The benefits of the PSTN switch-off

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Remember 2012, when the analogue TV signal was switched off and we all went digital?

Well now it’s your phone’s turn, and in December 2025, the last old analogue phone service – the PSTN – is due to be switched off forever.

So if any devices in your business currently use the analogue phone system, you’re going to need to make some changes. That doesn’t just mean your landline phone – you may have alarms, lift emergency phones, some card machines (and you don’t still use a fax, do you?)

You have a bit of time to plan, but it’s important not to leave everything to the last minute on this. As we get nearer to the deadline, suppliers will be stretched and you’ll want to allow time to transition to a new system.

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Charging in public places? Watch out for “juice jacking”

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Airports, hotels, cafés, even shopping centres, offer public charging points where you can boost your phone or laptop battery on the go.

They’ve been in the news after the FBI recently tweeted advice to stop using them. Crooks have figured out how to hijack USB ports to install malware and monitoring software onto devices as they charge.

The security risk of “juice jacking” was long thought to be more theoretical than real, but the tech needed to carry out an attack has got smaller and cheaper and easier to use. This means less sophisticated criminals are now turning their hand to it.

So how does it work?

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The big switch-off affects everyone. You need to be ready

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You might already have heard that the UK’s Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) is being switched off in December 2025.

This affects everyone.

The old, analogue PSTN can’t keep up with the demands of modern communication, so the switch to fully digital will mark a big step forward.

Put simply, everything will use the internet.

But it’s not just our phone lines that will be affected by the PSTN switch-off. Any equipment that also uses PSTN will stop working too. That could be your alarm systems, cameras, fax machines (yes some are still in use!), even door entry systems and EPOS machines.

You may also need to update your broadband and some of your other hardware.

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LinkedIn takes action to tackle fake accounts

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LinkedIn is introducing new verification features over the coming months to help tackle fake accounts.

The business-focused social platform is a fantastic place to connect with like-minded businesspeople, and to find new employees, jobs and opportunities.

But thanks to this popularity, we’re seeing an increase in fake profiles, created by scammers for more sinister purposes.

Bot-like accounts have been cropping up all over the platform. They’ve been spamming people, tricking genuine profiles into downloading malware, and scamming them into giving away personal data.

LinkedIn holds a huge amount of information on each of its members, including their job history, contact details, professional interests and places of work – all valuable data that a determined criminal could put to use.

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Microsoft hints at some exciting Windows 12 developments

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We’re fickle creatures.

Windows 11 still feels like a new toy, yet we’ve already heard (reliable) speculation about Windows 12 arriving as soon as next year. And now it’s all we can think about!

What will it look like?

What improvements will we see?

Will there be new features?

We can’t answer these questions with certainty just yet, but there are whispers of new features that could be big news for businesses.

Three in particular have got us excited.

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Criminals are exploiting AI to create more convincing scams

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One of the many cool things about the new wave of Artificial Intelligence tools is their ability to sound convincingly human.

AI chatbots can be prompted to generate text that you’d never know was written by a robot. And they can keep producing it – quickly, and with minimal human intervention.

So it’s no surprise that cyber criminals have been using AI chatbots to try to make their own lives easier.

Police have identified the three main ways crooks have found to use the chatbot for malicious reasons.

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3 essential security tools for every business

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Your data is one of your most valuable business assets. Keeping it safe should be one of your main priorities. So if you don’t have much security in place, there’s a minimum standard you should be implementing, right now.

There are dozens of security solutions available that all perform different tasks – from preventing criminals gaining access, to recognising attacks in progress, and then limiting the damage that can be done. There’s no one-size-fits-all as every business has different priorities and different types of data to protect.

Here are three essentials that every business should put in place as a basic level of protection.

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Microsoft 365 makes Multi-Factor Authentication easier

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Microsoft is planning to enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) directly in its Outlook app for many 365 business users.

MFA is a vital tool to help protect your online accounts from cyber criminals. It works by generating a second, single-use passcode every time you log into an account. It’s usually sent to an authenticator app on your phone that you have to download and set up first.

Security codes can also be sent via SMS text message, by a phone call, or you might be given a special USB key to plug into your computer.

The process is often made quicker by using a biometric login like your fingerprint or face ID. It’s a minor chore, but the protection it offers far outweighs the couple of extra seconds it takes to access your account.

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Are your productivity tools actually slowing you down?

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Productivity tools are supposed to make you more, well… productive.

But if they’re not embedded properly within your business, tasks can actually end up taking longer than they should. That’s frustrating for employees and you. It wastes time, and it costs money – which is the opposite of being productive.

So how can this happen?

Often a lack of consistent training means everyone is using tools differently, or finding their own workarounds. Maybe the tools haven’t been properly integrated with other apps, creating additional work. Or perhaps employees simply don’t find some tools useful and give up on them.

Bringing new technology into your business can be a big step – so big that lots of owners try to avoid it completely. That might be because of understandable risk aversion, or because they simply don’t have enough information to choose the right solution from the thousands of available options. It doesn’t help that nearly all tools work differently and offer different advantages.

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Bot malware is a growing security threat

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If we talk about ‘bots’ you’d be forgiven for thinking of the amazing AI chatbots that have been all over the news lately.

But this isn’t a good news story. Bots are just automated programs, and bot malware is a worrying new security risk you need to defend your business against.

Malware bots are particularly dangerous because they steal whole user profiles – that’s a complete snapshot of your ID and settings. This potentially allows cyber crooks to bypass strong security measures like Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

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