IT for media and entertainment industry

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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• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

Top 10 storage and backup customer stories of 2022

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 storage and backup customer stories of 2022 Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Paul Lewis, Nominet

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Sharon Shochat

Consumers to get new protections against dodgy apps

Government’s new code of practice will impose new privacy and security measures on app store operators and developers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Petra Wenham

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Paul Lewis, Nominet

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

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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• Peter Ray Allison

Protecting children as they spend years in virtual worlds

To protect children online, we must now focus on pre-emptive and robust regulation around immersive technologies Continue Reading

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• Patrick Cronin

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Theodore Wiggins, Airbus Protect

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Holden

APP fraud volumes expected to double by 2026, says report

Losses to authorised push payment fraud in the UK are expected to climb to over $1.5bn in the next four years. Meanwhile, the NAO accuses the Home Office of lagging on progress to tackle the issue Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• John Tolbert, KuppingerCole

Online scam victims lose an average of £1,000 each

New data from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau shows victims of online fraud lose an average of £1,000 per person Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Martin Lee

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

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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• Paul Watts, Information Security Forum

Cyber criminals have World Cup Qatar 2022 in their sights

Volumes of malicious cyber activity around the upcoming FIFA World Cup are already starting to tick upwards and are likely to continue to do so Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Petra Wenham

Keeping personally identifiable data personal

As it celebrates its 100th birthday, the BBC has begun a pilot looking into its role in enabling the general public to store their personal data Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

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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• Mandy Andress, Elastic

Microsoft: Nation-state cyber attacks became increasingly destructive in 2022

The willingness of nation-state actors to conduct destructive cyber attacks is a source of grave concern, as Microsoft’s latest annual Digital Defence Report lays bare Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Arina Palchik and Charles Moorey

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Rob Dartnall, SecAlliance

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

By

• Bernard Brantley

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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• Rob Tyler, Turnkey Consulting

Government ups cyber support for elderly, vulnerable web users

DCMS announces a funding boost to help the elderly, disabled and other vulnerable groups stay safe online and avoid being misled by disinformation Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Digital-first businesses more willing to accept some fraud

Companies founded in the past 20 years appear more willing to accept higher levels of fraudulent activity during the customer onboarding process, according to a report Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Berlingske Media to go all-digital in 2023

Danish publisher moves national daily newspaper fully online as it cuts costs and reacts to changing customer habits Continue Reading

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• Gerard O'Dwyer

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Morrisons joins the fast-growing retail media movement

More retailers are becoming publishers as they realise the potential of their online assets, helping to fuel a new fast-growth segment of digital marketing – and Morrisons is no exception Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

Broadcasters treat data science as niche and sporadic in use

Data science specialists at UK broadcasters conveyed a similar picture of niche use cases at Big Data London 2022 Continue Reading

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• SA Mathieson

Reports Uber and Rockstar incidents work of same attacker

Rockstar Games was hit over the weekend by an attacker who claimed to have accessed its Slack channel to steal data on an upcoming release, and may be the same person who compromised Uber Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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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• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Millions of Plex users may be at risk in password breach

Up to half of Plex’s 30 million users may have had their personal data stolen by an unknown threat actor Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Peter Ray Allison

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

‘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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Tom Venables, Turnkey Consulting

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Peter Ray Allison

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

By

• Computer Weekly correspondent

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

(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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Videogame maker Bandai Namco confirms cyber attack

Bandai Namco, developer of videogames including Pac-Man, Tekken and Dark Souls, has broken days of silence to confirm it has been hit by a cyber attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor