brands communicate their sustainability journeys in a compliant, customer-friendly way, setting a new benchmark for the retail sector,” said Provenance founder Jessi Baker.

“In a market where products marketed as sustainable are growing 2.7x faster than the rest, this collaboration will empower brands stocked by Holland & Barrett to better meet consumer demand for transparent sustainability and reap the rewards.”

The post Holland & Barrett strike Provenance deal for green labelling appeared first on TechInformed.

The ongoing conflict between Musk and Brazil’s authorities is rooted in issues of misinformation and legal compliance.

The feud escalated in April when Justice Alexandre Moraes ordered the suspension of several X accounts accused of spreading disinformation, many of which were linked to supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

X’s failure to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil by a court-imposed deadline only exacerbated the situation, leading to the platform’s suspension.

Justice Moraes justified the ban by citing X’s non-compliance with Brazilian law, specifically its failure to curb the spread of disinformation.

Musk, who positions himself as a staunch defender of free speech, responded by accusing Justice Moraes of undermining democracy.

Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes https://t.co/eqbowALCeu

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 30, 2024

X has long been one of the most popular platforms in Brazil, serving as a key space for political discourse, social movements, and everyday communication.

With X now in jeopardy, millions of Brazilian users seek alternatives, with Bluesky emerging as a leading contender.

What is Bluesky?

Bluesky, often shortened to Bsky, is a relatively new decentralised social-blogging platform and public-benefit corporation based in the United States.

The app has seen an unprecedented surge in users following X’s suspension; it gained half a million new users in Brazil within just two days.

While Bluesky and X share some similarities in their basic functionality, they differ significantly in their content moderation and user experience approach.

Bluesky’s decentralised model allows for greater user control over their data and content, contrasting with X’s more centralised structure.

Additionally, Bluesky’s content moderation policies are seen as more transparent and community-driven, a key factor in attracting users disillusioned with X’s practices.

Are users migrating to Bluesky?

Google Trends data shows a sharp increase in searches for “Virtual Private Network” on August 30^th.

However, the ruling also fined individuals and businesses that used virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X. This may explain the surge in searches for “Bluesky” the following day, evidence of Brazilian users’ eagerness to find an alternative to X quickly.

The rapid influx of new users has posed challenges for Bluesky, particularly regarding technical infrastructure. The platform’s servers have experienced unprecedented traffic, leading to occasional slowdowns and connectivity issues.

Despite these challenges, Bluesky’s development team has proactively scaled up their systems to accommodate the growing user base, with reports of 15 times the usual daily peak traffic.

For anyone interested in how it’s going with the Brazil migration to Bluesky, we’re consistently at 15x our normal daily peak traffic

This graph is just kinda crazy, 4 days ago we couldn’t imagine the amount of load we’re seeing on our systems right now

The team is holding it down and doing great

[image or embed]

— Jaz (@jaz.bsky.social) Aug 31, 2024 at 17:36

The future of social media in Brazil

As more users migrate to platforms like Bluesky and Threads, the dominance of traditional social media giants like X and Facebook may be challenged.

This shift could lead to a more diverse and decentralised social media landscape in Brazil, with users enjoying greater freedom and privacy.

While Musk argues that free speech is essential to democracy, Justice Moraes and his supporters contend that freedom of expression must be coupled with a “duty of responsibility”.

The situation in Brazil has attracted global attention, with many wondering whether other countries might follow suit in regulating social media platforms more aggressively.

This comes after the founder of Telegram was arrested in France in relation to various organised crimes carried out within the cloud-based messaging app.

The post Musk moves out as Bluesky rises to fill Brazil’s Twitter void appeared first on TechInformed.

The investment will go towards training programmes, courses and other learning interventions to boost AI, software, and data skills.

The projects will be led by the universities of Edinburgh, Leicester and Portsmouth, the Royal Institute of Navigation, and Plastron Training – a provider of training services focused on safety in the commercial space sector.

The University of Portsmouth’s course, “Securing the Future of Space: Space Software and Data/AI”, will aim to equip mid-career professionals with tools to navigate the increasing role of AI and data science in space.

“Software, data, and AI development proceeds at such a rate that remaining at the forefront of the sector is challenging, yet these digital skills are critical to drive innovation and meet the objectives of the National Space Strategy,” said Becky Canning, deputy director (Space) at the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation.

The course is aimed at existing space sector employees looking for a promotion, and to fill employer gaps, as well as professionals in adjacent industries such as military, engineering, defence, and maritime who want to enter the space industry.

The University of Leicester’s course will concentrate on sustainable space engineering, law and operations, and the University of Edinburgh’s course will focus on software and data, as well as transferrable skills (find out more, here.)

In the same announcement, the UK and European space agencies unveiled that they are strengthening work on the European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications, with a focus on the centre’s 5G/6G hub. Its attention will be on satellite telecommunications and the applications of satellite services.

The space agencies will also begin exploring the potential for a space quantum technologies laboratory, as well as developing in-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing of satellites – with the aim to keep satellites in orbit and prolonging their lifetime and minimising waste in space.

Read: Sustainability in space

The post UK gov launches £2.1m fund to fill skills gap in space sector appeared first on TechInformed.

The prosecutors stated that Durov is being held in custody as part of a cyber-crime investigation assessing twelve different offences linked to organised crime.

Telegram has said in a statement, “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for abuse of that platform.”

Before founding Telegram in 2013, Durov founded a social media company called VKontakte in 2006 in Russia.

In 2014, the founder exiled himself after refusing to comply with the Russian government’s demands to shut down opposition communities on Vkontakte.

Now, Durov is based in Dubai while running the platform there, too.

Telegram joins Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok as one of the world’s largest social media platforms, with 950 million active users monthly.

The platform offers end-to-end encryption, which means messages cannot be accessed by anyone other than the device that sends and receives them—although this is not a default setting like it is on WhatsApp.

Telegram has previously faced criticism over the ability of users to spread disinformation on the app easily.

The app was cited as one of the platforms used by far-right groups to spread disinformation about refugees that led to rioting in Southport and other UK cities last month.

According to one report, fireworks and flares were being advertised for sale on a Telegram messenger group aimed at UK rioters last month.

Groups can be as large as 200,000, while WhatsApp groups, for instance, can only be as large as 1,000. However, the app, reported to employ less than one hundred staff, said that its moderation “is within industry standards and constantly improving,” and it abides by European Union laws.

“Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as a means of communication and as a source of vital information,” the app’s statement said. “We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all.”

The post Pavel Durov, Telegram founder, arrested in France amid cyber-crime probe appeared first on TechInformed.

In a representative sample of breaches that cyber firm ReliaQuest responded to between January 2024 and July 2024, it claims 85% involved compromised service accounts.

The Florida-based firm noted this marked a jump of almost 15% compared to the same period in 2023.

Often configured and then forgotten, service accounts are used to manage and update servers. Because they are not attached to any human identity and are designed to perform automated tasks, often with elevated privileges, service accounts have become attractive targets for hackers looking to compromise entire networks, according to ReliaQuest.

Service accounts have played a crucial role in several high-profile attacks in recent years.

After breaching an environment via social engineering or phishing, adversaries often attempt to gain access to service accounts to elevate privileges and move laterally through the rest of the environment.

This happened in the 2020 SolarWinds attack, where the threat actors used compromised service accounts to move laterally through targeted networks to access their resources.

Five first steps firms can follow to bolster IoT security

In the UK, meanwhile, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) recently published a lengthy investigation into the 2020 attack on Hackney Council, concluding that the council failed to implement measures that could have prevented the attack.

These included “the failure to change an insecure password on a dormant account still connected to Hackney Council servers, which was exploited by the attackers.”

Writing in a blog post on ReliaQuest’s website this week, threat researcher Hayden Evans noted that service accounts are often compromised via insecure credential storage, credential dumping and a practice known as “Kerberoasting”, which involves stealing service tickets to uncover the plaintext passwords of network service accounts.

To proactively prevent attacks, Evans suggests using secure password managers to store service account credentials, and verifying whether service accounts have only the necessary privileges.

He also adds that it is vital that firms Identify and document all service accounts in their environment to maintain an accurate inventory and that they remove dormant accounts and deregister service accounts with SPNs if they are no longer needed — as this will reduce the chance of Kerberoasting.

Organisations are also advised to use group Managed Service Accounts (MSAs) to secure passwords and limit account privileges.

The post Hacked service accounts involved in 85% of data breaches appeared first on TechInformed.

Identifying topics and trends in Free Trade Agreements text to assist negotiators is one of several tasks that civil servants hope will help with productivity.

In the blog post, the department’s AI data ethics lead, James McBride, and data ethics manager, Emma Taylor, wrote that the ideas were being assessed for potential data protection and cybersecurity issues.

Twenty-eight submissions were received through the AI governance framework in total.

Other tasks that the civil service hope to use AI on to co-assist include global trade forecasting; audio transcription of ministerial interviews and reviewing job descriptions.

According to the blog, submissions have been split approximately 2:1 between various forms of generative AI tools and more traditional machine learning or Natural Language Processing (NLP) approaches.

ChatGPT was overwhelmingly the most suggested generative AI tool, though a range of more specialised tools were mentioned in submissions for more focused applications.

The blog added that none of the department’s plans for AI would “involve automated decision-making about individuals”.

The blog confirmed that submissions that include the use of generative AI are set to undergo further scrutiny to investigate risks unique to generative AI models, like hallucination and privacy concerns.

Government invests £100m in AI investment and regulation 

Commenting on this development Javvad Malik, lead security awareness advocate at KnowBe4 was reassured that the tech was ulitmately being used as a data filter, with human beings at the helm.

He said: “With AI prone to hallucinations (making up facts), the potential of information being leaked, or mistakes being copied verbatim, it is vital that people don’t become complacent and outsource all their work to AI.

“Rather, we need to not lose sight of the human element. AI in its current form is nothing beyond an assistant to the human mind, not a replacement. The department’s emphasis on using AI to filter data, with ‘experienced officials then making a final assessment,’ underlines a crucial balance between machine efficiency and human ingenuity,” he added.

Elsewhere in the UK’s Civil Service, the Cabinet Office is at the advanced trial stage of its Redbox Copilot project – which has followed the same governance framework that the department of business and trade is currently using.

Redbox- named after the red briefcases used by ministers to carry official papers – is designed to search and analyse government papers and rapidly summarise them into briefings.

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