News

Hackers and cybercrime prevention

• January 13, 2025 13 Jan'25

  UK government plans to extend ransomware payment ban

  A ban on ransomware payments by UK government departments will be extended to cover organisations such as local councils, schools and the NHS should new government proposals move forward

• January 13, 2025 13 Jan'25

  CNI operators should ask these 12 questions of their OT suppliers

  The NCSC, CISA and others have set out 12 cyber security considerations CNI organisations and other users of operational technology should incorporate into their buying processes to force their suppliers to do better

• January 10, 2025 10 Jan'25

  US bank FNBO uses Pindrop to tackle voice fraud, deepfakes

  Learn how First National Bank of Omaha in the US is enhancing customer authentication and verification in its contact centres, eliminating friction points and making life easier for its customer service teams, with Pindrop voice security technology

• January 10, 2025 10 Jan'25

  Mandiant: Latest Ivanti vulns exploited by Chinese cyber spooks

  Threat actors are once again lining up to exploit vulnerabilities in the widely used Ivanti product suite, with an apparent link to Chinese espionage activity

• January 08, 2025 08 Jan'25

  German court finds hacked EncroChat phone evidence inadmissible

  The Berlin Regional Court has found that evidence obtained by a joint French and Dutch operation to hack the EncroChat encrypted mobile phone network is legally inadmissible, raising questions about its use in other European countries

• January 07, 2025 07 Jan'25

  Regional skills plan to boost UK cyber defences

  Over 30 projects in England and Northern Ireland will receive a share of a £1.9m fund designed to enhance cyber security skills and protect small businesses

• January 03, 2025 03 Jan'25

  US Treasury incident a clear warning on supply chain security in 2025

  A cyber incident at the US Department of the Treasury – blamed on a Chinese state actor – raises fresh warnings about supply chain risk after it was found to have originated via vulnerabilities in a remote tech support product

• January 03, 2025 03 Jan'25

  Corporate cover-up behind world-beating cyber security record in Middle East

  Report ranking Gulf corporations ahead of US and EU counterparts for cyber security has sparked debate about the region’s tendency for secrecy and state control

• December 31, 2024 31 Dec'24

  Top 10 surveillance, journalism and encryption stories of 2024

  Revelations of covert and unlawful monitoring of journalists and their confidential sources by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Metropolitan Police attracted a huge amount of attention this year

• December 19, 2024 19 Dec'24

  Top 10 ASEAN stories of 2024

  Southeast Asia’s 2024 tech landscape saw major companies embracing AI, shifts in open source and the emergence of local large language models to address the needs of a diverse region

• December 19, 2024 19 Dec'24

  LockBit ransomware gang teases February 2025 return

  An individual associated with the LockBit ransomware gang has broken cover to tease details of a new phase of the cyber criminal operation's activity, which they claim is set to begin in February 2025

• December 19, 2024 19 Dec'24

  Latest attempt to override UK’s outdated hacking law stalls

  Amendments to the Data Bill that would have given the UK cyber industry a boost by updating restrictive elements of the Computer Misuse Act have failed to progress beyond a Lords committee

• December 19, 2024 19 Dec'24

  French court refuses to expedite trial of Sky ECC cryptophone distributor Thomas Herdman

  Canadian businessman Thomas Herdman, who was arrested by French police despite agreeing a deal to cooperate with US investigators, has been denied bail after 42 months in pre-trial detention

• December 18, 2024 18 Dec'24

  The Security Interviews: Martin Lee, Cisco Talos

  Threat intel expert and author Martin Lee, EMEA technical lead for security research at Cisco Talos, joins Computer Weekly to mark the 35th anniversary of the first ever ransomware attack

• December 18, 2024 18 Dec'24

  Top 10 cyber security stories of 2024

  Data breaches, data privacy and protection, and the thorny issue of open source security were all hot topics this year. Meanwhile, security companies frequently found themselves hitting the headlines, and not always for good reasons. Here are ...

• December 18, 2024 18 Dec'24

  Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2024

  From ransomware targeting the NHS to nation-state-backed intrusions, 2024 was another big year for cyber criminals and cyber spooks alike, but they didn't have it all their own way as the good guys fought back

• December 17, 2024 17 Dec'24

  Conservative MP adds to calls for public inquiry over PSNI police spying

  Conservative MP David Davis calls for a public inquiry following a court ruling that the PSNI and Metropolitan Police unlawfully placed journalists under electronic surveillance

• December 17, 2024 17 Dec'24

  Tribunal criticises PSNI and Met Police for spying operation to identify journalists’ sources

  The Investigatory Powers Tribunal has criticised the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Metropolitan Police for unlawfully spying on journalists

• December 17, 2024 17 Dec'24

  How NCS is tackling the enterprise IT market

  The technology service provider is counting on its government experience, global expert network and cyber security capabilities to penetrate the enterprise IT market

• December 13, 2024 13 Dec'24

  Computer Misuse Act reform gains traction in Parliament

  An amendment to the proposed Data (Access and Use) Bill that will right a 35-year-old wrong and protect security professionals from criminalisation is to be debated at Westminster

• December 13, 2024 13 Dec'24

  How AWS is protecting customers from cyber threats

  Amazon Web Services reveals how its threat intelligence capabilities work under the hood to thwart cyber attacks and keep its customers’ data safe

• December 12, 2024 12 Dec'24

  Emerging Ymir ransomware heralds more coordinated threats in 2025

  A newly observed ransomware strain has the community talking about more collaboration, and blurred lines, between threat groups next year, according to NCC’s monthly cyber barometer

• December 11, 2024 11 Dec'24

  Russia focuses cyber attacks on Ukraine rather than West despite rising tension

  Computer Weekly talks to GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre operations director Paul Chichester and former NCSC chief executive Ciaran Martin on Russia, China and Salt Typhoon

• December 10, 2024 10 Dec'24

  Dangerous CLFS and LDAP flaws stand out on Patch Tuesday

  Microsoft has fixed over 70 CVEs in its final Patch Tuesday update of the year, and defenders should prioritise a zero-day in the Common Log File System Driver, and another impactful flaw in the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

• December 10, 2024 10 Dec'24

  iOS vuln leaves user data dangerously exposed

  Jamf threat researchers detail an exploit chain for a recently patched iOS vulnerability that enables a threat actor to steal sensitive data, warning that many organisations are still neglecting mobile updates

• December 10, 2024 10 Dec'24

  Top IT predictions in APAC in 2025

  Enterprises across the Asia-Pacific region are expected to focus on securing their AI workloads, invest in energy efficient infrastructure and rethink their platform strategy, among other tech trends in the new year

• December 09, 2024 09 Dec'24

  Bahrain faces legal action after planting Pegasus spyware on UK blogger

  A court has given the go-ahead to UK-based blogger Yusuf Al-Jamri to seek damages from the Kingdom of Bahrain after it deployed spyware from Israel’s NSO Group to hack his phone

• December 06, 2024 06 Dec'24

  TfL cyber attack cost over £30m to date

  TfL provides more detail on the financial impact of the September 2024 cyber attack that crippled several of its online systems

• December 05, 2024 05 Dec'24

  Government agencies urged to use encrypted messaging after Chinese Salt Typhoon hack

  Chinese hacking of US telecom networks raises questions about the exploitation by hostile hacking groups of government backdoors to provide lawful access to telecoms services

• December 04, 2024 04 Dec'24

  Shared digital gateway was source of three NHS ransomware attacks

  Alder Hey children’s hospital confirms ransomware operators accessed its systems through a shared digital gateway, but is standing firm in the face of the gang’s demands

• December 04, 2024 04 Dec'24

  NCA takes out network that laundered ransomware payments

  NCA-led Operation Destabilise disrupts Russian crime networks that funded the drugs and firearms trade in the UK, helped Russian oligarchs duck sanctions, and laundered money stolen from the NHS and others by ransomware gangs

• December 04, 2024 04 Dec'24

  Nordics move to deepen cyber security cooperation

  Nordic countries are increasing collaboration on cyber security amid more sophisticated and aggressive attacks

• December 03, 2024 03 Dec'24

  US updates telco security guidance after mass Chinese hack

  Following the widespread Salt Typhoon hacks of US telecoms operators including AT&T and Verizon, CISA and partner agencies have launched refreshed security guidance for network engineers and defenders alike

• December 02, 2024 02 Dec'24

  APAC businesses face cyber onslaught

  The Asia-Pacific region is a cyber security hotspot, enduring significantly more cyber attacks than the global average, with AI-powered threats and skills shortages exacerbating the problem

• December 02, 2024 02 Dec'24

  NCSC boss calls for ‘sustained vigilance’ in an aggressive world

  NCSC CEO Richard Horne is to echo wider warnings about the growing number and severity of cyber threats facing the UK as he launches the security body’s eighth annual report

• November 29, 2024 29 Nov'24

  Second Merseyside hospital hit by cyber attack

  Hot on the heels of a major cyber attack at a nearby NHS trust, one of Europe’s biggest and busiest children’s hospitals is reportedly scrambling to deal with ransomware gang

• November 28, 2024 28 Nov'24

  Energy sector’s digital shift opens door to cyber threats

  The transition to renewable energy and the increasing integration of IT and OT systems in the energy sector are creating new cyber security challenges

• November 27, 2024 27 Nov'24

  Scientists demonstrate Pixelator deepfake image verification tool

  With the age of deepfake imagery upon us, a team led by York St John University researchers has created a tool to help people ‘navigate the fine line between reality and fabrication’

• November 27, 2024 27 Nov'24

  Further disruption expected after latest NHS cyber attack

  IT and security teams at Wirral University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust continue to work around the clock following a major cyber incident, with services disrupted and no timeline for resolution

• November 26, 2024 26 Nov'24

  Sellafield operator opens dedicated cyber centre

  The UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has opened a cyber security centre spanning its activities across the nuclear sector

• November 26, 2024 26 Nov'24

  Blue Yonder ransomware attack breaks systems at UK retailers

  UK supermarkets continue to deal with the impact of a ransomware attack on the systems of supply chain software supplier Blue Yonder, which is disrupting multiple aspects of their businesses including deliveries and staff management

• November 26, 2024 26 Nov'24

  Russian threat actors poised to cripple power grid, UK warns

  UK government escalates cyber rhetoric in a speech at a Nato event, saying Russian advanced persistent threats stand ready to conduct cyber attacks that could ‘turn off the lights for millions’

• November 25, 2024 25 Nov'24

  Microsoft calls on Trump to ‘push harder’ on cyber threats

  Microsoft’s Brad Smith urges president-elect Donald Trump to keep the faith when it comes to fighting back against hostile cyber actors from China, Iran and Russia

• November 25, 2024 25 Nov'24

  Geopolitical strife drives increased ransomware activity

  The lines between financially motivated cyber criminals and nation state APTs are rapidly blurring, as geopolitical influences weigh heavily on the threat landscape, according to data from NCC

• November 21, 2024 21 Nov'24

  BianLian cyber gang drops encryption-based ransomware

  The Australian and American cyber authorities have published updated intelligence on the BianLian ransomware gang, which has undergone a rapid evolution in tactics

• November 21, 2024 21 Nov'24

  Microsoft slaps down Egyptian-run rent-a-phish operation

  Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit has conducted a successful takedown of almost 250 malicious websites used in the cyber criminal ONNX phishing-as-a-service operation

• November 21, 2024 21 Nov'24

  Brit charged in US over Scattered Spider cyber attacks

  A UK national named as Tyler Robert Buchanan has been charged in the US over his alleged involvement in cyber attacks perpetrated by the Scattered Spider gang

• November 20, 2024 20 Nov'24

  Apple addresses two iPhone, Mac zero-days

  Two zero-day vulnerabilities uncovered in Apple’s operating systems could have allowed for arbitrary code execution and cross-site scripting attacks

• November 19, 2024 19 Nov'24

  AI readiness stalls in APAC

  Despite significant investment in AI, only 15% of organisations in Asia-Pacific are ready to deploy the technology today, according to Cisco’s latest regional AI readiness survey

• November 18, 2024 18 Nov'24

  UK consumers losing more than ever to holiday scams

  Last Christmas, UK consumers lost over £11m to cyber criminals. This year, to save them from tears, the NCSC and Action Fraud are teaming up to launch an anti-fraud campaign