IT for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)

Security Think Tank: Understanding tech is key to effective data segregation

What are the security benefits and challenges of segregating IT environments, and how best are these challenges overcome? Continue Reading

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• Petra Wenham

Security Think Tank: How to realise the benefits of security zoning

What are the security benefits and challenges of segregating IT environments, and how best are these challenges overcome? Continue Reading

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• Paddy Francis

Security standard for surveillance cameras set for launch

A long-overdue cyber security standard for the manufacturer of surveillance cameras is on track for an official launch in June Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Benefits and challenges of security segmentation

What are the security benefits and challenges of segregating IT environments, and how best are these challenges overcome? Continue Reading

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• Maxine Holt, Omdia

Debugging bug bounty programmes

Bug bounty programmes have recently become a popular method of vulnerability management, but poor programme management can lead to development teams becoming overwhelmed and bugs being missed Continue Reading

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• Peter Ray Allison

Security Think Tank: Surviving the existential cyber punch, part 3

How should businesses plan to survive a potential cyber attack extinction event? Continue Reading

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• Gregory Touhill, ISACA

Key lessons from an ethical hacker

Understanding hacker techniques and processes is the best way to defend against cyber attacks, and focusing on business risks is the best way to get security budget, according to an ethical hacker Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Dutch businesses not yet implementing NIS Directive

Little urgency to comply with the Network and Information Systems Security Act, which seeks to protect the Netherlands’ vital infrastructure and digital services from cyber attack Continue Reading

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• Kim Loohuis

Northern Ireland generating cyber security knowledge and jobs

Northern Ireland is establishing itself as an international hub of cyber security research and innovation, providing growing employment opportunities Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Time to start thinking about AI regulation, says KuppingerCole

Organisations and individuals should think about regulating artificial intelligence to avoid sleepwalking into a future regulated by these technologies, says analyst Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber criminals targeting C-suite, DBIR shows

Executives and cloud-based services are gaining popularity as targets for cyber criminals, according to the latest data breach investigations report Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Greater Manchester invites bidders for public sector broadband

£32m tender request will enable ultrafast full-fibre connectivity to more than 1,300 public sector sites in Greater Manchester Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Zero trust: A 21st century security model

Traditional corporate security models date back to a time when there were fewer, lower-level threats, but a zero trust model is better suited to the 21st century, according to the originator of the idea Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Norsk Hydro urges caution as it counts cost of cyber attack

Norwegian aluminium giant Norsk Hydro is urging partners to be cautious in the wake of a damaging ransomware attack in March as financial impact estimates come in above initial estimates Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Firms urged to embrace positive security trends to win cyber war

Modern cyber security challenges overshadow the information security successes of the past, but several positive trends are emerging as defenders come to grips with new threats, says Deloitte Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Microservices introduce hidden security complexity, analyst warns

Microservice architecture – an approach to application development in which applications are built as a suite of modular services – simplifies development but complicates security, says KuppingerCole Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Businesses unprepared for cyber breaches

Study shows many organisations lack IT security and operations basics, including visibility across their IT operations Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

BSA releases framework for secure software

Software industry advocacy group releases framework to facilitate flexible and comprehensive software security assessments Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Get more proactive on cyber security, says ex Europol chief

Business needs to get more proactive, collaborative, resilient and analytical to manage cyber risks posed by cyber criminals down to acceptable levels, says former Europol chief Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK gears up for new laws on IoT security

The UK plans to introduce measures to require that basic cyber security features are built into internet-connected devices Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

HPE to launch Cloud Volumes in UK and Ireland

HPE Cloud Volumes will offer enterprise-class block storage for use with AWS and Azure compute plus a replication store for backup and disaster recovery from the end of May Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Cyber criminals increase use of fileless attacks

Fileless attacks are increasingly popular with cyber criminals, while Russia and China top the league of nation state data exfiltrators, threat data shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Most businesses vulnerable to supply chain cyber attacks

UK firms trail the leaders US and Germany in knowing the most about their partners’ cyber security practices, but most companies globally are in the dark about this growing source of vulnerabilities Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Nearly half of UK IT pros report serious data breaches

Integration of security systems and employee training recognised as key ways to reduce the growing severity of data breaches Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Does the UK government want to support tech SMEs in 'Global Britain' or not?

The reluctance of the government to commit to continued support for UK tech SMEs overseas is baffling Continue Reading

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• Julian David, TechUK

Privacy and data protection an opportunity, says entrepreneur

Organisations should see data protection and privacy compliance as an opportunity to build trust with customers, according to startup One.Thing.Less Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Fix the basics first, then worry about AI, advise experts

The freedom of the internet is at risk, with the cyber arms race and the industrialisation of hacking are set to continue as attackers move up the value chain to target trust mechanisms, threat experts predict Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Ofcom must rethink rural broadband USO, says Lords report

There are still serious concerns about whether or not the 10Mbps broadband USO is fit for purpose, and Ofcom needs to take account of them, according to The House of Lords Select Committee for the Rural Economy Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Surviving the existential cyber punch part 2

How should businesses plan to survive a potential cyber attack extinction event? Continue Reading

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• Gregory Touhill, ISACA

UK up for cyber challenge but work to be done, says minister

Lidington says National Cyber Security Strategy has “revolutionised the UK’s fight against cyber threats” Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC and ICO pledge to support data breach victims

The UK’s cyber security agency and privacy watchdog have agreed to work together to improve support for data breach victims and enhance cyber guidance Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC looks to industry to scale Active Cyber Defence

The national cyber security agency is calling on wider government organisations as well as industry to help scale automated cyber attack blocking systems country-wide Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Mobile phones and health: is 5G being rolled out too fast?

European countries are rolling out 5G mobile communications at breakneck speed as they seek to gain a competitive edge over the US and Asia. But some scientists have raised questions about the effects of 5G mobile phone radiation on public health and are calling for a precautionary approach Continue Reading

By

• Crina Boros
• Investigate Europe
• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

NCSC to scale up intelligence sharing, says GCHQ director

The GCHQ director has outlined the agency’s cyber security mission in the third decade of the internet age at CyberUK, promising to scale up the sharing of declassified cyber intelligence with industry Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Casual collaboration comms pose security risk, survey shows

UK employees have a worryingly casual attitude to workplace communications, underling the need for employers to take steps to counter related cyber attack vulnerabilities Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

WannaCry hero pleads guilty, urges others to stay on ‘good side’

Briton hailed as WannaCry hero finally pleads guilty to charges of writing and distributing malware, but urges security researchers to stay away from the “dark side” Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC urges better online security practices

UK cyber security agency is urging citizens to improve online safety and password security after research reveals most-hacked passwords and a survey exposes gaps in online security Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

20 firms join Tech Nation’s cyber security scale-up programme

Tech Nation scale-up programme is designed to boost the UK’s cyber sector, accelerate the growth of its top companies and build a robust, cross-industry network Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

State-sponsored hackers are hijacking DNS, researchers warn

A DNS-hijacking campaign targeting the Middle East and Africa may lead to actors more broadly attacking the global DNS system Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Middle East CIOs optimistic as budgets increase and digital transformations expand

Cyber security and risk management will see the biggest increase in spending, but digital transformation of businesses is a major driver of investment, survey shows Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Morrisons to launch fresh appeal against breach liability ruling

Supermarket chain Morrisons is to launch a second appeal against a High Court ruling that found it liable for a data leak by a former employee Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Surviving the existential cyber punch

How should businesses plan to survive a potential cyber attack extinction event? Continue Reading

By

• Gregory Touhill, ISACA

Energy industry needs to up cyber defences, warns report 

Cyber threat actors are advanced and persistent, but firms in the energy industry are using outdated systems and technology to save money, putting them at risk of cyber attacks, warns F-Secure report Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Zero trust is about more than products

The zero trust security model is more than just products and network segmentation, it’s an architectural design principle with identity at its core that needs to be applied enterprise-wide, says KuppingerCole Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Seven steps to manage risk of catastrophic cyber attack

How should businesses plan to survive a potential cyber attack extinction event? Continue Reading

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• Simon Persin, Turnkey Consulting

Automation will bring job security, say most IT security pros

Most security professionals believe that although automation can support humans, it will not result in a reduction in job opportunities, a study shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC seeks new breed of cyber security startups

The UK intelligence community is seeking to promote a new breed of technology startup to help detect, respond to and facilitate rapid recoveries from cyber attacks on the UK Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Broadband upgrade improves response times for cave rescue team

The South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team has switched on a new ultrafast broadband connection to help its members react more quickly in life-threatening emergencies Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How botnets pose a threat to the IoT ecosystem

While connected devices are transforming our personal and working lives in a multitude of ways, they are also a growing security risk – attackers are hijacking these devices and turning them into internet of things botnets Continue Reading

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• Nicholas Fearn

Security Think Tank: Cyber attack survival not a matter of luck

How should businesses plan to survive a potential cyber attack extinction event? Continue Reading

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• Paddy Francis

Bounty UK fined £400,000 for sharing personal data unlawfully

UK pregnancy and parenting club fined for “unprecedented” level of unauthorised sharing of personal data by operating as a data broking service Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Police local cyber crime units get multimillion pound boost

UK policing marks the completion of the local phase of a national cyber crime programme to complement regional and national response capabilities Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Aim for integrated resilience, continuity and recovery

How should businesses plan to survive a potential cyber attack extinction event? Continue Reading

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• Mike Gillespie

Most organisations still lack incident response plans

Most companies lack incident response plans, others fail to test them and nearly half are not GDPR compliant, but some report improved security through automation, a study shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

A quarter of phishing emails bypass Office 365 security

Cloud-based email is leaving enterprises vulnerable to phishing attacks capable of giving cyber criminals access to a wide range of critical data, warn security researchers Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Why cyber security needs to be prioritised at board level

Despite the rising number of headline-grabbing security breaches, many company executives are still not prioritising cyber security in the boardroom Continue Reading

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• Tom Kranz, Cyber Lab

UK councils team up to boost cyber security

Three UK councils and data analysis firm Splunk have teamed up to improve cyber defence capabilities and maintain their security systems Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: BC/DR plan key to cyber attack survival

How should businesses plan to survive a potential cyber attack extinction event? Continue Reading

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• Petra Wenham

GCHQ cyber courses for teens recognised by qualification board

The Scottish Qualifications Authority has accredited courses pioneered by GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre to teach teenagers about cyber security Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Ransomware getting more targeted, warns Flashpoint

Ransomware attacks are becoming more targeted and designed to infect different sized organisations in specific industries and regions, say security researchers Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GDPR at a critical stage, says information commissioner

The ICO is calling on data protection officials to help kick off the next phase of the GDPR by embedding sound data governance at its annual conference, where another DPO was recognised for excellence Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Openreach extends full-fibre build across Northern Ireland

Openreach has added 10 more towns and cities to its Fibre First programme in Northern Ireland, as it hits a new milestone in terms of homes passed Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: How to reduce the impact of a potential cyber extinction event

How should businesses plan to survive a potential cyber attack extinction event? Continue Reading

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• Andy Jones, Information Security Forum (ISF)

European firms see value in ‘known good’ approach to security

European data protection regulations are driving enterprise interest in an approach to security being championed by virtualisation software maker VMware, says the company’s security lead Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Social inclusion unit aims to expand diversity in IT conversation

New unit at startup hub wants to explore how technology can be applied to address the barriers many people face in participating in society Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Researchers uncover US-based malware distribution centre

More than a dozen US-based web servers are operating as the malware equivalent of an Amazon fulfilment centre to target businesses, security researchers have found Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Document-based malware on the rise, businesses warned

Document-based malware spiked in the first quarter of the year, building on a gradual rise in the past year, warn researchers Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Fresh approach needed to reap cloud security benefits

Transitioning to cloud-based services offers businesses an opportunity to improve security capabilities, but only if they adopt a proactive cloud-native approach, says Palo Alto Networks cloud security expert Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Business ISP Giganet plugs into Openreach’s Salisbury network

Local business ISP Giganet has started to roll out its own full-fibre broadband services in Salisbury, using Openreach’s new-build network Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government urges businesses and charities to up cyber security

The UK government is urging businesses and charities to take action to prevent cyber attacks as the costs go up, despite an overall reduction in breaches, partly driven by new data protection laws Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Most business decision-makers and knowledge workers happy to work alongside robots

Fears that automation will remove jobs for knowledge workers are reducing as opportunities emerge to upskill and eradicate mundane work Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Manchester startups help GCHQ tap into new source of ingenuity

The first group of startups to emerge from a Manchester-based accelerator programme has contributed new ways of thinking to UK’s GCHQ intelligence agency Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Women now almost a quarter of cyber security workforce

Women in cyber security are younger, have achieved higher levels of education and are assuming leadership roles at higher rates than men, a study shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Four in 10 leading banks failing on email fraud protection

Top UK traditional and challenger banks risk exposing customers to email fraud, a study reveals Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber attacks increasingly exploiting supply chain weaknesses

Cyber attacks are increasingly characterised by supply chain attacks, counter incident response and lateral movement, research reveals Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Thales completes acquisition of Gemalto

Multi-billion-euro acquisition gives Thales a global leadership position in digital identity and security Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CLA calls for government intervention on rural 4G coverage

Country Land and Business Association urges government to consider broadband-style interventions to improve 4G mobile network coverage in rural areas Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Broadband compensation rules come into force

Regulations that guarantee consumers’ rights to automatic compensation from broadband providers when things go wrong have come into force, and many suppliers have a lot of work to do Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ICO kicks off sandbox beta to support innovation

The UK’s privacy watchdog has launched the first phase of an initiative aimed at enhancing data protection while supporting business innovation Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Infosec pros slam government-mandated backdoors

Government-mandated encryption backdoors increase vulnerability to nation-state attacks, according to the majority of cyber security professionals Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Encryption adoption driven by new tech and compliance

The adoption of encryption is at its highest level yet, driven by the need to protect data generated by new digital initiatives, but still less than half of organisations are applying it consistently across the enterprise Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Businesses losing out on early payment discounts due to outdated software

Chief financial officers need to upgrade their accounting software to benefit from discounts available for paying suppliers early Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cyber attacks targeting industrial control systems on the rise

Malicious cyber activity increased to almost half of the industrial infrastructure protected by Kaspersky Lab in 2018, but the UK is among the most secure countries, the security firm reports Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Norsk Hydro cyber attack cost estimates up to $41m

Initial estimates have put the financial impact of last week’s ransomware attack on the Norwegian aluminium producer of up to nearly $41m, raising questions about cyber insurance coverage Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Police make 61 arrests in global crackdown on dark web

Law enforcement agencies from the US, Canada and Europe, including the UK, have joined forces to target suppliers and buyers of illegal goods on dark web marketplaces and warn buyers of risks Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IT complexity raises concerns of certificate-related outages

Company executives are concerned that increased IT complexity will result in more security certificate-related outages, with nearly two-thirds of organisations affected in the past year Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Asus releases fix for supply chain cyber attack

Asus has released a fix for a supply chain attack and downplayed the impact on customers while promising to contact all those affected as incident highlights code signing vulnerabilities Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Nominet urges SMEs to register .uk domains to thwart squatters

The automatic right of .co.uk domain name holders to register the shorter .uk domains ends in June Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Firms urged to gear up for new malware and tactics as threats proliferate

The volume of malware attacks reached a record level in 2018, with UK and India bucking global trend of increased ransomware attacks, a study shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Geopolitical issues affecting cyber security

Geopolitical issues are affecting business decisions, according to the majority of cyber security professionals, a survey shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Lack of security skills exposing business to attack

The cyber skills shortage is leaving businesses at increased risk of attack as organisations continue to struggle to fill security-related positions, a survey shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Full-fibre broadband startup toob gets £75m funding round

Broadband startup toob has received a £75m funding injection to begin a full-fibre roll-out Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Small businesses hit hardest by cyber crime costs

Small businesses felt the biggest impact of the UK’s cyber crime bill in 2018, research shows Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Digital Darwinism unkind to those who wait, says Palo Alto

As business-driven digital transformation, including the move to cloud, continues apace, companies need to rethink their approach to how they deploy and consume security, or risk being left behind Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Spike in cyber attacks targeting Cisco Webex

Cyber attacks targeting a leading web conference tool have increased dramatically and sextortion is becoming more popular with attackers, according to WatchGuard Technologies Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Pivot3 to target Azure, Google clouds and enhance AI/ML

Hyper-converged infrastructure maker Pivot3 plans to extend backup for its appliance clusters to additional public clouds and optimise service levels across storage tiers and cache Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Police investigate Norsk Hydro ransomware attack

Ransomware attack on one of the world’s largest aluminium producers is under police investigation Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK cyber experts to support global company boards

A consortium of UK cyber security experts and academics is to support multinational company boards to tackle online threats and protect against cyber crime Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Bournemouth and Northampton next in line for CityFibre broadband upgrade

A £75m investment will see thousands of residential properties hooked up to full-fibre broadband services Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government organisations’ email security lagging

Email security in UK government organisations is lagging far behind that of central government, analysis reveals, with less than a third implementing standard protection Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst