Hackers and cybercrime prevention

From manifesto to material: What No. 10 needs to make reality

With Labour returning to 10 Downing Street after 14 years, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panellists share advice and wish lists for the new government Continue Reading

By

• Paul Lewis, Nominet

Phishing links becoming bigger threat than email attachments

Phishing techniques are evolving away from malicious email attachments, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Helsinki braced for elevated cyber attacks

The City of Helsinki is increasing its collaboration with cyber security and crime investigators following a major attack on its systems Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Popular Microsoft apps for Mac at risk of code injection attacks

Researchers at Cisco Talos turn up evidence suggesting that Microsoft apps running on the Apple macOS operating system are not as secure as they seem Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How might the UK's cyber landscape change under Labour?

With Labour returning to 10 Downing Street after 14 years, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panellists share advice and wish lists for the new government Continue Reading

By

• Dhairya Mehta and Cate Pye

New Relic CEO on APAC growth and future of observability

New Relic CEO Ashan Willy talks up growth trajectory in APAC, the company’s long-term vision, and how going private has enabled it to make strategic investments Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Thousands of NetSuite customers accidentally exposing their data

Misconfigured permissions across live websites are leaving thousands of NetSuite users open to having their valuable customer data stolen, researchers say Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google Cloud survey shows GenAI business benefits

Survey on behalf of Google Cloud suggests that business can start generating value from GenAI within six months Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

ASEAN organisations lack mature AI strategy

IBM-commissioned study reveals that while ASEAN organisations are engaging with AI, only 4% have reached a transformative level of AI maturity Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

August Patch Tuesday proves busy with six zero-days to fix

Microsoft patches six actively exploited zero-days among over 100 issues during its regular monthly update Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber criminal kingpin ‘J.P. Morgan’ appears in US court

‘J.P. Morgan’, a Belarusian cyber criminal who ran a major ransomware campaign supported by malvertising scams, faces decades in prison in the United States after being extradited from the EU Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Labour's first cyber priority must be the NHS

With Labour returning to 10 Downing Street after 14 years, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panellists share advice and wish lists for the new government Continue Reading

By

• Adam Button

Australia’s cyber security skills gap remains pressing issue

Study reveals Australia’s critical shortage of cyber security professionals, escalating the risk of data breaches Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Deep dive into quantum-resistant cryptography for email security

Quantum computers have the potential to crack many of the encryption methods we currently rely on to keep our digital communications safe. Quantum-resistant cryptography may be the answer Continue Reading

By

• Isla Sibanda

Royal ransomware crew puts on a BlackSuit in rebrand

The Royal ransomware gang is back, with a new name and refreshed capabilities, including an apparently unique ‘partial encryption’ gambit, according to CISA Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

US lawmakers seek to brand ransomware gangs as terrorists

Proposals from legislators in Washington DC could shake up the global ransomware ecosystem and give law enforcement sweeping new powers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

2024 seeing more CVEs than ever before, but few are weaponised

The number of disclosed CVEs soared by 30% in the first seven-and-a-half months of the year, but a tiny fraction of these have been exploited by threat actors, a reminder of the importance of focused security strategies Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Migrating to S/4Hana – how the Co-op made its move

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as SAP users prepare for the deadline to move off the ECC platform, we find out how the Co-op is migrating to S/4Hana. Our latest buyer’s guide looks at how to manage SaaS and on-premise software licensing. And we talk to former NCSC CEO Ciaran Martin about the true risks from nation-state cyber attacks. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Chinese cyber attack sparks alert over six-year-old MS vuln

After a proof-of-concept for a six-year-old Microsoft vulnerability emerged in a Chinese APT attack chain, defenders should be on the look-out for exploitation of CVE-2018-0824 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Russia’s luxury car phish continues to prove effective

Government organisations and other bodies operating in Ukraine continue to be targeted by a relatively unsophisticated phishing campaign that has proven so effective for Russia’s cyber spooks that there are now multiple agencies involved Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber lessons, and priorities for the UK's new government

With Labour returning to 10 Downing Street after 14 years, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panellists share advice and wish lists for the new government Continue Reading

By

• Ameet Jugnauth and Mark Pearce

Labour should focus on talent to improve UK's cyber posture

With Labour returning to 10 Downing Street after 14 years, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panellists share advice and wish lists for the new government Continue Reading

By

• Elliott Wilkes

How CrowdStrike is leveraging AI to empower security teams

CrowdStrike CTO Elia Zaitsev explains how the company’s multi-agent AI architecture can help to enhance analyst efficiency and tackle cyber security challenges Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Is it time to refresh the UK's cyber strategy?

With Labour returning to 10 Downing Street after 14 years, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank panellists share advice and wish lists for the new government Continue Reading

By

• Jon Carpenter

Banks, telcos call for more data sharing to fight fraud

A Which?-led coalition of banks and telecoms operators is calling on the UK's new government to take the lead on enabling data sharing to help fight digital fraud Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

API attacks surge by 65% in APAC, fuelled by rapid digitisation

Akamai's report reveals a significant rise in cyber attacks on web applications and APIs in the region over the past year, with financial and commerce sectors hardest hit Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

When critical cyber response becomes second nature

When alerts and headlines blare out warnings of critical vulnerabilities in widely-used software, the cyber security community needs to adopt a more decisive and clear-cut approach, says Huntress' Chris Henderson Continue Reading

By

• Chris Henderson, Huntress

Campaigners call for evidence to reform UK cyber laws

The CyberUp Campaign for reform of the 1990 Computer Misuse Act launches an industry survey inviting cyber experts to share their views on how the outdated law hinders legitimate work Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Breach costs soar as record ransomware payment made

IBM publishes data on the spiralling costs of cyber attacks and data breaches, while researchers identify what appears to be the largest ransomware payment ever made Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Basic failures led to hack of Electoral Commission data on 40 million people

UK government identifies Chinese state-linked hackers as likely to have been behind attack on the Electoral Commission Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Core British Library services to return for new academic year

The British Library’s recovery from a devastating ransomware attack that laid waste to its IT systems continues - with hopes that some of its most popular services will be running again in September Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Scam CrowdStrike domains growing in volume

Hundreds of malicious domains exploiting CrowdStrike’s branding are appearing all over the web in the wake of the 19 July outage. Experts from Akamai share some noteworthy examples, along with guidance on how to avoid getting caught out Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What is a computer exploit?

A computer exploit, or exploit, is a program or piece of code developed to take advantage of a vulnerability in a computer or network system. Continue Reading

By

• Brien Posey

North Korean cyber APT targeting nuclear secrets

Mandiant has upgraded the North Korean threat actor known as Andariel to APT status and warned of coordinated efforts to steal western military IP, including nuclear secrets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mimecast to buy insider threat specialist Code42

Mimecast is to buy fellow human-centred risk experts Code42 for an undisclosed sum to take advantage of its insider threat and data loss protection specialisms Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCA seizes thousands of social media accounts used by people smugglers

A three-year campaign has seen thousands of social media posts and accounts used to advertise the services of illegal people smugglers taken down Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCA cracks digitalstress DDoS-for-hire operation

The UK authorities have taken down a major component of the multinational DDoS cyber attack-for-hire ecosystem, hacking into the digitalstress.su service and exfiltrating data on its users, who now face arrest Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC: Beware of criminal CrowdStrike opportunists

Financially motivated cyber criminals are already conducting opportunistic attacks on organisations that leverage the CrowdStrike incident, and more targeted attacks are sure to follow Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Growth in nude image sharing heightens cyber abuse risk

The normalisation of sharing self-created intimate content with others is putting great numbers of people at risk of online abuse, says Kaspersky Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK Cyber Bill teases mandatory ransomware reporting

In the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill introduced in the King's Speech, the UK's new government pledges to give regulators more teeth to ensure compliance with security best practice and to mandate incident reporting Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Hackney Council reprimanded over 2020 ransomware attack

The London Borough of Hackney has been reprimanded by the ICO over a series of failures that led to a devastating cyber attack, but at the same time, the regulator praised the local authority for its response and commitment to making improvements Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Labour government plans new laws around cyber security, data sharing and skills

The King's Speech outlined the legislative agenda for the new Parliament, including several bills that will impact the tech community Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

How iProov is fending off deepfake fraud

Facial biometrics and controlled illumination can detect liveness, verify identities and help prevent deepfake attacks Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Strategic Defence Review must emphasise cyber security, says industry

Cyber security leaders say the new government's Strategic Defence Review needs to put digital security front and centre Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NHS Trusts cancelled over 6,000 appointments after Qilin cyber attack

The two NHS Trusts most heavily impacted by the Qilin ransomware attack on pathology services provider Synnovis have cancelled over 6,000 appointments and procedures in the past five weeks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

AT&T loses ‘nearly all’ phone records in Snowflake breach

Hackers have stolen records of virtually every call made by AT&T's customers during a six-month period in 2022, after compromising the US telco's Snowflake data environment Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Public awareness of ID security grows, but big obstacles remain

Consumers are improving their awareness of the issues around digital identity security, but there are still some big issues preventing many from doing better, according to an Okta report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch research firm TNO pictures the SOC of the future

In only a few years, security operations centres will have a different design and layout, and far fewer will remain Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohius

Inside Israel’s cyber security operations

An emergency phone line allows cyber security analysts at the Israel Computer Emergency Response Team to map threats against national infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Chinese spies target vulnerable home office kit to run cyber attacks

China’s APT40 is ramping up targeting of victims using vulnerable small and home office networking kit as command and control infrastructure, according to an international alert Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Lessons from war: How Israel is fighting Iranian state-backed hacking

The general director of the Israel National Cyber Directorate talks about the rise in cyber attacks and what lessons the country has gleaned to defend against hacking from foreign parties Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Atos jumps on ‘moving train’ for Euro 2024

Atos provides the IT supporting major recurring sporting events including Uefa’s European Football Championship Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Synnovis attack highlights degraded, outdated state of NHS IT

More cyber attacks against the health service are likely, and will succeed if something isn’t done to address the increasingly elderly NHS IT estate, experts are warning Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How do cybercriminals steal credit card information?

Cybercriminals have various methods at their disposal to hack and exploit credit card information. Learn what they are, how to prevent them and what to do when hacked. Continue Reading

By

• Andres Phillips

Safeguarding democracy from cyber threat peril  

There has been an increase in disturbing activity emerging on the dark web involving the sale of public sector assets, including election data Continue Reading

By

•  Barry O’Connell

NCA’s Operation Morpheus targets illicit Cobalt Strike use

International law enforcement operation targets cyber criminals using the Cobalt Strike penetration testing framework for dodgy purposes Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber Essentials at 10: Success or failure?

The Cyber Essentials scheme passed its 10th anniversary in June 2024. CyberSmart's Adam Pilton reflects on progress and argues that more needs to be done to raise security awareness among Britain's small business community Continue Reading

By

• Adam Pilton

How FWD is driving its digital strategy

FWD’s group chief technology and operations officer talks up how the pan-Asian insurer is driving change faster and putting technology at the heart of its services Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

How Recorded Future is operationalising threat intelligence

Recorded Future is investing in APIs to enable automated security workflows, among other measures, to help organisations overcome the hurdles of operationalising threat intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Israel’s cyber chief calls for international front against Iranian hackers

Israel’s cyber chief has called for international action against Iran over state-backed hacking Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange freed from prison

A deal reached with US authorities will end the WikiLeaks founder’s years-long legal saga, setting him free if he pleads guilty to a criminal conspiracy charge Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

NHS experts raise warning over patient data breach risk in registries project

Clinicians warn that the NHS England Outcome Registries Platform has poor security and is vulnerable to cyber attack, putting critical patient data at risk of being exposed Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Sellafield pleads guilty to criminal charges over cyber security

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority-backed organisation Sellafield Ltd pleads guilty to criminal charges brought over significant cyber security failings that could have compromised sensitive nuclear information Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Qilin ransomware gang publishes stolen NHS data online

The ransomware gang behind a major cyber attack on NHS supplier Synnovis has published a 400GB trove of private healthcare data online Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Black Basta ransomware crew may be exploiting Microsoft zero-day

A Microsoft vulnerability that was addressed without fanfare in March may in fact have been exploited as a zero-day by the notorious Black Basta ransomware gang, threat hunters warn Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

RCE flaw and DNS zero-day top list of Patch Tuesday bugs

An RCE vulnerability in a Microsoft messaging feature and a third-party flaw in a DNS authentication protocol are the most pressing issues to address in Microsoft’s latest Patch Tuesday Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Pure Storage hit by Snowflake credential hackers

Pure Storage emerges as the latest victim of a fast-spreading breach of Snowflake customers targeting users with lax credential security measures in place Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

More than 160 Snowflake customers hit in targeted data theft spree

Mandiant reports that more than 160 Snowflake customers have been hit in a broad data theft and extortion campaign targeting organisations that have failed to pay proper attention to securing valuable credentials Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

General election 2024: Liberal Democrats thread digital commitments throughout manifesto

The Lib Dems have promised a new industrial strategy and emphasised the importance of the digital sector, skills and regulating AI, as they lay out plans for the UK general election Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

NHS blood stocks running low after ransomware attack

The NHS is appealing for people with O Positive and O Negative blood types to come forward to donate as hospitals in London struggle to keep critical services running after ransomware attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

DDoS gang threatens to disrupt European elections

Russian hacktivists are threatening to disrupt the European Parliament elections, while the BBC reports on new deepfake threats to the UK’s electoral process Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Bitdefender makes MDR services free to NHS bodies hit by Qilin

Bitdefender offers NHS bodies affected by a major cyber incident free access to its product suite, as the health service continues to deal with the impact of the Qilin ransomware attack on partner Synnovis Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Sophos uncovers Chinese state-sponsored campaign in Southeast Asia

Sophos found three distinct clusters of activity targeted at a high-level government organisation that appeared to be tied to Chinese interests in the South China Sea Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

FBI finds 7,000 LockBit decryption keys in blow to criminal gang

The US authorities say they now have more than 7,000 LockBit decryption keys in their possession and are urging victims of the prolific ransomware gang to come forward Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Qilin ransomware gang likely behind crippling NHS attack

Security experts investigating a major cyber attack on an NHS partner that has caused frontline services across South London to grind to a halt say the Qilin ransomware gang appears to be the culprit Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

OAIC files civil penalty action against Medibank

The OAIC alleges that Medibank failed to take reasonable steps to protect the personal information of 9.7 million Australians in the October 2022 data breach Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Security Think Tank: The cloud just got more complicated

This month, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how CISOs and security practitioners should ensure that the business can make use of public cloud services safely and securely and avoid accidental or deliberate data leakage. Continue Reading

By

• Rob Dartnall, SecAlliance

Building a more secure, and sustainable, open source ecosystem

In April 2024, the discovery of an intentionally-placed backdoor in the open source XZ Utils data compression caused concern. Sentry's Chad Whitacre says a more thoughtful approach is needed to balance the individual freedom and creativity of open source, with more rigorous security practice. Continue Reading

By

• Chad Whitacre

NHS services at major London hospitals disrupted by cyber attack

A major cyber attack at NHS services provider Synnovis is disrupting frontline care at hospitals across London Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Russia used fake AI Tom Cruise in Olympic disinformation campaign

Microsoft threat researchers report a surge in Russian disinformation campaigns targeting the 2024 Summer Olympics, including AI-enhanced propaganda Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

97 FTSE 100 firms exposed to supply chain breaches

Between March 2023 and March 2024, 97 out of 100 companies on the UK’s FTSE 100 list were put at risk of compromise following supply chain breaches at third-party suppliers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Major breaches allegedly caused by unsecured Snowflake accounts

Significant data breaches at Ticketmaster and Santander appear to have been orchestrated through careful targeting of the victims’ Snowflake cloud data management accounts Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ticketek Australia hit by data breach

Customer names, dates of birth and email addresses of Ticketek Australia account holders reportedly impacted in latest data breach affecting event ticketing firm Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Europol sting operation smokes multiple botnets

Malware droppers including Bumblebee and Smokeloader were among those targeted in one of the largest ever joint operations against cyber criminal botnets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Proofpoint exposes AFF scammers’ piano gambit

Ransomware and nation state actors dominate the headlines, but fraud and scams still net career cyber criminals thousands from unsuspecting members of the public. Proofpoint reports on a campaign targeting victims of a musical inclination Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Parliamentarians warn of UK election threat from Russia, China and North Korea

Joint parliamentary security committee chair Margaret Beckett writes to prime minister urging government to prepare for foreign states interfering with 4 July election Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Rockwell urges users to disconnect ICS equipment

ICS systems maker Rockwell Automation calls on users to take steps to secure their equipment, and reminds them there is no reason to ever have its hardware connected to the public internet, as it tracks an increase in global threat activity Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ORBs: Hacking groups’ new favourite way of keeping their attacks hidden

Beware the ORB: why attacks on your network could come from a home router down the street Continue Reading

By

• Steve Ranger

The Security Interviews: What is the real cyber threat from China?

Former NCSC boss Ciaran Martin talks about nation-state attacks, why the UK has become so exercised about cyber espionage, and how our leaders are in danger of misunderstanding their adversaries Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ATM jackpotting

ATM jackpotting is the exploitation of physical and software vulnerabilities in automated banking machines that result in the machines dispensing cash. Continue Reading

By

• Rahul Awati

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange granted appeal

Two high court judges granted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange leave to appeal against extradition to the US after defence lawyers argued that the US had failed to give adequate assurances Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Why the UK needs to fix its broken IT security market

Ollie Whitehouse, CTO of GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre, says the market for secure software is broken. Are new laws required to make software companies liable for poor security? Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

US authorities crack BreachForums for a second time

The BreachForums data leak website has been seized by the FBI and international partners again Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

GCHQ to protect politicians and election candidates from cyber attacks

The National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, to protect election candidates from hostile state cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

WikiLeaks founder’s extradition case labelled ‘institutional corruption’

Call for Julian Assange to be prosecuted in the US has been condemned as ‘institutional corruption on a judicial level’ with the WikiLeaks founder a ‘political prisoner’ Continue Reading

By

• Charlie Moloney

China poses genuine and increasing cyber security risk to UK, says GCHQ director

GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler uses her first major public speech to warn that China poses a significant cyber security threat to the UK Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

CyberUK 24: UK insurance industry gets tough on ransomware

Three of the UK’s largest insurance associations have signed on to a new initiative spearheaded by the NCSC to try to bring down the number of ransomware payments being made Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

bug bounty program

A bug bounty program, also called a vulnerability rewards program (VRP), is a crowdsourcing initiative that rewards individuals like ethical hackers and security researchers for discovering and reporting vulnerabilities and bugs in software. Continue Reading

By

• Rahul Awati

The UK may not have a choice on a ransomware payment ban

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading

By

• Ian Thornton-Trump

Major breach of customer information developing at Dell

Almost 50 million data records relating to Dell customers appear to have been compromised in a major cyber breach Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor