Web application security

How to secure your software supply chain

In this week’s Computer Weekly, our latest buyer’s guide looks at secure coding, and kicks off by examining the challenges of securing your software supply chain. Cyber law enforcement leaders are calling on firms to end the secrecy around ransomware attacks. And we find out how facial recognition technology is being adopted by retailers. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Pentera ups ante in penetration testing

The Israeli startup, which expanded to the APAC region last year, scans for vulnerabilities and emulates cyber attacks through its automated security validation platform Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Security Think Tank: To secure code effectively, verify at every step

Verification at every step is an important part of ensuring your code is secure, writes Petra Wenham Continue Reading

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• Petra Wenham

MS macro-blocking has forced cyber criminals to innovate

One year after Microsoft started blocking VBA and XL4 macros by default, the cyber criminal ecosystem has all but stopped exploiting macros in their attacks. They’re instead innovating at an unprecedented rate Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What secure coding practices mean to modern cyber security

Joseph Foote of PA Consulting explores how we know the services we use most are protected, what we mean when we say 'secure coding practices', and what happens when secure coding practices are not followed? Continue Reading

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• Joseph Foote

Secure Boot vulnerability causes Patch Tuesday headache for admins

Applying the fix for a security bypass zero-day affecting the Windows Secure Boot feature will be a long process that will drag into 2024, but for good reason, says Microsoft Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google debuts passwordless login options for users

Launch of Google’s passkey service hailed as a great leap forward for passwordless technology Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber Action Plan for Wales launched

The devolved Welsh government has set out four priorities in an action plan designed to foster cyber resilience, talent and innovation across the country Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

TikTok fixes vulnerability that could have exposed user activity data

A potentially dangerous vulnerability in the TikTok video-sharing platform was discovered by Imperva researchers, and has now been fixed Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Web application firewall (WAF)

A web application firewall (WAF) is a firewall that monitors, filters and blocks Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) traffic as it travels to and from a website or web application. Continue Reading

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• Kinza Yasar, Technical Writer

Tenable opens playground for generative AI cyber tools

A set of generative AI cyber tools designed to help security researchers in reverse engineering, debugging and other areas of work have been made available for the community to experiment with Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Could your employees’ use of ChatGPT put you in breach of GDPR?

Following Italy's run-in with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, legal expert Richard Forrest emphasises the necessity for additional scrutiny while using AI tools in a work environment, and practical guidance on doing so safely Continue Reading

By

• Richard Forrest

Prototype cyber tech has revolutionary potential

The so-called CHERI protection model developed at the University of Cambridge is showing great promise for future cyber security technologies Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Bumblebee malware flies on the wings of Zoom and ChatGPT

Bumblebee malware, often used as a stepping stone to ransomware, is now spreading via trojanised installers for popular software applications Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

3CX incident may be world’s first double supply chain attack

It’s supply chain attacks all the way down as Mandiant publishes information suggesting that the 3CX software supply chain compromise was initiated via a prior software supply chain compromise Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Global finance firms take part in NATO cyber attack simulation

Global financial services organisations take part in NATO annual event which simulates cyber attacks on critical infrastructure Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Securing your software supply chain

Organisations need to have a thorough understanding of software components and build security controls into development lifecycles to shore up the security of their software supply chains Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Thousands at risk from critical RCE bug in legacy MS service

Thousands of organisations worldwide are at risk from three vulnerabilities – one critical – in a legacy Microsoft service that they may not be aware they are running Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK joins key allies to launch secure-by-design guidelines

The UK has joined international partners in sharing new advice to help technology companies embed security into the product design and development process Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Italy to lift ChatGPT ban subject to new data protection controls

Italian regulator will lift its ban on OpenAI’s ChatGPT subject to a strict new data protection regime Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

April Patch Tuesday fixes zero-day used to deliver ransomware

A zero-day in the Microsoft Common Log File System that has been abused by the operator of the Nokoyawa ransomware is among 97 vulnerabilities fixed in April’s Patch Tuesday update Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Okta integrates with Singapore’s national digital ID system

The integration with Singpass will let Okta customers authenticate consumers using Singapore’s national digital ID system and is expected to expand the company’s reach in regulated industries Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

OSC&R supply chain security framework goes live on Github

The OSC&R framework for understanding and evaluating threats to supply chain security has made its debut on Github to allow anybody to contribute to the framework Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

3CX unified comms users hit by supply chain attacks

Ongoing supply chain attacks against customers of UC firm 3CX appear to be linked to North Korean threat actors Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Apple security updates fix 33 iPhone vulnerabilities

A larger-than-usual update to Apple’s mobile operating system fixes more than 30 distinct vulnerabilities, including two serious issues that may potentially affect device kernels Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Europol warns cops to prep for malicious AI abuse

In a report looking at how large language models can be used by criminals, Europol’s Innovation Lab calls on law enforcement agencies to prepare themselves for wide-ranging impacts on their work Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Is TikTok really a security threat to your business?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, with the UK government becoming the latest administration to ban TikTok, we ask whether the controversial social media app is really a security threat to enterprises. Technology guru Bruce Schneier tells us about the need to take back control of AI and the personal data it relies on. And we look at how firms are trying – and failing – to make AI work for online content moderation. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

France latest to ban TikTok on government devices

Following bans in the UK and US, France has moved to enact restrictions on TikTok, and other social media apps, on government devices Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nordics move towards common cyber defence strategy

Nordic countries agree to work together to improve their cyber defences amid increasing threat Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

How Mimecast thinks differently about email security

Mimecast CEO Peter Bauer believes the company’s comprehensive approach towards email security has enabled it to remain relevant to customers for two decades Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

UK TikTok ban gives us all cause to consider social media security

The UK government’s ban on TikTok should give all organisations cause to look into what information social media platforms are collecting on us, and what they are using it for Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft patches Outlook zero-day for March Patch Tuesday

A highly dangerous privilege escalation bug in Outlook is among 80 different vulnerabilities patched in Microsoft’s March Patch Tuesday update Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nine in 10 enterprises fell victim to successful phishing in 2022

Egress annual email security risk report breaks down impacts of email-based phishing attacks and data loss, and the effect these can have on organisations in terms of staff retention and morale Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Singapore organisations struggle to operationalise threat intelligence

Organisations in the city-state were satisfied with the quality of their threat intelligence, but they struggled to operationalise the information due to talent shortages and other challenges Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

How to tame the identity sprawl

Organisations should find a comprehensive way to gain full visibility into their digital identities and leverage automation to tame the identify sprawl Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Microsoft fixes three zero-days in February update

February’s Patch Tuesday update contains fixes for three previously unpublicised zero-days in Microsoft Office, Windows Graphics Component and Windows Common Log File System Driver Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

OSC&R framework to stop supply chain attacks in the wild

The backers of a new MITRE ATT&CK style framework called OSC&R hope to help organisations get to grips with threats to their software supply chains Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

APAC buyer’s guide to SASE

In this buyer’s guide on secure access service edge services, we look at the benefits of the technology, key considerations and the market landscape Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Online banks still riddled with cyber security flaws, report says

Online bank Virgin Money was found to have the weakest online and application security measures in a Which? study but Nationwide, TSB and The Co-Operative Bank all failed on multiple points, too. Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

LockBit gang confirms Ion cyber attack as disruption continues

The LockBit ransomware cartel has taken responsibility for this week’s attack on financial software firm Ion, and is threatening to leak stolen data on Saturday 4 February Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor
• Valéry Rieß-Marchive, Rédacteur en chef

GitHub warns Desktop, Atom users after code-signing certificates pinched

Threat actors stole encrypted code-signing certificates for GitHub’s Desktop and Atom applications in December 2022, prompting warnings for users Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Zero-trust implementations remain work in progress

Just one in 10 large enterprises are expected to have mature and measurable zero-trust programmes in place by 2026, study finds Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

NCSC exposes Iranian, Russian spear-phishing campaign targeting UK

Spear-phishing campaigns likely linked to Iranian and Russian espionage activity are targeting persons of interest in the UK, warns the NCSC Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

SSRF attacks hit 100,000 businesses globally since November

There has been a dramatic increase in attacks exploiting the ProxyNotShell/OWASSRF exploit chains to target Microsoft Exchange servers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Trellix automates patching for 62,000 vulnerable open source projects

Since revealing startling statistics about the prevalence of a 15-year-old Python vulnerability, Trellix says it has helped fix almost 62,000 vulnerable projects in the past four months Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mailchimp suffers third breach in 12 months

Email marketing service Mailchimp has suffered its third data breach in a year, but has been praised for being open about its latest attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Chrome vulnerability could have led to widespread data theft

A dangerous vulnerability in Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers could have put billions of users’ files at risk of being stolen Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Europe’s cyber security strategy must be clear about open source

Europe’s cyber security policy on open source is lagging behind the US, and despite growing government awareness of the issues, that poses a problem Continue Reading

By

• Ilkka Turunen

Should we be worried about malicious use of AI language models?

WithSecure research into GPT-3 language models, used by the likes of ChatGPT, surfaces concerning findings about how easy it is to use large language models for malicious purposes. Should security teams be concerned? Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft fixes EoP zero-day on January Patch Tuesday

On the first Patch Tuesday of 2023, Microsoft fixed an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Windows Advanced Local Procedure Call, which has been actively exploited in the wild and may be co-opted into ransomware campaigns Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber gang abused free trials to exploit public cloud CPU resources

A South Africa-based cyber crime gang exploited free trials and introductory offers to run cryptominers via public cloud services, then did a runner without paying Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber security professionals share their biggest lessons of 2022

In the run-up to 2023, cyber security professionals are taking the time to reflect on the past few months and share their biggest lessons of 2022 Continue Reading

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• Nicholas Fearn

Top 10 cyber security stories of 2022

The war in Ukraine loomed large over the cyber security news agenda, but 2022 also saw growing awareness of open source security, discussion around cyber insurance, and more besides Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security Think Tank: 2022 brought plenty of learning opportunities in cyber

At the end of another busy 12 months, Turnkey Consulting’s Andrew Morris sums up some of the most important takeaways for cyber pros Continue Reading

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• Andrew Morris, Turnkey Consulting

Lego fixes dangerous API vulnerability in BrickLink service

The Lego Group has remediated two potentially serious API vulnerabilities in its BrickLink digital resale platform, just in time for Christmas Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ethical hackers flex their muscles in 2022

Ethical hackers working through HackerOne programmes found 21% more vulnerabilities in 2022 than in 2021 Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft fixes two zero-days in final Patch Tuesday of 2022

December’s Patch Tuesday is typically a light month for Microsoft, and this year proved no exception, but there are still several critical issues worth addressing, and two zero-days for defenders to pore over Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Finnish government launches information security voucher scheme

Finland’s government is offering businesses financial support to help them improve their cyber security Continue Reading

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• Gerard O'Dwyer

More Uber data exposed in possible supply chain attack

A second incident affecting ride-sharing app Uber appears to have originated through a third party in a supply chain attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How Zscaler is cracking APAC’s cloud security market

Zscaler’s head in Asia-Pacific and Japan talks up the company’s growth momentum in the region and what it is doing to address areas where it can do better Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

When IT Meets Christmas: The Massacre of the Innocents Updated

But Joseph had installed  Anti-Spyware on Mary's phone, after she became pregnant and not by him. So they cashed in their bitcoin, dropped their mobiles down a well and departed for Egypt.  Continue Reading

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• Philip Virgo, Winsafe Ltd

Consumers to get new protections against dodgy apps

Government’s new code of practice will impose new privacy and security measures on app store operators and developers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Australia to develop new cyber security strategy

New strategy to be developed by top cyber security experts aims to turn Australia into a global cyber leader, among other goals Continue Reading

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• Stephen Withers

Rackspace email outage confirmed as ransomware attack

An ongoing outage affecting Rackspace email customers is the result of a ransomware attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google, MS, Oracle vulnerabilities make November ’22 a big month for patching

Vulnerabilities affecting the likes of Google, Microsoft and Oracle proved particularly troublesome in November Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Is Elon Musk’s Twitter still safe, and should you stop using the platform?

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

Fake investment ads persist on Meta’s social networks

Online adverts for investment scams relating to property and crypto assets are still getting past measures designed to stop them Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Twitter ‘replacement’ Hive Social shuts off service in privacy alert

Hive Social, a recently established social media network, has temporarily closed its servers to address deep structural privacy issues identified by ethical hackers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber criminals exploiting naked TikTok ‘challenge’

Malware operators lured targets by promising them they would be able to view nude videos of TikTok users Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Plexal inducts six into cyber leadership scheme

Tech innovation hub Plexal is expanding its Cyber Runway programme with a new Ignite strand dedicated to supporting high-potential security leaders Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Not-for-profit aims to encourage 1,300 girls into cyber careers

CyNam, a not-for-profit cyber security initiative, is collaborating with industry, education providers and government to encourage young women into cyber Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Ducktail spins new tales to hijack Facebook Business accounts

The increasingly active Ducktail cyber crime operation is refining its operations, seeking new methods to compromise its victims’ Facebook Business accounts Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Bug Bounty Calculator helps organisations fine-tune their payouts

Newly launched comparison tool will supposedly help operators of vulnerability disclosure or bug bounty programmes to ensure their payments match market rates and expectations, and attract the right sort of attention 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

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

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

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

The Security Interviews: Building trust online

Consumer reviews website Trustpilot has built and scaled its IT security team and is now turning to agile methods and DevSecOps to further enhance its cyber capabilities Continue Reading

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• Mark Samuels

Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash is a software platform used to create rich digital content containing animation, graphic effects, streaming video and other interactive elements to deliver engaging user experiences over many platforms, including desktops and mobile devices. Continue Reading

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• Rahul Awati

OpenSSL vulnerabilities ‘not as bad as feared’

As previously trailed, OpenSSL patched two buffer overflow vulnerabilities, neither of them as impactful as had been feared Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

LinkedIn adds new features to safeguard user privacy, security

Social media platform is adding a number of features and systems designed to protect legitimate users from inauthentic profiles and activity 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

Apache vulnerability a risk, but not as widespread as Log4Shell

A newly disclosed Apache Commons Text vulnerability may put many at risk, but does not appear to be as impactful or widespread as Log4Shell 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

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

Office 365 email encryption flaw could pose risk to user privacy

A vulnerability in Microsoft Office 365 Message Encryption could leave the contents of emails dangerously exposed, but with no fix coming it’s up to users to decide how at risk they are Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Gartner: Remote work, zero trust, cloud still driving cyber spend

Security leaders are eager to spend on categories including remote and hybrid cyber offerings, zero-trust network access, and cloud 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

By

• Jason Kent

Contractor left Toyota source code exposed for five years

Source code related to Toyota’s T-Connect service was left exposed on GitHub for over five years by a contractor Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How Cloudflare is staying ahead of the curve

Cloudflare co-founder and CEO Matthew Prince talks up what has changed since the company’s first business plan was written in 2009 and how it keeps pace with the fast-moving network security landscape Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

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

Failure of Russia’s cyber attacks on Ukraine is most important lesson for NCSC

Russia has so far failed in its attempts to destabilise Ukraine through cyber attacks due to strength of Ukrainian, security industry and international efforts Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: Three steps to a solid DevSecOps strategy

Read about how buyers can manage third-party risk when procuring applications, how to secure the software development process, and even how to affect cultural change among developers not used to thinking cyber first Continue Reading

By

• Cate Pye and Farrukh Ahmad

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

By

• 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

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