News

Hackers and cybercrime prevention

June 06, 2017 06 Jun'17
Digital economy to contribute 7% of Australia’s GDP

Besides improving living standards, digital technologies could also lead to a resurgence of manufacturing in Australia
June 06, 2017 06 Jun'17
UK firms stockpiling bitcoins for ransomware attacks

Large UK firms are prepared to pay out more than £136,000 on average to cyber criminals who launch ransomware attacks, a survey has revealed
June 05, 2017 05 Jun'17
Europe faces shortage of 350,000 cyber security professionals by 2022

European companies are expected to go on the world’s biggest cyber security hiring spree in the next 12 months, driving demand for cyber talent that will far outstrip supply, a report has revealed
June 05, 2017 05 Jun'17
Mass collection of data on population ‘illegal’, UK court told

Investigatory Powers Tribunal hearing challenges GCHQ over legality of mass surveillance, as government plans moves to control encryption

June 05, 2017 05 Jun'17
Singapore, Australia forge cyber security ties

The two countries will conduct joint cyber security exercises, among a raft of measures to secure critical infrastructure and bolster cyber security knowhow
June 02, 2017 02 Jun'17
Kmart cyber attack highlights PoS vulnerabilities

The cyber attack on Kmart should be a major wake up call for retailers to review the security of their point-of-sale systems, say security experts
June 02, 2017 02 Jun'17
Financial malware more than twice as prevalent as ransomware

While ransomware continues to make the headlines, particularly in the wake of WannaCry, research has revealed that financial threats are 2.5 times more prevalent
June 01, 2017 01 Jun'17
Enterprises struggle with emergency patching

Companies are struggling to maintain emergency patch cycles, despite the fact that enterprise reliance on legacy systems often means emergency patches are an everyday fact of life, a survey shows
May 31, 2017 31 May'17
WannaCry shows validity of risk-based security, says RSA head

WannaCry and other recent cyber attacks underline the importance of adopting a risk-based approach to security, says RSA president
May 31, 2017 31 May'17
Shadow Brokers prepares zero-day subscription service

Businesses may face an onslaught of zero-day attacks soon as the group that leaked the NSA exploits used in the WannaCry ransomware attacks prepares to release more stolen code

May 26, 2017 26 May'17
People can be strongest link in cyber security, says NCSC

People are often seen as the weakest link when it comes to cyber security, but that must change, says the National Cyber Security Centre
May 26, 2017 26 May'17
EternalRocks author throws in the towel after media attention

Security researcher who discovered worm that could have bigger impact than WannaCry says the author seems to have given up
May 24, 2017 24 May'17
Identity, authentication and authorisation becoming risk-led

Identity management, and authentication and authorisation governance are shifting away from being purely IT initiatives, according to RSA
May 24, 2017 24 May'17
Singapore government to spend S$2.4bn on technology initiatives

Funding will go towards building a national sensor platform, boosting the government’s cyber security capabilities and driving the use of robots
May 24, 2017 24 May'17
Interview: Nick Bleech, head of information security, Travis Perkins

Last year, Travis Perkins implemented Splunk to help it to respond more quickly to security threats. Now, the business is looking into machine learning and a single customer view
May 24, 2017 24 May'17
US retailer Target agrees $18.5m data breach settlement

A breach settlement with 47 US states has taken the cost of the 2013 data breach at retailer Target to more than $220m
May 23, 2017 23 May'17
Mobile C-level executives are major risk to business security

C-suite executives logging on to unsecured public Wi-Fi hotspots seem to present one of the biggest security risks to enterprise networks
May 23, 2017 23 May'17
Economic and political uncertainty drives organisations to rethink IT strategies

CIO job satisfaction reaches a three-year high as organisations hire more IT staff and invest in innovative digital technology
May 23, 2017 23 May'17
EternalRocks worm combines seven leaked NSA attack tools

Hard on the heels of the WannaCry ransomware attacks, a researcher has found a worm that combines four NSA exploits and associated attack tools, including EternalBlue used by WannaCry
May 22, 2017 22 May'17
Middle East largely unscathed after WannaCry cyber attack

The impact of WannaCry on the Middle East was reduced due to the attack falling on a weekend, but it is a stark warning
May 22, 2017 22 May'17
Windows 7 accounts for most WannaCry infections

Statistics show that computers running Windows 7 accounted for the biggest proportion of machines infected with the WannaCry ransomware, while NHS suppliers are blamed for hampering patching by NHS trusts
May 22, 2017 22 May'17
APAC accounted for 10% of global WannaCry infections

While damage caused by the ransomware attack in the region is subdued for now, its emergence has brought the issue of software patching to the fore
May 21, 2017 21 May'17
Australian government ICT spending under fire

The opposition Labor party has called for a review of the government’s higher ICT spending and digital transformation programme
May 19, 2017 19 May'17
McAfee researchers test WannaCry recovery method

Although there is evidence that some victims of the WannaCry ransomware attack on 12 May have paid the attackers, there is no evidence that they are getting their data back
May 19, 2017 19 May'17
Command and control communications key to detecting threats

Malware command and control (C&C) communications are key to detecting advanced threats, according to a security researcher
May 19, 2017 19 May'17
Neustar launches international security council

Sharing information in the face of threats such as WannaCry is crucial for organisations to improve their cyber security capability, according to Neustar, which is making it easier to do
May 18, 2017 18 May'17
Strong cyber security posture reduces impact of breaches

There is a direct correlation between data breaches and falls in stock prices, but the impact is lighter on companies with good cyber security, a study has revealed
May 18, 2017 18 May'17
Lib Dem manifesto pledges digital bill of rights and superfast broadband

The Liberal Democrats 2017 election manifesto promises 30Mbps broadband, a focus on innovation and a digital bill of rights
May 18, 2017 18 May'17
WannaCry biggest incident to date for National Cyber Security Centre

The WannaCry ransomware attack that started on 12 May 2017 is the biggest single incident that the new UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has faced
May 17, 2017 17 May'17
Business not taking cyber security seriously enough, says Dido Harding

Most businesses are still not taking cyber security seriously enough, according to the former CEO of TalkTalk, which suffered a major data breach in 2015
May 17, 2017 17 May'17
TechUK manifesto calls on next government to put strong focus on digital

TechUK’s digital vision sees the government placing digital technology at the heart of the UK economy, refreshing Gov.uk Verify and prioritising tech in Brexit negotiations
May 16, 2017 16 May'17
UK government sees collaboration as key to cyber security success

The UK government believes collaboration between the public and private sectors is critical to success in cyber security
May 15, 2017 15 May'17
Global ransomware attack could be long-awaited wake-up call

A failure by many organisations to take cyber security seriously has long been blamed on the lack of a single significant event to shake things up. Does WannaCry fit the bill?
May 15, 2017 15 May'17
MPs and peers urged not to use personal email as WannaCry spreads

MPs and peers have been warned not to use personal emails on parliamentary Windows computers in the wake of WannaCry ransomware outbreak
May 15, 2017 15 May'17
Attackers have no need of zero-days, breach data shows

Cyber attackers do not have to use previously unseen or extremely sophisticated attacks to bypass defences, analysis of publicly reported breaches in the past year reveals
May 15, 2017 15 May'17
NHS cyber attack shows need for resilient infrastructure and security education

Ramsomware attack highlights system-wide issues around lack of infrastructure investment and the need for cyber security training and awareness among NHS staff
May 15, 2017 15 May'17
Businesses urged to apply Windows patch to avert WannaCry attacks

Security advisers are urging organisations to patch their Windows systems to avert a possible second wave of an unprecedented, indiscriminate ransomware attack
May 14, 2017 14 May'17
Penetration testing essential for success in security arms race

Demand for security testing, which should be conducted from the onset rather than as an afterthought, is growing in Australia
May 12, 2017 12 May'17
NHS hospitals hit in global ransomware attack

Hospitals across England are reporting problems with IT systems that are affecting healthcare treatment, caused by what could be a global ransomware campaign enabled by a leaked NSA exploit
May 12, 2017 12 May'17
Five cyber security imperatives for all companies

There are five things all companies should ensure they are doing in terms of cyber security
May 12, 2017 12 May'17
Mixed reaction to Trump’s cyber security executive order

The latest US presidential executive order on cyber security has been met mainly with praise, but critics say there is nothing really new and takes no decisive action
May 12, 2017 12 May'17
Why smart cities need to become smarter about technology

Cities are experimenting with smarter ways to use technologies to improve the life of citizens, but their projects are fragmented. Is there a better approach?
May 12, 2017 12 May'17
Singapore universities hit by advanced persistent threat attacks

The attacks on NUS and NTU networks appear to be the work of APT actors and not casual hackers
May 11, 2017 11 May'17
Australian government bolsters IT security in budget boost

The country’s Digital Transformation Agency has been given a shot in the arm to guard public sector IT systems against cyber attacks
May 11, 2017 11 May'17
Allianz researchers working with car makers on cyber security

Allianz Germany is working with the local car manufacturing industry to highlight the vulnerabilities in the electronics systems of vehicles that can be exploited by criminals
May 10, 2017 10 May'17
Automation can turn tables on cyber attackers

Security defenders should use automation to turn the tables on attackers, according to the CTO of the US Department of Homeland Security
May 10, 2017 10 May'17
Blockchain economy on the horizon

Blockchain technologies will enable many new and disruptive business models than the internet itself, an expert predicts
May 09, 2017 09 May'17
Cognitive security is the future, says Martin Kuppinger

Modern computing capabilities combined with cognitive technology has huge potential for tackling unknown attack patterns and addressing the security skills shortage, says Martin Kuppinger
May 08, 2017 08 May'17
There are Dutch lessons in breach notification as GDPR approaches

The Netherlands is a pioneer when it comes to legislating around data protection, so GDPR might not be as much of a shock as in other countries.
May 07, 2017 07 May'17
Barclays launches £10m UK digital safety campaign

Barclays is to lead a £10m campaign against digital fraud as research reveals London, Bristol and Birmingham are scam hotspots, with young adults most at risk
May 05, 2017 05 May'17
Debenhams data breach underlines need for supply chain security

Data breach at retailer again highlights the importance of data protection and ensuring cyber security standards across an organisation’s entire supply chain, say security commentators
May 04, 2017 04 May'17
Testing is key to IoT security, says researcher

Building an effective testing process across all elements associated with a product is key to securing the internet of things, according to a researcher in the field
May 04, 2017 04 May'17
Phishing gets personal with fake Google Docs app

A phishing scam targeting users of Google Docs demonstrates that attacks on personal accounts to steal credentials and other personal data are likely to increase to get around corporate security controls
May 03, 2017 03 May'17
Cognitive security is key to cyber arms race, says KuppingerCole

Cognitive computing technology is an area of artificial intelligence that is expected to help provide businesses with the security tools they need to deal with new and emerging cyber threats
May 03, 2017 03 May'17
UK business exposed to email-borne cyber risks, survey shows

Major UK businesses are leaving themselves vulnerable to the most common form of cyber attack, a survey reveals
May 02, 2017 02 May'17
UBS applies data protection for compliance and competitive advantage

Swiss bank UBS aims to get greater value out of investments in sensitive data protection systems by using its security capabilities as a differentiator
May 02, 2017 02 May'17
DDoS a top security and business issue, study shows

DNS should be at the core of information security strategies as DDoS attacks increasingly form part of wider cyber attacks and continue to ramp up to unprecedented levels, warns Neustar
May 02, 2017 02 May'17
Intel urges business to patch critical remote-execution flaw

Intel advises business customers to apply a security update for some versions of its administration firmware for vPro processors to fix a remote execution flaw
April 29, 2017 29 Apr'17
IS supporter Samata Ullah branded a “new and dangerous breed of terrorist"

Samata Ullah, a 34-year-old man from Cardiff who posted encryption training videos on a radical Islamic blog, is a dangerous “cyber terrorist”, a court heard on 28 April 2017
April 28, 2017 28 Apr'17
Facebook pledges to counteract government propaganda

Facebook has pledged to take action to stop governments exploiting its platform to influence opinion in other countries
April 28, 2017 28 Apr'17
Intel reports record first-quarter revenue

Company says growing demand for high-performance computing is driving growth for the business
April 28, 2017 28 Apr'17
Education key to reducing systems attacks, says university security manager

Central Lancashire University’s IT networks and security manager says educating users is key to avoiding cyber security flaws
April 27, 2017 27 Apr'17
Cyber espionage up, but basic defences still down, DBIR shows

Organisations are still failing to address basic security issues and well-known attack methods, Verizon’s latest Data Breach Investigations Report reveals for a second year in a row
April 26, 2017 26 Apr'17
McAfee links Saudi Shamoon attacks

McAfee has published data showing the evolution of Shamoon malware campaigns as the company announces increased commitment to cyber threat research
April 26, 2017 26 Apr'17
Russian cyber espionage highlights need to improve email security

Security experts are advising political parties and businesses to pay more attention to email security after the latest revelations about a Russian cyber espionage group
April 26, 2017 26 Apr'17
Danish defence minister accuses Russia of cyber espionage

Government officials in Denmark believe they have been under attack from Russia-based hackers
April 26, 2017 26 Apr'17
Cyber attackers are more ambitious than ever, Symantec warns

Cyber attackers displayed new levels of ambition in 2016, according to the latest threat report from security firm Symantec
April 25, 2017 25 Apr'17
IT salaries in Singapore to grow by 3.2% in 2017

Cyber security and big data experts will be in high demand as Singapore ramps up efforts to build strong digital capabilities
April 25, 2017 25 Apr'17
Interpol uncovers nearly 9,000 C2 servers in ASEAN

Command and control servers were used to launch denial of service attacks and distribute malware and spam emails across the region
April 24, 2017 24 Apr'17
One in eight people have suffered a healthcare data breach

A quarter of victims had their NI number compromised and 18% saw their biometric identifiers compromised, but most people trust healthcare providers with their data
April 24, 2017 24 Apr'17
Cyber security centre of excellence to open at Cardiff University

Cardiff University and Airbus have launched the first centre of its kind in Europe to tackle cyber attacks on critical infrastructure
April 24, 2017 24 Apr'17
Collaboration is key to fighting cyber crime, say UK police

Cyber crime will be defeated only through collaboration, according to UK police, the Global Cyber Alliance, Cyber Defence Alliance and Verizon
April 24, 2017 24 Apr'17
CISOs in Singapore and Australia not keeping pace with data breaches

Only 20% of security chiefs in the two countries say their organisations can prevent data breaches, according to a ServiceNow survey
April 21, 2017 21 Apr'17
Information security key to digital era business models

Security will become increasingly important as industries seek to collaborate and use each other’s capabilities to enable new business models, with the banking sector leading the way
April 21, 2017 21 Apr'17
UK likely to face national cyber emergency, says NCSC

The UK is likely to face a level-1 cyber attack at some point in the future, according to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
April 20, 2017 20 Apr'17
Banks suffer average of 85 attempted serious cyber attacks a year, and one-third are successful

Banks face daily cyber attacks, many of which succeed in stealing data, research finds
April 20, 2017 20 Apr'17
People present the biggest challenge, say infosec professionals

More than 80% of security professionals identify people as the industry’s biggest challenge, but companies are becoming better prepared to deal with cyber breaches, a survey reveals
April 20, 2017 20 Apr'17
InterContinental Hotel Group reveals extent of malware attack

Hotel group InterContinental (IHG) reveals that malware attempting to glean payment card details sat undetected on its network in the US for three months
April 20, 2017 20 Apr'17
Human interaction still key to cyber attacks, study reveals

An analysis of threats faced by organisations in the first quarter of 2017 reveals that cyber attackers still rely heavily on user interaction
April 19, 2017 19 Apr'17
Conflicting advice blurs cyber safety

Companies are being overloaded with information about cyber threats and complain of a lack of relevant advice
April 19, 2017 19 Apr'17
Skype most popular communication channel for cyber criminals

The cyber criminal network is truly global and collaborative, making use of popular messaging services, a study has revealed
April 18, 2017 18 Apr'17
Microsoft underlines importance of keeping software updated

Microsoft has underlined the importance of keeping software up to date by confirming that no supported versions of its software are vulnerable to leaked NSA hacking tools
April 18, 2017 18 Apr'17
Lloyds Bank tests biometric authentication from Microsoft

Banking group is trying out enterprise-grade biometric authentication for its online customers
April 18, 2017 18 Apr'17
UK businesses need to up cyber security with one in five hit by attacks

Big UK businesses are targeted by cyber attacks more heavily, but all need to improve cyber security with one in five UK firms falling victim in the past 12 months, a survey reveals
April 13, 2017 13 Apr'17
Enterprise adoption of encryption accelerating, study shows

Cloud adoption and escalating threats are accelerating adoption of encryption, a study has revealed
April 13, 2017 13 Apr'17
Interview: Chris Young, chief executive of McAfee

McAfee’s chief shares his views on Brexit, GDPR, encryption and his company’s new independence in an exclusive UK interview with Computer Weekly
April 13, 2017 13 Apr'17
Six key security weaknesses in industrial systems

Organisations should mitigate six key vulnerabilities in industrial control systems to reduce the risk of cyber attack, warns security firm FireEye
April 12, 2017 12 Apr'17
Data breaches strip tens of millions off UK firms’ market value, study shows

Security experts say the fact that data breaches at FTSE 100 firms cost on average £120m in market value should be a wake-up call for boards to ensure they have an adequate cyber security strategy
April 12, 2017 12 Apr'17
Foreign cyber attackers may have targeted EU referendum

Cyber attacks may have targeted the EU referendum website in an attempt to influence the outcome, MPs have warned
April 11, 2017 11 Apr'17
Security as a service on the rise in the UAE

Organisations in the United Arab Emirates are increasingly turning to security services
April 11, 2017 11 Apr'17
Europol and Brazil agree co-operation on cyber crime

Brazil, which has a significant and growing cyber crime problem both as the target of international attacks and the source of regional attacks, is set to work more closely with Europol to fight cross-border crime
April 11, 2017 11 Apr'17
Kelihos botnet downed after arrest of alleged kingpin

The US has led the takedown of the international botnet Kelihos after the arrest in Spain of the Russian believed to have operated the botnet since 2010
April 10, 2017 10 Apr'17
IAM a core building block for GDPR compliance

Identity and access management is key to enabling organisations to become compliant with the GDPR, increase security and improve customer relationships, according to a senior analyst at KuppingerCole
April 10, 2017 10 Apr'17
Dallas city alarm hack raises fears over vital system security

Hackers have accessed the emergency alert system in Dallas in the largest breach of its kind, raising fears about the cyber security of critical infrastructure
April 07, 2017 07 Apr'17
How an MSSP scaled up its security analysts' capacity

Irish-managed security services provider Smarttech has increased its speed and capacity to analyse cyber attacks using IBM’s fledgling cognitive computing technology
April 06, 2017 06 Apr'17
McAfee report reveals five challenges to cyber threat intelligence

McAfee Labs’ latest report details the challenges facing threat intelligence sharing efforts and reveals growing trends in malware, ransomware, mobile malware and other threats
April 06, 2017 06 Apr'17
Interview: F-Secure’s Mikko Hyppönen on the Nordics, Russia and the internet of insecure things

Computer Weekly sat down with Finnish cyber security expert Mikko Hyppönen to talk about security in the Nordics, Russia and the trouble with connected devices
April 05, 2017 05 Apr'17
No More Ransom expands capacity

More organisations have joined an anti-ransomware cross-industry initiative, boosting its capacity to help victims of ransomware as attackers begin to focus on business targets
April 05, 2017 05 Apr'17
Nearly a quarter of security pros are blind to encrypted threats

A sizeable proportion of security professionals do not know how their organisation is addressing cyber threats hiding in encryption
April 04, 2017 04 Apr'17
Chinese hacking group targeted firms through IT MSPs

Security researchers have uncovered a China-based cyber espionage campaign that targeted IT services firms and their customers, underlining the need for supply chain security