By Oliver Paterson, Director of Product Management, VIPRE Security Group

Most organisations today are Microsoft software houses. Microsoft 365 is the go-to productivity suite, offering comprehensive tools, flexible licensing, and built-in security features. Employees live and breathe in Outlook, and so many different technologies seamlessly integrate with this indispensable communication tool to deliver productivity gains to business professionals.

However, email-borne cyber threats continue to surge. Malware delivered via email is exponentially increasing. .eml attachments, which often get overlooked in phishing emails, are growing. Cybercriminals are resorting to email scams, alongside phishing emails, and with the arrival of generative AI technologies, users are increasingly finding it challenging to spot these “expertly” written, persuasive emails too. 

The reason for this growth in email-led attacks? Cybercriminals are exploiting the ubiquity of Microsoft – and indeed our trust in the software. It is no wonder that today Microsoft is the most spoofed URL.

Microsoft, a software powerhouse, but not an email specialist

Microsoft is undeniably a technology powerhouse, but its primary focus or specialty isn’t email security. Historically centered on infrastructure, operating systems, and cloud services, email security is a small part of its vast ecosystem. For example, while the company offers features like SafeLinks and SafeAttachments to protect against phishing scams, these are often limited to the priciest licenses. As a result, many organisations aren’t able to benefit from the depth of functionality that is needed for robust email protection.

The shortcomings of Microsoft’s security tiers

Microsoft offers a range of security packages for its Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites, from E1 and E3 to the premium E5. While this tiered approach allows organisations to tailor licenses to employee roles, it also introduces vulnerabilities. Higher-tier subscriptions like E5 provide advanced security, but they’re costly. Lower-tier licenses often lack critical protections against impersonation and zero-day threats—gaps that cybercriminals eagerly exploit.

Furthermore, Microsoft’s user caps (e.g., 300 users on Business Premium) sometimes can lead organisations to make risky compromises in pursuit of cost savings. This mix-and-match strategy can result in blind spots, as lower-tier subscriptions typically lack advanced threat visibility tools, hampering investigation and response times.

Configuration conundrums

The Microsoft security portal, while comprehensive, is also complex. Take Link Protection (aka Microsoft SafeLinks) as an example. This feature needs enabling in multiple locations, and with Microsoft’s routine updates, these settings can be moved, altered, or even disabled by default. Such inadvertent misconfigurations not only pose security risks but also burden IT teams with constant vigilance and reconfiguration.

Static intelligence versus real-time threats

Microsoft’s reliance on third-party security feeds means its threat intelligence is often outdated. The company’s vast and complex platform requires time-consuming updates, and with email security being just one part of its portfolio, critical updates may not always be prioritised. A delay of even a day or two is all a zero-day attack needs to succeed.

A layered approach to email security

So what can organisations do? In an era where a single email can cripple a business, firms need to bolster Microsoft 365’s standard security. By understanding its limitations and layering on specialised protection, organisations can fortify their email defenses, with additional, advanced security capabilities, without breaking the bank. Due to the relentless onslaught of threat actors,  such caution is essential.

Capabilities such as Link Isolation and Sandboxing are vital today to protect against zero-day threats. Link Isolation renders malicious URLs harmless, while Sandboxing automatically isolates suspicious files in a virtual environment for safe analysis. These methods provide real-time monitoring and intelligence, enabling proactive defense.

No matter how advanced technology gets, it alone can’t solve everything. User awareness is key, and “in-the-moment” training trumps the typical periodic sessions for cybersecurity education. When users are immediately informed why an email or attachment was blocked, along with the telltale signs of malice, the lesson is more likely to stick.

Many organisations, and especially the smaller and growing firms, can’t afford top-tier Microsoft licenses for all employees or indeed maintain in-house IT teams to address the gaps in security capabilities. Partnering with third-party security services providers across different aspects of the function is a viable option as no single software or platform can provide all the security techniques and capabilities. This approach is not only more cost-effective but also provides the technological expertise needed for protection in today’s rapidly evolving threat landscape. Reducing reliance on a single security provider is an astute approach to minimising business risk.

by Nada Ali Redha, Founder of PLIM Finance

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed countless industries, and fintech is no exception. The evolution of AI technology is revolutionising how financial services operate, particularly in the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) space. As the Founder and CEO of PLIM Finance—a BNPL service that specialises in the medical aesthetics industry—I have witnessed firsthand how AI can be leveraged to enhance both user experience and operational efficiency.

In the BNPL sector, AI and machine learning are essential tools for understanding and predicting consumer behaviour. BNPL providers often face the high-risk challenge of defaults, where consumers fail to make their scheduled payments. This is a critical issue for any BNPL provider, as defaults can impact the company’s profitability and reputation.

At PLIM Finance, we use AI-driven tools to manage defaults and failed payments. The power of AI in this context lies in its ability to learn from historical data and predict payment failures with remarkable accuracy. By analysing patterns in consumer spending, repayment behaviours, and other relevant factors, AI systems can forecast which payments are most likely to default. This predictive capability allows us to take proactive measures to manage and reduce defaults, safeguarding both our customers’ financial health and our own.

While we do not currently use AI to assess creditworthiness at PLIM Finance, AI’s potential in real-time risk assessment is unquestionable. Traditional credit assessment methods rely on static data, such as credit scores and income statements, which may not always reflect a consumer’s current financial situation. AI, however, can offer a more dynamic and holistic approach.

AI-driven systems can continuously analyse a variety of data sources, including transaction histories, spending patterns, and even social behaviours, to build a more comprehensive risk profile for each customer. This enables BNPL providers to make more informed lending decisions, tailoring financing options that align with each user’s ability to repay. Although PLIM has yet to implement AI in creditworthiness assessment, we recognise its potential to improve decision-making processes over traditional methods.

AI has a crucial role in combating fraud within the financial services sector, including BNPL platforms. Fraud detection is a multi-faceted challenge that requires constant vigilance and real-time analysis. AI is uniquely equipped to tackle this problem due to its capacity for processing vast amounts of data quickly and identifying suspicious patterns or anomalies that could indicate fraudulent activity.

At PLIM Finance, we leverage AI’s ability to apply collective data learning to make real-time decisions, thus reducing the likelihood of fraudulent activities going unnoticed. For instance, AI can detect unusual spending patterns or behaviours that deviate from a user’s normal financial activity, triggering alerts for further investigation. This proactive approach has proven to be highly effective in minimising financial losses and ensuring a safer environment for our users.

One of the most impactful benefits of AI in the BNPL space is the enhancement of customer engagement and satisfaction. AI allows companies to offer personalised, tailor-made services that resonate with each consumer’s specific needs. In the context of PLIM Finance, AI helps us recommend financing options based on individual preferences and past behaviours, streamlining the user’s journey.

Higher customer satisfaction often translates into increased loyalty and trust in the brand. By utilising AI to provide relevant recommendations and support, we can meet our customers where they are in their financial journey, helping them make informed decisions. This, in turn, creates a positive user experience that distinguishes our services from those of traditional lending institutions.

Despite its numerous benefits, implementing AI in BNPL services is not without challenges, especially concerning data privacy, algorithmic fairness, and transparency. One of the primary concerns in any AI application is bias in the data. AI systems learn from historical data, which may not be entirely representative of the diverse range of consumers who use BNPL services. Until we can source data from a wide variety of demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds, there is a risk that AI-driven decisions could inadvertently favour certain groups over others.

Transparency in AI decision-making is another ethical consideration. Customers need to trust that their data is being used responsibly and that AI algorithms are making fair, unbiased lending decisions. To address these concerns, it is crucial to maintain transparency about how AI models are built, what data they use, and how decisions are made. Additionally, complying with data privacy regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, is essential to protect consumer rights.

AI’s role in the BNPL industry will continue to evolve as technology advances and more data becomes available. At PLIM Finance, we are excited about the future possibilities that AI presents, from more accurate risk assessment to enhancing customer satisfaction. By continuously improving our AI-driven tools and addressing the ethical challenges associated with their use, we aim to create a more inclusive, secure, and user-friendly BNPL experience.

In conclusion, the impact of AI in the fintech industry, particularly in the BNPL space, is profound. It offers solutions to key challenges, including managing defaults, fraud detection, and customer engagement, all while providing an opportunity to enhance the overall user experience. However, as we embrace these technological advancements, it is equally important to navigate the ethical concerns thoughtfully, ensuring that AI serves as a tool for positive financial inclusion.

Philip Sheen, Head of Public Sector UKI at UiPath

By its nature, the digital transformation of the public sector has been gradual and guarded. Public sector organisations and governments have limited budgets, lean teams, and a responsibility to act in the interest of the citizens who use supplied services. This context means that the implementation of innovative technologies and ultimately transformation has been conservative by comparison to some other industries.

We are starting to see this approach shift. As more organisations implement and benefit from artificial intelligence (AI) powered solutions, public sector bodies are now considering how and where they can best use AI, with AI-enabled automation now very much part of their future.

As the UK public sector looks to AI and automation to improve the way it works and the services it provides to its citizens. With careful change management it is possible to tackle doubts and allow public sector organisations to realise the power of technology, with people at the centre.

Automation for civil servants

A core challenge for the UK civil service is how it can make efficiencies in customer engagement and cost saving while still enhancing outcomes for citizens. Doing so is a tricky balance, but AI-enabled automation provides a solution.

AI powered automation can help improve the efficiency of government services and free up civil servants’ time to focus on valuable, non-repetitive, tasks. However, many aren’t implementing it, citing reasons such as lean teams, complicated processes and disparate, legacy technology as blockers. It can seem that the adoption of automation feels a long way off.

By removing human and system latency, working across tech platforms and ecosystems to bypass constraints, and orchestrating and providing experiences which better blend together for the end user, the modernisation of the civil service is in reach through automation.

This is especially important in the sector given it often deals with and provides services for some of the most vulnerable in society. Vulnerable citizens need specialised support, whether that’s through faster loan approvals, special assistance with applications or providing accessible services. Not only can automation help make these services a reality, but also free up worker time so they have more time to think about and create more accessible options for those who need them.

Automation for healthcare

Patient waiting lists and waiting times in the UK have soared since COVID. The volume of people on the list for elective treatment has tripled since 2013. Patients are being failed and change needs to happen – AI-enabled automation can help.

The administrative burden in healthcare is high. By driving uniformity across core processes, making the back and middle office more effective – replacing manual processes and tasks and improving workflows – and reducing the resources allocated to these activities, automation can make administrative and support tasks quicker, error free and less costly. The overall impact of this is improved wait times and even better speed and precision in diagnoses.

Automation is a proven pathway to better patience care and experience within the healthcare sector.

Automation in policing

Smaller budgets and targets to keep the police workforce lean has left the industry looking to improve officer and system efficiency. Automation has the ability to help change this, empowering officers with the enhanced skills needed to deliver the best services for the citizens who need them, while focusing on a core part of their job – keeping citizens safe.

This technology can be used in numerous ways, including uploading witness statements to Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) on the go so officers can move from one incident to the next more easily; ensuring paperwork is filled out correctly the first time to avoid mistakes in cases and documents being rejected; and even the automatic redaction of sensitive data in relations to Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.

Automation can also support officers when it comes to threat harm risk assessments. By working across constabularies and local authorities, automation can highlight vulnerable individuals, allowing officers to spot and evaluate patterns and react to their situation appropriately.

Looking to an impactful future

Use of AI and automation in public services all comes back to the impact it has on people, whether that is across safety, health or social care. When embedded into organisations and leveraged in the correct way the benefits can be experienced for both citizens and civil servants, but the urgency for change is now.