Privacy and data protection

TalkTalk warns customers about personal data breach

TalkTalk has warned customers their personal data may have been compromised in the second cyber attack on the firm in 2015, with some data left unencrypted Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Police and industry to tackle cyber crime together, says TechUK

A TechUK report calls for collaboration between police and industry to raise standards of reporting, recording and responding to cyber crime Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Infosec pros should start preparing for the future, say experts

Information security professionals need to grow their skills, engage with the business, increase security awareness, set business goals and tailor their messages, says a panel of experts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Dow Jones denies it was target of insider trading hack

Dow Jones says there is no information to support reports that it was the target of hackers seeking information for insider trading Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Yahoo announces password-killing Account Key

Yahoo Account Key uses push notifications to provide a fast and secure way to access Yahoo accounts from a mobile device Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

The true cost of a cyber security breach in Australia

The costs of cyber security breaches can quickly add up with fines, reputational damage and overhauls to network security all hitting the coffers. The case of one Australian firm shows why paying a ransom to a hacker might be tempting. Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

Cyber security innovation is crucial, says security evangelist

Visibility and automation are key areas of cyber security innovation, but firms should concentrate first on the basics and not overlook the human element of security Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NHS Health Apps Library to close

The NHS Health Apps Library is shutting down after a two-year tenure, shortly after NHS-approved apps were found to leak data Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Europe's data privacy shake-up

In this week's Computer Weekly, after the European Court of Justice ruled the Safe Harbour agreement invalid, we assess the implications for transatlantic data protection. We find out why DVLA has brought its IT back in-house after a 13-year outsourcing deal. And we look at the role of IT in cutting costs in the NHS. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

The security dangers of home networks

Most companies take reasonable steps to protect their networks from virus attacks, but one area of vulnerability that is often overlooked is infection from employees’ home networks Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

How to ensure strong passwords and better authentication

Five steps to ensure stronger passwords and better authentication to reduce the threat of business data theft Continue Reading

By

• Peter Wood, First Base Technologies LLP

Apple removes more iOS apps over security concerns

Apple has blocked more apps over security concerns just weeks after ridding the App Store of XcodeGhost malware Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Samsung Pay isolated from LoopPay attack

Hackers who compromised LoopPay’s computer systems had no access to Samsung Pay’s user data or other core information, says Samsung Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Singapore and UK researchers investigate privacy in big data era

Academic organisations in Singapore and the UK collaborate on the privacy questions raised by big data and the cloud Continue Reading

By

• Tao ai Lei

Max Schrems: The man who broke Safe Harbour

Schrems has persuaded a high court judge to confirm that Edward Snowden’s evidence is acceptable in court and that the US is engaged in mass surveillance of European citizens Continue Reading

By

• Kevin Cahill

Researchers find credential-stealing webmail server APT attack

Security researchers have discovered a new and unique advanced persistent threat (APT) technique that involves a malicious module loaded onto a webmail server Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Facebook ruling not only landmark data protection case in Europe, say experts

A landmark ruling against Slovakia-based website Weltimmo could impact the Max Schrems case against Facebook and new European data protection rules currently being finalised Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

David Jones online customers hit by data breach

Hackers have accessed the personal details of an unknown number of David Jones online customers, but the retailer says payment details and passwords are not affected Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Medical devices must be secure by design, say industry experts

The information security industry is calling for medical device manufacturers to design and build cyber security into all internet-enabled devices after thousands are found to be hackable Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

120-day patching gap puts many firms at risk of cyber attack, study shows

The probability of a vulnerability being exploited hits 90% between 40-60 days after discovery, but many firms are taking up to 60 days beyond that to patch, while others are failing to patch at all, a study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How to fully test IT networks for vulnerabilities

Making sure a company network is secure is a very important task, and one that should be scheduled regularly Continue Reading

By

• Steve Evans

Is Microsoft Office 2016 reliable enough for business?

A day after a major Skype outage, Microsoft unveils Office 2016, which, ironically, offers tight integration with Skype Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Department for Culture, Media and Sport takes over responsibility for data protection policy

Government transfers responsibility for data protection policy and ICO oversight from Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Health chief 'should be held to account' for whistleblow errors

Former nurse and clincial commissioner Bernie Rochford claims unfair dismissal after blowing the whistle on IT problems which put patient care at risk Continue Reading

By

• Julia Gregory and Bill Goodwin

BT launches ethical hacking service for bankers

BT introduces a certified Crest Star ethical hacking test service for financial services customers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Most DDoS attacks hiding something more sinister, Neustar warns

Smaller DDoS attacks can be more dangerous than a powerful attack that knocks a company offline but does not install malware or steal data, warns Neustar Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NHS trust denies bullying and intimidation of IT whistleblower

Managers were already aware of whistleblower's concerns about the accuracy of NHS Southwark's data, tribunal hears Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin and Julia Gregory

RSA Group flags ID theft risk to Lloyds Bank customers following datacentre storage theft

International insurance group has seen 500 customers take up offer of identity theft protection in wake of datacentre theft Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Security industry welcomes GCHQ password guidelines

GCHQ's guidance on password policy covers some of the most pressing issues facing UK businesses and employees today, according to Skyhigh Networks Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

US health insurer Excellus BlueCross BlueShield hit by data breach

Forensic investigation reveals a data breach at US health insurer Excellus BlueCross BlueShield exposing up to 11 million records 21 months after the first intrusion Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cloudian boosts object storage HyperStore compliance features

Distributed object storage software maker Cloudian upgrades HyperStore with added granularity of data protection features that can help meet compliance requirements Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Security pros failing to address digital certificate risks, survey shows

Even though 90% of security professionals believe a leading CA will be compromised in next two years, only 13% have existing automation to deal with that happening Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Conventional security measures hit productivity, study shows

Most IT professionals say context-aware security would improve productivity without compromising security, a survey from Dell reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security vulnerability management more than patching, warns Secunia

Keeping track of what makes an IT environment vulnerable is an ongoing and complex task, according to Secunia Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

US State Department plans cyber security playbook

The US State Department issues a request for information to determine the capabilities of commercial industry to provide and maintain a cyber security playbook Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Use 2FA to mitigate KeyRaider iOS malware, says Rapid7

KeyRaider iOS malware targeting iPhone users in China and 17 other countries including the UK has raised enterprise security concerns Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Police arrest six UK teenagers for using DDoS cyber attack tool

Police arrest six UK teenagers on suspicion of using a DDoS attack tool targeting a national newspaper, a school and online gaming companies and retailers Continue Reading

Rapid7 calls on router makers to eliminate backdoors

Until manufacturers stop using default passwords, we will continue to see opportunistic attacks on home and small business routers, says Rapid7's Tod Beardsley Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Many firms not getting to grips with third-party data security risk

Supply chain data security risk is pervasive, but being unable to deal with it is down to basic failings, says a cyber risk expert Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Sans Institute identifies top UK cyber talent

The cream of UK cyber security talent selected from 24,000 candidates are set to begin eight weeks of intensive training in the first-ever intake at the Sans UK Cyber Academy Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Life’s a breach: How to handle the press after a hacking attack

Emily Dent, specialist in crisis PR, offers some advice to organisations that unexpectedly find themselves in the headlines Continue Reading

By

• Emily Dent

Spotify to update privacy policy after user protest

Some Spotify users are unhappy about new privacy policies that allow access to users’ photos, video, mobile device location, voice controls and contacts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

ICO orders Google to remove links to right to be forgotten takedowns

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) says Google must remove newer links that reveal the same details as previously removed links Continue Reading

Broadband Stakeholder Group to review UK net neutrality policy

The Broadband Stakeholder Group commissions an independent review into the UK’s industry-led approach to net neutrality and the open internet Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mumsnet suffers multi-vector cyber attack

Mumsnet has been hit by a DDoS attack, its admin hacked and data stolen, and then a hoax call sent armed police to the home of the organisation's co-founder, Justine Roberts Continue Reading

Premiership Rugby scores security and efficiency with Intralinks

By setting access controls, Premiership Rugby can ensure that its partners get quick access only to role-appropriate content Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

AT&T a key NSA partner in internet spying Snowden docs show

The NSA considered its relationship with AT&T to be unique and especially productive, leaked documents show Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Mobile phone users at risk as hackers bug and track victims

An investigation by Australian TV show 60 Minutes demonstrates how hackers based thousands of miles away in Germany were able to record the calls of an Australian senator and track his movements Continue Reading

By

• Ross Coulthart, 60 Minutes Australia

FBI uncovers cyber insider trading gang

Nine suspects are expected to be charged in the US with insider trading based on corporate press releases stolen by hackers before they had been made public Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

BlackHat 2015: Industrial hacking - the untold story

Hackers have been penetrating industrial control systems for at least a decade for extortion, yet little is known about how they gain access Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Carphone Warehouse data breach hits 2.4 million UK customers

Carphone Warehouse confirms the authorities have been notified about the breach, and urges customers to take steps to protect themselves Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Why the time is ripe for security behaviour analytics

Recent months have seen an uptick in announcements by security suppliers around behavioural analytics, but what is driving this trend? Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Commercial software more secure than open source, finds report

A study has found that commercial code is more compliant than open source code with security compliance standards, such as the Owasp top 10 and the CWE top 25 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

A third of employees will sell company data if the price is right, study reveals

For £5,000, a quarter of employees polled said they would sell confidential company data, and risk both their job and criminal convictions Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Contactless card fraud highlights need for 2FA

A Which? report on contactless card fraud highlights the need for multi-factor authentication for payments, say security experts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Jeep hack raises questions about responsibility for security

The hack of a Jeep raises the question whether users or car manufacturers should be responsible for protecting against cyber attackers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Information security governance maturing, says Gartner

Increasing awareness of the impact of digital business risks, coupled with high levels of publicity regarding cyber security incidents, is making IT risk a board-level issue, says Gartner Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK considers 10-year jail sentences for online piracy

The UK government is considering new measures to increase the sanctions for criminals who infringe the rights of copyright holders for large-scale financial gain Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Hackers threaten to expose ALM’s dating and cheating site users

A hacking group, calling itself The Impact Team, claims to have compromised Avid Life Media’s user databases, source code repositories, financial records and email system Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

United Airlines begins bug bounty payouts

United Airlines has paid out the maximum award to two hackers, which means the flaws are likely to be remote code execution vulnerabilities Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK man arrested for hacking into US government computers

Briton Lauri Love is accused of hacking into various US agencies, including the US army, Nasa, the federal reserve and the environmental protection agency Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Vodafone scheme to help SMEs get online

Vodafone is to trial a series of digital workshops for SMEs aimed at equipping them with a stronger online presence Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Land Rover praised for recall over software security bug

BT Security head Mark Hughes says Land Rover's recall of vehicles to fix a software security flaw is a sensible step to address evolving criminal threats Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Symantec bets on simplicity, cloud and mobile

Symantec is not trying to be all things to all people, but is instead focusing on threats and protecting information in the mobile and cloud environments Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK sales teams are the most exposed to cyber attacks, study reveals

UK sales staff, callcentre agents and customer services teams are among the most highly targeted by cyber attacks, yet few firms give these groups IT security training, a study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Symantec uncovers Morpho cyber espionage operation

A cyber espionage group has targeted high-profile technology, internet, commodities and pharmaceutical companies in the US, Europe and Canada, reports Symantec Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Dashlane bullish about the future despite LastPass hack

Password management firm Dashlane is confident its business model will evolve and continue to be relevant even if passwords eventually disappear Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CW Europe – July 2015 Edition

The economy in central and eastern Europe (CEE) is starting to recover, which means investment in IT across the region is also starting to return. This issue of CW Europe investigates how the boost in IT is changing the role of the CIO, from supporting the business to driving its growth. Continue Reading

Italy’s Hacking Team gets hacked

Unknown hackers have posted a torrent file-sharing link to more than 400GB of Hacking Team data, including source code, internal documents and emails that could reveal the identity of customers Continue Reading

Wi-Fi enhances guest experience and profitability for Belgian theme park

Bobbejaanland, one of the largest theme parks in Belgium, is using a Fortinet Wi-Fi network to offer visitors access on the go, and improve its management capabilities Continue Reading

By

• Xavier Mertens

How Deutsche Telekom plans to challenge AWS and Google in the cloud

German telco Deutsche Telekom wants to evolve into the public cloud and plans to beat sector giants such as Amazon and Google at their own game Continue Reading

By

• Anne Morris

Facebook wins first round in European privacy battle

Facebook has welcomed a Vienna court’s rejection of a 25,000-strong class action lawsuit against the social networking firm for allegedly breaching European privacy laws Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK universities revise computer course guidelines to boost ranks of cyber warriors

UK universities revise course guidelines to transform computing degree courses and ensure that undergraduates learn cyber security skills Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cisco launches IoT System for enterprise and smart cities

Cisco unveils 15 products to address the growing complexity of internet of things deployments Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch court orders Facebook to identify revenge porn poster

Facebook has a legal obligation to provide information about a user who posted a revenge porn video on the site, a Dutch court has ruled Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

FBI investigates US baseball team over rival's hacking allegations

FBI investigations, into claims a US baseball team stole data from a rival, highlights cyber crime perpetrated by competitors – not just anonymous criminals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Kaspersky Lab praised for handling of Duqu 2.0 cyber attack

Kaspersky Lab determined the best approach to cyber attack was to not only admit that it had been hacked, but also to provide extensive information on the malware Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How to cull old, potentially risky data

Unused data is a potential security risk, with old spreadsheets, reports and email containing industry secrets and laced with company gossip. If it's no longer useful, it's time to delete it Continue Reading

By

• Christian Cawley

The drivers and inhibitors of cyber security evolution

A study shows a shift in IT security spending to detection and response – but why are most organisations falling way behind the more enlightened front runners? Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Most of more than 733,000 police communications data requests approved

Big Brother Watch is calling for a curb on the scale of police access to communications data and greater transparency in the use of this data Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Data classification key to IP protection, says Titus

Data classification can help organisations get more value out of encryption and data loss prevention systems Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Google announces security features for Android

Google announces better app permission controls and other Android security changes at its Google I/O developer conference Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Social engineering attacks more complex than ever, says expert

Expert warns attackers are starting to use increasingly sophisticated ways to get people in organisations to help them circumvent security controls Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How to reduce the risk of social engineering attacks

Implement simple checks to reduce the risk of the main types of social engineering attacks Continue Reading

By

• Peter Wood, First Base Technologies LLP

Researchers raise privacy concerns about Bluetooth Low Energy devices

Researchers have raised privacy concerns about a growing number of devices using Bluetooth Low Energy technology Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CIO interview: Austerity drives joined-up council IT with Force.com

Peterborough has become a big user of software-as-a-service for council services. We speak to its IT head Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

St Louis Federal Reserve Bank not target of DNS hack, say experts

The hacking of a domain name server (DNS) for the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis is more likely to be aimed at customers than the bank itself, say security experts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Wi-Fi Global Congress: Hotspot 2.0 standard addresses wireless security holes

At Wi-Fi Global Congress, Ruckus Wireless announces it will be first to market with the second release of Hotspot 2.0 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Digital age a turning point for policing, says commissioner Leppard

Policing in the digital age will face a turning point in the next two years, according to City of London Police commissioner Adrian Leppard Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Former nurse’s career blighted after blowing whistle on IT problems

Southwark's continuing care database included names of patients who had been dead for several years, a tribunal is told Continue Reading

By

• Julia Gregory and Bill Goodwin

PSNGB rebrands to drive information sharing across PSN

PSNGB, the trade association set up to promote the Public Services Network, rebrands itself as Innopsis and says its work is far from over Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The IoT industry needs to do more to secure data, says Beecham Research

There are key areas where the industry supporting the internet of things (IoT) needs to provide better security, according to Beecham Research Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CW Europe – May 2015 Edition

In this issue, CW Europe's security editor investigates whether the legislation could strangle Europe's productivity and whether businesses see the regulations as a burden. Continue Reading

Businesses should prepare for black swans, says resiliency consultant

While black swan events are random and unexpected, businesses can still prepare for them, according to a resiliency consultant Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Future IAM will need to be broader, says Martin Kuppinger

Identity and access management systems need to look at all forms of identity, not just employees or users, says KuppingerCole analyst Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IoT benefits and privacy not mutually exclusive, says industry expert

It is possible to mitigate the privacy and security risks of the internet of things (IoT) without losing its benefits, according to an industry expert Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Ryanair remains tight-lipped over £3.3m hacker theft

Ryanair provided no details of how hackers took £3.3m from one of its bank accounts, as industry pundits call for greater collaboration Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Time to embrace a new level of IAM, says Martin Kuppinger

A new level of identity and access management is at hand, yet many businesses still rely on usernames and passwords Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Top tips for remote and mobile workers to improve their cyber security

Steps remote and mobile workers can take to improve cyber security on mobile devices, using public Wi-Fi and computers, and handling USB devices Continue Reading

By

• Peter Wood, First Base Technologies LLP

EU data protection regulation will drive privacy by design, says KuppingerCole

The EU data protection regulation will drive privacy by design in companies with European clients, says KuppingerCole analyst Karsten Kinast Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst