Hackers and cybercrime prevention

The security risk sweeping Europe

Never have we been so open about the information we share online, without so little concern for our privacy. Social media can be a threat to a company, not just to what information an employee chooses to disclose, but because social media sites are prime targets for cybercrime. In this issue of CW Europe read how the increase in social media usage has created new privacy concerns for businesses. Continue Reading

How to tackle big data from a security point of view

Before leaping into big data, companies must be clear what they are trying to achieve, otherwise their investment will be wasted Continue Reading

By

• Peter Wood, First Base Technologies LLP

RSA 2013: Suppliers need to prepare for new security vulnerability handling standards

Software makers and online service providers need to prepare for two ISO standards on vulnerability handling processes due by the end of 2013 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

350,000 different types of spam SMS messages were targeted at mobile users in 2012

350,000 different variants of unsolicited spam SMS messages were accounted for in 2012, with 53,000 variants logged for December alone Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Health records should be protected like bank details, says BCS

The BCS and NHS say people should protect their online medical records in the same way they look after their bank details Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

RSA 2013: Obama cyber order will have significant effect, says DoHS

President Barack Obama’s executive order on cybersecurity is a “very big deal” says Mark Weatherford, deputy under-secretary for cybersecurity at the US Department of Homeland Security (DoHS). Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Music companies critical of Google’s anti-piracy efforts

Music companies have accused Google of failing to fulfil a pledge not to give prominent rankings in search results to websites offering illegal music downloads. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Bad outsourcing decisions cause 63% of data breaches

Bad outsourcing decisions nearly two-thirds of data breaches investigated by security firm Trustwave in the past year Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How to find the most vulnerable systems on your internal network

Most corporate networks share common vulnerabilities, but many could be mitigated with education in “hacker thinking” for technical staff Continue Reading

By

• Peter Wood, First Base Technologies LLP

IT expert in Microsoft monopoly case faces £2.5m legal fight

A computer expert who advised the European Commission in its investigation into anti-competitive behaviour by Microsoft faces £2.5bn legal battle Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Social media: A security challenge and opportunity

Generation Y workers are posing increasing security challenges to their employers as they share data unreservedly Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Twitter strengthens login security after hacker attack

Days after a hacking attack, it has emerged that Twitter plans to strengthen its login security with two-factor authentication Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Twitter resets a quarter of a million accounts after hacker attack

Twitter has reset the passwords of 250,000 accounts after detecting and shutting down a hacker attack last week. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Why has NAC, like DLP, failed to take off?

Why are organisations not investing in systems that are designed to keep malicious actors out of their networks? Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Encryption is safe bet, says SafeNet

Encryption is the only thing that can give peace of mind to CIOs and CISOs, says Dave Hansen, president and CEO of security firm SafeNet Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

ICO hits Sony with £250,000 data breach penalty

The Information Commissioner’s office (ICO) has fined Sony Computer Entertainment Europe £250,000 for breaching the Data Protection Act Continue Reading

Why has DLP never taken off?

Why is data loss prevention (DLP) technology not being adopted if it provides the very protection most businesses need? Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Oracle rushes out patches for Java zero days

Oracle has released two out-of-band security updates for the latest zero day vulnerabilities in Java Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Disable Java to protect from latest zero-day

Security researchers are warning of a zero-day vulnerability in all versions of Java, including the latest Java 7 update 10 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Software piracy international in scope, says Fast

The scale of software piracy is both international in scope and military in its execution, says the Federation Against Software Theft (Fast) Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Misuse of social media could wreak havoc, warns World Economic Forum

The rapid spread of false information through social media poses a growing threat to business and society, the World Economic Forum has warned Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Ernst & Young email keyword analysis identifies fraudsters

Fraud investigators have revealed the most common words used in email conversations by employees engaged in rogue trading and fraud Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Business priorities: what to protect, monitor and test

How information security professionals can prioritise what to protect, monitor and test in the light of current budget and resource constraints Continue Reading

Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2012

Ten articles that illustrate some of the major trends in cyber crime in 2012 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How to preserve forensic evidence in the golden hour after a breach

There is a golden hour at the outset where a clear head and good planning can make or break any subsequent forensic investigation Continue Reading

By

• Martin Roots, NIIP

Ghost Shell hacktivists publish over a million credentials

The Ghost Shell group, an offshoot of the Anonymous hacking collective has published the log-in details from 1.6 million accounts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK government jobs website exploited by hackers

Hackers have been able to exploit security flaws in a new government jobs website to steal personal information about job applicants Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How to secure Macs in the enterprise

Apple computers are becoming increasingly used in the enterprise - we look at how to securely introduce Macs in the corporate network Continue Reading

By

• Rob Buckley

2012 Cost of Cyber Crime Study: UK

The 2012 Cost of Cyber Crime Study: United Kingdom is independently conducted by Ponemon Institute. The benchmark study, sponsored by HP Enterprise Security is based on a representative sample of 38 organisations in various industry sectors. Continue Reading

IT Security Purchasing Intentions 2013

This in-depth research from Computer Weekly and TechTarget reveals the IT security spending priorities of businesses in the UK and Europe. Continue Reading

Zero-day exploit for Yahoo Mail goes on sale

Hacker sells $700 zero-day exploit for Yahoo Mail that allows attacker to use cross-site scripting vulnerability to steal cookies and hijack accounts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security needs to be integral part of life, says McAfee

The world is becoming increasingly connected and security and privacy are integral to modern society, says Raj Samani, CTO of McAfee Europe Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber criminals target Skype, Facebook and Windows users

Cyber criminals targeted users of Skype, Facebook and Windows using multiple Blackhole exploits in October, according to security firm GFI Software Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Nasa to encrypt data after latest breach

Nasa is to encrypt all its mobile computers after the loss of a laptop containing personal information about more than 10,000 staff Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Many UK firms underestimate cost of data breaches, study finds

Many UK organisations are still failing to understand the implications and costs of data breaches, a study has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Secure your data – protect your business

This guide for C-level executives explains the risks faced by businesses and the practical solutions they can take to secure their data. Continue Reading

The Global State of Information Security Survey 2013: Key Findings

This global study examines the state of cyber-security and the impact of cyber crime and offers advice to businesses on reducing the risks. Continue Reading

Hacking attempts to top one billion in Q4, predicts NCC Group

One billion hacking attempts will be made globally in the final quarter of 2012, according to information assurance firm NCC Group Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Twitter apologises for unnecessary hacking warnings

Twitter has apologised after telling members their accounts had been hacked and forcing them to reset their passwords Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Stuxnet hit Chevron’s systems, the energy giant admits

US energy giant Chevron has revealed that it was hit by the Stuxnet virus in 2010 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Police arrest man for DDoS attacks on Theresa May sites

Police have arrested a 41-year-old man in connection with a cyber attack on websites connected to home secretary Theresa May Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Parliamentary committee joins criticism of draft communications data bill

Home secretary Theresa May faced stern criticism before a Parliamentary committee hearing evidence on the Draft Communications Data Bill Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

‘VM-aware’ viruses on the rise

Viruses targeting virtual machines (VM) are growing in numbers and will soon be the dominant force in the world of cyber crime, says Kaspersky Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer Scott, TechTarget

Free mobile apps a threat to privacy, study finds

Free mobile apps pose a serious threat to privacy because of their ability to capture large amounts of user information Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IT security budgets mismatched to hacker targets, study shows

IT security budgets are not being used to provide defence technologies in some areas most likely to be targeted by hackers, a study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CIO interview: Gerry Pennell, CIO, London 2012 Olympic Games

As the job of a lifetime nears its end, London 2012 CIO Gerry Pennell talks exclusively to Computer Weekly about his Olympic experience Continue Reading

Cyber attacks launched at London 2012 Olympic Games every day

The IT supporting the London 2012 Olympics was hit by cyber attacks every day during the Games, says London 2012 CIO Gerry Pennell Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Security Think Tank: You can’t protect what you don’t know you’ve got

IP theft: who should be tackling it and how? Continue Reading

By

• Adrian Wright

ZTE targets local government for UK growth

Despite security controversy, Chinese firm ZTE’s UK head of sales tells Computer Weekly one of its first targets will be local government Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer Scott, TechTarget

McKinnon's mum gives tearful thanks after government halts US extradition

The mother of Gary McKinnon thanks those who helped their 10-year campaign against a US extradition order for hacking federal computers Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

Theresa May: Hacker Gary McKinnon to stay in UK

Hacker Gary McKinnon will stay in UK, home secretary Theresa May has told MPs Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Organisations need alternative data protection as security models fail

Organisations' security models are failing - so could it be time to adopt an intelligence-led approach to data protection and fighting cyber crime? Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Home secretary Theresa May rules on hacker Gary McKinnon’s US extradition

Home secretary Theresa May is to rule on self-confessed computer hacker Gary McKinnon's extradition to the US Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

RSA Europe: Thousands of unprotected virtual servers exposed to the web

Organisations are failing to protect data in virtual environments, says Jason Hart, vice-president cloud solutions, SafeNet Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

RSA Europe: Security concerns whole supply chain, says Misha Glenny

Targeted attacks affect the whole supply chain, not just big corporations, author Misha Glenny tells RSA Conference Europe 2012 attendees Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

RSA Europe: Cloud key to future information security, says Qualys

Cloud computing is an opportunity information security professionals should not miss, says Philippe Courtot, CEO of security firm Qualys Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security firm warns against Samsung Galaxy Tab for enterprise use

Security specialist Context Information Security says vulnerabilities in the Samsung Galaxy Tab make it unsuitable for use in the enterprise Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Five DDoS attack tools that you should know about

In this photo-story we explore common distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack tools and their features. Also learn how to guard against DDoS attacks. Continue Reading

By

• Karthik Poojary, Amazon

nullcon Delhi 2012: Day 2's action

SearchSecurity.IN brings you the live coverage of the fourth edition of Indian infosec community Null’s conference. Continue Reading

By

• Varun Haran, Reporter

Izz ad-Din al-Qassam hackers launch cyber attack on US bank Wells Fargo

A hacker group connected to Hamas says it attacked US bank Wells Fargo in reaction to the video 'Innocence of Muslims' posted on YouTube Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security concerns hold back mobile banking adoption

More than two-thirds of smartphone owners have not yet adopted mobile banking apps because of security concerns, a survey has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Dell SecureWorks uncovers cyber espionage targeting energy firms

Dell SecureWorks researchers have discovered a cyber espionage campaign targeting several companies, including two in the energy sector Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Microsoft investigates IE zero-day flaw

Microsoft says it is investigating reports of a vulnerability in Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8, and 9 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Android devices vulnerable to security breaches

More than 50% of devices running Google's Android OS have unpatched vulnerabilities, opening them up to malicious apps and other attacks Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

IT security awareness needs to be company-wide, says (ISC)²

Information security awareness needs to be more robust, started as early as possible, continually reinforced and organisation-wide, says Julie Peeler, director, (ISC)² Foundation Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Microsoft disrupts Nitol botnet, outs hidden PC malware

The Nitol botnet controlled more than 500 strains of embedded malware that Microsoft says has been plaguing the PC supply chain. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Westervelt, TechTarget

Government launches £3.8m cyber security institute

The government has ramped up moves to tackle growing cyber security threats by launching a £3.8m research institute. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Skills shortage means no unemployment in IT security, says (ISC)2

Zero unemployment in IT security shows a huge shortage of skills in the profession, says Hord Tipton, executive director of (ISC)2 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Gartner: Prepare for context-aware security

Cloud computing, IT consumerisation and the evolving threat landscape are forcing IT departments to rethink security Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

DEF-CON Bangalore (DC9180) Meet Live

Get a front row view of the action-packed goings on at DEFCON Bangalore 2012 in this Live photo feature. Continue Reading

By

• SearchSecurity.in Staff

Setting up a botnet is easier than you think

Acquiring, installing, configuring and using a powerful data-stealing banking Trojan toolkit is not as difficult as it sounds Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FBI denies link to leaked Apple device codes

The FBI says there is no evidence that Anonymous gained access to 12 million identity codes for Apple devices by hacking an FBI agent's laptop Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Anonymous claims a million Apple IDs in FBI breach

Hacking group Anonymous claims to have released over a million Apple Unique Device Identifiers (UDIDs) obtained from breaching FBI networks Continue Reading

Powerful cyber attack tools widely available, say researchers

More low-level cyber criminals are getting access to sophisticated attack tools, say cyber intelligence specialists Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Advanced cyber-security intelligence

Analysts Bob Tarzey and Clive Longbottom look at the business case for rolling out next security information and event management tools. Continue Reading

Cyber Vulnerability Index

What does your online corporate profile reveal? With so many cyber attacks in the news recently, executives are becoming increasingly concerned about their organisation’s exposure to hackers. Continue Reading

How to survive a data breach

Six practical tips on how to prepare for and survive a data breach Continue Reading

By

• Conrad Constantine

Businesses worldwide fail to prepare for cyber threats, says Kaspersky Lab

Companies around the world have failed to address cyber threats, according to a survey from security organisation Kaspersky Lab Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Amazon Appstore opens Android to attack

Amazon is urging users to switch off a safety feature in Android which prevents rogue apps from being downloaded, to install its Appstore software Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

VMware users can protect against virtual machine malware, says Trend Micro

New malware that attacks VMware virtual machines is no cause for undue concern, but users can take basic steps to protect data, says Trend Micro Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

SCC becomes first supplier to win G-Cloud security accreditation

IT infrastructure company SCC has become the first supplier on the government’s CloudStore to win pan-government security accreditation. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

At least 9 out of 10 top mobile apps hacked, study shows

An average of 96% of the top 100 paid mobile apps have been hacked, a study has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

More than 1,000 school application details leaked on the internet

Personal information about more than 1,000 children has been published on the UK Independent Schools Guide website after an alleged cyber attack Continue Reading

Cyber security boot camp to educate potential cyber spooks

A group of about 30 young people will attend a cyber security boot camp announced by the organisations responsible for the Cyber Security Challenge next month. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

LinkedIn data breach costs more than $1m

LinkedIn says the forensic investigation and other recovery costs of the data breach in June could have topped $1m. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber threats affect banks worldwide

Nearly a quarter of the world's banks were hit by security breaches in the past year, a study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Twitter users targeted by Blackhole malware

Twitter users are being targeted by tweets containing malicious links that claim recipients are pictured in an online photo Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

SQL injection attacks rise sharply in second quarter of 2012

SQL injection (SQLi) attacks were up 69% in the second quarter of 2012 compared with the previous quarter, warns cloud hosting firm FireHost Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Australian telco AAPT confirms Anonymous data breach

Australian telecoms firm AAPT confirms business customer data was breached by hacktivist group Anonymous at an external service provider Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Siemens issues software fix to protect against Stuxnet

German engineering firm Siemens has issued a fix for the software vulnerabilities in its programmable logic controllers that were exploited by the computer virus Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Nine must-have OSINT tools

Open source intelligence tools aid in target discovery during the reconnaissance phase. Here are nine must-have OSINT tools for finding maximum target info. Continue Reading

By

• Karthik Poojary, Amazon

Many global firms unaware of online risk, finds KPMG

Many global organisations could do a lot more to protect their private data and reduce exposure to attacks by hackers, according to KPMG Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security researchers join forces to bring down Grum botnet

Security researchers have collaborated to take down Grum, the world’s third-largest botnet of hijacked computers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government-sponsored hackers target commercial secrets

Government-sponsored organisations are increasingly turning to hacking techniques to steal commercial secrets from businesses, KPMG has warned Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Sophos combines endpoint security and UTM

Security firm Sophos combines endpoint protection and unified threat management (UTM) products into a single physical or virtual appliance Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Outsourcing the problem of software security

This report from analyst group Quocirca assess the benefits of using on-demand services to ensure security throughout the application life cycle. Continue Reading

Metropolitan Police gears up to analyse smartphone evidence

The Metropolitan Police plans to build a computer system to analyse photo and video evidence gathered from the public using mobile phones Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

The history of the next-generation firewall

Security expert Rik Ferguson explains how next-generation firewalls were developed and what protection they provide businesses. Continue Reading

By

• Rik Ferguson

Google Android OS Trojan virus hits 100K devices in China

Trojan malware has hit 100,000 devices using the Google Android operating system (OS) in China, say security researchers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Virus could cut 20,000 UK computers from web on Monday, FBI warns

The DNS Changer virus could cause 20,000 computers in the UK – of 350,000 worldwide - to lose web access on 9 July, the FBI has warned Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst