News

IT governance

• July 20, 2023 20 Jul'23

  Online Safety Bill screening measures amount to ‘prior restraint’

  The Open Rights Group is calling on Parliament to reform the Online Safety Bill, on the basis that its content-screening measures would amount to “prior restraint” on freedom of expression

• July 20, 2023 20 Jul'23

  How the DSMA balances security and privacy with press freedom

  In a world of information sharing and 24-hour news cycles, the Defence and Security Media Advisory committee have to balance national security and data privacy with freedom of the press

• July 19, 2023 19 Jul'23

  BlackCat and Clop gangs both claim cyber attack on Estée Lauder

  Cosmetics conglomerate Estée Lauder is experiencing operational disruption in the wake of a cyber attack that seems to involve two different cyber crime gangs

• July 19, 2023 19 Jul'23

  ‘Significant gaps’ in UK AI regulation, says Ada Lovelace Institute

  UK government’s plans to diffuse regulatory responsibility for AI among existing regulators will mean the tech is “only partially regulated”, while its data reforms will undercut already-limited existing protections, says Ada Lovelace Institute

• July 19, 2023 19 Jul'23

  Cyber criminal AI tool WormGPT produces ‘unsettling’ results

  A newly discovered generative AI tool dubbed WormGPT is being sold to the cyber criminal underground via the dark web, and poses a significant danger, researchers warn

• July 17, 2023 17 Jul'23

  Police Scotland use cloud for biometric data despite clear risks

  Police Scotland confirms it has stored significant volumes of biometric data on a cloud-based digital evidence sharing system despite major ongoing data protection concerns, bringing into question the effectiveness of the current regulatory approach...

• July 17, 2023 17 Jul'23

  Shift towards ‘smarter’ digital life as broadband security, sustainability become key needs

  Cisco survey finds consumer expectations will reshape the needs and economics of the internet

• July 13, 2023 13 Jul'23

  Civil society groups call on EU to put human rights at centre of AI Act

  Dozens of civil society groups are calling on EU institutions to prioritise people and human rights in AI legislation as secretive negotiations begin

• July 13, 2023 13 Jul'23

  Microsoft issues new warning over Chinese cyber espionage

  A newly uncovered Chinese espionage campaign exploited forged authentication tokens to access its victims’ email accounts, says Microsoft

• July 13, 2023 13 Jul'23

  One month after MOVEit: New vulnerabilities found as more victims are named

  Five weeks after the mass MOVEit breach, new vulnerabilities in the file transfer tool are coming to light as the Clop cyber crime group continues to terrorise victims. But has the gang bitten off more than it can chew?

• July 12, 2023 12 Jul'23

  Digital public services ‘riddled’ with problems, says TUC

  The UK’s increasingly digitised public services are plagued by design, governance and workplace issues that are undermining the government’s stated goal of improving efficiency, but can be alleviated by giving public sector workers a greater say in ...

• July 12, 2023 12 Jul'23

  Ofcom’s online safety preparedness efforts hobbled by government

  Despite Ofcom’s progress so far, UK government changes to the scope and timetable of the Online Safety Bill are hobbling the ability of the regulator to successfully prepare for the new regime

• July 12, 2023 12 Jul'23

  Microsoft users on high alert over dangerous RCE zero-day

  A serious RCE vulnerability in Microsoft Office and Windows is among several zero-days disclosed in Redmond’s July Patch Tuesday update, but this one does not have a patch yet

• July 11, 2023 11 Jul'23

  EU formally grants data adequacy to US

  The European Commission has formally granted the US data adequacy, allowing companies and organisations to freely transfer personal data across the Atlantic via the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. But privacy activist Max Schrems has already committed...

• July 11, 2023 11 Jul'23

  Malicious URL volumes soar as cyber criminals pull on Threads

  Malicious actors have been quick to exploit the buzz around Meta’s newly launched Threads platform, with thousands of new suspicious domains registered exploiting its branding

• July 07, 2023 07 Jul'23

  House of Lords launches an investigation into generative AI

  The government wants the UK to lead AI regulation, but technology is developing at a breakneck pace

• July 06, 2023 06 Jul'23

  VMware ramps up on sovereign cloud in APAC

  VMware is working with local partners to deliver sovereign cloud services in the region, amid growing sovereignty interests among governments and the need maintain business continuity

• July 06, 2023 06 Jul'23

  Biometrics watchdog calls for public space surveillance review

  The biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner is calling for a review of public space surveillance to gain a clearer picture about the proliferation of Chinese surveillance technology across the public sector, but warns against applying double...

• July 06, 2023 06 Jul'23

  Privacy campaigners call for UK data adequacy to be revoked

  The European Commission should revoke the UK’s data adequacy if its Data Protection and Digital Information Bill passes, which campaigners argue ‘flies in the face’ of the decision

• July 06, 2023 06 Jul'23

  Former Fujitsu IT chief evidence postponed after late Post Office disclosure

  Post Office has disrupted Horizon inquiry schedule through late disclosure of ‘significant’ evidence as key IT witness evidence is postponed

• July 06, 2023 06 Jul'23

  Meta’s Threads hits app stores, but no EU launch in sight

  Meta’s Twitter competitor makes its debut and signs up millions of users in just 12 hours, but concerns over compliance with the EU’s Digital Markets Act have sunk a pan-European launch for now

• July 04, 2023 04 Jul'23

  EU judgment sinks Meta’s argument for targeted ads

  The EU Court of Justice has issued a significant judgment against Meta, ruling that national anti-trust bodies can investigate GDPR breaches, disrupting the platform’s entire basis for carrying out targeted advertising

• July 03, 2023 03 Jul'23

  BlackCat gang claims cyber attack on Barts NHS Trust

  Investigations continue into a claim by the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware gang that it has stolen 7TB of data from Barts NHS Trust in London

• June 30, 2023 30 Jun'23

  AI can never be given control over combat decisions, Lords told

  Artificial intelligence is technically incapable of distinguishing between the complex contextual factors of combat situations, and will likely never be able to, according to legal and software experts

• June 30, 2023 30 Jun'23

  NHS data stolen in Manchester Uni ransomware attack

  The ransomware gang behind the cyber attack on the University of Manchester appears to have got its hands on an NHS dataset being used by the university for research purposes

• June 29, 2023 29 Jun'23

  ‘Shadow’ AI use becoming a driver of insider cyber risk

  Off-the-books use of generative AI tools will inevitably lead to a costly, high-profile data breach for someone, but a little attention paid to appropriate data management policy can help mitigate the risk

• June 28, 2023 28 Jun'23

  Scottish government tech accelerator opens latest funding round

  The Scottish government’s CivTech accelerator is seeking technology businesses to help develop new tools to improve public services, as well as to address pressing social and environmental issues

• June 27, 2023 27 Jun'23

  UK AI plans offer ‘inadequate’ human rights protection, says EHRC

  The UK’s equality watchdog says the government must properly consider human rights when implementing rules to regulate artificial intelligence, as current plan offers little protection

• June 27, 2023 27 Jun'23

  WithSecure forges ahead with green coding initiative

  WithSecure’s W/Sustainability programme kickstarts a number of initiatives, including a commitment to green coding the security supplier hopes will set an example for others to follow

• June 27, 2023 27 Jun'23

  3,600 potential cyber security experts apply to government scheme

  The UK government’s Upskill in Cyber programme is reporting great success just a month after launch, with almost half of applicants women

• June 23, 2023 23 Jun'23

  ICO under fire for taking limited action over serious data breaches

  The ICO has come under fire from lawyers and data protection specialists for just issuing written warnings to two public bodies over serious data breaches that placed people’s lives at risk

• June 22, 2023 22 Jun'23

  Health and care staff have three months to move to latest NHS patient record service

  NHS England has told health and care workers they have until the end of September to switch to the latest patient record system

• June 22, 2023 22 Jun'23

  Lancaster University launches trailblazing cyber MBA

  MBA programme at Lancaster University designed to deliver security leadership education to business leaders has received NCSC backing

• June 22, 2023 22 Jun'23

  Manchester University students threatened by ransomware gang

  Students and staff members at the University of Manchester are being pressurised by an unnamed ransomware gang

• June 21, 2023 21 Jun'23

  Nearly quarter of a million malicious websites reported and removed through NCSC service

  A suspicious email and text message reporting service in the UK has directly led to a quarter of a million malicious websites being removed

• June 20, 2023 20 Jun'23

  Tech entrepreneur Ian Hogarth to chair AI Foundation Model Taskforce

  The government has hired tech investor Ian Hogarth to lead its taskforce on artificial intelligence (AI) safety, aiming to tackle the safety challenges presented by AI and build public confidence in the use of the technology

• June 19, 2023 19 Jun'23

  UK to contribute up to £25m to Ukraine cyber defences

  Prime minister Rishi Sunak announces an expansion to the Ukraine Cyber Programme, with a cash boost of up to £25m over the next two years

• June 15, 2023 15 Jun'23

  Exploitation of Barracuda ESG appliances linked to Chinese spies

  Intelligence from Mandiant links exploitation of a flaw in a subset of Barracuda ESG appliances to a previously untracked China-nexus threat actor

• June 15, 2023 15 Jun'23

  NCSC warns over ‘enduring’ LockBit threat

  Although its activity volumes have been lower of late, LockBit is still a highly dangerous ransomware gang and is now the subject of a new international cyber advisory

• June 15, 2023 15 Jun'23

  Clop begins naming alleged MOVEit victims

  Clop uploaded details of 12 new victims to its dark web leak site late on 14 June, many of them likely linked to the ongoing MOVEit cyber attack

• June 14, 2023 14 Jun'23

  Clop’s MOVEit ransom deadline expires

  A seven-day deadline set by Clop for victims of its latest attack to contact it to arrange payment passes today

• June 13, 2023 13 Jun'23

  Arnold Clark data leak victims prepare legal action

  More than 10,000 people who had their data stolen and leaked in a ransomware attack on the Arnold Clark car dealer network have signed up to a group legal action after facing elevated amounts of fraud

• June 13, 2023 13 Jun'23

  London Tech Week: Keir Starmer calls for AI job loss discussion

  Labour leader sees a need for a broad regulatory framework and a frank discussion with business to inform policy around job losses arising from artificial intelligence

• June 12, 2023 12 Jun'23

  Ada Lovelace Institute warns against Covid app reuse

  There are a number of lessons policy-makers should take away from the use of apps developed as part of the Covid-19 response

• June 12, 2023 12 Jun'23

  Ofcom data stolen in MOVEit cyber attack

  Communications regulator Ofcom says data on employees and regulated communications companies was stolen by the Clop gang

• June 12, 2023 12 Jun'23

  Progress Software releases patch for second MOVEit Transfer vulnerability

  Progress Software releases a patch for a second MOVEit Transfer issue, which was uncovered by third-party security specialist Huntress Security during post-incident code scanning

• June 09, 2023 09 Jun'23

  UK-US Atlantic Declaration bolsters tech and data collaboration

  Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak agree greater collaboration on responsible artificial intelligence, quantum computing and Open RAN

• June 09, 2023 09 Jun'23

  UK and US move closer to transatlantic data bridge deal

  The British and American governments have committed, in principle, to a new data bridge agreement that will ease the free flow of personal data across the Atlantic

• June 09, 2023 09 Jun'23

  University of Manchester hit by cyber attack

  The University of Manchester has been hit by a cyber attack of an undisclosed nature

• June 08, 2023 08 Jun'23

  CDEI publishes portfolio of AI assurance techniques

  The UK’s Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation has published a variety of case studies to show how different assurance techniques can build and maintain trust in artificial intelligence systems