IT for financial services

Security Think Tank: Approaches to ransomware need a course correction

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

By

• Mike Gillespie

Lords to challenge controversial DWP benefits bank account surveillance powers

Members of the House of Lords are pressing for amendments to the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill following concerns over government powers to monitor the bank accounts of people receiving benefits Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

CISOs not yet convinced to invest in AI

CISOs say their eyes are fixed firmly on threats like ransomware and supply chain attacks, and while AI is becoming a threat that needs to be dealt with, it’s not yet an immediate spending priority Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW Innovation Awards: Gleaning data insights with AI

Hong Kong-based Citic Telecom CPC has built a data platform that leverages large language models to generate insights and speed up data retrieval and analysis Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

CW Innovation Awards: Making AI pervasive

DBS Bank’s AI Industrialisation Programme has been instrumental in industrialising the use of data and artificial intelligence across its business, resulting in over S$370m of incremental economic benefits Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Nib shutters last datacentre, moves most workloads to AWS

The Australian health and travel insurance provider has closed the last of its seven datacentres, marking the end of its nine-year cloud migration programme Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Withers

Threat actors look to stolen credentials

In 2023, threat actors wrought havoc on corporate networks by logging in through valid accounts, and as bad actors begin investing in AI to help them identify priority targets, this problem is only expected to worsen in the future Continue Reading

By

• Martin Borrett

UK plc failing on multiple cyber measures

Government report shows 50% of businesses and 32% of charities reported a cyber attack or breach in the past 12 months and organisations across the UK are failing on multiple cyber measures Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Banning ransomware payments is not so straightforward

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

By

• John Scott

RDP abused in over 90% of cyber attacks, Sophos finds

Threat actors continue to see great success using simple, tried and tested methods, and many defenders are failing to do the basics Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: How to tackle the scourge of ransomware?

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

By

• Toby Sibley and Louise Barber

Security Think Tank: Ransomware lessons from the armed forces

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

By

• Rob Dartnall, SecAlliance

Organisations getting better at spotting identity fraud

As the barriers to committing identity fraud continue to drop, organisations should consider more sophisticated technical measures to successfully up their game, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber spies, not cyber criminals, behind most zero-day exploitation

Analysis from Google has found that zero-day vulnerabilities are much more heavily exploited for espionage purposes than for financially motivated cyber crime Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Shareholders win when businesses do better at cyber

The more advanced a company’s cyber security performance, and the more engaged its board is with security issues, the greater the return for shareholders, a report has found Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Which? calls for government action on fake banking sites

Amid high volumes of spoofed, fraudulent banking websites, Which? is calling for the government to implement new legal obligations for domain registrars Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Making Tax Digital explained: Everything you need to know

Making Tax Digital is meant to overhaul the UK tax system, make it easier for businesses to file tax returns, and reduce error and fraud. How successful has the programme been? Computer Weekly looks at the details of tax digitisation Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Nationwide building society falls victim to IT outage

Nationwide joins McDonald’s, Greggs, Sainsbury’s and Tesco as the fifth major high street name to experience an IT service outage in the space of a week Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC guidance to help CEOs work through cyber incidents

The NCSC has published in-depth guidance on how business leaders should respond to a cyber attack or data breach. Learn about some of the key steps you will need to follow Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK’s cyber resilience stagnates as more fall victim to attacks

The government is calling on businesses to ramp up their cyber protections as study shows improvements to resilience are stagnating amid an ever-growing volume of attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The Security Interviews: Alex Yampolskiy, SecurityScorecard

Alex Yampolskiy conceived the idea for risk management specialist SecurityScorecard after getting stung by a SaaS supplier that was being cavalier with its customer data. He tells his story to Computer Weekly Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK’s AI ambitions pointless while cyber security is still neglected

The UK’s AI ambitions may be at considerable risk without stronger cyber defences across the private and public sectors Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft AI-powered cyber service to go live in April

After a year being previewed by beta customers, Microsoft’s much vaunted Copilot for Security service is about to go on general release, promising time savings and improved accuracy for hard-pressed security pros Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

March Patch Tuesday throws up two critical Hyper-V flaws

Two critical vulnerabilities in Windows Hyper-V stand out on an otherwise unremarkable Patch Tuesday Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nationwide IT infrastructure poised to absorb Virgin Money

A Nationwide takeover of Virgin Money will be the biggest financial services acquisition since 2008, but what about the IT challenges and opportunities that go with it? Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

American Express customers exposed through third-party breach

US card giant warns customers that their personal details may have been exposed after a third party experienced a systems breach Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Banning ransomware payments back on the agenda

The idea of banning ransomware payments to cyber criminals is back on the agenda, with former NCSC chief Ciaran Martin arguing that tougher measures need to be taken Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How Southeast Asia’s largest bank is riding the AI wave

DBS has scaled its AI capabilities across all parts of its business to deliver tangible outcomes and productivity gains Continue Reading

By

• Piyush Gupta

Ivanti vulnerabilities explained: Everything you need to know

A series of vulnerabilities in Ivanti products have caused concern worldwide. Delve into some of the key issues arising from the Ivanti disclosures, looking at the vulnerabilities and their impact, what affected users should do, and learn about new developments Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

75% of third-party breaches target software, IT supply chains

Data drawn from SecurityScorecard’s telemetry reveals how supply chain breaches are becoming a weapon of choice for threat actors Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Users love their cyber teams, but find them frustrating

Despite strong support for security teams, a good number of ordinary workers see them as obstructive to business goals, and would like to see them operate more transparently Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Black Basta and Bl00dy ransomware gangs exploiting ConnectWise vulns

More ransomware gangs have been observed exploiting two dangerous vulnerabilities in ConnectWise ScreenConnect software, prompting new warnings for users to get patching Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

VulnCheck bug listing to help track new threats quicker

Exploit intelligence firm VulnCheck launches a proprietary Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue in hopes of improving end-user access to intel on emerging threats and reaching those that the likes of CISA do not Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Majority of UK employees ‘willingly gamble’ with security

Human-centric threats originating from employees continue to damage organisations both financially and reputationally, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cozy Bear and other APTs changing tack as cloud adoption increases

A change in APT tactics has been observed resulting from greater adoption of cloud-based services, according to the NCSC Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ConnectWise users see cyber attacks surge, including ransomware

ConnectWise ScreenConnect users who have yet to patch against a critical vulnerability are now being targeted by a barrage of cyber attacks, including ransomware Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How can we adapt work practices to protect CISO mental health?

Cyber leaders are finding it harder to keep up with security requirements than just two years ago, risking a domino effect of dissatisfaction, burnout and eventually, resignation Continue Reading

By

• Mick Baccio

CVE volumes set to increase 25% this year

The number of reported Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures is likely to grow significantly in 2024, hitting a new high of almost 35,000, according to Coalition, a cyber insurance specialist Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Co-op signs TCS deal for cloud-first push

The Co-operative Group has contracted IT service provider Tata Consultancy Services to support its move to a cloud-first IT environment Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How Indian fintechs can address compliance issues

Fintechs will need to bolster their know-your-customer practices and establish self-regulatory mechanisms, among other measures, to address compliance issues that have come under the spotlight Continue Reading

By

• Kavitha Srinivasa

Microsoft patches two zero-days for Valentine’s Day

Two security feature bypasses impacting Microsoft SmartScreen are on the February Patch Tuesday docket, among more than 70 issues Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How DBS is industrialising AI across its business

Southeast Asia’s biggest lender is building a strong data foundation and upskilling employees on data and artificial intelligence to realise its vision of becoming an AI-fuelled bank Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Hunter-killer malware volumes seen surging

Latest Picus Security report on malware tactics, techniques and procedures reveals an increasing focus on disabling security defences Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Europe carves out niche in quantum computing

As the US, China and Europe accelerate investment in quantum computing, Europe is beginning to develop its own unique position in the fledgling global ecosystem Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Security Think Tank: The phishing forecast for 2024

Egress' Jack Chapman and James Dyer explore how phishing attacks are set to grow in their scope and sophistication this year, with generative AI playing a big role Continue Reading

By

• Jack Chapman and James Dyer

UK’s McPartland Cyber Review to probe trust in technology

The UK government has launched a cyber security review that will investigate how best to give businesses the confidence they need to use new technologies Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Aviva signs 15-year contract with Indian IT giant

Tata Consultancy Services continues to make large gains in the UK life insurance and pensions sector Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Bugcrowd sees surge in vulnerability submissions, led by public sector

Crowdsourced vulnerability disclosure and bug bounty platform Bugcrowd says it saw a 151% uptick in submissions related to government and public sector organisations in 2023 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

WebKit vulnerability sparks Apple’s first major security update of 2024

A zero-day in the open source WebKit browser engine that powers Safari has sparked Apple’s first major patch roll-out of the new year Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

AI will heighten global ransomware threat, says NCSC

The benefits of artificial intelligence to cyber criminals being well-known, the NCSC now assesses it’s likely AI will soon be widely used to enhance ransomware attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Treat cyber risk like financial or legal issue, says UK government

UK government and NCSC launch proposed code of practice on cyber security governance to help directors and business leaders toughen their defences Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Leak of 26 billion records may prove to be ‘mother of all breaches’

The discovery of a dataset comprising 26 billion stolen records may prove to be record-breaking in both its size and the danger it poses to ordinary people Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SEC bitcoin hack was result of SIM-swapping

A cyber attack on the US financial regulator earlier in January 2024 occurred after hackers took over one of its mobile phone accounts in a so-called SIM-swapping attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Biometric revolution in IAM: The future of authentication

The IAM landscape is experiencing profound change thanks to the advent of biometrics. Learn about the latest advantages and key benefits of biometrics in identity Continue Reading

By

• Isla Sibanda

Victims of 2023 Capita data breaches head to High Court

More than 5,000 people impacted by data breaches arising from two cyber incidents affecting outsourcer Capita have joined a group action lawsuit Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The human toll of ransomware: how IT pros suffer during incidents

Any ransomware attack causes significant challenges for a business or organisation going through such incident. But ransomware attacks also have tremendous impact on the staff – especially IT teams – working on mitigating the attack’s effect Continue Reading

By

• Pia Hüsch, Jamie MacColl and Gareth Mott

All eyes are on the Post Office scandal – at last

In this week’s Computer Weekly, 15 years since we first revealed the plight of subpostmasters, and four years since their High Court victory, the UK public and government are getting behind the victims, thanks to a TV dramatisation of the scandal. We look at government plans to quash convictions, and analyse the role of Horizon IT supplier Fujitsu in how the Post Office scandal developed. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Santander bank added 4,500 tech staff last year

Santander added thousands of IT staff to its global operation last year, as part of its digital transformation Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cisco fixes high-impact flaw in unified comms platform

Cisco unified comms customers are urged to patch a critical vulnerability in Unity Connection, a messaging and voicemail product Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Windows Kerberos, Hyper-V vulns among January Patch Tuesday bugs

Microsoft starts 2024 right with another slimline Patch Tuesday drop, but there are some critical vulns to be alert to, including a number of man-in-the-middle attack vectors Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SEC social media hack highlights value of MFA

The US SEC briefly appeared to approve new bitcoin trading rules after a social media account was targeted by troublemakers, proving the value of MFA once again Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Babuk Tortilla ransomware decryptor made available

A joint effort between Cisco Talos, Avast and the Dutch police will bring relief to many victims of a variant of the Babuk ransomware known as Tortilla Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Information Commissioner questions DWP plan to monitor bank accounts of benefit claimants

The Information Commissioner has warned that legislation to give new powers to the Department of Work and Pensions to check bank accounts of benefit claimants for indications of fraud lacks appropriate safeguards Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Artificial intelligence to the front in Sweden’s National Technology Strategy

Sweden focuses in on artificial intelligence in its latest far-reaching national IT strategy Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Fighting money laundering with AI

Mike Foster, CEO of SymphonyAI Sensa-NetReveal, talks up how AI can be used to fight financial crime and how the company’s technology can augment existing AML investments Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Decoding zero trust in endpoint security: A practical guide for CISOs

The exponential increase in endpoints has vastly expanded the average organisation’s attack surface – address this by applying zero-trust best practice to endpoints Continue Reading

By

• Isla Sibanda

Top 10 Middle East stories of 2023

Middle Eastern countries are on digital journeys, with many pinning their futures on expertise in advanced technologies Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 10 financial services and fintech stories of 2023

Generative AI is the buzzword on every financial services IT professional’s lips as the technology promises to accelerate the ongoing fintech revolution Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2023

Ransomware gangs dominated the cyber criminal underworld in 2023, a year that will prove notable for significant evolutionary trends in their tactics Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Beyond the office walls: Safeguarding remote workers from attack

Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading

By

• Paul Lewis, Nominet

Zero-trust principles: Your gateway to securing remote workers

Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading

By

• Michael Healey, Turnkey Consulting

Evolving best practice: What next for securing remote work?

Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading

By

• Scott Burman

ALPHV/BlackCat operation down, but maybe not out

Multinational law enforcement has targeted the operations of the notorious ALPHV/BlackCat cyber extortion gang, but the group’s members appear to remain defiant Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Testing to improve remote worker security

Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading

By

• Rowland Johnson

Security Think Tank: Anytime, anywhere access is achievable

Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading

By

• Tim Holman, 2-sec

Microsoft’s Christmas present for cyber teams: no zero-days

Barely 30 vulnerabilities, and no zero-days, have been fixed in the final Patch Tuesday drop of 2023 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CIO interview: Sasha Jory, Hastings Direct

For a company aiming to be the biggest digital insurer in the UK, that means going cloud-first, and focusing on innovation for both customers and employees Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

The Security Interviews: Mark McClain, SailPoint Technologies

SailPoint founder and CEO Mark McClain reflects on how the concept of identity has evolved over the past 20 years, and points to rapid evolution still to come Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government’s Online Fraud Charter welcomed

The government has corralled 11 of the largest tech platforms in the world to commit to its Online Fraud Charter, designed to tackle online scams, fake adverts, and more Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

MPs have ‘little confidence’ in Making Tax Digital success

MPs say HMRC’s Making Tax Digital programme is riddled with widespread and repeating failures, and criticise the programme for failing to be open about the costs and increased burdens on taxpayers Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

‘Excited’ finance firms pump money into digital technology

Over three-quarters of finance firms are currently restricted in what they can spend on technology due to the global economic climate, but expect spending to resume next year Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

India's Hexaware creates hundreds of jobs in UK

Hexaware opens IT services operation in Birmingham, with a plan to recruit 250 people in the region by 2025 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

DORA raises the stakes for cloud use in financial services

The EU's DORA regulations will raise the stakes for cloud in financial services but resilience is more than just a tech issue, says NetApp's Steve Rackham Continue Reading

By

• Steve Rackham

DWP to surveil bank accounts of benefit claimants for fraud

The UK government has outlined how it plans to tackle benefit fraud by giving the Department for Work and Pensions new powers compelling banks to collect and share data on claimants’ bank accounts Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Three-quarters of finance executives expect generative AI to replace them

Survey reveals an expectation that GenAI will take over many of the finance executive roles currently held by people Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

JPMorgan Chase tops bank AI ranking

Report reveals that JPMorgan Chase is the world's top bank for AI, along with Capital One and Royal Bank of Canada, but Europeans are lagging behind Continue Reading

By

• Scarlet Charles

Interview: Dan Huddart, CTO, Homeprotect

After building up experience in the insurance sector, Homeprotect’s chief technology officer sought the freedom to innovate being offered at the rapidly scaling company Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

US government reinforces ICBC hack link to Citrix Bleed

US Treasury adds weight to reports that a ransomware gang gained access to the systems of Chinese bank ICBC by exploiting a critical Citrix flaw Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Million Brits could lose access to bank branch if closure rate continues

Even people in urban constituencies could lose access to a local bank branch, according to research Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Lloyds Bank warns over rising threat of crypto scams

Report by Lloyds Banking Group finds there has been a 23% increase in cryptocurrency scams in 2023 compared with last year, targeting mostly younger investors Continue Reading

By

• Scarlet Charles

Shawbrook Bank slashes mortgage processing time through low code

Specialist business lending and savings bank is using Pegasystems’ low-code platform to rewrite and automate the customer journey Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Ransomware attack on major Chinese lender disrupts financial markets

The financial services arm of one of the world’s largest banks was taken offline by a supposed LockBit ransomware attack, causing problems for US markets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Visa launches artificial intelligence advisory service

Visa is giving its customers the opportunity to tap into its global network of AI experts through its AI Advisory Practice. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NatWest taps IBM skills for generative AI

NatWest and IBM are developing generative AI capabilities to expand the capabilities of the bank’s virtual customer assistant Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Netherlands starts building its own AI language model

Dutch government allocates €13.5m to develop an open artificial intelligence language model according to national values and guidelines. Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Cloud banking fintech unicorn cuts 50 staff

UK fintech unicorn reduces its total staff by about 7% with sales and marketing roles taking the biggest hit. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Banking should start testing out quantum ideas

The finance sector should not ignore quantum computing, even though the technology is not yet ready Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Lloyds bank kicks off Hyderabad operation

Lloyds Banking Group has opened its latest tech operation in Hyderabad, with plans to recruit around 600 IT experts Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson on her AI Safety Summit goals

As the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park takes place, Computer Weekly caught up with Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson to find out what one of the UK’s most prominent AI advocates wants from proceedings Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The world's most advanced Arabic LLM is now available on open source

On 30 August 2023, Abu Dhabi-based Inception, a subsidiary of G42, announced the release of an Arabic large language model to open source Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management