Regulatory compliance and standard requirements

CMA secures commitments from Google on future of cookies

The Competition and Markets Authority is opening a consultation on commitments offered to it by Google to ensure its Privacy Sandbox proposals do not harm digital advertising markets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK promises tougher line on cyber crime

Speaking ahead of the G7 Summit, foreign secretary Dominic Raab says the UK is ready to take on cyber criminals and other malicious actors wherever they may be Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Australia names ‘strategic’ datacentre operators

Australia’s Digital Transformation Agency certifies Macquarie Telecom, Canberra Data Centres and Australian Data Centres as strategic operators for hosting government data Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

How the pandemic changed backup

The Covid-19 pandemic forced big changes in how people work – we look at impacts on backup, including increased reliance on the cloud, plus security and compliance vulnerabilities and ransomware Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Pritchard

Australian organisations face heightened cyber attacks

Nearly three in four Australian organisations experienced cyber attacks that largely resulted from a growing remote workforce in 2020 Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

FBI arrests distributors accused of selling An0m encrypted phones to crime groups

Working with overseas law enforcement, the FBI has arrested eight people and named a further 13 accused of distributing An0m phones to organised crime groups Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

RSA spins out fraud and risk unit as Outseer

RSA Security is transitioning its fraud and risk intelligence work into a new business to be called Outseer Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NHS Digital delays data collection plans until September

NHS Digital has postponed its proposed collection of GP data for two months, to allow more time for the public to understand the process and opt out if wanted Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

National data guardian calls for dialogue on NHS Digital GP plans

The UK’s national data guardian says it is important the public has clarity on how their confidential medical information will be used and kept secure under NHS data-sharing plans Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Police raids around world after investigators crack An0m cryptophone app in major hacking operation

Police in 16 countries carried out raids on after Australian Police and the FBI cracked an encrypted An0M communications network used by crime groups Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

EU privacy chief investigates use of US cloud services

Use of Amazon and Microsoft’s cloud services by public sector bodies in the European Union is being scrutinised by the bloc’s privacy watchdog Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

NHS Digital’s GP data-scraping plan must be publicised and delayed

The UK government must launch a national awareness campaign and delay this month’s planned GP data slurp, say privacy consultants Ben Rapp and Sara Newman Continue Reading

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• Ben Rapp and Sara Newman

Updated standard contractual clauses will provide ‘legal certainty’ for transfer of data

Organisations have 18 months to update data transfer agreements, known as standard contractual clauses, or SCCs, to continue sharing data outside the European Union Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Norway’s auditor general lifts lid on energy industry’s cyber security risks

Auditor General’s Office questions the security posture of Norway’s energy industry Continue Reading

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• Gerard O'Dwyer

Tories fined over email data protection breaches

The Conservative Party broke the law by failing to properly keep records of who had unsubscribed from its mailing list Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Buying a VPN? Here’s what you need to know

VPNs are an effective cyber security tool for businesses and remote workers, but there are many things to consider before purchasing and implementing one. We explore some of these Continue Reading

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• Nicholas Fearn

Long-term thinking is vital to secure UK’s critical infrastructure

To face down the threat of cyber warfare against UK CNI, the government needs long-term thinking that looks beyond the next general election cycle, says Advent-IM’s Mike Gillespie Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie

Exagrid pays $2.6m to Conti ransomware attackers

Backup appliance specialist hit by Conti ransomware in May with cyber criminals downloading employee and customer data, confidential contracts and source code Continue Reading

By

• Valéry Rieß-Marchive, Rédacteur en chef
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Ex-IT manager stole over £800,000 from NHS trust

A former senior IT manager at an Essex NHS trust has pleaded guilty to defrauding his employer out of more than £800,000 Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Privacy experts concerned over NHS data collection plans

Security and data privacy experts warn NHS Digital that its data collection plans could increase risk and cause a public backlash Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Loss of 150,000 police records made worse by management failures

The loss of 150,000 records from a number of national policing systems was caused by a human coding error, but made worse by process and management failures Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

NGOs file complaints against Clearview AI in five countries

Privacy and human rights organisations have asked data protection regulators in the UK, France, Austria, Italy and Greece to investigate controversial facial recognition company Clearview AI Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Millions of pounds lost to crypto fraud on social media

More than £63m has been lost nationally by victims of investment fraud via a social media platform, says Action Fraud Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

GCHQ bulk interception programme breached privacy rights, Strasbourg court rules

European Court of Human Rights finds that the UK’s bulk surveillance programme breached citizens’ privacy rights Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Policies key to revolutionising Identity Governance and Administration

The proliferation of digital identities, applications, data, security threats and compliance requirements means that Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) has never been more important, but not all organisations are approaching it in an effective and efficient way Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Threat of group GDPR legal action haunts CISOs

The vast majority of security leaders questioned for a new report say they are concerned about the possibility of group legal settlements against them following a serious data breach Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Industry reflects on three years of GDPR

Looking back on 12 tumultuous months, we assess how GDPR has weathered the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, and consider what the coming year may hold for data protection Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Air India is latest victim of Sita hack

Data on millions of people who flew with Air India between 2011 and 2021 appears to have been compromised in the recent Sita supply chain attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch researchers build security software to mimic human immune system

Software could help IT systems develop immunity to some cyber attacks in a similar way to how the body fights infection Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

How Bureau Veritas migrated 85% of its applications to the AWS cloud

In six years, France-based services giant BV has migrated 115 applications to the AWS cloud, mostly using in-house expertise. We talk to the company’s IT director Continue Reading

By

• Gaétan Raoul, LeMagIT
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

MEPs urge European Commission to revise UK adequacy decisions

Members of the European Parliament are calling for the European Commission to ensure EU citizens have greater privacy rights Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Pandemic tech use heightens consumer privacy fears

Report on consumer attitudes to privacy finds evidence of a “heightened sense of fear” as digital footprints expand inexorably Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government publishes framework on automated decision-making

The framework focuses on making the use of algorithms and automated decision-making systems within the public sector more ethical, transparent and accountable Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Reports of stolen Irish health service data being leaked online

Leaking of deeply confidential and personal information on patient healthcare marks a new low for the criminal Conti gang Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft EU Data Boundary dubbed ‘smoke and mirrors’

Data protection experts claim Microsoft’s decision to create an EU Data Boundary is a tacit admission that it routinely transfers and processes the personal data of European citizens outside the bloc Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Irish High Court dismisses legal bid by Facebook over EU-US data transfers

Latest twist in long-running legal battle sees Facebook lose legal bid to prevent the Irish Data Protection Commissioner suspending its transfer of data about European citizens to the US Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Dutch police used deep learning model to predict threats to life

Dutch police developed a deep learning model in their EncroChat investigation to predict which messages contain serious threats to life Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor
• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

The shape of fraud and cyber crime: 10 things we learned from 2020

While a pandemic-driven increase in cyber crime and an exacerbation of existing fraud trends were, to a large extent, to be expected, the LexisNexis Risk solutions UK cybercrime report 2020 still contained a few surprises Continue Reading

By

• Neira Jones

Biden beefs up public-private security cooperation

Joe Biden has signed a new Executive Order to harden US cyber security and government networks, with an emphasis on information sharing Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Verizon DBIR underscores year of unprecedented cyber challenge

Verizon 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report draws predictable conclusions as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be felt Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK government publishes Online Safety Bill draft

Bill builds on previous commitments by the government, which has added new measures to uphold democracy and freedom of speech while making tech giants more accountable Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Collaboration key to success of UK’s Cyber Security Council

The founders of the UK’s Cyber Security Council have been setting out their plans to professionalise the cyber sector at the NCSC’s CyberUK 2021 event Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government to reform Computer Misuse Act

Home secretary Priti Patel will explore reforming the Computer Misuse Act as calls mount for the 31-year-old law to be updated to reflect the changed online world Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Swedish court finds ambiguities in hacked EncroChat cryptophone evidence

Defence lawyer claims evidence obtained by hacking the EncroChat encrypted phone network has ‘no legal’ value following Swedish appeal court ruling Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly
• Sara Nkwe Assarsson

Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack has grave consequences

The ramifications of a major ransomware attack against a US fuel pipeline operator could spread far and wide Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How do I get my users to pay attention to security training?

As cyber security risks grow daily, businesses must educate staff about these through cyber awareness training. But how can they ensure this is taken seriously by employees? Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

NCSC publishes smart city security guidelines

Guidance for local authorities, IT and cyber professionals aims to ensure the security of connected, smart city projects Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber accreditation to improve legal standing of security pros

Institute of Cyber Digital Investigations Professionals will help incident responders and cyber investigators get the professional recognition they deserve Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government urged to add scam protections to Online Safety Bill

Group of organisations calls for the government to use the Online Safety Bill to protect people from cyber scams Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Scammers accidentally reveal fake Amazon review data

More than 13 million records relating to an organised fake review scam have been found on an unsecured ElasticSearch database, implicating hundreds of thousands of people in unethical behaviour Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

HSBC blocks £249m in UK fraud with voice biometrics

HSBC voice recognition technology has reduced telephone banking fraud as demand for the channel increases Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Why ITAM can aid IT-fuelled business recovery

As a sense of normality returns, we look at why IT asset management is the stealth tool for clearing a path towards greater digitisation Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

How GCHQ proposes to implement and use ethical AI

The rise of cyber crime and the escalating threat vectors facing the UK have led GCHQ to invest in automated threat detection and response systems to meet this challenge, as well as liaising with the private sector for the first time Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Deploying productivity monitoring software ethically

While software that tracks the activities of staff can be helpful to companies with a remote workforce, managers must consider employees’ concerns and privacy Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Half of organisations breached via a third party in 12 months

New report highlights the risks of outsourcing key business processes without paying due care and attention to your service provider’s security Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

EncroChat: Top lawyer warned CPS of risk that phone hacking warrants could be unlawful

Lord David Anderson QC warned prosecutors that there were formidable arguments against the lawfulness of a police operation to infiltrate the encrypted phone network, EncroChat Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

MPs accuse government of unduly interfering in information commissioner appointment

Cross-party group of MPs says government is influencing the appointment of a new information commissioner by explicitly seeking a candidate who will support its policy agenda, rather than regulate independently Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

The case for vaccine passports: the real world versus the digital world

What are the security issues challenges presented by vaccine passports, and how should they be designed and used with ethics and privacy in mind? Continue Reading

By

• Andy Jones and Alex Jordan

G7 countries to cooperate on digital regulation

Digital and technology ministers outline their agenda for how technology can be used to facilitate the post-Covid recovery, signalling closer collaboration in key areas of the digital economy Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Covid-19 security challenges leave bank customers at risk

Challenges arising from the pandemic have left gaping holes in banking security, putting consumers at risk of fraud Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Recruiters can’t afford to hold out for cyber ‘unicorns’

The perfect security candidate is hard to find, so hiring policy needs to be more pragmatic Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Office 365 compromise likely led to Merseyrail ransomware attack

Compromise of Merseyrail employee data seems to have begun after a key email account was hacked Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NHS App to serve as vaccine passport for foreign holidays

Existing NHS App will have vaccine passport functionality added to it, transport secretary confirms Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Backup failure: Four key areas where backups go wrong

We look at the key ways that backups can fail – via software issues, hardware problems, trouble in the infrastructure and good old human error – and suggest ways to mitigate them Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

UK supermarkets to trial age estimation tech for alcohol purchases

Biometric age estimation technology developed by Yoti to be tested in UK supermarkets for alcohol purchases as part of government-led digital identities initiative Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

The Security Interviews: Making sense of outbound email security

Screening inbound emails is an accepted part of an organisation’s security posture, but the topic of securing outbound traffic is less often discussed. Zivver’s Rick Goud is on a mission to change this Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

GCHQ: Cyber investment a guarantor of UK’s global status

GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming sets out a vision for the UK’s cyber security future Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC offers teachers free cyber security training

The NCSC’s latest security training offer builds on a package of measures designed to protect schools from cyber attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

EU lays out plans to regulate AI development

Proposal aims to encourage the development of ethical artificial intelligence systems that do not infringe the human rights of EU citizens Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Health app myGP adds Covid-19 vaccine passport function

The new feature is described as the UK’s first NHS-assured Covid-19 certification feature Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK’s proposed IoT cyber security law gathers momentum

New statistics appear to vindicate UK government proposals to force suppliers to be upfront about IoT security Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government puts Facebook under pressure to stop end-to-end encryption over child abuse risks

Facebook faces growing government pressure to abandon its plans to offer users end-to-end encryption to secure the privacy of their messages as the NSPCC raises concerns about child protection Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Finnish government strengthens country’s IT network security

Finland’s government has created a new national organisation to help public and private bodies improve network security Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Biden sanctions Russia over SolarWinds cyber attacks

US president imposes new sanctions on Russia following malicious cyber attacks against the US and allies Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ireland’s DPC launches probe into Facebook leak

The Irish Data Protection Commission has launched an ‘own volition’ inquiry into the leak of data from 500 million Facebook profiles Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

compliance risk

Compliance risk is an organization's potential exposure to legal penalties, financial forfeiture and material loss, resulting from its failure to act in accordance with industry laws and regulations, internal policies or prescribed best practices. Continue Reading

By

• TechTarget Contributor
• Francesca Sales

Security Think Tank: Vaccine passports cannot be taken lightly

What are the security issues and challenges presented by vaccine passports, and how should they be designed and used with ethics and privacy in mind? Continue Reading

By

• Richard Hunt, Turnkey Consulting

Security Think Tank: Vaccine passports must be secure by design

What are the security issues and challenges presented by vaccine passports, and how should they be designed and used with ethics and privacy in mind? Continue Reading

By

• Paddy Francis

What has a year of home working meant for the DPO?

Byron Shirley of The Compliance Space explores how the role of the data protection officer has changed in the past 12 months Continue Reading

By

• Byron Shirley, The Compliance Space

Executive interview: Unleashing blockchain’s potential

Labrys founder and CEO Lachlan Feeney offers his observations about blockchain adoption in Australia, and what his firm is doing to help organisations unleash the full potential of the technology Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Nation-state cyber attacks double in three years

Cyber attacks backed by nation states are becoming more frequent and varied, moving the world closer to a point of ‘advanced cyber-conflict’, according to a University of Surrey research project Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

A billion extra contactless payments in year since limit increase

Visa said there was an extra one billion contactless payments made by its customers last year Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

API Daze

Earlier this week, the US Supreme Court ruled that Google did not infringe Oracle copyright on the Java SE API (application programming edition). The fact the US Supreme Court has digested a load ... Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

EncroChat hearings delayed as lawyers seek disclosure on police hacking

Court hearings precipitated by police cracking the EncroChat secure mobile phone network have been delayed after defence lawyers request further disclosures on police decryption capabilities Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

NHS is apparently closing security skills gap

By the end of 2020, there were more than twice as many in-house security professionals at NHS trusts as there were two years before Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Evolving threats, tech, leaves CNI exposed

In light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them? Continue Reading

By

• Tim Parker

Cyber Security Council to champion UK security pros

A new cyber security professional body has launched with the aim of developing and promoting UK cyber security excellence globally and growing the skills base Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nordics run information sharing on digital vaccination passports

Nordic countries advance plans for digital Covid-19 vaccination passports in a bid to kick-start their economies Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Surveillance expert ‘unfairly’ refused job at intelligence regulator after MI5 intervened

The Home Office unfairly refused Eric Kind, a specialist in criminal justice and UK surveillance law, clearance for a job at an intelligence watchdog after MI5 claimed he was “insufficiently deferential” Continue Reading

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• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Backup appliances the hot topic for Pas-de-Calais fire brigade

With requirements for strict, long-duration backup and archiving, French fire brigade set out to replace optical media with a StorageCraft appliance and disaster-proof storage Continue Reading

By

• Pierre Berlemont
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Cyber security complacency puts UK at risk, says NCSC head

National Cyber Security Centre CEO Lindy Cameron, in her maiden speech in the role, warns of challenges ahead for the UK and sets out the future agenda for cyber Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK faces significant cyber talent shortfall

Cyber security sector is struggling to attract the talented workforce it needs Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Employees must be given the right to disconnect

As enterprises increasingly turn to workplace monitoring technologies and more of the workforce moves to remote or hybrid working, unions are campaigning for workers’ ‘right to disconnect’ and not engage in digitally enabled work after hours Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Pakes, Prospect Union

Anti-money laundering technology must operate in a collaborative ecosystem

With new technologies making it easier for banks to spot money laundering activity, we look at why the problem persists at scale, finding that ecosystems and collaborative processes need to be built Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Unionised drivers call on Microsoft to suspend Uber’s Face API licences

Unionised private hire drivers in the UK are calling for Microsoft to suspend Uber’s licences to use its Face API technology after claims the ride-hailing firm’s ID-checking system has led to drivers losing their jobs and having licences revoked Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Eastern Health reports ‘cyber incident’, takes systems offline

Australian healthcare provider Eastern Health takes IT systems offline as a precaution while it looks into a cyber incident Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Security Think Tank: Take a realistic perspective on CNI cyber attacks

In light of increasing cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure, what are the immediate risks to industrial control systems and other operational technology, and what steps can be taken to address them? Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

Digital Green Certificate proposed for travel in Europe

Digital Green Certificates will supposedly help re-establish freedom of movement within the European Union Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber sector welcomes PM’s defence review

Security commentators approve of measures to improve the UK’s cyber resilience, strengthen its R&D and skills base, lead on the development of new technology and promote a free, open, peaceful and secure global internet Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Uber and Ola ordered to hand over more data to drivers

A Dutch court has rejected Uber and Ola’s claims that drivers collectively taking action to access their data amounts to an abuse of their individual data access rights, laying the ground for drivers to form their own union-controlled data trust Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor