Hackers and cybercrime prevention

Home Office to use smartphone ID for EU Exit scheme

The Home Office will use smartphone digital identity verification to support applications for the government’s EU Exit Settlement Scheme   Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government considering dedicated internet regulator, says digital minister

An upcoming white paper is likely to set out proposals for an internet regulator, a House of Lords committee has been told Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Norway’s IT industry must tackle security vulnerabilities

Report reveals growing threat posed by “hostile foreign actors” against Norway’s IT systems and critical national infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Firms lack responsible exec for cyber security

Narrow gap between CEO, CIO and CISO roles means no single executive function is stepping up to take responsibility for cyber security, a study shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GCHQ offers help to embryonic Irish cyber security organisation

Ciaran Martin head of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, builds bridges with the Republic of Ireland's intelligence community during an official visit to Dublin Continue Reading

By

• Kevin Cahill

Post-quantum cryptography a major challenge, says expert

The crypto wars are just beginning and open systems are key to improved security in future, says cryptography expert Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Researcher urges IoT security legislation

Suppliers of internet connected devices are largely failing to improve the security of their products, exposing users to privacy risks, so there is no choice but to legislate in this area, says a researcher Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Why the tech industry needs a moral compass

Technology has unintended consequences, says Martha Lane Fox – but technologists have an opportunity to make a difference Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Decentralised ID key to identity security

Enterprises need to step up protections around identity-related compromises and look to decentralised identity in the longer term to improve security, says computer scientist Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Top considerations to reduce application layer attacks

What should organisations be doing to address application layer attacks and reduce the likelihood of a breach through this type of attack? Continue Reading

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• Tim Holman, 2-sec

Cyber security high on European Commission agenda

The European Commission is recognising the growing importance of cyber security to the digital economy and is increasing funding to support research, resilience and cooperation Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Making the UK the safest place to live and work online

Government, industry and individuals all have to play their part in enhancing cyber security practices Continue Reading

By

• Cate Pye, EY

Security Think Tank: Gap, risk and business impact analysis key to application security

What should organisations be doing to address application layer attacks and reduce the likelihood of a breach through this type of attack? Continue Reading

By

• Ramsés Gallego, Isaca

Security Think Tank: Three ways to safeguard against application layer vulnerabilities

What should organisations be doing to address application layer attacks and reduce the likelihood of a breach through this type of attack? Continue Reading

By

• Bruce Beam , (ISC)²

DevSecOps not limited to coding, says analyst

DevSecOps is seen as a way of ensuring application security, but security leaders must understand that embedding a security culture and taking the inter-dependencies of new development frameworks into account is key, says KuppingerCole Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Deploy multiple defence layers to protect data-rich applications

What should organisations be doing to address application layer attacks and reduce the likelihood of a breach through this type of attack? Continue Reading

By

• Simon Persin, Turnkey Consulting

Facebook to appeal EU-US data transfer ruling in Irish Supreme Court

Facebook will appeal a decision by the Irish High Court to refer questions over the legality of EU-US data transfers to the European Court of Justice in January, as the Dublin court rejects attempt by a UK IT expert to join the case Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Government fails in first attempt to hire chief security officer

The government’s initial recruitment campaign for the UK’s "biggest and most important security job” has been unsuccessful, Cabinet Office admits Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Microsoft chief urges industry to focus on ethics and privacy

Businesses must focus on GDPR and ethical AI if they are to become software firms, says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Security Think Tank: A three-pronged approach to application security

What should organisations be doing to address application layer attacks and reduce the likelihood of a breach through this type of attack? Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

Facebook emphasises security drive during third-quarter earnings call

Social media giant admits it has a lot of work to do to keep on top of security as it looks to extend payment option to Messenger Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Think Tank: Application layer attack mitigation needs to start with risk analysis

What should organisations be doing to address application layer attacks and reduce the likelihood of a breach through this type of attack? Continue Reading

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• Maxine Holt, Omdia

Australia’s data breaches are a ‘sign of naiveté’

McAfee executive attributes Australia’s poor cloud security record to the lack of data protection measures amid “new and confusing” cloud configurations Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

Aim for long-term customer identity relationship

Consumer identity management can deliver competitive advantage, but only if businesses follow some golden rules, says KuppingerCole Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Defend application layer with good security hygiene

What should organisations be doing to address application layer attacks and reduce the likelihood of a breach through this type of attack? Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie

Security Think Tank: Counter application layer attacks with automation

What should organisations be doing to address application layer attacks and reduce the likelihood of a breach through this type of attack? Continue Reading

By

• Paddy Francis

British Airways data breach worse than thought

British Airways has admitted that up to 185,000 more people than first thought may have had personal details compromised in August’s data breach Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

DNS attacks cost finance firms millions of pounds a year

Average cost of recovering from a single DNS attack is $924,390 for a large financial services company, survey shows Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: Focus on security before app deployment

What should organisations be doing to address application layer attacks and reduce the likelihood of a breach through this type of attack? Continue Reading

By

• Richard Absalom, Information Security Forum

IoT ecosystem needs to be investigated, say experts

A conference of IoT experts convened by Enisa and Europol has made key recommendations to ensure security vulnerabilities do not overshadow benefits Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Trusted nodes: The next generation in quantum key distribution

QKD is a form of protection against interception by quantum computers, but cost and technical limitations have made the technology impractical. Could trusted nodes make all the difference? Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Belgian startup makes a game of creating secure software code

A global tech startup has placed its research and development centre in Belgium, taking advantage of regional financial support as well as cooperations with local educational organisations Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

GandCrab decryption tool released by No More Ransom

Another decryption tool has been made available free of charge in the battle against ransomware to help victims avoid paying to release their data Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cathay Pacific under fire over breach affecting 9.4 million passengers

Hong Kong-based airline reveals massive data breach of the most sensitive personal data of passengers five months after loss was confirmed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Becrypt security platform helps ease cloud adoption

Becrypt’s secure operating system is driving a new service aimed at helping organisations reduce cost and increase agility in using cloud-based services and online applications Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Choose security tools wisely to gain upper hand

The cyber threat landscape is continually changing, but staying abreast of attacker and defender innovation can help business leaders gain the upper hand, says KuppingerCole Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Sibos 2018: ‘Black swan’ cyber event is inevitable

With security experts and bankers expecting a 9/11-style cyber event, deeper collaboration between companies and governments is necessary to identify emerging threats before they occur Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

Yahoo to pay at least $85m for data breach settlement

Yahoo has agreed to a settlement in a class action lawsuit on behalf of 200 million consumers affected by a data breach in 2013 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Interview: Steve Grobman, McAfee CTO shares his views on some burning security questions

Cyber security technology innovator and veteran Steve Grobman shares his views on adversarial artificial intelligence, post-quantum cryptography and security for next-gen tech Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

McAfee CTO raises concerns about election cyber security

The security industry needs to look at the security of election processes around the world as well as the security of voting and counting machines, says McAfee CTO Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Kaspersky advances plans to encourage women into cyber

Cyber security provider Kaspersky Lab has partnered with several other organisations to try to encourage more women into cyber Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

McAfee combining threat intel with AI

Simulations show that threat intelligence and artificial intelligence is a powerful combination, according to McAfee’s technology head Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Learn lessons from attacks, says McAfee investigations chief

Organisations should use every cyber attack as an opportunity to learn, identify weaknesses and improve security posture, according to McAfee’s head of cyber investigations Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

McAfee researchers uncover ‘significant’ espionage campaign

Researchers discover campaign targeting South Korea, the US and Canada with links to eight-year-old source code from a threat group that has been dormant for five years Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Time to implement new cyber security protections, says McAfee CEO Chris Young

Convergence of threats and technologies and an increasingly complex regulatory environment are driving the need to implement new cyber security protections, says McAfee chief Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

APAC security spending tipped to reach new highs

Security services will be the largest and fastest-growing slice of the overall security pie in the Asia-Pacific region Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Detail of Dutch reaction to Russian cyber attack made public deliberately

Four Russian intelligence officials were expelled from the Netherlands after an attempted hack on the global chemical weapons watchdog. The Dutch government has been open about the detail. Continue Reading

Drilling into AI at Shell

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how oil giant Shell is using artificial intelligence and machine learning to boost workforce safety and productivity. We analyse the attempted Russian cyber attack revealed by the Dutch government. And we look at how blockchain is being used in the food and drink industry to improve supply chain management. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Zero-trust security model gaining traction

The zero-trust model of security is finally gaining traction as security professionals tap into new tools and executive buy-in to support this approach in an effort to improve security posture and practices Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK faces 10 cyber attacks a week as hostile states step up hacking, says NCSC

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre has thwarted more than 1,600 attacks over the past two years – many by hostile nation states Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Cost of WannaCry attack to NHS set at £92m

Department for Health and Social Care estimates the immediate cost of the May 2017 WannaCry attack on the NHS was £92m, and says it will have spent about £275m on improvements to its cyber security infrastructure by the end of 2021 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IoT firms sign up to UK security code of practice

Internet of things technology firms have begun signing up to a UK code of practice to strengthen the security of internet-connected devices. The code is expected to form the basis of an international standard Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Apple challenges Australia’s proposed decryption law

Tech giant Apple argued that the lack of judicial oversight could reduce customer trust and security, among other reservations over Australia’s draft decryption legislation Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

FS-ISAC awards cyber security scholarships in Europe

Five women have been awarded cyber security scholarships at FS-ISAC’s 2018 EMEA Summit Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Some 10% of user-reported emails malicious

On average, 1 in 10 user-reported emails is identified as malicious, and more than half can be tied to credential phishing, a Cofense report reveals Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Crypto-mining malware poses as Flash updates

Cryptocurrency mining malware is posing as Flash updates that appear to be legitimate, Palo Alto Networks security researchers warn Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

RATs and Mimikatz among top publicly available hacking tools

Remote access Trojans (RATs), web shells and Mimikatz among the top publicly available tools that are used in cyber attacks around the world, a five-nation cyber intelligence report reveals Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Nato to be fully operational in cyber space by 2023

Nato is aiming to achieve full operational readiness in cyber space within five years Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

MEPs urge Facebook to roll out election fraud prevention measures

Facebook is coming under pressure from European lawmakers to do more to prevent its user data from being misappropriated during elections Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Optus to acquire Hivint in cyber security deal

The deal is expected to bolster the telco’s security pedigree in a market that is grappling with more data breaches and cyber incidents Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Detail of Dutch reaction to Russian cyber attack made public deliberately

Four Russian intelligence officials were expelled from the Netherlands after an attempted hack on the global chemical weapons watchdog. The Dutch government has been open about the detail Continue Reading

By

• Tijs Hofmans

Bug bounties not a silver bullet, Katie Moussouris warns

Targeted bug bounties have a role to play in cyber security, but they are not a "silver bullet", and run the risk of wiping out talent pipelines if poorly implemented, warns bug bounty pioneer Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC head says attribution of GRU attacks important

The head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre has described the attribution of a wave of cyber attacks to Russia’s military intelligence service as “historically important” at a conference in Poland Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Monitoring key to outcomes-based security

What is the first step towards moving from a tick-box approach to security to one that is outcomes-based, and how can an organisation test if its security defences are delivering the desired outcome? Continue Reading

By

• Ramsés Gallego, Isaca

Cooperation vital in cyber security, says former Estonian minister

States acting alone cannot be efficient in cyber security and need to cooperate with others to build trust, says a former foreign minister of Estonia Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC head calls for technocratic partnership to fix cyber risks

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre is appealing for collaboration with the technology industry to remedy key vulnerabilities in current IT Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Airbus secures European institutions against cyber threat

Airbus CyberSecurity has partnered with Atos to help protect 17 European government institutes from cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Security Think Tank: Enable outcomes-based security in software development

What is the first step towards moving from a tick box approach to security to one that is outcomes based, and how can an organisation test if its security defences are delivering the desired outcome? Continue Reading

By

• Bruce Beam , (ISC)²

Google Safety Center goes live in the UK

Google says its commitment to transparency is as strong as ever as its new Safety Center goes live in the UK to help keep businesses and consumers safe online Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GDPR case work swamps Denmark’s data protection agency

The agency investigating alleged breaches of GDPR in Denmark is recruiting additional resources to cope with the increase in work Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Security Think Tank: C-suite needs to drive outcomes-based security

What is the first step towards moving from a tick-box approach to security to one that is outcomes-based and how can an organisation test whether its security defences are delivering the desired outcome? Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie

Security Serious Unsung Heroes announced

Awards celebrate the people of the cyber security industry on the front lines of organisations battling cyber threats Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How does stegware malware exploit steganography techniques?

Researchers at the 2018 RSA Conference discussed the increasing availability of malware that uses steganography, dubbed stegware. Discover how this works with expert Nick Lewis. Continue Reading

By

• Nick Lewis

Security Think Tank: Use Cyber Essentials to kick-start outcomes-based security

What is the first step towards moving from a tick-box approach to security to one that is outcomes-based and how can an organisation test whether its security defences are delivering the desired outcome? Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

Business email compromise made easy for cyber criminals

Poor security practices and access to hacking services are making it easy for cyber criminals to compromise business email, research reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Apps are gateway to business data for cyber attackers

Application security is becoming increasingly important because apps are often the main way cyber attackers are getting into corporate networks, a threat researcher warns Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK and allies accuse Russia of cyber attack campaign

The UK National Cyber Security Centre has identified a campaign by the Russian military intelligence service of “indiscriminate and reckless” cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How Starbucks is using Splunk to automate mundane security tasks

Coffee giant Starbucks is using Splunk to automate some of its more tedious security tasks to reduce the workload for its cyber staff Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Companies failing to recognise the internal cyber threat

The focus at many companies is on external cyber threats, and internal threats are being overlooked as a consequence, a researcher warns Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Majority of businesses believe they are open to cyber attack

More than two-thirds of businesses believe their network is open to attack, a report on the state of web application security reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Rise in data-stealing Betabot malware

Researchers are warning about an increase in Betabot malware after detecting multiple infections in recent weeks, underlining the importance of software patching Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

AI full of possibilities with the right tools and understanding

Artificial intelligence has the potential to assist in the analysis of data in a range of topics, but businesses need to understand its limitations and have the right tools to get the most benefit, says a Swiss entrepreneur Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Shift to outcomes-based security by focusing on business needs

What is the first step towards moving from a tick-box approach to security to one that is outcomes-based and how can an organisation test whether its security defences are delivering the desired outcome? Continue Reading

By

• Simon Persin, Turnkey Consulting

How Bank of England is using Splunk for proactive security

Head of the Bank of England’s security operations centre talks about how Splunk is helping it to take a more proactive approach to preventing cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Everyone, everywhere is responsible for IIoT cyber security

Cyber security in the industrial internet of things is not limited to a single company, industry or region – it is an international threat to public safety, and can only be addressed through collaboration that extends beyond borders and competitive interests Continue Reading

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• Andrew Kling, The Open Group

Security Think Tank: Start outcomes-based security with asset identification

What is the first step towards moving from a tick-box approach to security to one that is outcomes-based and how can an organisation test whether its security defences are delivering the desired outcome? Continue Reading

By

• Paddy Francis

UK firms’ password security score ‘average’

While businesses are making strides in strengthening password security, there is more work to be done, with the UK password score lagging behind the frontrunners, a survey shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Tesco Bank gets first cyber-related FCA fine

UK’s financial watchdog issues its first cyber-related fine to Tesco Bank in connection with a multimillion-pound cyber fraud in 2016 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Security governance key to outcomes-based approach

What is the first step towards moving from a tick-box approach to security to one that is outcomes based, and how can an organisation test if its security defences are delivering the desired outcome? Continue Reading

By

• Maxine Holt, Omdia

Facebook could face up to $1.6bn fine for data breach

Facebook is under increased pressure to demonstrate that users’ personal data is protected as it faces a potential fine of more than a billion dollars for a data breach affecting millions of users Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber attackers are increasingly exploiting RDP, warns FBI

Businesses should to act to reduce the likelihood of compromise from cyber attackers exploiting the remote desktop protocol, warns the FBI Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Blockchain is no ‘magic wand’ for cyber security

The decentralised nature of blockchain networks may deter some cyber crooks, but ASEAN organisations still need to pay heed to the security of their blockchain infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Network growth brings management challenges

As enterprise networks grow, so do the challenges of managing them effectively, says a report compiled by Oracle’s communications unit Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Business is at inflection point for proactive cyber security

The time is ripe for proactive cyber security, but many organisations must first overcome four key obstacles to achieve effective protection, according to a research report Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Explosion in fake data-stealing shopping sites

Cyber attackers are ramping up efforts to steal personal data by setting up look-alike domains that pose a phishing risk to online shoppers, researchers warn Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Norwegian state discusses vulnerabilities with IT sector

Government is collaborating with the country’s IT industry to improve the availability of security expertise Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Prepare now for quantum computers, QKD and post-quantum encryption

The predicted processing power of quantum computers is likely to make existing encryption algorithms obsolete. Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a possible solution - we investigate whether QKD is viable Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Uber fined $148m for data breach cover-up

US court hits Uber with heavy fine which security industry commentators hope will encourage firms to take cyber security more seriously and resist the urge to cover up data breaches Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Australian teen Apple hacker avoids jail time

“Fan” who broke into Apple’s mainframe from his home in Melbourne has avoided prison because the information he gathered was recovered Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Financial services firms face potential security bombshell

UK financial services are facing a security crisis over outdated services and applications, a survey shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst