Security policy and user awareness

Ransomware attacks dropped 37% in December, claims NCC

Latest monthly data reveals a significant decline in ransomware attacks at the end of 2021, but a new, emergent gang is making waves Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

MoonBounce firmware bootkit shows advances in malicious implants

MoonBounce firmware bootkit shows evident technical improvements over others, making it a more dangerous threat to organisations. It is being used by Chinese state-backed actors Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Cyber training is useless without staff empowerment

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

By

• Tim Holman, 2-sec

Singapore to tighten digital banking security

Banks in Singapore will have to put in place more stringent measures to combat the rise in online phishing scams targeted at bank customers in the city-state Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Police take down VPN linked to multiple ransomware hits

German police led a multinational effort to seize and take down the LabVPN service, which was allegedly used by cyber criminals to facilitate ransomware attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cobalt Strike still C2 infrastructure of choice

Its utility and ease of use, coupled with explosive growth in ransomware actions, makes Cobalt Strike Team Servers the C2 infrastructure of choice for malicious actors Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

‘Russian-backed’ hackers defaced Ukrainian websites as cover for dangerous malware attack

Kiev claims that a hacking group in Belarus – a close ally of Russia – was responsible for hacking Ukrainian government websites amid threats of military action Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

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

NCSC sounds alarm over Russia-backed hacks

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre joins US calls to be wary of Russian state interference in critical national infrastructure IT systems Continue Reading

MEPs demand EU probe into Pegasus spyware abuse

A group of European Parliament Members has called for an EU-wide investigation into NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware after it emerged EU member states may have used it Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch cyber volunteers receive major funding boost

The Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure has received a $100,000 donation to expand the scope of its work Continue Reading

By

• 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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How APAC firms can stay ahead of cyber threats

Organisations will need to develop behavioural detection, machine learning and threat hunting capabilities to keep pace with the onslaught of cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

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

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

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

By

• 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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Is the IT sector beset by fear-mongering?

The arms race between hackers and security teams has led to a plethora of new technologies, but it can be hard to differentiate between sensible cyber purchases and those that are promoted by exaggerating risk Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

How can you balance security with growth?

As businesses focus on recovery and growth, CISOs must deal with today’s challenges while also planning for tomorrow - how can they achieve both safety and success? Continue Reading

By

• Gavin Cartwright

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

By

• Emma Bickerstaffe, Information Security Forum (ISF)

Security Think Tank: When will they ever learn?

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

By

• Mark Raeburn, Accenture Security

Enabling secure remote working is once again a top priority

The pandemic has bought many new security risks, particularly around remote working. As the UK government once again urges people to work from home under its Plan B restrictions, these risks must be tackled as a priority Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

After Log4j, December Patch Tuesday piles on the pressure

December’s Patch Tuesday update from Microsoft contains several critical CVEs, but this month all attention is focused on the fall-out from Log4Shell, and burn-out is becoming a real issue Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

By

• 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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Almost half of networks probed for Log4Shell weaknesses

Close to half of corporate networks have already been actively targeted by individuals seeking to exploit the critical Log4Shell Apache bug Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: We are failing to get the cyber message across to users

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

By

• Chris Cooper

What is Log4Shell, and why are we panicking about it?

It’s been described as a ‘design failure of catastrophic proportions’ that threatens the very fabric of the digital world. Find out what the Log4j2 Log4Shell panic is all about, and what you should do about it Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: There’s much more to do to secure hybrid workers

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

By

• Jack Chapman

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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• Petra Wenham

2021 another record-breaker for vulnerability disclosure

More than 50 CVEs were logged every day in 2021, more than at any time since records began, while ethical hackers continue to prove their value Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Russia may be collaborating with US to bring cyber criminals to heel

Trustwave’s SpiderLabs says its analysis of chatter on underground dark web forums suggests cyber criminals are starting to panic that formerly ‘friendly’ governments are on their case Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

By

• 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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Overcome the security talent shortage by addressing your tech stack

This is a guest post by Graham Pearson, vice-president and general manager for ANZ at Lacework Australians will spend approximately $5.6bn on cyber security alone this year, according to AustCyber, ... Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

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

By

• 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

By

• 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

By

• David Carroll, Nominet Cyber

Compliance, device management a challenge for NHS cyber teams

Information gleaned by asset visibility specialist Armis reveals that despite improvements, some daunting security challenges still dog the NHS Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

MI6 will ‘open up’ to tech firms to innovate faster than adversaries, says chief Richard Moore

MI6 will use investment fund to back tech companies to develop long-term technologies that will help it to keep pace with China and Russia Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

HP patches bugs in over 150 printer models

More than 150 HP multifunction printers are at risk of compromise through a series of newly disclosed vulnerabilities, one of them wormable Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Recovering from ransomware: One organisation’s inside story

In February 2021, French office equipment supplier Manutan fell victim to a DoppelPaymer ransomware hit. IT ops director Jérôme Marchandiau tells the inside story of the incident Continue Reading

By

• Yann Serra, LeMagIT

Why does ransomware still work?

As someone who first encountered ransomware during the last millennium – thankfully at second-hand – and has been writing about it for almost as long, I sometimes find myself amazed by the high ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Betts, Freeform Dynamics

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

By

• 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

By

• Shannon Flynn, ReHack Magazine

Security Think Tank: Dissecting the true value of SASE is a challenge

As a relatively nascent technology that is getting a lot of publicity, dissecting the true value of SASE is still a difficult proposition, for now Continue Reading

By

• Maximilian Brook

UK’s surveillance culture may be normalising use of tech for abuse

Intense surveillance of public spaces by UK authorities may be playing a part in the normalisation of cyber stalking in intimate relationships Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK consumers warned of increase in credit card application fraud

There has been a sharp rise in fraudsters using stolen personal details to open credit card accounts Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

By

• 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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Black Friday cyber warning for 4,000 card-skimming victims

NCSC warns thousands of small retailers that their websites are being exploited to steal customer data Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why is Emotet back, and should we be worried about it?

The sudden reappearance of Emotet this week has security teams on high alert, but do we need to be worried about its return, and what should we be doing about it? Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Forced on-line by the NHS: to be confused, exploited, ignored, mistreated and/or patronised

All this informed my MSc IT Security final dissertation entitled ‘Inclusion, Confusion and Exclusion – is technology making the Vulnerable more Vulnerable?’ I looked at Social, Financial and ... Continue Reading

By

• Philip Virgo, Winsafe Ltd

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

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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Zero-days: The next element of the service-based cyber economy?

Digital Shadows researchers have reported on the emergence of zero-days as a service, which could be the next big thing in the cyber criminal underworld Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Out of the shadows: The rise of ethical hackers in 2021

Ethical hackers working on the Bugcrowd platform have saved organisations almost $30bn in risk during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the community sheds old stereotypes Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

One-fifth of NCSC-supported cyber incidents linked to Covid-19

National Cyber Security Centre has helped to thwart multiple cyber incidents that could have seriously disrupted the UK’s response to the pandemic Continue Reading

By

• 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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: What to find out before investing in SASE

Petra Wenham of the BCS shares her thoughts on what organisations need to consider as they investigate whether or not to invest in secure access service edge technology Continue Reading

By

• Petra Wenham

HPE’s Aruba networking unit hit by cyber attack

Undisclosed threat actor compromised data buckets used to run the Aruba Central cloud environment using a stolen access key Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Scale of crime-as-a-service economy a growing concern, say researchers

The cyber criminal underground continues its evolution towards a service-based economy Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Zero trust: Now is the time

The cyber security industry has been talking about a zero-trust approach to security for just over a decade, but now it’s time to move towards full implementation because it is more appropriate than ever, and it is rapidly gaining support from suppliers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

November Patch Tuesday drop fixes bugs in Excel, Exchange Server

Another relatively light Patch Tuesday drop from Microsoft addresses 55 vulnerabilities, two of them already being exploited Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security 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

By

• 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

By

• Nicholas Fearn

The Secret IR Insider’s Diary – this is not a fashion show

In the latest pages taken from their diary, the Secret IR Insider reveals why organisations should be worried about every threat, not just the latest and greatest Continue Reading

By

• The Secret IR Insider, Check Point

US seeks to extradite REvil affiliate who attacked Kaseya

US Department of Justice unseals charges against a Ukrainian national accused of being behind the summer 2021 REvil ransomware attack on Kaseya Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Shock horror... Humans used for security validation instead of AI/M-L!

As a judge on the Tech Trailblazers awards, I can assure you of two security-related actuality wotsits: The onslaught of security start-ups is anything but slowing down; this year has seen a record ... Continue Reading

By

• Steve Broadhead, Broadband Testing

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

Spyware firm NSO and others added to US banned Entity List

US government bans target Israeli spyware makers and cyber firms in Russia and Singapore Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK’s Labour Party hit by third-party data breach

Data on Labour Party members was recently compromised in an apparent cyber attack on a third-party data processor Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: SASE – marketing buzz or the future of security?

SASE architectures promise to prevent multiple types of cyber attacks, but deciding whether SASE is right for your organisation will require understanding whether SASE is a fit for your use cases in IT Continue Reading

By

• Martin Kuppinger, KuppingerCole

BlackMatter ransomware crew shuts down, leaves victims in a bind

The BlackMatter ransomware gang appears to be winding down its activities, possibly due to pressure from law enforcement Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

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

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

How ransomware crews pile on the pressure to get victims to pay

Sophos researchers share some of the more common tactics ransomware gangs use to pressurise their victims into paying up Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government commits millions to security investment

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

By

• 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

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber experts on how to nobble a Nobelium attack

A recent spate of attempted Nobelium cyber attacks were mostly unsuccessful, but serve as a reminder to pay attention to some more fundamental aspects of security Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Managing cyber risk by integrating supply chains

In this week’s Computer Weekly, our latest Buyer’s Guide examines the security and IT integration challenges of modern supply chains, especially post-pandemic – while we also talk to the CEO of software provider SolarWinds about how the company overcame its huge supply chain attack. And we look at how a small town in Lancashire was chosen as the HQ for the UK’s new National Cyber Force. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Airport operator MAG boosts threat visibility with hybrid SOC

With budget concerns weighing heavy during the pandemic, Manchester Airports Group ditched an impending capex-heavy cyber investment in favour of a hybrid managed/in-house approach. Learn more about its experience Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

LightBasin hackers breach 13 telcos in two years

Hackers have obtained an undisclosed volume of subscriber information and call metadata in a sustained campaign against telecommunications firms Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Back on the office network: What are the risks for mobile users?

Many people are returning to offices and bringing their mobile devices with them. What are the cyber security implications of this? Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

No easy fix for vulnerability exploitation, so be prepared

Vulnerability management and disclosure is a tricky business with ethical and business ramifications for software vendors, CISOs and ethical hackers alike – and CISOs sit right in the middle of this Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

Doing the right thing: How CISOs should approach responsible disclosure

Owen Wright, responsible for penetration testing and adversary simulation at Context, part of Accenture Security, advises how CISOs should approach responsible disclosure Continue Reading

By

• Owen Wright, Accenture Security

NHS Digital enhances in-house cyber awareness drive

Keep IT Confidential campaign aims to help NHS staff understand more about security threats and learn how to reduce risk Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Encryption protects the marginalised – and it’s under threat

Encryption keeps marginalised groups connected and safe, but new regulatory attempts to break it put them at risk Continue Reading

By

• Callum Voge

FCA warns over future hybrid working security risks

Earlier this week, the Financial Conduct Authority issued fresh guidance to regulated organisations on keeping hybrid workers safe and secure Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft warns of MysterySnail on October Patch Tuesday

Microsoft has fixed a zero-day that is being actively exploited to deliver a new remote access trojan dubbed MysterySnail to targets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Former signals intel leader named godfather of UK security

Sixth annual Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards honours former Royal Corps of Signals colonel and infosec pioneer John Doody Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor