News

Hackers and cybercrime prevention

• August 20, 2019 20 Aug'19

  Malware still top security threat, say infosec pros

  Malware remains the top security threat to organisations, with ransomware still considered to be the top malware threat and lack of budget the biggest obstacle to defence, a study shows

• August 20, 2019 20 Aug'19

  Huawei to US: Ban violates free market principles

  Huawei has hit back at the US government’s latest moves to restrict its activities

• August 20, 2019 20 Aug'19

  Even fintech startups battling to meet cyber security challenges

  A study shows that most fintech startups, like most banks, are failing to address vulnerabilities in the web and mobile applications, underlining the scale of the challenge

• August 19, 2019 19 Aug'19

  UK financial account takeovers up, report warns

  Commercial cyber criminal services are helping to drive up the number of account takeovers, a fraud report for the first half of the year shows

• August 19, 2019 19 Aug'19

  Q2 shows ransomware proliferation, Kaspersky warns

  Ransomware modifications have more than doubled in the past year, the number of ransomware families has grown, and the number of attempted infections is up nearly 50%

• August 19, 2019 19 Aug'19

  US extends temporary stay on Huawei ban

  American network operators given extra wiggle room to wean themselves off Huawei’s hardware

• August 19, 2019 19 Aug'19

  How EDR is moving beyond the endpoint

  An emerging breed of detection and response offerings is going beyond endpoints to collect and decipher telemetry data from across the enterprise

• August 16, 2019 16 Aug'19

  Passwordless enterprise already possible, says RSA

  The passwordless enterprise is getting easier to attain as the security industry gears up to support a passwordless future, says RSA’s identity chief

• August 16, 2019 16 Aug'19

  New approach to risk management needed, says Gartner

  Most third-party risks are discovered after the initial due diligence period, Gartner study shows, highlighting the need for a new approach to risk management and the importance of effective access controls

• August 15, 2019 15 Aug'19

  2019 set to be another record year for data breaches

  The number of data breach incidents continues to rise and looks set to reach another record this year, with the business sector first in the firing line, according to a mid-year breach report

• August 15, 2019 15 Aug'19

  Most UK financial firms hit by cyber attack in the past year

  The majority of UK financial companies are failing to prevent cyber security incidents, mainly because of employees failing to follow security policies and a lack of security budget, a survey reveals

• August 15, 2019 15 Aug'19

  Formjacking dominates web-related data breaches

  Formjacking has become one of the most popular data stealing methods, say researchers, who urge commercial websites to review all third-party coding practices without delay

• August 14, 2019 14 Aug'19

  Publicly accessible biometric database highlights key failings

  The discovery of a publicly accessible database of biometric information highlights failings by the supplier, the need for supply chain security, and the challenges of using biometric data

• August 14, 2019 14 Aug'19

  DCMS funding aims to increase diversity in cyber sector

  A funding round has been announced as part of the Cyber Skills Immediate Impact Fund (CSIIF) with aims of encouraging more diverse talent into the UK’s cyber security sector

• August 14, 2019 14 Aug'19

  Cyber criminal collaboration intensifies

  The level of cooperation between high-profile cyber threat groups has shifted up a gear, enabling a higher level of automation and making attribution more difficult, research shows

• August 14, 2019 14 Aug'19

  Digital domain identified as major security threat by Norway’s intelligence service

  Norway's intelligence services has revealed the extent of the threat posed to the country by cyber attacks

• August 14, 2019 14 Aug'19

  Norman evasive cryptominer conquers networks

  Cryptomining malware designed to evade detection is capable of invading every device in targeted companies, researchers warn

• August 14, 2019 14 Aug'19

  UK finance regulator gives extra time for companies to meet payment security rules

  Financial Conduct Authority gives companies under its watch an extra 18 months to meet an EU payments security standard

• August 14, 2019 14 Aug'19

  British Airways e-ticketing system could expose passenger details

  British Airways has not addressed a potential leak of passenger details despite warnings from security researchers, but says it is aware of the issue and is taking action

• August 14, 2019 14 Aug'19

  NTT Security partners with Europol

  Link-up is part of a commitment to share strategic information with partners and law enforcement to bolster threat intelligence in the global fight against cyber crime

• August 13, 2019 13 Aug'19

  UK businesses still overlooking human element in security

  Most UK businesses are still failing to address the human element in cyber security as part of an integrated approach, exposing themselves unnecessarily to cyber criminal attacks, a study shows

• August 13, 2019 13 Aug'19

  BACnet IoT building automation devices vulnerable to attack

  A security researcher has revealed that internet-connected building automating devices using the BACnet communication protocol are vulnerable to cyber attack

• August 12, 2019 12 Aug'19

  Phishing top security threat to business

  A new Telefónica security service for business shows that phishing is the most-blocked threat and smaller businesses are a popular attack target in the first two months of deployment

• August 12, 2019 12 Aug'19

  Digital transformation driving security rethink

  Organisations are focusing on internet of things and cloud in developing cyber defence systems, study shows

• August 09, 2019 09 Aug'19

  McAfee warns of serious security flaw in building controller

  Security researchers have demonstrated how simple flaws in building controllers could allow malicious actors to manipulate control systems with devastating effect, highlighting the importance of operational technology security

• August 09, 2019 09 Aug'19

  F-Secure warns of F5 Big IP-related security issue

  F-Secure has discovered security issues relating to an F5 device that it says could potentially turn hundreds of thousands of load balancers into beachheads for cyber attacks

• August 09, 2019 09 Aug'19

  NCC Group warns of security risks of leading printers

  Researchers uncover more than 35 vulnerabilities in six leading enterprise printers, many of which could allow access to corporate networks, underlining the need to counter security risks of embedded systems

• August 09, 2019 09 Aug'19

  Whistleblowers: James Glenn’s battle with Cisco opens new front on cyber security

  James Glenn, a 42-year-old security specialist, fought a 10-year legal battle with Cisco after blowing the whistle on serious security flaws. He lost his job, but has no regrets

• August 08, 2019 08 Aug'19

  Ransomware a continued threat to business, report warns

  Businesses are increasingly becoming the most popular targets for ransomware, which remains a top cyber threat around the world, especially in the US, a report reveals

• August 08, 2019 08 Aug'19

  Cyber criminals hijacking legitimate website comms

  Criminals are exploiting firms’ use of online feedback methods to distribute spam and phishing emails, security researchers warn

• August 08, 2019 08 Aug'19

  Can you trust pen-testers?

  Pen-testers have knowingly posted security workarounds on the public internet that are now commonly used by hackers

• August 07, 2019 07 Aug'19

  Southeast Asian ‘white hat’ urges more countries to sign the Paris Call

  A renowned ethical hacker in Malaysia has called for more nations to support the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace to counter the threat of cyber warfare

• August 07, 2019 07 Aug'19

  Shared files in the cloud are a top ransomware target

  Vectra 2019 Spotlight report shows recent ransomware attacks cast a wider net to ensnare cloud, datacentre and enterprise infrastructures

• August 07, 2019 07 Aug'19

  FireEye identifies dual nature Chinese cyber threat group

  Security researchers have identified a China-based cyber threat group engaged in state-spored espionage in parallel with cyber criminal activities targeting multiple industries worldwide

• August 07, 2019 07 Aug'19

  Industry collaborates to patch SwapGS CPU vulnerability

  Newly disclosed SwapGS vulnerability in modern processors has been patched in Windows, Linux and ChromeOS, underlining the importance of keeping systems up to date

• August 06, 2019 06 Aug'19

  African bank foils suspected North Korean cyber attack

  An African bank is among the financial institutions to be targeted by North Korea’s multi-billion dollar cyber theft campaign to support its weapons programmes

• August 06, 2019 06 Aug'19

  Most UK firms lack confidence in disaster recovery

  Only a third of UK firms are confident in their ability to recover from cyber attacks and other disasters, with business continuity still relatively low on the agenda, a study reveals

• August 05, 2019 05 Aug'19

  DDoS on the rise, warns Kaspersky

  Security researchers at Kaspersky are among those warning business that, more than ever, mitigation of distributed denial of service attacks needs to be a key element of cyber defence strategies

• August 05, 2019 05 Aug'19

  Most UK university applicants at risk of email fraud

  The majority of hundreds of thousands of applicants to UK universities are at risk of email fraud before and after A-level results day, due to a failure to implement full Dmarc protection, a study reveals

• August 02, 2019 02 Aug'19

  Lack of resources top challenge to IT security

  A lack of resources is the top challenge to information security professionals, followed by a lack of experience and skills, a survey reveals

• August 02, 2019 02 Aug'19

  Government continues probe of UK cyber security labour market

  The government has announced a second phase of research to help understand the UK's cyber security labour market

• August 01, 2019 01 Aug'19

  Industrial control system cyber security risk high, report warns

  The industrial control system cyber risk to global oil and gas companies is high and rising, as new attack groups continue to enter the arena

• August 01, 2019 01 Aug'19

  Leaked Sephora databases peddled on dark web

  Cyber security firm finds two databases likely to be related to the Sephora data breach that affected online customers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand

• July 31, 2019 31 Jul'19

  Cisco pays $8.6m after whistleblower discloses security flaws in video surveillance system

  James Glenn, a video surveillance expert working for a Cisco reseller in Denmark, alerted Cisco to security faults and stands to gain a share of a multimillion-dollar settlement with the US government

• July 31, 2019 31 Jul'19

  Financial services top cyber attack target

  Financial services are among the most attractive targets for cyber attackers, security researchers reveal, with phishing and credential stuffing among the top threats

• July 30, 2019 30 Jul'19

  Mobiles top target of nation state surveillance

  Nation states are targeting individual mobile users for intelligence gathering and disruption of rivals as security on mobile devices lags behind traditional computing, a report reveals

• July 30, 2019 30 Jul'19

  Huawei ‘galvanised’ by Trump ban

  Huawei has found itself caught in the crossfire of the US president’s trade war with China, but chairman Liang Hua says the firm is rising to the challenge

• July 30, 2019 30 Jul'19

  Former AWS engineer arrested for Capital One data breach

  Capital One announces data breach affecting more than 100 million customers as US federal authorities arrest a Seattle woman formerly employed by Amazon Web Services

• July 29, 2019 29 Jul'19

  Visa card vulnerabilities enable contactless limit bypass

  Security researchers have discovered vulnerabilities on Visa cards that could be exploited to bypass contactless payment limits and result in huge losses

• July 29, 2019 29 Jul'19

  WannaCry hero Marcus Hutchins spared jail

  British security researcher who helped halt the global WannaCry ransomware attack that hit the NHS in 2017 has avoided jail in the US for creating other malware

• July 29, 2019 29 Jul'19

  Cyber kill chain is outdated, says Carbon Black

  The chief cyber security officer of Carbon Black calls for a new cognitive paradigm to fend off cyber adversaries that are now attacking in cycles

• July 26, 2019 26 Jul'19

  Email security as important as ever, report shows

  Cyber security professionals need to keep up to date with email-borne threats because they continue to evolve and have a major impact on business, research reveals

• July 26, 2019 26 Jul'19

  86 million reasons to support No More Ransom

  Anti-ransomware cross-industry initiative says it has prevented more than £86m in ransom payments as it marks its third anniversary, which coincides with a resurgence in ransomware in many parts of the world

• July 25, 2019 25 Jul'19

  F-Secure talks up threat-hunting to stay ahead of cyber attacks in APAC

  Cyber security firm calls for organisations to double up on threat-hunting now that nearly all attack and reconnaissance traffic is automated

• July 25, 2019 25 Jul'19

  Mobile banking malware surges in 2019

  Mobile banking malware surged in the first half of the year, email scams geared up and attacks on cloud increased, while illicit cryptocurrency miners declined, report reveals

• July 25, 2019 25 Jul'19

  Most SMEs severely underestimate cyber security vulnerabilities

  Small businesses are the primary target for cyber attacks, yet most are unprepared and do not think they will be targeted, a survey reveals

• July 24, 2019 24 Jul'19

  Internet crime costs global economy £2.3m a minute

  Cyber crime cost the global economy £2.3m every minute in 2018, reveals a report aimed at defining the scale of cyber attacks taking place over the internet

• July 24, 2019 24 Jul'19

  Global malware down but ransomware up, with UK hard hit

  Despite a global decrease in the volume of malware in the past year, ransomware is surging once again, and the UK is one of the worst-hit countries, a report reveals

• July 24, 2019 24 Jul'19

  AI to advance Swedish military systems

  Swedish report into use of artificial intelligence in military systems reveals opportunities and concerns

• July 23, 2019 23 Jul'19

  Phishing attack highlights cyber security need at universities

  UK university cyber security is once again under the spotlight after Lancaster University reveals that it has been targeted by a phishing attack used to send fake invoices

• July 23, 2019 23 Jul'19

  Norsk Hydro cyber attack could cost up to $75m

  March 2019 ransomware attack could cost Norwegian aluminium giant up to $75m in the first half of the year, according to latest estimates

• July 23, 2019 23 Jul'19

  Data breach costs on the rise, IBM study shows

  Data breach costs have risen in the past decade, and the financial impact can be felt for years. Breaches posing a growing risk for small businesses, a study shows, underlining the importance of incident response

• July 23, 2019 23 Jul'19

  Government delays final decision on Huawei

  Culture secretary says he cannot yet make specific decisions about Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s telecoms and mobile networks due to a lack of clarity from the US, effectively green-lighting its use

• July 23, 2019 23 Jul'19

  Microsoft talks up benefits and pitfalls of machine learning in security

  Software giant Microsoft uses machine learning models to detect emerging threats while keeping an eye on potential bias in security data points that could derail its analysis

• July 22, 2019 22 Jul'19

  US fines Equifax $700m over 2017 breach

  Global settlement with US authorities follows systems breach that saw more than 140 million customer records stolen

• July 22, 2019 22 Jul'19

  Big tech firms back UK cyber security initiative

  Big technology firms have pledged their support for UK investment in an initiative to “design out” of new tech the most damaging cyber security threats

• July 19, 2019 19 Jul'19

  Latest ICO fine highlights privacy due diligence

  A week after issuing the first serious GDPR fines, the ICO has further underlined the importance of data stewardship and due diligence regarding privacy practices

• July 19, 2019 19 Jul'19

  Second CyberThreat Summit announced by NCSC and SANS Institute

  CyberThreat 2019 aims to bring together a more diverse set of technical professionals in cyber security from the private and public sectors in the UK and abroad to encourage collaboration

• July 19, 2019 19 Jul'19

  Warzone bulletproof hosts protecting Magecart group

  Security researchers have discovered a Magecart group operating with impunity using bulletproof hosting services, including one in battle-scarred Ukraine

• July 18, 2019 18 Jul'19

  UK poor cyber security practice undermining controls

  UK firms investing in the latest cyber security products and services risk this being undermined by poor security practices, a survey reveals

• July 18, 2019 18 Jul'19

  Lateral phishing used to attack organisations on global scale

  Lateral phishing is a growing type of account takeover that has enabled attackers to target more than 100,000 people by hijacking just 154 email accounts

• July 17, 2019 17 Jul'19

  Most security pros still concerned about public cloud security

  Despite accelerated adoption of public cloud services by companies keen to benefit from increased efficiency, scalability and agility, most security professionals have reservations

• July 17, 2019 17 Jul'19

  Suspected malicious MS Office tool maker arrested

  Dutch police have arrested a man suspected of producing and selling toolkits to create malicious Microsoft Office documents

• July 17, 2019 17 Jul'19

  Vulnerable firmware in enterprise server supply chain

  Researchers are warning of vulnerabilities in firmware from a third-party supplier that put some servers from Lenovo, Gigabyte and six other manufacturers at risk

• July 16, 2019 16 Jul'19

  NCSC calls out Microsoft over Dmarc reports

  The UK’s cyber security agency has called out Microsoft for seriously undermining global email security by failing to provide crucial reports from its email platforms

• July 16, 2019 16 Jul'19

  Digital safety skills initiative launched against cyber crime

  Security industry partners have launched an initiative aimed at raising individuals’ digital safety skills to enable them to protect themselves and their families from most common cyber attacks

• July 16, 2019 16 Jul'19

  UN resolution ignores special rapporteur’s call for halt to spyware sales

  UN’s Human Rights Council adopts resolution to explore the impact of new and emerging digital technologies on human rights, but the text ignores a damning report by the council’s own expert on freedom of expression

• July 16, 2019 16 Jul'19

  NCSC reports on second year of cyber defence at scale

  The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre releases a report on the second year of its Active Cyber Defence programme to demonstrate its effects in the public sector and wider UK cyber ecosystem

• July 15, 2019 15 Jul'19

  Organisations turn to AI in race against cyber attackers

  Businesses are racing to automate their defences as hackers and nation states launch increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks

• July 15, 2019 15 Jul'19

  UK public sector needs to prioritise mobile device security

  Only 10% of public service stolen and lost mobile are recovered, underlining the need for mobile-centric, zero-trust model to reduce the risk, says MobileIron

• July 15, 2019 15 Jul'19

  UK boards ignoring £30bn cyber risk

  Despite the danger posed by cyber attacks to mid-sized companies, boards are not prepared to manage the risk and firms are over-confident in their cyber capabilities, report finds

• July 12, 2019 12 Jul'19

  New FinSpy versions extend surveillance capabilities

  New versions of the FinSpy malware for iOS and Android smartphones have extended targeted surveillance capabilities, warn security researchers

• July 12, 2019 12 Jul'19

  Windows 10 to enable passwordless sign-in

  Windows 10 users will soon be able to sign in to devices without using a password to encourage the use of two-factor authentication methods to improve security

• July 11, 2019 11 Jul'19

  Attacks against AI systems are a growing concern

  European research group says attacks against AI systems are already occurring, difficult to identify, and could be far more common than currently understood

• July 11, 2019 11 Jul'19

  RiskIQ uncovers new Magecart campaign

  A fresh Magecart campaign is breaching websites on a massive scale using indiscriminate attacks exploiting misconfigured Amazon S3 buckets, say researchers

• July 10, 2019 10 Jul'19

  Agent Smith mobile malware hits millions of devices

  New mobile malware that exploits Android vulnerabilities has infected millions of devices, security researchers have discovered

• July 10, 2019 10 Jul'19

  Demand for ICO help escalates in GDPR's first year

  The past year has seen increased demand across all support services offered by the UK’s privacy watchdog as new data protection laws went into force

• July 09, 2019 09 Jul'19

  Nearly half of firms fear cloud apps make them insecure

  Survey shows more than one-third of global companies appoint a CISO in the face of data breaches, and the UK is giving CISOs more power despite making fewer appointments

• July 08, 2019 08 Jul'19

  TfL launches wireless device tracking to gather Tube data

  Transport for London aims to use passenger movement data to make using the London Underground a more pleasant experience

• July 08, 2019 08 Jul'19

  British Airways facing £183m GDPR fine

  British Airways is to appeal against a record fine for infringement of data protection rules for a breach of customer data in 2018

• July 08, 2019 08 Jul'19

  IISP gains Royal Charter status

  The UK finally has its first national professional body for cyber security that will be responsible for setting the standards for skills and knowledge in the industry to reduce the skills gap and increase diversity

• July 05, 2019 05 Jul'19

  St John Ambulance praised for response to ransomware attack

  Charity’s response to ransomware attack demonstrates that it is possible to ensure minimal disruption if properly prepared

• July 04, 2019 04 Jul'19

  Security and privacy key to smart buildings and cities

  Security and privacy capabilities are essential for stakeholders if they are to realise the benefits of smart buildings and cities, says expert whitepaper

• July 04, 2019 04 Jul'19

  FireEye ties Microsoft Outlook exploit to Iranian hackers

  US Cyber Command has issued a warning that a patched Microsoft Outlook vulnerability is being exploited by unnamed threat actors, and recommended immediate patching

• July 04, 2019 04 Jul'19

  Email still top security vulnerability, survey shows

  Email is still the top security vulnerability, a survey shows, but security researchers caution that switching to instant messaging is not necessarily a solution in the longer term

• July 04, 2019 04 Jul'19

  APAC experts weigh in on cyber security trends

  The onslaught of cyber attacks being reported each day has been a wake-up call, but experts say businesses need to be mindful of the limitations of certain security measures

• July 03, 2019 03 Jul'19

  Sodin ransomware exploiting Windows zero-day, Kaspersky warns

  Security researchers are warning that a recently discovered type of ransomware is now exploiting a zero-day Windows vulnerability, and does not require user interaction to trigger an infection

• July 03, 2019 03 Jul'19

  Top VPNs secretly owned by Chinese firms

  Nearly a third of top VPNs are secretly owned by Chinese companies, while other owners are based in countries with weak or no privacy laws, potentially putting users at risk, security researchers warn

• July 02, 2019 02 Jul'19

  Sweden’s Protective Security Act targets cyber risks

  IT suppliers must comply with tighter cyber security requirements, but are being offered help from government agencies

• July 02, 2019 02 Jul'19

  Orvibo data leak puts security spotlight on IoT back end

  The security of devices that make up the internet of things (IoT) is a top concern for many in the industry, but leaks from an IoT database highlights the importance of back-end security too