Regulatory compliance and standard requirements

Phishing tests are a useful exercise, but don’t overdo it

The vast majority of cyber attacks start with a phish, so it’s not surprising that phishing tests form part of cyber training plans. But sometimes these tests go too far. Cyberis’ Gemma Moore looks at how to avoid the pitfalls Continue Reading

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• Gemma Moore

UK second in money laundering hall of shame

Banks need to step up their anti-money laundering processes if billions of pounds’ worth of criminal activity is to be prevented Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Minister defends digital economy legislation before Lords

A digital minister has said that the UK’s forthcoming digital markets legislation is ‘superior’ to similar efforts in the EU, but could not commit to a specific time frame for when it will be introduced to Parliament Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Tech companies risk being compelled by law to protect children, says online safety expert

John Carr, a child safety campaigner backing a government-funded campaign on the dangers of end-to-end encryption to children, says tech companies have no choice but to act Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

How Dutch hackers are working to make the internet safe

We hear how the personal mission of a Dutch hacker grew into a serious organisation with international ambitions Continue Reading

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• Kim Loohuis

The Security Interviews: Building the UK’s future cyber ecosystem

As the government lays out the next iteration of its Cyber Security Strategy, we speak to Plexal and Lorca’s Saj Huq about his work building a cyber ecosystem to support the UK’s future ambitions Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Parasol data breach: Contractors rage as fallout from umbrella cyber attack continues

Contractors working for the Parasol umbrella company are querying why it has taken so long for news of the firm's data breach, which is linked to a cyber attack on its systems five weeks ago, to come to light Continue Reading

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• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Porn sites will be legally required to verify users’ ages

Porn sites could be legally obliged to verify that their users are 18 or over under proposed online safety rules, in UK government’s second attempt to prevent children from accessing pornography online Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Brookson and Parasol cyber attacks: Contractor complaints about delayed payments continue

Several weeks on from the suspected ransomware attack that blighted two of the umbrella industry’s biggest players, contractors are still chasing their missing money Continue Reading

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• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

French Supreme Court raises constitutional questions over EncroChat hacking secrecy

Conseil Constitutionnel to decide whether ‘defence secrecy’ over state EncroChat cryptophone hacking breaches French constitution Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Security Think Tank: How to build a human firewall

In-house or outsourced? What makes a good security training programme, and what questions should buyers ask when procuring training as a service? Continue Reading

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• Merry Song, Turnkey Consulting

Mechanism underlying cookie popups found in breach of GDPR

A fundamental element of the mechanism by which the advertising industry requests tracking consent from web users has been found in breach of the General Data Protection Regulation Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Reforms needed to tackle economic crime, says Treasury Committee

The Treasury Committee is disappointed at progress towards tackling economic crime and fraud in both the online and offline worlds, and is calling for more action Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What neurodivergent people really think of working in cyber security

Many firms are filling cyber security skills gaps by hiring neurodivergent talent – but more support is needed for neurodivergent cyber security professionals, writes autistic tech journalist Nicholas Fearn Continue Reading

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• Nicholas Fearn

Met Police faces legal action over Gangs Matrix

Campaign group Liberty is taking legal action against the Met over its use of the Gangs Matrix, claiming it is driven by racial stereotypes and disproportionately affects people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Data on children of armed forces personnel exposed in breach

Data on 4,142 children of serving armed forces personnel was exposed in a data breach at the Ministry of Defence Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Understand your cyber training ‘need’ before committing to a programme

In-house or outsourced? What makes a good security training programme, and what questions should buyers ask when procuring training-as-a-service? Continue Reading

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• Paddy Francis

Cyber skills gap affecting data privacy practice, finds ISACA

Organisations are struggling to fill both legal and technical privacy roles, with potentially damaging consequences, according to a report Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Navigating PIPL: European businesses plot their next steps into China

How does China’s strict new Personal Information Protection Law impact European businesses? Continue Reading

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• Matthew Staff

Cloud-era disaster recovery planning: Setting strategy and developing plans

In the second in a series on cloud-era disaster recovery, we look at how to formulate a DR strategy and develop detailed DR plans for your organisation, while taking cloud services into account Continue Reading

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• Paul Kirvan

Security Think Tank: Focus on ‘nudging’ to build effective cyber training

In-house or outsourced? What makes a good security training programme, and what questions should buyers ask when procuring training-as-a-service? Continue Reading

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• Tom Everard

MPs to debate landmark IoT security law

Proposed bill mandates tighter protections for connected products, and adds new rules for broadband roll-out into the bargain Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber Essentials programme gets biggest update since launch

NCSC implements a thorough revision of its Cyber Essentials scheme to reflect the changing security landscape Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government launches internal cyber strategy

Multi-pronged government security strategy is designed to protect both core systems and public services Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can ask Supreme Court to hear extradition appeal

Senior judges said today that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can petition the Supreme Court to decide whether to hear an appeal against his extradition to the US Continue Reading

Tinder algorithm charging users more based on age

Popular dating app Tinder could have broken data protection and equality laws by using personal data about people’s age to set different prices Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

ICO criticises government-backed campaign to delay end-to-end encryption

Data protection watchdog warns that delaying end-to-end encryption will put children at risk Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Updated cyber security regulations proposed for managed services sector

The Network and Information Systems regulations are to be updated to include MSPs and outsourcers, following a spate of supply chain attacks Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cloud-era disaster recovery planning: Assessing risk and business impact

In the first in a series on cloud-era disaster recovery, we provide a step-by-step guide to building firm foundations for the disaster recovery plan, with risk assessment and business impact analysis Continue Reading

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• Paul Kirvan

The race to quantum computing

In this week’s Computer Weekly, researchers are racing to create the first commercially useful quantum computer – we look at one of the European candidates. Cyber security is one of the greatest risks facing the global economy, warns the World Economic Forum. And we examine the role of employee experience in hybrid working. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Podcast: 2022 compliance preview – GDPR goes global

We talk to Mathieu Gorge, CEO of VigiTrust, about what’s looming in compliance, with regulations based on the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation plus the concept of cyber accountability Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Nordic companies targeted in wave of cyber attacks

After a slew of cyber attacks hit major companies in the Nordics at the end of last year, we look at how they were affected and how they have recovered Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

UK government bodies challenged on secure identity

Public sector bodies in the UK recognise secure identity and access management as critical to the roll-out of digital services, but face challenges in addressing this Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Banks accused of neglecting customer security measures

Which? singles out Metro Bank, Virgin Money and TSB over insecure online banking processes Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Companies propose scanning content pre-encryption to fight CSAM

Firms working on the UK government’s Safety Tech Challenge have suggested that scanning content before encryption will help prevent the spread of child sexual abuse material – but privacy concerns remain Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Cyber security failure one of biggest risks facing countries and businesses, warns WEF

Cyber risks are among the top five risks facing organisations and governments over the next two to five years. Digital inequality and the over-crowding of space with communication satellites present further risks  Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Proofpoint acquires Singapore data security startup

Proofpoint’s acquisition of Dathena will bolster its data loss prevention capabilities, enabling organisations to better understand information risk through the use of AI Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Ministry of Justice caught up in multiple cyber incidents

Besides multiple disclosed data breaches, department was also affected by two ransomware attacks Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Singapore retailer hit by data breach

The personal data of OG’s basic and gold members stored in a database managed by a third-party service provider was reportedly compromised Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

France fines Facebook and Google over alleged cookie malpractice

French data protection authorities clamp down on tech platforms for purposely making it more burdensome for users to decline tracking cookies Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

By

• 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By

• 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

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

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Sky ECC provided free cryptophones to a Canadian police force

Internal emails disclosed in a US court show how Sky Global supplied sample encrypted phones to a Canadian police force before its phone users became subject to an international police investigation Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Cryptophone supplier Sky Global takes legal action over US government website seizures

Canadian tech company Sky Global has filed a legal motion claiming that the US government unlawfully seized the company’s internet sites following police investigations into the use of its cryptophones by organised crime Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Security startups line up on Cyber Runway

Some 108 cyber security startups representing the UK’s most cutting-edge innovators are to join Plexal’s Cyber Runway accelerator Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government proposes new rules for digital supply chain security

Proposals could see IT service providers legally required to adhere to the NCSC’s Cyber Assessment Framework, among other things Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government bodies refuse FOI requests on basis of misleading database search times, says academic

The Information Commissioner’s Office tells tribunal it would need to bring in external experts to search data using an Excel spreadsheet Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

The ICO is right to push back against government meddling

Some criticisms of the ICO are justified, but the answer to that is not to give Whitehall more oversight over the data protection regulator, argues legal expert Edward Machin Continue Reading

By

• Edward Machin

Bank of England loses 161 computing devices in three years

Bank cannot account for phones, laptops and tablets that have gone missing over the past three years Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Lloyd v Google Supreme Court verdict brings end to privacy class actions against big tech in UK

A ruling by the Supreme Court has left it financially unviable for individuals to bring class actions in the UK against big tech companies for privacy breaches Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

EU artificial intelligence regulation risks undermining social safety net

Europe’s proposed artificial intelligence regulation will not adequately protect people from European governments' increasing use of the technology in social security decisions and resource allocation, says Human Rights Watch Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Digital surveillance of remote workers may increase enterprise risk

From productivity tools to security threats, we explore how digital surveillance is forcing remote workers towards shadow IT Continue Reading

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• Matthew Staff

How to manage endpoint security in a hybrid work environment

The future of the workplace is clearly hybrid, but this has untold implications around endpoint security. How can businesses overcome these? Continue Reading

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• Nicholas Fearn

Yoti develops age estimation algorithm for under-13s

Age estimation technology developed by Yoti is being pitched as a way of helping social media platforms and other online businesses protect younger internet users from harm Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML)

Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) is an open standard for sharing security information about identity, authentication and authorization across different systems. Continue Reading

By

• Peter Loshin, Former Senior Technology Editor

How cosmetics retailer Lush made over its approach to authentication

Evolving approaches to IT at cosmetics retailer Lush meant the organisation’s previous approach to authentication was no longer up to scratch. Find out how it overcame this hurdle Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

US offers $10m reward for intel on DarkSide ransomware gang

US government puts up a $10m reward for information on the DarkSide ransomware gang, the group that attacked Colonial Pipeline six months ago Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The Netherlands works on resilience with large-scale national cyber exercise

For the Netherlands, the biggest challenge in a large-scale cyber crisis is to maintain speed while exercising due care Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Facebook self-imposes facial recognition moratorium

Facebook and Meta have committed to halting their use of facial recognition technology and deleting the biometric data of more than a billion people by the end of 2021, but will retain the underlying algorithms and software for potential use in future products Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Report on Compliance (ROC)

A Report on Compliance (ROC) is a form that must be completed by all Level 1 Visa merchants undergoing a PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) audit. Continue Reading

By

• Paul Kirvan

Adelaide healthcare network digitises manual processes

The Central Adelaide Local Health Network has digitised manual processes in more than 20 speciality areas to improve patient experience and alleviate the workloads of frontline staff Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

What the Budget means for UK technology

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look through the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget and Spending Review to find what it means for the UK tech sector. As COP26 starts, we assess the green credentials of the IT industry. And we hear one CTO’s experiences of learning the privacy lessons of GDPR. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Businesses and governments urged to take action over Trojan Source supply chain attacks

Businesses and governments have been put on alert to guard against Trojan Source hacking attacks Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

MPs and Lords grill Facebook over online safety efforts

Facebook answers British lawmakers’ questions about the social media giant’s efforts to ensure the safety of its users, as part of legislative security of the government's proposed online safety bill Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

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

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Facebook rebrands to Meta amid continuing controversies

Facebook has changed its corporate name to Meta to support its work on the next generation of “social technologies”, but concerns around trust and privacy persist Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Illegal state surveillance in Africa ‘carried out with impunity’

Analysis of surveillance laws and practices in six African countries finds that existing privacy laws are failing to protect citizens from illegal digital surveillance, which is being facilitated and enabled by global tech companies Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

‘No-one extradited from UK to US has committed suicide,’ US tells court in Assange appeal

US government claims that a district judge has given WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a ‘trump card’ to avoid extradition   Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Government commits millions to security investment

Spending Review adds more than £750m of funding to improve cyber security resilience across government Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber sector growth exacerbating skills shortage

Data from security association (ISC)² shows demand for cyber pros is still outpacing supply as the sector continues an upward growth trajectory Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

MEPs vote to expand Europol data mandate

The European Parliament has voted in favour of expanding Europol’s mandate to process data and develop AI tools, but critics claim it contradicts a previous vote which opposed using new technologies to predict crime Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

US intelligence agencies issue advisory on BlackMatter gang

Joint advisory on ransomware gang warns about potential of further attacks on critical infrastructure providers Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor