IT security

Public sector still losing user devices in high numbers

The Ministry of Justice has lost 354 smartphones, PCs, laptops and tablets in the past 12 months, according to a Freedom of Information request, and other government departments are in the same boat Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Jailed hacker ordered to pay back £270k

An Essex man jailed in April over malware offences dating back years has been ordered to pay back the profits of his crime spree, and sell valuable assets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

China bans foreign computing kit from government contracts

All government offices and public institutions must eliminate foreign hardware and software within three years, according to a leaked directive dubbed 3-5-2 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How commodities firm ED&F Man solved its threat detection challenges

After a minor server breach, leading commodities trader turned to Vectra’s Cognito service to expose hidden threats, spot privilege misuse, and conduct conclusive investigations Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch government must facilitate and coordinate a broad eID system

The Dutch government should push for an electronic ID system for its citizens that works across the public and private sectors, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Cyber security takes its place alongside UK’s armed services

Head of armed services says cyber security will take its place alongside the army, navy and air force as a key pillar of the UK’s defence strategy Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Is data more or less secure in the cloud?

Misconfigured cloud environments are increasingly identified as the source of damaging data breaches and leaks, raising serious questions for enterprises. Where does responsibility for data security in the cloud lie, and how can security professionals best work with their teams and cloud providers to resolve the problem? Continue Reading

By

• Benoit Heynderickx, Information Security Forum

Great Cannon DDoS operation fires on Hong Kong protesters

AT&T’s security unit has evidence that China is pressing its Great Cannon DDoS tool into service once again, specifically to target pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Time for a devolution of responsibility

The belief that effective perimeter security is the best way to protect data is a fallacy that is being repeatedly exposed. We must recognise the need for a data-centric security model to protect data from both internal and external threats, but what does this mean for security professionals? Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie

Two Russians indicted over Dridex and Zeus malware

The US Department of Justice has indicted two Russian citizens over their alleged role in the distribution of the virulent Bugat, or Dridex, and Zeus banking trojans Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber Girls First volunteers encourage girls to think high-tech

More than 80 schoolgirls spent a day learning about computer hackers and rocket science – Cyber Girls First hopes they will become the next generation of technologists Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Black Hat Europe: Mental health websites are leaking user data

At Black Hat Europe in London, researchers reveal the extent to which confidential data is being leaked to third parties by online mental health websites Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Aviatrix VPN vulnerability left user endpoints wide open

Immersive Labs has disclosed a serious vulnerability in VPN supplier Aviatrix’s enterprise client that could have granted hackers elevated user privileges across enterprise targets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Hackers primed to exploit 5G to Wi-Fi handover flaws

Warning that attackers will find new vulnerabilities to access voice and data on 5G mobile phones as carriers hand off calls and data to Wi-Fi networks to save bandwidth Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

RMIT to tackle cyber security challenges

Australia’s Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology has teamed up with Amazon Web Services to launch a Cloud Innovation Centre to solve cyber security challenges Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Black Hat Europe: Red teams and blue teams must evolve in the 2020s

The red team versus blue team dichotomy is somewhat arbitrary and risks pigeonholing skilled security professionals into certain roles, says Facebook’s Amanda Rousseau Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Optimise data-centric strategies with AI

The belief that effective perimeter security is the best way to protect data is a fallacy that is being repeatedly exposed. We must recognise the need for a data-centric security model to protect data from both internal and external threats, but what does this mean for security professionals? Continue Reading

By

• Stuart Lyons, PA Consulting

General Election 2019: Which manifesto is best for the UK’s tech sector?

Computer Weekly breaks down each political party’s technology policies ahead of the upcoming General Election to see how they compare Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Cyber security: How to avoid a disastrous PICNIC

Fieldfisher’s David Lorimer examines how individual employees often facilitate cyber attacks, and what can be done to reduce the risk Continue Reading

By

• David Lorimer, Fieldfisher

Survey finds most firms don’t respond to GDPR requests in time

Most organisations do not respond to requests for GDPR data in the one month allowed, while many return incorrect data. The education sector does best, but the public sector lags behind Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Biometrics to enable $2.5tn of mobile payments by 2024

Juniper Research study predicts that biometric technology will be present on 90% of smartphones in five years’ time Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Tenable buys Indegy to integrate IT and OT security

Acquisition of industrial security specialist Indegy will create a unified, risk-based platform spanning both IT and OT security for Tenable Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 39

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly and Brian McKenna are joined by Bill Goodwin and Sebastian Klovig Skelton to discuss their stories about Facebook’s machinations against app developers and competitors Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor
• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly
• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Security Think Tank: In-depth protection is a matter of basic hygiene

The belief that effective perimeter security is the best way to protect data is a fallacy that is being repeatedly exposed. We must recognise the need for a data-centric security model to protect data from both internal and external threats, but what does this mean for security professionals? Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

Chinese web users take more risks than Brits or Americans

A research paper published by the University of Birmingham seems to show that differences in cultural values have an impact both on risky behaviour online and legal regulation Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Top Android apps at risk from StrandHogg vulnerability

Researchers at Promon say all of the 500 most-downloaded Android apps are at risk from a newly discovered vulnerability Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber criminal RAT busted by cops

Police forces around the UK have arrested nine people as part of an international operation targeting users of a remote access trojan Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

TfL locks down Oyster accounts to ward off credential stuffing

Mandatory password reset for all travellers who use Oyster and contactless payment systems follows minor breach incident earlier in 2019 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Hack Friday: This Christmas, fight back against cyber criminals

It’s nearly Christmas, and cyber attacks and fraud attempts in the retail sector are ramping up. Is it time to panic? And is there anything we can do beyond hammering home the message around basic cyber security hygiene? Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Five essential steps to a sound disaster recovery plan

We walk through the key steps to develop a disaster recovery plan – from risk assessment and setting recovery objectives, to the plan itself and a testing regime to keep it fresh Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

Get ready for CCPA: Implications for UK businesses

The California Consumer Privacy Act, a wide-ranging data privacy and consumer protection law, comes into effect on 1 January 2020. How does CCPA differ from the EU GDPR regulations and what are the responsibilities for UK businesses operating in the US? Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

The Security Interviews: Do cyber weapons need a Geneva Convention?

On a cold afternoon in Finland, F-Secure’s Mikko Hypponen discusses cyber weapons and nation state threats, and explains why arms limitations treaties might one day expand to include malware and other threats Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Australia’s Fenner Dunlop ditches tape backups for cloud

Australian manufacturer of conveyor belts Fenner Dunlop has freed up its IT staff to focus on future projects by moving tape backups to the cloud Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

Top APAC security predictions for 2020

More attacks on critical infrastructure, supply chain vulnerabilities and file-less attacks are some of the security threats that enterprises should keep an eye on next year Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Security skills gap will take a decade to fill

The British education systems cannot move fast enough to address the security skills crisis, and in the absence of government action increased reliance on automation may be the least worst solution Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The super-resilient organisation

We need to build super-resilient organisations that can not only survive in a tempestuous world, but become energised by it Continue Reading

By

• Ade McCormack, Auridian Consulting

Enterprises muddled over cloud security responsibilities

A McAfee study suggests that 2020 will be a big year for cloud adoption, but confusion still persists over who is responsible for securing it Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW500 Interview: Jonathan Moreira, CTO of PrimaryBid.com

In this CW500 video, Jonathan Moreira, CTO of PrimaryBid.com, gives a fintech startup’s perspective on the security challenges small businesses can face when adopting new technologies. Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Facebook undermined rivals in bid to dominate global messaging

Facebook used buyouts and bullying tactics towards competitors to grow its business empire, documents leaked to Computer Weekly reveal Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly
• Crina Boros

General Election 2019: The Conservatives’ technology policies and digital plans

With the UK gearing up for its third general election in four years, Computer Weekly outlines the Conservative and Unionist Party’s main technology policies and digital plans, as laid out in its manifesto Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

AI may open dangerous new frontiers in geopolitics

Truly artificial intelligence has the potential to provoke an international geopolitical crisis, warns F-Secure’s Mikko Hypponen Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Uber app exploit posed safety risk to passengers

A flaw in Uber’s system meant thousands of trips in London were taken with unauthorised drivers at the wheel Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Tim Berners-Lee launches nine principles for the web

Inventor of the worldwide web sets out Contract for the Web to protect its freedom, data privacy and access for all Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Conservatives propose national cyber crime force

Manifesto also says Tories would “empower the police to safely use new technologies like biometrics and artificial intelligence, along with the use of DNA, within a strict legal framework” Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW500 Interview: Paddy Francis, CTO, Airbus CyberSecurity

In this CW500 video, Paddy Francis, CTO, Airbus CyberSecurity shares his advice and experiences of keeping tabs on security when trying to introduce emerging digital technologies into large organisations. Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Mystery surrounds leak of four billion user records

Threat researchers uncover four billion user records on a wide-open Elasticsearch server but who left them there is a mystery Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IT chiefs recognise the risks of artificial intelligence bias

Artificial intelligence promises to change the way businesses operate. IT leaders are now taking bias in AI algorithms seriously Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Some 29,000 UK web domains suspended for criminal activity

Domain suspensions for criminal activity over the past year has dropped for the first time since 2014 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Druva eyes data protection for IoT workloads

Cloud data protection software supplier Druva is looking at a comprehensive platform that will protect data generated by IoT workloads Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Labour pledges review of NCSC in UK security overhaul

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre may get expanded powers under a Labour government Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

British Airways cancels flights due to technical issue

British Airways customers are suffering delays and cancellations as a result as a technical issue Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: Stopping data leaks in the cloud

Misconfigured cloud environments are increasingly identified as the source of damaging data breaches and leaks, raising serious questions for enterprises. Where does responsibility for data security in the cloud lie, and how can security professionals best work with their teams and cloud providers to resolve the problem? Continue Reading

By

• Cath Goulding, Nominet

F-Secure’s Blackfin challenges perceptions of how AIs think

New research project aims to develop adaptive, autonomous and collaborative AI agents, and challenges the notion that machine intelligence should merely mimic human intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW Nordics: Automation pays off for Sweden’s social workers

Software robots are freeing up time for social workers in Sweden to help benefits claimants find employment and to receive the money they are entitled to. Also in this issue, read how Sweden’s SEB bank is using a Google-inspired, cloud-native core banking platform, and why India is leading the pack when it comes to IT outsourcing from the Nordic countries. Continue Reading

How Nicigas is disrupting Japan’s gas market with IoT

Japanese energy retailer Nicigas is deploying 850,000 IoT devices to convert traditional gas meters into smart meters to unlock consumption data amid efforts to shake up the utilities industry Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Senators raise questions over Facebook’s monitoring of phone users’ locations

After Facebook publishes a blog post with conflicting statements, two US senators ask for clarification on how the company collects location data from its users Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Mimecast blocked 99 billion suspicious emails in third quarter

Latest threat intelligence report reveals the scale of the threat posed by malicious emails, with the transport, legal and financial sectors hit hardest Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Massive increase in fraud attacks on TSB customers during IT meltdown

There was a massive spike in attempts by fraudsters to steal from TSB customers when the bank’s IT systems failed in 2018 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Conservatives slammed over social media trickery

The Conservative Party has been caught spreading online disinformation during the General Election campaign for a second time Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Carbon Black to open Australia datacentre in 2020

Australia datacentre comes on the heels of VMware’s acquisition of Carbon Black and will serve organisations with data sovereignty requirements Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Public sector risks downplayed by senior IT leaders

Sophos reveals a significant cyber security perception gap between senior IT and security leaders in the public sector and their front-line teams Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Macy’s Magecart breach presages Christmas fraud spike

US retailer Macy’s admits some customer data was accessed by unknown actors during a week-long Magecart attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Anti-stalkerware coalition calls time on intrusive abusers

New coalition plans to tackle the scourge of stalkerware as a tool of domestic and other forms of abuse Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Businesses failing to wipe data from old endpoints

Organisations are not taking adequate precautions to sanitise data held on endpoints when refreshing their PC or mobile device estates Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Huawei shrugs off latest US reprieve

Chinese tech giant dismisses the latest extension of the US Temporary General Licence and maintains that the US government is harming its own interests in banning it Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Managed services fuelling APAC security market

Spending on managed security services will account for almost half of Asia-Pacific’s cyber security market by 2023, as global and local providers shore up their offerings in the region Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Is facial recognition happening too fast?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the information commissioner calls on police forces to slow down the introduction of facial recognition, we examine the issues. We look at what the use of DevOps methods means for storage strategy. And we talk to Microsoft’s global cyber security chief. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

The Security Interviews: Applying AI to Lego, and security

Ann Johnson, Microsoft corporate vice-president of cyber security, is on a mission to prove that artificial intelligence holds great promise for the security sector, and she has the analogies to back it up. Continue Reading

ICO says UK police must ‘slow down’ use of facial recognition

The Information Commissioner’s Office is calling for a statutory code of practice to govern how police in the UK deploy live facial recognition technology while controversy surrounding its use continues. Continue Reading

Microsoft increases data protection for enterprises following Dutch MoJ audit

Last year’s audit by the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security got the attention of the European Data Protection Supervisor. Now Microsoft has reacted Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

The top 10 network security best practices to implement today

Even as security techniques improve, attackers are becoming more adept. Learn about 10 network security best practices and how they can keep your network secure. Continue Reading

By

• Amy Larsen DeCarlo, GlobalData

Notorious hackers claim responsibility for Labour DDoS

Hackers claiming to represent Lizard Squad say they were behind a distributed denial of service attack on the UK’s Labour Party Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Home Office Brexit app contains multiple security flaws

The Home Office’s Brexit app may be putting EU citizens’ personal data at risk Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber criminals tool up for Christmas fraud season

Organised criminals are trying to cash in on the festive retail boom with both brand new and tried-and-tested techniques Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Collaborative security approaches underpin container success

Containers are helping organisations to accelerate age-old software development approaches, but success is underpinned by a constant and team-wide attention to security. Continue Reading

How APAC enterprises can keep pace with container security

For all the promises of containers, changes in architecture and practices associated with the technology bring new challenges and opportunities. Continue Reading

CW APAC: Expert advice on container security

For all the promises of containers, changes in architecture and practices associated with the technology bring new challenges and opportunities. In this handbook, Computer Weekly looks at the security challenges associated with container technology. Continue Reading

What the EU’s decision on Facebook means for social media

Recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union will have global implications for social media companies and any organisations that host online content Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

11 new 5G hacks enable user device tracking and monitoring

Researchers at Purdue University and the University of Iowa publish details of several new 5G mobile network vulnerabilities Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Business leaders fibbing to cover up lax security posture

Nominet study finds evidence that many businesses tout the robustness of their security posture as a selling point even though their security teams lack confidence in themselves Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Finnish biometric identity plans for seamless air travel

Finnair and Finavia explore options for automatic digital identification and authentication of air travellers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Cruickshank

Attack on Labour shows need for DDoS defence but should alarm few

After being hit by two DDoS attacks in the space of 24 hours, many commentators are convinced the UK’s Labour Party is the victim of foreign interference in the General Election campaign. It probably isn’t Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Business must engage with consumers to boost AI

Artificial intelligence is set to become a core part of business, but to get the most from it, enterprises need to engage with consumers to focus personalisation Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Taking responsibility for security in the cloud

From accidental leaks to full-on data breaches, maintaining security across cloud services is becoming a headache for enterprises. What questions should organisations be asking of their cloud service provider and, ultimately, whose responsibility is cloud security anyway? Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Cyber risk insurance is more than just insurance

Insurance companies such as Chubb are offering incident response services and security tools to help companies improve their cyber security posture and better cope with cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Nordic SMEs lack the money needed for cyber security

Businesses and governments in Denmark and Norway are working together to address a cyber security shortfall for SMEs in each country Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

PCI DSS payment security compliance drops again

Worldwide, barely one-third of companies are maintaining full compliance with the PCI DSS security standard – and the numbers are falling Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

‘Robust’ security foils cyber attack on Labour Party

Labour claims to have been the victim of a cyber attack, but says it is confident no data leaked Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Shared responsibility model key to solving 5G security problem

Both buyers and sellers need to cooperate to solve the thorny issues around 5G security Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IBM drums up quantum computing future

IBM’s head honcho, Ginni Rometty, welcomes Australia’s Woodside Energy to the quantum computing fold through a partnership to harness the technology to shore up cyber security and plant operations Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

Australia’s productivity woes pinned on poor employee experience

Research by Ricoh suggests that the lukewarm view of employee experience among IT leaders is part of the reason for Australia’s declining productivity Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

Security pros urged to get ahead of incoming BlueKeep exploits

The BlueKeep RDP vulnerability is beginning to be exploited in the wild, and security teams have no excuse for not trying to get in front of it, says Microsoft Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Morrisons in new appeal over data breach fine

The Supreme Court has heard an appeal from retailer Morrisons as it attempts to overturn prior judgments holding it liable for a 2014 leak of employee data Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Base cloud security posture on your data footprint

Misconfigured cloud environments are increasingly identified as the source of damaging data breaches and leaks, raising serious questions for enterprises. Where does responsibility for data security in the cloud lie, and how can security professionals best work with their teams and cloud providers to resolve the problem? Continue Reading

By

• Rob Clyde, Isaca

Security Think Tank: Cloud security is a shared responsibility

Misconfigured cloud environments are increasingly identified as the source of damaging data breaches and leaks, raising serious questions for enterprises. Where does responsibility for data security in the cloud lie, and how can security professionals best work with their teams and cloud providers to resolve the problem? Continue Reading

By

• Paddy Francis

Amazon Ring video doorbell flaw left users open to attack

A vulnerability in Amazon’s Ring video doorbells left the internet-of-things devices open to a variety of attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security in the supply chain – a post-GDPR approach

A year and a half after the introduction of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, Fieldfisher's James Walsh reviews the fundamentals of supply chain security Continue Reading

By

• James Walsh, Fieldfisher

Saudis recruited Twitter employees to spy on critics

Court documents reveal how the Saudi Arabian government targeted Twitter employees as part of a coordinated effort to gather information on known dissidents Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW Benelux: Dutch banks fight money laundering

Dutch banks are sharing expertise and resources to help reduce money laundering through their accounts. Also read in this issue how companies could lose loyal IT staff because salary rises do not match those at rival employers, and why a Dutch province is pioneering a no-code software development platform. Continue Reading

Navigate PII data protection and GDPR to meet privacy mandates

Know the commonalities surrounding personally identifiable information to better navigate and comply with the regulations and penalties IT managers must contend with today. Continue Reading

By

• Marc Staimer, Dragon Slayer Consulting