News

IT for utilities and energy

October 15, 2012 15 Oct'12
Cookie law needs more than ‘do not track’, says Neelie Kroes

Website owners still need consent to use cookies even if web users' browsers offer 'do not track' (DNT), says EC vice-president Neelie Kroes
October 15, 2012 15 Oct'12
AMD cuts 20% of workforce

Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) plans to cut as many as 2,340 jobs, or about 20% of its workforce
October 15, 2012 15 Oct'12
US prepares cyber offensive capability

The US admits to preparing cyber offensive capabilities amid growing evidence that Iran conducted cyber attacks on the Saudi oil industry
October 12, 2012 12 Oct'12
Mozilla fixes security flaw in latest Firefox

Mozilla has released a fix for the latest version of its Firefox browser after withdrawing it the day before after identifying a security flaw

October 12, 2012 12 Oct'12
Draft Data Communications Bill a security risk, says Jimmy Wales

The UK’s Draft Data Communications Bill will be useless and quite dangerous, says Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales
October 11, 2012 11 Oct'12
RSA Europe: Thousands of unprotected virtual servers exposed to the web

Organisations are failing to protect data in virtual environments, says Jason Hart, vice-president cloud solutions, SafeNet
October 11, 2012 11 Oct'12
RSA Europe: Security must take human factor into account

Security needs to start taking into account the differences in users, says Hugh Thompson, RSA Conference programme committee chair
October 11, 2012 11 Oct'12
Job prospects improving for IT graduates, says HECSU report

Job prospects for IT graduates have improved for the first time during the recession, says the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU)
October 11, 2012 11 Oct'12
RSA Europe: Security concerns whole supply chain, says Misha Glenny

Targeted attacks affect the whole supply chain, not just big corporations, author Misha Glenny tells RSA Conference Europe 2012 attendees
October 10, 2012 10 Oct'12
RSA Europe: Cloud key to future information security, says Qualys

Cloud computing is an opportunity information security professionals should not miss, says Philippe Courtot, CEO of security firm Qualys

October 10, 2012 10 Oct'12
Shell plans to save 100s of millions with 'semantic' search

Royal Dutch Shell aims to cut training time for engineers with technology to identify and deliver information from databases, blogs and social media
October 09, 2012 09 Oct'12
RSA Europe: Free cloud security readiness tool from Microsoft

Microsoft has announced a free tool for organisations to assess their security readiness for cloud computing.
October 08, 2012 08 Oct'12
Cyber crime costs UK organisations £2.1m a year

Ponemon Institute's 2012 Cost of Cyber Crime Study estimates cyber crime costs UK organisations an average of £2.1m a year each
October 08, 2012 08 Oct'12
Swedish government sites targeted by Anonymous

The websites of several Swedish government agencies were knocked offline on Friday after being targeted by hacktivist collective Anonymous
October 08, 2012 08 Oct'12
Microsoft encryption key deadline approaching

Any organisations that have not yet replaced outdated security certificates will have to act quickly to meet the Microsoft deadline
October 08, 2012 08 Oct'12
China’s Huawei and ZTE a security threat, says US committee

China’s leading technology firms pose a threat to national security, warns a US Congressional committee
September 28, 2012 28 Sep'12
Phishing attacks cast wider nets in businesses

Phishing attacks are moving from targeting a few key employees to much wider groups, says security awareness training company PhishMe
September 28, 2012 28 Sep'12
RIM posts another quarterly loss - but it could have been worse

BlackBerry-maker RIM has posted another quarterly loss, but not as bad as investors expected, with revenues 16% above analysts’ forecasts
September 27, 2012 27 Sep'12
ICO publishes cloud data guidelines

The ICO has published new guidelines that underline businesses’ sole responsibility for the protection of data
September 27, 2012 27 Sep'12
Information security: Technical skills highest in demand

Salaries for most information security professionals are continuing to trend upward as demand increases, particularly for technical skills.
September 27, 2012 27 Sep'12
Swiss consortium turns to business analytics to help build smart electricity grid

Switzerland's largest retailer is working with IBM to use business analytics to turn its refrigerated warehouses into part of a smart grid
September 27, 2012 27 Sep'12
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam hackers launch cyber attack on US bank Wells Fargo

A hacker group connected to Hamas says it attacked US bank Wells Fargo in reaction to the video 'Innocence of Muslims' posted on YouTube
September 27, 2012 27 Sep'12
Java flaw allows attackers to bypass sandbox defences

Security researchers have discovered a vulnerability in all supported versions of Oracle Java allowing attackers to bypass sandbox defences
September 27, 2012 27 Sep'12
UK ranks only eighth in world internet freedoms

The UK has fewer internet freedoms than seven other countries, including Estonia and the Philippines a report has revealed
September 26, 2012 26 Sep'12
Move to cloud still all about security for UK firms, survey shows

Security and data privacy are still the top concerns for UK businesses adopting cloud-based services, research shows
September 26, 2012 26 Sep'12
Samsung faces call for Galaxy S3 security update

Samsung is facing calls to issue a security update for the Galaxy S3 smartphone to address a serious vulnerability
September 24, 2012 24 Sep'12
Microsoft urges business to update IE security

Microsoft has released an out-of-cycle patch for the latest zero-day vulnerability in Internet Explorer that affects versions IE6 to IE9
September 21, 2012 21 Sep'12
Scottish Power smart meter roll-out to mirror national plan

Scottish Power is trialling 5,000 smart electricity meters in UK homes as part of a test that will simulate the national smart meter roll-out
September 21, 2012 21 Sep'12
US considers executive order on cyber security

A White House executive order on cyber security is “close to completion,” according to Janet Napolitano, US Secretary of Homeland Security
September 21, 2012 21 Sep'12
Businesses fail to address consumerisation security risks

UK businesses are failing to protect themselves against the risks posed by staff using their own devices for work, shows a study from Equanet
September 21, 2012 21 Sep'12
Investec banks on policy to make social media work

Investment bank Investec sees social media as part of the insider threat to information security, but has policies and technologies to make it work
September 20, 2012 20 Sep'12
Dangerous hackers come closer to home, warns Trend Micro

Cyber criminals from eastern Europe pose just as big a threat as their more high-profile Asian rivals, says security firm Trend Micro
September 20, 2012 20 Sep'12
Microsoft to release emergency patch for IE

Microsoft has released further information on a patch for the zero-day vulnerability in Internet Explorer that affects versions IE6 to IE9
September 20, 2012 20 Sep'12
Dell SecureWorks uncovers cyber espionage targeting energy firms

Dell SecureWorks researchers have discovered a cyber espionage campaign targeting several companies, including two in the energy sector
September 20, 2012 20 Sep'12
Arrogant firms hoodwink customers on data breaches

Customers are having the wool pulled over their eyes by organisations that fail to report data breaches, says document management firm Simplexo
September 20, 2012 20 Sep'12
Dell SecureWorks uncovers cyber espionage targeting energy firms

Security researchers have discovered a new cyber espionage campaign targeting several large companies, including two in the energy sector
September 19, 2012 19 Sep'12
Gartner Security and Risk Summit 2012: Strategic planning key to survival

Strategic planning is the only option if risk and security leaders want to succeed in a rapidly changing world, says Gartner
September 19, 2012 19 Sep'12
GCHQ challenges UK amateurs to defend government from cyber attacks

GCHQ's national Cyber Security Challenge competition tests the ability of amateur cyber defenders to protect a simulated government IT system
September 18, 2012 18 Sep'12
White House deputy CTO praises NHS open-data strategy

The deputy CTO of the White House, Chris Vein, is working with the NHS to pass on experiences of making data more open in the public sector
September 18, 2012 18 Sep'12
EDF app enables smartphones to snap meter readings

Energy supplier EDF has released an app that enables customers to submit meter readings by using the camera on a smartphone
September 18, 2012 18 Sep'12
CertiVox enables Outlook encryption

Security firm CertiVox has launched PrivateSky for Outlook that enables users to encrypt messages and large files up to 5GB
September 18, 2012 18 Sep'12
RSA Europe 2012 to focus on big data

Big data and intelligence-driven security are to be the focus of the RSA Conference Europe 2012 in London next month
September 18, 2012 18 Sep'12
Microsoft investigates IE zero-day flaw

Microsoft says it is investigating reports of a vulnerability in Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8, and 9
September 17, 2012 17 Sep'12
E.ON outsources applications to Capgemini

Utility giant E.ON has outsourced application services to Capgemini as part of a five-year restructure of its IT services in a deal worth about €50m
September 17, 2012 17 Sep'12
IT security awareness needs to be company-wide, says (ISC)²

Information security awareness needs to be more robust, started as early as possible, continually reinforced and organisation-wide, says Julie Peeler, director, (ISC)² Foundation
September 17, 2012 17 Sep'12
Anglian Water uses InfoSys to deploy SharePoint 2010 intranet

Anglian Water has started a phased roll-out of a SharePoint 2010 intranet portal to improve the flow of information around the business
September 17, 2012 17 Sep'12
Intel lends a hand eliminating passwords

Intel is working on palm-scanning technology to eliminate weak password-based user authentication
September 13, 2012 13 Sep'12
Cloud computing: Could it cost more?

Cloud computing is meant to cut costs, but some organisations are reporting increased cost instead. How is this possible?
September 13, 2012 13 Sep'12
De Montfort University to launch cyber security centre

De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester is launching a centre dedicated to cyber protection
September 13, 2012 13 Sep'12
MDM is not security, warns mobile security expert Eric Green

Mobile device management (MDM) is not about security, says US security expert Eric Green from Mobile Active Defense Partners
September 13, 2012 13 Sep'12
Few firms test security of mobile apps, survey shows

Organisations are struggling to manage the challenges of the mobile era, with less than a third formally testing their mobile applications
September 12, 2012 12 Sep'12
Two UK students chosen for (ISC)² IT security scholarships

Students at UK universities are among the recipients of the 2011 and 2012 Information Security Scholarships from (ISC)²
September 12, 2012 12 Sep'12
Big business not learning from cyber attacks, says researcher

Many big companies are failing to learn from information security incidents, says malware analysis firm Solutionary
September 12, 2012 12 Sep'12
Government should stop reinventing the IT security wheel, says (ISC)2

In good government IT strategy, only collaboration will work in the long term, says head of (ISC)2 Hord Tipton
September 12, 2012 12 Sep'12
AT&T takes APTs seriously

APTs are real and all companies should be taking them seriously, says telecommunications company AT&T
September 11, 2012 11 Sep'12
New malware age demands new security approach, says threat researcher

We are entering a new age of cyber threats and must change our approach to cyber defence, according to ICSA Labs
September 11, 2012 11 Sep'12
CISOs key to transition to cloud, says (ISC)2

CISOs have an important role in moving their organisations to a cloud computing environment, says professional certification body (ISC)2
September 11, 2012 11 Sep'12
Skills shortage means no unemployment in IT security, says (ISC)2

Zero unemployment in IT security shows a huge shortage of skills in the profession, says Hord Tipton, executive director of (ISC)2
September 11, 2012 11 Sep'12
(ISC)2 launches programme to attract young security professionals

(ISC)2 has announced a Young Professionals Group to attract young people to the field of information security
September 10, 2012 10 Sep'12
Indian IT services firm Infosys buys management consultancy Lodestone

Indian IT services provider Infosys has grown its business consultancy with the acquisition of Swiss-based management consultancy Lodestone
September 07, 2012 07 Sep'12
UK cookie law compliance mixed, study finds

Three months after the enforcement of the cookie law, only 12% of UK websites have prominent privacy notices and robust cookie controls, a study shows
September 07, 2012 07 Sep'12
Warwick University cyber security graduates fast-track CISSP course

The University of Warwick has entered an agreement with (ISC)2 to help ease its cyber security graduates into work with a compact CISSP course.
September 07, 2012 07 Sep'12
UK sets deadline to decide fate of UFO hacker Gary McKinnon

The Home Office is to decide by 16 October whether to extradite self-confessed hacker Gary McKinnon to the US
September 06, 2012 06 Sep'12
More than a quarter of London’s Wi-Fi networks are poorly secured

Some 27% of Wi-Fi networks in London are poorly secured or not secured at all, a study by security firm Sophos has revealed.
September 06, 2012 06 Sep'12
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales slams Draft Communications Data Bill

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has slammed as “technologically incompetent” the UK Draft Communications Data Bill
September 05, 2012 05 Sep'12
Ex-US cyber czar advises executive order to protect critical networks

US President Barack Obama should consider an executive to help protect critical networks from cyber attack, says ex-White House cyber security chief Howard Schmidt
September 05, 2012 05 Sep'12
McAfee reports largest malware spike in four years

The second quarter of 2012 saw the biggest increase in malware samples detected in the past four years, says security company McAfee
September 03, 2012 03 Sep'12
Powerful cyber attack tools widely available, say researchers

More low-level cyber criminals are getting access to sophisticated attack tools, say cyber intelligence specialists
August 31, 2012 31 Aug'12
Businesses worldwide fail to prepare for cyber threats, says Kaspersky Lab

Companies around the world have failed to address cyber threats, according to a survey from security organisation Kaspersky Lab
August 31, 2012 31 Aug'12
WikiLeaks supporter hacks Hertfordshire Police website

A supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has hacked a Hertfordshire Police website and posted data apparently relating to members of the force
August 31, 2012 31 Aug'12
Oracle releases emergency patch for Java

Oracle has released an out-of-cycle security update to patch newly identified vulnerabilities in Java 7 that have been widely exploited
August 30, 2012 30 Aug'12
UK data breaches up tenfold since 2007

Data breaches in the UK across all sectors have increased an average of more than tenfold in the past five years, research has uncovered.
August 30, 2012 30 Aug'12
Antivirus detection gap widening, say security researchers

Incident response investigations show businesses cannot rely on antivirus systems alone for protection, say security researchers
August 30, 2012 30 Aug'12
US president Barack Obama vows to fight for free internet

US President Barack Obama has promised to fight for a free internet, while answering questions on social networking site Reddit
August 30, 2012 30 Aug'12
Java zero-day vulnerability hits Metasploit and Blackhole

The latest Java zero-day vulnerability is already available to users of the Metasploit tool and Blackhole exploit kit, say security researchers
August 29, 2012 29 Aug'12
Explosion in malware bypassing traditional defences, study shows

Advanced malware that evades signature-based detection has increased nearly 400% in the past year, according to research by security firm FireEye
August 29, 2012 29 Aug'12
IBM bets on smaller, faster, more secure mainframe

IBM unveils a smaller, faster, more secure mainframe computer to compete with increasingly popular, low-cost, PC-based enterprise servers
August 28, 2012 28 Aug'12
Security researchers spot new zero-day Java vulnerability

Security researchers have spotted a new Java vulnerability in the wild for which there is no security patch as yet
August 28, 2012 28 Aug'12
Saudi Aramco oil firm claims to be over cyber attack

International oil company Saudi Aramco claims to be over a cyber attack on 15 August and maintains that oil production was not disrupted
August 24, 2012 24 Aug'12
VMware users can protect against virtual machine malware, says Trend Micro

New malware that attacks VMware virtual machines is no cause for undue concern, but users can take basic steps to protect data, says Trend Micro
August 24, 2012 24 Aug'12
Regulation and government policy drive utilities IT spend

Utility companies in Western Europe will spend $10.5bn on IT this year, of which over 62% will be invested in IT services.
August 24, 2012 24 Aug'12
UK should have more control of the web, says IT entrepreneur

The UK should take more control of the internet to counter the US stranglehold, says an IT entrepreneur.
August 23, 2012 23 Aug'12
New malware campaign targets Blackberry users, says Websense

Security firm Websense has identified a new malware campaign that targets Blackberry users with a malicious attachment in fake emails.
August 23, 2012 23 Aug'12
APTs: Are they really a concern for all businesses?

Many businesses make themselves vulnerable by failing to consider advanced persistent threats (APTs) in their information security strategy
August 22, 2012 22 Aug'12
Morcut malware may be first to target virtual machines, says Symantec

Advanced analysis of the Morcut Mac OS X malware has revealed that it also targets virtual machines and Windows mobiles
August 22, 2012 22 Aug'12
Anonymous hits UK government websites in support for Julian Assange

Anonymous claims it brought down government websites in protest at the UK's handling of Julian Assange's asylum case
August 22, 2012 22 Aug'12
Dell expects tough next quarter

Dell expects third-quarter revenue to be down between 2% and 5% on second-quarter levels due to the “uncertain economic environment”
August 21, 2012 21 Aug'12
RIM set to lose stranglehold on government mobile market

Blackberry is set to lose its stranglehold on government, as moves to broaden the number of smartphone suppliers in Whitehall gather pace
August 21, 2012 21 Aug'12
Latest Cyber Security Challenge to address Linux skills shortage

The UK national Cyber Security Challenge has launched another competition aimed at addressing a critical Linux security skills gap
August 20, 2012 20 Aug'12
Shamoon is latest malware to target energy sector

Cybersecurity researchers uncover a new threat targeting infrastructure in the energy sector that is believed to have hit at least one organisation
August 14, 2012 14 Aug'12
BP to standardise F&A through Accenture

BP has outsourced finance and accounting (F&A) services to Accenture in a deal that will standardise the energy giant's processes and harness analytics
August 10, 2012 10 Aug'12
Entrust commits to SSL despite CA/Browser Forum exit

Security firm Entrust has announced that it is withdrawing from a voluntary online security standards organisation that it co-founded and co-chaired for six years
August 10, 2012 10 Aug'12
New Gauss cyberweapon targets Middle East

A new Flame and Stuxnet-related cyber-threat, dubbed Gauss, is targeting users in the Middle East, security researchers have revealed.
August 09, 2012 09 Aug'12
Nearly half of firms supporting BYOD report data breaches

Nearly half of enterprises that allow bring your own device (BYOD) schemes have experienced a data breach, a study has revealed.
August 09, 2012 09 Aug'12
Virtualisation is often a missed security opportunity

Virtualisation can improve security, but only if it is done correctly, says Rik Ferguson, director of security research at Trend Micro.
August 09, 2012 09 Aug'12
Obama considers ordering industry to improve cyber defences

US President Barack Obama is considering issuing orders compelling or encouraging companies in critical industries to improve their cyber defences.
August 07, 2012 07 Aug'12
Interview: Warren East, CEO of chip designer ARM

ARM chief discusses the growth of machine to machine technology, patent wars and why he hopes the company will stay independent
August 07, 2012 07 Aug'12
Wikipedia goes dark after cables are cut

Wikipedia was dark again on Monday, but not intentionally, out of protest, as it has been in the past
August 06, 2012 06 Aug'12
US passes resolution to block UN control of the internet

The US House of Representatives has voted unanimously to approve a resolution preventing greater UN power of the Internet
August 06, 2012 06 Aug'12
ICO issues £175k penalty against Devon NHS Trust

The ICO has fined NHS Trust in Torquay £175,000 for publishing the sensitive details of over 1,000 employees on its website.