IT for consulting and business services
Companies in the consulting and business services industries often have specialist needs that require effective use of IT. Law firms, consultancies, accountants, recruitment firms and other advisory services use innovative technology to deliver business benefits, and you can read our news and analysis of the key trends and what they mean to you
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News
19 Dec 2024
LockBit ransomware gang teases February 2025 return
An individual associated with the LockBit ransomware gang has broken cover to tease details of a new phase of the cyber criminal operation's activity, which they claim is set to begin in February 2025 Continue Reading
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News
19 Dec 2024
Latest attempt to override UK’s outdated hacking law stalls
Amendments to the Data Bill that would have given the UK cyber industry a boost by updating restrictive elements of the Computer Misuse Act have failed to progress beyond a Lords committee Continue Reading
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News
10 Jan 2023
Insurer Beazley introduces catastrophe bond to ease cyber risk
Insurance company Beazley says that its $45m cyber catastrophe bond will help to protect its balance sheet and enable it to offer more cyber insurance cover Continue Reading
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News
04 Jan 2023
Why India’s Mphasis chose West Yorkshire for tech hub
IT services firm Mphasis is moving more service delivery to the UK with around 1000 tech recruits planned for Northern England Continue Reading
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News
03 Jan 2023
CDO interview: Lisa Heneghan, global chief digital officer, KPMG
The advisory and consultancy firm’s former UK CDO has stepped up into a global role – with a whole new set of challenges and opportunities around taking digital transformation further Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Dec 2022
Cyber security professionals share their biggest lessons of 2022
In the run-up to 2023, cyber security professionals are taking the time to reflect on the past few months and share their biggest lessons of 2022 Continue Reading
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News
29 Dec 2022
Top 10 Nordic IT stories of 2022
Here are Computer Weekly's top 10 Nordic IT articles of 2022 Continue Reading
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Opinion
29 Dec 2022
How does red teaming test the ultimate limits of cyber security?
An expert ethical hacker reveals how he goes about carrying out a red team exercise Continue Reading
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News
22 Dec 2022
Top 10 cyber security stories of 2022
The war in Ukraine loomed large over the cyber security news agenda, but 2022 also saw growing awareness of open source security, discussion around cyber insurance, and more besides Continue Reading
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News
22 Dec 2022
Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2022
Cyber crime continued to hit the headlines in 2022, with impactful cyber attacks abounding, digitally enabled fraud ever more widespread and plenty of ransomware incidents Continue Reading
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News
20 Dec 2022
Four-day working week set to stay at Atom bank
Challenger bank Atom has formalised a four-day working week policy after a successful trial Continue Reading
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Opinion
19 Dec 2022
Security Think Tank: 2022 brought plenty of learning opportunities in cyber
At the end of another busy 12 months, Turnkey Consulting’s Andrew Morris sums up some of the most important takeaways for cyber pros Continue Reading
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News
14 Dec 2022
Ethical hackers flex their muscles in 2022
Ethical hackers working through HackerOne programmes found 21% more vulnerabilities in 2022 than in 2021 Continue Reading
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News
14 Dec 2022
Microsoft fixes two zero-days in final Patch Tuesday of 2022
December’s Patch Tuesday is typically a light month for Microsoft, and this year proved no exception, but there are still several critical issues worth addressing, and two zero-days for defenders to pore over Continue Reading
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News
13 Dec 2022
EU issues draft data adequacy decision in favour of US
The European Commission has concluded that the United States does ensure an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the European Union and will now launch the process towards the adoption of an adequacy decision Continue Reading
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News
13 Dec 2022
The nature of the CISO role will be in flux in 2023
As cyber risk outpaces organisational defences, and cyber attacks and breaches cause more and more damage, the nature of the CISO role is entering a state of flux, according to a report Continue Reading
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Opinion
12 Dec 2022
Security Think Tank: Embrace prioritisation, people, imperfections
Security and IT professionals should try to make peace with their imperfections in 2023, says Nominet CISO Paul Lewis Continue Reading
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News
09 Dec 2022
Iranian APT seen exploiting GitHub repository as C2 mechanism
A subgroup of the Iran-linked Cobalt Mirage APT group has been caught taking advantage of the GitHub open source project as a means to operate its latest custom malware Continue Reading
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Opinion
09 Dec 2022
Security Think Tank: 2022 changed how we thought about resilience
Increasing cyber resilience is at the heart of the people-processes-technology triangle, and 2022 saw shifts in all three of these aspects, says PA Consulting’s Sharon Shochat Continue Reading
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News
08 Dec 2022
Apple to tap third party for physical security keys
Apple is launching a number of new security protections, including the addition of third-party-provided hardware security keys Continue Reading
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News
07 Dec 2022
Google, MS, Oracle vulnerabilities make November ’22 a big month for patching
Vulnerabilities affecting the likes of Google, Microsoft and Oracle proved particularly troublesome in November Continue Reading
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Opinion
07 Dec 2022
Security Think Tank: As cyber pros, we need to articulate our needs better
There is always a lot to learn about security, but one of the most important lessons may not relate to technology at all, says Petra Wenham Continue Reading
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News
06 Dec 2022
Don’t become an unwitting tool in Russia’s cyber war
Researchers have turned up evidence that enterprise networks are being co-opted by Russian threat actors to launch attacks against targets in Ukraine. How can you avoid becoming an unwitting tool in a state-backed attack? Continue Reading
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Opinion
01 Dec 2022
Ransomware: Is there hope beyond the overhyped?
Up-and-coming cyber concepts attack surface management and security mesh architectures seem to hold some promise in tackling ransomware, but they are a little way off maturity Continue Reading
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News
30 Nov 2022
Latest LockBit ransomware versions have wormable capabilities
Sophos researchers have reverse-engineered the Lockbit 3.0 ransomware, shedding new light on its evolving capabilities and firming up links with BlackMatter Continue Reading
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Opinion
30 Nov 2022
Think technology, process, human risk to manage ransomware
Effective ransomware handling boils down to three core areas – technology, process and human risk Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Nov 2022
How gamifying cyber training can improve your defences
Security training is the cornerstone of any cyber defence strategy. With ever-escalating online threats, it is now more important than ever that this training is an engaging experience Continue Reading
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News
25 Nov 2022
Data management, backup becoming the CISO's responsibility
More and more CISOs are taking on responsibility for wider data management strategies, and this trend looks set to grow next year Continue Reading
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Opinion
24 Nov 2022
Your staff are the frontline in your ransomware fight
As part of a solid cyber defence plan, the CISO must make sure that the frontline within the organisation is prepared for an attack, says Theodore Wiggins of Airbus Protect Continue Reading
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News
23 Nov 2022
South Korea data adequacy pact brings £15m Brexit bonus
UK government finalises a data adequacy agreement with South Korea, saying it will unlock a post-Brexit business bonus of just under £15m Continue Reading
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News
22 Nov 2022
Ducktail spins new tales to hijack Facebook Business accounts
The increasingly active Ducktail cyber crime operation is refining its operations, seeking new methods to compromise its victims’ Facebook Business accounts Continue Reading
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News
22 Nov 2022
C-suite mystified by cyber security jargon
Malware, supply chain attack, zero-day, IoC, TTP and Mitre ATT&CK are just some of the everyday terms that security pros use that risk making the world of cyber incomprehensible to outsiders Continue Reading
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News
18 Nov 2022
Is Elon Musk’s Twitter safe, and should you stop using it?
With a litany of security and compliance issues exposed and in many cases caused by Elon Musk’s takeover of social media platform Twitter, some may be asking if it’s still safe or appropriate to use Continue Reading
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News
17 Nov 2022
Brexit deregulation will make UK next Silicon Valley, vows Hunt
Chancellor vows to revolutionise how the IT industry is regulated to spur competition, investment and innovation in a technological ‘Big Bang’ Continue Reading
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News
17 Nov 2022
Another Log4Shell warning after Iranian attack on US government
The breach of a US federal body by an Iranian threat actor exploiting the Adobe Log4j Log4Shell vulnerability has prompted a fresh flurry of patching Continue Reading
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News
16 Nov 2022
Global network fragmentation a source of increasing risk
Risk consultancy’s report says the weaponisation of cyber space and geopolitical clashes herald a breakdown of global networks into distinct regional or national architectures Continue Reading
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Opinion
16 Nov 2022
Security Think Tank: Ransomware defences: An extended to-do list
Strategies to extend ransomware protection beyond backups and intrusion detection must centre dark web monitoring, among other things Continue Reading
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Opinion
14 Nov 2022
Security Think Tank: Let’s be transparent about ransomware
Greater transparency regarding ransomware attacks, including details about attack methods used and what kinds of assets were compromised, would likely help the community prevent future attacks Continue Reading
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Opinion
11 Nov 2022
Cyber insurance: The good, the bad and the ugly
Most cyber insurance contracts are innately flawed because they exclude losses arising from state-backed cyber attacks, and this will make proper attribution even more important in the future, says Cisco Talos’ Martin Lee Continue Reading
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News
11 Nov 2022
Volume of self-reported breaches to ICO jumps 30%
The number of self-reported breaches to the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office soared by nearly 30% in the 12 months to 30 June 2022 Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Nov 2022
An encouraging new conversation around sustainable IT, says Nordic CIO
What started as a whisper a decade ago has become distinctly audible chatter among IT leaders sharing best practices on how to protect the environment Continue Reading
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Opinion
11 Nov 2022
Security Think Tank: To stop ransomware, preparation is the best medicine
You can’t ‘stop’ ransomware, but you can do a lot to keep yourself from becoming ensnared when it strikes Continue Reading
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News
09 Nov 2022
Microsoft serves smorgasbord of six zero-days
November’s Patch Tuesday fixes significantly fewer vulnerabilities of late, but includes six actively-exploited zero-days, three of them of critical severity Continue Reading
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Opinion
09 Nov 2022
Security Think Tank: Anti-ransomware strategies should be as easy as ABC
When developing and implementing ransomware protection strategies, the importance of paying thorough attention to security measures you might consider elementary cannot be understated Continue Reading
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Opinion
07 Nov 2022
To fight ransomware, we must treat digital infrastructure as critical
Ransomware defence is failing because we don’t view our digital infrastructure in the same way as our physical infrastructure, argues Elastic’s Mandy Andress Continue Reading
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Opinion
04 Nov 2022
Security Think Tank: Ransomware and CISOs’ balancing act
Ransomware has the potential to cause irreversible business damage, so CISOs should consider not only protection but also response and recovery Continue Reading
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News
03 Nov 2022
Microsoft pledges $100m in new IT support for Ukraine
Microsoft will continue to offer free-of-charge technology support to Ukraine for the foreseeable future Continue Reading
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Opinion
02 Nov 2022
Security Think Tank: Know your networks, know your suppliers
To combat the ransomware scourge, we must work harder to monitor and learn from the increasingly complex threat environment, keep a closer eye on supply chains, and share our insights Continue Reading
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News
01 Nov 2022
A third of UK cyber leaders want to quit, report says
Nearly a third of UK security leaders are considering leaving their current role, and more than half are struggling to keep on top of their workload Continue Reading
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News
31 Oct 2022
Prepare today for potentially high-impact OpenSSL bug
OpenSSL trailed a critical vulnerability patch last week, which will be only the second such flaw ever found in the open source encryption project. Unfortunately, the first was Heartbleed Continue Reading
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Opinion
31 Oct 2022
Security Think Tank: Container security: why so different?
Done well, container security can be a model for securing the enterprise, and businesses that focus their teams on solving it can help accelerate positive change in other areas Continue Reading
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Opinion
28 Oct 2022
How has container security changed since 2020, and have we taken it too far?
While containers are now one of the most popular ways to deploy applications, it is fair to say that the adoption and implementation of security best practice to govern their use has not kept up Continue Reading
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News
27 Oct 2022
LinkedIn adds new features to safeguard user privacy, security
Social media platform is adding a number of features and systems designed to protect legitimate users from inauthentic profiles and activity Continue Reading
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News
25 Oct 2022
Apple patches new iPhone zero-day
Apple’s latest patch fixes yet another zero-day, as security issues keep surfacing in its mobile products Continue Reading
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News
24 Oct 2022
Half of staff might quit after a cyber attack, report says
Findings from a survey of CISOs, IT leaders and staffers reveal how experiencing a cyber incident may take a larger-than-thought toll on employee retention Continue Reading
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News
21 Oct 2022
Ukrainian and UK IT sectors to deepen collaboration, partnerships
BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, and the IT Ukraine Association have signed an MoU to deepen collaboration between the UK and Ukrainian IT sectors, and champion new partnerships and growth opportunities Continue Reading
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News
20 Oct 2022
Cyber professional shortfall hits 3.4 million
Shortage of cyber security professionals continues to grow and shows no signs of abating, says report Continue Reading
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News
19 Oct 2022
Treat cyber crime as a ‘strategic threat’, UK businesses told
The government’s new National Cyber Advisory Board aims to help elevate cyber discussion and spur action in the business community Continue Reading
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News
17 Oct 2022
IR35 reforms repeal scrapped: Government labelled ‘spineless’ over u-turn
The contracting community has not taken kindly to the news that the government is rowing back its plans to repeal the IR35 reforms in the private and public sectors Continue Reading
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News
14 Oct 2022
Office 365 email encryption flaw could pose risk to user privacy
A vulnerability in Microsoft Office 365 Message Encryption could leave the contents of emails dangerously exposed, but with no fix coming it’s up to users to decide how at risk they are Continue Reading
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News
12 Oct 2022
NCSC urges organisations to secure supply chains
NCSC’s latest guidance package centres supply chain security, helping medium to large organisations assess and mitigate cyber risks from suppliers Continue Reading
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News
23 Sep 2022
Mini-Budget 2022: HMRC tells firms to update payroll software ahead of November NI tax cut
HMRC is urging employers to ensure their payroll software systems are updated now, before the reversal of the previous government’s National Insurance tax hike kicks in Continue Reading
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News
21 Sep 2022
Contractors call for IR35 review and tax cuts in Chancellor’s mini-Budget
The contractor community is patiently awaiting the outcome of this Friday’s mini-Budget, with hopes for some concrete details on the Prime Minister’s proposed IR35 review and news of a corporation tax cut Continue Reading
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News
15 Sep 2022
Organisations failing to account for digital trust
The vast majority of businesses are well aware of the importance of digital trust, yet very few have a dedicated staff role responsible for it, report finds Continue Reading
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News
14 Sep 2022
Ex-CISA head Krebs: Disrupt ransomware support networks to win the war
Speaking at an event hosted by data protection specialist Rubrik, former CISA director Chris Krebs calls for the security community to work collectively to kick out the supports from under ransomware gangs Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2022
Contractors lack confidence in prime minister to follow through with promised IR35 review
Contractor poll suggests lack of faith among freelancers about new prime minister Liz Truss honouring her pledge to review the IR35 rules Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2022
CISOs should spend on critical apps, cloud, zero-trust, in 2023
Faced with a global recession next year, security buyers should try to direct investment towards technology that protects customer-facing and revenue-generating workloads, say analysts Continue Reading
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News
05 Sep 2022
UK payments upgrade to add more than £3bn to GDP, but much more on offer
UK GDP will increase when its ageing payments infrastructure is replaced with the latest technology to enable real-time payments Continue Reading
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Opinion
01 Sep 2022
Security Think Tank: Effective DevSecOps requires collaboration
Application security and effective DevSecOps can only be achieved through collaboration with the business – the ultimate goal is to make it safer to do business, which requires considering integrated risk management and identity and access management alongside cyber security and application security Continue Reading
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News
30 Aug 2022
IAM house Okta confirms 0ktapus/Scatter Swine attack
Following last week’s disclosureby Group-IB researchers of a major phishing campaign, Okta has warned its customers to be on their guard Continue Reading
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News
25 Aug 2022
Adaptive RedAlert, Monster ransomwares go cross-platform
Kaspersky researchers have shared new intelligence on two emergent cyber criminal groups that have adapted their ransomwares to target different operating systems at the same time Continue Reading
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News
25 Aug 2022
Security pros fret about stress and promotion over cyber attacks
CIISec’s annual report on the state of the security profession reveals some home truths for security leaders Continue Reading
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News
25 Aug 2022
LockBit 3.0 cements dominance of ransomware ecosystem
Ransomware attacks were up 47% in July compared with the previous month, according to the latest threat data from NCC Group, with the LockBit family largely to blame Continue Reading
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News
24 Aug 2022
Most CISOs think they’ve been attacked by a nation state
Most organisations have made changes to their cyber strategies and policies following Russia’s invasion, and almost two-thirds suspect they have been directly targeted or impacted by a nation-state cyber attack Continue Reading
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News
22 Aug 2022
Kaspersky threat data added to Microsoft Sentinel service
Microsoft and Kaspersky have agreed a collaboration to integrate Kaspersky’s threat data feeds into Microsoft’s cloud-native SIEM/SOAR service Continue Reading
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News
22 Aug 2022
Lloyd’s to end insurance coverage for state cyber attacks
Lloyd’s of London has instructed its members to exclude nation state cyber attacks from insurance policies beginning in 2023, saying they pose unacceptable levels of risk Continue Reading
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News
19 Aug 2022
Cozy Bear targets MS 365 environments with new tactics
Cozy Bear, or APT29, is trying out new tricks as it seeks access to its targets’ Microsoft 365 environments Continue Reading
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News
18 Aug 2022
Growing MFA use spurs ‘pass-the-cookie’ attacks
The exploitation of stolen session cookies by cyber criminals is once again back on the agenda, thanks to the growing popularity of multifactor authentication tools Continue Reading
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News
18 Aug 2022
It takes a breach to force boards to take notice of cyber, says UK government
Too often, it takes a major incident for business leadership to pay attention to cyber issues, according to a government-commissioned study of victims Continue Reading
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News
16 Aug 2022
Why organisations need to harmonise their CIO and CISO roles
Unless properly managed, conflicting responsibilities between the chief information officer and the chief information security officer can cause project delays and budget overruns, says Netskope’s Mike Anderson Continue Reading
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News
10 Aug 2022
Microsoft fixes two-year-old MSDT vulnerability in August update
August’s Patch Tuesday drop fixes more than 120 CVEs, including another MSDT RCE zero-day that is being actively exploited. Continue Reading
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News
10 Aug 2022
‘Coopetition’ a growing trend among ransomware gangs
Sophos shares data from its new X-Ops unit at Black Hat in Las Vegas, revealing a growing number of ransomware victims being attacked by multiple gangs at the same time Continue Reading
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News
09 Aug 2022
HS2 sets aside £9.5m to cover cost of IR35 non-compliance
HS2 has become the latest public sector entity to have fallen foul of the IR35 rules, with its accounts confirming that it is anticipating a tax bill of £9.5m for failing to assess the status of contractors provided to it by a third party Continue Reading
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News
04 Aug 2022
Spyware activity particularly impactful in July
After a quiet June, vulnerability exploitation ramped up in July, with intrusions linked to spyware seeing unusually high volumes of activity, according to a report Continue Reading
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News
28 Jul 2022
Cyber criminals pivot away from macros as Microsoft changes bite
As Microsoft resumes blocking macros by default in its Office application suite, reversing a temporary reversal, analysis from Proofpoint suggests the action has had a remarkable effect Continue Reading
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News
28 Jul 2022
Teams in Grenoble work on 6G breakthrough technology
Even as 5G networks are being rolled out, new requirements are driving scientists, and engineers in Europe are back to the lab to start developing 6G Continue Reading
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News
27 Jul 2022
Consumers left out of pocket as security costs soar
As the average cost of a security incident reaches an all-time high of nearly $4.5m, an IBM Security study reveals how these costs are being passed on to ordinary people Continue Reading
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News
27 Jul 2022
Cyber security training ‘boring’ and largely ignored
Two-thirds of employees don’t bother to pay attention to cyber security training – and the fault does not lie with them Continue Reading
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Opinion
27 Jul 2022
Security Think Tank: Don’t rely on insurance alone
Cyber insurance is a useful addition to the cyber protection toolbox. However, it cannot be regarded as a replacement for the controls that should be in operation, says Turnkey Consulting’s Tom Venables Continue Reading
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News
26 Jul 2022
No More Ransom initiative helps 1.5 million people in six years
One and a half million people have now taken advantage of free ransomware decryption tools offered by a joint European project Continue Reading
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News
26 Jul 2022
Ducktail infostealer targets Facebook Business users
Newly uncovered Ducktail operation targets individuals with access to Facebook Business service and tries to steal their accounts Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2022
Umbrella IT contractors could get back-dated holiday pay windfall following Supreme Court ruling
Umbrella industry stakeholders weigh-up the financial implications of a Supreme Court ruling, which could pave the way for IT contractors to submit back-dated claims for holiday pay Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2022
Latest Atlassian Confluence vulnerability raises concerns
CVE-2022-26138 is the second major vulnerability disclosure made for Atlassian’s Confluence collaboration platform in recent months Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2022
The Security Interviews: Why you need to protect abandoned digital assets
The war in Ukraine and subsequent boycott of Russia resulted in a swathe of digital infrastructure being abandoned, becoming a potential vulnerability for many organisations, says Cyberpion’s Ran Nahmias Continue Reading
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News
22 Jul 2022
Russia could become the world’s largest market for illegal IT
Russia could become the biggest market for illegal IT equipment as companies try to get round sanctions imposed on the country Continue Reading
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News
21 Jul 2022
Buy ‘plug-n-play’ malware for the price of a pint of beer
Three-quarters of malwares and almost 90% of exploits retail on the dark web for about £8.40 or less, according to a report Continue Reading
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News
20 Jul 2022
(ISC)² expands entry-level cyber programme after UK success
Flush with success from a UK certification programme, reaching 100k in the UK, (ISC)² now wants to provide free security certification to a million people worldwide Continue Reading
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News
20 Jul 2022
Cato aims to bust cyber myths as it extends network protections
Cato Networks is beefing up its platform’s security features with ransomware and data loss protections, and the firm’s security strategy lead Etay Maor is using the occasion – and his unique access to billions of data points from the firm’s network – to explode some cyber myths Continue Reading
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News
19 Jul 2022
European IT services see bumper quarter, but signs of slowing emerge
Spending on IT and BPO services in Europe saw significant growth in the past quarter, but there are signs of a slowdown Continue Reading
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News
18 Jul 2022
US cyber agency CISA to open London office
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has chosen London to host its first office outside America Continue Reading
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News
15 Jul 2022
Log4Shell on its way to becoming ‘endemic’
US government report concludes that, like Covid, Log4Shell will be with us for a long time to come Continue Reading
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News
14 Jul 2022
Global IT services market shows signs of slowing
Spending on IT and business process services could be set to reduce over the coming months as the latest ISG figures show early signs of decline Continue Reading