Hackers and cybercrime prevention

Aviatrix VPN vulnerability left user endpoints wide open

Immersive Labs has disclosed a serious vulnerability in VPN supplier Aviatrix’s enterprise client that could have granted hackers elevated user privileges across enterprise targets Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Hackers primed to exploit 5G to Wi-Fi handover flaws

Warning that attackers will find new vulnerabilities to access voice and data on 5G mobile phones as carriers hand off calls and data to Wi-Fi networks to save bandwidth Continue Reading

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• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

RMIT to tackle cyber security challenges

Australia’s Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology has teamed up with Amazon Web Services to launch a Cloud Innovation Centre to solve cyber security challenges Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Black Hat Europe: Red teams and blue teams must evolve in the 2020s

The red team versus blue team dichotomy is somewhat arbitrary and risks pigeonholing skilled security professionals into certain roles, says Facebook’s Amanda Rousseau Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Tenable buys Indegy to integrate IT and OT security

Acquisition of industrial security specialist Indegy will create a unified, risk-based platform spanning both IT and OT security for Tenable Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Chinese web users take more risks than Brits or Americans

A research paper published by the University of Birmingham seems to show that differences in cultural values have an impact both on risky behaviour online and legal regulation Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Top Android apps at risk from StrandHogg vulnerability

Researchers at Promon say all of the 500 most-downloaded Android apps are at risk from a newly discovered vulnerability Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber criminal RAT busted by cops

Police forces around the UK have arrested nine people as part of an international operation targeting users of a remote access trojan Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

TfL locks down Oyster accounts to ward off credential stuffing

Mandatory password reset for all travellers who use Oyster and contactless payment systems follows minor breach incident earlier in 2019 Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Hack Friday: This Christmas, fight back against cyber criminals

It’s nearly Christmas, and cyber attacks and fraud attempts in the retail sector are ramping up. Is it time to panic? And is there anything we can do beyond hammering home the message around basic cyber security hygiene? Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The Security Interviews: Do cyber weapons need a Geneva Convention?

On a cold afternoon in Finland, F-Secure’s Mikko Hypponen discusses cyber weapons and nation state threats, and explains why arms limitations treaties might one day expand to include malware and other threats Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Top APAC security predictions for 2020

More attacks on critical infrastructure, supply chain vulnerabilities and file-less attacks are some of the security threats that enterprises should keep an eye on next year Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Security skills gap will take a decade to fill

The British education systems cannot move fast enough to address the security skills crisis, and in the absence of government action increased reliance on automation may be the least worst solution Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW500 Interview: Jonathan Moreira, CTO of PrimaryBid.com

In this CW500 video, Jonathan Moreira, CTO of PrimaryBid.com, gives a fintech startup’s perspective on the security challenges small businesses can face when adopting new technologies. Continue Reading

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• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

General Election 2019: The Conservatives’ technology policies and digital plans

With the UK gearing up for its third general election in four years, Computer Weekly outlines the Conservative and Unionist Party’s main technology policies and digital plans, as laid out in its manifesto Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

AI may open dangerous new frontiers in geopolitics

Truly artificial intelligence has the potential to provoke an international geopolitical crisis, warns F-Secure’s Mikko Hypponen Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Conservatives propose national cyber crime force

Manifesto also says Tories would “empower the police to safely use new technologies like biometrics and artificial intelligence, along with the use of DNA, within a strict legal framework” Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW500 Interview: Paddy Francis, CTO, Airbus CyberSecurity

In this CW500 video, Paddy Francis, CTO, Airbus CyberSecurity shares his advice and experiences of keeping tabs on security when trying to introduce emerging digital technologies into large organisations. Continue Reading

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• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Mystery surrounds leak of four billion user records

Threat researchers uncover four billion user records on a wide-open Elasticsearch server but who left them there is a mystery Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Some 29,000 UK web domains suspended for criminal activity

Domain suspensions for criminal activity over the past year has dropped for the first time since 2014 Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Labour pledges review of NCSC in UK security overhaul

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre may get expanded powers under a Labour government Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Stopping data leaks in the cloud

Misconfigured cloud environments are increasingly identified as the source of damaging data breaches and leaks, raising serious questions for enterprises. Where does responsibility for data security in the cloud lie, and how can security professionals best work with their teams and cloud providers to resolve the problem? Continue Reading

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• Cath Goulding, Nominet

F-Secure’s Blackfin challenges perceptions of how AIs think

New research project aims to develop adaptive, autonomous and collaborative AI agents, and challenges the notion that machine intelligence should merely mimic human intelligence Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW Nordics: Automation pays off for Sweden’s social workers

Software robots are freeing up time for social workers in Sweden to help benefits claimants find employment and to receive the money they are entitled to. Also in this issue, read how Sweden’s SEB bank is using a Google-inspired, cloud-native core banking platform, and why India is leading the pack when it comes to IT outsourcing from the Nordic countries. Continue Reading

Mimecast blocked 99 billion suspicious emails in third quarter

Latest threat intelligence report reveals the scale of the threat posed by malicious emails, with the transport, legal and financial sectors hit hardest Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Massive increase in fraud attacks on TSB customers during IT meltdown

There was a massive spike in attempts by fraudsters to steal from TSB customers when the bank’s IT systems failed in 2018 Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Carbon Black to open Australia datacentre in 2020

Australia datacentre comes on the heels of VMware’s acquisition of Carbon Black and will serve organisations with data sovereignty requirements Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Public sector risks downplayed by senior IT leaders

Sophos reveals a significant cyber security perception gap between senior IT and security leaders in the public sector and their front-line teams Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Macy’s Magecart breach presages Christmas fraud spike

US retailer Macy’s admits some customer data was accessed by unknown actors during a week-long Magecart attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Anti-stalkerware coalition calls time on intrusive abusers

New coalition plans to tackle the scourge of stalkerware as a tool of domestic and other forms of abuse Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Businesses failing to wipe data from old endpoints

Organisations are not taking adequate precautions to sanitise data held on endpoints when refreshing their PC or mobile device estates Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Managed services fuelling APAC security market

Spending on managed security services will account for almost half of Asia-Pacific’s cyber security market by 2023, as global and local providers shore up their offerings in the region Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Is facial recognition happening too fast?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the information commissioner calls on police forces to slow down the introduction of facial recognition, we examine the issues. We look at what the use of DevOps methods means for storage strategy. And we talk to Microsoft’s global cyber security chief. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Notorious hackers claim responsibility for Labour DDoS

Hackers claiming to represent Lizard Squad say they were behind a distributed denial of service attack on the UK’s Labour Party Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Home Office Brexit app contains multiple security flaws

The Home Office’s Brexit app may be putting EU citizens’ personal data at risk Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber criminals tool up for Christmas fraud season

Organised criminals are trying to cash in on the festive retail boom with both brand new and tried-and-tested techniques Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Collaborative security approaches underpin container success

Containers are helping organisations to accelerate age-old software development approaches, but success is underpinned by a constant and team-wide attention to security. Continue Reading

What the EU’s decision on Facebook means for social media

Recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union will have global implications for social media companies and any organisations that host online content Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

11 new 5G hacks enable user device tracking and monitoring

Researchers at Purdue University and the University of Iowa publish details of several new 5G mobile network vulnerabilities Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Attack on Labour shows need for DDoS defence but should alarm few

After being hit by two DDoS attacks in the space of 24 hours, many commentators are convinced the UK’s Labour Party is the victim of foreign interference in the General Election campaign. It probably isn’t Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Taking responsibility for security in the cloud

From accidental leaks to full-on data breaches, maintaining security across cloud services is becoming a headache for enterprises. What questions should organisations be asking of their cloud service provider and, ultimately, whose responsibility is cloud security anyway? Continue Reading

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• Peter Ray Allison

Cyber risk insurance is more than just insurance

Insurance companies such as Chubb are offering incident response services and security tools to help companies improve their cyber security posture and better cope with cyber attacks Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Nordic SMEs lack the money needed for cyber security

Businesses and governments in Denmark and Norway are working together to address a cyber security shortfall for SMEs in each country Continue Reading

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• Gerard O'Dwyer

‘Robust’ security foils cyber attack on Labour Party

Labour claims to have been the victim of a cyber attack, but says it is confident no data leaked Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IBM drums up quantum computing future

IBM’s head honcho, Ginni Rometty, welcomes Australia’s Woodside Energy to the quantum computing fold through a partnership to harness the technology to shore up cyber security and plant operations Continue Reading

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• Beverley Head

Security pros urged to get ahead of incoming BlueKeep exploits

The BlueKeep RDP vulnerability is beginning to be exploited in the wild, and security teams have no excuse for not trying to get in front of it, says Microsoft Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Morrisons in new appeal over data breach fine

The Supreme Court has heard an appeal from retailer Morrisons as it attempts to overturn prior judgments holding it liable for a 2014 leak of employee data Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Amazon Ring video doorbell flaw left users open to attack

A vulnerability in Amazon’s Ring video doorbells left the internet-of-things devices open to a variety of attacks Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Saudis recruited Twitter employees to spy on critics

Court documents reveal how the Saudi Arabian government targeted Twitter employees as part of a coordinated effort to gather information on known dissidents Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Trend Micro insider breach exposes need for data-centric protection

Simple measures could have saved consumer security product supplier from insider breach Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Global security workforce must more than double to meet demand

There are about 2.8 million cyber security professionals working today, and the world needs four million more Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Professional cyber criminals command $75k per annum

An ill-advised career in cyber crime is potentially almost as well-paying as a job as a threat researcher in the industry, according to Tenable researchers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ransomware authors seeking new ways to avoid being spotted

Sector analysis from Sophos has revealed some insight into how malware authors are adapting to thwart cyber security controls Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ICO launches data security campaign for UK General Election

Information commissioner Elizabeth Denham launches campaign to remind the public of their rights when personal data is used for political purposes Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

EU patches 20-year-old open source vulnerability

Ethical hackers taking part in a bug bounty programme on behalf of the European Union have uncovered a 20-year-old vulnerability Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

General Election sees UK government defer ‘high-risk’ 5G tech supplier review

Decision on allowing so-called high-risk suppliers access to the UK’s market for 5G infrastructure delayed due to 12 December poll Continue Reading

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• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Banks let customers down with mixed approaches to security

Treasury Committee report recommends new measures to tackle financial fraud Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What will succeed the National Cyber Security Strategy?

As the National Cyber Security Strategy nears the end of its working life, the government is considering what comes next, and is asking probing questions of its successes and failures Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NordVPN enlists ethical hackers, launches bug bounty programme

Breached consumer VPN supplier details steps it is taking to shore up its cyber security posture after an unknown actor gained access to one of its servers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fancy Bear resumes Olympic hacks ahead of Tokyo games

Fancy Bear is back in action and once again targeting anti-doping bodies and sporting organisations, warns Microsoft Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IR35 reforms – the difficult decisions facing IT contractors

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine the difficult choices facing UK IT contractors from the controversial IR35 tax reforms. Social engineering is a major source of cyber security attacks – we look at mitigation strategies. And the IT chief at Mercedes F1 explains what it takes to support a world championship team. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Windows 7 upgrade haunts health service tech vision

Windows 7 issues at the NHS are making headlines, 15 months after the release of the review of how legacy IT was exploited by the WannaCry attack Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Know Fraud database became backlog dump

Reports to Action Fraud handled by City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau were quarantined as security risk, finds HM’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services Continue Reading

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• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Endpoint security is a procurement issue, says HP, IDC study

Report warns that buyers are falling at the first hurdle on security by not including it in their endpoint RFPs and tenders Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

£4,000 bug bounty could have saved BA from record ICO fine

British Airways and others could have saved themselves millions of pounds’ worth of fines by having ethical hackers check their systems for simple vulnerabilities Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Take responsibility for cyber security basics, urges NCSC CEO

At the launch of its third annual review, NCSC head Ciaran Martin appealed for individuals and businesses to address the fundamentals of cyber security hygiene to help lighten the load Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NordVPN blames datacentre provider for server breach

VPN provider insists no user data was compromised in a March 2018 server breach, and says its datacentre provider failed to inform it of the issue Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Malware volumes decline, but risks are higher

More insidious and targeted strains of malware are going after high-quality targets, rather than a large volume of targets Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Attacker hit VPN firm Avast through its VPN

Avast has published details of how attackers attempted to gain access to its network over a five month period Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Over-30s tend to do better at cyber security than younger colleagues

Attitudes to workplace cyber security differ by age group, but not in the way one might imagine, according to a new study by NTT Security Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Alleged state hackers adapting to cover their tracks, says NCSC

A group called Turla with suspected links to the Russian government stole Iranian tools and infrastructure to obscure the origins of attacks on multiple other countries, according to new evidence Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Sodinokibi emerging as a diverse, multi-vector threat to businesses

McAfee shares insight into the Sodinokibi ransomware campaign gleaned from its network of honeypots Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Huge rise in rogue banking apps driving fraud attacks

Fraud perpetrated through fake mobile apps purporting to be from legitimate banks has seen a statistically significant spike, says RSA Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Amazon consumer devices vulnerable to two-year-old exploit

Millions of older Amazon Echo and Kindle devices are still susceptible to a Wi-Fi vulnerability that was first disclosed in 2017 Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

BEIS launches multimillion-pound security investment package

Government is making available more than £50m to support a range of new cyber security initiatives and collaborations, including the latest phase of its Digital Security by Design programme Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NHSX could transform NHS security capabilities

The health sector is increasingly confident that NHSX can deliver a streamlined, effective cyber security policy for the health service Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security threat landscape becomes more organised and business-like

Approaches to securing the enterprise need to change in the face of a rapidly maturing threat landscape Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Pitney Bowes ‘considering options’ after malware attack

Mailing and shipping services firm in recovery mode after key systems were encrypted by a malware attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Attackers hunt iPhone jailbreakers in click fraud campaign

Research by Cisco’s Talos threat intel unit has identified a new click fraud campaign targeting people looking to jailbreak their iPhone devices Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Researchers reveal the cyber campaign that built China's new airliner

CrowdStrike has published details of a coordinated campaign of cyber espionage and hacking, forced technology transfer and physical theft as China seeks to gain an advantage in the commercial aviation industry Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How to mitigate IoT security risks to tap business benefits

Security concerns are preventing many businesses from adopting IoT-based technologies, but with a bit of planning, the business benefits can be realised by mitigating the risk. Continue Reading

The Security Interviews: Applying AI to Lego, and security

Ann Johnson, Microsoft corporate vice-president of cyber security, is on a mission to prove that artificial intelligence holds great promise for the security sector, and she has the analogies to back it up Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW Middle East: Saudi banks trial biometrics in ATMs

Biometric and blockchain technologies are being used in tandem to provide ID verification at Saudi Arabian cash machines. Also read about the first government organisation in Bahrain to migrate to Amazon Web Services, and an interview with Yasmeen Al Sharaf, head of fintech and innovation unit, Central Bank of Bahrain. Continue Reading

Small business guide: How to keep your organisation secure from fraudsters and hackers

Doing a few things well can keep your organisation protected from common cyber attacks and fraudsters Continue Reading

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• Jan Youngren

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 33

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Brian McKenna and Clare McDonald are joined by Alex Scroxton to talk about cyber warfare and digital healthcare Continue Reading

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• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications
• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor
• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Security Think Tank: The operational approach to integrated risk management

How can security professionals help their organisations move from traditional governance, risk and compliance to integrated risk management that integrates risk activities from across an organisation to enable better strategic decision-making? Continue Reading

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• Simon Persin, Turnkey Consulting

Showcasing the potential of 5G

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we visit an ambitious trial in Bristol that is showcasing the possibilities offered by 5G roll-out. We look at how emerging automation technologies are enhancing the use of identity and access management tools. And we assess the Government Digital Service plan for transforming public services. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

UK and US call on Facebook to walk back encryption plans

The US, Australian and UK governments have asked Facebook to ditch plans to deploy end-to-end encryption across Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IT contractor charged over cyber attack on property valuation firm

Australian police charge 49-year-old man with stealing and posting more than 170,000 data records belonging to ASX-listed Landmark White on the dark web Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

LogRhythm touts unlimited data plan for SIEM systems

SIEM supplier introduces three-year, term-based pricing plan that lets enterprises ingest as much data as they want without breaking the bank Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Local authorities hit by 800 cyber attacks every hour

Local authorities and councils in the UK have reported being hit by more than 263 million cyber attacks in the first six months of this year Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

New threat group behind Airbus cyber attacks, claim researchers

Context Information Security’s threat intel and response teams says it has evidence that the recent supply chain attacks on Airbus are the work of a newly identified group called Avivore Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber war as big a threat as nuclear war, says ex-RSA head Coviello

Former RSA chairman Art Coviello has been speaking about the devastating potential of cyber weapons, and warned that humanity must learn from history in order to control them Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

A security breach is inevitable, IT leaders warned

No matter how much IT security tech and training is in place, sophisticated, targeted attacks are going to breach company defences, Carbon Black warns Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Singapore outlines initiatives to tackle OT and IoT security

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore has developed a blueprint to secure operational technology systems in critical sectors, among other measures to secure cyber-physical systems and the internet of things Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Nodersok malware campaign is infecting thousands, Microsoft warns

Thousands of Windows endpoints in the US and Europe have been infected by a new fileless malware campaign in the past few weeks Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Five million DoorDash customers’ details lost in data breach

Takeaway delivery service was breached in May 2019, resulting in the data of millions of users and delivery drivers being stolen Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Attackers breached supplier systems to steal Airbus secrets

Airbus has been the subject of at least four major cyber attacks in the past 12 months, with contractors and suppliers targeted through their VPNs Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Overinvestment breeds overconfidence among security pros

CISOs have made an abundance of security investments in multiple suppliers, but this might not be the right approach Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Teen TalkTalk hacker accused of cryptocurrency fraud in US

Elliott Gunton, one of the teenage hackers who broke into TalkTalk’s systems in 2015, faces extradition to the US to face fraud charges Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor