‘We’re being attacked all the time’: how UK banks stop hackers

It is every bank boss’s worst nightmare: a panicked phone call informs them a cyber-attack has crippled the IT system, rapidly unleashing chaos across the entire UK financial industry.As household names in other industries, including Marks & Spencer, grapple with the fallout from such hacks, banking executives will be acutely aware that, for them, the stakes are even higher.Within hours of a successful bank hack, millions of direct debits could fail, leaving rents, mortgages and wages unpaid. Online banking may be blocked, cash machine withdrawals denied, and commuters left in limbo as buses and petrol stations reject payments. News of the attack could spark panic, leading to a run on rival lenders, as customers pull money from their accounts amid fear the disruption could spread

Reeves braced for OBR forecasts to blow £20bn hole in tax and spending plans

Rachel Reeves is braced for revised forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to blow a £20bn hole in her tax and spending plans before the autumn budget.Even without changing the totals the chancellor set out in her spending review on Wednesday, a weaker forecast from the the Treasury’s independent watchdog could force her to find significantly more money at the budget to meet her “non-negotiable” fiscal rules.Reeves has said repeatedly that flexing her fiscal rules – designed to provide certainty over UK public finances – is not an option even if the economic outlook deteriorates.At her spring statement, she left herself on course to meet those rules with less than £10bn of headroom to spare, on a total budget for day-to-day spending of more than £1.3tn

Workers in UK need to embrace AI or risk being left behind, minister says

Workers in the UK should turn their trepidation over AI into “exhilaration” by giving it a try or they risk being left behind by those who have, the technology secretary has said.Peter Kyle called on employees and businesses to “act now” on getting to grips with the tech, with the generational gap in usage needing only two and a half hours of training to bridge.Breakthroughs such as the emergence of ChatGPT have sparked an investment boom in the technology, but also led to forecasts that a host of jobs in sectors ranging from law to financial services will be affected.However, Kyle said: “I think most people are approaching this with trepidation. Once they start [using AI], it turns to exhilaration, because it is a lot more straightforward than people realise, and it is far more rewarding than people expect

Tell us: what questions do you have about the impacts of smartphones on children?

A quarter of three- and four-year-olds in the UK now own a smartphone, but the impact of that is still being understood. From endless scrolling to constant notifications, smartphones expose children not just to their friends and classmates, but to a world of advertising, influencers, and algorithms. But how is all of this shaping how children see themselves, relate to others, and develop emotionally?In a video series on our It’s Complicated Youtube channel, we’re speaking to experts to explore how smartphones might be affecting children’s mental health, attention, self-esteem and relationships. Are social apps making kids more anxious? What happens when children are targeted by ads that shape their sense of identity from a young age? What do we know, and what don’t we yet understand, about growing up in a world where you’re always online?We want to hear from you. What have you always wondered about children and smartphones? Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or just someone curious about the long-term effects, fill out the form below to share your questions

Tatjana Maria outwits Anisimova to complete Queen’s Club fairytale aged 37

Tatjana Maria completed an extraordinary week of giantkilling in London by becoming the surprise first women’s champion at Queen’s Club in 52 years as she defeated Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-4.Maria, a 37-year-old German qualifier, is the oldest WTA 500 champion in history. She had arrived at Queen’s Club on a nine-match losing run before building momentum from the qualifying draw and defeating four top-20 opponents in a row.Sign up to The RecapThe best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s actionafter newsletter promotionDespite her poor form and lowly ranking of No 86, Maria has significant pedigree on grass, reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2022. Her tricky toolbox of varied shots is built for grass and she has befuddled a series of elite opponents with her ability to keep the ball incredibly low and slow

Bath’s treble win blends yesteryear charm with the recently unthinkable | Michael Aylwin

At the 29th time of asking, Bath are champions of England once more. At five to five on a sunny afternoon here, Ben Spencer passed to Finn Russell – the married couple, as their coach, Johann van Graan, likes to call them – and Russell kicked it somewhere, anywhere but on the pitch to put an end to decades of pain out west.In 1996, when titles were won the old-fashioned way, the notion it would take so long for Bath, who had just won their sixth in eight years – their 10th cup in 13, and their fourth double – to become champions of England again would have seemed absurd. Only a little more absurd than the notion they would win it might have seemed three years ago, when they finished bottom of the table, spared the indignity of relegation only by the very different way English rugby is organised these days.The most telling difference, though, is that thing about paying players