News

Hackers and cybercrime prevention

• May 07, 2025 07 May'25

  UK at risk of Russian cyber and physical attacks as Ukraine seeks peace deal

  UK cyber security chief warns of ‘direct connection’ between Russian cyber attacks and physical threats to the UK

• May 07, 2025 07 May'25

  UK critical systems at risk from ‘digital divide’ created by AI threats

  GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre warns that a growing ‘digital divide’ between organisations that can keep pace with AI-enabled threats and those that cannot is set to heighten the UK's overall cyber risk

• May 06, 2025 06 May'25

  Government industrial strategy will back cyber tech in drive for economic growth

  With over 2,000 cyber security businesses across the UK, the government plans to target cyber as a priority to grow the economy 

• May 02, 2025 02 May'25

  Retail cyber crime spree a ‘wake-up call’, says NCSC CEO

  The National Cyber Security Centre confirms it is providing assistance to M&S, Co-op and Harrods as concerns grow among UK retailers

• May 01, 2025 01 May'25

  Harrods becomes latest UK retailer to fall victim to cyber attack

  Harrods confirms it is the latest UK retailer to experience a cyber attack, shutting off a number of systems in an attempt to lessen the impact

• May 01, 2025 01 May'25

  Co-op instructs staff to be wary of lurking hackers

  Co-op tells staff to stop using their VPNs and be wary that their communications channels may be being monitored, as a cyber attack on the organisation continues to develop

• May 01, 2025 01 May'25

  Thomas Herdman’s legal battle over Sky ECC encrypted phone distribution set to enter fifth year

  Computer Weekly speaks to Julie Kawai Herdman, daughter of Thomas Herdman, the only person in custody for distributing Sky ECC encrypted phones

• April 30, 2025 30 Apr'25

  Current SaaS delivery model a risk management nightmare, says CISO

  JPMorgan Chase security chief Patrick Opet laments the state of SaaS security in an open letter to the industry and calls on software providers to do more to enhance resilience

• April 30, 2025 30 Apr'25

  Co-op shuts off IT systems to contain cyber attack

  A developing cyber incident at Co-op has forced the retailer to pull the plug on some of its IT systems as it works to contain the attack

• April 29, 2025 29 Apr'25

  Scattered Spider on the hook for M&S cyber attack

  The infamous Scattered Spider hacking collective may have been behind the ongoing cyber attack on Marks and Spencer that has crippled systems at the retailer and left its ecommerce operation in disarray.

• April 29, 2025 29 Apr'25

  Kaspersky calls for cyber immunity amid growing cyber threats

  The rise of professional cyber crime groups and state-sponsored actors targeting critical infrastructure requires a move towards inherently secure ‘cyber immune’ systems, says Kaspersky CEO Eugene Kaspersky

• April 25, 2025 25 Apr'25

  M&S suspends all online sales as cyber attack worsens

  M&S shuts down online sales as it works to contain and mitigate a severe cyber attack on its systems

• April 24, 2025 24 Apr'25

  M&S systems remain offline days after cyber incident

  M&S is still unable to provide contactless payment or click-and-collect services amid a cyber attack that it says has forced it to move a number of processes offline to safeguard its customers, staff and business

• April 24, 2025 24 Apr'25

  March ransomware slowdown probably a red herring

  An apparent slowdown in ransomware attack volumes is raising eyebrows, but the statistics never tell the full story

• April 23, 2025 23 Apr'25

  Financially motivated cyber crime remains biggest threat source

  Mandiant’s latest annual threat report reveals data on how financially motivated cyber criminals, such as ransomware gangs, dominate the cyber security landscape

• April 22, 2025 22 Apr'25

  Cyber attack downs systems at Marks & Spencer

  A cyber attack at Marks & Spencer has caused significant disruption to customers, leaving them unable to make contactless payments or use click-and-collect services

• April 22, 2025 22 Apr'25

  Cyber ‘agony aunts’ launch guidebook for women in security

  Cyber ‘agony aunts’ Amelia Hewitt and Rebecca Taylor are launching a book aimed at empowering women in their cyber security careers

• April 22, 2025 22 Apr'25

  AI-powered APIs proving highly vulnerable to attack

  The growth of AI is proving a double-edged sword for API security, presenting opportunities for defenders to enhance their resilience, but also more risks from AI-powered attacks, according to report

• April 16, 2025 16 Apr'25

  CISA extends Mitre CVE contract at last moment

  The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has ridden to the rescue of the under-threat Mitre CVE Programme, approving a last-minute, 11-month contract extension to preserve the project’s vital security vulnerability work

• April 16, 2025 16 Apr'25

  CVE Foundation pledges continuity after Mitre funding cut

  With news that Mitre’s contract to run the world-renowned CVE Programme is abruptly terminating, a breakaway group is setting up a non-profit foundation to try to ensure the project’s continuity

• April 16, 2025 16 Apr'25

  Security leaders grapple with AI-driven threats

  Experts warn of AI’s dual role in both empowering and challenging cyber defences, and called for intelligence sharing and the need to strike a balance between AI-driven innovation and existing security practices

• April 15, 2025 15 Apr'25

  Mitre warns over lapse in CVE coverage

  Mitre, the operator of the world-renowned CVE repository, has warned of significant impacts to global cyber security standards, and increased risk from threat actors, as it emerges its US government contract will lapse imminently

• April 15, 2025 15 Apr'25

  Hertz warns UK customers of Cleo-linked data breach

  Car hire giant Hertz reveals UK customer data was affected in a cyber incident orchestrated via a series of vulnerabilities in Cleo managed file transfer products

• April 14, 2025 14 Apr'25

  Government faces claims of serious security and data protection problems in One Login digital ID

  The Government Digital Service was warned about serious cyber security and data protection problems in its flagship digital identity system, with insider claims that the data of three million users may still be at risk

• April 11, 2025 11 Apr'25

  Warranty fraud fuels hidden army of hardware hackers

  Widespread warranty fraud is not only costing companies billions but also creating a breeding ground for advanced hardware exploits, warns hardware hacker and researcher Bunnie Huang at Black Hat Asia 2025

• April 10, 2025 10 Apr'25

  Google bets on unifying security tools to ease CISO pain

  At Google Cloud Next in Las Vegas, Google launches its Unified Security platform with the goal of bringing together disparate security solutions to help cyber leaders and practitioners address their most keenly felt pain points

• April 10, 2025 10 Apr'25

  Spirit of openness helps banks get serious about stopping scams

  Recent announcements show that banks, financial services firms and IT companies are increasing efforts to curb online scams

• April 09, 2025 09 Apr'25

  Microsoft’s April 2025 bumper Patch Tuesday corrects 124 bugs

  Microsoft is correcting 124 vulnerabilities in its March Patch Tuesday, one of which is being actively exploited in the wild, and 11 of which are ‘critical’

• April 08, 2025 08 Apr'25

  NCSC issues warning over Chinese Moonshine and BadBazaar spyware

  Two spyware variants are being used to target the mobile devices of persons of interest to Chinese intelligence, including individuals in the Taiwanese, Tibetan and Uyghur communities

• April 08, 2025 08 Apr'25

  Spoofing vuln threatens security of WhatsApp Windows users

  Meta has disclosed and patched a potentially dangerous spoofing flaw in WhatsApp for Windows that could have caused big problems for unwitting users

• April 08, 2025 08 Apr'25

  Government punts cyber governance code of practice for UK businesses

  The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s cyber security minister Feryal Clark announces a cyber security code of governance for UK businesses to follow

• April 08, 2025 08 Apr'25

  Over £18m stolen from Santander UK customers in first three months of year

  Bank’s latest quarterly report on scams said over £18m was stolen from its UK customers by scammers

• April 07, 2025 07 Apr'25

  NIST calls time on older vulnerabilities amid surging disclosures

  The National Institute of Standards and Technology is deferring future updates to thousands of cyber vulnerabilities discovered prior to 2018 amid surging volumes of new submissions

• April 07, 2025 07 Apr'25

  Court rejects Home Office bid for blanket secrecy in hearings over Apple encryption case

  Investigatory Powers Tribunal rejects Home Office arguments that identifying the ‘bare details’ of legal action by Apple would damage national security, leaving open possibility of future open court hearings

• April 07, 2025 07 Apr'25

  Fintech body calls on government for national anti-fraud centre

  Industry body says a national anti-fraud centre could be the vehicle required to effectively fight fraud through data sharing

• April 04, 2025 04 Apr'25

  Norway and Nordic financial sector ramps up cyber security

  Finans Norge sets up cyber security unit CTSU to support the finance sector in Norway amid increasing threats

• April 04, 2025 04 Apr'25

  Banks to share fraud data with tech firms in cross-sector collaboration

  UK banks join tech firms in fraud data-sharing initiative to enable collaboration on action to stop online scams

• April 03, 2025 03 Apr'25

  Are LLM firewalls the future of AI security?

  As large language models permeate industries, experts at Black Hat Asia 2025 debate the need for LLM firewalls and explore their role in fending off emerging AI threats

• April 02, 2025 02 Apr'25

  UKtech50 2025 – help us find the most influential people in UK IT

  Computer Weekly’s annual search for the 50 most influential people in UK IT is on – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year's list

• April 01, 2025 01 Apr'25

  Apple devices are at ‘most risk’ in UK following government ‘backdoor’ order

  Home Office refuses to answer questions from Lords over technical capability notice issued against Apple’s iCloud Advanced Data Protection encryption services

• March 31, 2025 31 Mar'25

  Top 1,000 IT service providers in scope of UK cyber bill

  The government’s proposed Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is set to include regulatory provisions covering both datacentre operators and larger IT service providers

• March 26, 2025 26 Mar'25

  Advanced Software fined £3m over LockBit attack

  The ICO has issued a £3m fine to software provider Advanced in the wake of security failings that led to significant disruption to NHS customers in a ransomware attack

• March 25, 2025 25 Mar'25

  Tech specialist files legal claim after being refused security clearance for MI6 role

  An IT specialist has asked the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to investigate a series of hacking incidents after disclosing their social media accounts to MI6 vetting staff

• March 21, 2025 21 Mar'25

  NCSC, DSIT enlist IBM to spearhead cyber diversity agenda

  IBM signs on to a partnership deal in support of the popular NCSC CyberFirst Girls scheme designed to foster gender diversity in the cyber security profession

• March 19, 2025 19 Mar'25

  Clop resurgence drives ransomware attacks in February

  The exploitation of two new vulnerabilities in a popular file transfer service saw the Clop ransomware gang soar in February, according to NCC

• March 18, 2025 18 Mar'25

  Seaco charts course for unified security strategy

  Shipping container leasing giant consolidates security tools onto a single platform, leveraging AI and extended detection and response to improve security operations

• March 17, 2025 17 Mar'25

  How Oracle is using AI to combat financial crime

  The tech giant is leveraging artificial intelligence to surface fraudulent financial transactions and improve the efficiency of financial crime investigations, offering relief to banks battling high costs and alert fatigue

• March 14, 2025 14 Mar'25

  Apple encryption legal challenge heard behind closed doors despite calls for public hearing

  Investigatory Powers Tribunal hearing held behind closed doors as press and civil society groups argue for open hearings

• March 13, 2025 13 Mar'25

  Chinese espionage group UNC3886 targets Juniper routers

  Advanced persistent threat group UNC3886 deployed custom backdoors on end-of-life Juniper Networks routers, underscoring the need for timely patching and advanced security monitoring

• March 13, 2025 13 Mar'25

  US Congress demands UK lifts gag on Apple encryption order

  Apple and Google have told US lawmakers that they cannot tell Congress whether they have received technical capability notices from the UK