Weekly Roundup · Week of 2 to 8 November 2026
The week in business IT & comms
This was a big week for small business cyber security in the UK. The government launched a 75 per cent discount on Cyber Essentials certification, so eligible micro, small and medium sized businesses could pay as little as £80 and no more than £125 plus VAT. On the same day the NCSC published its Annual Review, and its chief executive, Richard Horne, told organisations of every size that the country has collectively got away with tech on the cheap for decades. Bitdefender described a ransomware attack on a UK school estate in which a human operator and an AI agent appear to have shared the work. Elsewhere, Openreach set out more detail on keeping broadband running on lines that miss the phone switch off, fake event invitations promising AI tools were used to steal Microsoft 365 sign ins, and a one hour power cut in Northumberland was estimated to have cost local firms £48,500.
- 01Cyber Security
Cyber Essentials discounted by 75 per cent for small firms: as little as £80 plus VAT
The government launched the Cyber Essentials First Step Fund on 3 November. GOV.UK says eligible micro, small and medium sized businesses could pay as little as £80 and no more than £125 plus VAT, and that the discount is first come, first served, for businesses not certified in the last four years. It runs until March 2027 or until the £2.4 million of funding runs out.
Read the full story - 02Cyber Security
NCSC chief: for decades we have got away with tech on the cheap
Launching the NCSC Annual Review on 3 November, Richard Horne warned of a real prospect of an unprecedented rise in cyber incidents in the coming months, because long tolerated weaknesses can now be found and exploited at scale. He listed the habits behind it, from keeping end of life systems running for one more year to buying services on price alone.
Read the full story - 03Cyber Security
Ransomware gang used a human and an AI agent together against a UK school estate
Bitdefender says a 3AM ransomware affiliate encrypted 37 machines across a UK school estate in September, with a person choosing the next steps and what looked like an AI agent handling repetitive work, Infosecurity Magazine reported on 4 November. The attackers started by taking credentials stored on the estate's backup systems.
Read the full story - 04The Switch-Off
Openreach sets out how broadband may keep running on lines that miss the switch off
A new detail on a story we have covered before. ISPreview reported on 5 November that Openreach has published a briefing saying it is developing a way for broadband to keep working on its own, with no linked phone line, when a voice line is moved to its EVAc last resort service or ceased. Openreach says continuity will depend on the individual line and cannot be guaranteed in every case, that EVAc is a temporary safeguard, and that the PSTN withdrawal timetable is unchanged.
- 05Microsoft & Cloud
Fake OpenAI and SpaceX event invitations used to steal Microsoft 365 sign ins
Push Security has found fake event registration pages offering free access to AI services that push visitors to sign in with their work accounts, BleepingComputer reported on 5 November. The Microsoft route abuses device code sign in, which can get around multi factor authentication. BleepingComputer advises staff not to enter Microsoft device codes given to them by unfamiliar websites, and organisations to restrict device code sign in where it is not needed and use phishing resistant MFA such as FIDO2 security keys.
- 06Connectivity & Broadband
A one hour power cut in a Northumberland town is estimated to have cost firms £48,500
The consultancy FarrPoint estimates that a one hour power outage affecting about 3,540 premises around Morpeth on 2 November caused about £48,500 of lost productivity, and that a full working day could approach £388,000, ISPreview reported on 6 November. ISPreview notes FarrPoint did not publish its method. Mains power loss takes routers and Wi-Fi down with it, so it is worth knowing how long your own phones and internet would last in a power cut.
- 07AI for Business
Ministers seek powers to investigate when AI agents run out of control
An amendment to the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill would give ministers powers to regulate how certain organisations deploy AI agents and report incidents when safeguards fail, The Register reported on 6 November. Managed service providers and cloud providers deploying agents for customers are among those potentially affected. The measures would need consultation and secondary legislation before they apply.
What we’re watching
The Cyber Essentials First Step Fund is first come, first served and runs until March 2027 or until its funding runs out, so eligible businesses that want it should not leave it to the spring. The NCSC says a formal scheme to badge managed service providers that offer Cyber Essentials compatible services is expected to launch in late 2026, and Richard Horne said a National Cyber Action Plan will be announced soon. On the phone switch off, Openreach has previously told ISPreview that EVAc migrations with broadband probably will not take place until around mid April 2027 onwards. And the AI agent powers in the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill still need consultation and parliamentary approval through secondary legislation.
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