Data breach incident management and recovery

Colonial Pipeline ransom seizure is a win, but don’t relax yet

The security community is enthusiastic about the US authorities’ recovery of a significant part of the Colonial Pipeline ransomware payment, but this positivity should perhaps be somewhat tempered Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The rise and rise of supply chain attacks

Supply chain attacks in Asia-Pacific and elsewhere have intensified as cyber threat actors look to exploit the weakest links in business and digital supply chains Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

NCSC updates schools ransomware guidance amid surge

The National Cyber Security Centre says it is dealing with a renewed surge of ransomware attacks targeting schools, colleges and universities Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

DNS attacks on the rise in APAC

Attacks on the domain name system in Asia-Pacific grew by 15% last year, with Malaysian organisations seeing the sharpest rise in damages among countries in the region Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

HSBC offers all businesses scam awareness app

HSBC is sharing information on the latest scams and how to defend against them thorough its latest app, available to all businesses Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government action on ransomware epidemic gathers pace

The US government steps up action against ransomware operators, while the UK’s NCSC publishes guidance on preparing to deal with a ransomware attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Norway’s auditor general lifts lid on energy industry’s cyber security risks

Auditor General’s Office questions the security posture of Norway’s energy industry Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Tories fined over email data protection breaches

The Conservative Party broke the law by failing to properly keep records of who had unsubscribed from its mailing list Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Pandemic a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ chance to reshape security

The volume of remote working has made it hard to paint an accurate picture of the true state of enterprise cyber security, but it presents an opportunity to change things up Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Scottish businesses missing out on Cyber Essentials benefits

More than a third of Scottish businesses do not believe they are adequately prepared to deal with a cyber security incident Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Long-term thinking is vital to secure UK’s critical infrastructure

To face down the threat of cyber warfare against UK CNI, the government needs long-term thinking that looks beyond the next general election cycle, says Advent-IM’s Mike Gillespie Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie

Exagrid pays $2.6m to Conti ransomware attackers

Backup appliance specialist hit by Conti ransomware in May with cyber criminals downloading employee and customer data, confidential contracts and source code Continue Reading

By

• Valéry Rieß-Marchive, Rédacteur en chef
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Microsoft brings APAC policymakers together in security council

Microsoft’s APAC public sector security council will meet once a quarter to share threat intelligence and best practices for combating cyber threats Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Essential Guide: How APAC firms can ride out the pandemic

In this Essential Guide, we examine the impact of Covid-19 on Asia-Pacific businesses, how they have responded and important lessons that can be learned as they ready themselves for the post-pandemic world. Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Security ops teams struggle to switch off at home

Spiralling stress levels among SOC and IT security teams can be attributed mainly to alert overload, says Trend Micro Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

More data stolen in January 2021 than in all of 2017, says report

The volume of data being stolen through breaches is growing steadily and shows no sign of slowing, according to a report from Imperva Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Millions of pounds lost to crypto fraud on social media

More than £63m has been lost nationally by victims of investment fraud via a social media platform, says Action Fraud Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Threat of group GDPR legal action haunts CISOs

The vast majority of security leaders questioned for a new report say they are concerned about the possibility of group legal settlements against them following a serious data breach Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Industry reflects on three years of GDPR

Looking back on 12 tumultuous months, we assess how GDPR has weathered the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, and consider what the coming year may hold for data protection Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Legacy vulnerabilities may be biggest enterprise cyber risk

While high-profile cyber attacks and zero-days grab headlines, statistics gathered by network security specialists Cato suggest CISOs should be addressing legacy threats Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Air India is latest victim of Sita hack

Data on millions of people who flew with Air India between 2011 and 2021 appears to have been compromised in the recent Sita supply chain attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch researchers build security software to mimic human immune system

Software could help IT systems develop immunity to some cyber attacks in a similar way to how the body fights infection Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Why the security stack needs to move to the edge

Akamai’s chief technology officer Robert Blumofe makes the case for a decentralised security model to address cyber threats that are emanating from the network edge Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

CyberUK, bees and datacentres, Red Cross digital mapping – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

In this episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly and Brian McKenna are joined by Alex Scroxton, security editor, to discuss CyberUK, bees and datacentres, and the British Red Cross’ use of digital mapping to combat Covid-19 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor
• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK
• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Lack of developer attention to cloud security prompts alerts

The personal data of over 100 million Android users may have been put at risk through a variety of cloud service misconfigurations Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Malicious scans for at-risk systems start minutes after disclosure

Statistics collated by Palo Alto Networks reveal malicious actors begin scanning the internet for systems at risk of new CVEs within minutes Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Throwback Thursday: Even data fragmentation has gone virtual

If there’s one thing that our report Storage Anywhere and Everywhere from eight years ago reminds us, it’s that the risks of uncontrolled data growth are nothing new. As our contribution to the bit ... Continue Reading

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• Bryan Betts, Freeform Dynamics

HP taps micro virtual machines in endpoint security

HP’s Wolf Security technology stack uses an endpoint security controller to run computing tasks in micro virtual machines so that any potential malware can be isolated and contained Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Reports of stolen Irish health service data being leaked online

Leaking of deeply confidential and personal information on patient healthcare marks a new low for the criminal Conti gang Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Australian budget lends support to digital economy

Australia’s A$1.2bn Digital Economy Strategy ticks most of the right boxes, but some industry experts say areas such as broadband infrastructure and artificial intelligence are still underfunded Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Withers

The real-life consequences of ransomware attacks

In this week’s Computer Weekly, after a ransomware attack shut a major US oil pipeline, we examine the real-life consequences for organisations facing similar threats. We ask the experts for their top tips in reducing datacentre running costs. And we hear how data science skills are helping government make better decisions. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Conti ransomware syndicate behind attack on Irish health service

More details continue to emerge of the significant ransomware attack on Ireland’s HSE Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government seeks input on supply chain security

Amid concerns that too few companies are addressing vulnerabilities in their supply chain, DCMS is opening a consultation on new measures to enhance security Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Colonial Pipeline paid $5m ransom, reports say

Colonial Pipeline may have paid a significant ransom within hours of being attacked, it has emerged, but it’s unlikely the story ends here Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Irish health service hit by major ransomware attack

IT systems in hospitals across Ireland have been switched off following a significant ransomware attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Publishing exploit code does more harm than good, says report

Disclosing exploit code before patches are available gives malicious actors a ‘massive’ head-start, says Kenna Security Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Biden beefs up public-private security cooperation

Joe Biden has signed a new Executive Order to harden US cyber security and government networks, with an emphasis on information sharing Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Verizon DBIR underscores year of unprecedented cyber challenge

Verizon 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report draws predictable conclusions as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be felt Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Inside DarkSide: Researchers share intel on break-out cyber gang

Security researchers swap information on the newly famous DarkSide ransomware gang, the group that doesn’t appear to understand what ‘being a criminal’ actually means Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK to fund national cyber teams in Global South

Government will commit millions of pounds to supporting vulnerable countries in establishing cyber capacity Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK Plc invited to sign up for Early Warning of cyber incidents

The launch of the Early Warning incident notification service is among the enhancements being made by the NCSC to its service packages Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC cyber guidance targets cloud and home working

The NCSC’s refreshed cyber security guidance for larger organisations places particular emphasis on cloud, home working and ransomware Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Collaboration key to success of UK’s Cyber Security Council

The founders of the UK’s Cyber Security Council have been setting out their plans to professionalise the cyber sector at the NCSC’s CyberUK 2021 event Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SolarWinds CEO calls for collective action against state attacks

SolarWinds CEO tells NCSC’s CyberUK conference he is exploring the possibility of collaborating with other companies on collective cyber action against attacks backed by nation states Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack has grave consequences

The ramifications of a major ransomware attack against a US fuel pipeline operator could spread far and wide Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC Active Cyber Defence blocks surge of pandemic scams

The NCSC responded to a surge in online scams last year as it moved to protect both the general public and critical national services during the pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC, CISA publish new information on Russia’s Cozy Bear

New intelligence from UK and US cyber agencies suggests that APT29, or Cozy Bear, has been switching up its tactics Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC publishes smart city security guidelines

Guidance for local authorities, IT and cyber professionals aims to ensure the security of connected, smart city projects Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber accreditation to improve legal standing of security pros

Institute of Cyber Digital Investigations Professionals will help incident responders and cyber investigators get the professional recognition they deserve Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Reddit enlists HackerOne to run public bug bounty programme

Online community platform is opening up its HackerOne bug bounty programme to any ethical hacker who cares to have a look under the bonnet Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ransomware, supply chain attacks show no sign of abating

Security experts at Black Hat Asia 2021 discuss the state of ransomware and supply chain attacks, two of the most common attack vectors that offer high returns for threat actors Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Scammers accidentally reveal fake Amazon review data

More than 13 million records relating to an organised fake review scam have been found on an unsecured ElasticSearch database, implicating hundreds of thousands of people in unethical behaviour Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

HSBC blocks £249m in UK fraud with voice biometrics

HSBC voice recognition technology has reduced telephone banking fraud as demand for the channel increases Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Sophos: How timely intervention stopped a ProxyLogon attack

A recent incident at an undisclosed customer sheds new light on how malicious actors exploit unpatched Microsoft Exchange servers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Half of organisations breached via a third party in 12 months

New report highlights the risks of outsourcing key business processes without paying due care and attention to your service provider’s security Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Northern Ireland pilots security training plan for 16-25s

Pilot scheme in Northern Ireland aims to widen access to cyber security careers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Covid-19 security challenges leave bank customers at risk

Challenges arising from the pandemic have left gaping holes in banking security, putting consumers at risk of fraud Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Recruiters can’t afford to hold out for cyber ‘unicorns’

The perfect security candidate is hard to find, so hiring policy needs to be more pragmatic Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Office 365 compromise likely led to Merseyrail ransomware attack

Compromise of Merseyrail employee data seems to have begun after a key email account was hacked Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Total cost of ransomware attack heading towards $2m

Sophos’ latest study finds that ransomware attacks are proving increasingly disruptive to their victims’ finances Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Leaky Azure storage account puts software developer IP at risk

Source code for multiple products was left exposed in an unsecured Microsoft Azure cloud storage account, say researchers, but attributing responsibility for the error has proved difficult Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Researchers shed more light on APT29 activity during SolarWinds attack

RiskIQ’s Atlas threat intel team uncovers new patterns and threat infrastructure used in the SolarWind’s attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ToxicEye malware exploits Telegram messaging service

The Telegram instant messaging service is being used by malicious actors to manage a remote access trojan called ToxicEye Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC offers teachers free cyber security training

The NCSC’s latest security training offer builds on a package of measures designed to protect schools from cyber attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SonicWall Email Security zero-days need urgent patch

Users of SonicWall Email Security are advised to patch immediately, but the supplier is being criticised for the pace of its response Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Time is running out to probe networks for Emotet

Security teams will lose an unprecedented opportunity to gain valuable intelligence to enhance their defences when Emotet is finally ‘executed’ in a few days’ time Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Chinese APT exploits critical CVE in Pulse Secure VPN

A newly disclosed vulnerability in Pulse Secure’s VPN is being exploited by a Chinese advanced persistent threat group – assume compromise and mitigate today Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: ‘Legitimate interest’ crucial for vaccine passports

What are the security issues and challenges presented by vaccine passports, and how should they be designed and used with ethics and privacy in mind? Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

Codecov supply chain attack has echoes of SolarWinds

Supply chain attack on code auditing service may have compromised the likes of HPE and IBM Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The Secret IR Insider’s Diary – from Sunburst to DarkSide

From dealing with SolarWinds fallout to ransomware attacks, it’s been a busy few weeks for the Secret IR Insider, but they've picked up some new tricks along the way Continue Reading

By

• The Secret IR Insider, Check Point

Finnish government strengthens country’s IT network security

Finland’s government has created a new national organisation to help public and private bodies improve network security Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Biden sanctions Russia over SolarWinds cyber attacks

US president imposes new sanctions on Russia following malicious cyber attacks against the US and allies Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

University of Hertfordshire is latest academic cyber attack victim

Multiple systems are offline at the University of Hertfordshire following a cyber attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft is most impersonated brand in phishing attempts

Technology companies continue to be frequently spoofed by cyber criminals in their phishing attempts Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ireland’s DPC launches probe into Facebook leak

The Irish Data Protection Commission has launched an ‘own volition’ inquiry into the leak of data from 500 million Facebook profiles Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Vaccine passports cannot be taken lightly

What are the security issues and challenges presented by vaccine passports, and how should they be designed and used with ethics and privacy in mind? Continue Reading

By

• Richard Hunt, Turnkey Consulting

MP told to ditch official email over hacking fears

MP Tom Tugendhat claims the intelligence services advised him to switch to the Gmail service due to concerns his parliamentary email could be hacked Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What has a year of home working meant for the DPO?

Byron Shirley of The Compliance Space explores how the role of the data protection officer has changed in the past 12 months Continue Reading

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• Byron Shirley, The Compliance Space

Egypt, Italy and US most affected in Facebook leak

Researchers at VPN firm Surfshark have been analysing data on 533 million people leaked from Facebook Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC: Using your pet’s name as a password is very stupid

If your email password is still Rex, Rover or Mr Fluffles, it’s probably best to change it, the NCSC has said Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cring ransomware hits ICS through two-year-old bug

A long-disclosed vulnerability in Fortinet’s Fortigate VPN servers is being exploited to distribute Cring ransomware Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nation-state cyber attacks double in three years

Cyber attacks backed by nation states are becoming more frequent and varied, moving the world closer to a point of ‘advanced cyber-conflict’, according to a University of Surrey research project Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Facebook ducks calls to apologise over huge data leak

Facebook gives its side of the story as data on millions of its users leaks, but is yet to apologise for security lapses that put half a billion people at risk of compromise Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Facebook data leak could be outside scope of GDPR

Regulators may be unable to do much about leaked data on 533 million Facebook users, as it seems to have been stolen before GDPR came into force Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ultimate guide to cybersecurity incident response

Learn actionable incident response strategies that your IT and enterprise security teams can use to meet today's security threats and vulnerabilities more effectively. Continue Reading

By

• Kevin Beaver, Principle Logic, LLC

NHS is apparently closing security skills gap

By the end of 2020, there were more than twice as many in-house security professionals at NHS trusts as there were two years before Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Evolving threats, tech, leaves CNI exposed

In light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them? Continue Reading

By

• Tim Parker

Cyber Security Council to champion UK security pros

A new cyber security professional body has launched with the aim of developing and promoting UK cyber security excellence globally and growing the skills base Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Create an incident response plan with this free template

Want to boost your organization's ability to fight cybersecurity threats? Uncover the essentials to creating an incident response plan and download our free, editable template. Continue Reading

By

• Paul Kirvan

Ransomware attack on London schools highlights warnings

Ransomware attack on Harris Federation comes just days after a fresh NCSC alert for the education sector Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The Security Interviews: How to secure an F1 team in a pandemic

A multi-year digital transformation programme paid off for F1 team Williams Racing when the 2020 season was abruptly postponed thanks to Covid-19. Learn how the team’s CIO has been supporting remote working and protecting data Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK courts face evidence ‘black hole’ over police EncroChat mass hacking

French investigators have refused to disclose how they downloaded millions of messages from a supposedly secure cryptophone network used by organised criminals – leaving UK courts to grapple with a forensic ‘black hole’ of evidence Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly
• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Cyber attack takes Channel Nine off-air

The Australian broadcaster was hit by an alleged ransomware attack that disrupted broadcasting operations in its Sydney studio Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Retailer FatFace pays $2m ransom to Conti cyber criminals

Retailer FatFace paid out a $2m ransom to restore its data following a January 2021 cyber attack by the Conti ransomware syndicate Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor
• Valéry Rieß-Marchive, Rédacteur en chef

Cyber security complacency puts UK at risk, says NCSC head

National Cyber Security Centre CEO Lindy Cameron, in her maiden speech in the role, warns of challenges ahead for the UK and sets out the future agenda for cyber Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Four in five UK businesses seek new security suppliers

Decision-makers are ready to buy new security technology, but suppliers must pay close attention to how they present themselves Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

More than £34.5m stolen in pandemic scams over past year

City of London Police and National Cyber Security Centre report large uptick in threats and crime related to Covid-19 over the past year, in some cases directed specifically at health organisations Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Oil giant Shell hit through Accellion FTA breach

Energy firm discloses cyber attack through Accellion File Transfer Appliance Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Apparent drop in cyber incidents highlights underlying problems

UK organisations report fewer cyber security incidents, but the headline data masks more serious issues, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How to choose the right email security service for your organisation

With email security threats growing rapidly, businesses can quickly identify and block these by using a top email security service. Here’s how to select the right provider Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn