News

Hackers and cybercrime prevention

May 14, 2019 14 May'19
Spyware targets WhatsApp users

Social media platform issues update after it discovered a flaw being exploited by commercial spyware
May 13, 2019 13 May'19
National Crime Agency calls for additional funding to tackle 21st century crime

Organised criminal gangs represent the biggest cyber threat to the UK, and law enforcement has identified rogue servers hosted in the UK
May 13, 2019 13 May'19
Security standard for surveillance cameras set for launch

A long-overdue cyber security standard for the manufacturer of surveillance cameras is on track for an official launch in June
May 10, 2019 10 May'19
Key lessons from an ethical hacker

Understanding hacker techniques and processes is the best way to defend against cyber attacks, and focusing on business risks is the best way to get security budget, according to an ethical hacker

May 10, 2019 10 May'19
Dutch businesses not yet implementing NIS Directive

Little urgency to comply with the Network and Information Systems Security Act, which seeks to protect the Netherlands’ vital infrastructure and digital services from cyber attack
May 09, 2019 09 May'19
Northern Ireland generating cyber security knowledge and jobs

Northern Ireland is establishing itself as an international hub of cyber security research and innovation, providing growing employment opportunities
May 08, 2019 08 May'19
Some Australian firms still in the dark about cyber security

A report suggesting Australian firms are experiencing fewer cyber incidents has left its co-author perplexed with the findings
May 08, 2019 08 May'19
Cyber criminals targeting C-suite, DBIR shows

Executives and cloud-based services are gaining popularity as targets for cyber criminals, according to the latest data breach investigations report
May 07, 2019 07 May'19
Privileged access management moving to cloud

Survey shows nearly half of information security professionals are either planning to move privileged access management to the cloud or are exploring the possibility
May 06, 2019 06 May'19
AWS to power Australia’s 2021 online census

PwC Australia, one of two firms appointed by the government to run the next Census, will build and operate an online form and a website on Amazon Web Services

May 03, 2019 03 May'19
Zero trust: A 21st century security model

Traditional corporate security models date back to a time when there were fewer, lower-level threats, but a zero trust model is better suited to the 21st century, according to the originator of the idea
May 03, 2019 03 May'19
Norsk Hydro urges caution as it counts cost of cyber attack

Norwegian aluminium giant Norsk Hydro is urging partners to be cautious in the wake of a damaging ransomware attack in March as financial impact estimates come in above initial estimates
May 03, 2019 03 May'19
Police down two dark web markets

Europol-supported coordinated law enforcement approach across Europe and the US was key to operations’ success
May 02, 2019 02 May'19
Firms urged to embrace positive security trends to win cyber war

Modern cyber security challenges overshadow the information security successes of the past, but several positive trends are emerging as defenders come to grips with new threats, says Deloitte
May 02, 2019 02 May'19
Microservices introduce hidden security complexity, analyst warns

Microservice architecture – an approach to application development in which applications are built as a suite of modular services – simplifies development but complicates security, says KuppingerCole
May 02, 2019 02 May'19
Businesses unprepared for cyber breaches

Study shows many organisations lack IT security and operations basics, including visibility across their IT operations
May 02, 2019 02 May'19
Defence secretary sacked over Huawei leak

Defence secretary Gavin Williamson has been sacked after leaking confidential discussions over the use of Huawei networking equipment
May 01, 2019 01 May'19
BSA releases framework for secure software

Software industry advocacy group releases framework to facilitate flexible and comprehensive software security assessments
May 01, 2019 01 May'19
Get more proactive on cyber security, says ex Europol chief

Business needs to get more proactive, collaborative, resilient and analytical to manage cyber risks posed by cyber criminals down to acceptable levels, says former Europol chief
April 30, 2019 30 Apr'19
UK gears up for new laws on IoT security

The UK plans to introduce measures to require that basic cyber security features are built into internet-connected devices
April 30, 2019 30 Apr'19
Cyber criminals increase use of fileless attacks

Fileless attacks are increasingly popular with cyber criminals, while Russia and China top the league of nation state data exfiltrators, threat data shows
April 30, 2019 30 Apr'19
Most businesses vulnerable to supply chain cyber attacks

UK firms trail the leaders US and Germany in knowing the most about their partners’ cyber security practices, but most companies globally are in the dark about this growing source of vulnerabilities
April 30, 2019 30 Apr'19
Nearly half of UK IT pros report serious data breaches

Integration of security systems and employee training recognised as key ways to reduce the growing severity of data breaches
April 29, 2019 29 Apr'19
Fix the basics first, then worry about AI, advise experts

The freedom of the internet is at risk, with the cyber arms race and the industrialisation of hacking are set to continue as attackers move up the value chain to target trust mechanisms, threat experts predict
April 29, 2019 29 Apr'19
Australians lost half a billion dollars to scams in 2018

Most of the losses went to investment scams as tricksters found innovative ways to dupe victims into parting with their money
April 26, 2019 26 Apr'19
Top lessons from cyber attacks

Cyber security experts weigh in on lessons learned from cyber attack experiences, underlining that recovery capability is as important as defence
April 26, 2019 26 Apr'19
Huawei leak inquiry launched

Cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill has instituted an inquiry aimed at discovering who leaked confidential discussions about UK mobile operators’ use of Huawei in their future 5G networks to the press
April 26, 2019 26 Apr'19
GDPR cases drive bigger budgets for Nordic regulators

High-profile General Data Protection Regulation cases in Finland and Sweden have increased the workload for regulators, which are to receive an increase in funding
April 25, 2019 25 Apr'19
Public becoming more aware of privacy abuses and unethical tech

Widespread abuses of privacy, biometric information and artificial intelligence mean the internet is in poor health, but growing popular awareness of its problems gives some cause for hope, says the Mozilla Foundation
April 25, 2019 25 Apr'19
UK up for cyber challenge but work to be done, says minister

Lidington says National Cyber Security Strategy has “revolutionised the UK’s fight against cyber threats”
April 25, 2019 25 Apr'19
NCSC and ICO pledge to support data breach victims

The UK’s cyber security agency and privacy watchdog have agreed to work together to improve support for data breach victims and enhance cyber guidance
April 25, 2019 25 Apr'19
No final decision taken on Huawei 5G ban, government claims

Culture secretary tells MPs that a final decision on use of Huawei in UK 5G networks has not been taken, and says government is taking the leak of confidential discussions at the National Security Council very seriously
April 25, 2019 25 Apr'19
Cabinet Office addresses 5G security issue

Cabinet Office uses NCSC conference to lay out government’s approach to the security of 5G networks, as controversy grows around using equipment from Chinese supplier Huawei
April 25, 2019 25 Apr'19
NCSC looks to industry to scale Active Cyber Defence

The national cyber security agency is calling on wider government organisations as well as industry to help scale automated cyber attack blocking systems country-wide
April 24, 2019 24 Apr'19
NCSC to scale up intelligence sharing, says GCHQ director

The GCHQ director has outlined the agency’s cyber security mission in the third decade of the internet age at CyberUK, promising to scale up the sharing of declassified cyber intelligence with industry
April 23, 2019 23 Apr'19
Global intelligence agencies share UK stage for first time

Representatives of intelligence agencies from the Five Eyes alliance are to share a public platform in the UK for the first time at this year’s NCSC CyberUK conference
April 23, 2019 23 Apr'19
Casual collaboration comms pose security risk, survey shows

UK employees have a worryingly casual attitude to workplace communications, underling the need for employers to take steps to counter related cyber attack vulnerabilities
April 23, 2019 23 Apr'19
WannaCry hero pleads guilty, urges others to stay on ‘good side’

Briton hailed as WannaCry hero finally pleads guilty to charges of writing and distributing malware, but urges security researchers to stay away from the “dark side”
April 20, 2019 20 Apr'19
NCSC urges better online security practices

UK cyber security agency is urging citizens to improve online safety and password security after research reveals most-hacked passwords and a survey exposes gaps in online security
April 18, 2019 18 Apr'19
20 firms join Tech Nation’s cyber security scale-up programme

Tech Nation scale-up programme is designed to boost the UK’s cyber sector, accelerate the growth of its top companies and build a robust, cross-industry network
April 18, 2019 18 Apr'19
State-sponsored hackers are hijacking DNS, researchers warn

A DNS-hijacking campaign targeting the Middle East and Africa may lead to actors more broadly attacking the global DNS system
April 17, 2019 17 Apr'19
Nearly a quarter of tech firms do not security check products

Nearly a quarter of organisations polled do not run security checks on products, and nearly a third admitted to shipping products with known security vulnerabilities, a survey shows
April 17, 2019 17 Apr'19
TfL suspends Wi-Fi service as Extinction Rebellion spreads

Transport for London has cut off its public Virgin Media Wi-Fi service to disrupt climate change protests
April 17, 2019 17 Apr'19
Wipro admits to potential breach to employee accounts by phishing attack

Indian IT services company Wipro is investigating a phishing attack, which hit some staff email accounts and launched attacks on customer environments
April 16, 2019 16 Apr'19
Energy industry needs to up cyber defences, warns report

Cyber threat actors are advanced and persistent, but firms in the energy industry are using outdated systems and technology to save money, putting them at risk of cyber attacks, warns F-Secure report
April 15, 2019 15 Apr'19
How Palo Alto Networks fends off its cyber adversaries

Palo Alto Networks CIO Naveen Zutshi talks up the company’s approach in keeping threat actors at bay
April 15, 2019 15 Apr'19
Zero trust is about more than products

The zero trust security model is more than just products and network segmentation, it’s an architectural design principle with identity at its core that needs to be applied enterprise-wide, says KuppingerCole
April 15, 2019 15 Apr'19
Automation will bring job security, say most IT security pros

Most security professionals believe that although automation can support humans, it will not result in a reduction in job opportunities, a study shows
April 15, 2019 15 Apr'19
NCSC seeks new breed of cyber security startups

The UK intelligence community is seeking to promote a new breed of technology startup to help detect, respond to and facilitate rapid recoveries from cyber attacks on the UK
April 12, 2019 12 Apr'19
Police local cyber crime units get multimillion pound boost

UK policing marks the completion of the local phase of a national cyber crime programme to complement regional and national response capabilities
April 11, 2019 11 Apr'19
Government breach data highlights cyber skills misconception

Results of a government-sponsored survey highlight a dangerous misconception around cyber skills, according to a former GCHQ trainer
April 11, 2019 11 Apr'19
Most organisations still lack incident response plans

Most companies lack incident response plans, others fail to test them and nearly half are not GDPR compliant, but some report improved security through automation, a study shows
April 11, 2019 11 Apr'19
Triton industrial malware group still active, researchers warn

Security researchers have found traces of a Russian-linked cyber attack group in another critical infrastructure facility, prompting calls for increased diligence around industrial cyber security
April 10, 2019 10 Apr'19
A quarter of phishing emails bypass Office 365 security

Cloud-based email is leaving enterprises vulnerable to phishing attacks capable of giving cyber criminals access to a wide range of critical data, warn security researchers
April 09, 2019 09 Apr'19
Digital doppelgangers for sale to defeat anti-fraud tech

Security researchers have uncovered an online market selling digital identities to help cyber criminals to defeat anti-fraud technologies, as financial cyber crime becomes a bigger threat than ever before
April 09, 2019 09 Apr'19
UK councils team up to boost cyber security

Three UK councils and data analysis firm Splunk have teamed up to improve cyber defence capabilities and maintain their security systems
April 09, 2019 09 Apr'19
GCHQ cyber courses for teens recognised by qualification board

The Scottish Qualifications Authority has accredited courses pioneered by GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre to teach teenagers about cyber security
April 08, 2019 08 Apr'19
Ransomware getting more targeted, warns Flashpoint

Ransomware attacks are becoming more targeted and designed to infect different sized organisations in specific industries and regions, say security researchers
April 08, 2019 08 Apr'19
UK plans for online safety laws not enough, says BCS

Government plans for online safety laws need to be complemented with a national cyber safety programme in schools, according to IT and computer science professional and educational body
April 05, 2019 05 Apr'19
Critical infrastructure under relentless cyber attack

A lack of visibility into the attack surface, inadequate security staffing and reliance on manual processes undermine operational technology security capabilities, a study reveals
April 05, 2019 05 Apr'19
European firms see value in ‘known good’ approach to security

European data protection regulations are driving enterprise interest in an approach to security being championed by virtualisation software maker VMware, says the company’s security lead
April 05, 2019 05 Apr'19
Huawei ban will cost UK plc £6.8bn, delay 5G

If the UK government decides to impose tighter restrictions, or an outright ban on the use of Huawei in national 5G networks, the country faces severe consequences, according to a report
April 04, 2019 04 Apr'19
Researchers uncover US-based malware distribution centre

More than a dozen US-based web servers are operating as the malware equivalent of an Amazon fulfilment centre to target businesses, security researchers have found
April 04, 2019 04 Apr'19
Document-based malware on the rise, businesses warned

Document-based malware spiked in the first quarter of the year, building on a gradual rise in the past year, warn researchers
April 04, 2019 04 Apr'19
Fresh approach needed to reap cloud security benefits

Transitioning to cloud-based services offers businesses an opportunity to improve security capabilities, but only if they adopt a proactive cloud-native approach, says Palo Alto Networks cloud security expert
April 03, 2019 03 Apr'19
Government urges businesses and charities to up cyber security

The UK government is urging businesses and charities to take action to prevent cyber attacks as the costs go up, despite an overall reduction in breaches, partly driven by new data protection laws
April 02, 2019 02 Apr'19
Akamai to open second traffic scrubbing centre in Australia

New centre in Melbourne will meet growing demand for scrubbing services to mitigate the impact of distributed denial of service attacks in Australia
April 02, 2019 02 Apr'19
Women now almost a quarter of cyber security workforce

Women in cyber security are younger, have achieved higher levels of education and are assuming leadership roles at higher rates than men, a study shows
April 02, 2019 02 Apr'19
Four in 10 leading banks failing on email fraud protection

Top UK traditional and challenger banks risk exposing customers to email fraud, a study reveals
April 02, 2019 02 Apr'19
Cyber attacks increasingly exploiting supply chain weaknesses

Cyber attacks are increasingly characterised by supply chain attacks, counter incident response and lateral movement, research reveals
April 02, 2019 02 Apr'19
Huawei reports record numbers despite tumultuous year

Huawei has become one of the world’s largest technology companies by revenue, suggesting the accusations over its ties to the Chinese government are failing to have much impact
April 02, 2019 02 Apr'19
Thales completes acquisition of Gemalto

Multi-billion-euro acquisition gives Thales a global leadership position in digital identity and security
April 01, 2019 01 Apr'19
Black Hat Asia 2019: Get ready for the cyber arms race

The arms race is now squarely in the cyber realm as defence teams and threat actors arm themselves with AI tools
April 01, 2019 01 Apr'19
Rapidly multiplying IoT cyber attacks use well-known weaknesses

Internet of things threats and attacks are increasing rapidly, but rely on well-known security weaknesses, security researchers discover
April 01, 2019 01 Apr'19
Singapore government to review data security in public sector

A high-level committee comprising ministers and private sector security experts will review data security practices and recommend measures to better protect citizens’ data
March 29, 2019 29 Mar'19
Magento e-commerce sites urged to apply security update

Security experts are urging companies using the Magento e-commerce site to apply security updates without delay to avoid a disastrous hacking campaign
March 28, 2019 28 Mar'19
Infosec pros slam government-mandated backdoors

Government-mandated encryption backdoors increase vulnerability to nation-state attacks, according to the majority of cyber security professionals
March 28, 2019 28 Mar'19
Huawei making no progress on addressing security concerns

Huawei has made no material progress on addressing the issues identified last year by the NCSC, according to the latest highly critical report from its HSCEC Oversight Board
March 28, 2019 28 Mar'19
Encryption adoption driven by new tech and compliance

The adoption of encryption is at its highest level yet, driven by the need to protect data generated by new digital initiatives, but still less than half of organisations are applying it consistently across the enterprise
March 27, 2019 27 Mar'19
UK IoT research centre to tackle cyber risk

A government-backed national IoT research centre has been launched as part of UK efforts to become a world leader in tackling cyber threats
March 27, 2019 27 Mar'19
Cyber attacks targeting industrial control systems on the rise

Malicious cyber activity increased to almost half of the industrial infrastructure protected by Kaspersky Lab in 2018, but the UK is among the most secure countries, the security firm reports
March 27, 2019 27 Mar'19
Norsk Hydro cyber attack cost estimates up to $41m

Initial estimates have put the financial impact of last week’s ransomware attack on the Norwegian aluminium producer of up to nearly $41m, raising questions about cyber insurance coverage
March 26, 2019 26 Mar'19
Police make 61 arrests in global crackdown on dark web

Law enforcement agencies from the US, Canada and Europe, including the UK, have joined forces to target suppliers and buyers of illegal goods on dark web marketplaces and warn buyers of risks
March 26, 2019 26 Mar'19
Europe passes controversial Copyright Directive

The European Parliament has passed a new Copyright Directive, including a number of highly controversial articles
March 26, 2019 26 Mar'19
BT switches on quantum network link at Adastral Park

BT has opened its quantum network link between its Adastral Park research base and the UK Quantum Network node at the University of Cambridge
March 26, 2019 26 Mar'19
Asus releases fix for supply chain cyber attack

Asus has released a fix for a supply chain attack and downplayed the impact on customers while promising to contact all those affected as incident highlights code signing vulnerabilities
March 26, 2019 26 Mar'19
Nominet urges SMEs to register .uk domains to thwart squatters

The automatic right of .co.uk domain name holders to register the shorter .uk domains ends in June
March 26, 2019 26 Mar'19
Firms urged to gear up for new malware and tactics as threats proliferate

The volume of malware attacks reached a record level in 2018, with UK and India bucking global trend of increased ransomware attacks, a study shows
March 26, 2019 26 Mar'19
Geopolitical issues affecting cyber security

Geopolitical issues are affecting business decisions, according to the majority of cyber security professionals, a survey shows
March 25, 2019 25 Mar'19
Security challenge is to move as fast as the business

Adapting security to the pace at which the business is moving is one of the biggest challenges facing infosec professionals in the cloud era, says Palo Alto Networks
March 25, 2019 25 Mar'19
Lack of security skills exposing business to attack

The cyber skills shortage is leaving businesses at increased risk of attack as organisations continue to struggle to fill security-related positions, a survey shows
March 25, 2019 25 Mar'19
Small businesses hit hardest by cyber crime costs

Small businesses felt the biggest impact of the UK’s cyber crime bill in 2018, research shows
March 22, 2019 22 Mar'19
Digital Darwinism unkind to those who wait, says Palo Alto

As business-driven digital transformation, including the move to cloud, continues apace, companies need to rethink their approach to how they deploy and consume security, or risk being left behind
March 22, 2019 22 Mar'19
UK government at odds over Huawei threat

The chair of the Science and Technology Committee has criticised the government’s vague response to concerns about Huawei’s activities in the UK
March 22, 2019 22 Mar'19
Government cyber security strategy is ‘chaotic’

Responding to potential threats at a national level is unfeasible given the time ministers are currently dedicating to Brexit negotiations, says shadow Cabinet Office minister
March 21, 2019 21 Mar'19
Russian cyber espionage groups targeting EU governments

Two Russian cyber espionage groups are targeting EU governments ahead of European elections, say researchers
March 20, 2019 20 Mar'19
Spike in cyber attacks targeting Cisco Webex

Cyber attacks targeting a leading web conference tool have increased dramatically and sextortion is becoming more popular with attackers, according to WatchGuard Technologies
March 20, 2019 20 Mar'19
Police investigate Norsk Hydro ransomware attack

Ransomware attack on one of the world’s largest aluminium producers is under police investigation
March 20, 2019 20 Mar'19
UK cyber experts to support global company boards

A consortium of UK cyber security experts and academics is to support multinational company boards to tackle online threats and protect against cyber crime
March 20, 2019 20 Mar'19
UK government organisations’ email security lagging

Email security in UK government organisations is lagging far behind that of central government, analysis reveals, with less than a third implementing standard protection