News

Hackers and cybercrime prevention

February 08, 2017 08 Feb'17
Cyber resiliency of UK firms barely changed in a year, study shows

High performing UK companies with a high level of cyber security maturity are leading in cyber resiliency, but most have to work on operationalising incident response plans, Ponemon report shows
February 08, 2017 08 Feb'17
Interview: How security approaches are evolving in Southeast Asia and beyond

Bill Smith, senior vice-president of worldwide field operations at LogRhythm, talks to Computer Weekly about the big shift in cyber security from traditional security models to behavioural anomaly detection, continuous data monitoring and analytics
February 06, 2017 06 Feb'17
APAC businesses turn to DevOps to improve app quality, security

Security validation and metrics are some of the key trends in DevOps this year, according to CA Technologies
February 06, 2017 06 Feb'17
UK cyber security workforce up 163% in five years

Private and public sector step up efforts to close the cyber security skills gap in the face of a global skills shortage

February 06, 2017 06 Feb'17
Defence and finance sectors lead in making people cyber defenders

Organisations in the defence and finance sectors are leading the way in making people a key element of their cyber defences, says human behaviour specialist Jessica Barker
February 03, 2017 03 Feb'17
Security firm agrees many others use fear to propel sales

High-Tech Bridge agrees with the UK National Cyber Security Centre that some security firms are using fear, uncertainty and doubt to promote sales of their products
February 03, 2017 03 Feb'17
Lockheed Martin backs UK CyberFirst skills initiative

Global security and aeropace firm boosts government’s CyberFirst skills initiative as Cabinet Office comes under fire for efforts to secure public sector data and ensure cyber teams have right skills
February 03, 2017 03 Feb'17
UK government must improve cyber defence efforts, say MPs

Public Accounts Committee sets out six recommendations for the Cabinet Office to address shortcomings in protecting government data as UK defence secretary expresses concern over Russian cyber activity
February 02, 2017 02 Feb'17
Schneider Electric patches DCIM software security hole

Users of StrucxureWare datacentre monitoring software urged to upgrade to latest version after discovery of critical vulnerability by security researchers
February 02, 2017 02 Feb'17
EU’s General Data Protection Regulation unknown to most UK adults

The majority of UK workers are unaware of incoming regulation, leaving employers with work to do on GDPR awareness and coming UK data protection laws in 2017, survey shows

February 01, 2017 01 Feb'17
Trump’s cyber security executive order delayed

It is not yet clear when US president Donald Trump will sign an eagerly-awaited executive order on cyber security that was scheduled to take pace on 31 January 2017
February 01, 2017 01 Feb'17
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore and British security company sign agreement

Agreement between BAE Systems and CSA aims to develop national cyber security capabilities as part of Singapore’s cyber security strategy
February 01, 2017 01 Feb'17
Manufacturers collaborate to secure process control systems

Nearly 100 companies are working together to develop open standards for process control systems that will bring prices down and improve their resilience to cyber attacks
January 31, 2017 31 Jan'17
Data breach costs exceed 20% of revenue

The cost of data breaches topped 20% of revenue in the past year as cyber attacks became more sophisticated and defenders struggled to keep pace, the latest Cisco security report shows
January 31, 2017 31 Jan'17
More than a million Netgear routers feared vulnerable to hijack

At least 10,000 and possibly more than a million Netgear routers are vulnerable to hijack by attackers, warn security researchers
January 31, 2017 31 Jan'17
NHS trusts vulnerable to cyber attack due to irregular app testing

Many NHS trusts are failing to scan internal apps for security-related defects or scan web perimeter apps regularly, potentially exposing patient data to cyber breaches
January 31, 2017 31 Jan'17
Australian organisations forced to take cyber insurance seriously

The take-up of cyber security insurance in Australia remains low, but it could increase if data breach notification regulations come into force
January 30, 2017 30 Jan'17
Many firms in the dark on cyber security investment

UK businesses need to adopt a risk-based approach to cyber security spending to ensure the best ROI and most appropriate data protection, says industry expert Michael Dieroff.
January 26, 2017 26 Jan'17
Facebook ups security with Fido U2F two-factor authentication

Social media giant is enabling users to increase the security of their logins with Fido U2F USB security keys
January 26, 2017 26 Jan'17
Security spending leaving data vulnerable, study finds

Cyber breaches are increasing despite increased security spending, a study shows, highlighting that security investment decisions are not aligned with actual cyber threats
January 25, 2017 25 Jan'17
US man jailed for hacking into celebrity accounts

Edward Majerczyk is jailed for 9 months and ordered to pay $5,700 compensation for hacking iCloud and Gmail accounts and stealing celebrity nude photos
January 25, 2017 25 Jan'17
Society urged to nurture cyber talent at Microsoft security conference

Cyber security investigative reporter Brian Krebs urges society to cultivate more “hackers for good” in today’s age of internet supervillains
January 25, 2017 25 Jan'17
Twitter botnet has cyber security implications, say researchers

A researcher is urging the security community to consider the implications of massive botnets of fake Twitter accounts
January 24, 2017 24 Jan'17
Bromium mobilises endpoints to fight cyber attacks

Bromium evolves its micro-virtualisation security technology to gather threat intelligence from endpoints and automate checks and responses across an enterprise
January 23, 2017 23 Jan'17
Lloyds Bank hit by massive DDoS attack

It has emerged that UK banks have been targeted by a DDoS campaign that affected services intermittently only at the Lloyds Banking Group
January 20, 2017 20 Jan'17
Pay rises tipped for IT security and data analysis roles in 2017

Increase in high-profile data breaches and the need for data insight are seen as contributory factors in salary rises for IT security and data analytics staff
January 20, 2017 20 Jan'17
DDoS protection provider alleged to be Mirai botnet creator

Investigative journalist Brian Krebs believes distributed denial of service mitigation firm owner is the author of malware designed to enable massive IoT botnet-enabled DDoS attacks
January 19, 2017 19 Jan'17
National crime survey figures show growing cyber crime

Cyber crime is on the up and is now included in official crime figures
January 19, 2017 19 Jan'17
Carbanak shows how attackers hijack legitimate tools

Criminal gang’s abuse of Google services highlights the trend of attackers using legitimate tools to launch and manage attacks
January 19, 2017 19 Jan'17
UK firms struggling to manage cyber threats, survey shows

Businesses want security suppliers to offer more complementary products and collaborate more effectively as they struggle to manage data protection in the light of new laws, a survey shows
January 18, 2017 18 Jan'17
2017 may be crisis year for DDoS attacks, warns Deloitte

The proliferation of IoT devices and IoT exploit kits may make 2017 a turning point in DDoS attacks requiring new defence tactics, warns Deloitte
January 17, 2017 17 Jan'17
UK business at risk due to severe security skills shortage

Job site Indeed urges the UK’s tech sector to pull together to attract more people into cyber security roles, as a study shows the UK skills gap is among the worst in the world
January 16, 2017 16 Jan'17
England’s largest NHS trust investigates cyber attack

A cyber attack on England's largest NHS trust has underlined the importance of cyber security at healthcare organisations and has raised renewed fears about NHS legacy IT systems
January 13, 2017 13 Jan'17
Davos: Technology poses new risks to jobs, economies and society

Politicians and business leaders will discuss the risks posed by technology to jobs, political stability and cyber security at the World Economic Forum in Davos
January 12, 2017 12 Jan'17
TechUK launches framework to build public trust in the IoT

Tech sector association techUK wants to help overcome public distrust in the internet of things
January 12, 2017 12 Jan'17
Flawed GoDaddy security certificates show need for control

Vulnerabilities in digital security certificates highlight the need for organisations to be able to exercise more control over those certificates
January 12, 2017 12 Jan'17
US college admits paying $28,000 ransom to cyber attackers

Los Angeles college was forced to pay ransomware attackers after being locked out of key computer systems and data
January 11, 2017 11 Jan'17
Australian websites defaced by Tunisian Islamist hacktivists

Tunisian Islamist hacktivists have defaced websites in Australia, Russia, Italy and Pakistan with messages calling for a halt to the killing of civilians in Syria
January 11, 2017 11 Jan'17
Deloitte predicts major advances in mobile technology in 2017

Deloitte’s 16th TMT Predictions report highlights advances in mobile networking and device technology
January 10, 2017 10 Jan'17
Cyber security scare stories could sharpen focus at banks

There are continual cyber attacks on banks, and although most are repelled, there is significant room for improvement
January 06, 2017 06 Jan'17
Ransomware expected to dominate in 2017

Ransomware and IoT-enabled attacks are expected to continue, while 2017 will see the rise of data integrity attacks, targeting of cloud infrastructure and the use of AI by attackers, experts predict
January 06, 2017 06 Jan'17
Security research links Russia to US election cyber attacks

Security researchers say the hacking of the US Democratic National Convention's email system is linked to a wider Russian cyber campaign
January 04, 2017 04 Jan'17
California legislates against ransomware

US state introduces legislation to make it easier to bring ransomware attackers to justice and jail them for up to four years
January 04, 2017 04 Jan'17
Flight booking systems easy to hack, researchers warn

Malicious actors could infiltrate systems to alter passenger information and even cancel bookings, Chaos Communications Congress told
January 04, 2017 04 Jan'17
Thai military to recruit civilian “cyber warriors”

The Thai military is to recruit civilian experts to help improve IT systems and cyber defence capabilities
January 03, 2017 03 Jan'17
Power firm quashes reports of US grid breached by Russian hackers

A US power utility company confirms that the US power grid was not breached by Russian hackers as reported by some US media
January 03, 2017 03 Jan'17
Australian state’s human rights commission website hit by hacktivists

Anonymous hacktivists deface Victoria Human Rights Commission website with message in support of AnonPlus social networking service
December 23, 2016 23 Dec'16
Top 10 networking stories of 2016

A look back at Computer Weekly’s most-read networking stories of 2016
December 22, 2016 22 Dec'16
Top 10 state surveillance, investigatory powers and activism stories of 2016

This year saw the UK introduce the Snoopers' Charter, legalising some of the most extensive government surveillance powers in the world. Computer Weekly exposed state monitoring of Parliamentary emails, and reported on activist Lauri Love's legal ...
December 21, 2016 21 Dec'16
European court delivers blow to Snoopers’ Charter

Parts of the controversial Investigatory Powers Act relating to the bulk collection of communications data have been ruled unlawful by the European Court of Justice
December 21, 2016 21 Dec'16
Top 10 IT security stories of 2016

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 IT security stories of 2016:
December 20, 2016 20 Dec'16
Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2016

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 cyber crime stories of 2016:
December 19, 2016 19 Dec'16
Review of 2016: Top 10 CW Benelux articles

Here are the 10 most popular Benelux-focused Computer Weekly articles of 2016
December 15, 2016 15 Dec'16
Typo allowed Russian hackers to access US Democratic Party emails

Typographical mistake in an email warning of a phishing attack on the US Democrats led to thousands of private emails being accessed and published by Russian-backed hackers
December 15, 2016 15 Dec'16
Yahoo hacked: One billion users affected by August 2013 data breach, company confirms

Yahoo confirms details of a historic data breach, dating back to 2013, affecting one billion users
December 14, 2016 14 Dec'16
Swedish trading venue Nasdaq Stockholm fined for cyber security failures

The Swedish financial services regulator FI fines Nasdaq Stockholm and its clearing operation for not managing its security supplier adequately
December 13, 2016 13 Dec'16
Saudi Arabia enterprise IT trends for 2017

Computer Weekly looks at the technologies that will dominate enterprise IT in Saudi Arabia next year
December 13, 2016 13 Dec'16
KFC hacked: Customers urged to reset loyalty scheme passwords

Fast food giant has emailed all 1.2 million members of its loyalty scheme, urging them to change their passwords after its recent data breach
December 09, 2016 09 Dec'16
IT Priorities 2017: Buyers look for network privacy, visibility tools

The 2017 Computer Weekly/TechTarget IT Priorities survey shows growing interest in network privacy, security and management, but SDN and NFV are still lagging
December 08, 2016 08 Dec'16
PowerShell security threats greater than ever, researchers warn

Administrators should upgrade to the latest version of Microsoft PowerShell and enable extended logging and monitoring capabilities in the light of a surge in related security threats, warn researchers
December 08, 2016 08 Dec'16
More than 2,000 TalkTalk routers hijacked by Mirai botnet variant

Security researchers are urging ISPs to issue emergency patches for Marai botnet infections after 2,374 TalkTalk routers were linked in a regional botnet
December 07, 2016 07 Dec'16
UKtech50 interview: ARM Holdings CEO Simon Segars

The UKtech50 most influential person in UK IT 2016, ARM Holdings CEO Simon Segars, shares his thoughts on the consequences of Brexit, access to skills and the importance of security in a world full of connected devices
December 07, 2016 07 Dec'16
Few iOS apps in enterprises meet Apple’s new security mandate

Most iOS apps in the enterprise pose potential security risks, according to research by Appthority
December 07, 2016 07 Dec'16
40 firms to trial IBM Watson cognitive computing for cyber security

Forty companies sign up to apply IBM’s Watson cognitive computing systems to cyber security, but threat intelligence experts caution against total reliance on such systems
December 06, 2016 06 Dec'16
Dailymotion breach prompts calls for password alternatives

The latest breach of millions of user details prompts fresh calls for better security of user data and an alternative to passwords
December 06, 2016 06 Dec'16
UK falls below global cyber security confidence

Global confidence in ability to accurately assess cyber risk has fallen in the past year, but the UK has fallen below the global average
December 05, 2016 05 Dec'16
Europol hosts simulated cyber attack on retail sector

Europol and MasterCard hold a retail cyber attack simulation exercise to raise awareness of the issue and how to respond to attacks, as well as promote information sharing in the sector
December 05, 2016 05 Dec'16
IT Priorities 2017: UK and European firms to continue to invest in data protection ahead of GDPR

Data protection is to remain a key focus for IT security investment for European firms in 2017, but the emphasis is on cloud and mobile security as companies move to these technology platforms
December 05, 2016 05 Dec'16
Top 10 ANZ enterprise IT stories of 2016

Here is a rundown of Computer Weekly’s most popular ANZ enterprise IT articles for 2016
December 02, 2016 02 Dec'16
Security veteran urges firms to prioritise spear phishing defence

UK firms should prioritise defence against spear phishing as a key component of cyber attacks, according to security veteran Peter Wood
December 02, 2016 02 Dec'16
UK helps dismantle Avalanche global cyber network

The UK's National Crime Agency has contributed to the takedown of a cloud-based cyber crime network in a collaborative law enforcement operation involving 30 countries
December 02, 2016 02 Dec'16
Academics link payment card vulnerability to Tesco Bank cyber heist

UK academics uncover a vulnerability in online payment systems, which they say could have been used in the Tesco Bank cyber heist
December 01, 2016 01 Dec'16
Mirai botnet hits Post Office Broadband and Kcom customers

Broadband providers Post Office Broadband and Kcom are among a number of operators to have been hit by a hack targeting Zyxel routing hardware
December 01, 2016 01 Dec'16
Mozilla and Tor issue patches for Firefox flaw exposing Tor users

Users of Tor anonymous browsing urged to update to the latest versions of relevant software to block an exploit that collects IP and MAC addresses to identify users
November 30, 2016 30 Nov'16
Mastercard uses artificial intelligence for transaction approval

Mastercard is using artificial intelligence to reduce the number of transactions that are wrongly declined, while maintaining security
November 30, 2016 30 Nov'16
Thousands of National Lottery accounts hacked

National Lottery operator Camelot says the log-in details of thousands of people who do the lottery online have been stolen
November 29, 2016 29 Nov'16
Deutsche Telekom botnet attack underlines infrastructure vulnerabilities

German telco says its broadband outages are linked to a botched attempt to hijack routers, which security experts say further underlines the cyber threat to internet connected infrastructure
November 28, 2016 28 Nov'16
IBM blamed for Australian census website crash

Computer giant reportedly pays $30m to Australian government as reports are released from two inquiries into DDoS attacks on census website
November 28, 2016 28 Nov'16
San Francisco transport system hit by ransomware attack

San Francisco's transport agency appears to be the latest target of cyber criminals using encryption malware to hold organisations to ransom
November 28, 2016 28 Nov'16
HMRC geared up to block 500 million phishing emails a year

HMRC is first department to implement technology to block phishing emails as part of UK government’s active cyber defence programme and self-testing strategy
November 25, 2016 25 Nov'16
One in four Wi-Fi hotspots vulnerable to attack, study finds

At least one in four Wi-Fi hotspots are open to attack, a study by Kaspersky Lab reveals
November 25, 2016 25 Nov'16
US Navy breach highlights third-party cyber risk

The personal details of more than 130,000 current and former US Navy personnel have been exposed in a breach linked to the compromise of third-party supplier’s laptop
November 25, 2016 25 Nov'16
UK firms neglecting cyber security, say 74% of IT managers

Most UK firms lack the time and resources to ensure adequate cyber security and data protection, according to a survey of IT managers
November 24, 2016 24 Nov'16
Bletchley Park to teach teenagers to become cyber experts

A cyber security college is to be set up at Bletchley Park, home to the men and women who decoded German cyphers during the Second World War
November 23, 2016 23 Nov'16
High-assurance identity top priority for government and finance

The UK government and financial sector is working together to meet the need for high-assurance identity globally
November 22, 2016 22 Nov'16
Alleged hacker Lauri Love’s ‘life will be destroyed’ under Trump regime

Supporters fear for activist Lauri Love if his extradition to face hacking charges to the US goes ahead
November 18, 2016 18 Nov'16
Three breach highlights several security issues, says (ISC)2

Customer data breaches continue to demonstrate that companies are still not treating cyber risk like every other business risk, says Adrian Davis of (ISC)2
November 18, 2016 18 Nov'16
European security industry has failed users, says expert

Cryptology expert Bart Preneel says the European security industry must commit to secure communication for the masses and open source is the key to secure infrastructure
November 18, 2016 18 Nov'16
Hackers arrested in Three mobile upgrade scam

Three men arrested in connection with mobile handset upgrade fraud enabled by unauthorised access to customer data
November 17, 2016 17 Nov'16
One million cyber attacks on UK retailers forecast for Christmas

Cyber attacks on internet shopping are expected to increase in the run up to Christmas, with a million attacks targeted at UK retailers alone
November 17, 2016 17 Nov'16
Investigatory Powers Bill looks set to become law

Rights groups have vowed to continue to oppose the controversial Investigatory Powers Bill, which is now just two steps away from becoming law
November 16, 2016 16 Nov'16
National Police Chiefs’ Council sets out strategy for digital policing

UK police chiefs aim to improve data sharing, integrate IT functions, improve digital intelligence and make digital interactions easier by 2025
November 16, 2016 16 Nov'16
Government data security confusing, finds PAC

A Public Accounts Committee hearing shows the government’s data and cyber security landscape is chaotic and confusing
November 16, 2016 16 Nov'16
Business needs AI defence against AI attacks, says Darktrace

Cyber attackers are turning to machine learning to create smarter attacks and defenders will require similar technology to detect them, warns Darktrace
November 16, 2016 16 Nov'16
Adobe uses shared responsibility to meet security challenges

Adobe discovers ways of addressing security challenges of scalability, diverse technology stacks and business criticality
November 15, 2016 15 Nov'16
Identity for online gambling industry a potential market opportunity

Identity for online gambling presents a potential market opportunity, because no suppliers are meeting the industry's consumer identify requirements
November 15, 2016 15 Nov'16
Amber Rudd orders Lauri Love extradition to US to face hacking charges

Engineering student Lauri Love faces trials in three US states and a possible 99-year jail sentence for allegedly hacking into US government computer systems as part of a political protest, despite concerns over his health
November 14, 2016 14 Nov'16
412 million user accounts exposed in FriendFinder Networks hack

Another huge data breach has exposed poor security of user details and continued poor user password practices
November 11, 2016 11 Nov'16
National Cyber Security Centre to trial cyber defence initiatives on government

NCSC technical director Ian Levy details some of the initiatives being pursued as part of its Active Cyber Defence Programme
November 11, 2016 11 Nov'16
Russian banks hit by IoT-enabled DDoS attacks

DDoS attacks on Russian banks have been linked to IoT botnets, further confirming this worrying trend and highlighting the need for IoT suppliers to improve security capabilties