Data breach incident management and recovery

NCSC beefs up support for education sector after spate of attacks

Refreshed guidance from the NCSC recommends a defence-in-depth strategy as schools and universities face a renewed wave of cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Attacks on CNI – an evolving frontier in warfare

In the 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

• Asaf Weisberg, ISACA board of directors

$50m ransomware demand on Acer is highest ever

Record-breaking double-extortion cyber attack saw REvil gang exfiltrate financial data from Taiwan-based PC manufacturer Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Back to square one – ground-up CNI protection

In the 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

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• Matthias Reinwarth, KuppingerCole

Security Think Tank: Properly protecting CNI demands specificity

In the 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

• Paddy Francis

Eastern Health reports ‘cyber incident’, takes systems offline

Australian healthcare provider Eastern Health takes IT systems offline as a precaution while it looks into a cyber incident Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Security Think Tank: Take a realistic perspective on CNI cyber attacks

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

• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

Average ransomware cost triples, says report

The average amount paid out by ransomware victims has grown almost threefold to more than $300,000 per incident, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Top incident response tools to boost network protection

Incident response tools can help organizations identify, prevent and respond to malware exploits, ransomware and other targeted cybersecurity attacks. Continue Reading

By

• Dave Shackleford, Voodoo Security

Security Think Tank: CNI operators must focus on core issues

In the 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

• Petra Wenham

Cyber sector welcomes PM’s defence review

Security commentators approve of measures to improve the UK’s cyber resilience, strengthen its R&D and skills base, lead on the development of new technology and promote a free, open, peaceful and secure global internet Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How attackers counter incident response after a data breach

It's not over until it's over. Explore how attackers use backdoors and evasion techniques to counter incident response measures even long after a data breach is disclosed. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Kempster

MoD partners playing fast and loose with confidential data

Clear spike in data breach incidents at defence partners may reflect better reporting standards, claims MoD Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Unusual DearCry ransomware uses ‘rare’ approach to encryption

Hybrid approach to encryption used by DearCry bears similarities to WannaCry Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft releases one-click ProxyLogon mitigation tool

Microsoft’s mitigation tool is designed to help customers without dedicated security or IT teams navigate fixing their vulnerable Exchange servers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK plans ‘full spectrum’ approach to national cyber security

PM Boris Johnson expands on proposed National Cyber Force and plans to set up a north of England Cyber Corridor Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft Exchange ProxyLogon attacks spike 10 times in four days

Exploitations of the Microsoft Exchange ProxyLogon vulnerabilities have increased tenfold in just four days Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Judges refuse EncroChat defendants’ appeal to Supreme Court

Experts suggest Parliament and Investigatory Powers Tribunal need to consider the implications of a court decision on police use of data from the EncroChat phone network Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

EncroChat ruling has ‘far-reaching effects’ for legal role of interception in UK investigations

The computer forensic experts involved in the review of police use of data hacked from the ultra-secure EncroChat phone network assess the impact of the Appeal Court ruling on future legal use of intercept evidence   Continue Reading

By

• Duncan Campbell, Ian Brown

Security Think Tank: CNI operators are in an unenviable position

In the 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

• Mike Lloyd, RedSeal

NCSC issues emergency alert on Microsoft Exchange patch

UK’s national cyber agency calls on organisations affected by the ProxyLogon vulnerabilities to patch their Microsoft Exchange Servers immediately Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

DearCry ransomware targets vulnerable Exchange servers

As predicted, ransomware gangs have started to target vulnerable instances of Microsoft Exchange Server, making patching an even greater priority Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Brewer Molson Coors targeted in cyber attack

Cyber criminals have disrupted beer production at Molson Coors, one of the world’s largest brewers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why the London Data Charter could be a foundation stone in the city’s recovery

London First’s director of connectivity and competitiveness, David Lutton, explains why data is at the core of the capital’s recovery plan Continue Reading

By

• David Lutton

Attack on surveillance cameras a warning over security, ethics

The attack on a video surveillance startup by a hacktivist group raises questions not just over cyber security, but the use and extent of surveillance technology Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Norwegian government falls victim to Microsoft attacks

Norway’s parliament, the Storting, suffers second major cyber incident in a year as threat groups capitalise on vulnerable Microsoft Exchange Servers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Patch Tuesday overshadowed by Microsoft Exchange attacks

Microsoft’s March Patch Tuesday update drops amid ongoing fall-out from widespread Exchange attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Belgian police raid 200 premises in drug operation linked to breach of encrypted phone network

More than 1,600 police and law enforcement officials conduct drug raids after the compromise of an encrypted mobile phone network that has parallels with EncroChat Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Why your business needs SOC as a service

Security in the digital era demands that businesses monitor their entire IT estate and resolve all alerts, but for many organisations the most effective way of doing that is SOCaaS Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

EBA restores services after Microsoft Exchange attack

European Banking Authority was breached through vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server, but is now back online Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Are you ready to return to the office?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, a year after lockdown began, we look at employers’ changing attitudes to returning to the workplace. We find out how the software developer community has coped during the Covid-19 pandemic. And we examine the cyber security concerns prompted by latest social media craze, Clubhouse. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

US teases retaliation over state-backed cyber attacks

Consequences for alleged perpetrators of the SolarWinds attack are expected within the next few weeks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Williams F1 car launch disrupted by data leak

Williams Formula One team forced to pull augmented reality app it had planned to use to launch its 2021 car at the last minute after an apparent cyber attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mandiant: MS Exchange bugs first exploited in January

Analysis from technical teams at FireEye’s Mandiant tracked activity exploiting newly disclosed vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server more than a month ago Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Singapore Airlines the latest victim of supply chain attack

A restricted set of data of over 580,000 frequent flyer members of Singapore Airlines was exposed in a supply chain attack against Sita’s passenger service system Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Microsoft Exchange CVEs more widely exploited than thought

US CISA issues emergency guidance as impact of four newly disclosed Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities becomes clearer Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Qualys caught up in Accellion FTA breach

Security services supplier confirms that some of its data was stolen via vulnerabilities in Accellion’s file transfer product Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Emergency patch addresses MS Exchange Server zero-days

Microsoft releases an emergency patch to address multiple zero-day exploits directed at on-premise installations of Exchange Server Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Essential guide to operation-centric security

To stay ahead of cyber attackers, IT security teams need to take an operation-centric approach, to offer a real-time picture of activity across their estate. Continue Reading

Npower shuts off app after credential stuffing attack

Npower customers will have to log in to their accounts on its website after its app was withdrawn following a security breach Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

MHRA and other agencies to offer new resources for scam victims

New landing page resources will replace .uk domains suspended for criminal activity to help members of the public access appropriate guidance Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Transport for NSW hit by Accellion breach

Australian state agency Transport for New South Wales is the latest victim of the supply chain attack against Accellion’s legacy file transfer system Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Vaccine passports prove an ethical minefield

Privacy campaigners warn that vaccine passports may turn out to be discriminatory and invasive, while technologists agree careful consideration must be given to their design Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Babuk ransomware unsophisticated, but highly dangerous

Intelligence gathered through McAfee’s Mvision service reveals more insight into the emerging Babuk ransomware Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Bombardier is latest victim of Accellion supply chain attack

Canadian aviation company joins the growing list of Accellion breach victims Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Warning on security risk from virtual events platforms

Vulnerabilities found in virtual events platforms could form part of a variant supply chain attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How to achieve security observability in complex environments

Security observability is a novel approach to incident detection that goes beyond traditional monitoring. Read on to learn if this emerging strategy is right for your enterprise. Continue Reading

By

• Michael Cobb

XDR makes cyber a Stroll in the park for Aston Martin F1

Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One team will run SentinelOne’s Singularity XDR platform under the bonnet Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microphones, smartphones, laptops among items stolen from BBC

A total of 105 devices have been stolen from the BBC in the past two years, some of which may have been spirited away by remote workers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Pandemic has exposed fractures in cyber fraud strategy

RUSI report urges a bolder and more coordinated response to cyber-enabled fraud as the pandemic lays bear the scale of the problem Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC cyber defence scheme blocked thousands of scams in 2019

The NCSC has reported another productive year for its Active Cyber Defence programme Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Biden will act on cyber security to fix SolarWinds mess

US will take action to modernise its defences in the wake of the SolarWinds attack, says US government cyber lead Anne Neuberger Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

City of Helsinki adopts MyData principles to improve digital services

Principles on the use of personal data for the benefit of society will guide Finnish capital’s ambitious digital plans Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

2020 a record year for cyber, thanks to Covid

The UK’s cyber industry now employs close to 50,000 people and contributes billions to the economy Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

North Korean Lazarus Group hackers indicted in US

Charges filed relate to Lazarus Group’s long-running cyber crime spree, including financial theft and extortion, WannaCry malware and the cyber attack on Sony Pictures Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security pros agree: We need to take a break

As many as 85% of security staff engage in leisure activities during working hours, but they have excellent reasons for doing so Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Egregor ransomware arrests confirmed

Authorities confirm that they have arrested an undisclosed number of cyber criminals associated with the Egregor ransomware Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Law firm and cyber criminals clash over source of stolen data

Cyber attack victim Jones Day says its data was stolen in a supply chain attack, but the gang holding it to ransom disagrees Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

North Korea accused of Pfizer Covid vaccine cyber attack

South Korean intelligence pins a recent attack on Pfizer, targeting information on coronavirus vaccines, on its neighbour Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

RDP, SSH exposures off the charts thanks to remote working

The Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on the prevalence of certain vulnerabilities in the wild, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Biden must address insider security threat first

As US president Joe Biden sets out his agenda for the next four years, we consider the opportunities for renewed international collaboration on cyber security, what aspects of cyber Biden should focus on, and ask how the industry can make its voice heard Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

Hacked Finnish therapy business collapses

Vastaamo, the Finnish psychotherapy centre whose patients were blackmailed by a cyber criminal gang, has filed for bankruptcy Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Low-complexity CVEs a growing concern

Analysis of thousands of CVEs logged with NIST in 2020 reveals some unwelcome developments Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Is it time to ban ransomware insurance payments?

The former head of the NCSC recently called for a dialogue over whether or not it is time to ban insurers from covering ransomware payments. Is he on the right track? Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Singtel falls prey to supply chain attack

The Singapore telco reveals that its Accellion file sharing system was illegally hacked in a supply chain attack Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

HelloKitty almost certainly behind CD Projekt ransomware attack

Theories that the cyber attack on a high-profile gaming studio was orchestrated by players who are disappointed in a videogame are likely wide of the mark, according to analysis Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Sim-swapping crooks targeted celebrities, influencers

Eight arrests have been made in England and Scotland in connection with a series of Sim-swapping attacks targeting high-profile victims Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Data breaches are a ticking timebomb for consumers

Damage from data breaches goes far beyond the impact to the target organisation – an obvious fact that is too often overlooked, says F-Secure Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyberpunk 2077 developer refuses to pay up after ransomware attack

Polish video game developer CD Projekt has released details of a ransomware attack on its systems Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

‘Batman Begins’ cyber attack is a warning to CNI providers

A thwarted cyber attack in a Florida town that could have resulted in the poisoning of the water supply is a timely reminder of the vulnerability of critical services Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Data of thousands of Dutch citizens leaked from government Covid-19 systems

Weak access controls and outdated systems blamed for leaking of the personal details of thousands of Dutch citizens tested for Covid-19 Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Security firm Stormshield loses source code in cyber attack

Source code from two products developed by French cyber security firm was compromised in a December 2020 incident Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Woodland Trust hit by cyber attack in December

Conservation charity is investigating what it describes as a ‘sophisticated’ cyber attack but has waited nearly two months to inform its members Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SolarWinds chases multiple leads in breach investigation

Investigators at SolarWinds are exploring multiple theories as to how the company’s systems were compromised Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fraud and cyber crime still vastly under-reported

The scale of digitally enabled crime in the UK is dramatically under-reported, new statistics indicate Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Foxtons rejects claims of slow reaction to data leak

Investigators have unearthed 16,000 data records that seem to have been stolen in an attack on property firm Foxtons last year, but the organisation says it acted by the book in dealing with the incident Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

‘Classic’ Cerber ransomware targets health sector in high volumes

Cerber ransomware-as-a-service seems to have re-emerged as one of the most critical cyber threats facing healthcare organisations, reports VMware Carbon Black Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SolarWinds patches two critical CVEs in Orion platform

New vulnerabilities disclosed as SolarWinds reels from December 2020 Solorigate/Sunburst attack – but do not appear to have been exploited yet Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Serco confirms Babuk ransomware attack

Outsourcing firm was hit by the ransomware last week but insists most of its operations are running as normal Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UKRI suspends services after ransomware attack

UK Research and Innovation was hit by an undisclosed strain of ransomware at the end of January Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CISOs invisible to their organisations, says BT report

Ignorance of cyber issues is leading to misplaced confidence in security in many organisations, as CISOs struggle to make themselves seen and heard Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SBRC picks Check Point to support cyber helpline

The Scottish Business Resilience Centre has enlisted Check Point as the first security supplier to join its incident response partnership programme Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Indian firms see growing value of data

Half of Indian IT leaders see a permanent increase in value of data as their organisations come under threat from mounting cyber attacks amid the pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Hunting and anti-hunting groups locked in tit-for-tat row over data gathering

The leaking of internal documents has prompted a row between pro- and anti-hunting groups about the legality of the other’s data collection practices Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Revealed: Brits who fuelled ‘vicious’ conspiracy theory by Trump supporters

Trump supporters have apologised and paid millions in damages to the family of murdered Democratic Party staffer Seth Rich for promoting false allegations that Rich – not Russian agents – stole emails from the Democratic National Committee Continue Reading

By

• Duncan Campbell , 2QQ Ltd, Sussex University

Manufacturing particularly at risk of Solorigate-linked breaches

Every fifth victim of the SolarWinds Solorigate/Sunburst attack was a manufacturing organisation, say researchers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Human factor dominates Australia’s latest data breach numbers

The number of data breaches resulting from human error increased by 18% in the second half of 2020, according to Australian government’s latest notifiable data breaches report Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

End of Emotet: A blow to cyber crime, but don’t drop your guard

The takedown of Emotet is a huge event with repercussions that will reverberate across the cyber criminal world, but unfortunately that’s not to say there will be much of a long-term impact Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mimecast breach was work of SolarWinds attackers

Mimecast’s investigation into a January 2021 breach of its systems turns up evidence that the culprit was the same group that targeted SolarWinds in December Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Emotet botnet goes offline as cops seize servers

The Emotet botnet has been disrupted and knocked offline after a major international effort by law enforcement Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Grindr complaint results in €9.6m GDPR fine

Norway’s data protection authority plans to apply a fine totalling 10% of LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr’s revenues over its data sharing practices Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The ransomware routine: pages from the Secret IR Insider’s diary

The Secret Incident Response Insider shares behind-the-scenes stories of what really happens after organisations are hit by cyber attacks – and shows how they could have been avoided Continue Reading

By

• The Secret IR Insider, Check Point

Conservatives broke data law to racially profile millions

The Conservative Party acted illegally in collecting data that inferred voters’ ethnicity and religious background, a Select Committee has heard Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

North Korean state attacks legitimate security researchers

Threat researchers specialising in vulnerability research and development appear to be being targeted by a North Korean state-backed group Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ICO extends commissioner Denham’s term of office

Extension of Elizabeth Denham’s tenure as information commissioner will give the government more time to appoint her successor Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Sepa data leaks as agency resists ransom demands

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is resisting extortion demands from a ransomware gang, but has suffered a data leak in retaliation Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Hackney Council tenders for cyber security upgrade

Suppliers are being invited to tender for enhanced cyber security capabilities at ransomware victim Hackney Council Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Gamarue malware found on government-issued school laptops

Devices handed out by the government to support vulnerable children contain malware that appears to be contacting C2 infrastructure in Russia Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How can healthcare organisations fight increased cyber crime in 2021?

As the Covid-19 pandemic enters what may be its most dangerous phase, we explore how healthcare organisations can ward off cyber threats while preserving their ability to deliver critical care Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

Incompetent cyber criminals leak data in opsec failure

Even cyber criminals need to pay attention to their information security posture, as this cautionary tale uncovered by Check Point reveals Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor