Latest news with #Zuto
The Sun
02-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
Millions of Brit drivers urged to place kitchen cupboard staple in car window to help keep cool in the heat
BRITS are being urged to use a kitchen essential to keep their cars cool amid soaring temperatures. This warning comes after Tuesday saw the hottest temperatures of the year so far. 3 3 Drivers in the UK are being urged to spread tin foil over their car interiors to keep cool in the current heatwave. Brits are enjoying hot temperatures and bright, sunny spells this week. Yesterday saw temperatures of up to 34.4C, prompting amber heat alerts across parts of the UK. While this is great for a day in the pool or the sea - we all know there's nothing worse than opening your car door to find a furnace waiting for you inside. According to Lucy Sherliker, Head of Customer at Zuto car finance, lacing a sheet of everyday tin foil across your car's interior can help keep your motor cool as drive in the sunshine. Aluminium foil has a bright, reflective surface which is very effective at deflecting heat. If you position the shiny side to face outwards, towards the sun, the foil will essentially act as a mirror to incoming radiant heat. This means the heat will be reflected away from your car's exposed surfaces, like its windows and dashboard. Less sunlight and heat coming inside your car means that it becomes much harder for temperatures to build up inside. The foil won't 'cool' your car per se, but rather prevent the buildup of high temperatures inside. Grumpy Wimbledon fans left with sticky fingers as record-breaking weather sees ice creams melt before getting to court It's a quick, cost-effective way of stopping your car's insides getting so hot they become untouchable when you need to drive. The method can also stop long-term fading to the interior fabrics through sun damage. This comes as temperatures are beginning to cool slightly today across the UK. Yesterday, temperatures exceeded 34C in some areas, sending Brits rushing to beaches and outdoor pools to cool off. 34.4C was recorded on the mercury in Writtle, Essex, trumping last year's record high of 33.2C - recorded on June 21 in Charlwood, Surrey. But now, the Met Office has predicted that temperatures will begin to mellow out, although without a huge loss of sunshine for many. In its forecast this morning, the weather agency said today would have a "mixed morning, with sunny spells and showery rain". The forecaster continued: "The rain could be heavy in the east, with perhaps the odd thundery downpour." Met Office weather maps indicate that much of the eastern and north-east England, as well as Scotland, could receive heavy rain later today. This includes the cities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Edinburgh as well as a number of other towns alongside the east coast. Despite this rain, the Met Office has said that conditions are likely to become "drier and sunnier" as we head into the afternoon and evening. Tonight, the forecaster added it would likely be a "fine" evening, with spells of sunshine ahead of dusk. The "cooler" conditions are expected to come alongside clear skies for England and Wales overnight, leading to dry conditions. 3
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Locking the back door: building resilience in motor finance cybersecurity
Cybercrime in the automotive finance sector is no longer confined to major players. As AI enhances attack capabilities, Zuto, a UK-based provider of motor finance software and technology, calls for better workforce awareness, greater collaboration with partners and a focus on human-led prevention strategies. Last year, IBM ranked finance and insurance as the second-most targeted industry by cyber criminals. Along with the fallout in 2024 from major cyberattacks on Arnold Clark and Toyota, this reiterates the need for automotive and associated finance businesses to keep security high on the agenda. But could we be doing more collaboratively to strengthen defences across the industry? High-profile attacks highlight the damage that cybercrime can cause to a business's profits, reputation and customer trust. They also demonstrate that even established organisations, that invest heavily in security, can be vulnerable. But it's important to note that it's not just big organisations that are being targeted. The majority of attempts are launched indiscriminately: an owner-managed, back-street garage is of equal interest to hacking bots as a national finance provider or global manufacturer. They are simply looking for weaknesses that can be exploited. As well as gaps in your IT security, weaknesses can also be found through other businesses that you interact with – your partners and suppliers, for example – and, more often than not, through the human workforce. The latest Global Cybersecurity Outlook from the World Economic Forum warns of increasingly sophisticated attacks in 2025, largely powered by AI. AI is making it easier to launch high volumes of attacks, and harder to detect fake customer communication. It's providing the bedroom hacker with the tools to become an army, conducting recces on multiple targets. It can translate messages effortlessly and tidy up grammar and spelling, so that communication used in phishing appears, ironically, more believably human. Thankfully, AI is also powering tools that help protect against attacks and businesses are deploying AI to assist in their defence efforts. For example, it can spot unusual network activity, or phishing messages supposedly sent by a customer or partner organisation. With a 24/7 safety net providing continuous monitoring, anomaly detection and automated response, an AI tool can also take immediate action to prevent further compromise, reducing the need for human intervention. Most businesses in the motor finance sector are investing in their teams and technology to protect their systems and data from cyber criminals. All car finance technology and software companies worth their salt are investing in this area with specialist hires in cybersecurity and financial crime. No matter how much you spend on sophisticated security tools, however, the truth is that the greatest weakness in any business is its people. 80% of breaches start with employees metaphorically leaving the back door open. The good news is that these are issues that can be addressed and don't require a huge investment. A recommended place to start is to gain Cyber Essentials certification - a simple and cost-effective UK government-backed scheme that any organisation can and should implement. A critical component of this focuses on bolstering your people-powered defence. This includes providing regular, bite-sized security awareness training for all employees, which should cover understanding a good password strategy with complex passwords that differ for each application, and knowing how to spot a phishing attempt. Establishing processes that ensure important requests, such as payment or contact details, go through robust verification steps can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to malicious activity. And they should not be one-off training sessions – cybercrime methods evolve quickly, and employees will need to be reminded of best practices. When it comes to the wider partner and supplier network that motor finance companies often operate within, there has to be a collaborative approach. Vulnerabilities in a provider, such as payroll or HR systems, can provide a way in. Regularly sharing knowledge throughout the network, such as new intel on attacks to look out for, 'best practice' and patch updates, helps to keep awareness high and security front of mind. The nature of cyberattacks in 2025 is sophisticated but indiscriminate – any business is a target, no matter what it does or how small it might be. Protection requires ongoing attention to the risks, both internally and throughout a company's ecosystem. We're in it together, let's remind each other to lock the back door. Gary Higham is the Chief Technology Officer of Zuto "Locking the back door: building resilience in motor finance cybersecurity" was originally created and published by Motor Finance Online, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
