IT for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)

Superdrug denies data breach

Superdrug has warned online customers it believes may have had personal details exposed, but claims its systems were not compromised, in what could be the first GDPR-related extortion attempt Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Online crime costs more than $1m a minute

More than $1m is lost to cyber crime every minute, a report reveals, underlining the increasing and significant threats businesses face online Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Retail and finance top cyber targets

Retail and finance remain the top cyber attack targets, but the second quarter also saw a spike in attacks against the manufacturing industry and an increase in remote desktop attacks, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Microsoft announces free election cyber defence tools

Microsoft has revealed it recently disrupted domains associated with a Russian cyber attack group believed to be targeting US political groups ahead of the midterm elections Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Job losses caused by artificial intelligence will dwarf those of Victorian revolution

The disruption to the jobs market caused by artificial intelligence will be far greater than that caused by industrialisation in Victorian times Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Superfast broadband brings £9bn extra turnover for UK SMEs

Local businesses in areas covered by the government’s superfast broadband roll-out are making more money than ever before, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber Security Challenge UK to scale up

Cybersecurity Challenge UK plans to scale up its events and its role in coordinating UK industry efforts to attract talented people to the cyber security profession Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Apple confirms teen hacker took no customer data

Teenage “fan” who broke into Apple’s mainframe from his home in Melbourne is believed to have downloaded 90GB of secure files, but no customer data Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Global infosec spending to top $114bn in 2018, says Gartner

The need for improved detection, response and privacy is driving the demand for security products and services in response to security risks, business needs and industry changes, Gartner reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Inside DevOps, containers and enterprise security

Global corporates are waking up to containers and orchestrated containerisation for software development that is fast and safe. Computer Weekly looks at the best approach to ensure security is not compromised along the way Continue Reading

By

• Christian Annesley

Google Chrome flaw puts privacy at risk

Imperva security researcher urges Google Chrome users to update to the latest version after discovering a vulnerability that could be exploited to uncover private data Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

ICS security at risk in key verticals, report shows

The security of industrial control systems (ICS) is at risk in key verticals due to under staffing, under investment and human error, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Intel releases fix for latest chip security flaws

Businesses and consumers are advised to download security updates from Intel for new security flaws that could allow attackers to access protected data, but some cloud providers could see a performance impact Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Businesses urged to patch Microsoft flaw allowing MFA bypass

Security researchers are urging enterprises to update their software after the discovery of a vulnerability that could undermine the security provided by multifactor authentication Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Sustainability and the smartphone: How to give your old device a second life

Find out what happens to your smartphone after you’re finished with it and why you should commit to the circular economy Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Outsource security operations, not control

What critical security controls can be outsourced and how do organisations, SMEs in particular, maintain confidence that they are being managed effectively and appropriately? Continue Reading

By

• Simon Persin, Turnkey Consulting

ICO strengthens commitment to technology and innovation

Information Commissioner’s Office has demonstrated its commitment to technology and innovation by appointing a new executive director to focus on this area Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Most security pros concerned about election infrastructure

A majority of information security professionals believe that election infrastructure is vulnerable to cyber attack, a survey shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK firms concerned about cyber arms race

Continuous investment and activity are key in the cyber arms race, according to Databarracks, as research shows UK firms are worried about keeping up with security challenges Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Millions of businesses vulnerable to fax-based cyber attack

Hackers could exploit security vulnerabilities in fax machines to launch cyber attacks in millions of organisations around the world, researchers warn, underlining the need for cyber resilience Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Mimecast extends core email security to enable cyber resilience

Mimecast continues to widen its cyber security capability through in-house development and strategic acquisition, as well as extend its core email security technologies to all other areas it applies Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Butlin’s warns of potential personal data breach

Holiday camp chain blames cyber breach on a phishing attack, implying that attackers were able to steal user credentials to access customer data – and underlining the need for security awareness training Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Under half of firms use vulnerability assessments

Less than half of organisations base their cyber defences on strategic vulnerability assessments, and a third of these do the bare minimum to meet compliance requirements, a study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

ICO fines Emma’s Diary £140,000

The UK’s privacy watchdog has fined a marketing company for illegally collecting and selling personal information for political campaigning Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Incomplete visibility a top security failing

Incomplete visibility of IT environments is among the most common basic enterprise security failings, as most organisations are still failing to achieve basic cyber security hygiene, a survey reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IPSE warns government off private sector IR35 reform, as 'no deal' Brexit fears grow

As the government prepares to close its consultation on extending the IR35 reforms to the private sector, IPSE airs concerns over the economic impact the move could have, as talk of a "no deal" Brexit for the UK continues Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Check Point warns of WhatsApp vulnerabilities

Researchers are warning of vulnerabilities in WhatsApp that allow threat actors to intercept and manipulate messages sent in a group chat Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber security double agents most common in the UK

Cyber security professionals who alternate between criminal and legitimate activities or move full-time into cyber criminal activity are more common in the UK than other countries, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

AI security hype putting businesses at risk

The hype around artificial intelligence may be putting businesses at risk, according to a study that found most IT decision-makers believe AI is the answer to all cyber security challenges Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Industrial control systems a specialised cyber target

Cyber attackers specialising in industrial control systems are fast, efficient and able to move between IT and OT environments, a study has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Outsource responsibility, not accountability

What critical security controls can be outsourced and how do organisations, SMEs in particular, maintain confidence that they are being managed effectively and appropriately? Continue Reading

By

• Vladimir Jirasek, Foresight Cyber

Mobile banking Trojans reach all-time high

Mobile banking Trojans topped the list of cyber threats in the second quarter of the year, according to research by Kaspersky Lab Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Highlands and Islands broadband roll-out extended

The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband roll-out is targeting 25,000 additional homes and businesses in the Highlands and Islands region Continue Reading

Half of UK consumers to exercise GDPR rights within a year

More than half of UK consumers will exercise their General Data Protection Regulation rights within a year and almost two-thirds will retract or review data use because of the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal, a study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Virus outbreak at iPhone chip plant could delay shipments

A computer virus at an iPhone chip manufacturing plant could delay shipments of Apple’s latest smartphones, but the impact will be limited, say analysts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Advertised broadband speeds dropping across UK

Since new advertising standards around broadband were introduced in May 2018, most providers have cut the speeds they advertise, or stopped making speed claims altogether Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Almost all security can be outsourced, but not the risk

What critical security controls can be outsourced and how do organisations, SMEs in particular, maintain confidence that they are being managed effectively and appropriately? Continue Reading

By

• Emma Bickerstaffe, Information Security Forum (ISF)

Hyperoptic raises £250m funding to roll out full-fibre broadband

Broadband supplier Hyperoptic claims its latest round of funding is the largest ever single investment in the UK’s burgeoning full-fibre market Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google to alert firms of state-sponsored attacks on G Suite users

As cyber security increasingly becomes a market differentiator, Google has announced that businesses using G Suite cloud-based software can opt in to cyber attack alerts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Risk tolerance key to security outsourcing policy

What critical security controls can be outsourced, and how do organisations – SMEs in particular – maintain confidence that they are being managed effectively and appropriately? Continue Reading

By

• Bruce Beam , (ISC)²

Gorgon Group shows simple cyber attacks remain effective

A highly effective cyber attack group that appears to be based in Pakistan is carrying out targeted attacks against nation states at the same time as criminal operations, researchers have found Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Reddit breach exposes 2FA flaws

Reddit has reported a password breach despite using 2FA, exposing the weaknesses of two-factor authentication based on mobile text messages Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GDPR harmonised with local laws in Nordic EU states

Sweden provides an interesting challenge for the European Union’s data protection regulation due to its laws around freedom of press and free speech Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Three Carbanak cyber heist gang members arrested

Three alleged members of the Carbanak gang believed to be responsible for more than 100 cyber heists worldwide have been arrested, US authorities have announced Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Top things to consider in security outsourcing

What critical security controls can be outsourced, and how do organisations – SMEs in particular – maintain confidence that they are being managed effectively and appropriately? Continue Reading

By

• Paddy Francis

Bromium evolves virtualisation-based security

Virtualisation-based security firm Bromium has evolved its technology to offer bidirectional protection for applications and underlying operating systems Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Top dark web indicators of compromise

There are 10 common activities on the dark web that indicate a data breach or some other security compromise has taken place, according to a specialist monitoring firm Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: A risk-based approach to security outsourcing

What critical security controls can be outsourced and how do organisations, SMEs in particular, maintain confidence that they are being managed effectively and appropriately? Continue Reading

By

• Rory Alsop

Intelligent automation spending to hit $232bn by 2025

Technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotic process automation and machine learning could help traditional enterprises gain ground on digital-first giants Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK business overestimating level of consumer trust, study shows

UK consumer trust is low, with the majority of UK businesses admitting to selling customer data, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

SamSam ransomware reaps $5.9m and counting

In just two and a half years, SamSam campaigns are believed to have netted nearly $6m for cyber criminals, an analysis of this adaptive and evasive strain of active ransomware reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Comms providers may be forced to notify out-of-contract users

Providers of landline, broadband, TV and mobile services will have to notify their customers when they approach the end of their minimum contract period under proposed new rules Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dixons Carphone ups data breach figure to 10 million

Dixons Carphone now believes the number of personal data records affected in 2017’s data breach is nearly 10 times greater than initially thought Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Not all security service providers are created equal

What critical security controls can be outsourced, and how do organisations, SMEs in particular, maintain confidence that they are being managed effectively and appropriately? Continue Reading

By

• Maxine Holt, Omdia

Search begins for UK’s cyber security Unsung Heroes

The Security Serious cyber awareness campaign has opened nominations for the third annual cyber security Unsung Heroes awards Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Post-quantum security on Airbus’s radar

With quantum computing on the horizon, multinational aerospace and defence firm Airbus is among those organisations that are looking at evolving their cryptography capabilities to stay ahead of technology Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Openreach doubles down on full-fibre broadband roll-out

In its first annual review since splitting from BT, Openreach has recommitted to its targets for full-fibre broadband Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fileless malware a growing trend, warns McAfee

Cyber attackers are increasingly moving away from traditional malware to using trusted Windows executables to invade systems and breach corporate networks, say security researchers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Hackers targeting software supply chains, US report warns

A US government report on cyber espionage by China, Russia and Iran says software supply chains are increasingly under attack Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Brace for PowerGhost cryptominer, warns Kaspersky Lab

Corporate networks are the target of a new illicit cryptocurrency mining malware that is difficult to detect and eradicate, security researchers warn Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Crest report highlights need for bug bounty best practice

A lack of best practice guidelines for bug bounties is leaving researchers, organisations and bounty platforms confused and at risk, a report reveals Continue Reading

Software development remains insecure

The prevalence of common and well-known web-based vulnerabilities underlines the need for better education around secure software development Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber security vulnerability concerns skyrocket

Security professionals are more worried about data breaches and cyber attacks than they were a year ago, with most fearing that Meltdown-Spectre attacks are becoming the norm Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Dark web cyber crime markets thriving

The market for cyber criminals’ services is thriving on the dark web, research reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

ERP applications are under cyber attack, research confirms

ERP applications are increasingly being targeted by cyber criminals, hacktivists and nation-state actors, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Apache OpenWhisk users urged to patch

IBM has patched vulnerabilities in its Cloud Functions service that is based on Apache OpenWhisk in response to vulnerability disclosures, and all other users are urged to do the same Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Application attacks demand new security approach

Applying security software updates is an ineffective way to deal with application layer cyber attacks and businesses should change their approach, security experts advise Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Ransomware concern drops despite being top cost

Fewer organisations are worried about ransomware even though it remains one of the most costly cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Ofcom proposes regulatory changes to support broadband investment

Following the recommendations of the government’s Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, regulator Ofcom has proposed a package of measures to better support investment in full-fibre broadband Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Top execs cyber security hypocrites, report shows

There is a critical disconnect between the cyber security behaviour that top executives recommend and the way they behave themselves, while many firms do not know where their data lives and moves, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Openreach to cut wholesale broadband costs for CSP customers

Openreach plans to introduce wide-ranging cuts to FTTC and FTTP wholesale prices to get other providers to upgrade their users to faster broadband Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What the ICO's Facebook fine teaches us

Legal expert Alexander Egerton considers whether the ICO’s planned £500,000 fine for Facebook is the precursor of a spate of increased fines across the board, or if it shows the ICO’s stance has not changed and will continue to target certain activities Continue Reading

By

• Alexander Egerton, Seddons

Alphabet shares up after better-than-expected quarter

Shares in Google’s parent company Alphabet have risen in value after it reported quarterly revenue of $32.7bn, up 26% year on year Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

BDUK has £200m to kick-start rural full-fibre network build

Government plans to use money from the BDUK superfast broadband programme to drive the roll-out of full-fibre broadband to underserved rural areas Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government spend with SMEs down in 2016/17

Government figures show direct and indirect spend on small to medium-sized enterprises by government departments in the 2016/17 financial year have fallen Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Zero trust security model boosts business confidence

Organisations that combine the zero trust security model with next-gen access are more confident about meeting access control challenges, a study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber security: A work in progress

Piers Wilson, director of the Institute of Information Security Professionals, reflects on the findings of the latest IISP industry survey and suggests there is still more work to do Continue Reading

By

• Piers Wilson, IISP

Full-fibre broadband for all to cost £30bn

The government has released its Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, setting the stage for the national roll-out of a full-fibre broadband network Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Huge Singapore data breach shows need for new approach

A major data breach in Singapore underlines the need for a new approach to protecting critical data and applications, say security experts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GDPR drives down UK insider threat

The insider threat in European countries is falling post-General Data Protection Regulation, but continues to rise in the US, a study has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCSC report underlines cyber threat for legal firms

Legal firms are a top target for cyber attackers, the latest report from the National Cyber Security Centre shows, emphasising the need for comprehensive cyber defence capabilities Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Uptick in UK privacy awareness, says ICO

The UK’s privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office, reports increased public awareness of privacy and information rights issues Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cloud sales stoke Microsoft’s strong growth

Microsoft says cloud-based Office products made a huge contribution to sales growth Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK alerted to potential cyber risks of Huawei equipment

A report has raised concerns about the shortcomings of Huawei engineering processes, which it says could put UK telecommunications networks at risk Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber criminals use fake domains to scam businesses

UK police are warning businesses that cyber criminals are using fake domains to scam businesses out of hundreds of thousands of pounds Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CNI sector lacks cyber security skills, government warned

The UK’s critical national infrastructure sector is being negatively impacted by the lack of cyber security skills, a report warns Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Collaborative alliance to advance UK’s cyber security profession

Leading UK organisations in cyber security have united to develop a national professional body in the field Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Uber appoints first privacy and data protection chiefs

Uber is getting its privacy and data protection house in order in the wake of damaging data breaches and in anticipation of the company’s planned stock market launch in 2019 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Retail cyber security spending ineffective as breaches rise

Cyber attacks on the retail sector are increasing, and although most retailers plan to increase cyber security spending, planned investments are unlikely to be effective, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cryptominers plateau while backdoors shoot up

Illicit cryptocurrency mining appears to be slowing down, but backdoors increased rapidly in the second quarter of the year, a report warns Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Kcom secures second aggregate HSCN contract

Network services provider Kcom will supply broadband connectivity over the Health and Social Care Network to 10 health organisations in the north-east of England Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mobile devices lost in London underline security risk

The security risk of lost mobile devices is underlined by the fact that almost 26,000 mobile phones and computing devices were lost in London in the past year alone Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Disaster recovery as a service: what you need to know 

Technological advances make disaster recovery as a service possible, but Computer Weekly investigates whether it is practical option for all businesses Continue Reading

By

• Rene Millman

Russian cyber attacks show need for international rules

Russian cyber attacks aimed at influencing foreign elections highlight the need for the international community to agree on rules of conduct and punitive consequences Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Matching disaster recovery to cyber threats

While it is important to take steps to prevent cyber attacks, they can still happen. That is why disaster recovery practices are equally critical Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

Hackers increasingly targeting cloud infrastructure

Cloud infrastructure is a growing target for cyber attackers because of available computing resources, as well as the repositories of valuable data, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: A good password policy alone is not enough

In light of the fact that complex passwords are not as strong as most people think and that most password strategies inevitably lead to people following them blindly, what actually makes a good password and when is a password alone not enough? Continue Reading

By

• Bruce Beam , (ISC)²

Cyber attackers cashing in on ‘hidden’ attack surface

Cyber attackers are cashing in on organisations’ lack of visibility into all online interactions that can involve multiple third parties, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Three-quarters of consumers have interacted with artificial intelligence

Capgemini survey finds 55% of people prefer a mix of AI and humans when they interact with organisations Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

An exciting time to be in cyber security innovation

Cyber security innovation has received a £1.35m shot in the arm from the UK government with the opening of a new innovation centre in London. Computer Weekly looks at why now is a good time to be working and innovating in this industry Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst