News
- Boston Scientific confirmed a cyberattack disrupting global operations and IT systems
- Incident response activated; SEC filing notes ongoing impact on order processing and shipping
- Nature of attack undisclosed, but disruption suggests ransomware; no group claimed responsibility yet
Boston Scientific, a US-based global medical technology company, has confirmed it was the target of a cyberattack which disrupted operations worldwide and disrupted its IT systems.
In a new 8-K form filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Boston Scientific said it detected an intrusion and activated its incident response protocols. It called in third-party cybersecurity experts to assist in assessing and containing the threat, as well.
Boston Scientific builds devices used to diagnose different health issues. It was founded in 1979, headquartered in Massachusetts, and operates in more than 100 countries around the world. Its core business areas include cardiology, endoscopy, urology, and peripheral interventions. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is considered as one of the world’s largest medical device manufacturers, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Medtronic, Abbott, and Johnson & Johnson MedTech.
Causing disruptionsIn the 8-K form, the company said the incident “caused, and is expected to continue to cause, disruptions and limitations to access to certain of the company’s information systems and business applications that support aspects of the company’s operations, including the ability to process and ship customer orders.”
It did not discuss the nature of the attack, or the identity of the attackers, but this kind of disruption is usually only caused by a ransomware infection. Ransomware operators are known for encrypting entire networks and rendering them useless until either a decryption key is applied, or it gets restored via a backup.
Businesses also sometimes shut down parts of their infrastructure to stop data exfiltration efforts, which are an indispensable part of ransomware attacks.
“While the company is working diligently to restore affected functions and systems access, the timeline for a full restoration is not yet known,” it stressed in the form.
So far, no hacking groups claimed responsibility for the attack and there is no evidence of any stolen data.
Via The Register
I spend a lot of time working with laptops, accessories and other hardware, so I know exactly how much difference the right tech can make to a home office or small business setup.
Amazon has launched a surprise Tech Week sale in the UK, and I've picked out twelve unmissable deals that can make working from home easier, improve an existing setup or provide a useful upgrade without spending a fortune.
My picks cover everything from printers and laptops to webcams and SSDs from the likes of Dell, Epson, Logitech, and Crucial. There's something here for almost any home office or small business.
My top 12 must-buys in Amazon's surprise Tech Week saleMX Master 3S Performance Wireless Mouse: was £78.05 now £68.99
Logitech's wireless mouse features silent clicks, MagSpeed scrolling, a thumb wheel, an 8K DPI optical sensor, programmable buttons and Easy-Switch, with Bluetooth connectivity and compatibility across multiple operating systems.View Deal
Ecotank ET-2861 Ink Tank Printer: was £239.99 now £129.99
This cartridge-free Ink Tank prints, copies and scans, with Wi-Fi connectivity, borderless photo printing, a 100-sheet paper tray and up to three years of ink included in the box.View Deal
This is one of our favourite productivity-boosting gadgets. The compact Elgato Stream Deck Neo features eight customisable buttons so you can open up key software at the push of a button. View Deal
2TB X9 Portable External SSD: was £219.99 now £177.99
This compact 2TB portable SSD delivers read speeds up to 1,050MB/s over USB-C, with plug-and-play support for PCs, and Macs, plus drop, shock, vibration and temperature resistance.View Deal
6+ mesh Wi-Fi router: was £229.99 now £169.99
This two-pack Wi-Fi 6 mesh system covers up to 280m², supports 75+ devices and gigabit speeds, with 160MHz channels, dual Gigabit Ethernet, TrueMesh technology and a built-in smart home hub.View Deal
Shipping Label Printer: was £79.99 now £59.99
This Bluetooth thermal printer handles 4 x 6-inch shipping and postage labels, works with major selling platforms and UK couriers, and includes 25 labels to get you started.View Deal
Height Adjustable Monitor Stand: was £12.59 now £10.7
For anyone working at their desk all day, a monitor stand or riser is, to my mind, essential for maintaining good posture (and preventing the neck ache as I suffered from looking down at my laptop all the time). An absolute home office essential. View Deal
15 Laptop: was £899 now £499
This 15-inch laptop combines a 13th-gen Intel Core i7 processor with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD, alongside a Full HD 120Hz IPS display and Windows 11 Home.View Deal
C920S HD Pro Webcam: was £84.99 now £42.49
An upgrade on arguably the best webcam in its price range - we rated the C920 4.5-stars in our review. This full HD camera features built-in mics, HD light correction, and a physical privacy shutter. View Deal
27-Inch WQHD Monitor: was £149.99 now £93.98
A business monitor under £100 is well worth a look, especially a 27-inch WQHD HDR10 model from a brand like Philips. This one doubles as a gaming display, too, with 180Hz refresh rate and 1ms response times. View Deal
Evolve 65 TE Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headset With Mic: was £119.39 now £98.99
We're big fans of Jabra's business headset line - our hardware editor has used his daily for several years now. Expect crisp audio quality on video calls and a comfortable, lightweight design. View Deal
K400 Plus Wireless Touch Keyboard: was £39.99 now £27.99
As a lover of interesting office gear, this budget keyboard from Logitech stood out to me for including a touchpad for use across a range of devices.View Deal
I recently bought the Epson EcoTank ET-2861 printer for my home office, and definitely recommend it. The refillable ink tanks mean I don’t have to keep buying ridiculously expensive ink cartridges, which I had to do with my previous HP printer (especially since yellow kept running out and I couldn't print without it). Wireless printing, scanning and copying cover pretty much everything I need day to day.
For anyone looking to replace an aging computer, the Dell 15 Laptop packs a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD and it's currently under £500. It pairs those specs with a 15-inch Full HD 120Hz display, making it a solid everyday machine for work.
The Logitech MX Master 3S mouse is another straightforward home office upgrade. Silent clicks keep noise down, while the MagSpeed scroll wheel, thumb wheel and 8K DPI sensor make navigating documents, spreadsheets and large screens easier.
If you run a small business that regularly sends out orders, the Munbyn thermal label printer could save you time and hassle. It prints 4 x 6-inch shipping labels without ink or toner and supports major selling platforms and UK delivery companies including Royal Mail, DPD and Evri.
The 2TB Crucial X9 Portable SSD is my storage pick because it combines plenty of capacity with read speeds of up to 1,050MB/s. I have a few of these SSDs and they are great and work with PCs and Macs.
Finally, the Amazon eero 6+ two-pack tackles one of the more frustrating home office problems: unreliable Wi-Fi. It can cover up to 280m², handle more than 75 connected devices and uses mesh technology to reduce dead zones. I live in an old house with very thick walls, and this is the perfect solution to the problems that causes me.
They’re very different products, but between them they cover computing, printing, storage, networking, navigation and shipping — the everyday technology that can dramatically impact a home office or small business.
I've spent a long time warning people to avoid cheap 8GB laptop deals. In 2026, 16Gb is the baseline for multi-tasking, while 32GB gives you considerably more breathing room. But I've found a laptop deal that's even better.
Right now, the Acer Aspire Go 15 with a huge 48GB DDR4 RAM is down to $675 (was $1000) at Newegg. That's a welcome surprise in the middle of an ongoing memory crisis.
That 48GB memory paired with an eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 5825U processor and 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD. You also get a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display, Wi-Fi 6 and Windows 11 Home.
The Acer Aspire Go 15 combines an eight-core Ryzen 7 5825U processor, 48GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD, 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display, Wi-Fi 6 and USB-C connectivity.View Deal
Why we recommend itIn his four-star review of the Aspire Go 15, our expert Lewis called it a "snappy performer," and said it was: "very good, handling light productivity and entertainment workloads with speed."
He added that it's "quite thin and light, which makes it easier to carry around than expected. The light silver finish and minimal aesthetic also imbue the Aspire Go 15 with some style."
The standout feature here is that this laptop comes with 48GB of DDR4-3200 memory. It's made up of 16GB plus a 32GB Lexar module, giving you substantially more headroom for heavy multitasking, content creation, and other memory-intensive work than you'd normally get at this price.
The Ryzen 7 5825U is an older processor, but its eight cores still make it a capable choice for everyday workloads. There's USB-C with DisplayPort and 65W Power Delivery, three USB-A ports, HDMI 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet, plus Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.
There's even a second M.2 slot so you can add additional storage which you'll need when you start nudging the limits of the 512GB SSD it comes with.
For more top picks, see our guide to the best business laptops we've tested.
Price context & historical valueNewegg currently lists this particular 48GB/512GB configuration at $674.99, down from $999.99. That's a $325 saving, or 32%, which is its lowest price for the laptop in the past 30 days.
There's some useful additional context here. The same listing was $714.99 very recently, so the latest reduction takes another $40 off.
For more savings, these are the best business laptop deals we've found this week.
Should you buy it?✅ Buy the Acer Aspire Go 15 if...
If you want a Windows laptop with lots of memory for work, heavy multitasking or running numerous applications simultaneously, $674.99 is a really good price. The combination of 48GB RAM, Ryzen 7 processor, Full HD IPS display and upgradable storage gives you plenty to work with.
❌ Skip the Acer Aspire Go 15 if...
If GPU-heavy creative work or maximum battery efficiency are priorities, I'd look elsewhere. The integrated Radeon graphics and older Ryzen architecture make this much more of a productivity machine than a performance laptop.
The Catch: What to know before you buy48GB RAM is excellent, but it's DDR4 rather than DDR5, the graphics are integrated rather than discrete, and the Ryzen 7 5825U dates from an older AMD generation. The 15.6-inch display is also a straightforward 1920 x 1080 non-touch IPS panel rather than a high-resolution or premium OLED screen.
At 3.92lb, it's portable enough, but there are much lighter laptops available.
- Plaud One records and transcribes calls and conversations, but its broader agent capabilities will arrive in a future update
- High-stakes actions require approval, while recording is manually triggered, and users are responsible for obtaining consent
- It features built-in 4G connectivity at no additional cost
It’s certainly an interesting time for AI wearables, with smart glasses in particular attracting a lot of attention — and raising privacy concerns around the potential for users to video people without their permission.
Announced for pre-order today, Plaud One Explorer Edition is a new wearable AI device, primarily aimed at professionals, that's designed to capture your conversations, so that it can produce actions and reports based on the discussions you’re having during your working day
Worn as earbuds or used through its standalone case, Plaud One can capture calls and in-person conversations. Recordings are uploaded automatically for transcription and summarization as they happen, so (in theory at least) you’ll never need to write anything down again.
Plaud One also has agentic capabilities that Plaud says can take actions across tools like Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion and Slack based on your conversations. However, when we quizzed Plaud about exactly what will be available at launch it told us: “Explorer Edition is the complete Plaud One hardware, but broader new Plaud Intelligence agent capabilities will be available in a future update.”
That caveat pushes the agentic features further into the future. So what agent abilities will work at launch, rather than arriving later in App 4.0? I spoke to the Plaud team to find out.
They told me that, “At launch, users can press and hold the Agent Button and speak to the agent. Hands-free 'Hey Plaud' activation through the earbuds is coming in a future firmware update.”
Privacy concernsGiven the obvious privacy concerns, I asked the team if recording is manually triggered, and how other people know it is happening.
“Yes, recording is manually triggered with the press of a button,” they told me. The team didn’t mention any audible or visible indication that recording is taking place, instead placing responsibility on the wearer to inform the people around them: “Plaud encourages users to follow local laws and best practices for recording consent," they added. "Where consent is required, users should inform participants before recording.”
Plaud Agent uses the context of your conversations to identify possible actions, such as preparing a follow-up email after a client meeting or producing a finished report based on a discussion. But can it actually send an email, post to Slack or create a calendar event without confirmation from the user?
“It depends on what the action is”, said the Plaud team. “Anything that changes something or leaves your environment, the agent pauses and asks you first. For example, editing or deleting your files, sending an email on your behalf, pulling in outside data — those always need your approval. Reading and querying your own data inside Plaud is different. That's a closed, trusted environment, so the agent can do that on its own. That's what makes it actually useful. If it had to ask permission to look something up in your own notes, it wouldn't feel like an agent at all.”
What happens when the agent misunderstands a decision?
“The design assumes a misunderstanding can happen, so it's built to be caught before it turns into a wrong action," the team told me. "All higher-stakes actions — changing or deleting internal files, sending an email externally, or calling external data — require the user to approve them manually. So if you spot something the Agent got wrong, you can fix it yourself before it goes anywhere, or ask the Agent to revise it. Nothing high-stakes acts on its own
"On top of that, the Agent's outputs are grounded, not guesswork — they're built from the context the user actually provides, the real transcripts and recordings, so they trace back to what was genuinely said and a misread is easy to spot.
"And as with any AI, we're clear that important outputs should be checked before they're used — the same principle behind the 'AI can make mistakes, please verify' note you see across these tools. The point isn't that it never misunderstands; it's that the user stays in control, and the work stays grounded, reviewable, and correctable.”
That approval system is only one part of how Plaud says the agent will work. To handle different kinds of tasks, Plaud Agent draws on a library of workflows known as Skills, alongside curated collections designed for particular professional roles called Plugins. As well as agentic actions, Plaud Agent can also generate finished work products, from emails to documents and presentations.
Independent of your phoneInterestingly, Plaud One is designed to work independently of your phone thanks to a built-in eSIM and 4G LTE connectivity. That immediately raises another question: will the eSIM require a separate subscription?
The Plaud team told me it will not: “No, Plaud One comes with a built-in eSim, which is provided at no extra cost to the consumer.”
I also asked whether users can inspect, correct and delete the information Plaud retains about them, and the team told me: “Users retain full control over their data. Plaud processes user data to deliver core product functionality, and users can access, correct, export, and delete their data — and withdraw consent — at any time through the Plaud App.”
Finally, I asked if these are fully functional music and calling earbuds, or primarily recording devices, and the team explain that, “The earbuds are recording devices first, capturing what you hear and say, so they can be used for calls. The earbuds also have High-Res LDAC audio, however, Plaud One is first and foremost an AI notetaker.”
AvailabilityPlaud One is priced at $249.99 / £229 and includes $200 / £150 in Plaud credits; pricing and availability for Australia is TBC. That made me wonder exactly what those credits buy — and how much continued use will cost once they've been spent.
The team did not disclose the ongoing costs, but explained that, “credits are used for the new Agent capabilities across Plaud Intelligence: agent tasks, Routines, Skills and Plugins, and the Artefacts the Agent produces. Everything else about Plaud One works out of the box.”
Pre-orders are open now in the US and UK with shipping of the Explorer Edition expected in Q4 2026.
The new IKEA x Xbox collection is the talk of Gamescom, and while its absurd thumbstick stool and D-pad cushion might be head-turners, if it's affordable and actually useful gaming kit you're after, then I'd suggest looking at the existing IKEA range. The Swedish homeware titan already makes dozens of gaming-friendly products, including affordable furniture, clever storage solutions and quirky accessories.
I've rounded up my favorites below. I'm a big fan of the Malomrade desk with its built-in monitor arms, straps to stash your peripherals neatly on display, and sit-stand functionality to keep your back happy. In terms of functional storage, standouts are the Brannboll basket with its hinged arms that can turn into a stand or a handle, and the shelving unit from the same range, which has spots for all your kit and can be wheeled to exactly where it's needed.
Scroll down for more excellent gaming gear to tide you over until the official Xbox range drops at the start of October.
IKEA gaming gear — US IKEA Brannboll Shelving Unit on Castors IKEA Malomrade Sit/stand Gaming Desk w/ Monitor Arms IKEA Skaftsarv LED Decorative Light IKEA Brannboll Gaming Lounge Chair IKEA Huvudspelare Gaming Chair IKEA Mojlighet Headset/tablet Stand IKEA Brannboll Gaming Mouse Pad IKEA Brannboll Inflatable Gaming Lounge Chair IKEA Brannboll Side Table on Castors IKEA Brannboll Gaming Easy Chair IKEA Huvudspelare Gaming Desk IKEA Brannboll Basket IKEA Lanespelare Ring Light With Phone Holder IKEA Loparbana Gaming Chair - Vissle Green IKEA Lanespelare Accessories Stand IKEA Kabbleka LED Lighting Strip With USB IKEA Styrspel Gaming Chair IKEA Övning Multifunctional Ergonomic Footrest IKEA gaming gear — UK IKEA Skaftsarv LED Decoration Lighting IKEA Huvudspelare Gaming Chair IKEA Brannboll Basket IKEA Loparbana Gaming Chair IKEA Brannboll Shelving Unit on Castors IKEA Fredde Gaming Desk IKEA Brannboll Gaming Lounge Chair IKEA Blaskata Gaming Mouse Pad IKEA Brannboll Side Table on Castors IKEA Styrspel Gaming Chair IKEA Mojlighet Headset/tablet Stand IKEA Matchspel Gaming Chair IKEA Huvudspelare Gaming Desk IKEA Lanespelare Ring Light With Phone Holder IKEA Brannboll Inflatable Gaming Lounge Chair IKEA Malomrade Sit/stand Gaming Desk w/ Monitor Arms IKEA Lanespelare Accessories Stand IKEA Brannboll Gaming Mouse Pad