Security policy and user awareness

Scam CrowdStrike domains growing in volume

Hundreds of malicious domains exploiting CrowdStrike’s branding are appearing all over the web in the wake of the 19 July outage. Experts from Akamai share some noteworthy examples, along with guidance on how to avoid getting caught out Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CrowdStrike says most Falcon sensors now up and running

The vast majority of CrowdStrike Falcon sensors affected by a coding error have now been recovered, with a final resolution expected this week Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mastering data privacy in the age of AI

AI continues to revolutionise how organisations operate, using vast amounts of personal data to make smart, informed decisions. However, this incredible potential comes with concerns about data privacy. DQM GRC's Mark James explores the issues. Continue Reading

By

• Mark James

Cyber crisis? How good PR can save your brand

Cyber attacks and data breaches can happen to anybody and often bring reputational damage and a loss of customer trust. How organisations publicly respond to such incidents can make or break them, and the importance of a good PR strategy cannot be underestimated Continue Reading

By

• Ed Coram-James

Cloud security challenges not just technological

The Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how CISOs and security practitioners should ensure that the business can make use of public cloud services safely and securely and avoid accidental or deliberate data leakage. Continue Reading

By

• Temi Akinlade

North Korean cyber APT targeting nuclear secrets

Mandiant has upgraded the North Korean threat actor known as Andariel to APT status and warned of coordinated efforts to steal western military IP, including nuclear secrets Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mimecast to buy insider threat specialist Code42

Mimecast is to buy fellow human-centred risk experts Code42 for an undisclosed sum to take advantage of its insider threat and data loss protection specialisms Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Innovations to power secure-by-design development

Secure Code Warrior unveils technology designed to help CISOs and AppSec teams ensure their projects remain safe and free of coding errors and vulnerabilities – a big issue following the CrowdStrike incident Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Chrome cookies reprieved amid Google Privacy Sandbox changes

Google abruptly changes tack on third-party cookies in its Chrome web browser, cancelling plans to deprecate them in favour of an unspecified ‘new experience’ for users Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCA cracks digitalstress DDoS-for-hire operation

The UK authorities have taken down a major component of the multinational DDoS cyber attack-for-hire ecosystem, hacking into the digitalstress.su service and exfiltrating data on its users, who now face arrest Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC: Beware of criminal CrowdStrike opportunists

Financially motivated cyber criminals are already conducting opportunistic attacks on organisations that leverage the CrowdStrike incident, and more targeted attacks are sure to follow Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What is employee monitoring?

Employee monitoring is when businesses monitor employees to improve productivity and protect corporate resources. Continue Reading

By

• Katie Terrell Hanna

Growth in nude image sharing heightens cyber abuse risk

The normalisation of sharing self-created intimate content with others is putting great numbers of people at risk of online abuse, says Kaspersky Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK Cyber Bill teases mandatory ransomware reporting

In the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill introduced in the King's Speech, the UK's new government pledges to give regulators more teeth to ensure compliance with security best practice and to mandate incident reporting Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Hackney Council reprimanded over 2020 ransomware attack

The London Borough of Hackney has been reprimanded by the ICO over a series of failures that led to a devastating cyber attack, but at the same time, the regulator praised the local authority for its response and commitment to making improvements Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Strategic Defence Review must emphasise cyber security, says industry

Cyber security leaders say the new government's Strategic Defence Review needs to put digital security front and centre Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

AT&T loses ‘nearly all’ phone records in Snowflake breach

Hackers have stolen records of virtually every call made by AT&T's customers during a six-month period in 2022, after compromising the US telco's Snowflake data environment Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Public awareness of ID security grows, but big obstacles remain

Consumers are improving their awareness of the issues around digital identity security, but there are still some big issues preventing many from doing better, according to an Okta report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch research firm TNO pictures the SOC of the future

In only a few years, security operations centres will have a different design and layout, and far fewer will remain Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohius

Inside Israel’s cyber security operations

An emergency phone line allows cyber security analysts at the Israel Computer Emergency Response Team to map threats against national infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Hyper-V zero-day stands out on a busy Patch Tuesday

Microsoft has fixed almost 140 vulnerabilities in its latest monthly update, with a Hyper-V zero-day singled out for urgent attention Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Chinese spies target vulnerable home office kit to run cyber attacks

China’s APT40 is ramping up targeting of victims using vulnerable small and home office networking kit as command and control infrastructure, according to an international alert Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Lessons from war: How Israel is fighting Iranian state-backed hacking

The general director of the Israel National Cyber Directorate talks about the rise in cyber attacks and what lessons the country has gleaned to defend against hacking from foreign parties Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Synnovis attack highlights degraded, outdated state of NHS IT

More cyber attacks against the health service are likely, and will succeed if something isn’t done to address the increasingly elderly NHS IT estate, experts are warning Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Safeguarding democracy from cyber threat peril  

There has been an increase in disturbing activity emerging on the dark web involving the sale of public sector assets, including election data Continue Reading

By

•  Barry O’Connell

NCA’s Operation Morpheus targets illicit Cobalt Strike use

International law enforcement operation targets cyber criminals using the Cobalt Strike penetration testing framework for dodgy purposes Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber Essentials at 10: Success or failure?

The Cyber Essentials scheme passed its 10th anniversary in June 2024. CyberSmart's Adam Pilton reflects on progress and argues that more needs to be done to raise security awareness among Britain's small business community Continue Reading

By

• Adam Pilton

Security Think Tank: Securing today's ubiquitous cloud environment

The Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how CISOs and security practitioners should ensure that the business can make use of public cloud services safely and securely and avoid accidental or deliberate data leakage Continue Reading

By

• Kashil JagmohanSingh

How Recorded Future is operationalising threat intelligence

Recorded Future is investing in APIs to enable automated security workflows, among other measures, to help organisations overcome the hurdles of operationalising threat intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Sellafield whistleblower ordered to pay costs after email tampering claims

A former consultant at Sellafield has been ordered to pay costs for having ‘acted unreasonably’ in claiming the nuclear facility tampered with metadata in letters used against her in court Continue Reading

By

• Tommy Greene

Qilin ransomware gang publishes stolen NHS data online

The ransomware gang behind a major cyber attack on NHS supplier Synnovis has published a 400GB trove of private healthcare data online Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

An industry-wide agreement is needed to identify AI-generated content

With the UK general election coming on July 4th, there is very real concern that this election and others around the world are being influenced by artificial intelligence-powered (AI) content ... Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Cloud security: Finding the right provider to protect your data

This month, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how CISOs and security practitioners should ensure that the business can make use of public cloud services safely and securely and avoid accidental or deliberate data leakage. Continue Reading

By

• Stephen McDermid

Black Basta ransomware crew may be exploiting Microsoft zero-day

A Microsoft vulnerability that was addressed without fanfare in March may in fact have been exploited as a zero-day by the notorious Black Basta ransomware gang, threat hunters warn Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Data leakage in the cloud – can data truly be safe in the cloud?

This month, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how CISOs and security practitioners should ensure that the business can make use of public cloud services safely and securely and avoid accidental or deliberate data leakage. Continue Reading

By

• Scott Swalling

How to ensure public cloud services are used safely and securely

This month, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how CISOs and security practitioners should ensure that the business can make use of public cloud services safely and securely and avoid accidental or deliberate data leakage. Continue Reading

By

• Beji Jacob

RCE flaw and DNS zero-day top list of Patch Tuesday bugs

An RCE vulnerability in a Microsoft messaging feature and a third-party flaw in a DNS authentication protocol are the most pressing issues to address in Microsoft’s latest Patch Tuesday Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

True cloud security requires in-depth understanding

This month, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how CISOs and security practitioners should ensure that the business can make use of public cloud services safely and securely and avoid accidental or deliberate data leakage. Continue Reading

By

• Elliott Wilkes

Pure Storage hit by Snowflake credential hackers

Pure Storage emerges as the latest victim of a fast-spreading breach of Snowflake customers targeting users with lax credential security measures in place Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

More than 160 Snowflake customers hit in targeted data theft spree

Mandiant reports that more than 160 Snowflake customers have been hit in a broad data theft and extortion campaign targeting organisations that have failed to pay proper attention to securing valuable credentials Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

DDoS gang threatens to disrupt European elections

Russian hacktivists are threatening to disrupt the European Parliament elections, while the BBC reports on new deepfake threats to the UK’s electoral process Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Sophos uncovers Chinese state-sponsored campaign in Southeast Asia

Sophos found three distinct clusters of activity targeted at a high-level government organisation that appeared to be tied to Chinese interests in the South China Sea Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

FBI finds 7,000 LockBit decryption keys in blow to criminal gang

The US authorities say they now have more than 7,000 LockBit decryption keys in their possession and are urging victims of the prolific ransomware gang to come forward Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

OAIC files civil penalty action against Medibank

The OAIC alleges that Medibank failed to take reasonable steps to protect the personal information of 9.7 million Australians in the October 2022 data breach Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Security Think Tank: The cloud just got more complicated

This month, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank considers how CISOs and security practitioners should ensure that the business can make use of public cloud services safely and securely and avoid accidental or deliberate data leakage. Continue Reading

By

• Rob Dartnall, SecAlliance

Building a more secure, and sustainable, open source ecosystem

In April 2024, the discovery of an intentionally-placed backdoor in the open source XZ Utils data compression caused concern. Sentry's Chad Whitacre says a more thoughtful approach is needed to balance the individual freedom and creativity of open source, with more rigorous security practice. Continue Reading

By

• Chad Whitacre

Russia used fake AI Tom Cruise in Olympic disinformation campaign

Microsoft threat researchers report a surge in Russian disinformation campaigns targeting the 2024 Summer Olympics, including AI-enhanced propaganda Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

97 FTSE 100 firms exposed to supply chain breaches

Between March 2023 and March 2024, 97 out of 100 companies on the UK’s FTSE 100 list were put at risk of compromise following supply chain breaches at third-party suppliers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Proofpoint exposes AFF scammers’ piano gambit

Ransomware and nation state actors dominate the headlines, but fraud and scams still net career cyber criminals thousands from unsuspecting members of the public. Proofpoint reports on a campaign targeting victims of a musical inclination Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Organisations value digital trust, but aren’t working at it

Three quarters of organisations believe digital trust is relevant to their businesses, yet clear gaps in strategies still seem to persist Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How to avoid joining the Dead Java Code Society

Unused or dead Java code is bogging down software engineers and developers, causing weird dependencies and security risks. Eric Costlow of Azul shares some advice on how to avoid becoming a member of a rather unpleasant club Continue Reading

By

• Eric Costlow

Executive Interview: Why Dell wants to be your one-stop AI shop

At Dell Technologies World in Las Vegas, artificial intelligence was the talk of the town as Dell staked out an all-encompassing strategy ahead of an anticipated goldrush. Dell’s Nick Brackney explains why the tech giant believes it's onto a winner Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Northern Ireland police face £750,000 fine after data protection blunder put lives at risks

Information commissioner John Edwards uses discretion to reduce proposed fine from £5.6m to £750,000 Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Rockwell urges users to disconnect ICS equipment

ICS systems maker Rockwell Automation calls on users to take steps to secure their equipment, and reminds them there is no reason to ever have its hardware connected to the public internet, as it tracks an increase in global threat activity Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Parliamentary committee criticises big tech response to election threats

Parliamentary committee says tech companies ‘regurgitated publicly available content’ and failed to address questions raised by MPs and peers Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

The Security Interviews: What is the real cyber threat from China?

Former NCSC boss Ciaran Martin talks about nation-state attacks, why the UK has become so exercised about cyber espionage, and how our leaders are in danger of misunderstanding their adversaries Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why the UK needs to fix its broken IT security market

Ollie Whitehouse, CTO of GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre, says the market for secure software is broken. Are new laws required to make software companies liable for poor security? Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

GCHQ to protect politicians and election candidates from cyber attacks

The National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, to protect election candidates from hostile state cyber attacks Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Cyber Safety Force wants to change conversation around risk

A consortium to help cyber pros better manage risk has launched, with ambitious goals to change the nature of the conversation from cyber security to cyber safety Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Critical SharePoint, Qakbot-linked flaws focus of May Patch Tuesday

A critical SharePoint vulnerability warrants attention this month, but it is another flaw that seems to be linked to the infamous Qakbot malware that is drawing attention Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

China poses genuine and increasing cyber security risk to UK, says GCHQ director

GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler uses her first major public speech to warn that China poses a significant cyber security threat to the UK Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

The UK may not have a choice on a ransomware payment ban

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading

By

• Ian Thornton-Trump

How to create a cloud security policy, step by step

What are the necessary components of a cloud security policy, and why should an organization go to the trouble to create one? Download a template to get the process started. Continue Reading

By

• Paul Kirvan

Major breach of customer information developing at Dell

Almost 50 million data records relating to Dell customers appear to have been compromised in a major cyber breach Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber attack victims need to speak up, says ICO

The Information Commissioner’s Office is urging organisations to be transparent and learn from each other’s mistakes as it reveals most of the cyber attacks it responds to stem from the same core errors Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Zero Trust: Unravelling the enigma and charting the future

A special interest group aims to start a long-overdue discourse on the merits, dangers, costs, and development of Zero Trust and IAM in information security Continue Reading

By

• David Lacey

Embrace alternative education pathways for cyber success

Shifting focus toward passion, adaptability, and a willingness to learn can revolutionise talent acquisition, fostering a more diverse and effective cyber security force. Continue Reading

By

• Ricardo Villadiego

Microsoft beefs up cyber initiative after hard-hitting US report

Microsoft is expanding its recently launched Secure Future Initiative in the wake of a hard-hitting US government report on recent nation state intrusions into its systems Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why IAM is central to cyber security

BeyondTrust’s chief security strategist talks up the importance of identity and access management, and the role of cyber insurance in driving security improvements Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Withers

NCSC updates warning over hacktivist threat to CNI

The NCSC and CISA have warned about the evolving threat from Russia-backed hacktivist threat actors targeting critical national infrastructure, after a number of American utilities were attacked Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

EMEA CISOs must address human factors behind cyber incidents

The 17th annual Verizon report on data breaches makes for sobering reading for security pros, urging them to do more to address the human factors involved in cyber incidents, and highlighting ongoing issues with zero-day patching Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Secure coding benchmark to increase standards among developers

Developer security advocate Secure Code Warrior has launched what it claims is the industry’s first benchmark designed to quantify the security competence of its customers’ software developer teams Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Persistent data breaches deny people with HIV dignity and privacy

The ICO has urged charities and healthcare organisations that work with people living with HIV to do better when it comes to protecting their personal data, after the HIV status of more than 100 people was accidentally disclosed by London’s Central YMCA Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK’s long-awaited device security law kicks in

The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act has become law across the UK, enforcing basic cyber security standards across connected products sold to the public Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Progress being made on gender diversity in cyber

Women make up a higher percentage of new entrants to the cyber security profession, particularly among younger age groups, and are increasingly taking up leadership positions and hiring roles, but challenges still persist Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mandatory MFA pays off for GitHub and OSS community

Mandating multifactor authentication for select developers has been a huge success for GitHub, the platform reports, and now it wants to go further Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber training leader KnowBe4 to buy email security firm Egress

Security awareness training and phishing simulation specialist KnowBe4 is to buy email security expert Egress Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

TikTok ban sails through US Senate

A law that will ban TikTok in the US unless its owner sells up pronto passed the US Senate by a landslide majority after being included in a package of military aid Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Education will be key to good AI regulation: A view from the USA

Computer Weekly sat down with Salesforce’s vice-president of federal government affairs, Hugh Gamble, to find out how the US is forging a path towards AI regulation, and how things look from Capitol Hill Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Questions for IT and cyber leaders from the CSRB Microsoft report

The US government's CSRB report on last year's state sponsored cyber attacks on Microsoft raises significant concerns for Redmond and its customers. Expert Owen Sayers outlines five key questions IT and cyber security leaders should now consider Continue Reading

By

• Owen Sayers, Secon Solutions

IT leaders hiring CISOs aplenty, but don’t fully understand the role

Most businesses now have a CISO, but perceptions of what CISOs are supposed to do, and confusion over the value they offer, may be holding back harmonious relations, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CSA warns of emerging security risks with cloud and AI

Few users appreciate the security risks of cloud and have the expertise to implement the complex security controls, says CSA chief executive David Koh Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Security Think Tank: Approaches to ransomware need a course correction

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading

By

• Mike Gillespie

Mandiant formally pins Sandworm cyber attacks on APT44 group

Mandiant has formally attributed a long-running campaign of cyber attacks by a Russian state actor known as Sandworm to a newly designated advanced persistent threat group to be called APT44 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CISOs not yet convinced to invest in AI

CISOs say their eyes are fixed firmly on threats like ransomware and supply chain attacks, and while AI is becoming a threat that needs to be dealt with, it’s not yet an immediate spending priority Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW Innovation Awards: Balancing security and user experience

The National University of Singapore’s Safe initiative has strengthened the security of IT systems and end-user devices while prioritising user experience through passwordless access Continue Reading

By

• Edwin Yapp

2024 election security: Confronting disinformation and deepfakes

Although disinformation and deepfakes are a threat to electoral integrity, we already have ways to counter emerging threats and there is an opportunity is to adapt and scale these approaches to counter the challenge to democracy, writes Saj Huq. Continue Reading

By

• Saj Huq, Plexal

Recognising APAC’s trailblazers in digital transformation

DBS Bank and NUS were among the top industry innovators that were lauded for various transformational initiatives at the Computer Weekly Innovation Awards APAC 2024 Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

More social engineering attacks on open source projects observed

In the wake of the recent XZ Utils scare, maintainers of another open source project have come forward to say they may have experienced similar social engineering attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Apple iPhone security alert renews spyware concerns

An Apple security alert received by users in 92 countries raises fresh fears over ongoing campaigns by users of mercenary spyware products Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

5G networks and biometric breakthroughs: Navigating opportunities and risks

Businesses are quickly adopting 5G to introduce advanced security features such as facial recognition, but while these technologies improve safety and ease of use, they also raise concerns about how sensitive biometric information is gathered and may be misused Continue Reading

By

• Isla Sibanda

UK plc failing on multiple cyber measures

Government report shows 50% of businesses and 32% of charities reported a cyber attack or breach in the past 12 months and organisations across the UK are failing on multiple cyber measures Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Is a cyber arms control treaty out of reach?

The world needs cyber arms control more than ever, but the challenges facing a multilateral agreement will be hard to surmount, according to researchers at Germany’s Digital Society Institute Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What Cisco’s Splunk acquisition means for APAC customers

APAC organisations can expect better visibility and insights into their networks and applications along with automation and response capabilities to improve their digital resilience Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

China ramps up use of AI misinformation

Microsoft researchers have identified a growing pattern of AI-laced misinformation and political interference coming from Chinese threat actors Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How Oracle Red Bull Racing guards against cyber threats

The F1 team is tapping managed security services, conducting penetration tests and improving security awareness among employees to fend off cyber threats such as phishing and ransomware Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Withers

Obituary: Professor Ross Anderson, pioneer in security engineering and campaigner

Ross Anderson, a titan in the field of security engineering and campaigner for privacy and security, has passed away Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Security Think Tank: Banning ransomware payments is not so straightforward

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading

By

• John Scott

RDP abused in over 90% of cyber attacks, Sophos finds

Threat actors continue to see great success using simple, tried and tested methods, and many defenders are failing to do the basics Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Ransomware lessons from the armed forces

In the wake of renewed calls for lawmakers to consider enacting legal bans on ransomware payments, the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank weighs in to share their thoughts on how to tackle the scourge for good. Continue Reading

By

• Rob Dartnall, SecAlliance