IT for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)

Data breaches revealed at four US retail chains

The Easter weekend has seen another round of data breaches, further underlining that many companies are still failing to take the necessary steps to protect customer data Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

 Automation and gamification key to cyber security

The use of automation and gamification are key to winning the fight against cyber criminals in the face of the skills’ shortage, a study investigating challenges facing IT security teams reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Business unaware of scale of cyber threat

Many businesses, especially board members, do not understand the scale of the cyber threat, but international efforts to combat cyber crime are being hampered by political barriers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cryptocurrency mining rampant in higher education

Higher education institutions are the biggest target for illicit cryptocurrency mining, data shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How the IT sector can help plug the cyber security skills gap

Businesses have a role to play in plugging the cyber security skills gap by engaging with future talent at a young age, providing more role models for under-represented groups, communicating the nature of the threat, and changing their approach to cyber security recruitment Continue Reading

By

• Frank Stajano, University of Cambridge

IR35 reforms: IT contractors express concerns over ‘inevitable’ private sector roll-out

Research suggests IT contractors are resigned to the IR35 reforms being implemented in the private sector, and many fear an announcement to that effect will come this year Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Majority of European firms unprepared for phishing attacks

Most cyber attacks can be traced back to a phishing email, but more than half of European firms are unprepared to deal with email-based attacks, research has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Microsoft Word document and zero-day attacks on the rise

Macro-less Microsoft Word document attacks and zero-day malware are on the rise, according to data from WatchGuard Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Majority of firms fear mobile workers have been hacked

More than half of organisations fear that their mobile workers have been hacked and most are concerned that a growing mobile workforce means increased cyber security risk, a survey reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK organisations urged to develop cyber security skills

Managed cloud computing firm Rackspace is calling on UK organisations to do more to develop cyber security skills in the light of research into expertise in cloud security Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Facebook could be hit with $2tn fine after FTC inquiry

Facebook could face huge fines as the result of a federal inquiry into the data exploitation scandal, further underlining the importance of personal data protection for all enterprises Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

The desktop is changing

In this week's Computer Weekly, corporate PCs haven't changed much in 20 years – as use of Chrome OS grows, we ask if IT leaders are ready for a new approach. Theresa May said Brexit means the UK leaving the EU digital single market – does this mean a return to roaming charges? And we look at the latest developments in Linux. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

UK government publishes export strategy for UK cyber security

The government has published a guide for UK cyber security firms on how it plans to support their efforts to find and secure opportunities to export their products and services Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cloud key to cyber defence, says Palo Alto Networks

Organisations need to make sense of security intelligence and act on it faster to get ahead of attackers, and cloud-based security is one way of making that possible, according to Palo Alto Networks Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Scottish village rolls out FTTP broadband at half normal cost

Residents of the remote village of Balquhidder in Stirlingshire have banded together to roll out a full-fibre broadband network at just half the cost of a normal fibre network build Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Privacy group calls for UK response to data exploitation

Policy-makers need to respond swiftly to the Cambridge Analytica and Facebook data exploitation scandal, according to privacy rights group Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Canadian broadband expertise speeds Gigaclear fibre dig

Rural broadband provider Gigaclear has enlisted Canadian firm Lite Access Technology to assist in the roll-out of full-fibre services to 10,000 properties in Oxfordshire Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CityFibre consumer broadband collaboration hits Peterborough

CityFibre is returning to one of its earliest Gigabit City projects with Vodafone in tow to upgrade thousands of homes in Peterborough to gigabit-capable full-fibre broadband Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Application layer DDoS attacks increasing, Imperva data shows

Distributed denial of service attacks targeting applications almost doubled in the last three months of 2017, according to Imperva Incapsula data Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Businesses lack cyber security confidence after majority were breached in past year

Most businesses were hit by a data breach in the past year, yet less than half are confident they would detect a breach, a survey shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

MoD to focus on SMEs to raise supply chain cyber security

The Ministry of Defence continues to develop a joint initiative with industry aimed at raising the security posture throughout the UK’s defence supply chain, with increasing focus on SMEs Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

SD-WAN still too complex, survey shows

Despite SD-WAN adoption, WAN complexity remains a major challenge, a survey has revealed, driving firms to managed services, mainly because of security concerns Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Popular culture key to giving cyber security much-needed boost

The cyber security industry should turn to popular culture to raise awareness of the cyber threat to businesses and consumers and attract new blood to the field, says McMafia author Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Danish government launches business-focused national digital strategy

Denmark’s government has launched a plan to get more small businesses into the digital economy as it targets being a leader in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Case study: Stationery firm gets things moving with FTTP broadband voucher

Nuco, a Midlands-based supplier of paper and stationery products, has improved its business agility and is moving its IT into the cloud thanks to the government’s full-fibre broadband connection voucher scheme Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IBM delivers Watson-powered voice assistant for consumer brands

Alexa and Google Assistant have taken residence in people's homes. IBM aims to give companies a way to deliver their own branded AI voice assistants Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Firms need to move from DevOps to DevSecOps, says expert

In the face of competition, organisations are turning to DevOps to improve efficiency and accelerate innovation, but this is creating new security risks, an industry expert warns Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Wigan data breaches underline need to share threat intelligence

Ongoing data breaches experienced by local authorities underline the need for greater sharing of threat intelligence, say security experts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Network security in the digital transformation era

Network security has always been a core focus for CISOs and IT security managers, but in an era of digital transformation, we examine if network security strategies are keeping up with new and emerging cyber threats Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

Southwark brings full-fibre broadband to council estates

London’s Southwark Council has enlisted Hyperoptic to deliver FTTP broadband services across its housing portfolio Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Russia compromised core router in US energy attacks

Russian cyber attackers used a compromised core router in a series of attacks on the US energy sector, security researchers have revealed as the UK energy sector is placed on alert Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Employers face hiring crisis as AI replaces mid-skilled jobs

Artificial intelligence could replace two-thirds of existing jobs within 20 years, and employers will face growing difficulties recruiting skilled staff Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Network security in the age of the internet of things

Wireless devices and smart technologies are increasingly being brought into the workplace, and pose a growing risk to company data Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

SD-WAN needs software-defined security

Digital transformation is driving organisations to move to the cloud, which requires a new architecture that embraces cloud technology, but that in turn requires a new way of thinking about network security to ensure data is protected Continue Reading

By

• Klaus Gheri, Barracuda

US blames Russia for cyber attacks on energy firms

The US has blamed Russia for a series of attacks on energy sector firms, underlining the need to ensure critical infrastructure IT systems are up to date and secure Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Fileless malware not totally undetectable

What should organisations do at the very least to ensure business computers are protected from fileless malware? Continue Reading

By

• Greg Temm

Openreach to open 12 fibre broadband engineering schools

Openreach has opened the first of 12 planned training centres around the UK as it sets out to recruit more than 3,000 fibre broadband engineers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Full-fibre broadband voucher scheme gets green light

Chancellor Philip Hammond has signed off on £67m to fund full-fibre broadband connections for small businesses around the UK Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government setting up local planning group to support 5G roll-out

Digital minister Margot James is building a new initiative to support collaboration on 5G mobile network roll-out at a local level, bringing together councils, landowners and industry to work on planning challenges and policy Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

WhatsApp to suspend data sharing with Facebook

WhatsApp has agreed to stop sharing personal data with Facebook until data protection concerns are addressed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Kenyan solar supplier leans on IoT and fintech for new growth

Mastercard packed its stand at Mobile World Congress with new use cases for fintech in the developing world and launched a new partnership with Kenyan solar energy supplier M-KOPA Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Awareness is a good starting point to counter fileless malware

What should organisations do at the very least to ensure business computers are protected from fileless malware? Continue Reading

By

• Ed Moyle, Drake Software

Researchers accused of irresponsible disclosure of AMD chip flaws

Israel-based researchers have been accused of irresponsible disclosure for going public with more than a dozen security flaws discovered in AMD processors Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Stoke Council picks VX Fiber to light up fibre broadband network

VX Fiber’s Open Access Platform will allow Stoke-on-Trent council to realise a return on its fibre investment while bringing gigabit broadband services to homes and businesses Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government hands out £95m for local full-fibre broadband

The government has named the first recipients of a £190m tranche of funding to realise local full-fibre broadband projects Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Patch, scan and lock down to counter fileless malware

What should organisations do at the very least to ensure business computers are protected from fileless malware? Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

Businesses need to take cryptojacking seriously

Organisations must pay attention to cyber criminals hijacking computing resources to mine cryptocurrencies, because nearly half are affected and the impact is greater than many realise Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Slingshot router malware: a warning for businesses

A stealthy malware that has been used to carry out cyber espionage undetected for six years should raise a red flag to businesses, say security commentators Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Digital for rural areas worth up to £26bn to UK economy

A study commissioned by Amazon has posited that greater use of digital tools and services could be worth between £12bn and £26bn per annum to the UK economy Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Human, procedural and technical response to fileless malware

What should organisations do at the very least to ensure business computers are protected from fileless malware? Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie

Eight new cyber threats a second in Q4 2017, McAfee report reveals

There was an increase in cyber attacks on healthcare organisations, the use of fileless malware and cryptocurrency mining in the last three months of 2017, with eight new threats a second Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Scottish government to spend £25m to fill 4G coverage gaps

The Scottish government has announced a £25m programme to infill gaps in 4G mobile network coverage across Scotland Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government reveals winners of 5G mobile competition

The government has unveiled the winners of a multimillion-pound competition to create 5G mobile network testbeds around the UK Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government criticised over lack of GDPR explanation

Most IT decision makers in the UK are critical of the government for failing to educate organisations about the GDPR and its implications, and few have a clear understanding of it, a survey shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Use layered security and patch management to defeat fileless malware

What should organisations do at the very least to ensure business computers are protected from fileless malware? Continue Reading

By

• Maxine Holt, Omdia

Cryptojacking cyber criminals up their game

Cyber criminals hijacking computing resources to mine for cryptocurrencies are raising their efforts to bypass enterprise security controls, researchers have found Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Multi-layered security key to fileless malware defence

What should organisations do, at the very least, to ensure business computers are protected from fileless malware? Continue Reading

By

• Simon Persin, Turnkey Consulting

CW Europe: Germany’s Lemoncat takes catering to the cloud

Business catering startup Lemoncat has taken advantage of the affordable cost of living in Berlin and is shaking up the catering sector by harnessing the Amazon and Salesforce clouds. Also in this issue, read how Moscow’s government is taking advantage of high penetration of broadband and mobile internet to expand innovative services under the Russian capital’s smart city programme, and how organisations in the Netherlands still have much to do to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation. Continue Reading

UK cyber security certification pilot launched

UK businesses now have the opportunity to improve their cyber security and prove they have taken steps to protect data they hold, thanks to a police-backed certification scheme Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Businesses warned not to ignore cryptojacking threat

Businesses should not ignore the threat of malware designed to carry out illicit cryptocurrency mining, warns NTT Security Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Businesses under pressure to allow easier access to cloud

Businesses are under pressure from employees to use consumer-focused authentication methods for cloud applications, but that could have both positive and negative security implications, warns Gemalto Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Aim to detect and contain fileless malware attacks quickly

What should organisations do at the very least to ensure business computers are protected from fileless malware? Continue Reading

By

• Paddy Francis

Cyber security is a team sport, says NCSC

The UK’s national cyber security agency aims to help organisations understand the need to act collaboratively and collectively against the cyber threat, urging them to raise the bar Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Social engineering at the heart of fileless malware attacks

What should organisations do at the very least to ensure business computers are protected from fileless malware? Continue Reading

By

• Emma Bickerstaffe, Information Security Forum (ISF)

Most Britons concerned about personal data sharing

Most UK consumers are concerned about personal data they have shared online, but few know the extent of that data or their rights, a survey shows, indicating a need for education and transparency Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: How to tackle fileless malware attacks

What should organisations do at the very least to ensure business computers are protected from fileless malware? Continue Reading

By

• Adrian Davis, (ISC)²

Most healthcare organisations have been breached, report shows

 Less than a third of global healthcare organisations remain untouched, as data breaches rise across the industry, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Fibre broadband network builder challenges ASA on fake fibre

CityFibre has filed for a judicial review of the Advertising Standards Authority’s November 2017 decision to allow fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband to be advertised as fibre Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Interview: Andy Street, mayor of the West Midlands

West Midlands mayor Andy Street talks about why digital is key to the region’s economic growth, his hunt for a chief digital officer, and the importance of skills and collaboration Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Cyber crime is a top threat to UK charities, says NCSC

Cyber crime poses the most serious threats to UK charities, the National Cyber Security Centre has warned Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Equifax ups breach figure by a further 2.5 million

Credit rating agency Equifax has increased the number of US records believed to have been compromised in 2017 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Memcached servers irresistible to DDoS attackers, expert warns

In the light of the biggest distributed denial of service attack to date against GitHub, organisations should ditch memcached servers or risk a blizzard of blistering attacks, says security researcher Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Trust underpins innovation, says UK information commissioner

Underlining the relevance of data protection legislation to business, the UK information commissioner says consumer trust is key to innovation Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Ofcom to enforce new rules on broadband speed disclosure

Telecoms regulator Ofcom is to impose new measures on broadband providers, forcing them to provide better information about speeds to consumers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ICO head tops DataIQ data leader list

The UK’s information commissioner has been named at the top data leader for 2018 in the DataIQ 100 list of most influential data leaders Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Affiliate marketing industry failing on privacy compliance

The affiliate marketing industry needs to clean up its act in terms of privacy law compliance, a review of more than 900 websites has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Salary is not top way to attract cybersec pros, report reveals

Salary is not the highest priority for cyber security professionals, a report on hiring and retaining top cyber security talent shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Firms failing to learn from cyber attacks

Organisations are failing to learn from cyber attacks, and lax security practices are leaving organisations worldwide open to damaging cyber attacks, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Businesses urged to patch Oracle WebLogic flaw

Security researchers are again urging businesses to patch an Oracle WebLogic flaw that continues to be exploited by cyber criminals to mine cryptocurrencies Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

King’s College dumps legacy SAN for Nimble hybrid flash

Cambridge college triples storage capacity for VMware virtualised environment and adds Veeam backup. Nimble hybrid flash ensures rapid data access with Sata bulk storage behind Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Understanding the cyber threat key to UK defence, says NCSC

Understanding cyber threats is key to defending the UK and ensuring it is a safe place to do business, says the National Cyber Security Centre Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GDPR will have positive ripple effect, says US consumer group

New EU data protection laws will have a positive ripple effect around the world, according to a US consumer group Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cryptomining is top attack type, says Malwarebytes

Malicious cryptomining has been the top cyber criminal activity detected since September 2017, a report reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber criminals catching up with nation state attacks

The trickle-down effect of advanced “military-grade” tools is seeing the gap between cyber criminal and nation state attack capabilities closing, outpacing many organisations’ defence capabilities Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

2018 could be year of mobile malware, says McAfee 

Security firm announces several mobile industry partnerships as its latest mobile threat report shows mobile malware is becoming increasingly popular with cyber attackers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Most UK small firms still not prepared for GDPR, FSB survey shows

Most small businesses are not prepared for new data regulations, according to research by the Federation of Small Businesses Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

A smarter state can only be built on smarter procurement

Digital government has improved, but progress needs to be made when it comes to public sector procurement Continue Reading

By

• Rob Driver, TechUK

GDPR is having positive impact on privacy profession, says IAPP

The EU’s new data protection rules are driving greater interest in the privacy profession, and provide an opportunity to develop new business plans, says privacy association Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Public education important in new data protection era, says ICO

UK information commissioner Elizabeth Denham tells Data Protection 2018 event of the tough requirements ahead in a new age of data regulation Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Ofcom pledges to halve the cost of full-fibre broadband network builds

Telecoms regulator Ofcom has finalised plans to make full-fibre broadband network builds cheaper, and encourage more private sector investment Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Avast discovers Tempting Cedar Android spyware campaign

Security researchers have uncovered a three-year-old Android spyware campaign spread through social media and targeting people in the Middle East Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

5G mobile network rocks up in Brighton

Digital Catapult and the Coast to Capital LEP will switch on a 5G mobile network test bed in Brighton in April 2018 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google calls out Microsoft for failing to fix reported flaw

Google’s Project Zero has gone public with a Windows 10 flaw that Microsoft claimed to have fixed in its February security update Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Email attacks and incident detection top security challenges

Email inboxes are the weakest link in security perimeters, and companies struggle with detecting security incidents quickly and accurately, a report finds Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Hawaii missile alert: Why the wrong guy was fired

In January 2018, an employee at Hawaii’s emergency management agency sent out a false alarm of an imminent missile attack, and was subsequently fired – but perhaps poor system design is really to blame Continue Reading

By

• Jonny Corbett, Norman & Sons

UK organisations failing to take action against fraud

UK organisations are facing increasingly complex and costly incidents of fraud partly due to increasing cyber fraud, yet few are making use of the anti-fraud technologies available, a survey has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Manchester Science Partnerships opens competition to drive data science and tech startups forward

Manchester Science Partnerships has begun a competition for startups to win free desk space at its Tech Incubator Continue Reading

By

• Zach Emmanuel, Computer Weekly

CityFibre launches consumer broadband partnership in Aberdeen

CityFibre and Vodafone are preparing to launch a consumer FTTP broadband service in Aberdeen Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security leaders investing in automation and AI, study shows

Automation and artificial Intelligence are being used to defend against cyber threats, says report, but experts warn that these tools and technologies can be exploited by attackers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

VX Fiber brings Swedish open access full-fibre broadband model to UK

Flush with success in its home market, Swedish open access full-fibre broadband specialist VX Fiber is launching in the UK, with plans to shake up service delivery to users by helping local councils monetise their network assets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor