Security policy and user awareness

C-suite mystified by cyber security jargon

Malware, supply chain attack, zero-day, IoC, TTP and Mitre ATT&CK are just some of the everyday terms that security pros use that risk making the world of cyber incomprehensible to outsiders Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Is Elon Musk’s Twitter safe, and should you stop using it?

With a litany of security and compliance issues exposed and in many cases caused by Elon Musk’s takeover of social media platform Twitter, some may be asking if it’s still safe or appropriate to use Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

New gold standard to protect good faith hackers

HackerOne’s new Gold Standard Safe Harbour statement will supposedly act as a guarantee for good faith hacking Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Another Log4Shell warning after Iranian attack on US government

The breach of a US federal body by an Iranian threat actor exploiting the Adobe Log4j Log4Shell vulnerability has prompted a fresh flurry of patching Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Global network fragmentation a source of increasing risk

Risk consultancy’s report says the weaponisation of cyber space and geopolitical clashes herald a breakdown of global networks into distinct regional or national architectures Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Ransomware defences: An extended to-do list

Strategies to extend ransomware protection beyond backups and intrusion detection must centre dark web monitoring, among other things Continue Reading

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• Alex Holden

APP fraud volumes expected to double by 2026, says report

Losses to authorised push payment fraud in the UK are expected to climb to over $1.5bn in the next four years. Meanwhile, the NAO accuses the Home Office of lagging on progress to tackle the issue Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How Google and Mandiant are forging synergies in cyber security

Google’s AI smarts and Mandiant’s intelligence on new and emerging threats could lay the foundation of proactive security Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Security Think Tank: Let’s be transparent about ransomware

Greater transparency regarding ransomware attacks, including details about attack methods used and what kinds of assets were compromised, would likely help the community prevent future attacks Continue Reading

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• John Tolbert, KuppingerCole

Online scam victims lose an average of £1,000 each

New data from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau shows victims of online fraud lose an average of £1,000 per person Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber insurance: The good, the bad and the ugly

Most cyber insurance contracts are innately flawed because they exclude losses arising from state-backed cyber attacks, and this will make proper attribution even more important in the future, says Cisco Talos’ Martin Lee Continue Reading

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• Martin Lee

Volume of self-reported breaches to ICO jumps 30%

The number of self-reported breaches to the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office soared by nearly 30% in the 12 months to 30 June 2022 Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

MoD recruits Immersive Labs to bolster cyber resilience

UK’s Ministry of Defence will run cyber drills and address its security talent gap with Immersive Labs’ CyberPro, Cyber Crisis Simulator and Application Security products Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: To stop ransomware, preparation is the best medicine

You can’t ‘stop’ ransomware, but you can do a lot to keep yourself from becoming ensnared when it strikes Continue Reading

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• Paul Watts, Information Security Forum

Cyber criminals have World Cup Qatar 2022 in their sights

Volumes of malicious cyber activity around the upcoming FIFA World Cup are already starting to tick upwards and are likely to continue to do so Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

All means all when it comes to encryption

Nigel Thorpe, technical director at SecureAge, makes the case for encrypting everything all of the time when it comes to protecting data Continue Reading

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• Nigel Thorpe

UK’s National Cyber Advisory Board convenes for first time

Government convenes National Cyber Advisory Board to further its goals of making the UK one of the safest places to live and work online Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft serves smorgasbord of six zero-days

November’s Patch Tuesday fixes significantly fewer vulnerabilities of late, but includes six actively-exploited zero-days, three of them of critical severity Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Anti-ransomware strategies should be as easy as ABC

When developing and implementing ransomware protection strategies, the importance of paying thorough attention to security measures you might consider elementary cannot be understated Continue Reading

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• Petra Wenham

To fight ransomware, we must treat digital infrastructure as critical

Ransomware defence is failing because we don’t view our digital infrastructure in the same way as our physical infrastructure, argues Elastic’s Mandy Andress Continue Reading

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• Mandy Andress, Elastic

Microsoft: Nation-state cyber attacks became increasingly destructive in 2022

The willingness of nation-state actors to conduct destructive cyber attacks is a source of grave concern, as Microsoft’s latest annual Digital Defence Report lays bare Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Ransomware and CISOs’ balancing act

Ransomware has the potential to cause irreversible business damage, so CISOs should consider not only protection but also response and recovery Continue Reading

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• Arina Palchik and Charles Moorey

Global coalition reaffirms commitment to fight ransomware

Representatives of 36 countries, as well as the EU, attended the second International Counter Ransomware Initiative Summit in Washington DC Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dropbox code compromised in phishing attack

Cloud storage service says malicious actors successfully accessed some of its code within GitHub, but insists customer data is secure Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK spent £6.4m on secret cyber package for Ukraine

Westminster has revealed for the first time the existence of a previously top-secret security programme that has been helping Ukraine fend off Russian cyber attacks Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Know your networks, know your suppliers

To combat the ransomware scourge, we must work harder to monitor and learn from the increasingly complex threat environment, keep a closer eye on supply chains, and share our insights Continue Reading

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• Rob Dartnall, SecAlliance

A third of UK cyber leaders want to quit, report says

Nearly a third of UK security leaders are considering leaving their current role, and more than half are struggling to keep on top of their workload Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC looks back on year of ‘profound change’ for cyber

The NCSC ramped up its support for UK plc in the past 12 months, but it was events beyond the UK’s borders that proved the most impactful Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How to build consumer trust with a privacy-by-design approach

Undertaken with the right mindset and technology, privacy by design delivers value to consumers and builds trust for the long term Continue Reading

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• Emilie Gazeau

The risk of losing our EU data adequacy agreement is real

While some may welcome the government’s ambition to shake up the UK’s data protection regime, Westminster should be wary of drifting too far from the path charted by our US and European partners Continue Reading

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• Sarah Pearce

Prepare today for potentially high-impact OpenSSL bug

OpenSSL trailed a critical vulnerability patch last week, which will be only the second such flaw ever found in the open source encryption project. Unfortunately, the first was Heartbleed Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government ups cyber support for elderly, vulnerable web users

DCMS announces a funding boost to help the elderly, disabled and other vulnerable groups stay safe online and avoid being misled by disinformation Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC’s Levy steps down after 20-year intelligence career

NCSC technical director Ian Levy bids farewell, telling his successor: ‘Don’t panic’ Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Will the OCSF create an open and collaborative cyber industry?

The Open Cybersecurity Schema Framework promises to transform security data analysis and collection, but there are challenges around adoption Continue Reading

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• Nicholas Fearn

NHS to get new national CISO

The Department for Health and Social Care is seeking a new national CISO, who will be tasked with providing strategic cyber leadership, direction and expertise across DHSC and the wider NHS Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Medibank breach casts spotlight on data security

Health insurer Medibank Private recently suffered a major data breach involving the personal and health information of millions of customers, once again casting the spotlight on data security in Australia Continue Reading

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• Stephen Withers

Santander calls for cooperation to tackle APP fraud

New report puts forward key recommendations that the banking sector, government and other industries could take to tackle authorised push payment fraud Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The Conservatives are laughing at cyber security pros

If causing a security breach is a resigning matter, then you shouldn’t expect to get your old job back a week later. Unless you’re a Conservative home secretary, apparently Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cuba ransomware cartel spoofs Ukraine armed forces

Ukrainian cyber experts issue a warning over the activities of the Cuba ransomware cartel Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Global digital trust market to double by 2027

The global market for digital trust technology is expected to double to $537bn by 2027, up from $270bn today as demand for cyber security and other capabilities continues to grow Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Digital-first businesses more willing to accept some fraud

Companies founded in the past 20 years appear more willing to accept higher levels of fraudulent activity during the customer onboarding process, according to a report Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Complacency biggest cyber risk to UK plc, says ICO

Information commissioner John Edwards warns against complacency as his office issues a multimillion-pound fine to a building company that failed to prevent a ransomware attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Half of staff might quit after a cyber attack, report says

Findings from a survey of CISOs, IT leaders and staffers reveal how experiencing a cyber incident may take a larger-than-thought toll on employee retention Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What do the US’s new software security rules mean for UK organisations?

The White House announced recently that all software supplied to the US government and its agencies needs to be secure, so what does this mean for the UK and EU security sectors? Continue Reading

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• Peter Ray Allison

Cyber professional shortfall hits 3.4 million

Shortage of cyber security professionals continues to grow and shows no signs of abating, says report Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ransomware crews regrouping as LockBit rise continues

Overall ransomware activity dropped off in the third quarter of 2022, but increasing attack volumes in September may herald a difficult few months ahead Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Treat cyber crime as a ‘strategic threat’, UK businesses told

The government’s new National Cyber Advisory Board aims to help elevate cyber discussion and spur action in the business community Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Virtually all vulnerable open source downloads are avoidable

Some 96% of known vulnerable open source downloads could have been avoided altogether, according to a report Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How Russia hacked a former MI6 spy chief

In this week’s Computer Weekly, Russian hackers leaked emails and documents from British government, military, and intelligence officials – we examine the implications. New EU laws will govern online safety and the use of AI, but what do they mean for organisations? And we look at the growth in checkout-free shopping. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Malicious WhatsApp add-on highlights risks of third-party mods

Kaspersky researchers discovered a malicious version of a widely used WhatsApp messenger mod, highlighting the risks of using so-called mods Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber training firm KnowBe4 bought by private equity firm

Acquisition of KnowBe4 supposedly reflects the success the company has seen since its spring 2021 IPO Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Unsung Heroes Awards celebrate diversity in cyber community

The seventh annual Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards recognise those trying to improve diversity and mental health in cyber for the first time Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

clean desk policy (CDP)

A clean desk policy (CDP) is a corporate directive that specifies how employees should leave their working space when they leave the office. Continue Reading

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• Robert Sheldon

NCSC urges organisations to secure supply chains

NCSC’s latest guidance package centres supply chain security, helping medium to large organisations assess and mitigate cyber risks from suppliers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft fixes lone zero-day on October Patch Tuesday

Microsoft patched a solitary zero-day vulnerability in its latest monthly drop, but fixes for two others disclosed in the past few weeks are nowhere to be seen Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Reducing the cyber stack with API security

Budgets are tight, making it difficult to secure spend, but is there an argument for jettisoning fragmented approaches to securing APIs in favour of a dedicated end-to-end approach? Doubling down on API security could help businesses not just reduce risk, but also costs Continue Reading

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• Jason Kent

Ukraine and EU explore deeper cyber collaboration

A Ukrainian delegation has met with officials from the EU’s ENISA cyber agency to explore deeper cooperation on cyber security issues Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Design security in to reap container benefits

Provided container security basics are built into your development and runtime environment from the start, containerised services and applications can provide rapid – and secure – achievement of business objectives Continue Reading

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• Mairi MacLeod and Farrukh Ahmad

Inside Dell Technologies’ zero-trust approach

Dell Technologies’ zero-trust reference model starts with defining business controls and having a central control plane that manages all the security aspects of an organisation’s infrastructure Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Tories to replace GDPR

IT industry reacts to the government’s plan to replace the pan-European data protection regulation Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Five startups to join NCSC for Startups initiative

The NCSC has invited five startups to join its NCSC for Startups programme to help the government with pressing cyber challenges facing the UK Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Optus breach casts spotlight on cyber resilience

The massive data breach that affected more than 10 million Optus customers has cast the spotlight on API security and other factors that contribute to the cyber resilience of organisations in Australia Continue Reading

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• Stephen Withers

UK suffers third highest number of ransomware attacks globally

Based on an analysis of around 5,000 ransomware incidents, NordLocker has found that UK businesses, and small businesses in particular, are a priority target for ransomware gangs Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Most hackers exfiltrate data within five hours of gaining access

Insights from more than 300 sanctioned adversaries, otherwise known as ‘ethical’ hackers, reveal that around two-thirds are able to collect and exfiltrate data within just five hours of gaining access Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Fraudsters adapt phishing scams to exploit cost-of-living crisis

Around 80,000 Brits a month are falling victim to phishing attacks as fraudsters switch up tactics to take advantage of cost-of-living crisis and behavioural changes prompted by pandemic Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

How Russian intelligence hacked the encrypted emails of former MI6 boss Richard Dearlove

Hack by Russian-linked ColdRiver group exposed former MI6 chief Richard Dearlove’s contacts and email communications with government, military, intelligence and political officials Continue Reading

By

• Duncan Campbell , 2QQ Ltd, Sussex University

More than 30 startups to join Plexal’s Cyber Runway accelerator

Now in its second year, the Cyber Runway accelerator has been designed to support firms at various stages of growth, as well as help the cyber security sector to improve on its diversity, inclusion and regional representation Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

It’s time for engineering teams to own DevSecOps

It may seem counterintuitive, but maybe organisations should consider delegating responsibility for DevSecOps to engineering teams, not security teams, argues Elastic’s Mandy Andress Continue Reading

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• Mandy Andress, Elastic

Threat actors abused lack of MFA, OAuth in spam campaign

Microsoft threat researchers have reported on a series of cyber attacks in which enterprises with lax IAM policies had their systems hijacked to conduct spam email campaigns Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nordic private equity firms pursue cyber security acquisitions

Increasing interest in the security sector from Nordic private equity firms is a reflection of growing threats and increasing enterprise security budgets Continue Reading

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• Gerard O'Dwyer

Privacy Pledge signatories dream of alternative internet

A group of privacy-focused organisations have come together to establish a set of principles for taking the internet back from big tech and surveillance capitalism Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC publishes cyber guidance for retailers

The NCSC has published tailored advice to support online retailers, hospitality providers and utility services in protecting themselves and their customers from cyber crime Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

15-year-old Python bug present in 350,000 open source projects

A Python tarfile vulnerability first disclosed in 2007 still persists to this day, according to analysis from Trellix Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Thousands of customers affected in Revolut data breach

Digital challenger bank has warned its customers to be vigilant after their data was exposed in a cyber attack Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Reports Uber and Rockstar incidents work of same attacker

Rockstar Games was hit over the weekend by an attacker who claimed to have accessed its Slack channel to steal data on an upcoming release, and may be the same person who compromised Uber Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Six new vulnerabilities added to CISA catalogue

CISA adds six new vulnerabilities to its most-wanted list, including one that dates back to 2010 Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Uber suffers major cyber attack

Details are trickling out of an apparent ‘near total’ compromise of ride-sharing service Uber by an alleged teenage hacktivist Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

EU Cyber Resilience Act sets global standard for connected products

European Commission lays out proposed security regulations on device and software security to better protect consumers and drive global standards Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nominations closing soon for annual cyber awards

Nominations for the annual Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards closes 16 September Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

New player pioneers ‘active cyber insurance’ for UK market

Arrival of US-based insurer Coalition in London will supposedly offer SMEs more options when it comes to cyber security insurance Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Organisations failing to account for digital trust

The vast majority of businesses are well aware of the importance of digital trust, yet very few have a dedicated staff role responsible for it, report finds Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

US charges three Iranians over CNI cyber attacks

Three Iranian nationals have been indicted over a spate of ransomware attacks against organisations in the US, UK, Israel and Iran Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

FormBook knocks Emotet off top of malware chart

FormBook emerged as the most widely seen malware in August, according to Check Point’s latest data Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ex-CISA head Krebs: Disrupt ransomware support networks to win the war

Speaking at an event hosted by data protection specialist Rubrik, former CISA director Chris Krebs calls for the security community to work collectively to kick out the supports from under ransomware gangs Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC warns public of potential Queen-related phishing attacks

The National Cyber Security Centre is urging users to be on guard against phishing attacks during the period of national mourning for the Queen Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cloud compromise a doddle for threat actors as victims attest

Two separate studies into the state of public cloud security reveal insight into the ease with which threat actors can compromise vast numbers of targets, and some of the challenges security teams are facing in the cloud Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Users warned over Azure Active Directory authentication flaw

Secureworks researchers found what they say is a serious vulnerability in an Azure Active Directory authentication method, but Microsoft says it should not pose a serious risk to users Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Blancco works with charity to provide IT for African schools

Blancco is providing data sanitisation and erasure software to The Turing Trust so that old IT equipment can be securely reused by school children in Sub-Saharan Africa, instead of adding to world’s growing e-waste problem Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Multi-persona impersonation adds new dimension to phishing

Iranian APT used multiple personas on a single email thread to convince targets of the legitimacy of its phishing lures Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CISOs should spend on critical apps, cloud, zero-trust, in 2023

Faced with a global recession next year, security buyers should try to direct investment towards technology that protects customer-facing and revenue-generating workloads, say analysts Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: Adding trust to AppSec and DevSecOps

When building in trust and assurance into app development through standards, it is critically important not to stifle innovation Continue Reading

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• Rowland Johnson

NCSC CyberUK event heads to Belfast in 2023

National Cyber Security Centre’s annual CyberUK roadshow is crossing the Irish Sea to Belfast in April 2023 Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dutch cyber security organisations to join forces

Cyber security organisations in the Netherlands are going to merge into a single central expertise centre and information hub, which all organisations in the country will soon be able to tap into Continue Reading

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• Kim Loohuis

Security Think Tank: Creating a DevSecOps-friendly cyber strategy

When slowing down is not an option, you need to find a security strategy that is DevSecOps friendly, says Airbus Protect’s Olivier Allaire Continue Reading

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• Olivier Allaire, Airbus Protect

India’s wake-up call on health data privacy

Health app developers and industry watchers in India are keeping an eye on data privacy following the reversal of the Roe vs Wade ruling in the US Continue Reading

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• Pratima Harigunani

Albania cuts diplomatic ties with Iran after cyber attack

In a global geopolitical first, the Albanian government has severed diplomatic ties with Iran and expelled its ambassador after it was targeted by an APT backed by Tehran Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

August ’22 a bumper month for high-impact vulnerabilities

Bugs in products from Apple, Google, Microsoft and VMware dominated the threat landscape in August, says Recorded Future Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Prince’s Trust teams with threat management specialist in skills push

Prince’s Trust hopes to address shortfall in cyber professionals and improve diversity in the industry Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: The many dimensions of DevSecOps

It is imperative to make our colleagues and customers know that when we talk DevSecOps, we are facing a multiphase challenge that starts at the very beginning of DevOps, and one that never ends Continue Reading

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• Alejandro Bernal

Digital identity is key to coping with surge in air travel

The International Air Transport Association’s One ID digital identity initiative will pave the way for seamless air travel from curb to gate and help airports cope with growing passenger traffic Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget