IT security

Top 10 crime, national security and law stories of 2021

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 crime, national security and law stories of 2021 Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Top 10 technology and ethics stories of 2021

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 technology and ethics stories of 2021 Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

smart card

A smart card is a physical card that has an embedded integrated chip that acts as a security token. Continue Reading

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• Ben Lutkevich, Site Editor
• Linda Rosencrance
• Michael Cobb

Everything you need to know about ProxyShell vulnerabilities

Organizations need to patch their Exchange Servers to protect against the ProxyShell exploit. Learn how to do that and more here. Continue Reading

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• Brien Posey

Vulnerabilities to fraud are increasing across the board

As the pandemic continues to affect how we work, socialise, shop and conduct business, so it has increased opportunities for digital fraud and cyber crime. Jason Lane-Sellers explores the latest LexisNexis Risk Solutions ‘Cybercrime report’ Continue Reading

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• Jason Lane-Sellers, EMEA director of market planning, LexisNexis Risk Solutions

SPML (Services Provisioning Markup Language)

Services Provisioning Markup Language (SPML) is an open source XML-based standard that facilitates the exchange of account provisioning information among applications, services and organizations. Continue Reading

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• Gavin Wright

Top 10 cyber security stories of 2021

Cyber security dominated the headlines in 2021, making it hard to gain a clear picture of what to pay attention to. What is an IT buyer to do? Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Is the IT sector beset by fear-mongering?

The arms race between hackers and security teams has led to a plethora of new technologies, but it can be hard to differentiate between sensible cyber purchases and those that are promoted by exaggerating risk Continue Reading

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• Peter Ray Allison

Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2021

Cyber crime hit new heights and drew more attention than ever in 2021. We look back at the biggest stories of the year Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How can you balance security with growth?

As businesses focus on recovery and growth, CISOs must deal with today’s challenges while also planning for tomorrow - how can they achieve both safety and success? Continue Reading

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• Gavin Cartwright

What is Log4Shell - and why the panic?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we assess the risks from Log4Shell, a new web software vulnerability described as “catastrophic”. We look at SASE – secure access service edge – which is set to be one of the networking priorities for 2022. And some victims of the Post Office IT scandal are still waiting for proper compensation. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

IT Priorities 2022: Cloud-first mindset growing in India

Nearly half of organisations in India are expected to spend more on cloud services, underscoring the growing cloud-first mindset that is taking root in the subcontinent Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

CW APAC: Expert guide to cloud migration

Organisations are increasingly moving their workloads to public cloud. In this handbook, focused on cloud migration in the Asia-Pacific region, Computer Weekly looks at the key strategies to follow, how HPE has transitioned into an as-a-service company, the adoption of cloud in Australia and why VMWare’s chief technology officer endorses a cross-cloud approach Continue Reading

What is Log4Shell, and why are we panicking about it?

 Continue Reading

Top 10 artificial intelligence stories of 2021

This year, artificial intelligence has moved to operationalisation, explainability and regulatory frameworks. Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 artificial intelligence stories for 2021 Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Top 10 ransomware and backup stories of 2021

Key articles from 2021 that highlight the link between ransomware and snapshots and backup and their role in repelling attacks, plus effects of the pandemic on backup and recovery Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Security Think Tank: Reframing CISO-boardroom relations

Security learning is a career-long process, so as 2021 draws to a close, participants in the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank sum up the most important cyber lessons they’ve taken away from the past 12 months Continue Reading

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• Emma Bickerstaffe, Information Security Forum (ISF)

Security Think Tank: When will they ever learn?

Security learning is a career-long process, so as 2021 draws to a close, participants in the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank sum up the most important cyber lessons they’ve taken away from the past 12 months Continue Reading

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• Mark Raeburn, Accenture Security

HSBC fined £64m for automated transaction monitoring failures

Bank hit by multimillion-pound fine for failures related to its transaction monitoring, which failed to spot potential money-laundering activity Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Enabling secure remote working is once again a top priority

The pandemic has bought many new security risks, particularly around remote working. As the UK government once again urges people to work from home under its Plan B restrictions, these risks must be tackled as a priority Continue Reading

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• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

spam filter

A spam filter is a program used to detect unsolicited, unwanted and virus-infected emails and prevent those messages from getting to a user's inbox. Continue Reading

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• Andrew Zola

After Log4j, December Patch Tuesday piles on the pressure

December’s Patch Tuesday update from Microsoft contains several critical CVEs, but this month all attention is focused on the fall-out from Log4Shell, and burn-out is becoming a real issue Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Get to know your personal threat landscape

Security learning is a career-long process, so as 2021 draws to a close, participants in the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank sum up the most important cyber lessons they’ve taken away from the past 12 months Continue Reading

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• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

UK government to take ‘whole-of-society’ approach to cyber

Second iteration of the UK’s National Cyber Strategy broadens its focus to build a ‘whole-of-society’ security posture Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Log4Shell: Why aren't we taking the security of the internet seriously?

To be caught out once may be an oversight, and lessons can be learned. But twice over a seven year timespan, shows a laissez faire attitude to the stability of the internet. In 2014, Heartbleed ... Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Almost half of networks probed for Log4Shell weaknesses

Close to half of corporate networks have already been actively targeted by individuals seeking to exploit the critical Log4Shell Apache bug Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: We are failing to get the cyber message across to users

Security learning is a career-long process, so as 2021 draws to a close, participants in the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank sum up the most important cyber lessons they’ve taken away from the past 12 months Continue Reading

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• Chris Cooper

Recovering from ransomware: One organisation’s inside story

In February 2021, French office equipment supplier Manutan fell victim to a DoppelPaymer ransomware hit. IT ops director Jérôme Marchandiau tells the inside story of the incident Continue Reading

Online Safety Bill puts user protection onus on platform providers

The Online Safety Bill will place new duties and responsibilities on online platforms accessible from the UK, but as it currently stands, it contains several grey areas Continue Reading

The rules for a safer internet

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the government publishes the Online Safety Bill, we look at what the laws mean for internet services. A ransomware victim shares the insider story of the trauma of losing their corporate IT systems. And we ask, what happens when quantum computers get too powerful to verify their output? Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Chernobyl virus

The Chernobyl virus is a computer virus with a potentially devastating payload that destroys all computer data when an infected file is executed. Continue Reading

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• Katie Terrell Hanna

password salting

Password salting is a technique to protect passwords stored in databases by adding a string of 32 or more characters and then hashing them. Continue Reading

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• Rahul Awati

What is Log4Shell, and why are we panicking about it?

It’s been described as a ‘design failure of catastrophic proportions’ that threatens the very fabric of the digital world. Find out what the Log4j2 Log4Shell panic is all about, and what you should do about it Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: There’s much more to do to secure hybrid workers

Security learning is a career-long process, so as 2021 draws to a close, participants in the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank sum up the most important cyber lessons they’ve taken away from the past 12 months Continue Reading

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• Jack Chapman

Top IT predictions in APAC in 2022

Operationalising zero trust, talent retention and containerisation are just some of the key trends that will shape Asia-Pacific’s technology landscape in 2022 Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Julian Assange can be extradited to the US to face espionage and hacking charges, court rules

High Court overturns decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder after US government gives assurances over his treatment Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

C-suite’s biggest ransomware fear: Post-attack regulatory sanctions

Exposure to regulatory sanctions such as fines are the biggest worry for C-suite executives in the wake of a ransomware attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ISA Server

Microsoft's ISA Server (Internet Security and Acceleration Server) was the successor to Microsoft's Proxy Server 2.0 and was part of Microsoft's .NET support. Continue Reading

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• Katie Terrell Hanna

OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol)

OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol) is one of two common schemes used to maintain the security of a server and other network resources. Continue Reading

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• Andrew Zola

What are the challenges associated with the MITRE ATT&CK framework?

Businesses sometimes struggle to use the MITRE ATT&CK framework effectively. Learn more about some of the challenges, and how to overcome them Continue Reading

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• Shannon Flynn, ReHack Magazine

UK and US to collaborate on privacy innovation contest

Joint UK-US innovation challenge contest centring on privacy-enhancing technology announced at Summit for Democracy in Washington DC Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Good documentation could save your bacon

Security learning is a career-long process, so as 2021 draws to a close, participants in the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank sum up the most important cyber lessons they’ve taken away from the past 12 months Continue Reading

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• Petra Wenham

Aryaka announces ‘all-in-one’ SD-WAN, SASE offerings for hybrid workplace

Cloud-first software-defined wide area network firm claims hybrid network innovation breakthrough, enabling businesses of all sizes to navigate change while focusing on growth and digital transformation Continue Reading

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• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Elk Cloner

Elk Cloner is the first personal computer virus or self-replicating program known to have spread in the wild on a large scale. Continue Reading

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• Rahul Awati

2021 another record-breaker for vulnerability disclosure

More than 50 CVEs were logged every day in 2021, more than at any time since records began, while ethical hackers continue to prove their value Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Russia may be collaborating with US to bring cyber criminals to heel

Trustwave’s SpiderLabs says its analysis of chatter on underground dark web forums suggests cyber criminals are starting to panic that formerly ‘friendly’ governments are on their case Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Most consumers expect banks to cover losses to scams

Consumers expect banks to cover losses to cyber crime, as the number of attacks grows Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK privacy chief denies conflict of interest in new role

UK information commissioner will join a private law firm that represents technology companies she used to regulate, raising questions about conflicts of interest and drawing ‘revolving door’ criticisms Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Number of .uk domain suspensions at record low

Statistics from Nominet show how effective law enforcement action against cyber crime in the UK is paying off Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

biometric payment

Biometric payment is a point-of-sale (POS) technology that uses biometric authentication physical characteristics to identify the user and authorize the deduction of funds from a bank account. Continue Reading

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• Katie Terrell Hanna

Investigation mounted into Spar supermarket cyber attack

Possible supply chain cyber attack left more than 300 Spar supermarkets unable to process credit card payments Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Attackers leveraging the supply chain

Security learning is a career-long process, so as 2021 draws to a close, participants in the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank sum up the most important cyber lessons they have taken away from the past 12 months Continue Reading

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• Paddy Francis

IT Priorities 2022: Pandemic’s long tail for cyber buyers

Pandemic response has been top of mind for cyber leaders these past 18 months, and as Covid-19 turns two, the TechTarget/Computer Weekly IT Priorities 2022 study shows buyers are still focused on how Covid has upended the workplace Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Surge in Nobelium-linked supply chain attacks

Mandiant’s researchers share new intel on two distinct clusters of Russian APT activity, linked to the Nobelium SolarWinds attackers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Millions of credit card details for sale on dark web for as little as 75p

The credit card details of millions of people from across the world can be bought by criminals using the dark web for as little as $1 Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

GTT teams with Palo Alto to power SASE platform

Secure access service edge platform will offer advanced security techniques, fortifying network access from any location Continue Reading

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• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Overcome the security talent shortage by addressing your tech stack

This is a guest post by Graham Pearson, vice-president and general manager for ANZ at Lacework Australians will spend approximately $5.6bn on cyber security alone this year, according to AustCyber, ... Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Security Think Tank: Think people, processes and systems

Security learning is a career-long process, so as 2021 draws to a close, participants in the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank sum up the most important cyber lessons they’ve taken away from the past 12 months Continue Reading

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• Cate Pye, PA Consulting

Kaspersky introduces cyber policy for bionic devices

Cyber firm Kaspersky has become one of the first organisations in the world to develop and implement a security policy covering the use of bionic devices and other forms of human augmentation Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

A ‘whole of society’ approach to cyber may be on the horizon

Nominet Cyber managing director David Carroll reflects on the NCSC’s latest annual review amid 2021’s fast-evolving threat landscape Continue Reading

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• David Carroll, Nominet Cyber

The way we talk and think about tech is crucial to helping solve the skills shortage crisis

Companies are looking to short-term fixes to find IT specialists, but there is still a need for long-term solutions Continue Reading

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• Andy Heyes, Harvey Nash

Security Think Tank: In the cloud, anti-human approaches set us up to fail

Security learning is a career-long process, so as 2021 draws to a close, participants in the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank sum up the most important cyber lessons they’ve taken away from the past 12 months Continue Reading

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• Mike Lloyd, RedSeal

Compliance, device management a challenge for NHS cyber teams

Information gleaned by asset visibility specialist Armis reveals that despite improvements, some daunting security challenges still dog the NHS Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

MI6 will ‘open up’ to tech firms to innovate faster than adversaries, says chief Richard Moore

MI6 will use investment fund to back tech companies to develop long-term technologies that will help it to keep pace with China and Russia Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

HP patches bugs in over 150 printer models

More than 150 HP multifunction printers are at risk of compromise through a series of newly disclosed vulnerabilities, one of them wormable Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Recovering from ransomware: One organisation’s inside story

In February 2021, French office equipment supplier Manutan fell victim to a DoppelPaymer ransomware hit. IT ops director Jérôme Marchandiau tells the inside story of the incident Continue Reading

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• Yann Serra, LeMagIT

Why does ransomware still work?

As someone who first encountered ransomware during the last millennium – thankfully at second-hand – and has been writing about it for almost as long, I sometimes find myself amazed by the high ... Continue Reading

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• Bryan Betts, Freeform Dynamics

Digital beats – how Warner Music turned to the cloud

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to the CIO of Warner Music about how cloud computing helps it meet the needs of music lovers. AstraZeneca discusses how its enterprise social media system helped through the pandemic. And we assess the tech sector’s response to the government’s plans to tackle digital skills shortages. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

ICO warns facial recognition company Clearview AI it could face £17m fine over privacy breaches

The UK’s information commissioner has issued a preliminary decision to fine Clearview over £17m for breaching UK data protection law and invited the company to make representations Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Ransomware teaches us the importance of data protection

Several years ago, around the time that ransomware attacks started making the front pages of mainstream newspapers, not just in the IT press, I took part in a number of webcasts on the topic. The ... Continue Reading

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• Tony Lock, Freeform Dynamics

British Army picks Immersive Labs for cyber training

The British Army will make Immersive Labs’ security training platform available to all serving personnel Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Three latest trends and developments around the Mitre ATT&CK framework

Framework is set to receive important updates to help organisations and businesses evolve their cyber security. Learn more about what it offers Continue Reading

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• Shannon Flynn, ReHack Magazine

Security Think Tank: Dissecting the true value of SASE is a challenge

As a relatively nascent technology that is getting a lot of publicity, dissecting the true value of SASE is still a difficult proposition, for now Continue Reading

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• Maximilian Brook

Computing at the edge: Let’s get on board

With the increasing complexity of networks today, whether it’s hybrid cloud infrastructure or time-sliced 5G, somehow we’ve got to manage it Continue Reading

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• Graham Williamson

UK’s surveillance culture may be normalising use of tech for abuse

Intense surveillance of public spaces by UK authorities may be playing a part in the normalisation of cyber stalking in intimate relationships Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: SASE will become operational reality

While still considered very much a buzzword, the pace of change in corporate networks and operational technology means secure access service edge (SASE) is becoming reality for many Continue Reading

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• Tom Venables, Turnkey Consulting

Government must prove its plans to police encryption work, says ex-cyber security chief

Ciaran Martin, the former UK cyber security chief, says the government must explain how it can access encrypted communications without damaging cyber security and weakening privacy Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

UK consumers warned of increase in credit card application fraud

There has been a sharp rise in fraudsters using stolen personal details to open credit card accounts Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

black hat hacker

A black hat hacker has been historically used to describe one who has malicious intent -- such as theft of information, fraud or disrupting systems -- but increasingly, more specific terms are being used to describe those people. Continue Reading

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• Katie Terrell Hanna
• Taina Teravainen

Consumer cyber bill to protect mobiles, smart devices

Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill will reinforce protections for consumer devices and mandate improvements to default security settings Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Apple sues under-fire malware firm NSO

Lawsuit alleges spyware firm NSO Group targeted Apple’s users, adding to the pressure on the under-fire company Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Police tech introduced with little scrutiny or training

A Lords inquiry into the adoption of advanced algorithmic technologies by police in England and Wales has been told that new tools are being introduced without proper training and with little scrutiny of their impacts Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Schrems accuses Irish DPC of trying to block publication of Facebook documents

Austrian lawyer Max Schrems has filed a complaint after the Irish data protection commissioner put his privacy organisation under pressure to sign a non-disclosure agreement Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

NCSC commits to new diversity measures

The National Cyber Security Centre’s second annual report on diversity in cyber security finds room for improvement Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

footprinting

Footprinting is an ethical hacking technique used to gather as much data as possible about a specific targeted computer system, an infrastructure and networks to identify opportunities to penetrate them. Continue Reading

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• Andrew Zola

cookie poisoning

Cookie poisoning is a type of cyber attack in which a bad actor hijacks, forges, alters or manipulates a cookie to gain unauthorized access to a user's account, open a new account in the user's name or steal the user's information for purposes such as identity theft. Continue Reading

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• Rahul Awati

Back on the office network: What are the risks for mobile users?

Many people are returning to offices and bringing their mobile devices with them. What are the cyber security implications of this? Continue Reading

Can the tech community show us how to save the world?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we report from the COP26 conference on how the tech world’s collaborative open source model could help tackle climate change. Gartner has urged IT leaders to rethink their role as business come to rely on digital technologies. And we ask if your office security is at risk as staff return. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Upcoming holidays prompt ransomware warning from authorities

Ransomware gangs know how calendars work, and may target their attacks around major holidays to take advantage of more people being off work, according to a new alert Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Black Friday cyber warning for 4,000 card-skimming victims

NCSC warns thousands of small retailers that their websites are being exploited to steal customer data Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CIO interview: Karl Hoods, CDIO, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Moving to the cloud, developing staff skills and responding quickly to the pandemic – from a public sector IT leader’s perspective Continue Reading

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• Mark Samuels

Back to the past with government identity

The UK government plans to spend up to £400m developing yet another digital identity system – why is taxpayer money going into a time warp when there is surely a better and cheaper way? Continue Reading

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• Jerry Fishenden

Nimda

First appearing on September 18, 2001, Nimda is a computer virus that caused traffic slowdowns as it rippled across the internet. Continue Reading

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• Katie Terrell Hanna

Why is Emotet back, and should we be worried about it?

The sudden reappearance of Emotet this week has security teams on high alert, but do we need to be worried about its return, and what should we be doing about it? Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cloud storage compliance pitfalls: Post-pandemic and post-Brexit

We look at the key areas of cloud storage compliance that can trip you up, with shared responsibility with cloud providers and data residency among the most important Continue Reading

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• Stephen Pritchard

GCHQ, NSA chiefs recommit to counter cyber threats

UK and US intelligence services reaffirm a joint commitment to disrupt and deter new and emerging cyber threats Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Forced on-line by the NHS: to be confused, exploited, ignored, mistreated and/or patronised

All this informed my MSc IT Security final dissertation entitled ‘Inclusion, Confusion and Exclusion – is technology making the Vulnerable more Vulnerable?’ I looked at Social, Financial and ... Continue Reading

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• Philip Virgo, Winsafe Ltd

Government to legislate to make APP fraud reimbursement mandatory

UK payments regulator wants to reduce the huge sums of money lost to authorised push payment fraud and is calling on the banking and tech industries to play their part Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Memento ransomware gang quick to retool for ‘optimum’ outcome

The operators of a new ransomware called Memento are quick to retool for ‘success’ if they run up against a competent defender, says Sophos Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Alert over spate of Iran-linked BitLocker attacks

A joint advisory from western cyber agencies warns of a campaign of ‘ongoing malicious activity’ by an Iran-linked APT group exploiting BitLocker to extort its targets Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor