IT security

Target data breach: Why UK business needs to pay attention

Late last year, US retailer Target was hit by one of the biggest data breaches in the industry's history. So what happened and why is it relevant to UK businesses? Continue Reading

By

• Lee Munson

Analysis: Care.data – where next?

Following the public debate surrounding the NHS Care.data plan, it was unsurprising the topic dominated the UK’s largest health IT event Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Customer privacy an ongoing challenge, says Unilever

Unilever has set up a programme to address the continually evolving challenge of privacy issues relating to customer data Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Pirated software malware to cost business $491bn in 2014, study shows

Malware deliberately loaded into pirated or counterfeit software is expected cost enterprises $491bn in 2014 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Firms urged to take tough action on Unix-based cyber attack

Security researchers have urged businesses to take action on a cyber criminal campaign that has seized control of 25,000+ Unix servers worldwide Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Global taskforce agrees on green datacentre metric

DCeP hopes to win widespread support as a useful and meaningful standard for measuring datacentre efficiency Continue Reading

By

• Jim Mortleman

The Cyber Security Challenge UK 2014

The Cyber Security Challenge UK is a series of events designed to test the ability of thousands of amateur applicants who have skills in the cyber security space. Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

SMEs believes they are immune to cyber attack

Most SMEs believe they are not at real risk of cyber attack, a survey has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Hacktivism: good or evil?

IT lawyer Dai Davis looks at the rise of hacktivism and its impact on business and international politics Continue Reading

By

• Dai Davis, Percy Crow Davis & Co

Government finally ends e-Borders programme

The government has formally ended the troubled e-Borders programme, with its intended functions merged into a new project Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

More than 162,000 WordPress sites used in DDoS attack

Security researchers have uncovered a DDoS attack that used more than 162,000 legitimate and unwitting WordPress websites Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Tim Berners-Lee calls for internet users’ "bill of rights"

World Wide Web creator marks its 25th anniversary by calling for a “free, open and truly global internet” enshrined in a "bill of rights" Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Case study: BG Group turns to cloud HR to reach staff in multiple countries

Gas exploration and production company replaces SAP HR technology with Oracle Fusion in the cloud. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Making data flow freely

In this week’s Computer Weekly, our latest buyer’s guide looks at open data and how it can improve public services – and even help prevent a repeat of the recent floods. We report from Cloud Expo on the reasons why public cloud is yet to be embraced by enterprise IT. And we look at the key issues for buying HR software in 2014. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Dark web key enabler for cyber criminals, say McAfee researchers

The dark web is a key conduit for the malware industry to refine and distribute its products and services, say security researchers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IT Security Salary Index (UK)

Are you being paid the right rate for the job? Check out this IT Security salary index from Acumin. Continue Reading

Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC)

Ensuring that all the stakeholders' information needs are met requires a holistic approach to managing information – the creation of a GRC platform, say analysts Clive Longbottom and Rob Bamforth. Continue Reading

Legal briefing: The Draft EU General Data Protection Regulation

This report from law firm Morrison & Foerster, sets out some of the most important changes for private sector organisations in the draft EU Data Protection Regulation. Continue Reading

Microsoft takes aim at passwords

Microsoft says it is determined to solve the problem of ineffective authentication that relies on usernames and passwords Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Indian CISOs to develop more business skills to succeed

Organizations require Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) to be much more than just a technical expert but also possess business skills in today’s growing technology driven Indian market Continue Reading

By

• Shaleen Sinha

Case study: Virtualised storage adds value to Denmark's tunnel vision

State construction firm Femern selects DataCore system to help speed up Fehmarnbelt undersea odyssey and keep the sharks at bay Continue Reading

By

• Jim Mortleman

PSN gets encryption for higher security levels

An encryption service has been announced by the Cabinet Office which will enable public sector staff to share information at the IL3 security level over the Public Services Network (PSN) Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Employee mobiles expose firms to attack, says Webroot

Employees mobile devices expose companies to malicious applications and attacks, according to the latest mobile threat report from Webroot Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK firms see 1,000+ internal data breaches a day, study finds

Internal threats are not a high priority for UK firms despite more than 1,000 internal data breaches a day Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NHS England puts patient database on hold

NHS England is to delay by six months the roll-out of its controversial Care.data scheme for sharing patient records through a central database Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK IT spending to outpace rest of Europe in 2014

Computer Weekly research reveals the IT spending priorities for UK and European organisations in 2014. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

The UK’s problem with power

Datacentre power buyers say Britain’s deregulated energy market is as complex as trading in derivatives Continue Reading

By

• Nick Booth

Cut Microsoft admin rights to mitigate 92% of threats, study shows

Removing Microsoft admin rights from employees mitigates 92% of critical vulnerabilities reported in 2013 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Should you allow a bring your own device policy?

Employers are realising there are challenges presented by BYOD which, if not dealt with, could have a serious impact on the business Continue Reading

By

• Sarah Burke

Living with Google Glass – not quite useful enough to overcome the dork-factor

Businesses will use Google Glass first, says Simon Dring after spending a few days living with the technology. Continue Reading

By

• Simon Dring

Schneider accreditation aims to boost green datacentre skills

Datacentre supplier offers free vendor-neutral courses and certification through its online Energy University Continue Reading

By

• Jim Mortleman

Rights groups call on White House to open privacy review

A coalition of 25 rights groups is calling for a 90-day US government review of big data and the future of privacy to be opened up to the public Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK among targets of 'Mask' advanced cyber espionage campaign

The UK has been hit more than 100 times in an advanced global cyber espionage campaign that has gone undetected for more than five years Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Barclays bank leaks thousands of customer records

Regulators investigate Barclays after a whistleblower claims the bank leaked 27,000 customer records Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Amazon nets lion’s share of $10bn public cloud market

AWS continues its unassailable domination of the sector, despite recent moves by Google, IBM and Microsoft Continue Reading

By

• Jim Mortleman

UK critical infrastructure at risk of cyber attack, says IET report

UK critical national infrastructure is at risk of cyber attack, says a report by consultancy Atkins for the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Continue Reading

Bank of England publishes Waking Shark II cyber security exercise results

Bank of England publishes the results of its Waking Shark II security exercise, which tested financial institutions' contingency plans for cyber attack Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Create a mobile policy employees can trust

With Gartner predicting a fifth of all enterprise BYOD projects would fail by 2016, we look at how businesses can embrace mobility successfully Continue Reading

By

• Sean McGrath, Senior reporter

NHS site malicious redirects are a warning to developers

A coding error that redirected NHS website visitors to malicious content should be a warning to developers, say security experts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

WIll open source save the datacentre industry?

IT rivals stand cheek-by-jowl to praise Facebook’s Open Compute Project, but is the love-in a Damascene conversion or just damage limitation? Continue Reading

By

• Jim Mortleman

Hackers access Yahoo Mail with stolen passwords

Yahoo has revealed that hackers have tried to access some Yahoo Mail accounts with stolen passwords Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cyber security quest strong in UK, says Isaca

There is a strong interest in cyber security in the UK, says Rob Stroud, international president-elect for Isaca Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Microsoft joins Open Compute Project

Redmond giant makes server specs public in bid to influence future datacentre design Continue Reading

By

• Jim Mortleman

New Snapchat security measure easily by-passed, says researcher

A new Snapchat security measure to verify users are human is easily by-passed, says researcher Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

US startup aims to turn tables on hackers

US startup Shape Security is turning the tables against hackers by using one of their own techniques against them Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CERT-UK to drive international cyber security collaboration

The UK’s new national computer emergency response team (CERT-UK) is set to drive international cyber security collaboration once it becomes operational Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IBM to open London datacentre as part of $1.2bn global cloud push

New facility first in UK to be based on IBM SoftLayer cloud architecture Continue Reading

By

• Jim Mortleman

Internet at risk of 'cybergeddon' says WEF

Internet is at risk of fragmenting amid concerns over spying and cyber crime, says World Economic Forum Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Microsoft extends XP security updates by 15 months

Microsoft has caved in to user concerns over XP end of support and will now extend security updates by another 15 months Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

NSA uses secret radio tech to spy on offline computers

The US National Security Agency (NSA) has the capacity to monitor, enter and alter data on computers even if the machines are not connected to the internet, it has emerged Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

The IT risks facing Universal Credit

Despite Iain Duncan Smith's robust defence of his flagship welfare reform policy, Universal Credit, evidence to the contrary continues to mount Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Top European IT initiative to support business in 2014?

Expanding IT to support business growth is one of the biggest areas of focus for IT departments in 2014, so what does this mean? Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Big Data and Content Analytics: measuring the ROI

There is a high expectation for the potential value of big data analytics early adopters are achieving good results that are helping to drive decision making in the business, this survey of 340 technology professionals reveals. Continue Reading

More than 1,100 DWP workers disciplined over benefits snooping

More than 1,100 employees at the Department for Work and Pensions have received official warnings since 2008 for prying into benefits records Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Security considerations for UK enterprises

This Research Snapshot from Vanson Bourne looks at IT security spending trends, awareness of cyber-threats, and the factors perceived as the biggest security risks for organisations. Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Information security strategy should support the business

How should Edward Snowden's revelations about the NSA and GCHQ influence future information security strategies in the UK? Continue Reading

By

• Adrian Davis, (ISC)²

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

Is cloud computing almost too good to be true for banks?

The cloud’s most obvious benefits will enable banks to keep up with technology changes while reducing costs Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Bank robberies down 90% thanks to technology, says report

Robberies at British banks have fallen by over 90% in two decades, according to a report by the British Bankers’ Association Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Snowden: 'A child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy'

Future generations will not have any personal privacy, said Edward Snowden during the Channel 4 Alternative Christmas Message Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

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

UK citizen wins legal round against Facebook over Prism leaks

A British citizen has applied for a judgement against Facebook in a case that will test the right of tech firms to give UK personal data to the NSA. Continue Reading

By

• Fiona O’Cleirigh

Oracle revenues rise as cloud services earn keep

While the rise of big data technology companies has seemed to threaten Oracle, its latest results report indicate a better than expected increase in revenue Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

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

Can BlackBerry restore its business appeal?

In this week’s issue of Computer Weekly, we examine whether former Sybase chief, John Chen, will be able to stem the decline of BlackBerry and reinvent the the smartphone maker as a software business for the “bring your own device” (BYOD) era. Our buyer’s guide to the internet of things concludes with a look at how universal connectivity will yield insights in fields as diverse as aviation and hospitality. And we analyse Google’s attempts to compete with Amazon Web Services in public cloud. Continue Reading

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

What’s new in ISO 27001: 2103 for storage and backup?

This year, ISO 27001: 2013 was published, putting more emphasis on mapping risk to an ever-expanding and mobile IT infrastructure. But what is new in ISO 27001: 2013? Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

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

Can Europe give the world cloud coverage?

This month’s issue of CW Europe investigates how Europe could become the “trusted cloud region” according to the European Commission (EC) after the Prism revelation. Read how the EC believes cloud providers in the region can turn this to their advantage by, developing cloud services that global customers would view as more secure and transparent. 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

UK citizen sues Microsoft over Prism private data leak to NSA

A court action brought in the UK will test Microsoft's legal right to disclose private data on UK citizens to US intelligence services Continue Reading

By

• Fiona O’Cleirigh

Cybercrime and warfare: All that matters

Peter Warren and Michael Streeter assess the history, scale and importance of cyber crime in this chapter from their book, Cybercrime and warfare: All That Matters. Continue Reading

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

Councils threatened with disconnection from PSN in escalating security row

A London council was hours away from being disconnected from the public sector network, in an row between central and local government over security compliance Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

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

The future of local government IT

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at how visionary IT leaders in local government plan to transform the delivery of digital public services using the cloud. Our latest buyer’s guide looks at the technology challenges of implementing the internet of things for businesses. And do firms dealing with tech-savvy consumers need a new approach to IT management? Some IT leaders think they do. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

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

European Parliament closes Wi-Fi after man-in-the-middle attack

A number of mailboxes have been compromised and users’ smartphones could be at risk following a man-in-the-middle attack on the European Parliament’s public Wi-Fi Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer Scott, TechTarget

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

By

• 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

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Facebook authentication - Like?

As Cisco teams up with Facebook to offer authentication for public Wi-Fi, is this option safe for businesses? Continue Reading

By

• Steve Evans

Optimising performance and security of web-based software

On-demand applications are often talked about in terms of how suppliers should be adapting the way their software is provisioned to customers. Continue Reading

By

• Bob Tarzey

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

By

• 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

Investec CISO warns that legacy tapes will fail on new hardware

Many organisations may find that years of irreplaceable tape backups are inaccessible because modern machines cannot handle legacy format Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Technology, society and morality: the implications for technology leaders

Technology is evolving at a pace and scale that has never been experienced. Society is struggling to keep up with the social and moral implications Continue Reading

By

• Austin Jepsen

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

By

• 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

By

• 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

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

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Global profiles of the fraudster

Computers, rather than conmen, are set to be the future face of fraud, as criminals turn to robotics in an effort to avoid detection, this report from KPMG reveals. Continue Reading