IT for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)

Infosec Skills, BCS announce winners of Cyber Security Challenge

Stuart Pringle, Simon Robinson and Robert Wyllie have won over £2,000 of training and a place in the semi-final of the current UK Cyber Security Challenge Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Yahoo claims malicious ads under control

Yahoo says the situation is under control after its advertising network served up malware to thousands of visitors last week Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FireEye acquires Mandiant in $1bn deal

Security firm FireEye has bought Mandiant in a deal worth just over $1bn Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Facebook faces lawsuit over monitoring private messages

Facebook is facing a lawsuit that claims it scans the contents of private messages to profile the user’s online activity Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Top 10 IT privacy stories of 2013

Stories related to whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations about internet mass surveillance programmes by the US and the UK have dominated this year Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

User acceptance testing needs real training, not just a short course

In spite of its importance, user acceptance testing (UAT) is often chaotic, problematic and ineffective Continue Reading

By

• Pauline van Goethem
• Brian Hambling

Research reveals widespread mobile app hacking

The top 100 paid Android apps and 56% of the top 100 paid Apple iOS apps have been hacked, research has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Thirteen plead guilty to Anonymous DDoS attack on Paypal

Thirteen people have pleaded guilty to taking part in DDoS attacks on eBay’s Paypal, organised by the Anonymous hacker group in 2010 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Ransomware looks set to increase, warns Sophos

Cyber criminals are planning to produce new forms of ransomware on an unprecedented scale, according to IT security firm Sophos Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Computer system failure delays hundreds of UK flights

Hundreds of flights at several UK airports were delayed or cancelled at the weekend because of a computer failure at National Air Traffic Services (NATS) Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Tech City: 27% of London job growth comes from technology

Over a quarter of the job growth in London comes from the technology and digital sector, according to Tech City Investment Organisation Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Skills and supporting businesses top Autumn Statement 2013 agenda

Supporting young businesses and fixing the skills gap was a recurring theme during today’s Autumn Statement in the House of Commons Continue Reading

Automation key to balancing agility and security, says AlgoSec

Automated critical business application management enables a more agile business and enhances security, says security policy management firm AlgoSec Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Proof-of-concept malware jumps air gap with sound card

Researchers demonstrate proof-of-concept malware exfiltrating data using high-frequency transmissions inaudible to humans Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

The Guardian denies Snowden stories damaged national security

Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger defends decision to publish stories on documents leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK proposes formal talks on cyber security with China

Prime minister David Cameron has called on China to be more open about cyber security Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

EU calls on US to rebuild trust in post-Snowden era

The EC has called on the US to provide guarantees to restore trust in the wake of spying revelations Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NCA changed UK cyber crime fighting, says NCCU head

The NCA has changed the UK law enforcement landscape, says Andy Archibald, head of the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government lays out 2014 cyber security agenda

The UK government has reiterated its commitment to addressing cyber security and laid out some plans for 2014 at the Cyber Security Summit 2013 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

White hat Wi-Fi hacking shows vulnerability of business data

Whitehat hackers have shown that senstitive data can be sniffed easily from public Wi-Fi hotspots Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FTSE 350 firms complete cyber risk assessment

Most FTSE 350 companies put cyber risk on the board agenda, but many need to improve how they manage that risk Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CSA appoints Microsoft’s Adrienne Hall to board

The CSA has appointed Adrienne Hall, from Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft, to its board of directors Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Report highlights poor UK attitudes to mobile security

Businesses should note that many UK mobile users do not take security precautions and do not know how to guard against data theft Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Google reaches $17m multi-state settlement over Safari snooping

Google has reached a $17m settlement agreement with 10 US states for bypassing Apple Safari privacy settings Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Google and Microsoft to block searches for child porn

Google and Microsoft have announced measures to make it more difficult to find child abuse images online Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber collateral damage a concern for all, says Lancope

All organisations could be affected by cyber attack collateral damage, says network security firm Lancope Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Europe to follow US clearance of mobile devices on flights

The European aviation regulator is to follow the US lead in easing restrictions on the use of mobile electronic devices during flights Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CIO interview: Paolo Cinelli, CIO, Ikea

Ikea's priority is to get closer to its customers using a multi-channel approach which combines digital and traditional methods Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Mass surveillance a bad idea, says Information Commissioner Christopher Graham

Information Commissioner Christopher Graham says issues of national security must not overshadow concerns of legitimate public interest Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Web surveillance not a good idea, says Info Commissioner

Information Commissioner Christopher Graham says issues of national security cannot be allowed to overshadow concerns of legitimate public interest Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NSA and GCHQ mass surveillance violates EU law, study finds

Mass internet surveillance by US and UK intelligence agencies violates European law, according to a study by two academics Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK intelligence heads defend mass surveillance operations

Heads of the UK’s intelligence services insist all they do in term of mass surveillance is strictly within the confines of UK law Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Analysis: RSA says security needs to change, but what does that mean?

RSA executive chairman Art Coviello has issued a call to action to the security industry to improve technology and collaboration Continue Reading

Most businesses need to transform IT security, says RSA

No modern network or IT system can withstand the onslaught of a skilled adversary, given focus and time, says Amit Yoran, general manager of RSA Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber attack shuts down Israeli toll road tunnel

A cyber attack has shut down a major link in Israel's national road network, experts claim Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Thales launches critical infrastructure cyber security lab

Thales has set up a cyber security lab dedicated to help improve the security of critical national infrastructure, government and business Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

US publishes draft cyber security framework

The US has published a draft framework of voluntary cyber security standards aimed at reducing risks to critical national infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Lotus F1 Team invests in converged datacentre to support race strategy

Lotus F1 Team is about to go live with a converged datacentre infrastructure as it begins the development of a championship-winning car for 2015 Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Microsoft withdraws faulty Windows RT 8.1 update for Surface tablets

Microsoft has widthdrawn its Windows 8.1 update for Surface RT tablets after some users reported system crashes Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Dexter payment card malware variant hits South Africa

The Dexter payment card skimming malware discovered last year has resurfaced in South Africa, resulting in millions of pounds lost to fraud Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Neustar to host first DDoS awareness day

Communications firm Neustar is to host the first international awareness day on distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

The ICO issues BYOD warning after breach

The ICO is calling on organisations to ensure data protection policies reflect how employees are using personal devices for work Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

10 security reasons to upgrade to iOS 7

Even if it did not include numerous security fixes, iOS 7 has compelling reasons for corporates to adopt it to improve their security Continue Reading

By

• Rob Buckley

D-Link begins fixing router backdoor

D-Link has begun releasing security patches to close the backdoor discovered on some of its routers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

BT seeks startups for superfast broadband services

BT joins East London's TechHub encouraging startups to develop applications and services using superfast connectivity Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer Scott, TechTarget

Legitimate users of Tor need not worry, says NCA

The National Crime Agency (NCA) says criminals cannot hide on the internet, but legitimate business users of anonymity software Tor are safe Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government pledges extra £100m to Enterprise Zones

Communities secretary Eric Pickles confirms the additional funding to help complete infrastructure projects around the new business hubs Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer Scott, TechTarget

UK National Cyber Crime Unit becomes operational

The UK's National Cyber Crime Unit has become operational as part of the new National Crime Agency Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FBI shuts down Silk Road online drug market

The FBI has shut down the Silk Road online drug market and arrested kingpin Ross Ulbricht, previously known only as Dread Pirate Roberts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Privacy concerns in the digital world

Considering the full spectrum of privacy, people need to ask themselves if they are comfortable with all their characteristics in the public domain Continue Reading

By

• Yves Le Roux, (ISC)2

McAfee Focus 2013: McAfee leadership upbeat about Stonesoft acquisition

Intel-owned security firm McAfee is upbeat about its acquisition of Stonesoft and its future capability to tackle security differently Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IT security industry still immature, says (ISC)2 board member

The information security industry is still immature and failing to act or speak as one, says Dave Lewis, (ISC)2 board member Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Financial markets next big cyber target, says US expert

Manipulation of international financial markets will be the next evolution of cyber crime, says US Cyber Consequences Unit chief Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2013

Cyber crime featured heavily in security news coverage in 2013, with cyber criminals and cyber law enforcers upping their games with each passing month Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Software acquisition is risk acquisition, says industry panel

New software often means new security vulnerabilities, panel tells the (ISC)2 Security Congress 2013 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

What does the Public Accounts Committee want from BDUK?

MPs slammed the BDUK broadband process for making it too easy for BT. But how to rectify the situation? We take an in-depth look at the report Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer Scott, TechTarget

NSA reveals how Snowden accessed secret Prism files

Prism whistleblower Edward Snowden accessed secret documents through a file-share, the NSA has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Risk assessment key to cloud adoption, says Isaca

There is mass confusion among small and medium businesses about cloud computing, says Amar Singh, chair of Isaca UK Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Most websites could be targeted through PHP, warns Imperva

Hackers are focusing on vulnerabilities in PHP web application development platform, threatening most websites, warns Imperva Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Lloyds website continuity hit as TSB launches

Lloyds Banking Group websites, including the new standalone TSB, have been hit by problems on TSB launch day Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Disinfecting PCs false security, says security expert

Many companies proud of their ability to identify and clean malware infected machines are missing a trick, says veteran security expert Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Charlie McMurdie joins PwC’s cyber practice

Charlie McMurdie, former head of the Metro Police central e-crime unit, is joining business consultancy firm PwC as its senior crime adviser Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How DWP and Universal Credit failed to work with SME suppliers

Less than 1% of DWP IT spending on the Universal Credit programme has gone to SMEs – how are big suppliers continuing their dominance? Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

Less than 1% of Universal Credit IT spend goes to SMEs

Despite a 25% target, less than 1% of IT spending for government’s flagship Universal Credit programme has gone to small businesses Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

How to appoint a new outsourcing supplier

Outsourcing can come with its own security risks if not managed appropriately, making due diligence and clear contractual arrangements key Continue Reading

By

• Sheila Pancholi

Government to put 50% of all new IT spend through SMEs

The government wants to put half of all new IT spending through small IT suppliers – doubling the previous target Continue Reading

The ideology of hacking

Business leaders need to be educated on the true threats their firms face and IT security professionals have to arm their executives with that information Continue Reading

By

• Mark Brown

ICO to investigate sale of online dating profiles

The UK’s data protection watchdog is to investigate the sale of 10,000 online dating profiles to the BBC’s Panorama programme Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

An introduction to cyber liability insurance cover

Cyber liability insurance cover has been around for 10 years, but most security professionals seem to have not heard of it or know that it exists Continue Reading

By

• Sarb Sembhi

Continual vigilance key to security, says Damballa

UK businesses must update their approach to cyber security to look for signs of compromise continually Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FireEye partners with Phishme for multi-layered security

Security technology developer FireEye has partnered with phishing awareness training firm PhishMe to offer a multi-layered approach to securing information networks Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

MI5 and GCHQ call for FTSE 350 cyber health check

Intelligence agencies MI5 and GCHQ call on UK’s top listed companies to take part in a cyber governance health check Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cisco buys cyber security company Sourcefire for $2.7bn

Networking giant Cisco has reached an agreement to buy cyber security business Sourcefire in a $2.7bn deal Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Insider threat: Balancing security with privacy

How can organisations increase security without affecting productivity or encroaching on employees’ right to privacy? Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK to block online porn by default

The UK is to block online pornography by default to all new internet users, David Cameron is to announce Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How to assess the security of a cloud service provider

As businesses continue to put more information online, understanding cloud suppliers and agreements has never been more important Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Fitzmaurice

Google competition proposals not good enough, says EC

Competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia wants Google to readdress fears that it is abusing its market domination for its own gain Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Intel Q2 profits down, but in line with expectations

Chip maker Intel reported a second quarter profit of $2bn, down 29% from a year ago, roughly in line with analysts’ estimates Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IBM misses revenue expectations again

IBM has reported second quarter revenues of $24.9bn, missing market estimates of $25.39bn Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Tech firms target piracy profiting websites

Tech firms including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft join an initiative targeting websites that profit from piracy by cutting off advert revenue Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

More than one-fifth of UK firms hit by DDoS attacks in 2012

More than a fifth of UK firms experienced a disruptive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack in 2012 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Black market for software security flaws reaches new highs

The black market in previously undiscovered vulnerabilities in commercial software is so established that the average flaw sells for up to $160,000 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Lower uptake of cloud, ICT limiting medium-sized enterprises' productivity: CEBR

Medium-sized enterprises in the UK lagging behind large businesses in terms of productivity, because of lower adoption of ICT and cloud Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Yahoo wants Fisa objections revealed

Yahoo is the latest company implicated in the Prism internet surveillance programme to call for more transparency around its involvement Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Icahn wants judge to appraise Dell buyout offer

Billionaire US investor Carl Icahn says he will go to court to get a better price for his stake in the computer manufacturer Dell Continue Reading

Security visualisation

This article in our Royal Holloway Information Security Thesis series shows how to generate a visual representation of a dataset and use visualisation in the evaluation of known security vulnerabilities. Continue Reading

Protecting against modern password cracking

This article in our Royal Holloway Security Thesis series explains just how insecure passwords are and offers advice on alternative methods of security. Continue Reading

Smart cards: security risks

This article in our Royal Holloway Information Security Thesis series assess the new features introduced in Java Card 3 Connected Edition smart card specification and their associated security risks. Continue Reading

Microsoft notches up over 3,000 copyright cases

In its battle against piracy, Microsoft says it has settled 3,265 copyright cases in the past year and warns of links to malware distribution Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Will cloud services follow the evolution of the banking industry?

Cloud service providers say security will become the very reason companies choose cloud services in future Continue Reading

How to monitor and improve the health of your datacentre

Any datacentre manager looking to support the business should take an end-to-end systems management approach to keep the datacentre in shape Continue Reading

By

• Clive Longbottom

UK takes cyber threats to infrastructure seriously

The UK is taking seriously potential cyber threats to critical national infrastructure, according to GCHQ head Iain Lobban Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Tougher EU penalties for cyber crime not enough, say security experts

The European Parliament has adopted a draft directive to toughen up EU penalties for cyber crime, but security experts say this is not enough on its own Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Prism unlikely to change much

Does the data collected by Prism put the US Government at risk from other state or non-state sponsored activists? Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

UK joins EU demands for Google to rewrite privacy policy

The UK’s privacy watchdog has joined data protection authorities in France, Spain, Germany and Italy in demanding changes to Google’s privacy policy Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NSA Prism scandal could hit US cloud providers, says EC vice-president

EC vice-president Neelie Kroes says US cloud services providers could lose business because of fears over US Prism surveillance programme Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FBI warns of increased spear phishing attacks

The FBI has issued a warning about an increase in spear-phishing attacks targeting multiple industry sectors Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: Prism – Sitting duck or elaborate honeypot?

Does the data collected by Prism put the US Government at risk from other state or non-state sponsored activists? Continue Reading

By

• Robert Newby

Senior MPs flout EU cookie law

Two years after the EU cookie regulation and UK law came into force, not all UK websites are compliant, including the sites of 13 senior MPs Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Stuxnet leak investigation leads to project originator

The US government investigation into Stuxnet leak of classified information leads to retired general in the Marines, James Cartwright Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst